LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 227, 18 September 1908, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wo have arranged with .Mrs. 1.1. .M. Duulop, the veil-known writer o! Auckland, to contribute some sketches of early Taramiki life. The. lirst sketch appears in to-morrow's supplement. The sketches are amongst the most interesting we have lead concerning early Taranaki and Xrv Plymouth life. We have not the slightest doubt but that the verdict of our readers will be the same aftor they have perused the sketches. We are enabled by Messrs White -and Sons' permission to publish their buyers' notes in the "Woman's World" column of Saturday'fi supplement These are written by specialists, wfnose business it is to watch the particular articles actually sold to l-e ■ worn at Home on tin? Continent. Thus they are able to forecast the demand likely to set in in these colonies.. Ladies will no doubt appreciate the

information given. .Mail for I'nited Kingdom and Continent of Europe (via Naples), dispatched from Wellington oil August 7th, arrived in London on September loth.' We are in receipt- of a copy of a new journal, "The Northern .Mail,'' published at Whangarei. The printing, general arrangement, and literary mat-, ter relleet credit oil its promoters, who, if they maintain the standard of the initial number, are bound to meet with success.

Some months ago about 250 she?',) mysteriously disappeared from a mob that was being driven from Danuevirke over the range to Pulinerston North. Messrs. .Mi'Cardle and McKcnzie were the owners, and they sued the .drovers for £IOO lor the value of the sheep lost. The case was heard in Danuevirke, ami judgment was given for the full amount claimed. At a meeting of creditors iu the estate of .1. .1. Patterson (trading as the Koru .Sawmilling Company) at Danuevirke ou Wednesday the bankruptcy was annulled and a resolution adopted approving of the composition suggested by the. debtor. The meeting was muchdivided upon the point. The bankruptcy now stands annulled. Tiie results of the theory examinations held in connection witn live Trinity College of Music, London, in .lune last, are just to hand. The following pnplis were successful: —Interluediate hoaours. 11a Henderson (ConVent), intermediate piss Rita Sole "(Convent); Junior Honours, .Mabel Meehan, (Convent), -Mary Ann Jones,. (Convent; junior pass Frances E. , G. Harris, (Convent).

Mr. .Joshua Jones, of Mokau estat» fame, recently presented a petition—which occupied over half an hour in reading —to the Legislative Council, praying l'or enquiry into matters connected with the estate, with the object of giving liim relief. Jlis trouble on this occasion was useless, as the l'ublic Petitions Committee oil Tuesday reported that the standing orders had been broken by the inclusion of various documents which should not liavu been embodied in it.

interest is already bring taken by anglers in the opening or the fishing season on Ist October (says the llaweta Star). The llawera Acclimatisation Society is about to distribute iisli in the various streams ol' the district. Next week roughly from ")OUO to 8000 lisii will lie liberated in the Oeo, Ouri. Punchu, and Tangatara streams, in the Pihania dUI net. The AVaingongoro stream is also to receive its iirst instalment of about 10,' ODD. Xo fewer th:lu 31,(MM) fry have been .sold to tho New Plymouth Society, and are to be forwarded during the week.

According to a report just issued the total length of canals and waterways, in the I'nited Kingdom amounts to 4073 miles. Independent canals furnish 3310 miles, canals belonging to railway companies total 1144 miles, ami canals owned by railway companies {otal miles. The total paid-tip capital amounts to £37,00(1,000, .C 5,750,000, and £4,800.11110 respectively, being a total of C47,5.i()..00tl for the whole of tire United Kingdom. The total tralVie conveyed in 100.") amounted to 43 million tons, the gross revenue being ,C 2,050.000. yielding a net prolit of .C78<) ; 000. Says the Palmerston Times; "A paper cminot discuss an impending horse race lust it indicate a winner, could not under the Second Ihillnt Hill discuss an election lest a second ballot might' lake place later, and now it is proposed' that it shall not discuss a strike or lockout that niay be convulsing the whole community, and which it may be in the most vital interests of the community that it should discuss. We are clearly travelling on dangerous lines and reaching away kick to the mediaeval tim?s 1 when the press was regarded as an evil for which the most severe repression was nocossary." The Lyttelton Times concludes a short articlu on the Second Ballot Jiill as follows;—"lint, if all the newspapers in the country had becu in the habit oi j prostituting their columns to wealth, 1 that would have been no excuse for the Government-attempting to deprive them of their right oi free speech for a singly minute, and it may be as well to let the Government understand at once that, whatever Parliament may do with the objectionable clause, the newspapers will refuse to s ubniit to the restrictions. Th»y 'have duties to the public to discharge, as well as rights of their own to maintain, aml*are not to be silenced by threats of a paltrv fine. If the Government likes to invite tho struggle, it will find the newspapers fully prepared." Every sailor is required to believe that misfortune will result if he carelessly or maliciously kills an albatross (says the Sydney Morning Jloraid). "What" captain ever sailed the .seas unaware* ut

that man's fate who, Coleridge tells us, with his crossbow shot the albatross? Jt would seeiu that ancient belief has again been verified, for while neither the captain nor the engineers of the Haw>:\ could say to the satisfaction of the modern sceptic .why the ship broke down, the ~r eai reason" is known to every man in the crew—in fact, the day previous it. was fully realised that some thing disastrous was about to happen. A. s the vessel glided smoothly over the sea. on 28th June, an albatross, Mr, Moore says, flying at MI speed, dashed itself against a funnel ami fell, battered aud helpless, on the deck. Nov r before had ho known such a. thing to occur.. The albatross died. Next diy the steamer stopped and the thirty days' driit- began. It's an ill wind that blows nobody good, however, aud if the death. oMhi' bird broke the tailshaft of the ship, a quill from its wing made a pipestem for the chief steward.

Maiiaia was tho scene of considerable agitation on Wednesday (remarks the Witness). An itinerant jeweller, cmployed by a h;g linn somewhere in one of tlie centre?, reported the loss of a tray ot rings of the collective value (on the traveller's estimation) of £l5O. This precious tray had been removed from bis bag, so lie concluded. JSarly in tlie evening ho left his bag, containing many other valuables, in the bar ( ,f a local hotel where he had been staying, j and later on took it up to his room., In the morning, on opening the bag he discovered his loss, and it was an anxi-

oils time inside tlie hostelry for a bit. The polioo wore advised, a telegram was sent to headquarters, and all sorts of enquiries niadr to trace Hie missing treasure. The places of call during the day wore rovisUod bv tlio traveller with a painfully hopeless'air, and finally ho was leaving the town, liaviil" d"spair"d of finding the tray of handsome feminine ornaments. When he was tin- lilos out he suddenly thought of one place he had overlooked, and on roturnin ', found the tray in idenlieallv (lie same spot, as he had left it when displaviii" the sparkling jewels to the occupant of tile premises on the previous dav. It was a moment of jubilation for iiim. Tlie ''Melbourne 1 ' furnishes a lew particulars of their new tailor-made suits. Hie new tailor-made suit is out .11 strictly proportionate lines, trimm-d with the very best silk-finished linino-s. ivory buttons, ami stitched w-itli silk.

Ironis are v,ell paibled with best wadding. patent shoulder pads are used, liair-flolh interlining* properly adjusted, and leather facings to bottoms of trou- _ The fit. hang, and style are beyond criticism. and wo can fit you to perfection. Prices 411, Cd to CSsi—Advt, Mrs. 11. Gadd, 307 Madras street, Xorth Chrislo'nm-oh. N.Z.. writes : ''Chamberlain's Cough Kerned v. is a most valuable medicine. I sell a lot of It m my shop, and it is used in 11U: home. T have recommended it to several people and have never known it: to fail. There is 110 quosiion but what it is the foi-riost or,ugh medicine sold in I thk district." For (rale by all chemists'! ftnd storekeepers.

Tile Boxing Association's New Plymouth tournament is to lie held oil October Bth instead of October Ist, as originally iixed. llie Taranaki Rilles desire to acknowledge tile receipt of a parcel of books for I lie orderly-room library from Licuf.-Cohmcl Ellis. Tlio Stratford Post understands that the forthcoming lisliing season is likely to lie one of the liest on record in that dislr as the rivers a lid streams are teeming with lisli owing to the excellent work ol the local Acclimatisation Society in .slocking heavily every year.

'l'hu volunteer manoeuvres which llad been announced to take pl.iee yesterday at W'aiongona were not held, the unpropitious weather preventing t.iia attendance of the country corps. The headquarters' companies were paraded on the ground, anil were exercised ill tield movements, 'their advance in firi;ig Ji'.ie upon a stated position was well carried out. In the evening ■Colonel Da vies delivered a lecture on tactics to .the ollicers iu the Town Hall. At a conference held yesterday afternoon at Elthani between the Opunake and Ellliani branches o£ the OpunakcKlUr.uu Railway League the following motion was passed unanimously:—"That 'this meeting, in reliance on the intimations of -Ministers that the early authorisation and construction of the iil-tham-Opunake railway will receive the most favorable consideration of the Government, decides not, at this stage of the. session, to send any further deputation on the subject, being confident that the question will receive irom Cabinet the treatment which it merits."

A witness under cross-examination in the Sydney District Court recently was p'sked Iwlh tlier ho had ever been in trouble, and he replied that some 30 years i)go he had "made a slip." llis Honor .ludge Scholes said that in his opinion it was a very painful 'thing that a witnes s should have been asked such a question. It wa-s in fact, a verv painful thing that after being a good citizen for 30 years a mini should have raked up against him under crossexaniinauou an early otl'euce. if such a thing were allowed there was no such thing as redemption in this world.

The Fitzroy Howling Club's amua! social was held last night in rfce Brougham street hall. There was n : /t a large attendance, but still the ering was very enjoyable. The entertainment included dancing and card games, and an excellent -supper was served. -Mr. E. Humphries was M.C. During the evening Mr. W. G. Malone, club president, presented the prizes won during the season to such of th'e winners as were present. The successful members were:—Mr. S. Rennell, Punt Challenge Cup: Mr. G. Griffiths. Messrs Okev, Son anil Arnold's trophy; Messrs. A. Lealand anil W. Heally. the champion pairs; Mr. J. Bennett, Wiseman's Belt; Mr. R. Palmer, beginner's prize.

No slight sensation (says a Dalzwl telegram from Home) lias been caused in .Roman Catholic circles here by the appearance of Cardinal Merry del \al in a motor car, which he uses to take him to Vincarello, where lie is taking a course of hot baths. The ; Vatican has always been strongly ; against the motor, which the Pope has 1 hitherto looked upon as unsuitud to the dignity of the Church, and for this reason lie has always refused permission to the Cardinals to adopt motor cars in place of the traditional carriage and pair, notwithstanding that many of them have requested his sanction. Without a motor car, however, the Papal Secretary of State would be uaaible to take his cure and attend to liis Vatican duties, and the Pope has therefore reluctantly permitted him to use the new means of locomotion. Tiie Maoris possess customs and sayings which strongly resemble many that arc part and parcel of our civilisation. "For instance," said Mr. A. L. D. Fraser on Monday evening at Wellington, "when a, child sneezed tho old English custom was for a mother to place hor hand upon its head and say 'Cod bless you.' Tin. 1 - Maori mother did the same, and her words were 'AH blessings be on you!'"' Again, it was an old saying that tin; two s ources of quarrels and trouble generally were land and women. The Maori said, "Through land and women we are destroyed. A lady of our civilisation to-day was attracted by the striking, the brilliant, the thing that glistened; it might ho of matorial objects or of tho intellect. The Maori proverb ran: "Tho woman on shore is like the kohuwai at sea," and the kahuwai, said Mr. Fraser, the Maoris caught by trailing a .glistening piece of pretty paw a shell behind their canoes!

Mr. Clement Wragge, I'UI.GA, who while, Government meteorologist in Queensland achieved a reputation for his weather forecasts, is now on a lcvluriiig tour in India. A few weeks ago he made the alarming statement that "tlii! rainfall in Australia will now fall oil', but the coming drought will probably be not so severe as tho last." Mr. Wragge, in replying to his critics, who dcvlarod that it is impossible to forecast seasons, says: "I claim that it is pos-abie now to forecast, seasons ahead willi a large percentage of accuracy. We must remember that this is an age of rapid seientilic progress, and that progress is the primordial law of the. universe. And i. make, this statement as a professional meteorologist of 27 years' standing, during which, I have, devoted most careful study to the subject. Much light has been thrown on the matter, since the discovery of radium and the nature of the ether and of etheric vibrations #et up by the storms and hydrogen llajncs in the sun."

Tile lion. J. JJ. Ormond, M.'k.C., who returned irom Australia the other day, is greatly impressed with what lie wiw i-hciv. .Mr. Ormond visited the Commonwealth for the. purpose of inspecting the property which lie lias purchased oil the Wading Downs, Everywhere lie saw evidences of prosperity. What particularly attracted his notice were the dl'orts which tiie (Juuensknd GoM'runent is making lu settle vast areas of uncultivated or only partially cultivated lands, in many districts* dairying had been commenced, and he considered that there wis unquestionably a. big futnrv before the industry. Ail sorts of inducements wore held out to people desirous of settling oil the land. Considerable areas were offered :lt " purely nominal price, and in the case of canu country, families were given live acres (about as much as one family can conveniently manage) absolutely free of cost. In this way while labor was given an opportunity Ot justifying itself on the canefields. Apart from t'hw live acres referred to, laiiiilics will be given an opportunity of further adding to their holdings as time goes on.

The Kgniont Lodge, Xo. 11-2, 1.0. G.T., held an "at home" last evening; in St. Mary's Hull, to celebrate the 33th anniversary of tin. granting of'the lod"e charter. The ltev. K. 1). Taylor, P.ti.C T.. presided (llro. .1. (;. kegg, I'.T.. retiring in his favor), and he delivered a most inteicsting aud instructive address. Other speakers were Ulie Keys. F. ,1. I'Vans and .1. tiny. The annual report showed an active membership of 84, and that .if) members bad been placed on (be ''inactive list" during the year. Duri'lK year '23 new members had been admitted, tour bad taken clearances, and four resigned. As a result of the recent bazaar there was in hand .Cl 7ls towards the hall building fund. A capital programme was given during the ey.gning, vocal solos being contributed by Mis.se s Carthew aud Gilbert and .Messrs, Mclsanc mill White; cornet solo, Mr. MeConiiell; violin solos, Dowlini;; recitation, llr. Ci. W. Hartnell; and selections by the orchestra. A living charade, ''Diunb Bell," was acted by blisses K. and L. AVliite and Miss A. Loesch, Mr. N. Johnson, and Master Eoyce repperell. The supper, which came on towards tho latter portion ot the evening, iwas bounteous and excellent in quality. There was a crowded attendance.

„ On and off for the past forty-five years ; whaling has helped to support mam- ; families resident i u Kaikoura. The season when the whales put iu 1111 apj IHMI ranee is usually from Jbiv to the end ol September. This year things'have ; be:'ii particularly bad. and so far 110 ; whales have fallen victims to the whal' ers. For a number «.f year s onlv two 1 boats Inu'e been. engaged a( Kaikoura . ill winding, and these were manned iiv ■ilnoris and half-castes. This year, however, a. >ik.-h«» boat is niso (akin? part, and the ■•old-timer," attribute the loss of Ibo only two right whales sighted to the inexperienced' newcomers. It a'ppears I lia.t a largo and a small whale were sighted in South Bay. The Maori ( crew ".it last to the big n'vhale, and the

ini'XjHH'ieiK'od evow mjinaj-x-d to secure a slight hold of the smaller olio. In the struggle which ensued, the boat, collidod, with the result hat hoth vhalos* wore lost- Since then (early lasftj mdnth) none have been sighted, and the total loss of the two whales is estimated at about Cl-200. The ox-peri-eneed whaler is ablo | 0 distinguish betwoou a "right- 1 ' nnd a. ''luutttt-Uflclc" whale. The right whale is black all over, and although .the oil is not so valuable, the whalebone realises CJ2OO to EISOO a ton. This is usually shipped to London per agents and changes I hands there. Tanners use whale oil extensively in their business, and Kai-I koura agents are at present receiving I orders which they are dubious of being I able to fill this season.