LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 59, 1 May 1907, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Tile four-dial clock for tlic post office tower lias arrived in New Plymouth. The borough stall' is at present engaged in metalling Courteiiay \ »trw(i betwuon (.over and Eliot streets.

■'Mr Hall-Jones is another authority ou laud, because lie doesn't know anything about it."—ill' Jlassey at Holiday's meeting. ill- Andrew Carnegie, the multi-mil-Uonuiro, ;ha* agifccd to tlic J*irouga Council's suggestion to make V 1 payments lo iliu conliftc'tov For the I'lvntoulh "t'arnegio. Library."

A Latin class lu» ooen lornud 1.1 connection with th« Mow 1 ly»ioi>h technical and continuation classes. J. no instructress is Miss Orquart B.A o Stratford, and the lessons will lead up to matriculation and teachers' 0 examinations. The class meets 011 l"'iday evenings at the Board s ollice. Xcw receiving boxes are being placed in position a., the post olbee. .10 front presented to the pubic is a 1" " liant ml, so that mere should be 0 doubt about seeing lliein. IBej •"<- set- in a recess near tit" site ot u.e o boxes, facing Kobe street. A l- - fee" letter liox is proMilcd, piesiiuia to Uj open only when laic lee' leaeis are to bo posted.

TaianaUi county councillors arc allied to have been sludyiug closely .ne | suggested model by-laws and 'ilio 1»'°; posed Local Government Bill. At an) rati" tliev » rc to be asked by the dunto lis a'date for a special meeting in May to discuss these two problems, so that the Council may be nble to voice its opinion should the County Councils ke called together at s or notice.

At a meeting Oif creditors in the ctstate of L. I>. Callaghan, carpenter, 01 New riymonth, liabilities were shown lit -C425 3s Bd, and assets nil. -Ihe .bankrupt, who was subjected to » leiif'tliv anil poiuteil cross-examination, said he had 110 hope of any money coming to him to improve his position, which had become bad some three or four years ago as the result of contracting and (building boarding-houses. When he went out of business to work for himself he was fully £;3OU in debt. The creditors decided unanimously to oppose the bankrupt's discharge.

There were forty male members stripped at Holiday night's weekly practice at the gymnasium in the Whiteley Hall, with Mr doe Amburj as captain. On Tuesday, .forty-two lildfcs presented themselves for instruction, and -Miss Kthel Blanehard was appointed to tae captaincy. Air Ambury was re-elected unopposed, but in the ladies' class there were four aspirants for the captaincy. The paid-up members of tlic Club now total 111) ladies and gentlemen, and the I increase is but anotner testimony to the milliner in which the classes are conducted by Air Lintu, the instructor. At the meeting of Association footballers held last night there were seven members of the *ie»v Plymoutli cluD present, others sending excuses for absence. Owing to the absence of the I secretary, and the want of books and ! records of the club, only an informal j meeting was possible, Mr Garnet Saun- ! ders presiding. The prospects Of the game were discussed ui a conversation- ' al manner, and a list of some fifteen inI tending and probable players was sub- | muted, An effort will lie made to 6bj tain definite promises from these, and i to h'-ld a meeting in Mr Saunders' shop I on Saturday night next.

On Tuesday morning, before Mr W. 11. Hidden, S.M., B. v. Roebuck was lined the minimum penalty 'o£ £lO and costs for having sold goods by auction without being a licensed auctioneer. The defendant had officiated as auctioneer in disposing of the thanksgivings at the Tataraiiuaka Methodist harvest festival, and, in answer to tine charge, said; the offence was committed in ignorance.

The Magistrate said he could not inilict a Lss line than £lO, but, on the suggestion of Mr Goveti, counsel for the defendant, agreed to make representations to the Department asking that llie penalty be remitted, or that only a nominal line be imposed. Mr. Sam Hill has this week shipped Llirough the New Zealand Express Co. Kitvcial cases of the line pottery clay from ihe deposits on the Smart road. They are destined for London, where they will be taken charge of by Mr.

UaU'Mibury and distributed to the leading pottery manufacturers and bleaching work--. A gentleman in the Hawera disliiet, having read the press accounts <,!' tin: lind, procured a sample, and writes that it is plastic, ductile, and, what is better still, it stands up to the potter's wheel. He considers it most suitable .for the manufacture of sanitary ware, glazed pipes, chimney pots, and lilcs. An enquiry has also been tcccked from a i'oxton firm, who ask-'

cd for a sample parcel. About a hundredweight has been forwarded. It is supposed the clay is required for llax-bloaching purposes.

The second of the series of progrcssisive euchre socials conducted by the

Railway Social Club was "field in the Brougham street hall last night. The attendance was gooa, rather in excess of anticipations, and the whole affair «as most enjoyable socially. The euchre prizes were won by Mrs Ainsworth and ill- lliggs. After an excellent supper had been served in a manner that showed the capabilities o£ tile ladies' committee, over forty couples commenced dancing to perfect music supplied by Mrs George, and on a splendid floor. .Messrs Itoskin and Adams were the 11.sC. The object of the socials is t\» rais- money for the purchase o£ book's for tile club's library, wliich now numbers some 300 or 400 books, besides all tile leading technical magazines, some of wliich are supplied by the Government.

Mr Massey itickled his hearers) im- [ meimely on Monday night when he dabbled in Biblical history and brought fovtli Joseph of Egypt, the son of Jacob. lie was endeavoring to prove his statement that the Land Bill was not up-to-date, and wiien he went from India to China, China to Russia, and 'then to Egypt it seemed that he was doing considerable research. Referring his hearers to the Bible, in Genesis—"'l don't know the least chapter," lie interpolated, "I'm not an encyclopedia, and anyhow it. will do you no harm to hunt for it''—he said Egypt was ruled by a Joseph then, so is New Zealand now (laughter); their Joseph was a great financier, so is our Joseph (renewed la lighter); he was inclined to be a lialionaliser of lands, so is our) Joseph (screams of laughter); and their Joseph was a dealer in corn, so is our Joseph." And the audience took some time to settle down from its unanimous outburst of hilarity. I

Tlu' annual meeting of the Taranaki farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Association was held at the head office at Kltliam yesterday. The following report was presented:—ln presenting their second annual report your flirectorfs have again pleasure i>i stating that the work of the financ' : -r enilod :ilst March, 1907, has bee : ■<<-i >atisfaetory. The statement > < accounts to be laid before you will show that insurances accepted during tlic year and still in force amounted to | £11.1,828. To tliis amount is to he added th" insurances effected during the previous year, £j;").205, leaving the net insurance in force at the end of the financial year at ;E1G!).083. Of this amount the sum of £3400 lias been reinsured, thereby reducing the net insurance liability to £105,()53. The policies in force number 087, and the av : crage risk £241. Ou the year's transactions there remains a profit of £;iS)i) 5s Xd to be carried forward to the reserve fund.

A large coiisignenitn of the latest belt novelties showing in London liare arlived at White anil Son's. As these floods only left Home 011 March lulli, nothing newer is available, and being sent lis ill quarter-dozens of a kind, exelusiveness of design is assured.—Advt. We are very fond of telling' you the bargains that are to he had at that busy store. "Tile Kasli.'-' Tt's just about the best store iu Taranaki for men's and boys' clothing They're practical at "tile Kasli," and von pet expert advice "when buying clothing of any description from them. That's worth quite a little in itself, and thoroughly understanding clothing, they are keener buyers and greater critics of tlie make and cut of a suit m overcoat, and they're thoroughly alive to the importance of serving you well. Ask to see their "I'restwelt'' suits for men at 4!)s (id to litis fid and their "PrestwclF overcoats at 3!)s (id and 45s and youll understand what good clothing is.—Advt, '

There arc now fully a hundred t< i ch- j niuil and continuation classes under \ the Tarnnaki Education JJoard, exclus- j ive of some fifty classes taken at the) public schools llV'inselvus. The New Plymouth Club has consented to give ;; display at Wai- ; lara shortly, the visit having been aiJ ranged by the promoters of the local club to give it au impetus. Any profit, however, will belong to th,- visit-

ors. A visit to tile harbor fc doubly interesting just now. The blasting operations to provide a new berth show the growth of the port, ami they also prove conclusively that oil exists in considerable at iMoUiroa.. Each explosion on the sea-bottom, iu dislodging rock and other substances, nets fret; large quantities of oil, which iloai thickly 011 the surface.

The Carrington, Kankley, and Eliot Road Boards have announced their intention of waiting on the County Council next .Monday, piVMimably to ask for a renewal of the subsidies or to arrange for tile formation of tin? new suburban, borough. Th. l Council has not been very paraal to subsidies lalclv.

ill* T. Dewson informed a member of our stall' that lie is very pleased with the Technical School, and especially the woud-carving room, which he nays j : ; perfectly up-to-date. Air Dew-

son is tli'' wOo.l-carving instructor under th, 1 Education Board, and lias excellent credentials not only as a* craftsman, but also as a teacher. We can confidently recommend New Plymouth people to place themselves under his guidance in learning this very iue-. ful and valuable art, which can be

made a helpful and interesting pastime or hobby. In addition to the adults' classes on Fridays, Air Dewson has volunteered to take a class of young people on Saturday mornings from i) to 11 o'clock, pupils not to exceed, say, L) years of age. The small sum of IDs per term is asked, and we expect to 1 see. quite a number of parents embracing this exceptional opportunity. The 1 class opens next Saturday.

••The finances of Ni*w Calami worn novcr in a better condition,'' remarked the Acting-Colonial Treasurer. lion. W. llall lones, lo a Wellington Times reporter on Tuesday night. This was apropos of this declaration ot a surplus of over half a million, and the transference of .C 775,000 from the consolidated fund to the public- works fund, in addition to provision being made for sinking fund in connection with the old war loans. The revenue, added the Treasurer, had been coming in remarkably we!!, and would, he. thought, establish a record for the State. r .l he increases were especially noticeable in regard to the Railways,' Customs, and Postal Departments. No doubt a good deal of this was due to the International Exhibition, and although the State might have to make up t!50,00(> for the cost of the 'Exhibition, the deficiency ill this respect would be more than compensated for by the. increases in revenue ol various public departments. The detailed particulars of these were not-yet avail able. With reference to the railway revenue, this would be about a quarter of a million greater than last year—i record for any time since the inauguration of our railway system.