LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 132, 26 May 1908, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

So far. we have not heard «f any move being made in the direction of inviting llio Premier, who is to arrive m town* to-nmrrow, to give a political address. Although Sir Joseph'* visit was ivot expected quite so soon, and the no* tiee given was somewhat shoit, it i* l hoped the opportunity will not he allow ed to pass without an invitation being extended Sir .Joseph from the townspeople. A day's notice is (|uite sufficient to ensure a f»U house to listen to an exposition of the colony's the Premier.

311*. Newton King lias received the following cable from his Sydney agents re hides:—"Lights tinner; others unchanged.''

A quaint custom prevails in the Kai- ! koura and surrounding districts of nani- ! ing a hor>e alter the man from whom it was bought. The eoachdriver steering ; his team round a *harp curve veils the | names of prominent individuals encour* j agingly, and the party returning to the cily on the Cheviot coach after the Premier's visit to Kaikoura was highly amused at the frequency with which an animal bearing the surname of a wellknown local ollicial had to be appealed to to "get up, there." Air. J. Mai\ addressed a meeting in connection with the New Plymouth Harbor r-ill at Iviponga on Saturday nigut. only abi»ut :2i> bring present. A motion was proposed: —'"That this meeting of ratepayers instructs .Mr. Marx to support tlie Hill." An amendment, "That, this meeting: instructs Mr. Marx l:o vole against the ISill and to oppose any further borrowing, and to make the best possible terms in connection with the original loan,'' was carried by 7 to »!. A further motion, "That. Mr. Marx be, instructed as their member to Oppose I any extension of the Opnnake raliny district eastward of the Kgmont eoun-1 t\v' wa.s carried, I

In thi- .-r,Kon. says the Oamaru Mail, when all fruits of the soil ;ire eoiumandin«r -mil eminently "itm t il'yinjr prices. j»erha[).-3 the most remunerative of all crops is the homely potato. For some years the potato has been rather unsatisfactory; first tlie potato blight ruined the crop, aiiti then last year, when growers in these parts were congratulating themselves tliat they had ]o»d the scourge, it fell to the lot of the merchant to meet trouble—in sOnie very grievm* trouble indeed. The markef was jii>t ;i.-; well behaved as i illicit I have been expected, and its in- ; < oii>ideratene>s cau-ed eottsiderable tr<*nble. Jlowcver. both farmer and merchant should have luineil the potato to good account ihi* year. The crop, taken on the whole, W a* nto-t prolific, there has been a Mejiiy demand, mid the price has never been so low as to warrant complaint. AltogHher the potato m>|>per, a chi-s represented in our cOnuminiiy. lui> Imm'u having a good time, turning up in innny in.-lance< eight tons of potatoes i" r <-\cry acre of groun.l planted. Tlieri' arc growers in llie Willowbridge and Totara districts who have in this one season taken 'potatoes worth . ou an average, CI ~>s a ton, troni out (if the ground sullicient to make every ;i<*ie under cultivation pay for itself, iin d land doesn't seil cheaj) in tim*,» localities.

\\ .( T.l . The 111.11!1111 v liliM'i illLr of the Women's Christian' Teinperaiic.' I'liioi) will be held Oil Wednesday. Mav -7tli. at ;i p.m.. in the IJaplist church - Advt.

Members of the Equitable Building Society of New Plymouth (First an!} Second Groups) are notified that subscriptions will be due and payable today 1 Tuesday) al the Secrcl ary's oilier. Curiie-street. fn.lll !> a.m. to I2.:su. lirom 1 p.m. to o p.m.. a nil 7 p.m. lo !) p.m.— Advt.

lie tried Port Hacking after fish, But only caught a cold. Ife said. "Atclioo! J'.y jove, I wish I'd done as I was told. This is indeed a Hacking cough. flood name it's got, I'm sure!" But naxt day he was right enough Through Woods' Great Peppermint Cure, 11

" The rain ypuiled the holiday verierday. There was no demonstration locally. except that, the Taranaki Killes held a daylight parade. M. Lebouc<|, u Paris deputy, has laid on tin' table of tlie Chamber of Dejiuticrt a J>ill providing Iliat any purveyor ik*)m?rinj» for tlio use of the army or the hospital* adulterated food shall he liable to a line ot C4OO.

The Fiji Tiiue.-j suys:— It will d'Hthlbe news to mo.st |)ersuns lo learn that the Chinese boycott of Japanese tfooda lias extended its operations to l r iji, Chinosn nierehants in Suva have 'taken all Japanese goods out of their issued ordei'H that for the present, they will receive no goods carried in Japanese bottoms.

A young' fellow Ims (vUablishod a record ot which Ito has every reason io be piond, ami which is croditable Co youiitf Au>trali;tHs. \U> look up a farm on sliiiii'-; in Hi,. Tainwarth districl, New South Wales, and he took ol; il at-; his sban' for twelve montlis, This is better thun grubbing on an ollice stool for 5s a week, and shows the grit of the lad.

No one will regret the absenre ol' Mi's. IJOckrill. the ex-Ma yoress. fnuu the head ol public i'uiictioli, s more liian the night >UIV ol' the Daily News. On the oeca-iioii (»f a festivity has ahva\s thought (.1 them bv lerwiirding a hamper of yefreshmenls. LiM. night lliey were given another manifestation of Miv. Doekrill's kindness, which, unnecessary to iidd. they much appreciate. This afternoon at Kaholu there proto be mi inter<'>.ting meeting of .New I'lyiuoitth harbor district ratepayers. A. 11. Moore and A. AlcKeown. promoters of the new Opunake harbor scheme, and Mr. Newton King, as representing the New Plymouth Harbor Hoard ami the Hill presented by him to the ]»oaril. will take the platform. A vote will probably be taken at the conclusion. A correspondent, of the l'atea Press, writing from I'pper Waitotara. sa\>i he lien's that some plucky settlers have taken up some new country about 12 miles further back from Jklu; Van AshV place, making a distance of 50 miles from Waitotara. One of them took hits wife and clii Mmi back there last week. It is pioneering indeed to lwve to ride >i.\ miles along ;i goat track and then have to walk the other six through th? bu*h.

The danger of using combustible matt rial in stuge decoration was illustrated on the last night of the Scotch lair in Petonc. A clump of toi-toi gras-i had become unite dry as the result- of close proximity to the gaslights for three nights, and the audience wars greatly alarmed lo see the grass spring into Ihune at u lat<? hour on Thursday. There was something like a mild panic at first, but the prompt extinction of the Haines by a couple oi young men soon set all fears at rest.

Mrs. Evelyn Thaw is suing Mr. .laine? Regan, proprietor of the Hotel Knickerbocker, for Cll),0U0 for slander (says the New York Herald of Hh April). The -lander is i,bar Mr. .Regan had staled he requested her and .Mr. E. U. Thomas to leave the Knickerbocker grill-room. She admilrf Ihat she and Mr. Thomas were there, but savs thev were no! ordered to leave. Mr. Regan says he gave Mr. Thomas live minutes to drink what was then on the table, and then leave the reom. At the end of live minutes Mr. Thomas departed. The Inspector of Fisheries. Mr. A. Hooker, informed a News reporter that a* he was strolling through the Recreation («rounds yesterday morning he heard the ~liarp report of a pea-rille, and. turning quickly, saw the smoke of the gnu issuing from the bathing-house, and. at tlu same time, a "winged*' duck falling t«> the ground. Then tlie head of a prominent resident made its appearance, and stealthily he made his way to the duck, conveying it to the privacy of the building. Mr. Hooker said it was lii.s intention to search the ha thing-house and. upon finding the bird, to report the matter to the secretary of the Acclimatisation Society.

It has been suggested ill -\cw Vork that legislation should attempt to cheek the evil of stage profanity, which is growing. Nowadays there is scarcely a musical show, a vaudeville entertainment. or a legitimate comedy that does not yield, at one moment or another, to those who have set the seal of approval upon "cuss words.'' X<i matter i«.w rclint'd tlii' subject or how polite '•he topi,., i! is safe to say that t.hl' inl rnih'c!ion of lluse polluted colloijuialisins will "net ;l laugh." Lverv playwright knows ibis. 11,. niav 'pretend that he doesn'l. but lie dues.' He not ony knows it. but avails himself of the knowledge. According to Mr. 1!. IJnice, liaugitikei, ruts ale the real enemv <il lathered game, ami the weasel is' ill., enemy ot the rat. lie expressed these view,, at the mi ef ingot the Acclimatisation Society on Wednesday night, and iploteil specific instances In show tll.lt the rat gives place Li |h.e weasel, which, in his district, at any rate, never touched feathered game. In itangitikei. lie added, pheasants were holding their own, bul French partridge*, which thrived for a time, had disappeared. A covey of Virginia ipiail had lately been seen in his vicinity, and Im hud 'reason 1 ill believe that there were souk* native i|ii.iil which were supposed to be extinct.

The W'-anganui Chronicle hears that a .Maori, who styles himself a prophet, ha- Wen, with lu-s wife, touring the North Island during the past six or eight months, making himself rich oil the credulity of the .Maoris. Not onlv

does he profess ability to cure disease, hut he lays claim to power to keep away death from his converts. The "prophet" was recently in the Wang a - mii district, and gained a number of adherents at Aramoho. Unfortunately for his reputation, one of his converts died, and belief in his powers has been consequently much shaken. The impostor is now at Wsiitotara, and it is stilted that at Karioi the Maoris spent over CoOl) in connection with the visit of the man and the woman, la cminectiun with the narrow e&-

cape from drowning y i the Howard Vernon ( ompany whilst crossing the river at Westport in the punt, there were some humorous touches even in the midst of danger. One voung- lady, looking at the river and the bridge in the distance, when the punt was going down the river, said with a sigh: "Mow far i™ it from Westport? The man replied; "I cant tell you; it seems we are not

far from heaven." "Oh!" id the lady, "my mother always told me I would be

punished for trying to be an actress."' Another lidy tied her husband's boots together, and as the punt lieared the flhore she threw the boots oil .the bnnk, 'J he punt, however. moved on downsin .tin, and when at last she got ashore she cried out: "Oh! what a shame; my husKind's new boots gone!"' 'ihe secretaries of the Congressmen at Washington, U.S.A., have formed

a union and have struck for tlie full amount of salaries allowed (1 1 by law. Kaeh Congressman is allowed I'm-

, a <frrot:irv CMO a year, in addition to I»i- filial sof Ci.101) «tiid mileage. Tliis money, however. is paid not to the secretary. hut In the Congressman direct, on his certiiiciite that it lias been used lor llie purpose intended. The secretarial union claim flint often the clerkis paid only CHIO or I'loll, ami that liiri principal pockets the rest. Sometimes the secretary is the wife, son, or daughter *»f the Congressman. This inav rot lie illegal if such clerk docs the work. the union claim* that it is uniair lo them. .too often, however, the Ki>n is at college, or the daughter or wile is in society. Then the name is

simply a dummy to enable the Con gre-sinan lo draw C\oo on a false eer tilicate.

"Australia's <:reate-st comedy three, tlio Si anionic's," arc now touring Cau- ' ada with a bin' show. They were engaged at Seattle almost imniedialelv upnii landing ilieve. In a private letter tlie.v describe Seattle as a town nlinii'. dm size iif Melbourne, but hu-ier. Tin' city is a blaze ( ,f light al night. every shop anil Imlel having an outside rlecliiciil illumination. They are (.nrning liie money, lnit liave to earn it, giving three shows daily, with (lie exception of Sundays, when they are billed for six. The audiences strike them very favorably, tliero being a total absence of the Mumping and whistling which all ton frequently mar theatrical performnwis on tTiiis side of the water. Tb" Moors theatre in Seattle is said to lie amongst the finest in the world, the interior being of marble, 'There arc 710 stairs, but inclines only, the latest development of fire-escape provision. THE ni.K.C." GIVES SATISFACTION. .Messrs. Moutim and l'eiuxe, of Maxwclltown, write: "We have three "1 j.K.C1." machines in use, and are milkiim H<l cows. We. can generally milk tins number in 2 hours 20 minute?, while there are only three of us to do this work. Wo are fully satisfied with both the lest- and quantity of milk. One iitlvantage is the short time the rows are standing in the shed, this lining only half the time required for luuuimilking. consequently tlio cows have more time in the patldoe''. We are perfectly satisfied with the machines." Write for full particulars and list of satisfied nsers to 'MacWwan and Co., l/td.. polo agents, Egmont-Btrcct, Now yjymoutli,

i. lie failure dJ the reported engage* incut of Princess Leal rice of Saxe-Co-burg Cotlui, u niece of King Edward, to the infante Alphon>>e Ruurbon of Or leans, a great-grandson of King Louis Phillippe, has caused a goood deal of ! newspaper gossip. A Berlin correspondent of the .Paris Matin attributes it to "the deisire of the Princess to carry a certain oflicer of somewhat plebeian birth, who, however, meets wixli great success in the fashionable world ou account of his very line tenor voice."' This story, however, is rejected by the English pnvs, which elates that the question of religion is the insurmountable obstacle. As an infinite of . Spain, Prince Alphonse can only marry a Roman Catholic, and Princess Beatrice, who is a Protestant, is not to be prevailed upon to change her religion, Jler t J>tcr, the Crown Princess of Roumania, hils always declined to give up her Protestantism.

A dramatic love tragedy ocurred in the Russian students' colony in Paris on April 2. Alexander Gueska, aged twenty, a Russian student at Odessa, was deeply in love with a fellow-student, Mile. (Jilinsky. She ignored hirf advances. however, and sonic months ago she came to Paris in order to study at the Sorbounc. A few weeks ago she became engaged to be married. The news reached Gueska at Odessa, and he at oikv set oil' foj- Paris. About eight o clock at night he called at the rooms of Mile, (lilinsky. in the Rue .Malebra!.die, am! violently protested against her forthcoming marriage. The girl told him that his journey had been a needless expense, as lie knew well she did not love him. and had no desire to see him. At these words the young man suddenly drew a revolver from his pocket. and tired at the girl, wounding her Mightly. He then turned the weapon against himself and shot himself dead. Mile. (lilinsky, who was suffering front shock more than her wound, undertook to pay the funeral expenses so that the remains of her unfortunate compatriot would not be iransferre<Jtto the morgue.

Ihe San Francisco correspondent of a London paper thus explains the defect in the indictment of Sehmitz:—The (plashing of the sentence on ex-Mayor Sehmitz meant* that to compel the proprietory of an illicit place to pay money to one, not a public oilicial, as the alternative of having their liquor license withdrawn, does not constitute the crime of extortion as defined by the laws of California. That is all that either the appellate or the Supreme Court decided. The nidi'clnient was misguided, in that it, did not aver thai Sehmitz was mayor, or that Kuef was a political acting with him in this matter. It is evidently Ihe opinion of the Supreme Court that it should have been alleged in the indictment. Nobody doubts that delimit/, and Kuef were acting together, any mole than he doubts wiiether -Sehmitz was mayor and Kuef a boss, but it U necessary lo allege such things in an indictment. Schiuitz is now the guest of honor among his"'old millionaire -associates, pending trial on lurth'T charges. It is evident, the exuiayor will not tacc trial for several months, an the courts are congested with ea-es against Kuef. The graft prosecutors are undismayed, and declare they will wage war on the boodling superiors until tl:ey are sent to the penitentiary.