ITEMS OF INTEREST.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8008, 20 December 1905, Page 2

ITEMS OF INTEREST.

l'lieatre Hoy.il—Uro-iigli Ficmmiug Company. Taraiiaki County Council invite lenders. New Plymouth Cms Co.—Discount day. lieuli'y and (.IrilTilhs' I.ist slrawherrv ,llle to-clay. Tarauaiu .1 ockcy Giuh publish by. law regarding bookmakers, &c. National Bank of New Zealand—notify re dividend. Motorua Petroleum Co.—Meeting of shareholders advertised. House wanted. Insurance Company potify re Xmas holidays. Wholesale warehouses—Xmas holidays. I Dr Elsmie has a replace advertisement on the fourth, paga

The Johannesburg correspondent at the London Daily Mail presents this picture of the state gi things in the Transvaal :■—The 'while workers of, the mines carry revolvers ■;■ ;the police are annedl with 'ball cartridge and. bnyonuts ; camped yonder in Auck land Park ,is |a mobile column of mounted mm, ready to move against an enemy at a moment's -notice ;, the country .'elk on the- other side of the swelling rise aro armed to the teeth and live at night in barricaded and fortified houses. (Nearer still, English unemployed loaf at the street corner. And—ls,ooo Chinese labourers earned in the first six months cf this year thd sum of over £300,000.

Miss Mary Hardy, a middle-aged spinster, awoke recently 'from a long trance of twenty-live 'days in tho Braintrce Workhouse Infirmary. She opened her eyes, started up in 'bed, and gazed in astonishment ( at her attendant'!. Soon after she askcdHor food. "How do you feel now V she was asked. ''Oh, lam much better," replied Miss Hardy In a weak voice. Sha had no knowledge of tho length of her trance, whioh appears to have resembled in all ( ways an ordinary, sleep.. Miss, Hardy, who looked remarkably well, fell into a gentle ( sleep not(' long l after her awakening* It appears that (Miss Hardy went from Braintrcc to spend a holiday in-the village of Saling, and] while | there jwas overcome by drowsiness, and gradually relapsed into «. trancq.

An Australian correspondent of the Otago Daily Times, referring to social conditions in that country, says —"lt would simply amazo you %o see the state Australia) Is in. No one seems to think of saving. 'Thrift' is a forgotten virtue, now considered actually a vice.. This want - of thrift on the part of the -working man iB overturning i domestic life, especially in the towns. It is only ii» country districts, whose tho people aro far removed from temptation, that any show of thrifty habits is to be met with. Drink -and gambling, and the resulting shifty life of tho poople, are in my opinion the.■■ rjjimary causes. Example) is everything. . When you got into a powerful current and you Cannot breast it, you) must drift whithersoever /the | current listeth. I Tho current is too strong for the majority of the. people"

Thcv secretary off the Wairavapa Caledonian Society received a very '■'imodost" nomination on Saturday night from a competitor, who- apparently has great faith in his capabilities as a runner. The letter plated that the competitor wanted to nominate, hut as 'ho was not sure of being present tit the sports 'he would only pay his fee if he started. Ho ccntinucd : '''lf you think it will tomefit your sports, you can tailor me," ami concluded: "Hoping you will have the pleasure of seeing me run, I remain, etc."—Wairarnpa A'ge. The strides that have taken place in the development of the motoromnibus is being daily matte mort evident on London thoroughfares. In ..Ocloljer, 1901, there were only somo five or six- motor, '■buses; plying foi hire in the streets of London.l In the same, nionth this year there wore about 1.">2, and the number was beover.vthing in first rate arder for the companies who have adopted motor weekly—as fast as deliveries could be made. The following are among the mile run, and including in .■the con'huses n London '—The London Motor Omnibus Company, 13 : London Ruad-cor Company, 34 £ 'London General Omnibus Company, 26 ; Thomas Tilling, 12 ; London Power Omnibus Company, 10 ; and ; fourteen other proprietors, running from one to four 'buses each. There ,arc some fifteen .makers of, motor omnibuses represented among the number, but (he Stt-aker petrol 'bus ,aml the Chelmsford steam ''bus have made rapid .advance in popularity among omnibus proprietors. The [question of repairs and maintenance, of which so much is made by those opposed to this system of traction, is Ireing met by several of the manufacturing companies! entering into] contracts to maintain in working order any 'buses Ihey supply for a slated sum per'carmile run, and in the contract the maintenance of the tyres, supply of lubricating oil, lamps, and lamp oil, any other 'necessary re* pairs, and cleaning. The 'buses are required to run from 100 to 130 miles per day. The 'advent of the motor omnibus threatens disaster to many tramway systems operating- In districts that caimot profitafcily maintain the more expensive) method of transit.