LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 7 August 1907, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Captain Edwin wired yesterday at noon:—Northerly strong winds to gale; gla»» fall; tides high; sea heavy; rain probable. • It is estimated that over £2,000,000 was put through the totalisators in the colony during the racing season just ciosed. The Fitzroy Town Board ha 3 been asked by the County Council to widen the approach to the new Waiwakaiho bridge. Two applications for prohibition orI ders lapsed in the S.M. Court yesterday morning for want of appearance. One was the application of a landlady with iv view to sobering one of her lodgers, and the other one was a voluntary application by a man for an order against himself. Neither party seemed very i anxious in the matter.

There has been a good deal heard of late concerning the collection of rates levied on natives' property. Deputations have been pressing the matter upon the notice of the Ministers of the Crown and heads of the" liovernment departments. The Native Minister assured deputations that he would assist in enforcing payment if judgment were obtained against Maori defaulters. So far only the Taranaki County Council has taken steps to compel the Maoris to pay. The nctt'ly'rcviscd rolls for the Waitara West and Eguioiu road districts have conic to hand The previous revision was in 111(11 when the value of the Waitara West was sliuwii at JCIBU,jUB. Now it stands at j;217,8!)2, exclusive of native lauds returned at .CIU,ii)o. The Egmont district in the same period has grown from Ji135,877 to jLI7'J,B4I. lu noting the increases the Valuer-General says it shows "the district has made satisfactory progress." The county engineer is proceeding with the preliminary work in connection with the deviation of the Junction road iu order to avoid the steep pinch at the iieuui bridge, known to old settlers as Upjokn's llill. A splendid road has been surveyed, with a nice even grade. Mr Skinner has been requested by the County Council to obtain in writing from the landowners interested the amounts required for compensation. As the new bridge will be one of considerable importance to the borough, the Borough Council will be asked to make a contribution towards the cost.

When me county engineer lust ai-ji-vuU u niaiij.e laurel lo a couuiy bridge uie councillors were quite wrath. it >wis a waole ol money, ihey said, ao lhe engineer liad lo bear part ol lhe cosi. i.ui iual uioiel boiu owy me names ol lhe contractors and the engineer, and tiie dale ol erection of the nrsl ferroconcrete bridge in laiauki. The Councillors niu=l have envied the prominence given lo these gentlemen. -Uarble tablets are no lunger barred. County Councillors' names look really wed on marble tablets. And the roads won't be any the woioe for the expenditure of ten or fifteen pounds on "show" items. So ihe councillors' names will be chiselled on a piece of marble as well as those of the engineer and contractors and plated upon the Waiwakailio bridge.

"There's a want of punctuality about ooiuo members of the profession this morning," observed the Magistrate yesterday morning, when the court bailiff had made two fruitless quests iu search of solicitors engaged in a couple of debt cai.es. The cuuipluiuL seemed general. At about ten past eleven o'clock Air Partington stepped into the box to defend an action brought against luui for recovery of an amount claimed by 1). Laing as assignee of the liquidators of the .New Plymouth Co-operative Society. The Alagistralu listened to the defendant's tale, remarking that it was somewhat of a "cart before the horse" pro- | ceedure, but to save time and expense j to litigants he would go on in this way to give the plaintiff a chance to attend. | Air Wright, counsel for the plaintiff, said the defence was unexpected, so his client had not bothered to attend. But lie would send for him. The plaintiffs story eked out in about five minutes, j and then the court waited, amidst the i Wright's apologies, for the production ; of the plaintiff. At 11.30 the defendant entered a protest. '1 don't know, your Worship, if I am in order," he •'but I'd like to say my time is as valuable as Air Laing's. "He ought to have been here. He's had a better chance than he'd have given me if 1 had been late." The Magistrate thought the plaintiff had been very leniently treated.

as it - was his business to be present when the court opened at eleven o'clock. Plaintiff was non-suited, and ordered to pay six shillings expenses (a full day) to the defendant, who explained that he could not get to his work that day, as it lay at Mangorei.

Kv<']\v .stajro of J-Vparator developincut lias been stricllv of "Alfa-Lnviil" origin and effort. Would-be competing machines to-day manufactured are, without exception, lint mere followers of "Alfa-Liival." They possess no original Mens or features in construction, ami simply use that which expired ■ \lfnl.aval" patents leave fre p to them, so (li;it the very best of them are barely crpml to the '"Alfa-Laval" machines of ten years ago. Thus the gulf of practical efficiency between the "Alfa-Ltval" and the best of would-be competitors is still further widened, placing the "Alfa-Laval" machines 'ar and above and beyond the possibilities of competition from anything else in the shipe of a cream separator. Catalogue 'T' mailed free. Sole New Zealand, agents. Vinson. Rlrnlhers & Co.. T.td.. Alain street. Palmerston North. Local ng.-nts, 15. Griffiths and Co., New ' Plymouth.

On the application of Mr Quilliam (Govott and Quilliam) probate of the will of the late Mrs Elizabeth Hannah George haß I>een granted by the Supreme Court to Mr John Wale, of Auckland.

At a Farmers' Union function at Feilding last week it was stated that the Laud Committee oi the House of Representatives, which is considering the Government Land Bill, has decided by a substantial majority, to extend to tenants under the Lund for Settlement Act the same right to obtain the freehold of their lands as is proposed to be granted to other leaseholders. On Saturday a littlo girl accompanied h*r father to the hairdresser's. Hew* being shaved when another patron, walked out of the Baloon, paying his sixpence at the shop counter, beyond the vision, of course, of the little miss. When father went to pay for his shave' the little ''tin was surprised. "You aren't going to piy, daddy, are you?" she asked. ''Oh, yes, of course." "But," (die prattled, "the other man didn't Then, reflectively, "I think he must belong to t'.ie Government." And she was only about seven years old! At the S.M. Court yesterday morning before Mr Fitzherbert, S.M., judgment by default was entered in the following eases: A. Wale i'. L. Larsen, claim C 3 lUs lid, and costs ss; Gamlin and Co. (Mr Johnstone) r. L. Larsen, claim

,a ISs lid, costs 10s; Laing v. Harris (Mr Wright), .12 2s 7d, and costs 15s; judgment summons, White (Mr Huteheti) v. Beecham (Sentry Hill), claim X.o Ills 3d, order made for payment forthwith, or in default 14 days' imprisonment. D. Laing, as assignee of the liquidators of the New Plymouth Co-operaliva Society, sued T. Partington for .€2 15s Sd, for goods sold and delivered. The defendant said he had paid the account, and that he thought he had proved this to the company's manager at tho time. The plaintiff did not appear, and after waiting for some time the S.M. granted a non-suit, ordering the plaintiff to pay the defendant a day's wages. Professor O. O. Sheets, who has jtlot arrived from Canada, has made an oiler to stage a military display in aid of the Recreation Sports Ground. This display would include "Living Whist'' and "Kirmess," for which ho has the soie copyright. Professor Sheets has foi some years conducted this class of onturtaiuineul, in aid generally of charitable institutions, public grounds, etc. As it requires from 200 to 300 perfurmers, many of whom are young girls, the Professor wishes the performance conducted on the same liueo ai those he has carried out in other places. It is therefore his wish that a large and influential committee of chaperoues should be found, and arrangements are to bu made by the committee accordingly. The Professor, who has had considerable military experience in barracks and in action, has staged these displays for 28 nights in Montieal, 38 in New York, 45 in Atlantic City, and in Chicago, Toronto, Ottawa and other big American and Canadian centres.

lu America we often hear of a person who has made himself obnoxious to a community or who has committed some crime that has raised the ire ol the people, being subjected to the indignity known as "tarring and feathering,'-' writes our Opunake correspondent under Monday's date. It is very rare indeed iu New Zealand that such an incident occurs. Lately, however, in Opunake an individual who has been staying at a private house, ostensibly us a boarder, lias acted and spoken in such a way that the anger of some ot the residents has been aroused, and he has been warned to leave the district or trouble might ensue. This warning, however, he chose to disregard, and matters reached a climax on Saturday night, when a crowd of over 100, the majority being respectable residents, seized and dragged him through a* creek, tarred him, and, lu lieu of feathers, covered him with shavings and subjected him to other indignities. lie was then taken to the police station, the crowd humming the "Dead March" to an (vecordeon accompaniment. Police protection was given him, and the crowd dispersed. On Sunday evening the crowd again assembled and asked that he should leave before Monday evening or lie would be taken out of the district. About 5 ji.m. on Monday he was taken to Rahotu by Constable Kelly, the crowd alternately hooting the individual and cheering the constable.

In tue old days 11 wan customary tu cup nt tl.c Legislalhc Couikil. I'criwpo, ui a measure, the scolling was ju»tmeu, but it is impossible lor anybody wiu an open mind to withstand the comicuou Lhai the Upper Chamber loday is ail liupioved institution, says Friday s Wellington Post. It was with « leeiiug ot relief tliat habitues of Pariisiiieui eould metaphorically lly iroui ilie Lower Chamber with its Noxious Weeds Kill 011 Wednesday la*t to the Legislative Council, where a businesslike alleinpl was being made to smooth* away the crudities of the Public Trust Ulliee Auiendnieiit Bill and the Farriers' Kill, both of which had passed through the popular Chamber. 'J he Council has had an access of legal talent, which will' lie of signal service in the future, it wan instructive, indeed to compare the intellectual and analytical criticisms of a gentleman like the Hon. 0. Samuel with the mental vacuity displayed by more than one member of the House during the progress of the discreditable stonewall on the .Noxious Weeds Bill. Mr Sainuel and Air Anstey (who,'by the way, appears to be one of the best-in-formed men on agricultural matters in the present Parliament} showed, for iastance, that the Farriers' Bill not only fails to prevent the evils aimed at. but actually helps to perpetuate them by the aid of Covurninent license! The Council is certainly displaying a busi-ness-like grasp of the country's affairs that is distinctly refreshing.

Tire August number of the Journal of the Department ul Lubu r reports in respect of New Plymouth;— There is verv little aitoi-jtion in the conditions in lL« various trades since last report. Carpenters and the building trades generally, with the exception of bricklayers, we a little quieter. The retail trades, particularly drapers, are "doing good business, the winter sales being in full swing. Farm and casual work is quieter than last monti; this is evidenced by the increased number of applications for employment received during the uiontn. The aniicablo agreement as to wages and conditions of work arrived ! at between the Taranaki dairy workers and their employers is regarded as of - considerable _ importance. Increased activity is being shown in oil-boring operations; two derricks are being erected in the vicinity of Inglewood, and, no

doubt, immediately the machinery is cr the ground boring will be started. II i» difficult U> obtain work in any capa city at present. The supply of casual labor at present is slightly greater thai the demand. Building trades: Carpenters are a little quieter than last month, Painters aud plumbers, however, are fully employed, the labor offering is sufficient to meet all likely requirements. Bricklaying is a little- better than last inontb, due to the erection of the now library building. Ihigineertog trade is about normal; shoeing and general Mark-smithing shows no alteration from last month. Oarriaget-builders report good business both in sales and orders. Boot trade: Factories are <ln-

, j ing good business; the output is we] i maintained. gash and door factorie are doing good steady business. Cloth mg trade: Factories are doing gooi business; some overtime has been work led during the month- Retail trade _ Groceries shows no alteration from las , report. Clothing ; s a little more brisl- , titan last mon'tli, due to winter sales Boots—Business is well maintained , Miscellaneous: Cabinetmakers are busy several extra hands being employed during the month, and overtime is being worked. Saddlers and harness-makers are nil working full time. Dressmakers have plenty of work in hand, and there is every prospect of a continuance. Freczing-works arc showing a slackening off: n few iveeks will see the end of the season. Tfew buildings are to be creeled at Wnitara for preserving and canning works, which, when in operation, will, no doubt, necessitate the employment, of more hands- Unskilled labor: The railway deviation works:'nd the various road formation and bridge construction works are supplied with all the labor they require. For Bronchial Coughs take Woods' Great Peppermint Cure. Is fid.

The proprietor of Beautysldne wishes i' ■-■prciuMy known that he has ikto- at r.Jy time sent out samples. This floor polish is getting into public favor more every day, because it is easy, quick, beautiful, lasting and cheap, fy a tin.,

The footpath in Devon street at the railway crossing has been asphalted. Hundred:) will wonder why the job was not done years ago, to do away with the little mud-hole that regularly appeared in wet weather. That n, person may be liable to imprisonment for an offence of which 1)» is morally innocent has been demonstrated by His Honor Mr Justice Williams, "who says: "In casos of adulteration of food or drink a person, although he may be absolutely ignorant of ilia fact that the. articles he has sold are adulterated, is liable to punishment;! tho object held in view being the pro-! 'tectum of the public generally." i Mr Fisher, who makes a special study ,of defence matters, says tho New SJeu.iland ammunition factory is in r.lis | wrong place. In time of war the South ! Island, and even Wellington, might \ easily be cut off from it. There should, lie snid, lie another factory in the South Jsland. .He mentioned that in the Canterbury 'district the supply of ammunition had been so depleted that there was not enough there for one day's fighting under service conditions. As there was not a factory in the South Island, the Government should let them hive 10,000,000 rounds as a reserve.

Prison labor; is proving its worth. Last year 500,000 trees were planted at Hanmer on an area of 177 acres. This brings the total to date to 500 acres planted with trees, the principal ones being larch, Corsiean and Australian pines, birch, alder, and sycamore. It is intended to plant during tire winter and spring about 000 acres with 750,000 trees. The total area now in view for planting is some 1500 acres. The nursery produced last year from seed 875,000 plants, and it at present contains 2,150,000. The tree-planting is mostly done by prison labor, but the nursery work is done by free labor. Tho Hanmer correspondent of the Press states that the trees look well. Some of the earlier ones have grown into good serviceable timber. Buyers of land sometimes rail at land agents, complaining that they ate induced to buy unprofitable properties at luiuous rates. lucre are, we know, unscrupulous land and commission agents, but there are equally unscrupulous laudseekers. Apart from the gentleman who introduces himself to the agent as a prospective purchaser, and uses the agent's horse and gig in viewing the country, and with no other object in view, there is the man who enters into negotiations and puts tho agent to expense and inconvenience without purchasing. We know of one case in which an assurance was given that the property offered was the very thing he wanted, and ho

would immediately arrange the finance. A few days later the property was "unsuitable" for him, and the agent lost his time, and his trouble, and his temper. Such instances are not uncommon, and it is little wonder that sometimes the boot is on the other foot, and the buyer is the sufferer. Very soon this dominion will be the headquarters of another Antarctic expedition, for the Endurance (late Mini rod) so it is cabled, has completed her refitting, and will sail from Loudon on Tuesday next. The Endurance, Captain England, who has already taken part in two Polar cxpenditions, in command, will make a leisurely voyage to New Zealand, where, at Lyttelton, the preparations for the expedition will be completed. A start will be made about the beginning of February next, and the expedition will, bo landed at-the winter quarters iu King Edward Vll. Land. From here attempts will be made to reach the magnetic as well as tha geographical pole. For this work Lieutenant T. 11. Shackleton, K.N., who will lead the expedition, purposes to use Siberian ponies, which are superior to dogs for sledging, and a special motor car, which has been built according to his design. The distance from the winter quarters to the South Pole is about 731 miles, and on the sledging trip from the Discovery a distance of 270 miles, aB the crow Hies, was covered. Lieutenant Shackleton believes that the motor car will be able to achieve that distance at the rate of twenty-five miles a day, and the ponies can then be used for the final daßh - !.*.'.'£[&