LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81844, 10 September 1906, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The new uniforms for th? cadets at ;hc West End st-liool are (o lie jutr■hascd immediately, and a concert is being held to-morrow night far the purpose of raising fuuds. Tuc programme is published in this issue. Owing' to the date of Taranaki A. and P. Society's Iv rsc paiade clashing: with tile Kgmout A. and I'. Society's parade, the former has decided to hold its parade on Sa'urday, instead of the 15th inst. The total number of tdegr.'ip'i and iolcphi ne offices open in the colony at the end of 1905 was 1.312. Of these -O7 wcie telegraph offices, and 1045 telephone offices. The number of telegrams of a! 1 ' cedes forwarded during last financial year was 5,(40,219. On the 27th August, 11 is Honor Mr Justice Edwards, on the motion of Mr T. fc, Weston (We«ton and Weston; panted probate of the last wiU and estament of Theodor Andriasen, deceased, to the executrix therein liameii

" All roads lead to liome " is an oM saying that Mr It. C, Hughes has trimmed up-to-date. Tho new rendit 01 of the phrase is that "all roads nvist 'ead to New Plymouth." A good motto for the agitation for road development. The Military Band rendered some very pretty selections at Western Park on Sunday afternoon, under the baton of Mr Geo. Garry. There was a larg.' number of the public present, but a rainy squall scattered the majority before the conclusion of the concert. A very fair sum was taken at the gates.

For the information of those desirous of joining in the testimonial to Mr H. J. H. Okey, wc have been asked io state that subscriptions will be received by Mr A. Clinton Hughes. Tickets will be sent to subscribers to admit them to reserved seats at th-.' presentation meeting on Monday, 17ih inst.

Messrs Wilson and Nolan retunu i from a business trip to Auckland and he Waikato by the Takapuna on Satur--lay morning. ■ While north they made iatisfactory arrangements to represent I number of linns in Taranaki. They leave for Wellington and south this morning on business intent, returning II time to take over Messrs Bewley ind Griflnhs business on the 18111 iust.

Mr A'ex. Beauge, a farmer residing in the Wyndham district, has sustain ed very serious loss of sheep as the result, it is supposed, of worrying by Jogs. On Tuesday night of last week \lr Beauge had 720 breeding ewes, hut only 2(jo can be found alive ,so hat apparently over 400 have been Jestriyed. The flock was evidentlycaught in a corner by a stream and rushed over the bank into the water., nd were drowned. Close on 200 careases were found in the river, while others were seen floating away. The loss is estimated at between £SOO and £6oo.

The socials and euchre parties helld ;n connection with the Convent school (writes our Inglcwood correspondent) continue to be successful, Tuesday night's function being no less a success than the previous ones. Nearly all the tables were utilised for cardplaying-. The winners for the evening were :—Ladies, Miss Mc Ma'.ion ■nd Miss llickton; gentlemen, Messrs I-'. Pratt and Standisii. The ladies' prizes were a picture and a cut glass -cent bottle, and tile gentlemen's s"t of brushes and a pocket knife. The hall, after a sumptuous repast was disposed of, was [lien cleared for dancing, admirable music being sup ..In-d by Miss Richards, The " llaweva Star" relates the following curious coincidence 'When Cap-am Mitchell, of Manaia. -vas injured recently while hunting in New Plymouth, lie was taken 10 a •ertam doctor. The doctor remarked hat he thought he remembered Ihi aiient's face. Curiously enciieh ii iiMcd out lh;il when Caplain Mitchell .-'as injured in the South African cam-i-ugn it was Ihis doctor who a'tended 1 i 111, and further, I lie lady who is 11011 ".lie doctor's wile was the one who nursed him. When Captain Mitche.; regained consciousness the three lue. many a ph&sant chat about the war.' The doctor mentioned is Br. YVylte. Owing to the high price of but'.'iIV, probably, there was only a sina 1 ; itlendauca of farmers at the meetlii'j if Ihe Slratfcrd branch of the Farmer:-' Union on Friday, to discuss the proposal to cultivate flax, with the uh; aate intention of erecting ullax-nnll ii. lie district, There was little definite ufonmUiou forthcoming, but several cxprested their intention of planting everal acres of waste laud with tb-v. Members will work amongst the fennel's of the district with a view to geting a large area under cultivation, an,' he Department of Agriculture will lie isked to allow the libre expert to leeure in Stratford later on in the seaton.

The Minister in charge of the Exhibit 011 has received a cable alvice from the High Commissioner that the following gentlemen connected wiih ■he British Government exhibits have sailed from London :—Mr Lougden, art exhibits representative, August 3rd, by the India; Mr Harrison, enpaged to uopack art exhibits by the Oronto, July 28th; Captain Aitken, British Commissioner, August 3ist, in the Mongolia, with three assistants, One of the features of the Tourist Department Court at the Exhibition will be a display of stag's heads. There will be iifty red deer heads from the W airaapa, thirty from -North Otago and -Nelson, and a number of tallow tleer heads from Otago and Nelson.

Commenting on the Government proposal to prevent any person from holding land valued at more than X-So,ooo the Christchurch Press says : .Supposing a landowner near the £SO, 000 limit proceeds to sell part of his holding to avoid the pains and penalties of the Act. lie fray find that in spite of his precautions the Govern ■mint valuers in a comparatively short space of time may again carry him '.ver the limit. What is ho then to Jols lie to bo allowed another ten years in which to sell more of his property, or will he at once become liable to punishment under the statute? It he gpts another ten year* grace, it is possible'that values nil! in the interval have once mere sunk belciv the limit of t' 1 11 years a.nt>. ..n< dreamed that Canterbury lael would be worth what it is to-day; 110 one can say what it will be worth ten years hcneQ.

Stone-breakers' met jawbreakers (lie oilier day in a set of specifications. The average mail is naturally stisjiicions of things which lie cannot understand, ami the would.be stone "nappers" uro reported to liave avoided tendering for a supply of broken si one from which the " friable and igneous" stnlU was to be separated, the stone to be placed m the form of a " prismaticj I'yure," and so oil. lie. fercncc to ealeaeous stone and oilier scientific terms completely boxed the tenderers, despite Ihe engineer's exp'a nations. Une of tlie members of Ihe local body concerned suggested tli.i. ihe contractors could be told to g. t •«> much stone, of such aiui such ,l ipiality, with not too much rubbish ' i it." The engineer, however, stal, s a neighbouring local body is at preset S'llTeriiig from the want of a goodspecieaiiori, and has had to accept very second-rate metal. His careful spec - fixation was dnfvn to safeguard the Council against anything of that kind. A dainty little lunclij With a glass of O.T. PUNCH, Is the acme of perfection, Mo fear of contradiction. Of Queen Klizabfth we read—- •' Cold ni.ide that monarch croak." To save Ihe ipieeu from catching one, Sir Waller spoilt his cloak. Uul had she rulp.l us now, you know, For very trifling payment, A bottle of Woods' Great Peppermint Cure

It is now stated that the " Tongajjorutu Mixture" for the prevention of blight in potatoes, but which lias had the effect of destroying the tubers in scores of places, needs to be used on potatoes that are to be planted in dry soil. In tlwt case it is useless in Taranaki, for the soil is always surcharged with moisture here in the spring.

Following hard on the complaint made in the |liouse of Representatives the other day that butter was being sold short-weight ill some centres, a local resident informs us tliat a pound of butter bought from a New Plymouth grocer on Saturday contained nineteen ounces, No short weight in this part of the worid—sometimes.

A good deal of correspondence has passed recently between the Clerk of the Clifton County Council and Messrs. Ellis and Burnand, sawmiller, of Hamilton. The Council's books made the firm liable for payment of £lslO rates on a large block of land, but Messrs Ellis and Burnand claim that they are only agents for the natives, iind dispute their liability. There are hundreds of boys in New Zealand just now who have little of a complimentary nature to say concern-! iug tho Government. An alluring picture of a big summer encampment for school cadets at Christchnrch, during Exhibition time, has been fixed in the mind's eye of the lads for some time, but now comes the news that the encampment has been abandoned on account of the expense. The borough foreman deserves to be complimented on the manner in which he is overtaking the street work. When

he took oyer full control of this department there was not a yard-of maintenance metal available, and a long spell of wet weather caused the streets to

break up badly. They have now been put into good order, and in addition to this the " back work"—street improvements and repairs authorised months ago but never completed—is being disposed of. W r hilst on the subject of tho borough foreman, it is not out of place to refer to the business-like, modest, yet comprehensive scheme of the forthcoming year's work submitted by him to the last meeting of tho Council.

The long-standing dispute between the Clifton County Council and Mr P. L. Black, regarding the amouut of damage done by his engine and trailers in carrying bricks on the Mam North road from Onaero to Waitara, has been amicably settled, Mr Black having agreed to pay to the Council a sum of £6O a year in lieu ol a toll of as 6d per day. Die County Engineer, in a memorandum to the Council, condemned the traction-engine for its destructive effect on the roads, and considered it responsible for the bad stale of that portion of the Main road. He instanced the fact that the road •teetween the brickworks and Waitara had had to be re-metalled, whilst beyond that the gravel hud stood the other ordinary wheel trallic for twenty years. The Chairman, at Friday's meeting, e:rpiiisised the fact that Mr Blacli hud been most ready to meet the Council, and the agreement was arrived at without difficulty.