GENERAL NEWS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 61, 23 October 1907, Page 4

GENERAL NEWS

WiM'am J. Thomson was charged at. the Marton Court recently that he did cause J7 calves to be conveyed between 11a»era and ilarton Junction in such i manner a. to object them to unneces Ifc? « U »tT S ' i, evidence uf tlie po--1 - ,° W that 24 calves had hbd ° f four Jmcks ' nhich rod a earning rapacity for 18 only. but o'n »» r 6 ™ Mi S nf!d t0 Elding, but on reaching Marton a considerable number of the animals were found to bo it J ? °}hers were sutfering. For the defence it was averred that defendant had simply committed an error nf judgment m ordering the trucks. The Magistrate said the ease was a verv grave ore, and there had been carelessness, not error of judgment. Defendant was convicted and fined the maximum penalty of £2O. with costs amountmg to £2 Is.

The value of our exportation continue on the increase. During last month, according to figures supplied by the Customs Department, butter to the ™lne of £19,818 was exported from New Zealand. The value of the export lor September of last year was £6504. Otter articles exported during the month antf their values were as follows, the figures in parenthesis being the values for the same month of last year: Cheese £422 (£334), frozen beef £39,. 030 ( £30,194), carcases frozen mutton £152,202 (£66,713), carcases frozen lambs £66,770 (£12,20«). September's* hemp, however, was valued at £34,904, as against £42,998 for the previous Sep tember; but the total for the past sis months, £386,420, is greater than for the same period of last year, £370,450. The value of the wool sent awav last month was £117,782 (2,618..j%1b), and during the six months ended September 30 last we sent away over 38 million pounds of wool, valued at £1.82(1514. Our gold export for the same period was 263,438 ounces, valued at £1,0.52,040. Not bad figures for a dominion of less than a million in population. Influenza was the justification offered by two inen arrested in Dannevirke for fighting in the street. Both were ordinarily peaceable citizens directed to take the popular cure for the complaint. One was convicted and dischraged and the other fined 20s or 48 hours. ilr G. G. Stead, of Christehurch. who has just returned from abroad, is inclined to think that London is changing very rapidly in several respects. He was particularly struck with the influx of foreigners. During his last visit he noticed so many signboards with foreign names that he was compelled to remark to a friend that if this state of things continued, London in the course of time would not belong to the English. Of course the majority of the joint stock companies'were English, but there was no undue preponderance of foreign shops and warehouses. The foreigner was becoming more and more in evidence as the yeais rolled on. An immigrant, who arrived from Scotland about a fortnight ago, made a very brief stay in the Dominion. Landing in Auckland on a Sunday, he reached Huntly on Tuesday, and immediately got a start in the mines. After buying the necessary tools and working one day, he left for home again on the jhursday, four days being sufficient to give lim that colonial experience which, on his return to t'j- Land o' Cakes, will be, prejudicially retailed to his brother Scots. According to him, there was i.o "life" in New Zealand, and so he left.

Another illusion has ben shattered, says the Evening Post, According to the evidence of Henry Bodley, dairyman, the cry of "fresh milk" must be ranked amongst other crios that have died away and become mythical. "You won't get fresh milk in aiiy city of the world," exclaimed the witness* in the course of cross-examination. The court shuddered at the loss of an ideal The witness explained his own procedure. Milk arrived in cans by train from places as far away as Carterton. The morning/consignment was nil used till the afternoon milk round; ard the supplies arriving late at night were held orer till the next day. The surplus of one round was disposed of during the next. "There is a chance of working points then," said Mr Bodiiy. Milk that was quite stale was doctored with boracic acid, separated, and churned for butter. The skim-milk, the court was pleased to learn, was thrown down the drain. That was the onlv waste.

"In my opinion," said n Wellington resident who recently returned from a visit •to Great Britain, "the Bannerman Government is going to ruin the country." Asked by a Post rep.irter what he meant, the gentleman w!u made the remark, said there was no donbt whatever that the British Cabi-iet was pursuing a very bad policy in regard to defence matters. It was no; realising the importance of spending l.ioncy to improve the Army and Navy, and was also showing a want of genuine interest in the volunteer movement, which was certainly not fostered as it should be. The Home Government was. he thought, also making a great mistake by r.ot encouraging military drill in the schools. From a return of casualties by death in South Africa of the several New Zealand contingents, the following interesting digest is given:—Contingent X'o. killed ip action 5, died of disease 12, 17; Xo. 2. killed in action 8, died of disease 13, 21; X'o. 3, killed in action 4, died >f disease, 22, 26; Xo. 4, killed in action J, died of disease 16, 20; Xo. 5, killed, in 3, killed accidentally 1, died of disease disease 17, 23; Xo. 6, killed in action 3, killed accidentlvy 1, died of disease 15, 19; Xo. 7, killed in action 36, killed accidentally. 2, died of disease 10, 48; No. 8, killed in railway accident 17, died of disease 18, 35; X'o. 9, killed in action 1, died of disease 5, 6; X'o. 10, died of disease 12. Summary; Killed in action 65, killed accidentally 22, disease 140; total casualties 227. The return does not give the number of wounded casualties, but they in warfare stand at about three to one in action.