LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 291, 3 December 1908, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

At the S.M. Court yesterday George Knight and Mrs. Powley wcre'nnea tor schoo?" the ' r dliltllcn re g ulni ' | y to ln - < ;'-' n o °f the Taranaki LieensCommittee morning' a} transfer of the license of the Terminus Jlotel wus grunti'd from Frank Poland to I'rank Foster. | Information has hocn received tliat 1 on Christinas Kvc ami Xew Year's Jwe late trains will leave »,v Plymouth lor Stratford at 10..'J11 ii.tn., and on January 2nd at 9 p.m. A competition tools place at the lliga School gymnasium last week. i''ive medals were presented. I'or the besi. all-round gymnast A. J-ykes secured first prize, T. Tooliey t.ecovul, Mack ay third, and ti. H. llurle and Mollis tied for fourth place.

Several old buildings in the neigabonrhood of the convent have recently been demolished. Ojieiat ons of tills nature are not . mle.-sirnble in New Plymouth, which cithi inly has its share of tumble-down p';.u-es," which even 20 years ago had seen their best days. Yesterday at the local hospital Dr. Leatham was exhibiting to the Hoard members yune of the interesting photographs ol fractured limbs secured by • lie X-rays apparatus. One member was so much struck liy the fact that the llesliy substance, seemed to be ignored and only the bones shown clearly that he suggested to the medico that a modification of the process might prove invaluable in the ([iiest for oil!

Good progress is being made with tin HOW bore for oil 111 Kouiku, stales til; Gl'cyniOUlh IWl'l'spoinll-Ht ol ,t'ne Otago Daily Tinier. The depth is now approaching 100 toil, and I lie iudiciitioiis are favourable, a number of small oil 'ahules having ibeen' met with troirl about 100 feet, and improving as tho bore increases in depth. Tile country which the bore is at present passing through is fairJy light, and should a softer bed be readied there is ■likelihood of it carrying payable oil. The Wailii Hospital Trustees have written to the Taranaki Hospital Board forwarding a. copy of a resolution eougn'atulating the. delegates 01" the New Plymouth, Stratford, and Hawera Hospital Boards 011 the stand taken by them at the late conference at Hawera in regard to the admission of persons to the hospitals throughout the Dominion as a matter of right and not of privi-

lege or charity. The trustees were ' opinion that the resolution carried at the conference should in the intere;:s of the community receive the hearty support of every Hospital Board throughout the Dominion. The death rate in London has dropped to the extraordinary low figure of 10 per 1000, which is lower than it has been been for 50 years. A well-known London doctor attributes this to the. decrease in horse traffic ami increase in motor trallic. He points out that the litter caused by horse traflic spreads dis--1 ease and disseminates infection, while the fumes of the motor car are Lhe finest disinfectant in the world. The general public, 110 doubt, will scoll' at this opinion, but there is a great ileal in it. If it were found that the motor-cars had the effect of considerably reducing the general mortality in towns it would, to a considerable extent, compensate for the few inconveniences which follow ill its wake. Tlie sale of alcoholic liquors to Maoris was referred to by two of the speakers at the Whiteley Hall last 'night. The Rev. Robert Haddon, the eloquent Maori preacher, made ;i statement that whilst the law prohibited the sale of liquor ill bulk to the .Maoris, he regretted very much that the law was only for the daylight. In the dark hours of night, he said, Hogsheads of beer were carted into the Maori pahs and sold, especially if there was a tangi. (Cries of "Shame."') There would be a strong prosecution in a week or two, for a case of this sort had been dropped upon by the chairman of the Maori Council of Taranaki. The speaker said he wanted to expose this thing throughout the whole of New Zealand. It was a downright shame. The .Maori was allowed to get his glass of liquor, and why wasn't that enough, without the liquor-seller carting it out to them in the dead of night?

A peculiar position in regard to an indeterminate sentence was mentioned at Wellington Supreme Court on -Monday. An application was mailt' in chambers before Mr Justice Chapman by Ml' 11. Ostler. 011 lielialf of William Jenkinson Sparrow, to make absolute a rule nisi for a writ of habeas corpus. Sparrow, it seemed, had just served a .sentence of two years at New Plymouth for theft, but was being detained under that portion of his -sentence which declared liim an habitual criminal. The Habitual Criminals anil OlVvndi'i's' Act, it was explained, was passed after the olfencc had been committed, but before the date of prisoner's trial. The application before the' court was to. determine whether the Act in question, which is now 'embodied in the Crimes Act, 1908, is retrospective in its operations. It was agreed that counsel should submit a date for the healing of the application to his Honor for approval, Mr Myers appealed for the Crown.

Discussing the result of the local option polls in New Zealand, the Sydney Herald assumes tliat it was due almost entirely to the women's vote. '• Whatever plea men miiy put forward for temperate treatment of the liquor question, it is saie," remarks our contemporary , "to say that enfranchised woman will vote prohibition whenever and wherever the. opportunity comes her way to do so." It is pointed out that statistics show tliat, coincident with the increase of legislative restriction upon the liquor trade, the consumption of alcoholic liquors within the Dominion had greatly increased, but this might be attributed to the increased purchasing power of the people during a time of great prosperity. "That the abolition of licenses within some districts has led to an increase of home drinking is probably true, but. . .it 1; the reverse of probable that as many people within those, districts drink since licenses were abolished as did before, or that the total quantity of liquor supplied locally consumed is anything like so great.''

Tile members of the Hospital Boarl paid a visit to tlie institutions under their control yesterday. As usual, everything was .in that perfect order which has made our Hospital anil Old People's Home so widely known. At the hospital it was decided to conceit the room formerly used as the matrons room into a sort nf ward kitchen, ii; which the patients' meals will he. scrv d out instead of being carried, as now, direct from the kitchen. This will b: an advantage to flic patients at 1111 c. slight cost to the Hoard, and it will also be a benefit to the nurses, saving them a great deal of walking. _ At the home the members were much interested in noting how a formerly unmanageable inmate was " put through his paces'' by a fellow inmate with some experience of aged invalids in I'niglwli

infirmaries. Mrs. I'arrar, matron, is at present in charge owing to the illness of Mr. Varrar. lie is at present in tlie annexe, and shows considerable improvement upon last week's report 1. The annexe Is at present in charge of Nurses Harris and TolnVe, and is a credit to them, finite a feature of the place is the hospital garden, which M\ Sadler has improved almost beyond r. J-coe-nition. lie was [or two years with Messrs. Gibbons anil Co., the Wellington nurserymen, and he certainly is an adept in the raising of early vegetables. The pint I v little shrubbery al_ the hospital gate lias beep taken »> hand bv Mr. I''. Robinson, one of tile, old men of the homo, and it shows O results . of much painstaking wo-i, which lias grown into a hobby Willi liiiu.

The Melbourne Clothing Company's sale, which started on Saturday, attraclcd large crowns of buyers. The linn's stall' were kept going at high pressure all day. This is not. to be wondered at when the exceptional bargains are considered. For example: Men's splendid saddle trousers 7s lid, usually l()s (Id; •'! pairs men's superior cashmere sox for 2s (id; 0 ladles' hemstitched handkerchiefs for Is; men's working shirts, 2s Oil, usually sold at 3s Cd; and many other money-savin? lines. —Advt.

[ Sick headache usually res'ills f"»n) a disordered condition of I lie stomach, ami can te corrected by lakin" a medium <lll~■ of Clianih-rlnin's Tablets. Trc them and he convinced. When taken ,u n.'i »as the'indication or I,lie attack aopoars fl'ev will preailv lessen its severity. For sale by all chemists md storekeepers.

Mi. Newton King, with characteristic enterprise, has purchased tho goodwill of Messrs. Jenkins, Matthews, and L'igoU's live stock business, together with the sale yards at I'remii and Okau, wheru henceforth regular sales will be held. His opening sale at Crenui will l>e held on Monday next, the 7th iust., entries for which are advertised. It is understood that Liie executors 01 the late Ml". C'. C. Tripp have been in-duced-to put the Orari Gorge station, in the Geraldine district, under oiler to the

Government for closer settlement. The property (says tile l,yttelton Times) | consists of about 8000 acres of freehold and 22,000 acres of Crown leasehold, 2500 acres being good agricultural land, and the rest mixed pastoral land. liy the will of the late Mr. Cullender, of Diiacdin, the Wellington Technical School Board and the Duuediu Technical School authorities have received a legacy of £2243, which is to remain untouched 'for live, years. The accumulations at present amount to .C 348. The estate is in the hands of the Public Trustee, and the bequest is entitled to a subsidy of 10s in the X from tile Government, up to .CuOU.

During his recent visit to the North, Dr. Truby Ring informed a southern journal, he was greatly struck wall the interest and enthusiasm shown everywhere in tile work of tile Society tor Promoting the Health of Women and Children. At Auckland the output of humanised milk is just as large as 'it Dunedm. A second nurse is to bo appointed in tlut city. Nurse Waniock, of Ciiristchiireh, was to lie transferred

to New Plymouth, where Mrs. Garrett will be temporarily located. Nurse Hen-1 derson is stationed at Palmerston North, Nurse Macdonald at Wellington, and a second nurse is to be shortly appointed to Christehurcli. The representatives of the society are everywhere received with the utmost cordiality. , "The keenest election for years" 's

tins description generally applied to th second ballot contest for the (jeraldin seat. The campaign during its latte itages appeared to have been charm .eriscd by a good deal of bitterness, at usations and counter charges beia; hrown about freely. One of the jhos rolific causes of the trouble was a mani esto published in the Temuka Leade iiid Timaru Post by the Geraldine Nc jicense League, This document at ncked Mr. Jeil'vies' attitude on the li ■wising (Hiestion, and accused him o nconsisteney. In reply to this, Alt elFries has issued a writ for criming ibel against Mr, <Jowper Lashlie, man iger for a drapery firm and secretar; if the .Geraldine No-License League, Mi lelfries contends that the statement, untamed 111 the manifesto were untrui md defamatory, and calculated to in luence the electors against him. Mr jughlie has retained Mr. A. S. Adams if Dunedin, for the defence. The lion. 11. McNab, after attendini ;o private matters, intends to go 01 vith the Jiistorical research work, 0. vhich lie lias been engag d for so.m 'ears, in regard to very early N<;\ lealand, prior to the signing of th L'rcaty of Waitangi. He proposes t mblish practically a new edition, tat ng his researches over a wider area md bringing them down to a later dat' The Free Public Library in Sydney, m lest in Australia, will, it i 9 hoped, fur lisli him with mucli of the materia hat he requires, as it now contains th elebrat'ed Mitchell collection of main eripts, which has not yet been 'exam ned by any New Zealander as far a dr. McNab knows. The Sydney Lil arv authorities some 'months ago pro uised to place at his disposal mem iers of tile. library staff to assist bin 11 his researches. The manuscripts deal lively with early Australasian history, 'lie pursuit of this work may later on ake Mr. JlcXab to America and lih/T----iind.

The executive of the Nt w Zealand Soldiers' Graves Guild propose to erect headstones over the graves of soldiers who have died in New Zealand from the elVects of wounds or illness contracted in South Africa during the Boer War, and are anxious to receive a list of the names of men w'lio are buried in this district. Olliccrs commanding companies are asked to assist, as far as their particular localities are concerned, i n obtaining information asked for, and forward same to District Ollice, giving in each case the number of the contingent the deceased served in and his regimental number. 111 the District Orders issued by Lieut. Colonel Bauchop, commanding Wellington district, appears the following: If has been decided bv the Council of Uelenee thut the celebrations 011 Dominion J)av .-diall always la* of a military character. Arrangements will be made for the holding of reviews or manoeuvre.-: by all volunteers, defence cadets, ami lille clubs at suitable centres.

There are as vet no local evidences that tile British tourist is likely to take this country by storm during' the present, season (says the New Zealand Times). He is, as a matter 01 jact, materialising slowly, and is a very desultory tourist indeed. Last year and the year preceding, his correspondence created dismay in local offices on account of its bulk. This year local offices wish he would hurry up with his. inquiries and his bag. The local Government department which is looking after tourists is dealing largely with the inquiries of New Zealanders who are anxious to get from Taihapc to \\ ellington by the cheapest way or who ilesire to avoid the rigors of the Kast Coast passage. There arc as usual, many inquiries from Anglo-Indians, who generally have six months' leave and get tired of spending it in "tho hills." 1 The bracing elinintc of the Dominion is specially made for this class of invalid, and so Rotorua is getting many of the bored folk that Simla once attracted.

It is possible that in the near future the mono-rail gyroscope car, the invention of Mr. Louis Brennan, of torpedo fame, will become an important adjunct to racecourse equipment (says tire Sydney Morning Herald). Tlie inventor is brother to Mr. Joseph Ilrcnuan, o(!l----cial stenographer to the Y.R.C., and the latter has written requesting him to construct a car with a seating capacity for half a dozen men, the vehicle to run oil an elevated rail fixed on the outer edge of the racetrack, or inside the running rail, the vehicle to travel at the same speed as horses in a race. In this "chariot of observation" the stewards would be seated, hnd thus from start to finish of a raee would have the movements of horses and their riders under their immediate notice. Mr. I.ouis Brennan is now under contract with the Indian Government to instal a gyroscope and mono-rail out fit for a track of 100 miles in length, and when that is completed he majMlevote his attention to the ''chariot of observation" suggested by his brother. Some of the ratepayers ill the Harrington road district are dissatisfied with the Hoard's proposals ill regard to the j formation and grading «f the old Jlill

road, contending that the proposed "rode of one in 10 for the lower eighteen chains is excessive. They suggest that the bridge over the llnatoki at the bottom of tlie road should, with the Borough Council's assistance be raised bv twelve feet, so that a grade of one iu 12 might be secured. This would do very well, of course, if the Board had unlimited funds, or if the Borough Council were not in such a tight corner as regards finance. But as there is only £3OO available, and the Borough t ouncil is hardly in a position to subsidise any further work, the engineer's very moderate proposals iinust be accept-

ed. Of course, one in 13 is the stangrade, hut we have one in 7 and one 111 Bon some of our roads. Devon street from Kgmont street to the Bank of Australasia follows a grade of one in 11, so that one in 10 should not be excessive for a sort of by-pass road. At the S. M. Court yesterday morning before Mr. 11. -S. Fitzhcrbcrt. S.m!", judgment was entered in undefended cases as follows:—Taranaki Oil and l-'reehold co. v. .1. li. liecd, ilaini .CS, and costs same v. liobt. Logan, claim .t'G, and costs !)s; same v. .1. 11. Davies, claim L.i Ills and costs fts, same v. Thus, lbiincy, claim CHI. and costs H<; same v. itiehard .1, Sharp, claim CO 10s, and costs 8s; Nathan and Co (Mr C. fl. Weston) v. Mrs. Ilopkinson (bile of Wcslowu). claim Cill 0s Id iflid costs ,C2 14s; 11, Weston (Mr C. H.

Weston) v. Ix'thaby tiros ami Co., claim CI Lis, anil costs 3s; Clark Bros [ (Mr Strung) v. Uric Harding, claim Its, and costs f>s; "Webster I'ros (.Mr Standish) v. B.ick IMiillips. claim .£3 lis Id. and costs 17s; Surgood Sitj, and Eweu (Mr. C. 11. Weston) v. Clias. (leo. Tunbridge, claim .CO Ills 2d, and costs l'l Us (id; .[. M. Ileywooil and Co (.\lr| C. 11. Weston, instnicled li.v Messrs Duncan and Cotterill, of Christchurch) y. I!, Fantham, claim ,C2f) Us lid o:i judgment summons, order made for payment df full amount, within 14 days, ill default a mouth's imprisonment, I MAKTINIIOROUGII, N.Z.

Mr Edward Fuller, c/o W. ,1. Martin, Esq., Iluangarua, Martinborough, WniI rarapa, N.Z., writes as follows '" 1 have the influenza, and am just using Dr. "hellion's ne\r discovery for cougns and colds to great advantage." Dr. Sheldon's New Discovery for coughs and colds is an unequalled preparation for flie cure of all chest complaints ani Lung tr'ubles, Price, 1/(1 and 3/- per bottle, Obtainable everywhere,

11l 1907 there wore 27 fatal, 8 .serious, ami Soo minor accidents on tile New Zealand Government railways. Of these, the following affected shunters:— Three fatal accidents, one serious, mid 70 minor. Hie figures for last year were as follow:—Total accidents—2B fatal, 12 serious, 029 minor; affecting shunters —1 fatal, 3 serious, 07 minor. The customs duty collected at New Plymouth during November was £818), as against .C 2022 in Kovembcr la-it vear! The Stratford Post i* informed'that iiHullicient carriage accommodation on tlie Toko train is still the cause of many passengers having to stand on the carriage platforms during the journey to Douglas on Saturday evenings.