LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 32, 27 January 1908, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The sum of .C4OO was cleared over the recent Catholic bazoor. 'The Corinthic leaves itoliai't to-night (Monday) for New Zealand. She has SUU passengers aboard fur -Sew Zealand, mostly immigrants.

Auotlier record! A "diabolo" votary, a young medical student, who has been staying at Dawson's Palls mountain house, took liiis string and bobbin with him to the summit ol the mountain recently, and there indulged in a game, lie wanted to be the tirst to play ••diabolo " on the mountain peak. There arc various degrees of insanity.

The Harbor Board had a record blast on the. sea-front of the breakwater quarry on Saturday evening. Two hundred and eighty kegs of gunpowder were Used, a tunnel having been driven into Ibo lace of the rock closely above water level. The blast was an immense success, hundreds of tons of splendid stone being dislodged, and the whole of the pinnacle was moved bodily.

Anglo-Indian* are still keeping their eyes mi New Zealand as a place for spending a furlough happily in the years alter retirement. The typical " peppery Indian colonel" may yet be a noticeable adjunct to the country's colour scheme. A'recent letter from the Government's Sydney agency mentioned that '' quite a'number of ollicers from India" were about to cross over to New Zealand for the shooting and iishing.

The " Times'' has given a good deal of attention tu tin: investigation of the problem of Asiatic immigration into countries where Wiestcrn methods previiil. A special commissioner of the paper wrote an interesting series of articled on the inllnx of Asiatics into Canada, and the general conclusions arrived at, which wine endorsed l>y Mr. Rudyarl Kipling, was that there are many spheres of employment in which the labour of Orientals might he used with advantage.

Some say (lint -Mauris are nul cnierprising. It depends what tlie enterprise is for. Complaints arc made at Kotoitiu Dial Hie -Maoris arc monopolising tinilneal tenuis courts. The Kotorua Times says: "Out of'three sets playing at. any one lime, one can safely bet that two are Maoris, aml out of ten people waiting for a court nine are pakchas. This arises from (lie Hariris making up permanent quartettes, ready to walk |n the courts at a moment's notice, while the visitors liud it takes up sonic time to gci a set ready."

Three of the cheekiest specimens of young New Plymouth larrikinism were caught red-handed yesterday afternoon :eniV'avoring to wreck destruction on the Scats around the tea kiosk in the Recreation dround*. These well-dressed young hoodlums, whose names had they been known would have received publicity, met the courteous rebuke administered by a couiile of local gentlemen with cheerful colonial prevarication and impmlencc. The sooner a stern lesson is administered to some of these lads, the sooner will public property be safe, and some parents have an opportunity to administer a little corrective medicine.

It is a isiguilicant fact, says the "Age," that twelve months ago, in the height of a good season, it was impossible for W'ainuapa buyers to purchase sheep in llawkc'ij Bay,' while now they can be bought in any quantity. One Wairarapa stock dealer' has 10U,OUO Hawke's Bay sheep on his books for sale. Farmers in the northern province, and even in this part of the Dominion, are getting rid of their sheep at almost any price on account of the. lack of good pasture, and every day sees train-loads of these animals passing through Mastcrton on their way to the slaughtering works in Wellington.

An important scheme for enormously increasing the strength ol the French Army is under consideration. The Matin announces that a civil and military commission is studying in Algeria the question of compulsory military service on the part of Arabs who are French subjects. It is estimated that the number of Arabs who could thus be mobilised would be at least four millions. At the outset, by a process of selection, two army corps of 100,0- 0 men would be raised, and theseTcould he sent to France in the case of war -rendering additional troops necessary. The project, which will be discussed at the opening of the Chamber, has been brought forward in consequence of the low birth-rate in France and the reduction in the period of military service.—Central News.

A wcalUiy Frenchman named Pierrecourt, whose hobby was giants, died in 15)01 and left to the town of Rouen nearly £500,000, conditional on the founding of an annual prize of ;C4OOO to bless the union of two giants, whose mission was to lie the repeopling of France. The disinherited relatives refused to be enthusiastic about giants, and strove to quash the will. The municipality offered them a lump sum of £120,000 in settlement of all claims, which, was eagerly accepted. But as no giants were limited out. the municipality next decided to found an institution whose object should lie the protection, preservation, and improvement of the human species. Then, however, the executors set up a claim for £80,001) as registration foes. This claim the municipality thought to have had reduced, but the Court has decided against it. The outlook for giants seems to be getting worse and worse. „

The London " Time.-, " last mouth devoted a leading article to a discussion ol Asiatic immigration in its broadest Imperial aspect. Looking lor a soluLion ol this great problem, tne "Times" recouiuicuus that the uewly-ioi'med Dominions department in connection with the Colonial Ullicc should organise a commission representing the whole of the Empire to investigate the Asiatic problem, and to make plain mutual dillicultics. " Possibly," it considers. " the evidence thus obtained would convince sonic of our most exclusive colonies that it is impossible to bang the door entirely against the growing tide oi population* pouring out of the East. Possibly, alsi, it would convince us that unrestrained immigration of Asiatics would be fatal to our civilisation and to the race, and that certain parts of the Empire most suited to their habits might be specially reserved for Oriental immigration."

H is estimated that U,OI)U children in Berlin exist almost entirely on bread and coll'ee. -Jt is cold comfort lor the working ckssc,," bays The Times, "to lie told to rellcct upon the irresistible operation of the .standard of life upon Willi's, of wages upon the eost of production, and the eost of production upon prices. But they will presumably lmvc to be content with the knowledge that Hie pension and insurance fund, with a total of XJ,aUO,UUO, amounts to about ■) per cent, of ordinary Imperial expenditure. Tine Socialists are never weary ot repeating that the Agrarian tariif is responsible for the increase in the price of bread and other article's of food, and that while wages have not risen to the alleged extent, the price of commodities like enal is still rising. In the case of coal, moreover, the dividend of 11 per cent, paid By the Coal Syndicate, rather than any increase in the miners' wa"es, i> regarded as the chief factor in maintaining prices at their present high level; and similar inferences arc suggested in the case of other, industries."

1 he Post's Duuediu correspondent telegraphs :~A n early increase in the price ol butter is predicted, consequent on the high pi-ire ruling at Home and the increased demand in «e Old Country on account of decreased exportation from Australia. The decrease of exported butter from that country for the season ended December was OOUU tons, which assuredly must mean an increased demand faun A(. w Zealand. Again, our butter is bringing USs per cwt at Home, which is a higher price than 13 being obtained in the localmarket. On Monday last (ho Taieri and Peninsula Milk Company received two cables asking for large supplies 0 f butter, both of which had to !)<■ refused in order to keep a -upply in TTand for the purpose of meeting their own winter market. Questioned as to whether the dry season was nlleefuig the present milk supplv, Mr. liiir.lh, <h<> company's manager, said l-ial the supply was showing a decrease every day, which naturally must have .1 material <.||oct 011 the price of butler. I lie price of HBs per cwt ruling in the export ninikct meant IP/;d to ll%d per lb. which was more than was being received hero; also, payment for export -ale was obtained on delivery at the >nal. whereas a risk was incurred here by the credit system.

j "oineliines (',„. ordinary and rough I work you I'm,] your trousers 100 good I and expensive {„ WPl(r . ilm i w ; s |, v „„ "ad some that were more substantial and less expensive—a pair of strong saddle-tweeds. During their summer I -ale While and Sons are giving „plendid value in saddlc-twccd trousers at lis lid per pair. These pants are not. absolutely pure wool, we know, but ihev are tough and will nulwear trousers'that often cost nioie (ban twice as much. If economical men wish to save money they should not fail to have a look ni these price-out garments for rough ' usage,—Advt, ; _;■

Suburban residents are being threatened with trouble if they beg, borrow, or «teul water from their neighbors who are connected with the borough watersupply system. An easy arrest was made on Saturday night by one of the local police, who locked up a bicycle which was wandering I at large in Brougham-street, the result of the thoughtlessness of a shop assistant.

With a view of expediting the completion of the drainage svslcin in the heart of the town, the Drainage Committee is asking the Borough Council to authorise the engineer to take proceedings against all pcrsun s who have not complied with bin notice to connect with the sewers.

The By-laws Committee of tiie Borough Council will to-night recommend to the Council that the borough solicitors be requested to draft a by-law under the Public Works Act, 1905, prohibiting heavy traffic within the borough unless the estimated cost of reinstating the road is previously deposited with the Council."

A lew weeks ago a complaint was made to the Baths Committee that a local resident had otl'cnded against the rules and regulations by appearing on the edge of the baths without the lirescribed or any costume other than that ol nature. The delinquent has since explained that the fault was one of omission, not commission, and the committee has accepted the explanation. Whilst this province is sullering from a slight drought, ,i is refreshing t<> read the following from the Taihape limes:_—"Mangaweka was visited bv an exceptionally heavy frost on Friday morning and early risers were amazed at the thickness of the ice and the. snowwhite appearance of the country. The vegetable gardens present a most blackened appearance, and the loss to those concerned will be considerable."

The new ami charmingly designed lake «t Hie head of t|„. Kecreation ({rounds was practically completed on Saturday and water has now been turned in The Board is (» l )(! deservedly complimented on having designed this great imnrovc"l'MH. and particularly io l,e congratulated on having secured Ihe services of so competent and capable a foreman of works ~s Mr Cole, who has also been fortunate m haying under him a hardworking gang of natives. The work has been completed considerably under the estimated time, and we also understand -P.isuo.) .u.ia u p.n.M.n* si!i| .i|o;,.,n 1m „ erablc saving on the estimated cost. The now lake will add very considerably to (he attractiveness of the famed gardens and should he in perfect condition at the tune of the Band Contest and Athletic Carnival at tii fl end of next month

A slightly belated but spirited effort is being made by the Recreation Sports C.round Committee to get the racing track into condition for the championship sports meeting on the 20lh .February. Over one hundred yards of black soil top-dres3ing is being raked in, and is to be sown with fast-growing English rye and couch roots, which experts prophesy will present a beautiful green .sward within three weeks. The committee have authorised the employment of four men, whose whole time is' to be devoted to perfecting the grounds and track, which is to be thoroughly watered anil rolled daily. A suggestion has been made that'all risk of having a perfect flat grass track would be obviated by laying it down in turf, and this matter will probably be considered at a special meeting of the Sports Ground Committee on the ground at half-past eleven this morning.

Writing about fishing at Rotorua, a Wellington resident who is spending a holiday in the Hot Lakes district, says: "it would break your heart to see the waste of fish, which is permitted to take place here. People in llotorua soon tire of trout, and it is difficult for anglers to get rid of their bags, hi fact, things have got to such a pass that it is hard to sa,y who is the more generous—lie who gives or he who receives! I was on the pier one day and saw a launch man endeavoring to make use of some splendid specimens of fish. One person after another refused them, until finally he threw the pick of his party's catch on the wharf, and headed off for the open, saying, " It's a d shame to sec good fish like that going to waste." "The private sale of trout, I suppose you know, is prohibited. That might he all very well, but it seems to me that the Tourist Department should establish a depot where, people could leave their surplus fish. It might then be frozen—for (here is a refrigerating chamber in Kotorua— and exported by the Department either for sale or for use in hospitals, etc." Tlie preliminary court in Tokio Ims committed tor trial on a charge of murdering a Japanese named Katsutaro lummura, who, tor ' Uie safety of his country,' stabbed to death a compatriot named Seiji Mayeda, a teacher of languages, wiioni he suspected of being a spy because he taught Kussians Japanese, linamura came from a village 100 miles from Tokio, and informed the editor of the Asliai, which had raised the cry of treachery, that he intended to investigate ilayeda's conduct and bring him to justice. He was introduced to the teacher, and a warm friendship seemed to spring up between them. Under this cloak iiniuuura probed the character of Jlayeda, but fuifing to find anything suspicious, proposed that the two should turn spies, bailing again, Imainura decided to act lor himself. On the following night he visited Mayeda. (Suddenly, on some pretext, he left the rooms, and, taking a handful of ashes troiii a charcoal brazier, placed them m a paper scoop, lteturniug to the unsuspecting teacher, lie hurled the ashes in Ins face and then stabbed him in the shoulder. Mortally wounded, Mayeda staggered into the street, pursued by his murderer, who stabbed Jiim again and again. Then, with one foot on the prosIrate body, imamura awaited the coming of the police. •• He was a traitor," he said, " and i killed him for the safety of my country.' The lUiuister of Lauds, replying to a liisborne deputation, who urged the acquisition of land on the East Coast for closer settlement, reminded them that the Government was limited in its expenditure for the purchase of land to XoWflVi) per annum, and that the Land Act was introduced mainly to relieve the position of affairs in the ijou'li Island, where the great bulk of the land was then held in big areas. In the ■North they had a system of close settlement which was unknown in the South. He did not say they were to put the whole of the sum at the disposal of the requirements of the South, but the larger portion of it. in the North they also had the purchase of a certain I amount of native land. The Government ' was not in a position to buy large areas. Lntil the final settlement as regards the | details of the small grazing runs, they could not embark to any extent in further purchases, for it was possible, if these runs were capable of division, they would have available sufficient area without having to pay its capital value. During the present financial year, ending March next, they would have expended or become liable for £7OO 000 'The country had given them power to acquire land for settlement that would be characterised by some people as appalling. r

Mr. Koir Hardie, oil arrival in Tasmania from New Zealand, stated to an interviewer that lie was thinking of advising liis two sons (both engineers) to settle in New Zealand. "Maoviland 'a certainly the best country on earth for the workers, he said. "The people are slow-going, cautious (yet, Scotch, if you like), yet have proceeded further alon<* Socialistic lines than any other people. Maybe tli:y ,| ~-. quite how So . aalistic ;'■ ~ And it's a good job they arcij . i ; for any undue recklessness i: ■■'i?tic direction would attract m, > ■ • ,■., tion than the country could iMoilv aOsorb, and create a Canadian situation, with its consequent bad advertisement. A brainv organiser or two could lift Maoriland into the position of an earthly paradise. The agitators there don't 'seem to me to quite fill the bill. They are mostly imported men, and make the mistake of talking to the fairly prosperous Maorilanders about 'chains' and 'slavery.' which, however applicable such terms might be to the very poor of Old World industrial centres, are reallv not understood in New Zealand. It was the same in America until the propagandists not 'racy of the soil.'" °

A good stomach keeps every part of the body in perfect condition, and Disease cannot break in. Dr. Sheldon's Digestive Tabules are a natural remedy for all disorders £,nd weaknesses of the stomach. They possess exactly the same properties a? the gastric juices and other digestive fluids of the stomach. They actually do the digestive work of the stomach, and enable that organ to rest, recuperate, and become round and healthy. They act in a mild, natural manner, and cause no disturbance in the digestive organs. They prevent any fermentation of the food, which causes sour

stomach. Dr. Sheldon's Digestive Tabules instil bjalth into every part of the human body. They compel perfect digestion of the food and perfect assimila-

tion of the food nutriment. Every organ of the body is kept in repair, and good health necessarily results. At the same time the stomach, being relieved of its work, gets well and strong. Obtainable everywhere,

The most interesting and the most* satisfactory item in the cable messages published this morning (says Saturday's Dominion) is the announcement that the Bank of .England discount rate has been reduced to 4 per cent. This is the third reduction that has taken place in the rate in as many weeks. On New Year's Day the rate was 7 per cent,, on the following day it was lowered to U per cent., on the ICUi hist, it was back to ;) per cent., and on Thursday last the still more satisfactory rate of 4 per cent, was imposed A year ago at this date the rate was 4 per cent., and there was no recession until about the middle of April. The London money market is, therefore, less stringent to-day than it. was a year ago.

New often hear of the distribution of Carnegie library funds within the Dominion. It is interesting to record that the man who really gives away the Carnegie library buildings is the Laird of Skibo's private secretary, James Bertram. Mr Bertram, Scotch born like his chief, makes a careful investigation of all the demands made upon Mr Carnegie for libraries, and liM reports, gathered by special agents employed for the purpose, are so carefully prepared that Mr Carnegie depends almost entirely on his verdict. Mr Bertram is one of the most highly paid private secretaries in America, and he is probably the only one who has a private secretary of his own in turn. Marlon lias awakened, but lias not yet found itself famous, says the Pcildmg Star. still, it j s not tor want of ellort on the part of a land syndicate that it is getting a good advertisement out, of the latest oiler. The syndicate's oiler to the Government is really ambitious, being three blocks of land as a site for the new Parliamentary Buildings, in addition to the land, the syndicate grew really reckless by adding the sum of £SOOO in cash, the only condition being that, in the event of the oiler being accepted, the Parliamentary Buildings will lie erected on the land ottered. The Cabinet can hardly refuse stick a temptation!

An unusual incident is reported in the Pa tea Press. As Mr. ]£. Tait was taking some grass seed in his launch up the Pa lea river last week he found three rams belonging to Mr It. Bremer in the water. Two were dead, but lie man-' aged to get the third to land. After proceeding a little further on his journey h e saw two dogs running about. Thinking that possibly the dogs might be worrying sheep Mr Tait got out of the launch to investigate. Un going a little inland he found that twenty-live rams had been driven by the dogs into the creek while other sheep bore traces of worrying. Air Tait got the ranis out of the creek and leaving his companion to watch the dogs Mr Tait returned to Patea and comnnmciated with Mr Bremer about the matter. In the meantime Air Tait's companion found Sir L. Bremer and informed him of what had occurred Mr Bremer, who had been looking for these dogs the previous day, organised a party, with the result that one of the animals was killed and the other wounded, though it managed to get away. It was fortunate that Mr Tait happened to notice the dogs as he was going up the river, otherwise it iJ probable that Mr K. Bremer would have i lost a large number of rams. i "The dilliculty of securing sullieient labor to run the farm is now becoming something cruel," said an agriculturalist to the Manawatu correspondent of the New Zealand Times the other day. "The men are remarkably hard to get, and oven when they have been secured it is no light task to keep them." As an illustration of what he meant, ho mentioned a case that had come within his own observation, where a farmer had a fine crop of cocksfoot to harvest, which he was particularly anxious to save. First of all, he offered a third of the proceeds of the crop to any men who would undertake to get the seed in, but no response was made. Then he went the length of increasing the offer to onehalf, but still no men could be found to lake the job. At last, becoming desperate, he said he would give two-thirds of the crop in order to get it harvested, but even then the labor was not to be had. The upshot was that the seed is 1 now being shed on the ground. On the two-thirds basis a good man could have made £2 to £3 a day, and yet, even at that wage, no one seemed lo want a job. "The fact of the matter is," pursued the agriculturalist, "that the men do not care about doing anything in the' shape of hard work or what would entail long hours, even when splendid money is to be made The result is, as this instance under notice, that farmers often lose valuable crops, while the general work on the farms at jtbjs time of the year is always heavily handicapped.

Nikola Tesla, the American electrician who, a cable message told us, proposes to flash a message to the planet Mars, has u personally almost as interesting as his remarkable project. Tesla may be described as a brilliant outpost in the advance of modern electrical science, grasping with ready mind the possibilities of new departures, and continually coming forward with inventions and improvements upon other inventions. The fact that the daring inventor has a tendency towards sensationalism may shake laith in the wild endeavors he has been guilty of suggesting, hut do not detract from the interesting character of Tesla himself. Tesla is in his fifty-first year, Tesla'a father, a clergyman and orator of the Greek Church, intended his son to maintain the family line in the church; but the boy had already learnt a love of mechanics from his mother, a woman of great ingenuity, who found great happiness in the construction of such mechanical appliances as looms, churns, and other farm machinery. Once embarked upon the engineering profession, Tesla set his face steadfastly towards the west, and from Carlstatt and Gratz he journeyed to Paris, where he worked in the corporation telegraph department. Tesla then crossed the Atlantic, and became a naturalised American in 1884. His work nas been fruitful of inventions m telephone repeating, arc lighting, pyro-magnetic generating, alternating current power transmission, and many other branches of the science. In 1897 lie experimented largely in the transmission of power without wires, and since 1003 he has been evolving a system of word telegraphy and telephony wherein power will be generated by a large plant to be erected at Niagara, and transmitted without wires.