LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 59, 17 May 1907, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wo have it on Mr. W. 'P. .leanings'[ own authority thnt lie will not ho' ,i candidate under uny circumstances i.ir the Taranaki scat at the general olcction. 'l'lio (Jovernment armourer will lie in New Plymouth on Tuesday next to inspeet tin; arms of the local volunteer companies. It is aliout two years since lie paid his.previous visit. The Minister tor Public Works !,..,„ informed Mr. Jennings, M.H.U., Unit the formation of the nntiiu'slied pari of th■■ Ohin-ii road, nortli of Paorae. is estimated to cost ciMm, and prcivi-simi for this amount will receive careful consideration in training (lie coming Estimate*. "I'was on election dav, and an anxious elector wanted the Native .Minister. Jle was informed that the lion, gentleman was playing howls. "Hv-jovo." said a hysiander, "thals what Sir francis Orake was doing just hefore he defeated the Spanish Armada." The .Ministerial

supporters (dose by accepted this as a happy augury, but after events proved that there was nothing reliable in the coincidence. At the Police Court on Kridav Harrv Mulhollaiid. arrested at llawera. was charged with the theft of a bicvele Lit standing outside the Grosveno'r Hotel on 17th u!t„ and the properly of .Mr. A. Maxwell. a railway cadet. The machine wan found a feiv days ago in thy possession of the cook at the Silver Grid, -who alleged he hail paid C.'i Lis for it. On the application of the police the accused was remanded till Monday. Reference was made at .Monday night's Borough Council meeting to the "boned meat industry," from which ilie municipal abattoirs derive considerable revenue. His Worship said the meat exported in this way was hardly what could be termed "good." A councillor qualified 'the remark, saying "the meat may be good, but it's tough." Major Long, an Imperial offlcer, recently referred to the industry as being likely to afl'ect the reputation of the \mim> New Zealand meat. The Health Department has reported adversely on sanitary condition of soiuc ol the local licensed premises. Inspec- I tor Kendall, however, is quite satisfied with the present position, having, re- | ceived promises to have everything put in order. Recognising certain difficulties, and that the work complained of was done before the present by-laws were made, he has very wisely refrained from putting the owners to unnecessary exThe Borough Council declined io enter into discussion of the Departmental report, expressing^every confidence in Mr. Kendall as their sanitary ollicer. Figures, it is said, can be made to prove almost anything. Figures, too, are tricky tilings, and need careful handling. One of the delegates ai the Farmers' I nion Conference was plainly out of his depth when he started dabbling in big . numbers. The area of Crown lands at , present unsettled was troubling him. First )u* called it 700 acres, and he re- [ peated this estimate of the area until • his figures were questioned. Then he ; called it 7000, aiul there was an audible , smile. His next attempt was a little » bit higher, his imagination by this time l having flown to seven thousand millions! . And he left it at that.

At a meeting of the Carrington Road lVmrd it was decided that the attention of the Sports Ground Committee be called to the non-compliance with terms made by the board for the removal of turf; that ratepayers having barbed wire fences alongside the board's footpaths be asked to have them removed at onee; I that a general meeting of ratepayers be j called for Friday, 24th inst. The two members to retire twelve months hence are Messrs. Carter and Lashbrook. Accounts passed for payment amounted to OiS 16s sd. The reported damage to roads by extraordinary traffic will be fully discussed at next meeting.

A Kip Van Winkle episode in connection with Tuesday's poll. An aged lady went to vote, and required assistance. One of the attendants was deputed to give the necessary directions, but the old lady's memory seemed to have failed her. and she was diving into the past. Querulously' she complained that sh<' didn't like Mr. Brown, and didn't mean to vote for him. She was airing a grievance against a gentleman who retired from active politics a great many years ago, and it was a long time before her mind could be brought to bear on present-day affairs.

I'lie increased consumption of electric light, and the ever-increasing demand for this illumiuant, have been perplexing the municipal electric lighting committee lately. And with the long nights of Jim:: and July in the near future thero is every chance that the present plant will be insufficient to supply the lighting required. 111 casting round for some auxiliary power to drive a supplementary dynamo it has been suggested that a gas engine could be installed. The idea of using up the rival illumiuant seemed to tickle the councillors immensely on Monday night, but the Mayor, who is continually receiving sly digs about his connection with the gas company, (00k the matter very seriously, and directed tlie committee to a gas engine that might be proiiired. It was left to Cr. Bellringer, however, to produce the joke of the evening, when he enquired what there was to prevent the installation of an electric motor to generate the additional current! For the next few moments the dignity uf the Council was a minus quantity.

In February last certain Press Association telegrams were published relating to the death and exhumation of the body tlie hite Miss Howell. Most of the telegrams contained passages which were complained of by Miss Hall as seriously rellecting upon her, and she has lately commenced actions against some of the newspapers which published telegrams under various headings for libel. We need hardly say that when these tele- | grains were published we had no intention of making any charges against Miss Hall. We published thcra just as we publish other Press Association matter, and the serious side of the matter of which Miss Hall complains did not present itselt to us, or the paragraphs would not have been, published. The actions commenced by Miss Hall against certain ol the papers have now been settled amicably, and we desire to take this opportunity of unreservedly withdrawing any charges which were unwittingly nude agiiinst Miss Hall in the Press messages, and to say that those statements which were contained ill paragraphs and which reflected upon Miss Hail have been clearly shown to be without Inundation, and this being the'ease, we sincerely regret their publication.