LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 164, 2 July 1908, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The English mail despatched from Wellington via liriudrsi en the 22nd Mav, arrived in London on 27til June.

Mr. Cyrus Williams, engineer eiigag'd to report on Opunakc harbor improvement, has submitted a -i-lieiue to e .si .1:4-2.0110.

Planting operations are now proceeding apace al Western Park, and Me-srs lirowne and ('alt ley will lie pleaded W receive additional donations o! trees and shrubs.

A reminder is given that tin- second, term ill' 111'' technical classes commences next IVtt'k. If suHiclelll students hand in their n os classes in millinery will lie started on Wednesday afternoons aml evenings. .Miss .Icimous hits consented to act as instructor.. Tin- Main South road, hi-twcen Jin wcra mill Manilla, wliii.li was practically iiii]tii»s:tl<li> la.-1 winter, li.is lii'i'ii re.metalled ami improved, ami now li 1o„c of tlif best road.- in tlhi district. The NCrmanhy road, between Normaiiby anil the Plains, on the other hand, lias never for many years Keen in so' bad a condition, being full of holes and dangerous to travel over.

A defect in the new reading room in die (arncgic free library is the want ol system in the arranging of newspaper*. The papers are well displayed on capacious reading desks, and indicated by prominent name plates, but there is an utter lack of systeniatising. A sugges lion to the library commit I '.':; it that; say, the Tarauaki nrovincial newspapers be almtted a desk for their display/, Wellington papers ditto, ami .-o on. Or the principal metropolitan paper.-; might be tiled alongside each other, and the remaining provincial on.'s classilicd as indicated above. At any rate, Ihe present indiscriminate mix-up is most tinsatisfactory, and should he. attended to without delay.

i'.y rc<|iic«t of many of th.. regular devotees of the euchre pattv socials the Railway (social Club last night held a social evening in tin- JJroinjham street' ball. There was a very large attend ance, and a most enjoyable evening was spent in dancing, with songs at inter.-, vals. ( k )uite a feature was (he capita. 1 music Supplied by Mrs. (jenrge. whilst (he lloor, as usual at [his dub's functions, was in splendid order. A,. y supper was provided. Messrs .1. jioskiii and 11. Du11,.,- „.,.,~ ,| K , singers were the Mi.--cs Thompson (2) and Tiplady. .Messrs |[„skin, Trcchv Jihler. Hall, ami Som-mllo. '|'|„. ~|„i;-.s first full evening social was undoubtedly a sun-ess.

Our local contemporary (writes ihl . -Manawali, .Standard) goes to considerable trouble this morning to point out errors m the columns of his journal. Put they arc bound to happen when an editor bus to write doggerel, participate m lootball controversies, report a wedding, bead processions, arrange sculling matches, saw wood, drive motor-cars to the edge of precipices, describe a tire so that the readers will shed their wraps, make one shilling do the work of ten! shine at a dinner, work a Simplex machine, go without meals, invent advertisements, delight pumpkin-raisers, minister to the "alllictcd, heal the disgruntlcd. fight a crowd, sweep (he ollice, speak al public meetings, and stand in with everybody ami everything. His errors are forgiven. The deaths from cancer in New Zealand during the year lbllf were li7-t. There were more deaths of males than of females, the numbers being: Males :|(il. females alii. The rate of mortality per lil.iiliu living was 7..'i:i. The increase is not believed by all authorities to be a fact to the extent represented, but partly the result of more careful ecrlilication of (he' causes of death ami of improved diagnosis in eases of what is termed inaccessible cancer. Ji is certain, however, that out of a total of IU.HC-li deaths from all causes in New Zealand during 101)7, 07-1, or ti.7o per cent., were caused by cancer. The death-rate from cancer is not so great as that from tubercular diseases., but is. nevertheless, a most alarming matter, mil onlyon account of the number of deaths,'lmt because of ils progressive increase. A decennial (able compiled by the llcgistrar(lcneVal shows that the deaths from cancer \,\v 10.000 persons living ,-,,-e from HflMßMMHji^^.ili.l

It is understood (says the Manawatu Standard) that the auctioneers operating in the Wellington, Wairarapa, Tarnnaki, and Unwke's Bay districts have practically decided to bring into operation the* two-minute limit m selling stock at the usual weekly sales. The practice is already in operation in ing, Waiiganui, and Diiimcvirke. ■Railway returns for May *Ju>w that on the Uovermnent lines of Die Dominion the revenue was .£210,777 and the expenditure ,U(iO,-125. North Island lines contributed :C«J!>,S!)1), the expenditure being r.73,312. and South Island lines C 110.877, the expenditure being C 57.112. Th,. mileage o',>en ior tr "«i y in the North Island mis !t«2, '""1 »» U'e South "island IS 12 miles.

111-. Justice Cooper stated in Hip Napier Supremo Court this \vo«U Hint there, was now uu presumption that a mini was agent lor bis wife. I'M ni-esump-tion was rather the other way. It trc.pientlv happened thiit a husband assumed'that lie had the right to do what he liked with his wife's prorfvly and then found that his wife would not

The ladies of the W.C'.X.t'. disponed afternoon tea yesterday in IhjUld reading room in ilie Tmv'n llul, after the opening of the Carnegie library buildinjr. The patronage was a.flattering, testinionv to tlie. I'niim's efforts in providiin; a Vest room in the new buddings, and the maintenance fund should llavi' been considerably strengthened as a result of the afternoon's business.

Mr. A. \V. Ughlband. president of the | Nelson District Fruitgrowers' Assorialinn. ill a letter to the Nelson Kvcnillg Mail regarding the presence of the. San .lose frail seale, suggests that immcdiaLe iU-ticin he taken to stamp out the evil or prevent its further spread. The blight, which has the appearance somewhat of that of lly specks, is extremely hard to detect. 11l main- hundreds of small orchards in Nclsoil city and district and Jlotueka, he believes, little or no precautions arc. being taken cither to make the necessary search for them or to eliminate the evil. The writer considers that the ( !incrumcil(»Wttld well underfake a thorough sprajjjjfl process, which, to his idea, is the .only possibility of successful reasonable treatment.

it is easier to pull down than lo construct. JL is easier for a man lo lose: a character Uian to gain it. -Nobody is more prone to have his character traduced iliaii a public man. In connec,. lion with Mie Harbor Jjill -Mr. Maxwell's character lias suU'urud in sumo quarters ilia attitude lias boon misrepresented, and, indeed, attributed to ulterior motives. A sneaker lit Jlanaia on ilon-, day referred to the matter, voicing his protest against the infamous suggestions being given currency. Mo nuin knowing Mr. Maxwell—and the lalter bad been before tlieni in a public capacity for over ir> years —woulu. believe for a moment that Air. Maxwell would prostitute his manhood by acting other than conscientiously in regard to the Harbor Jiill. Mr. Marx and Mr. Hughes repudiated any such suggest.on as lining emanated from them. Thoug.'i thee had not .share,! his ides regarding I lie" linl. Kiev m-H'i- doubled ; ( ir. Max wcllV integrity in l>. sighted. The previous speaker )#ied that his remarks had no application to either Mr. Marx or Mr. lioih lu. knew to be above besmirching another public man's most preciou--: possession. All tile same. I,c l:,i,| iie;ir,l these slanderous slairinclits-, and lie felt it his duly I.a record his public protect against ihem. The speaker did not -ay, but lie might have said with perfect truth, that few men in Taranuki have given more freely "f their services to the. public than Mr. Maxwell, or put the' public interests before their own, imbed at the cost 0i r ' their own, more than he. .Mr. Jlnxirell is at least entitled to a recognition of the disinterestedness of the motives actuating iiim in his work on behalf of the' public of Taranuki,