LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 209, 25 August 1908, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Another record. Last night's meeting of the Borough Council was finished at 8.20 p.m.! The Mew Plymouth borough abattoirs will be big losers by the prohibition 01 the "boned meat" export trade.

Tlie air ill Stratford is electric just now when hospital matters arc under discussion, it is rumored that there is likely to he a rumpus at the. next ilos'pilal Board meeting, and that citln-r one or other of two important oilicials will dispense with the hospital as an employer. We give the rumor for what it is worth.

Pol' some time past the suburbs have had the borough water supply at a low rate. Now, by a decision of the Borough Council at last night's meeting, the cost is to be increased alter Marcii next to Is Id in the pound 011 the annual 'value. Which means that a cottage •letyng at 15s a week will pay .L'2 a year for water.

A coupie of lirst-oli'cudiiig drunks came before Jlr. 0. L. Bellringer, J.P., yesterday. The first had been incarcerated all <tay on Saturday, and that was considered sufficient warning. The other failed to appear, and will be asked to endure 24 hours in His, Majesty's Prison unless he contributes live shillings to the Dominion revenue. Sir Joseph Waul has telegraphed to his Worship the Mayor as follows: "1 will ask the Minister of liailways to communicate with you early next week." This refers to the joint request of the Harbor Board and the Borough Council that the Government should forward its promised proposals as an alternative, to the Moicsworth extension scheme.

Karely passes a meeting of the New Plymouth Hospital Board without the roi-eipt of one or mole applications from y< inig women to be plated on the list of | I'iibiitiuiiers at the Hospital. There is in) scarcity of would-be nurses liere. A plia ing feature, and one that is a distinct i uuplinieut to the Hospital, is that many of the applications eome from outside districts. Mr. Twiss, Crown Lands Hanger under the Taranaki Land Board, went North on Saturday night to act as arbitrator in the matter of an application from lessees of land adjoining the township of Alangaroa. These lessees under the lease-ill perpetuity system have applied, under the terms of the recent land legislation, to convert their- tenure to i'reehold —tlie iir-t ease of the kind, we are informed, in the Dominion.

Twenty tables were in requisition, it St. .Joseph's euchre party last evening. Miss Ireland won the ladies' lirst prize, and All's. Ilenriehs the second. The lirst

gents' prize was annexed by Air. Knott.,

Mr. Tippins being runner-up. Airs. Ceorge supplied the niusic at the subsequent dance, .Mr. Kennedy acting as AI.C. llefreshnients on a liberal scale were provided, and the whole proceedings proved most enjoyable. ■Several people have complained latterly of scarcity of work for unskilled laborer-. The fact remains that a young man who came in from the country for a short holiday found so much gardening work to do that he had to exceed the regular eight hours' day in order to cope with the demands upon liis services. llis holiday was of the "knock oil' work and carry bricks" variety. •■Seek and ye shall iiud" is true, even in regard to work. The work ou the esplanade extension from the Heiiui end will be started on Alonday morning, the work to be done by prison labor. This fact was announced liy the Alayo.r at last, night's meeting. In an informal discussion which resulted, Air. Tiscli stated that the formation of a nice esplanade t.here would mean the abolition of the rubbish depot on Aloiuil Bryan reserve. The next and vexed question is, \\ here will the. next depot be? Wo are informed that under the Taranaki dairy factory workers' agreement with the employers the manager is given the privilege of choosing his own lirst assistant, aud that this has worked out verv harshly in at least

one ra-r. In a cheese factory the first assistant has learned his trade from the start, and has giu-il the greatest satisfnvtinu to managers and directors alike. A new manager, however, lias arrived. Jlu wants a particular mail as his first assistant, and the established man must go ' Vesienlay morning at tlio New I*l yniiputh railway station a man uamec, William Callaghau, emjilo.ved ill the was sitting at the top of a short [light of step?, when lie tell forward to tile ground, striking his head on the iron rail with such force that he was rendered unconscious. lt_ is thought that he was overcome by faintness. Kxiimination by Dr. Walker dis-

closed a contusion behind the left ear. Callaghan was immediately removed to the New Plymouth Hospital, where V.e was found to be suffering from conclusion ol Lite brain. 'the Kgmont Lodge of flood Templars helrl its weekly session id SI. .Marys Hall on Monday evening. I >ru. J. C. Lt'iig. C.T.. piv-ided over a good attendance. Two candidates were initiated. At't'ir the business was dealt with, a debate entitled "The Yellow L'eril: Is i.t Ileal'.'" tcok place, The allinnative was taken by Bro. Legg and Hie negative by Bro. Ilartiiell, A good deal of discussion ensued, and on a vote being taken the allirmative had it by 21 to ti. <]uite a number refraining from .voting. A vote of thanks was passed to Bros, irartnell and Legg, also t» Bro. Peppered! for acting as chairman.

WX'.T.f'.—The monthly meeting of the Women's Christian Temperance I'nion will be held (in Wednesday, 2Gth August, at the Baptist Church, at 3 p.im Executive meet at 2.30 p.m.— Advt.

Woods' Uvcat Peppermint Cure for Coughs anfi Cpld3 never fai'.a. I/O and

.the burgesses of New Plymouth would have had a big bill to face had all tlio borough councillors gone, on a Fleet I W'ex-k cruise, but if their money were spent in the directions desired by those representatives minds* were freshened by the jaunt it would be a good investment. Mayor TiseJi and Councillor Colli* went to Auckland, and they noticed there a plenitude of street drinking fountains, public urinals, and little wire baskets placed in the streets for the reception of orange and banana peelings, paper, and so forth, by the general public. To provide these should vi in^P but of inestimable ben-j----l fit. lhe drinking fountains were au- | thonsed some time ago, but the northwnrd jaunt has revived the subject.

More Light" wrote to the editor tins other day complaining of the quality of the lighting gas supplied by tlic iocnl fills eomipauv, and suggesting that l.'ic -lime was ripe lor (.lie promotion of a second gas compan.}-. \y (! ] iavo investigated the complaint. The manager of (I:| s Company, Mr. J. Arthm was seen and lie expressed surprise at the complaint, his reeent experience having been quite to the contrary. He is now <isin« coal from the State mines, and is well satisfied with it. "More Light" may have a grievance, however. Tin: ™imager says that when a length of pipe hus to be renewed the mains must "> plugged at each end of the cut <r breach. U lien flic new length is fitted the plugs are removed. The new pipe of course, filled with air, not gas, and sooner or later tlnit volume of air must ■leach lhe consumer's burner, practically extinguishing the light.

A motor-car driven at a reckless speed --our informant puts it down at from .10 to 40 miles an hour—caused a flutter in the Okato. township the other day, a serious accident beiiig narrowly averted, lhe mail coach was standing in front ol Mr. J. S. l'ox's store, and there were several farmers' carts standing there, the car swung into the street and started one of the farmers' horses, which in a moment was mixed up amongst the leaders of the.coach team. 1 A bystander came to the reseue. and the half-dozen passengers on the coach missed an expected smash. Motor-ears in the country are taken, along at such a speed that one well-known settler thinks he 'would lie justified in contriving a sudden stoppage .with a view of teaching chauffeurs a lesson. The majority of the car-owners have some common-sense, but there seems to be a maddening influence in a motor-ride that the light-headed cannot withstand.

the drunkard bordering oil delirium tremens or recovering from it, is fre(]iio.iitly given a week in gaol so Unit lie mn have a rest and wholesome food, but the prison authorities object to this misuse of a penal and disciplinary establishinenl. Colonel Hume, Inspector of Prisons, calls attention in his annual report to the Duiiedin gaoler's comment 011 tlie number of cases of intemperate-;, acute alcoholics, and supposed lunacy still being sent to prison for medical treatment, which he rightly states as a cause of grave anxiety to'the officials, ami in support nf his argument cpiotes a case of suicide. "Though J am thankful to say," continues Colonel Hume, "as the outcome of repeated protests, the practice of sending sucli cases to gaols has considerably diminished, yet it will be a matter for great congratulation when such eases are entirely .excluded from the prison population of our Dominion. The gaolers remarks from Wanganui on a similar matter, in the case of a dying .Maori sent from Shannon, and a case of a man sent in a dying state to Napier Prison, airworthy of consideration."

Writing •' privately to ill'. Cecil Palmer, Captaiu Cuius Crutchlev, Secretary of the Navy League in London, says:—"At the risk of reiterating what 1 have formerly said, let me again point out the extreme urgency of one command ill war and the consequent advisability ol one Hag. At the present moment (10th July) our battle lleet concentrated as'it is in the Xorth .Sea guarantees the safety of British subjects and possessions all the world over, because it is within striking distance of the vital portions of any possible hostile nation. The Japanese are our allies. The I'nifed States may put an imposing war squadron in Australasian waters, but it is a. collection of warships away from its base, 11ml in the event of hostilities cut oil' from nil sources of supply as soon as it has lefr the 'Philippine Islands. . . The divergence of opinion between British Dominions as to naval defence is very remarkable. 11l Canada we have Mr. Wickluim organising a prize essay scheme with a view to ascertaining the opinion of Canada as to what part that Dominion shall play in the Jiaval future of the Umpire. Prom the Cape we have a strong feeling of dissatisfaction at the possible disbandnient of the Navni Volunteers. The Commonwealth of Australia does net appear to be able to make up its mind in which direction i;s energies shall be. expended; it hovers between a local navy and the Imperial subsidy, prom Xew Zealand alone comes no note of uncertainty. They propose to increase their subsidy or contribution to the Imperial Navy, and definitely elect to abide by the protection afforded them by the Navy. These are matters which do not admit of a hurried settlement. Our fellow subjects will make up their minds deliberately, but, if 1 may use a simile, the people i" Britain oversea are younger than the people in. the Old Country, possibly more iiot-headed, and the possession of a small navy by a young Power is always a. temptation to use it. It may be taken as an axiom that a small navy is a source of danger."