LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 57, 8 March 1907, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

During the season of 1000-7 there was a total increase in the cattle uf the colony ot .10.814. The largest increase was is steers or heifers intended for fattening—lt),2Bl. The most important, decrease was in steel's or heifers under two years, not otherwise enumerated, of which there were 3,),214 less.

A new milking machine lias just lifoi] invented, ami it is said to be in .successful operation at Dayton, Ohio. It is an eledric motor, which fastens to Hie, rump of lite cow, the electricity ! being generated by a small dynamo attached to her tail. She switches her tail, tiie dynamo starts, and by means of a lieve) genr find block and tackle, tin* mlk is extracted, strained, and the pail sU'aiuer hung up to dry.—Xe\U Through the kindness of the members of Hie Egmont Lodge of Good Templars, the inmates of t-lic Old People's Home were taken out yesterday for a picnic to Mrs Dines', at Boil 'Ulook. After everyone had partaken | of a good tea, a concert was held under | the trees, and the time passed most | pleasantly in songs and recitations. Before proceeding homeward cheers were given for Mrs Dines.

It is expected that about 250 cadets will proceed to camp from this district on 20th inst. Arrangements are being made with the Munawatu .Railway so that the boys eau get through in one day. New Plymouth and Stratford are sending nearly 200, the balance bung made up from the country districts. Very definite arrangements are being made so that the outing may be : as profitable and enjoyable as possible At the instance of Vusscf, editor of | the newspaper " Moayyaa," a Nationalist journal of Cairo, which is sunposed to be backed by the Khedive, the General Assembly passed a resolution demanding the early granting of full Parliamentary institutions and other far reaching concessions. The reyenue for the past year was £L0,337,000 (Ifigyptian), giving a surplus of 12,175,000 (Kgyption.) The value of the Egyptian pound is £1 0s 6K

In conversation with several of the I Eltham people yesterday a Nuws re-! porter gleaned thai Jiltham is divided, against itself just now, and the ;;ause ot the trouble is the failure of the Tradesmen's Association to declare k holiday for the seaside excursion. The result, of course, was that the excursionists numbered only about four I hundred of a thousand. The " holiday" party expects to work the oracle next year and' make the annual school outing a big general picnic, when parents, friends, lit tie children and big children, csm spend a good day at the seaside.

A motion for a new trial in the aclion Paget v. liaskiu, in which Mr Lowry Baskra, of Midliirst, was sued by 'De T. L. Paget for .CoiJl) as damages for an alleged assault, in the District Court at Stratford, at Uio last sitting, ami \\liicli resulted in Ihcjury returning a verdict 111 favor of the defendant costs being allowed against Dr Paget' has been received by the liegistrar of the District Court at Stratford 011 the grounds that defendant was guilty 0 f i 111 prupor practice lo the prejudice of the plaintiff at the trial. The application will be opposed liy Mr Spence, solicitor for Mr liaskin.

Moturoa presented a g,y sight ou lliursday. Hundreds of children giiiibollid on the sands and "paddled" a id swam in the harbour, watched bj t'ie parents and adults from the shore. It was the annual seaside picnic of the kltlum and VVuiougona public schools, and the morning train brought the happy youngsters in lo the sea "_ I here's the sea." they exclaimed m their g'ce as the mini swept into the stimuli. And the sea and the beach kept iliem in < x;asicstho whole | lay .mig, except, ol course, when the pici jc platter and luncheon dainties made their appearance. The picnickers had .1 really enjoyable day, in delightful wealheiv and left for koine by the ordinary 1. lo train.

At the luncheon to the newspaper proprietors ot the cojonv at Christchurch the other day, the Acting PremIfr (Ml- Halt Jones) made an a°tound''.under ill lii.s reference to the slaujjl.t..i-mrn's dispute. j| e pointe.l Out 111, It It employers were lined for a breach ot the Act. in default of payment of the line, they would be ,-eut • Kii"l. And lie wont; on to point 1 m " ml :ll »l adorn the tale by kintH'K at similar punishment boiii<>' in si ore lor the men. Tlie blunder in the speech was that there is no provision In the Arbitration Act. for impi-inm-inent in default of payment of a lineand there are many reasons whv there should not he. In no ease could the ollence by any stretch of imagination bo called a criminal one, and it is a«anist all principles of fair play to scud ?. t0 = ilo ' for a civil ollence—tedding' "Star."

KSeuienlary instruction in dairying, u.iys the Jlawera ytar, is now proceeding at a number of schools in the HisiHt. -All 1 1. lirowne, the Education Hoards (specially appointed) instruct or has commenced classes with th-. school children at Jbuvera, lillham, Alaliaiu. Kuponga, Aurua, Mangatoki Okaiana. Kapuni, Te Roti, and a few other places. Two-hour lessons per week will be given for twentv-weeki, niter which classes at other'schools from \onuanby soulhwurds to I'ateu mid Wuverley will he iivaugurnleil for "•niaiialer of (he year." liach of the schools 19 provided with necessary "Pl'iirnliis (including a llabeock tesl'er and 111 xnne ca-es a hand .-operator), "ii'l |[ is hoped Ilia;., as a result of the knowledge gained i„ t!„. >,.: ni tilie treil"icnt of milk, the district, will lie huni reds ol pounds richer in the future. ractieal classes are being established lor the beiieht of dairy farmers and employees 111 factories, and should receive hearty support.

In the course „f an interview will, a ~, , re l' :ivl, 'i' the Hon. J. i. laul, President of Lhe Trades and Labor Council said:--!f \( W; ,s proved that, the slaughtermen hud seriouslv endangered the Arbitration Act, he could not help feeling that they had inflicted a grievous injury on organised Labor, it was all right enough to strike on a rising marker, as the slaughtermen have done, but if such a eoursc of action was taken by the Workers, they must expert a * 'lock out'' on lhe first su.-pirion of depression. if both sides were livil io Ar b;i ration Court a wants l ;Mvl m ! ( i rest assured that no ver in, reduction in wages would pl itl -e. lie felt very slronglv thai thovough i organisation 'of labor and capital was l)i" only possible method uf bargain--1I!: a 1 the present day, and he felt that if the employer* t- '; a more r. 1 able view <of ja-cferencp tn Unionists

■ l would be to fhe mutual advantage oi both sides. It is the irresponsible n!:!ii who causes j rouble at a time like • !*'-. and the irresponsible man was v< ry olten w non-Unionist or a very fin perl eel !y edm-:t !e<l 'Unionist., lie e""ld only hope that the good sense o) the 1.-ibor leader.- w-ui.'d make il ciear to I lie s|;nighl erini'n (hat a speedy terminal nm n) |] lr pr.'.enl dinirully vroiild be in (lie inteie.sts of all concerned. The ehoiee was of two tilings—-'-irbrfi'at ion nnd a mea-iire of industrial jieace. or strikes and chaos. He would not. Mr I'a nl said iji conclusion, be in luvour o| multiplying tlie number of Arbil ra I ion ConrK Uniformity was an essenli-il leature in (he proper work- [ uig oi the sy>leni. and "firs cmild not. I be ensured with more Ihaii one final tribunal. If the work was properly organised, one Court conhl ; ,l) was required.

It is understood that tho Orepuke ■shale works, in which over iIJOiUMU of .Knglish capital is invested, will resume operations at an early date.

the special committee of the New I'l) inoul h liorough Council appointed to obtain full details ot the proposed electric tram service will interview Mr (ieoige, representing the promoters, this morning.

11l consequence of the prevalence of measles at Jlawera, the .New P'yinoulh schools' excursion which was to have been held at ilaweru, has now been cancelled. The committee and teachers decide to-day where the outing will now be held.

Mr C. Carter, New l'lymouth's delegate to the Methodist Conference in i'hristchurch, telegraphs that by the second reading of stat oils, ltcv. li. h\ Williams, in charge of the South Road Mission, is to be moved from New l'l.vmoutli. A supply will most likely be sent from Victoria.

. J'ourteen cases arising out of the recent race meeting and Uic A'ew Plymouth Borough's anti-gambling bylaws wili come before the hL\J. Court to-day. Owing to the Magistrate being at the Licensing Committee, meeting 'n Waitara this morning, the hearing has been fixed for 2.1 .V this aflernoon.

All* Jj. Coulter, proprietor and driver of the Waitara-New Plymouth coach, met wdh a serous accident on Thursday afternoon. Ho was at tending to his horses in West's stables, when an occupant of a iicigiiiboMiipi stall, belonging to the "Wild Yv'csi (Show," lashed out at him and kicked him, seriously injur-ng his left hip and the side of his face. Ue was taken to the New Plymouth Hospital. A young lady resident -of New Plymouth had a narrow escape from drowning at the baths on Wednesday afternoon. .Not being an expert swimmer she lost her presence of mind when beyond her depth and in the middle of the bath. .She sank, and rising cried for help. The caretaker was beyond earshot, and did not know of her danger but a companion pluckily went to her rescue, and after sonic dilliculty brought her to the side. After a short rest the cause of the excitement was able to resume her swimming in less dangerous depths. Experiments in wireless telegraphy were begun in Kngland in IBSU. Alter various experiments a wireless system of telegraphy was established between liallycaatle and the island of Hal him, six and a half miles by sea. A wire was so placed on the mainland that each end dipped into the sea, and another w.rc was placed across the island also with both ends immersed in the sea. The conductive power of the sea enabled the current to pass between the mainland and the island, it is re- i markable that- this wireless telegraphy went on for ten or fifteen years witli hardly anything being said about it, An erstwhile New Zea lander, in writing to a resident of A-htirsfc from Santiago says: "This is a most wonderful country; tlie tanners here, who work their land in the crudest forni 4 make money very easily. C*e man in Trajuen, who has 200U acres of land, puts 1000 acres in wheat each year, and it returns him 40,000 dollars (about 600) net. lie simply lets the other hall' remain idle for two years, and then rests the first cropped piece for two years, and so on.. They never think of using any quantity of manure or sowing grass seed. For enterprising people Chili oll'ers more encouragement than any place 1 know of. There Is unlimited room here for millions of farmers and manufacturer-. Labor is 60 cheap—4oce nts in winter and 80 cents in summer and beans (food) for farm laborers. They get through a lot of work too."

A still tongue makes a wise head, and very often keeps a man out of trouble, just as an unruly member very often gits one into< dillicultics. A young man named John Whittle, working at a sawmill in the lngllewood district, let his tongue run away with him recently, and one of the consequences of this was his appearance at the New Plymouth Courthouse on Thursday morning, charged with deserting from .11 AI.S. Pioneer a t Auckland in August last. Constable Duddy s acting on the flimsiest information, arrested the man, who was entered ou the ship's books as stoker. On the Sergeant liaddreil he was committed to gaol at New Plymouth. The police will at once communicate with the authorities, and on receipt of instructions from that quarter the deserter will be sent back to one of His iMajcsly's ships to be dealt with.

A fair number witnessed Thursday afternoon's exhibition of ihe Underwriters' Fire Kxtinguisher. A bonfire ot light wood and other highly intlammable material was made, and when the ilames had got a good hold the "Kxtinguisher'' was turned upside down, and this set flowing a strong stream of water charged with carbonic acid gas. J.t was directed at the blaze, which immediately subsided, and then by reversing the machine the flow of water was stopped. The trial proved conclusively that this inexpensive and easily worked machine is very handy and serviceable in case of an outbreak of lire in a dwelling. The usual accident, such as a blazing curtain or a wall oh fixe would lose their danger if one of 'these extinguishers wen; at at hand. Anyone, man, woman, or youth, can start the flow of lire-killing water.

How long the black-fellow has existed in Australia is a matter for conjecture. No geological traces of him have yet been found, and Professor (Jiegory came to the surprising conclus-on that the blacks penetrated into Victoria three hundred years ago. This eon- ! elusion, we are told, is borne out by many fuels, and seems to be supported by a consideration of the aboring:nat legends. That the Australian biacks are not as low a race as is sometimes supposed is shown by thenl'cmarkablc aptitude for acquiring knowledge, especially when young. '1 hey can, it is said, learn a new la <- guago in two or three weeks. One of the early voyagers stated that a West. Australian native took oniy live minutes to learn the use of the sextan.', which takes an ordinary English boy a long time to acquire. Hishop S;tivadomentions thai. 1111 aboriginal in the same part of Ausiralia learnt ..o knit in live, minutes, Xhc-e facts give evidence of mental capacity ol a by no means low order.