LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8051, 16 February 1906, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Tin- Inglewood school picnic takes place at Now Plymouth' to-day. A large influx of visitor* is anticipated. The downpour of rain which fell in the early hours of "Wednesday morning was very heavy at some places down the coast. All Hie streams were " freshed " throughout the day. The farms all along the coast to Opunakc look wonderfully refreshed after the welcome showers.

The returns of Ihe trade of the port of Newcastle for the vear ended December 31st, HID.-,, show all-round increases compared with the previous year. The coal export shows an increase of 510.137 tons. Commonwealth and New Zealand ports being 137,7itl lons more, and foreign ports 372,3<f(> tons. The increased value was £',iy,1127. Mr Newton King advertises a fruit sale for 11 o'clock tins morning. Anyone wanting peaches for jam or preserving should not miss this sale. What a great fund of amusement, interest and service a good sewing machine provides! Anyone who has visited the classes for teaching art needle work at the Singer Sewing Machine would appreciate this. Thirty years seems long life indeed for a machine, but this is the life of a Singer. Kvery day the cost is being repaid by the service and use a careful housewife |.iin i>ut il 100. General, and useful sewing, dainty articles for draping and I ornamentation, or the most beautiful and elegant work of art, arc equally simple on this world-famed Singer Sewing Machine. An open invitation is given to Singer users and ladies who sew lo lake instructions in the useful art of machine sewing, Headers have but to sec the pleasing work done on the Singer to at one" feel the desire to attain the knowledge necessary lo do work such as this.—Auvt.

The Tarunaki County -Council arc doing a good piece of work on the road near Oakura, by having the grade nf die cutting over the Tapauac stream made much easier for traffic Formerly the grade was particularly steep, having a rise of 1 in i), Iml it is now being reduced to lin 11 The bridge over the stream is an old one, and is to be dono away with. A tunnel is being excavated to divert the course of the stream. An alteration in the course of the road near Oakura is also being effected, which will be much appreciated by the travelling public and settlers. Mr Harford, the contractor for the work, is making good headway.

Among the passengers by the Airlic, which arrived at Brisbane recently, were a number of Indians bound to Fiji. During (he voyage they had strange superstitions. Some of them announced that they hail received a message from adefunct female relative to kill children. As there was a danger of their putting the message into effect, the captain took the children away, and placed them in charge of a Malay.

There is a stone in a paddock near Opuuako which, it is stated, has a peculiar history surrounding it. Old identities will remember the cowardly murder, by a native, of Miss Dobbie, in 1881. It was alongside this stone that the young lady's mutilated body was discovered. The story of the tragedy is worth recalling. Miss Dobbie went out with her easle and paint pallet to do a little sketching. A native came along, and seeing the young lady was alone, accosted her and demanded money. The lady refused, and threatened to tell the soldiers who were quartered not far off. This enraged the native, and he seized a stone and attacked Iter, battering m her head. The dead body was soon discovered, and the Maori was afterwards found at Pariliaka. He subsequently confessed*to the crime, and was tried, and afterwards hanged in New Plymouth. -

Although (lie yield of gold in Victoria for 1005 was not so high as in llWt, it was above the average of the past ten years, and very much higher than the average of the previous twenty years. The returns compiled by the Department of Mines showed that for HlOothe yield was 810,0500z. as against 821,0170z for l'JOt and 822,4240z for 1903.- ' The toial output of gold since the lirst discovery amounts now to 08,3<i7 lo3oz. valued at £273,236,500. The coach road from New Plymouth to Opunake is in pretty fair order just now, considering thai it is carrying the heavy season's (rallic of milk and other waggons. In some parts, especially between Opunake and Kahotu, the road is a bit rough on account of loose stones. It might be a good plan if the local bodies res|wnsible for the road went in more fur side tracks. These side tracks not only save the road lo a vast extent in the summer lime, but also make the "going" much easier on horseflesh. Herr Fritz Loeser, eldest son of a Berlin multi-millionaire, kuowu as the Tobacco King of Germany, recently became acquainted with Miss Mabel Bcnham, a young lady :>f great beauty, employed as a stenographer in a factory in New York. He promptly fell in love with her, and cabled to his mother, who is a widow, asking her consent to his marriage, It is understood thai this consent will be given, and that the Germau Ambassador will be present at the wedding ceremony. An applicant for an old age pension at Timaru put down the value of furniture in his possession at .till, and this was also the valuation of the police oflicer who inspected il for the department. It was elicited, however, that the same furniture was insured for £IOO, a fact which suggests flee and easy methods on the part of some insurance agent.

As showing the '• substantiality " of the settlers on Flaxboiirnc as a class, says the Marlborough " Express," il is interesting to learn that, out of the £2300 due by loase-iu-perpcluily tenants for the current half -year of ISIO6, all except £350 hasdjeeu paid already. Of course, the terms require payment in advance, and there is the additional encouragement of a rebate on moneys paid during Hie lirst month, but at the same lime, considering that so far practically nothing has been taken from the country in the way of a return, the fact that nearly 80 per cent, of the rent has been paid so promptly augurs well for the confidence and stability of the settlers. The small grazing leaseholders' payments are due on March Ist. The total rental of the settlement is about £IO,OOO per annum.

Uegulalions for the election of members of the Teachers' Snperauuation Board are gazetted. There are to be two members for the >'orth Island, elected from among themselves by the contributors to the fund. Candidates must be nominated in writing by at at least two contributors, and nominations must reach the returning officer, who is the Secretary for Education, by live o'clock of Friday, February 23rd. Iu the case of either Island, if not more than two persons are noininnted they will be declared elected, but if more than two, a ballot of Hie'contributors in the Island will be taken on March sth. For the purposes of the ballot the roll of contributors will be dosed on 2lsl February. Candidates' written consent is necessary. Notification in respect of this question appears in the Gazette.