LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 237, 30 September 1908, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Itothcr au amusing incident is alleged to liavo taken place nt Tapualueruru, in the Waikato, lire other day. A launch owner took down some potatoes kindly donated to the "starving .Maoris" tiiere lor seed purposes. The potatoes were frev, but tiie .Maoris lntd to pay carriage of Is a bag. Then came the trouble, for the wealthy pakoha launch owner found himself unable to change the "livers" presenter! by the indigent Maoris paying Ireigbl on their potatoes. Au Adelaide man, who made a cheap !' gnuwlsLand ior himself wl a suburban footl/all maVii bv standing up in lus bi:(ggv and looking over the fence, was fined .is and ;E2 (is em'ts by the lova.l JScnch. The oll'once was not moving on I when requested 'by a eoui-ytable to do si>, and the outraged lover of .sport took tine case 'to t'lie Supreme Court, lint the Coui J t decided that the proceeding was "valid tend rcariouablc." and tlio economist now perceives that it would list vc been cheaper to'bake a season ticket.

A young man named Herbert Thorn" ton had a narrow escape from death ;it, Kiimitybelle, >.'e\v £uuth Wales, recently. He was out shooting, aaeimipanied liy a red k'a/iiguroo dog. Towards dink he 'hsd between two logs ! to watch for rabbits, ami the dog rem,lined beside hiin. Presently a lady came along, also in search of game. Sim did not observe, Thorn torn, .but at a distance of 30 yards caught a glimpse of the dog, which she mistook for a fox. .She ,a'b once fired, but missed the dog and lili't Thorntan on t'he liaol; of the wrist. The bullet, penetrated to the, ibone, and Thornton had to, be treated in a. .hospital. o.ne of the subjects .likely to cause a controversy in Parliament- even a't this late hour of the session .will crop up when itlie iSupplemtOlt'ary Estimates avo introduced. Included ajiuong the items will lie one providing farther compensation for J. J, sleikle for his wrongful imprisonment. Sir Joseph Ward, earlier 'in the session, mentioned , £SOOO as the feiwn .which should <be paid by the Stato (to Meikle for his suffering, and as some solatium for his nnaiterial losses, Several members will oppose any further grant, on fllitj ground that a clean receipt against all 111-aims upon the Government lifts already .been given by Meilde, and that the claimant's subsequent evidence 'liciore the Royal Commission provcil that he was not entitled to further consideration.—Times. New Zealand lost between ,C' 2,000,001! and .1:3,1)00,000 by the drop ill wool priws last year, am.l this fact is scUUng producers thinking. liy competition tunongst agcu'ts who are selling practically one brand of meat, it is ca.lt ilated that a rcspa-,ta\),le sum is lost to iXew Zealand 'over its liie.i't trade, an-.l tthis is raising again the question "f Co-operation auuingst freezing com■paiiies. 11l this conneetk.u Mr. String uy bcieielary to the Auckland Fanners' iFreeaing Oomji'any, suggests that all the loss on wool, meat, butler, hides, etc., could be saved Jt,o the l.)jininiun by t.Si '■ of one ibig. distributin;: agency in 'Kngland, or by sending all New Zealand'produce through one house in Ijcindon. This, he points out, wou'd result in 'the increasing of the value o r 'New Zealand's export trade by a very large amount.—Herald.

The Mikado's Government has recently appropriated a sum equal to £250,000 for the construction of sawmill and lumber roads mud 'for cutting and working timber in remote districts and putting it on the market ,(sayß the d'tvll Mall Gazette). The Japanese Government is the only one in the world .which -usBU'IUfFS the management oi the lunib ;r industry. Excepting for .railway purposes in Manchuria, no timber is exported, for all is needed for 'home consumption. MViny Governmenta in differentpai J ts of the woi'M own tfoi'csivs, but the buyer must cut the timber and find a, market for it. Japan proposes to carryon all parts of the iiiduntry. An officii! of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce lias been sent to America for the inspection and (study of the timber trade and the forest administration.

Others will shortly ibe commissioned to go to Canada, iSimth America, .India and Hussiiia for the purpose of making an exhaustive study oil'the subject. According to advices received in >Syd> ncy from the Amuy correspondent ol

the Tung Wall Ti'ines, there .seems a jxwsiibility that th« enthusiastic >receptions accorded the .licet in Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne and Albany may be rivalled 'by the* welcome which the Chinese citizens of Amoy arc preparing. "The sum .of £40.000 is rt/o bo expended and extensive preparations are in hand," writes the correspondent. "Tito police are being strongly -reinforced, **o .that tin' visitors will 4101 be subjected to aunoyanw at .tin* hands of tiie lower classes. A large three-storied home is being built, for the lareommodation of the Admiral uid hies stall", in the centre of a Uirg« n-cmqunuul, and <will be modelled and equipped in American «fcvle. ft .wil-l be surrounded by a handsome dcn,,and will be i-?ereened from the gaze of the (various by a high wall. Detailed •j>]'ans for the Vtructure -are in course of 'preparation, aind tlie .w'ork .will be Juis'tened on .immediately the .designs ha»e (been approved (by the Viceroys of Puke in and Chckiang." 1 •Taihape is the most up-to-date town in Xew Zealand for its size/' said Wellington surveyor to-a Tost recently. He kid been surveying in the extreme south of the King Country, and .spoke cnthnsiasfciiciaJly ae to tlit; prospects of the land up there for sheop i'liriuis*. lloadis -are s till in an awful con* 1

dition in the neighborhood of Taihape, it being quite -a common thing to see conveyances axle deefp in mud and houses coated .with it. Drinking is rife in the nourishing little township. It is, he says-, the "grog-tsluop" of Non.k (Wellington, or the J'a<st place on tho road to the King Country where liquor bu procured. In one. of his re-, cent coadiing trips of twelve miles he iw'Jiiled !iH\vay the time by counting the "dead mariner," on the roadside; they were to ibe mh'U all along the route. During tiie lirst'few imile,s >]'roiu Taihape lie counted ,110 less than 52 empty hottins: liis't there <were beer bottles, then came whisky ifaskis. It seemed to him tliatf there were far too many (drops at (Paihape for tin.' size of the town. He iwould not -advise, mnyone Lo start ,lnm- | neses there ut'pieseut. | Advices just to hand (says the Sydney Herald) contain accounts of a remarkable experience of the well-known' barque Antrope, 011 her recent vova'gd from Newcastle with a cargo of coal to San Francisco.. When in latitude 20deg south, a large quantity of "grease" was sohi floating on the surface of the oevan, and., a calm prevailing, the men managed to scoop up several bucketfwls of the stulf. The "grease" was found -excellent; and it was u<ed l'or slushing down the masts, tiie balance being used by the men on their oilskins and boots. The captain said that much more could have been collected, but thought the amount picked up by the men was enough, it was not until a few days after the arrival of thv! Autropp at Sail Francisco that Captain .John Mathieson. master. of the vessel, learned that he had let

a fortune slip through his fingers. A small part of the "grea.se'' had bcvii saved, and i his \va* idoiitilled by an Oakland as ambergris. Tin; sailors had grea-ed masts. sen boots, and oilskins with ambergris, valued at approximately .CBO a pound. and thu* wasted about am worth of (bo stuff unaware of its value.

' Just, arrived, at Dm-kiill's. Devonstreet, Centra!. New Plvumulh. an indent of •Allan'* famous gen I s' liooi s. al>«> V. and .1. Clarke's uiperior Indies' bous and shoes, In slock, a large assortment of the best ladies', gents', and children's colonial booU and miws hy reliable makers. All Ihe ;ibove are oll'ered lo Ibe publie at prices that ean't bebeat'n. - Advt.

Kvery stage of i-eoarator development has been.-triedy .i|' "Alfa-I.a vai" i-riiim ami ell'orl. Would-be emuneting mi. chines to-day manufactured are. without 'exception, but merelv follower- i:i : l he 'wake of the "A!l'a,l',aval." Th-y ■po»<e{SS no original ideas or fealures in eousjruet ( b<n, 'and dimply iii'dUe ihit which oxpired "Ailt'a-La-va!" pal ea! •« lb a.ve free to then-. >o tlml (he very in'st, Kif (hem are barely etpial to !':e ''AllVLaVal'' machine* of {eniyear-; ago. Tim* the f«ulf of practical elliciency !><«- tsveeii the. "AHa-Laval" 'and the beM of wonl<l-bo competing -eparators U til 1 further widened, placing the ".AlfaLaval'-' machines far ab:>ve and beyond it he possihilit ie<* o'r competition from anything else in. the >hape of a cream separWor. Cniaflogue "T" mailed free. Solo New Zealand agents. Mason iStrnthers and Cm, TJd.. Ala in-s't reel. Palmers-ton. North. K OilTHhs and Co.. ■New Plymouth, local agents.

At si meeting of tilie fc-trtiimittoc oi 1 In l New Plymouth Club last night is was resolved 'to cntcrtaiii tilio Indies at afternoon lea in til" iC'lrA room* on 'l'.lnu»day. The rooms will bo thrown open (to /visitors front 3 till 5 ji.ni., and an Vuijoyaiblo musical programme will le provided.

The suggested improvements to the | .local train amice -will bo brought ursr der the notke of 'Mr. lAruwtrinig, District Xi'iiilk; tMttiiuuur, this niter noon, ho will be "waited upon ut the {Towai Mall iby a. depu'tiitioTi comprising liilie Chamber of Commerce, Ji>iiX])3oyors : .Assooiatiion, the Mayor and 'borough icoum'illors, and representative citizens. tTlio arrangements have 'been through •the <.oiu J tcisy of (Mr. Day, 'siatiomnastyr ■ wit New Plymouth. Tilie hour lixed is i 11.30 p.m. The wuiggested additional ieiirly tuiiai nito -New Plymouth oaeh iinonu'ny, and late departing trains fire Auwcntly needed, and tiie dojmtaition mil) :bo n/ble to present a very '•strong 'case. CiLizims have shown considerable :i]iteres't in t-lu? *\mlter,kuul 'it is expoct•ed tiliat uunil>ers of them will 'take tiie opj)orlivnity alVorded to-ihty sup])o»'lby'their presence the re<|HP«trt oi thi» \U'putalioiK A general invitation is « n to all who are interested in the •matter.