LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 786, 31 March 1905, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Tho French Fleet will visit Spithead during the summer. A steamer brought two case oS dengue fever from Brisbane to Hobart. The paeients were, quarantined.

To-day being the anniversary of ho foundation of the Taranaki province, will lye observed as a holiday bj] the Government and municipal of.ces and banking institutions. In the evidence before the Victorian Tariff Commission, witnesses ieproM'iuing the woollen industry state that i't wants mox'e protection, and urge the increase of duties by 15 to 25 per cent. At the hospital on Thursday morning' the dea'ili occurred of a female patient, Annie Mclntyre, aged about 22 years, who had 'been in the institution for about 1 - months. The deceased was admitted to the hospital from Stratford.

Mr I!. Carrol), the local wrestler, had a day out at the Ivawhia spoils last week. In addition to winning the wrestling match, he had bouts with two Maoris for £5 asjide, throwing his opponent in each c.isc. In the evening he also threw Brough, the Australian axeman. It is understood that a Full Court appeal will be lodged by Mr Quil.'l.iin on behalf of the D.O.A. against t'he decision of Judge Edwards in the Amin Burke bankruptcy case. Mr I). Hiutchen appeared on behalf of Mary Burke, th« appollant in tho Supreme Court case. The first section, four blocks, of

tho. 100 ft extension of the broakwatcr, was laid yesterday. All the gear worked without a hitoh. The extension of the mole should soon exercise a favourable effect upon tho harbour. The widening of the wharf is also proceeding vigorously, and no, better example of the necessity of this work could have been found than was the case yesterday, when the shipping of Wirth's Circus required the use of every inch <>£ available space.

While fishing for sharks at the mouth of-the Crook-haven Biveq. Now South Wales, recently, with Mr Morgan, the Queensland Premier, Mr Met'ton, M.P., hooked a giant stingaree, which measured lift Bin from the nose to the tip of his tail, and sf-t Bin across. The monster gave a lot of trouble to get aboard the launcK, and it took four men to lift him from the decß.

Thers is a movement in Kakoura (Canterbury) against what is alleged to be an abuse of the use of morphia chlorodine, and similar drugs. It is stated that the morphia habit has now attained serious dinwnsions. A deputation waited upon Mr Hall-Jones wpon this matter on Saturday, with a request that step* should be taken to control the salo of such drugs, and it is probable that the representations made maybear fruit in the shape of restrictive regulations.

The N. 2. libra Id states that a record shipment of flnx will be forwarded to San Francisco by the Ventura, consisting of 2300 bales. The flax is from, all parts of the colonv, and Comprises some of the best flun'litv of fibre which has yet gone forward to American orders. The shipments of flax are increasing by each steamer, and give promise of coming up to the quantity shipped during the flax boonj. some years ago. A good dca\ of the fibre is also finding its wav into Canada, going from Auckland to Fiji, being there transferred to the mail steamers for Vancouver. The Wellington correspondent of the N.Z. Herald wires So far this season very little butter has been stored in Wellington, Patea, or New Plymouth, as shippers are sending their :produoo Home "at once in view of the satisfactory condition of the market. New Zealand butter is quoted at Home at from 107s to 108s per cwt., an advance of three halfpence per lb upon the figures ruling at this time last year. This is the highest price known for New Zealand butter for some years.

While fishing off the rocks near Warrnambool, in Victoria, A. S. I).

Briggs, of Allensford, had an excitirfg experience. He wast fctaiMinff trumpeter at the water's edge, when suddenly a lurgc octopus sent out its feelers in ull directions. One feeler caught Uriggs by the hand, lie kept jamming the octopus against the rock with the heel of his ty>ot, and, after a hard struggle, it released its hold. An hour previously he caught in a net another octopus, which was lift from tip to tip of its feelers.

The President (Mr M'Laren) at the annual meeting of the Olago Kugby Union, referring to the visit of the New Zealand team to Great liritain, said that, judging by the manner in which tho Now 'Zealand Union was managing the affairs, tho movement' would not bo the success it might be. He was asked to draw up a confidential report on the Otago players, and did so, and afterwards an Otago player was excluded from the team. He was waiting the New Zealand Union's reply to a letter he sent them, and then he would say what he had to say about that Unioti.

It is interesting to look' back at the long' series of "maps of the seat of war" that have boon published by the various Home papers during the campaign in Manchuria. Those first published included only the area surrounding Port Arthur and Korea May. Ir; accordance with the rapid progress of ,the Japs (northwards, the war map-makers have gradually moved their focus further and further north by s-ucoessive steps to Niuchwang, I/iaoyang, Sha-ho, Mukden, Tieling, Kaiyuen, until the rapidity of Japanese conquest has be»n so great that maps only published a week ago have been left far behind and thrown out of date by Nogi, Ok'u and Co. An engine, while engaged in shunting o[jeruLions' in the Lytlelton railway yards, ran on to the wrong line and crushed sideways into the back of a guard's van attached to the end of a train. The engine and van were both considerably damaged, the latter being canted over on to the station platform. A porter who was standing on the footplate of the towcatcher of the engine, gave a warning cry as lie saw the engine slew off on to the wron'pj line, and then jumped for his life. Ho just managed to spring clear and avoid -being crushed, but even then a large splinter of wood struck him a severe blow on the arm. His escape, apparently, was little short of a miracle.

The tramway connecting the Taupo Timber Company's mill with the Rotorua railway, which is hc.ing constructed liy Miessrs J. McLean aml Sons, and is 50 miles long, will be finished by the ewl of A prill The company is now cutting tjmibkr in anticipation of the early opening of the tramway, a nd expects that the output when the nrili is in full swing wi'll more than meet all demand. Totara will be on hand in su<«h quantities and at such moderate rates as wjl'i make ft a formidable competitor to Australian hardwpiad. Hitherto Jthe comiptitiy lias been cutting and saving timWr for the line and buildings., but a start will shortly be miulc to meet foreign -demands'. It is estimated "that the mill' will be capable of putting n mi Ml on feet of Umber per month on the market.

Storage in dry brick Store, low insurance rate, minimum fire risk, low ExnrJrr StOrag0 '~" The Ncw Zoaland Express Company, Ltd. 2 You cannot get al)out in Tarannki during the winter without a food oilskin or overcoat. Nval's first shipment to hand. Read advertisement on opposite page.*

It is worth remembering that for excellence of style and (piality combined with large range of 'variety and chi»apnps9 of engagement rings and all kinds of jewellery you must go to J. H. Purkep's, Jeweller, next railway crossing, l) 0V o n Street Central. Ncw Plymouth.* A MOST HONOURABLE DISTINCTION. The Western Medical Review 0 medical publication of the highest standing, says, in a recent issue , J 'Thousands of physicians in this and other countries have attested that Sander uiiii Sons' Eucalypti tract Is not only roljabje, but that it has a pronounced and IndispulaWa superiority over all other preparations of Eucalyptus." Your health is too precious to be tampered with therefore reject all products foisted upon you by unscrupulous mercenaries, a/ul insist upon getting Snndey and Hofff,' J?.| f cajypti Extract, the only preparation ) woifltiitntled by your physician and the press. In 'coughs, colds, fever,s*diarrhoea, kidney diseases, the relief is instantaneous. Wounds, ulcers,burns, sprains, etc., it heals without inflammation. An mouthwash (5 drops to a glass of water) It prevents docay of toeth, anjj (jvstrpjii »n Ms- ... , ,

A huge anchor of extremely anfcijtf-' uated pattern, probably dating back to the time of the Amada, which had been hauled up from the North Sea, was taken into Yarmouth by the mission ship Cholmondeley, Covered all over from stock to head with barnacles and live oysters, it presented a singularly fossilised appearance. It was some 14 ft long, Willi flukes 3ft square ; the shank was lilft Ion)*, and an immense wood stock that had formerly 'been fixed fixed 'to 1 'it had completely disappeared. The weight of this soa monster was over two tons, and its "salv.ige" will be of the utmost benefit to the fishermen, as it was lifted from the trawling grounds, and the presence of quantities of netting that was wound round the huge flukes told of the enormous destruction it has caused to gear. When iL was being raised it broke the trawling llji-am of the Cholmondeley, anil special tackle was required to get it on board.

Judgment w«s passed in a most remarkable poisoning case at Basle, Switzerland, recently, the accused man being a farmer named Louis Bung, sixty-three yearsi of age. Itnng took a violent dislike to his daughter and her 'husband, M. Karcher,and obtained a large quantity of arsenic, which he introduced into the apple trees of tho orchard >b|elongiin'g to the Karchers. Some 300 'trees were thus treated. After waiting several weeks for the fruit to ripen, Bung gathered a •qluantity of the poisoned apples, and asked his daughter to make a pie for dinner. The Karchers ate of the poisoned dish, and became so ill that a doctor was summoned. For a month the Karchers suffered greatly and their ill appearance in Court aroused much' sympathy, Bung, when arrested, denied the charge, bul finally confessed. Ho was sentenced to five years' penal ssrvitudo.

Americans are sometimes unploasantly practical. A good story of their practicalness comes out of the varied experience of Mr George Miisgrove, the theatrical manager. In the hurry and the determination to keep to time-tables the steamers and ' trains appear to tako risks. Mr Mus--1 grove -during 'his last visit to the United States was travelling by train during the flood-time. When the Ohio was reached the water was running over the bridge, and as it was evening, the other side of the river could liot be seen. When the theatrical manaiger observed preparations being made to start, he seriously asked of the conductor, "Surely you aren't going to cross the river f " " Why not" was the reply. " Well how do you know the bridge is not carried away in the middlo'?" protested Mr Musgrove. Well, we cannot find out from here," responded the conductor. Although Mr Slusgrove's hair began to rise, and cold drops of perspiration bespangled his brow, he showed his spirit of enterprise by making one of the expedition of inquiry, tho result of which is given in the fact that he is alive to tell the tale.

Daniel McAreavy, a deaf mute, was lined at Ilelfast recently, for using bad language ! It was an error of justice, and arose in the following way :—A policeman having given evidence ithat McAreavy was cursing the Pope, and using language generally calculated to provoke a riot, the afflicted man was asked if he had nnything to say. In the absence of a reply, the magistrate imposed a fine of 40s and costs, with the alternative of fourteen days' imprisonment. The mistake was discovered when Mc Areavy was removed to the cells. He had 'been arrested on a warrant harging him with attacking his wife . <n d mother, and was wrongly sent into the dock in the place of the man who had been guilty of riotous behaviour. The magistrate, informed of the mistake, indignantly said there could be no excuse on the part of the police, who should exercise the greatest care in identifying their prisoners. The fine was then transferred to t'ho real transgressor, aim there being no appearance of McAreavy's wife and mother to prove the charge of assault, he was released from custody.

At Newcastle (New South Wak.-s) recently, Mr W, S. Collins, sheriff's officer, died suddenly in his seat in tho choir of Christ Church Cathedral. Tho senvice had not Ion;? begun when deceased, after arising from his knoes, was seen to fall back in th; stall as if in a faint. His son, Victor, who was sitting next to him and the other members of the choir, gave him attention, and as he did not revive he was removed to ihc open air. Dr. Ueeston was in the congregation, and on his being called out to see the prostrate chorister, he at once ascertained that life was extinct. The occurrence naturally caused a painful sensation' in) the cathodrul. Hishop Stretch, who was the preauher, said that if they had met for any secular purpose, fluey would, of course, disperse, but na they were Christians engaged in sacred worship, he thought the service should go on as usual. The deceased gentleman was 64 years of age, and leaves a widow und large family. Ho resided a t Wickham. Br. lleeston had attended him for heart disease for the last eight years, and that gentleman has given a certificate that death was due to that ailmenbi

A paragraph which" appeared lately referring to the depredations of a rat on a peach tree, travelled the rounds anid excited some curiosity among those unitiatwl in matters pertaining to the orchard. It appears fi'om the remarks of experienced fruit growers that descents upon the fruit trees- by rats are not at all uncommon, as the paragraph would lead people to suppose. Rats are recognised as arrant thieves and though the amount of fruit which they destroy by clinylii ng the trees and regaling themselves out on the 'branches is trifling, still it is sufficient to be noticaMe, especially when, the orchaikl adjoins plenty of cover. Ml varieties are eaten with relish by the rodents, which seem however to have special penchant for peaches, plums and the other soft fruits. Occasionally the amateur, watching tile ripening of choice truit in his small garden is surprised to find on his rounds some fine morning only the stone of some line specimen of fruit remaining on the branch, and this, in view of tho tight shown j of the habits "of the wily rat, may be taken as proof positive that the tree has been the victim of tho tiny prowling marauder.

There is uneasiness in .some circles in Wellington regarding the Irekinen-.

cy of fires recently (says the Post), and a strong suspicion is felt fhc incendiary is abroad. It has even beim suggested that it would be wellfor. citizens to jirge the pcfJ'ice to special efforts, and aup/flcment such efforts by the formation of a Vigilance Committee. Apropos peculiarly suspicions circumstances surrounded an. incipient fire in the Adelaide road porch of Stv James's Presbyterian Chruch, Xowtown, last Friday even, ing. The front door of the Church had just been opened shortly after seven o clock, for a specta/I: service I that was to be held that evening. I °ihcer of the church who opened the door passed into the building, and when the noxt comer arrived : the porch was found to full of : smokq. and a streak of lire was seen m one of the corners of the porch. , Examination showed that a cotton umbrella, which had hung on a hook in the porch- for soveral weeks, had caught alight by some my s tori-" ous means, and the flamgs had irecn so fierce as to burn well into the wall' On the floor beneath where the umbrella hung a spent wax ivesta <4l more than the usual length wasfound.- It was expected thai some inisehiev.oua person slipped iulo the porch and set aji ff ht to the umbrelt,„iM In r" bCr , of thc churcl > 1,1.1 V UH e "PProack-d the hnri ih f W > U " uUth te" 1 inn ''J 0 * 'i 0 "" 1, An examination Of the spot led to the discov,l^cnt similar lp the one l H uml ln th« c h„rch porph.

HOLLOWAY'S pills and OINTMENT.

Dyspepsia, Jaundice. These complaints are the result of a disorganised ljvor, whist* secretes bile in quality or quantity incapablo of digesting food.- Digestion requirps a free flow of healthy bile, to ensure which Holloway's Pills and Ointment have long been famous, far eclipsing every other medicine. Food, irregularity of eating, climate and other causes are tetf 1 y , throwin B the liver into disorder, but that important organ can soon be regulated and healthily W {failPlWs rills and Antmont, which act directly upon li,™i S ??'' , OrL The Ointment übbed on the skin penetrates immediately to the liver, whose blood and nerve* it rectifies. One trial is all Metiedj a cure will soon folii

Now that the winter, is upon us t baby will require extra warm 'blankets for his <;ot, and mother Will be anxious to secure "• a bargaiit." Messrs Morey and Moore have anticipated this, and have now r stockcd 200 pairs of cot blankets, which are being' quitted at 2s (M per pair.

A very enjoyable concert was giv- • #n at the Old Poople's Home on Thursday night, the inmates keenly appreciating tho kindness of the performers'.. The performance consisted of songs by Misses Birch, Howell, Mossrs Duncan and J. ii. Chattel-toil; Pjta<no solo, Mr Bentaow ; violusi solio, Muster Salt recitations, Miss N. Chatterton and Mr Duncan ; quartette!, Misses Birch and Chatterion and Messrs Benbow and Chatterton. r I he Kliham High School excursion to New Plymouth was held yesterday, upwards of 400 children anil parents arriving by special train in the morning. The weather was mme too bright at the timo of leaving but settled again, so the youngsters had a good time. The excursionists had lunch in the Becreation Grounds, and then moused lliemselves on the beach or in the baths, which were placed at their disposal by, the Borough Council. The Wellington Education Board has decided to appo'int a, third inspector. The chairman said he hoped the time wou'id com*: when the Hoard would be able to employ, in addition' to the ordinary teaching staff, a number of specialists as visiting masters, wno Would travel around fhe schools to teach such subjects as elocution. In a circular to be issued to head teachers in tho Wellington district by the inspectors i. n regard to the syllabus and school methods generally strong representations will be made in regard to reading.-

The British' grain steamer Alba was lost in tho Channel last month through her cargo getting wet, swelling, and rending the ship's sides, bhe ran ashore at Zaanzoort, Holland. The vessel was bound to Amfitterdam with a full cargo of grain when the disaster oacurred. Soon after the vessel struck she bumped heavily, and 'began to leak, the water

getting to the cargo of grain. The dagger of a cargo of wheat or maize is well known. In the event of water getting into the hold 1 in any consiiderquantity, the grain at once swells and sprouts, and it soon bursts the

hull asunder. No matter tiow strong' tho vessel may be, whether built of steel or wood, this cargo will wreck her, for the power is enormous and

nothing can withstand it. It was so in t'h'isi case, and the Alba, a fine new steamer of 3,733 tons, was soon a total loss. Had tlie cargo been wool lor cotton or any ordinary merchandise, the Alba would have stood an excellent chance of being successfully refloated.

The commercial utility of the oiephant was strikingly illustrated during the visit of th'e circus. Tho ponderous but docile animals were in-

valuable for haulage work and shifting the weighty waggons, loaded with material and live freight, from place to place. Whether pushing the loads with their huge heads, or dragging them by means of specially manufactured harness, the stead J patient work of the endenizens of the forest is something to marvel ajt. The sight of the elephants at work was watched with considerable curiosity and interest by a large crowd, including the inevitable swarm of small bo.V« attracted to the scene by the magic word ' cir cus." To see the immense quadrupeds solemnly and with ease drawing large circus waggons, loaded with perhaps three or four tons weight, through the streets, and the benigged baby elephant ain'Ming contentedly alongside its maternal parent, was certainly a rare spectacle worth witnessing. On Thursday during the rush of transferring the baggage to the railway station, the two camels escaped the vigilence of the attendants, and set oil on a tour of inspection. The poundkeeper's keen eyes, we are informed, located the wanderers, and he essayed to put them in the pound. Tho elongated animals', however, objccted|. and hearing the familiar roar of tha lion set off at a rolling gait for the menagerie. The pou»dkwper followed in pursuit, ihowevcr, und although he had not tho satisfaction of impounding the trespassers, the management reluctantly had to part up poundage fees to tho extent of 10s before the camels could be embarked on their journey to Auck,land. :

Do you dread washing day V Then buy a tin of Washine and cheer up. See a list of storekeepers who stock it. A <sd tin sufficient for a week's washing."

MORE PRAISE FOR RHEUMO. Mr John Stevens, iiullsf, writer ■— "Somo months since I had a severe attack of rheumatism, and was advised to try the efficacy of Rheumo'. I did so, with most satisfactory results. After taking two bottles it has practically cured me. I have no hesitation in saying that your remedy is the best I have used." Sold by all chemists and storekeepers, 2s Od and 4s Gd. Wholesale Agents, Kerapthorne, Prosser and Co.* i