LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 61, 22 November 1907, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A large number of people from North Tiii'iinaUi visited the llawera Show yesterday. Captain Manning gives tlie time taken by the new steamer Maori oil her trip fiimi Wellington wharf to Lyttclton breakwater as I) hours 31 minutes, ami Heads to Heads at 8 bourn 3(1 minutes. These are records for the run.

A runaway horse galloped through a plate-glass window at iiallenstein's elotliing factory at Masterton yesterday. smashing three panes and several min'ons inside. It did damage to the value of ,C7O or JBW, besides cutting itself about. A novel iishing invention lias been patented by Mr 13. Ashlock, a noted American angler, The contrivance consists of an electric light bulb suspended just below the lloat, and- the inventor claims that the light attracts the fish for lifty yams around. I'll his first experiment lie caught 82 fish in two hours.

According to a London visitor named Waters, pyjamas are not popular in Philadelphia. While staying at an hotel there he sent several pairs of pyjamas to be washed. When they came back they were starched so stiff that they stood up by themselves. On one of the coats was found a paper containing the following words:—"To three lawn tennis suits, Gs." Special reporters of the leading New Zealand papers proceeded yesterday to l'arihaka. In order to cope with the pressure on the ivire.s, the 'Telegraph Department installed a pair of Morse instruments at Pungarelm, the nearest post office, temporarily converting the telephone service into a telegraph one. Two telegraphists from the New Plymouth oiliec arc in charge of the instruments.

The Taranaki Show, to take place next week, should be easily the best held under the auspices of the Society. The energetic secretary (Mr E. P. Webster) was in llawera yesterday, and succeeded in getting all the principal exhibitors of the southern part of the province to exhibit their stock at New Plymouth. The exhibits of these breeders constitute a creditable show in themselves, particularly in the horse classes, which are unexcelled in any other part of the Dominion. A Loudon Metropolitan police ollicer .is the latest victim to that strange phenomenon, loss of memory. Detec-tive-Sergeant PuUcu left his home on a Wednesday for duty. lie was apparently in iiis ordinary health- He did not return home at night. On the following Saturday the missing sergeant; was discovered wandering along llamp-J stead road, lie liad completely lost hisi memory, and could give no account o£ himself. lie was taken home, and is now under the care of a doctor.

The New York authorities are puzzled as to the treatment to be pursued in: the case of a fourteen-year-old boy nam- 1 ed Edward Bridginan. who was arrested on charges of robbery. Medical evidence was called upon to prove that the lad became a thief as the result of an unskilful operation for brain trouble, and is now a victim of mania for stealing. In reply to the query of the Magistrate the doctors declared that to operate again in the hope of removing tlie criminal tendency would be attended with great danger to the boy's life. The parents on being appealed to refused to allow the fresh operation to bo performed, but as the boy is becoming a terror to the police the statutes are being searched for powers to compel them to consent.

A New Plymouth gentleman informs; ue, thai the generally accepted state-: men', that the late Tc W'liili was never photographed is hardly true. Twentysix years ago Te Wluti was in Nelson willi his gaoler. At the time there was on exhibition a i!ob Hoy cauoe, in which a vovageur was "doing" New Zealand. Te W'hiti was persuaded to visit and examine the canoe. A local photographer arranged a chair near the canoe for the tohunga's convenience. He also placed his camera in position in a neighbouring shed, in which he cut an aperture for the nozzle of the instrument. Being right opposite the chair, he got a good view of the chief, whom lie successfully snapped. The photographer thought he would be able to sell negatives to the Maoris, but Te Whiti, getting wind of the proceeding, warned them against buying the "sacrilegious" views of. himself, with the result that the enterprise was not rewarded as he had anticipated. The plate of the view, if still in existence, should be worth a good deal of money now.

coiuiiuuicd lo tuc itiianeial diiiicuiucs irom wmen Una country is sulJcring. tnotign American securities are no longer licid ou a largo scale by ±,ngiishnicu. Capim naa (.K'comt; scarce in tne united states, and the railways and industrial companies winch urgently need it have attempted to uurrow it in the luuopu.m market. They have hud to pay high ratw for any accommodation that they Jiave obtained, and the lesult is that there has been a general Hue in the rate ul' interest, accompanied >} (i lull in the value of all securities, Consols paying iy s per cent cannot be issued at 100 when first-class American «'l! .n a v S ar ?. r, fy to. pay sor 0, and "T iW > ork c,t y l'»s to borrow ut i'A per cent.—Daily Mail. Perhaps Lhu oldest man in ;>,e\v Zealand j 0 a larauaJa iwUvo luiucd Tiki lopouuu, who is related to tin; late i! 'i v UJmi - T,ki tae ? bmi Jujmjj ou t!.O lileiw road, aim is ;lilill , f . ul death K-iiig nut unexpected yesterday. «, chums 10 liave teen Captain Cook ! u Ub lu ' v "igalor was iast i,i Xew A-aland—naiiiciy, in 177-1. This would niake imu over lou year,-an almost mu edible aye. Una lie must be well ou-r U,e century is established by tlie act tliat a Kuropcan settler wlio came tu tile colony over seventy years ,x>u and is now past the allotted span ium' sell, leniciubcrs In in in liis boyhood days as a iairly old man. Tiki is a line l.yw ot .Maori, one ol' tlie old sebool whose word eon Id be implicitly relied iipon. .this praiseworthy cliaraeterislie was evidenced at tlie time of tile Crown grant oi tlie confiscated Taranaki land 10 tlie local natives. Tiki, in common with others of his hapu, was given an interest in a block, but lie positively declined it. He explained that having lotiglit the pakelu and lost, it was dishonorable lor the .Maoris wlio had taken pait m the lighting to take hack what hey iairly lost, lie has never changed his opinion in this respect. It is rather uniortuiiate that there are not a few more i ikis amongst the present generation ot natives.