LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 226, 17 September 1908, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

' A Press telegram relates that the lint strawberries of the. season arrived In Auckland yesterday from Jiirkenhead. Owing to the unfavorable weather conditions, the ollicial opening ceremiilly of the kisplanade extension, to have bee u held to-day, ha s been postponed unTI Thursday next, iUh inst. Some land in .Malice, district, Tariiniki, has been proclaimed a .Slate forest reserve. The reserve measures 71)1 acres, and is uilicially designated as Sec-1 lion 4, lilock (i, 11ahue Suivep District. 1 The usual forlnighlly meeting of Court Taranaki, A.0.F.,' was held In ill evening. C.li. Ilro. F. !(.„.„„ w;ls j„ t! u . chair. Several new nieiubcrs were pro- I posed, and general routine business was transacted. On the liilh inst. his Honor Mr. .Illslice lid wards, on the amplication of Al.-. T. S. Weston (Weston and Weston), granted probate of the will of the late Airs. Kli/.a liogevs, of Leppeiti.n, lo the executor therein named.

Al a meetin« of the High Sellout Hoard of lloveruors vesterday Inaction of the ciiuimittee'iu authorising. the expenditure of upon leveling and grassing tile .playground was approved. It wa s decided to notify all lessees that, their insurances must be ell'ecled in the mime of the Hoard an I the policies lodged with the Hoard's secretary.

Tin' general tendency of drapery ami milPnory iiii]inrli'i's in New Xealund thi s year Ins hecn towards a lessening ol importations. Taranaki, however, lias made a distinct advance in I lie nmtiir cit' i]iiantity. This may lie accounted for by I hi- fiii'l. thai, of all (arming industries dairying U the only oni' which lias even usually bright prospects. Our farmers ni-i' in gnat buckle, and business people are coiilidcnlly looking forward to a good suason.

'"The natives are verv kind-hearted in .New Cuinca/' stated the liev. M.\ lil'iiniiidw during his lecture at Whiteley Umrch the other evening. Sometimes the kindly intentions of the natives were quill! omharrassing. The lecturer told how, on one occasion, the missionary parly visited a great least. The natives gathered around and invited the white party to partake of the good things. "They dished up for our consumption what they considered to be a great dainty—the hind leg of a dog, smoking hot!"

The sequel to a ballroom incident wss presented at the Napier Magistrate's Court last week, when Frederick IJurrell pleaded not iruilty to assaulting William Spink. The. incident occurred at the hospital social the other night. A few words had passed between the two eonI corning I'liirrellV attentions to a girl, and in the exchange of compliments | Huvrell is alleged to have called Spinas a liar. Spink was rising from his seat, when llurri'll hit him on the nose, fracturing it and causing the blood to How freely. The hearing of the case for defence was interrupted by the fainting of one of the principal witnesses.

At the lecture at Whitelev Church on Monday by the. Kev. .Mr. liroiniluw, the rev. gentleman told a story illustrating the -liner feelings'' of the native women of Now Guinea. When a war party returned after a defeat without spoil 'J human llesh the ladies exercised their prerogative of reviling the men in every possiblo way, calling them cowards and showing their contempt for men that called themselves warriors and who returned empty-handed from a battle. Usually the' returned warriors were taunted to such an extent that their existence became a trial to them. Then they silently left the village and did not return until tliey could lay before their 1 womenfolk tin l necessary material for a cannibalistic feast. Then the ladies smiled.

The St. .lolm's Ambulance Brigade is an organisation which enables those who have received ambulance instruction at the hands of the St. John's Ambulance Association to meet together for regular practice and thus improve themselves in first aid and nursing work. It also provides a body whose services would he available to render assistance to the sick and injured on public and other occasions, and who could take action towards providing for the town and district proper ainbulancs appliances for use from time to time as required. The authorities of the brigade are desirous of establishing men's and women's divisions in this district, and the secretary of the local class has ben asked to take action in the matter. Great success lias attended the divisions which have been formed in other centres, and there is no reason why similar success should not be achieved here.

"Abundant proof of the value of reci'procitv is forthcoming in the statistics of Canada's Hade with New Zealand since the tarilf preference came into operation," „nvs the London Daily Telegraph. "Despite the lack of ' direct transport at ion between the two colonies. Canada's exports to the new Do minion increased from C52.37-I in 1002 in C2ii(i.."i:iii in IIMI7, and her imports from that country, which ill 111(12 were valued at C731i11. had grown last year lo L 78.015. This development 's ascribed by the Canadian Trade Cum missioner. who has been Investigating (hi! c lilinns and prospects at the antipodes, entirely to the reciprocal agreement between the two countries. An even more- rapid expansion has taken place iu the trade with New SouJi Wales. The value of Canadian exports to that colony was iu l!)0j :C75,-133, and iu 81117 1200.17:1, while, iu the same period the Dominion's imports rose from C-11,150 to .£103,803." W.C.T.C—Thu monthly meeting will be held in the Btiplist Church, Gill-street, on Saturday next, l'Jth instant (anniversary of the grunting of women's franchise in New Zealand), at 2 pan , instead of on Wednesday. Visitors cordially invited.—Advt.