LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8129, 8 June 1906, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The funeral of the late Mrs B. 11. Nicholls took place ,at Inglcwood on Wednesday. The hearse was followedto the graveside by a large number of friends. A farewell social to Mr Buttimore took place at the Queen street schoolroom on Wednesday evening, when :i large number of friends were present. The following ladies and gentlemen helped to make up a good programme : Misses Loesch, Aiuswortli, Connett, Role, Lind, Nixon, Haslam, and Messrs Stokes, Clarke, Jenkinson, Hoskin, Upton, Eoberts, and Goldmg. Words of farewell were spoken by Messrs Bollringcr, White, Upton, Miss Connett, and Rev, J. Nixon. Refreshments were handed round, and a very pleasant evening was spent. Mr Buttimore preaches his farewell sermon on Sunday evening next. Tlie New Zcalandcr's taste in reiding does not seem to be of a very high standard. The librarian of tho Christchurch Municipal Library says there |is "precious little" demand for Thackeray, Scott, George Eliot, and the classic novels, Keadors mostly want Max Pemberton, Oppenhoim, ami Eden Phillips. Ninety-five per cent, of the people who take books from the library want fiction, A new lot of books is shelved at tlie beginning of the month. They go on tlie shelves in the morning, and by the afternoon all the novels have gone out, while all i the 6erious literature lies on the shelf, ;

The sitting of tho Taranaki Licensing Committee will be continued this morning. Newton King reports the sale of Mr J. W. Warren's property, of house and six acres, in Stratford borough, to Mr J. Robson, of Ngaire. A preliminary announcement in cont nection with the laranaki Oil and Freehold Company, appears in this issue.

The New P[ymouth municipal saltwater baths seem to be rather a profitable investment—for a municipality. One bath, last month, bringing in a revenue of ninepence, cost only 10s 3Jd for fuel. So says the borough engineer's report. The attempt to limit the municipal day-labor account to £2O per week has foiled, and the borough engineer states it is utterly impossible to perform the pressing requirements of the borough for such an amount. Several persons were fined yesterday for having failed to send children regularly to Bchool. One case was held over for a month, the " absent" marks being the result of the illness of tho head of the household and the consequent requisition of the services of a boy to carry on the business of milk distribution,

An important report from the Baths Committee will come before Monday night's meeting of the New Plymouth Borough Council. Tho borough engineer considors it absolutely imperative to complete the protective wall at the baths, otherwise the safety of the whole property may be seriously imperilled. A little while back a rather interesting wedding occurred at Onehunga. Forty years ago two families migrated in tho same slup from tho Old Country to Now Zealand. The .-narch of time left the representative of one family a widow, and the other a widower. These

survivors joined forces at Onehunga, and are now spending their honeymoon in England. Their combined ages made an aggregate of 130 years. "By no possible stretch of imagination can a nuisance of the smallest possible degrco ariso," is the borough engineer's final dictum with regard to the sceptic tank in the New Plymouth drainage system. The smell arises, ho says, from" the abominable pollution " of the Huatoki and Mangotuku streams, the ewage discharge into them by public drains, and tho drain from the gasworks.

In submitting his last official report as borough engineer to the New Plymouth B vouch Council, Mr E. HarveyGibbon expressed his thanks to the several members of the Council for the courteous manner in which they had always treated him, remarking that though their ideas had not always run in the same groove, yet their business relations had always been amicably carried on. He also tendered his acknowledgment of tho courteous assistance very willingly rendered rendered by the Town Clerk, Mr Bellringer. Concluding, he wished Mr JDockriU a successful term of office as Mayor, and voiced the hope that " New Plymouth may continue to prosper." " I wish to very strongly emphasize the fact, and to have it reported, that if, at the present juncture, you allow any unqualified person to meddle with your waterworks, it must end disastrously for the Council," write Mr E. Harvey-Gibbon, the retiring borough engineer, in his final report to the New Plymouth Borough Council. "It is the easiest thing possible," he continues, "in dealing with water, to give rise to trouble which will cost the burgesses very dearly." Mr Gibbon makes his remarks apply with equal force to the se itic tank,

His Worship the Mayor appears to haye been right in his element the other day when he visited the headworks of the New Plymouth water supply, and inspected the main tunnel. Once in the bowels of the earth, all his old mining ardour and knowledge returned to him. He expresses the decided opinion that the present work of the engineer in " rendering" the tunnel with concrete is not going to prove effectual and inexpensive. He considers the side-drive is responsible for the leakage, and wants to block it by means of a concrete cross-wall. Mr E. H. Gibbon, the borough engineer, objects on tho ground that this work will be more expensive. A plan embodying Mr Dockrill's suggestion has been forwarded t» Mr Mcstaycr, the Council's consulting engineer, for his opinion.

A reference to tiie proceeding of the Waitura Borough Council, which appeared in our local columns yesterday, was unfortunately so much abbreviated as to possibly convey to those of our readers not oonvorsant with the position, an orroncous impression. The Council is at prosent composed evidently of two, parties—at daggers drawn ono with the other, but the causes of the disagreements appear to be mostly of a personal nature, in which the antipathy of one section to the clerk plays an important part. The notice of motion that, the Council resign in a body, has to do partly with the unsatisfactory relations between Councillors, and partly with the alleged unsatisfactory state of tho finances. Tho notice of motion, that the clerk be dismissed, is merely the outcome of the personal antipathy above referred to, and not in connection with the finances. As the paragraph appeared yesterday, distinction between the purposes of tlio two motions was not clearly shoivn.

Mr P. J. O'Began, iq. an interesting lecture, which lie delived before thp members of tho Catholic Young Men's Club at Wellington on Friday night, showed by means of a diagram the revolutionary efEect which the construction of the Panama Canal would have on the commerce of tho world, and especially on that of New Zealand aud Australia, by the shortening of the routes to the Home countries, aud to Eastern America from Australasia by 3000 miles as against the Cape Home route. He predicted a brilliant, commercial future for New Zealand generally, and a groat increase of trade for Wellington (on account of its central position and shipping facilities), when the canal was opened for traffic. He pointed out that it was a great tribute to the skill and perseverance of the late Bji'on do Lcsseps, that the routo which he had recomnwded for a sea level canal had been adopted in toto by the United Suites Govern? mcnt.

A fine of £5 and coats, in default one month's imprisonment was inflicted by tlie S.M. yesterday on W. Inch, for having used indecent language on a train when rotnrning from a 'football match at Stratford on May 3rd. The offence was proved by F. Bowers andL. Honeyfield, passengers by the same train. The accused, who had previously pleaded " not guilty," was represented by Mr T. S. Weston. Counsel stated the language complained of vpijs only ivhat men were in tlie habit of hearing gild using. There were no ladies in the car, aiid oven had there been, they would not have \juderstopd tlie meaning of the words. Some latitude, he thought, should bo allowed to footballers congregated together after a match. Inch, he said, had only used the words under extreme provocation, and whilst under the influence of liquor. He put in accused's papers from the Union S.S. Co., on whose! steamer Takapuna ho was a fireman. These gave him an excellent character,

" V.G." (very good) appearing frequently. The S.M. said he could not agree with Mr Weston that the language "was " only vulgar, and not actually indecent." It was absolutely obscene. Accused had been a party to a row and disturbance in a railway carriage, and was the originator and ohicf cause of it. " FootbalWs must remember," the S.M. remarked " that when tbey enter a railway carriage, they must behave thomselvos, and conform to the regulations j if they want to case their mines in this manner, they must go to somo place other than a public place." Taking into consideration the cicollont character given him by his employers, ho would fine accused £5 avid cost 17s, allowing him j a month to nay the amount. For Children's Hacking Cough at night, Woods' Great Peppermint Cure Is 6d aad 2s 6d per bottle.

The Waitara cases White v. Wright (claim for wages) and Wright v. AVhite (claim for rent) were settled yesterday, when Mr Hutchison, S.M., gave judgment, Mr Kerr appearing for White and Mr Townsend for Wright. In White v. Wright judgment was given for plaintiff for £9 10s I lOd. The claim for rent was considered not proved.

Mr T. Hutchison, S.M., gave judgment yesterday in the cases instituted by the Taranaki County Council against Cross, for the collection of the Eltham road special.rate. Judgment was given for plaintiff, in a very lengthy and careful judgment, for £1 10s 8d and costs. The Magistrate held that the defence that the lands held under the " West Coast Reserv is Act, 1892" were native lands, and therefore exempt, had failed, as the lands were vested in the Native Trustee, and therefore not " native land" in the limited sense in which that term is used in "The Crown and Native Lands Hating Act, 1882." Mr Roy appeared for the Council, and Mr Barton (Hawera) tor the defendants,

The Farmeis' Union is up in arms against the proposal to extend the local franchise on all questions to the Parliamentary roll. At the conference last Friday Mr D, Wiley, vicepresident, drew attention to the remarks of the Hon. Jas. McGowan at the social to Mr Greenslade at

Hamilton the previous day, regarding the proposal, and moved: " That this meeting of farmers strongly protests against the proposal of the Government, as announced by the Hon. Jas. McGowan last night, to extend the local franchise, and pledges itself to resist by every means in its power tho threatened attempt to givo voting power to non-ratepayers." The motion was seconded by half-a-dozen delegates, and carried amidst enthusiastic applause.

Mr F. T. Moore, who is making a big row about meat in the Empire CUy, is evidently out after further notoriety. A man of considerable attainments, he held tho position of manager of tho Wellington Meat Company's Works at Ngahauranga for many years, having worked himself up to that position from office boy, or something of the kind; but ho became attached to spiritualism, which eventually got him down and worried him to such an extent that he opened a spiritualistic show, with a high-falutin' title, in the heart of Wellington. Later, the spirits moved him further, this time in another direction—that of threatening tho life of Sir Joseph Ward. For tins he was arraigned before the Supreme Court, and let down lightly on condition that he left tho colony, which he did for a time. Now lie has reappeared, and distinguished himself again. His friends should look aftor him before he runs the newspapers into further expense through paying for telegrams regarding his eccentricities. >