LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 146, 11 June 1908, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

At tin' Magistrate's Court yesterday morning a lir*t-un'ending inebriate was eonvicted and diseharg<'d. Mr. Alfred Vandeibilt, the American millionaire, is going to spend the num tner til Kngland. jfe Ua« taken a Lonilon flat at the corner of Park Lane and I'i'.vadillv, the rental of which is &2,OUU a year. it i* eiaiiuod t'lmt Hie two largest cargoes ever brourfit to New Zealand by an intercolonial trader have been those oi tin- L'linuiroa on hor last two trip? to Wellington. Last month she left Melbourne with 2KM) tons of cargo for >eu- Zealand, and this month she had wilhiu lot) tons of that amount. '1 here were between live and six thousand sacks of Australian /lour for New /Calami la 4 week", probably the biggest shipment in one l>ott<>m lb»t New Zealand has bad for v-ears pa>t. The flour for tlm several ports were: I'lnir. S."» bags: Lyttelton. 100.5 bags: Duncdin. |s;s h;igs : Wellington, 24 Jo bags: <ii-bMrne. Jlu bag>: total, 502.3, .New '/,<>■.[|;ind timber and its durability haw been brought under notiee at lli' 1 UliiH'. where wharf extension neecs-'iial«-d ihe pulling up of piles within tiif eM,.|,-ion T-lirv are all ot Mara. plii'-cd in position more than 30 yean- ago. Tin- only evidfliee of deeay is on Ihat part exposed to the aelion of ili.e tides. be! ween high and low water marks, A bow and beneath that the timber is perfectly Mumd. the interveiling portion being honeycombed ;md oaten away until bandy a connecting link remains. r | he theory deduced bv tJfuJPo Vst aide l<> judge U that the destructive element po-Mbly aif in-e.-t----flnat-s on the snrraee. and tint nil he- j ilealb woivrline and aboy tidal limits | remain- intact for what >eeiningly may j be set down a- an Indefinite period. I

I YOC ('AX (JKT IT CHNAPKK AT THE f!l'.l> i'(>ST. ; See H-hnt ea«li will do at (he A .B.C. Boc"; Co.:—r.'enis' kip shooters, nailed, 7b 8rl; Gents' Balmorals, wide-fitting, 7s (id; peotch grain wnfer-pronf knee boots (for tile stockyard). 22s (id; gents' dancing shoe', fis fid; ladies' felt slippers, Is; cliildrens', 7(1; goloshes 3s fid; footholds. 3s fid; gum hoo f lis (id; ladies* glace shoes. 5s Cd. Golf boots to order. All parcels carriage paid,—Advt»

Iceland holds (he record for longevity, ;he average duration of human life there being 01.8 years,

There are 1042 cases set down for hearing in the Native Land (Join t which sits in New Plymouth and Haw-era next month.

The Truancy Inspector under the Education Board has been busy of late, and the Courts will show the result .during the next week or two. A considerable number of rabbit exports in .Southland suddenly ceased operations last week. Tliey state (says Hie Gore Standard) that the Home market is over supplied, and also that the bad handling of New Zealand rabbits, compared with Australia, has had a detrj* mental elfect.

"(Jetting in early!" A candidate for Parliamentary honors in the Egmont electorate has written to the Opunake Town Hoard to book the hall oil a night prior to the election. As yet no one knows what, date the general election will be held on, so no date could be iixed. However, providing there is no local club or body requiring the hall on the. same date, the candidate gets lirst right.—Opunake Times. Mr. E. Maxwell is contributing to the \Hawera Star n scries of letters on thfet Harbor Board question- 1" " l recent letter he says, "Can anyone, in the face of the fact that by the Bill the rate liability will be reduced from three-farth-ings to one farthing and the actual annual payment from £3300 to nil, state that the Bill increases the ratepayers' liability, as Mr. Jlarx, who knows bet! ter, and Mr. Hughes persist in doing?" Tu concluding the third of three lengthy articles in the Auckland Star on "Medical Fees," in which lie deals with many difficulties with which doctors have to contend, llr. I!. M. Bakeweil Says:—"i say, deliberately and seriously, that if some supreme power could offer me my youth and life over again on condition of following the medical profession, 1 would prefer immediate death. 1 have not brought up any of my sons to the profession,"

A bottle containing whisky was produced in the JCltham Magistrate's Court yesterday morning as an exhibit {says the Argils). After the case Constable Wade asked if the Magistrate would make an order regarding it. Mr. Turnbull advised the constable to drink it, but the constable raised the point whether it would be good for him. "Then hand it to Mr. Wake,'' said tie 1 Magistrate. And the Court smiled. Tho Mr. Wake referred to is an Kltham eitor. and a pronunent temperance ad- ; rotate.

A brutal assault was perpetrated by ' two young men npon ail aged fisherman named Joseph Angus in La Roche street, Newtown. Wellington (says the Times) at about H.3U on Saturday. The victim of the assault was engaged unharnessing his horse at the rear of bis home when his assailants appeared and offered to assist- him. Angus declined the proffered help. One of the men thereupon struck him over the eye with a brick. The blow rendered the old man insensible, and opened a nasty cut, two inches long, on his forehead. Not content with tins brutal attack, the two ruilians kicked Angus until his lace was almost beyond recognition.

Somewhere about midnight on Tuesday someone resident on the city side ol Mount Victoria, near the Town Belt, heard cries of "Murder! murder!" being shrieked by some female in distress (says the Dominion). A telephone message alarmed the police, and soon nearly the whole of the detective staff and a squad ol policemen were racing up Majnrihauk»-!strect, under the impression th.it a tragedy wius being enacted at th'-ir destination. By the lime the united strength of th; 1 police readied ! h<> spot it had oeen discovered that the origin of Ihe midnight, hullabaloo was merely a luiveiV quarrel. The officers of the law siiid hard things to themselves at having to turn out to what proved to be a false alarm.

Mr. I'. I l '., t'lieal. the well-known Auckland surveyor, writes to file Mines Record with regard to the discovery 01 graphite in Turanaki thirty years ago. -Ml', (.'heal says when lie was smlvevijiig on the Waiiniile Plains in 187!), at tile time of the Te M'hiti troubles, the men were building a chimney from some boulders in a stream flowing from Mount Eglnont when tlicy came across an exceptionally heavy one, about the size of a man's head. On being broken it smashed into anicllaled, scaly or flaky pieces like soft black slate, was lice from grit, and could be used at once lor writing* purposes. Sir James Hector declared it to be graphite equal to Cumberland blacklead, and flic best and worst samples jpivc !ii> und 8(i.!l per cent, of purii carbon, which could be at once compressed or sawn into peneik Speaking at Christchurcli the other night, the Prime Minister quoted fig : Hies iibowing the solid progress the country was making, ami claimed that alarmists' statements were quite mii.instilled. Hi had been said, lie continued. that, the (iovcrnincnl by its norruwiiigs in I lie country was responsible for the shortness of money during the last live years, The (loverninent hail borrowed in Australia C.'i.liOO.Olllt. and ill New Zealand Cl,!)iili,()l)ll. an average of t,'i!i:i.tM)(l. During the same period, however, the increase in the public bank deposits was £l(i,:i(ftl.(l(l(l. and in the savings banks C 4,200,000. In reply to criticisms relating to the financial administration of the (loverninent. Sir Joseph said that for the last four years tlie increase in the revenue liao been .12.11,11.5(1(1, while the increase in the expenditure had been on!v t1,77«.«54.

Sir .loseph Ward was subjected lo a good deal of interruption during l his s|K'e<-h at (,'lirisU-hurch on Tuesday night, a knot of local Socialists taking up a prominent position in the Imklv of the theatre ami making interjections at frequent intervals. Amid a scene of

some disorder the Prime .Minister rose at the conclusion and moved a vote of thanks to the Mayor for presiding, "| don't know who this jumping .Tack is on

the right-hand side here.'' said Sir, Joseph, indicating ilr. Thorn, who was gyrating up and down in front ot Lady Ward and Miss Ward, yelling unvi "living his arms in a kind of ecstacy. "but it is very improper." Mr. Tltorn looked threateningly at. the Premier, who did not appear at all dismayed, lmt quite

ready for anything. Fortunately someone iu the hall called for "three cheers

for Ihe Premiei I .'' and in the resounding chorim which followed possible trouble

was averted. This was the last incident of a lively meeting. "Does this often happen';'' queried a lady last night at the Town Hall, when the electric light suddenly struck work. Thinking it was a practical joke by someone ati tile switchboard, n;ot muiA notice was taken at first. But when darkness still continued to reign su prcme ill the Council Chamber, where the Horticultural Society's meeting w,i» being held, one of the members, to wit,

the chairman of the borough electric ciinimitfi'e. went oil' to investigate. He returned with a burning caudle. The carelakcr of tile building presently followed with another. And presently the

meeting was continued iu the refulgeut rays ©f six glittering candles, one, of whieh peacefully repo.sed in a little to-

licUro tin. JJo wiistairs, in the readingtoom. I hero was. a, general slanipedej for not even candles came there. M.r. Browne telephoned to 1 lie distributing station, and in seven minutes from thai time the fault iras loeatal aud oueo again the light was pitched on.

1 lb" .Minister fur Marine has patented on ingenious invention which promises to be a boon to all who use rowing boats. The patent consists of a rowlock. which, to all intents and purposes, is part of the boat, but by a simple device is euliapsible when occasion, requires. Jn shape it i s a rowlock of ordinary pattern, but the shaft i* splitfrom the centre of the circle in which the oar rests. The shaft sets in a fairly elose-fi,tting socket, giving just sullicient play lor rowing requirements. When approaching a <t;iging. or when dosiroin of removing bis oar. all the rower ha- to do is to press upwards lb" lower part oi tlie rowlmk shaft, imderne.itli the socket, and two sides of the rowlock fall back in opposite directions Jjlong the gunwale, this being 'achieved by reason, of the fact- that the two sides are hinged within the pocket, A pfu through the bottom end of the shall, precludes the pos-dbility of the rowlock coming out accidentally. The device has been very favourably commented npon by seafaring men. and especially by skippers on those trades requiring ireipjent u-e of surf boats. Sample* of. ih-e patent in liim-s and in galvanised iron are being forwarded by Mr. Millar j to the Anglo-French Inhibition. I

There is nothing more nppropriate I for smnvl wear on these cold days than our paletots. Our styles in this year''4 shapes are an exceptional selection, fashionable, warn), and serviceable. Bee them for yourself,—White and Sons.— Adrt, If you want your furniture removed carefully, expeditiously, and economically, employ the .Yew Zealand Exp»rss Company, Ltd., who make a speeial feature of this <lass of work, and who are also able to supply first-class dry storage accommodation. Oustoms work to all its branches.—Advt