LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 206, 20 August 1908, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The usual fortnightly meeting o Court 'l'aranaki, A.0.F., was held last evenin", 'P.O.K. Bro. \Y. Nichols m the | chair. Only general routine business was transacted. A poll to ascertain tin! feelings of ratepayers the, construction, ot nn electric tramway between liawera and Kaupokonui is to be taken 10-day. If Ihe poll is favorable, steps will be taken to give effect to the scheme outlined I,V .Mr. lilack, the Wellington electrical Engineer, but another poll of raleiiivers will be necessary to sauction the pledging of a rate as security for the loan. Just as the. New Plymouth train had moved out of Lepperton Junction yesterday and had gathered consnlciabk sneed*. the horrilied yell of a man caused the driver to put on the. brakes. J • train was pulled up, and one ot Un railway ollici.il-> . galloped ii.ong and cau"ht a youngster of four or live je.i s of age who was clinging to the steps ot one of the carriages, The practice o allowing little children to rim about railwav plal forms unattended is becoming ton common to be pleasant or sale. Desperate cases warrant drastic re-

medies. Ine ->('w . * . fi i:,.,M. Board is endeavoring, under the di tioil of Mr. S. Percy-Smith, to beautii, the grounds on the.slope near the boys Km'iitly llu-re Hau 1 nee.i ulanled a liirsn? nunt ,, ir ol tree*, sonifi if them very valuable. Now, the pnndual uf the school lias a i-m\. ami (Ik | cow has a likinjr I or ynun<r lives uii.l | slie has also the reputation »t being unscrupulous in her methods oi obtai'itn« toothsome delicacies. Mr. Smith fears that his trees will suffer and yesiuvdav ri'commewlcd the Uoaru ot t«->-cernors to adopt what he termed » hignhanded course—that they should dispose of the cow and buy anolher one for Mr. Priilliani, in (he hope sll ° will prove more amenable to the rut's , -and regulations-governing the schoolgroundX His colleagues were hardly j taken with the idea, and eventually t • was decided to jMk Mr. Rov. as Mr. ( Pridham's attorney, to have the cow j effaced. - j

, Some idea of the severity of Hie' weather in Central Otago may lie gathered from a telegram received at Diraedia from Alexandra South. "i'here is an ice carnival to-night (Saturday), tlie baud turning out. There.is curling, skating and dancing on tlie ice. it lls freezing 'great guns.' iNaseby is sending two rinks on .Monday. This . is the first tune there has l&en curling in Alexandra,"

Only two or three hundred Maoris und about a hundred Europeans visited Parihaka on Tuesday to witness tlie unveiling of the monument erected in memory of the late cliief and prophet To Whiti. Tlie unveiling was not a ceremonious affair. Taare Waitara, in a speech in the illume, expressed his disappointment at tlie meagre attendance of -Maoris, although he was pleased to see that there were visitors from distant places, Waikanae and Otago. The .Europeans were treated with Javisn hospitality. When making a short speech, at the Auckland industrial Exhibition, the Premier spoke at the rate of 80 words a minutes for the benulit of a student from the Blind Institute using one of the .shorthand type machines invented for tllie use of blind persons. The boy managed to take his report easily. Tlie reading of the notes was done entirely by the souse of toucii. Sir Joseph used, several long words purposely to test the student, which were alterwards repeated with accuracy and without hesitation. 'iliie Premier said ho hoped to Seo the shorthand students from me institute taking thi'ir place as stenographers in commercial and professional houses.

A very good story is related as having occurred not a hundred miles from Stratford. The other day a settler,' who resides a few miles from the township, was hurriedly songnt for by a Small boy. and informed t'nat "Rose'' waj very bad. Without stopping to consider, the man went to the nearest telephone and rang up a doctor, and urged him to proceed post haste to the scene of sickness. Wllen the medico turned up ready to perform any operation necessary, he was informed that it was not "Miss itose" that required doctoring, but an old mare of Dliat name. Exit doctor in anything but a placid frame of mind. The settler above referred to lias two "Roses," and he naturally thought that it was bis own Ib'Sh "and Wood that required doctoring—Post. A crash in Devon street east, opposite Nolan and C.'o.'s innrt, and a'grey horse galloping niitdly down the street with a piece of shaft lashing him into still more furious speed—and the people knew there had been a runaway, and i. .collision. No plebian milk-cart this

time, but a spick-and-span turn-out of a local medico came to grief yesterday. Dr. MacDiarmid, locum tenens for Dr. Home, was attending a patient at 'Jc Heiiui, and left the horse standing the gig 011 the side of the street. The horse was startled-by a passing motor car, and oil' it went. The flea-bitten | grey defied all eHurts made to cheek i w * career. Coming down the hill into tlie centre ui the tou'n tlie vehicle collided with a gig standing by llr. West's shop, and the little Maori boy in charge [ of it was thrown on to the road. The .Maori's horse went oft" in one direction, and the doctor's continued his mad car eer to the westwirrd, leaving an upturned gig, badly bent and broken, to satisfy' Til? curiosity of the crowd which eotleeted in a tew seconds. r llie Maori lad was cut about the face, but not seriously injured, and (lie gig also escaped without damage. Dr. Leatham was on the spot within a minute or two of the collision, lint fortunately there was nnthing serious to engage his attention.