LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8170, 1 August 1906, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Sonoma arrived at San Francisco on .Monday at 4 p.m. The MeJlMHirnc Diindisi despatch ..I :;ili lime ariived in 1.0nd..n on the lie.! iiii-.g ..I lie- j.)ih nisi. A" i> -in l iiici-iii.g oi ratepayer, in (he Caiiinglon Road district will be held this evening at the lesi denre of the secictarv lo the Road Board. The spell of fine weathe,- is enabling tin- borough stair to push on with the woil; of metalling and repairing the streets, and they seem to be overtaking the work well. Tin- Provisional directors of the Ingl.-uoi-d Oil Poring Company propose carrying on further prospecting operations (his week.

Air W. A. Jlolman, Ihe successful candidate for Ihe Cootanimidi'a sent, is a rising young politician. If,- is the deputy-leader of Ihe Labor Pari v. which is now the Opposition, ; n (| 1C Now Smith Wales Legislative AssomMy. lie is a brilliant speaker mid keen debater, and ju-1 recently engaged in public debate with the redoubtable Mr fi. 11. lteid, leader of the Opposition in the Federal Parliament, who is the best debater and platform speaker in Australia The subject of the debate was "Socialism." Mr Itihiiiau hung of course " for" and Air livid "a-aiusl." Since Mr Hobnail entered the House lie has studied for the law, and is now enrolled as a barrister in (lie Courts of No i South AVales. Out of his first forly-nine cases be lias v:on forty-six. i Tt is doubtful if any other barrister can show so splendid a record. Air fbdman's friends like to say of him thai "he has been a socialist ever since he wore socks." He is immensely popular with the working men, and during election limes be is grcullv helped by his wife, who has the gift of being able to largely influence Ihe fcnittlo yotcrs.

At tho conclusion of the Mpon cases '■ at the S.M. Court yesterday, Detective Boddivm aslicd Mr Hutchison to make an order for the confiscation of the liquor seized by the police. The S.M. evidently could see no reason to spill the stuff, and caused a titter of amusement by telling the officer to have it stored. If anyone wanted to claim it, he said, he could get the necessary order for its delivery. The chances were, however, that the beer would soon go bad, and have to bo thrown away.

SoiM little time ago a settler living outside New Plymouili, brought with him into town a small parcel of peculiar gritty substance taken from a duck's gizzard. He left the parcel at Messrs Teed and Go's premises and asked that the contents thereof be tested, to see if any trace of gold could bo found. A week or two passed and the settlor called in, but Mr Teed, seur., explained that ho had been too busy to test the substance Subsequently, however, the '• specimen" was analysed, and traces of gold wore, sure found. Tho settler has not called since and as the firm do not know his name, they are of course uuable to acquaint him with the result of the investigation. It is safe to assume that the duck had picked up the gold from one of the mountain streams, whicli would seem to show that the ranges of Egmont arc gold bearing. At Monday's sitting of tho S.M. Court, judgment by default was given iD the following undefended cases, New Zealand Clothing company (Mr W. L. Fitzlierbovt for plaintiff) v. Charles Hyde, of Stratford, goods, £2, costs 10s ; Kobert Todd, (Mr Fitzhcrbert for plaintiff), v. Watts, claim £3 Bs, costs 10s; Walter Humphries, trading as S. L. Humprhies and Co. (Mr Gray for plaintiff) v. Kangi Watone, of Waitara, goods £9 10, costs £1 8s 6d ; D. Laing (Mr Cecil Wright for plaintiff) v. H. Williamson, of Kahotu, rent £6, costs £1 3s «d; Baymoud Smith (Mr Hughes for plaintiff) v. Thomas Hay, of B.ulance, promissory note and interest £B'), costs £i 19s; L. W. Jeffenes, of Taonui, near Fielding (Mr Cecil Wright for plaintiff), t. A. Franks, of We .town, rent £4 18s, costs 10s; John Hoskin (Mr W. L. Fitzhcrbert for plaintiff) v. Daniel Bowie, goods £1 2s, costs ss; T. S. Westoi v. W. Freeman, claim £lO5 due on promissory note, and £5 Its lOd interest for six months to July 17th., and the amount of interest dte from that date to July 30th., the date of hearing.

In discussing potato blight with a Daily Nmvs representative, Mr Teed, sen., of Messrs Teed and Co., chemists, New Plymouth, stated that he had last season imvstigaled the blight very closely, and Hut the result ol his investigations li.nl convinced him that the blight was caused by the sting of a minite fly. Mr Teed is further of opi uou that the lly attacks the leaves of fruit trees, such as pears aud plums, bit these trees, being much more hirdy than the tender leaves and scilks of (ho potato, the attacks of the nisceo ar» not so damaging. Mr Teed hopes to be able to secure specimens of the lly when next the blight appears, when tho investigations should prove of a very interesting nature.

His Excellency the. Governor has consented lo visit New Plymouth on October 10 next, in connection with the big carnival in aid of the liecreation Sports Ground funds. It will be remembered that on the. last contemplated visit of His Excellency to attend a similar function, he was unable to leave Onehunga bj reason of the unworkable state of "dm Mannkan bar. May heller fortune at-tcn'-l us this time.

There have been onlv two bankrupic'es lile;l i„ tfew "Plymouth this year. Xn both cases the bankrupts lived outside the town—one at Oakma and the other at Mokau. The amounts involved were comparatively small, and both cases occurred in the first couple of months. The last .\'-w Plymouth bankruptcy occurred in September of last year. The n )0 (, hgeiv- -re.-,!; well for the soundness ol ,l »' <"«"■ On July 31st last yea. twelve eases bad occupied the attention n| the Official Assignee.

The Taranaki County Council is asked by the Collingttood County Council to endorse the following resolution, carried at the Julv meeting of the latter body, ""That, whereas a very serious waste of public money is caused by the expendilure during the winter months of sums voted by Parliament for public works in the more remote parts of the colony; and whereas local bodies to whom such expenditure is cntrustsd are rarely authorised to spend the same until the most advantageous time of the year is passed, the member for the district be requested to co-operate with the other members ot the House in urging upon the Government 0 f ,|,o colony the need of devising some means wherebv sums voted for public works may be available for expenditure during the summer months of the financial year in which the same are voted." A fire broke out at Eltham on Monday night in premises in Bridgestreet, occupied by Mr K. Gatfied as a lestau.ant. The brigade managed to keep the fire from spreading <> the adjoining- premises, occupied » Mr Carman, a stationer, but thev n.ui a very narrow escape. Had ':, westerly wind being blowing a large ><'** would have been destroyed." l-.itf.eld s furniture was insured fo, X.ion■ m the Alliance Office, and the hinlding, ownd by M r Routlcv foi X.--50 m the London, Liverpool"' and

On Monday afternoon Constable j U. fen, noticing a Maori woman with a daggering gait and a ban o\m hgr shoulder, investigated and found tlu *'« contained several bottles of beer. Uerrogatcd, she said a I)atcna "'<» I" her. She was taken to the ""-« station to await events. h b IK | IIIVCi 11 ,VCTC sP«kcn to and her uisiMiul, rolling i„ on thc SC(>nc as anested for drunkenness. A >-t nam,, Kichard Josiah Evans ;' the next to occupy the cells. He «.. under the influence of liquor. 1 >e sequel took place on Tuesdav ■en .vans and Paki Taura U ?,? ,1 llb,l |' tl I*""i>) ""ere char,c I w 'l'linkeiiness ; Kvans was al'so eh",- «! «iih having supplied liquor l( ,', m '. ';:;;!':;!' vrs ; u<,<j^ m ,„„., ' ll ' lclcr section 40 of th o ..|.j. "'"suig Act, „,„ 4 -' . llul ■ ' ,f •'>'' ''Alcoholic Li qU o, s Sale O,; 4 !. ( . '':,''.. ,<J " s V ,le Produced the ..;• c; notification of an Order- ■ m .Ml, dc nmg the cbstricts in 1,1 1,, .' u0r ■-"'» not be supplied :.' Maoris and also a map Jf tlu I; UK Maori Councils Act '"'■ l. was quoted, showing that in ,"™'al- the applying of liquor ■ lb,,rl «!nals was illegal. Kvhlcnce wife 1,7 ]>i « Vakl Tanra ;,nd '>i.s 11 > aura with beer and told the m..n where to get a quantilv of ■v m.' • S ' ,l '„ Wo,lld •■'"•"'le to his , <"H"s. She declined the con- :""" IS ' hul «" 1 Hie beer. Another :""«'. "«t.v,- named Alua, stated ' . Lvans h.-el oflered ,„ ..„,,„„,. ■ !"».. AH uore agreed that Evans "as drunk at the t,me. Thc defence > v:i '' an absolute denial „f tht , (>vi . Oenre g, vr „ f ,„. ||K . pr(JS( >,- lIi;f -j., yagislrate, MrT. 1 Inu-hJns.m, addressing Kvans, said these were ser"uis charges. On that of supplying- '"'■ !»-r to the woman, he was liable 1 ?/ 1 !'"'' to r,o, and considering- ,|, r disgusting circumslen"s levealed in evidence he hr """"■■ :' <'>"'• '•' /"5 and costs. The s"Pi.lying of ,h, beer to Paid Taura. •' 'ndob.tcd person, rend«-red accused liable for a f,„ ( , u „ t(1 Qn !,,;: ?; ar f r h, \ m,M ]n «^ «p™. ■ H of /5 and costs also. On the < [large of drunkenness he was con vi'led and discharged. In def-.ulr wouM be sentenced to a month's iml'n=f,nment ; n the New Ph-,,,,,,,,1, "•>'■.!. Pak-i T-iirn. who harl ~,,,„, "'■"" envicted of d-onke.MV.-s in "ie i.;.-! six- months was fined ,„' •'"•'' M' Tart-son a.-le-l .n. " Pl1 ' i'l'ernrcicr right throug.'i the hearing.

The Taknpuna, with thu inward 'Frisco mail on board, berthed at the New Plymouth wharf a 6.15 a.m. on Tuesday. The passengers caught the ordinary South express, but the mails had to be despatched a little later by a special train. The mixed ;.+.> ti.iin was delayed.

At Grcyinouth, yesterday, George Bidgood was chargd with threatening to shuot Kathleen Burke, with intent to commit murder, and committed for trial. The accused had been engaged to a girl named Jackson, but ihe engagement was broken off. Accuse I went to the giiTs residence, and Kathleen Burke opened the door, lie placed a revolver at her head, and she pushed the weapon away, screaming, "X am not Daisy (meaning Miss Jackson)." Other people coming to the rescue, Bidgood went away, and was subsequently arrested.

At a meeting of ibe directors of the Axemen's Association, held a Elham on Monday night, a programme was adopted for the December Carnival. The prize money allotto-1 amounted to £307. The Axemen's Cup Handicap will.again have for first prize. The directors were considering a scheme for reciprocity with the New Zealand Athletic Union when the meeting came to an abrupt end_ owing to an alarm of fire in the business centre of the town.