LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 316, 6 January 1909, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Clifton County Council meets on I'l iday, one week later than usual, owing to the usual meeting day falling upon New Year's Day. Evidently there is no great dearth of teachers at present At last meeting of the Wellington Education Board there were 03 applications for three vacancies, with salaries ranging from £144 to CUm and £2O house allowance. -Mr. W. T. Jennings, 31.1'., has written to the Mayor suggesting that New I'lvniouth should do something towards alleviating the distress ol' the slill'erers by the Italian earthquake The Alayor has opened a subscription list at the Borough Council oflice.

Jiu American commercial school jirincipal recently sent out a hundred circulars asking prominent business men whether it was not a waste of energy that could be well avoided to continue adding the doubtful sentiment of "Vours faithfully,'' clc., to business letters. Tile majority of Hie answer* Mere favorable to Hie retention of the kindly if not always sincere phrases. The most notable exception was that of a fairly wellknown writer, who suggested that for the tab of consistency" business letters J should end; "Yours Jinanei<illy." Aineri-1 can business people have not yet decided to carry out candor |o a*logical conclusion. Two smart 3alc-?, were brought under our notice the other day, and both were ell'ected by local horse-dealers, savs tho Wairarapa Standard An employer of horses had resolved on getting rid of a horse that was of little or no use to , him. and a dealer *nt him for C). His

i ueir owner louclied him op n hil. (HlVred him for sale at the local 'yards, when he was re-purchased li,v hi - * oriuii]lll Owner for C2l, Some a Ideal fanner wauled a hor<e fur hi»( spring cart, and approached a dealer, wiui happened In liavo an animal that would suit him, but the price asked didn't". There was a difference uf .i;i, the denier wanting Ciß nnd the fanner oll'rrhg fin. liall.cr tlian Jo.sc Die dinner of llli' Mil C, ilie dealer dropped his price to .till Ids. hut still the farmer was obdurate—he knew the value of a horse when he saw one. Well. |hcj deal did licit come nil", ami. tlie dealei) sent the horse to RannevirVe yards tho I following week, wlieh lie brought C 27,1 and fho Woodville farmer was the pur-! chaser!

Now is the time to take a holiday, i>ef out into the country. on the mountains and visit the seashore, but do not forget to take a. bottle of t'hamborlah's C'cilk, Cholera and Diarrhoea Remedy along «'ith yon. It is almost certain to I>e needed and cannot tin obtained on njUronds ; or steamships.; It is too «i)(el| of a tl#k for anyone to heave liome on a journey without it. ,For sale by *11" ctansia" nvl

Tlic Superintendent of l'ire Brigades, Mr. Hugo, arrived in town last uig'it., and announced the fact shortly after. ;wards l by the ringing of the lirebell. ,Tlie "surprise," however, did not eatcii tha local brigade napping, a full muster I, answering the summons with commendable promptitude. Webb, the sculler, is at present in llotorua. A resident of Tiniaru, who re-

coived a letter from the ex-champion, | has informed a reporter that W'ebli was i undoubtedly sull'ering from rheumatism on the day of the race, otiienvisci Arnst I could never have beaten liiiu hy so j much, lie further stated that he knows it to be Webb's firm intention to "liavo | another go" at Arnst, In tile Police Court yesterday morn-' iug Eraest Taylor, alias Wilson, an Inglewood laborer, was charged with forgery and littering, and remanded to the 13 th inst. The information was that ho had forged a cheque for ,C 7 10s, purporting to have been drawn liy A, Morton on the Bank of Now Zealand at luglewood, and had littered it to P. McIlvride.

The latest issue of the IA'O-Mcthvd *- rille.s—-eased in wooil from butt to barrel end—is still coining to hand, and' tlitj 'Government armorers at the Alexandra Jfcirraeks are preparing them for issue. ' Practically the whole of the mounted in- 11 fantrv corps in (In; South Isi audi ari''. now arnied with the new weapon, itml < it is likely that tho North Island com'- j panics will he similarly eireumstaneejl ■, i at a comparatively early date. Mr. J. K S, McdJey, JU'gistr.ir. supplies tile following vital statistics for the year:-—liii'ths, 353 (194 malt's and J.>U females); deaths, 12.) I males 74, fetmale 51); marriages 101, of which 18 were conducted in tlie registry olliee. Of the deaths registered three were of persons over DO vein's »,f eleven from 80 to i)o. and fourteen between 70 and HO. In the previous year there were 37tt births, 1(55 deaths- and 125 marriages.. 'Hie first record was kept in 1848, when ihcre were 43 births and 8 deaths.

A Dumber of Die petty ollicers from 11.. M.N. i'ambriau were a>hore yesterday, and a hig shore party is expected to-day. The d«'lay of the ship is caused through the loss of an anchor, the ring having broken and the buoy rope having | chafed through. The Cambrian wiil I suit aL the end of the week if the anchor is mil recovered before then. Yesterday was a joyful day aboard, Captain Mood having been fortunate in intercepting for them nine bundles of Brindisi mails fnnn Home as they were being transhipped from the itotoiti to Wellington yesterday morning. The Cambrian is in constant ('ommunieatio7i with the other vessels of the ■squadron in Auckland harbor by wireless telegraphy.

Consternation reigned for a few moments the other evening at the performance in a Christchurch theatre of "The <iirl of the liolden West." At the conclusion of tile third act, when the heroine was making an impetuous appeal for the life of the hero, who had'just left the stage l» meet his doom, a man ill the stalls (apparently overcome with the pathos of Miss Titteil Brunei emotional words) made a sudden rush and endeavoured to clamber on to the stage, while forcibly impeaching the villa hi •who dared to "do for'' the hero, and begning the lieroine to " stoiish the brute." It was not until the venturesome iatcrruptor hud overturned a member of the orchestra and extinguish d , several lights that he was hurriedly led i out by unsympathetic attendants. | If all the holiday encomiums passed upon the New Plymouth llecieatiionr (iiouruU were golden guineas iu the hands of the board of trustee*, what a policy of improvements they would be enabled to carry out. It didn't matter one whit whether the visitor was a meek-eyed old maid (poodles forbiddui iu the grounds notwithstanding) or an amorous yonl.li, honeymooners " mooning'"' around or an aged couple in the sere and yelluw stage, little toddlei- : feeding the swans ami ducks, or the courting couples who sought the restful (juict of the spreading puugas—each and every one of the visitors praised unstintedly the natural beauty a.id the well-kept appearance of this loveliest public resort in the Dominion. And the new sports ground, with its natural galleries and perfect sward, evoked expressions of tlie highest admiration. A little mild excitement was can.-of at the Friendly Societies' picnic at Foxton ou Friday, relates the Mauawatu Standard. A motor car travelling at a good rate of speed encountered a trapful of ladies at an awkward corner of the road just outside the Domain grounds. Hatlier than cause the ladies an unnecessary inconvenience by colliding with them, the gallant chaull'eur politely ran his car into the most convenient ditch, where it stuck fast. The spectacle of a clmulVeur in distress—especially a polite one- appealed irresi>l--to t ho picnickers, who came to his rescue by the score. They tied a stout rope to the ear and about a hundred of j them hauled mightily, with the result that the gallant one was able to continue hi> jouriiey without any damage to his machine.

A peculiar atmo.-.pherie disturbance was at Uariteld, Canterbury, about 12.ii0 p.m. the utlicr day. Heavy sturni clouds frnin the south-west wen' blown over the district. ami. coming in contact wit It a north-west breeze of greater force, were whirled oil' to the south-east. When about over Dimanu* del or Southliridge, Hie mass ol' clouds appeared to lie struck by an opposing breeze, and a battle royal ensued for mastery of the position. Flashes of lightning darted here and there, and the heavy mass i»f clouds commenced to coil and churn as though caught in a veritable, maelstrom. From the centre of fho dark mass there emerged a % long vapoury >haft, evidently a waterspout, lighter in color than tile main body, which quickly extended to the earth. The whole muss advanced rolling, now lashed into fury as by some unseen foe, ever changing, and assuming a most weird appearance. As the waterspout •was lading awav. the dark mass of vapour which was feeding it became suddenly agitated, and from the centra there emerged a thin spiral column of lighter vapour, resembling a huge snake, ■which appeared to wriggle in a -most sinuous manner down the centre of the waterspout, and .gradually faded from view.

After having spent a long day in search of a London acquaintance of 20 years ago, Mr. John Fuller during his m-ent Jvondon holiday betook himself to a theatre for the evening, Tetraizini, it risin'g vocalist, had just concluded an item with several recalls, and -Mr. Fuller asked his neighbor, a young man, how the singer compared with Mine. Melba, explaining that as a Xew Zeahuider he was naturally interested in the Australian diva. Having voiced his opinion the young man added that bis wife was a'

New Zealander. Mr. Fuller found that she was a Dmtedin girl, ami that she muciub'cml Fuller's Myriorania. "Of course 1 do/' she said, "and you're Mr. John Fuller, the tenor, aren't you': 7 'Another youth, sitting in the next row, turned round, and asked if it wore true that the elderly man Wj.s really Mrj John Fuller, a Xew Zealand tenor. Receiving an answer in the allirmative. he excitedly asked, "Then yon know niy father';" "Perhaps 1 do,'' said Mr. Fuller: ''whals his name?" ; 'Ted White," was the answer. "Why. voting man, I've been looking for your father all day." Ami next day the two old friends had a long yarn over tile Nap- i penings of the years that had gone since j they forgot their 'promise to write to nm< bfiv

At Paten earlv on Wednesday evening last the attention of a passev-by was di- ' reeled to the unusual behavunij' of a } half-naked man on the parapet of the town bridge A crowd of astonished spectators soon li'Meil. The unfortunate individual, who appeared to be Miinewiiat jujder the inlluence of liquor, walked, along Hie parapet, throwing his arms about ami gesticulating wildly, saving lie was g'oin<? to dive into the river below. Tho man's conduct was causing some alarm to the onlookers, for b«> several times nearly overbalanced. Maay inducements were held out to him to come down from his pejijqus position, but he would not hear them, lie was later seized by a couple of ablebodied persons, handcuffed by Constable j O'Brien, and sent to the lock-up in an j

express. The man, who is said to have been drinking heavily, arrived in town by the n.:m trab. It would appear I hatas soon as he left the train lid Inrush have made for the bridge, where he coijhl not resist the inviting waters. The individual, who gave his name as Johnston, subsequently appeared before Mr. I -I. A. McKenna. -LP,, on ft charge of indecent exposure, and was sentenced to | 11 days hard labor in Wanganui gaol, where he will also undergo medical treatment.—Pa tea Press. There v,us an old party, from Hay, Who had tried many pills in his day, But his li'oubhi was chronic, Till he took Lnxo-'fotiie, And now ho is hsippy, Hoo-ray!" UAXO-TOXTC PILLS, and Is 6J GILLETTE SAFET- RAZORS. Bengal razors, high-class pocket cutlery, all the latest on hand. watches (good timekeepers) ora be obtained for 5s each at J, Avery's, ♦Jbacoo

Mr. ,1. 11. lledwood, of Blenheim, lias inm-hased Messrs. JJainpney Bros.' Spring Hill .Station, Molmka, llawke's Buy. The station has an area of liliUU acres and is carrying IU,UUU sheep and (iOO head of cattle.

On Saturday, before Messrs. C. I). Sole and S. Ward, J.'sl'., a youug man named X. Canniehael, wiio had recently I been discharged from a mental hospital, I wa« sent to gaol for one month on a charge of vagrancy. In committing the accused, the Bench also forwarded a j rccoiiiincndaliou that lie be kept under | medical supervision, Cariniciiael, it seems, had been in the habit of entering into possession of unoccupied or temporarily empty houses, and was arrested by Constable Mackintosh at Strathmore.—Stratford Post.

A narrow escape of a serious accident happened to the Rev, 1\ Copeland, of liltiuini, as he was returning from a double wedding at Xailiape on Tuesday, reports the Tuihape Times. The horse which he was lining, which belonged to Dr. Jiarnott, bolted with him, and several collisions were narrowly averted. On arriving at the doctor's gate the horse tried to jump it, and unseated his rider. .Mr. CopcJand has no bones broken, but is rather badly shaken, and hopes to he able to return to t'ltham after a few days' rest.

Diners in a Wellington restaurant were a little startled oil Monday evening when a young woman, apparently about 24 years of agi», insisted in joining into conversation with those seated at the tables on general principles (says the Dominion). Sympathetic inquiries elicited the fact—delivered in shaky .sentences between incipient sobs—that she was an immigrant from Kngland, and had broken through the proprieties out of sheer loneliness. "I have not seen a kind face since I have been in Xew Zealand,"' was one ejaculation. And then, from behind Iter handkerchief came this: "Jf there was dry land bj tween here a.id Kngland 1 would wait back."

Mr. Thomas Allison, of Wauganui, who, with his brother, was on Alount Jtuapchu on December 28th last, in a short description of the ascent, in t!u Wanganui Chronicle, remarks:—"it was pouring with rain and blowing very hard, but the smaller streams in t/iat neighborhood had their banks lined with ' mountain ranunculus. The plants grow from 8 to 14 inches iu height, the leaws average about sin in diameter, of a shining greell; I measured one Sin in diameter, and the blossoms were of a bright golden yellow, exactly like yellow anenionies. The largest llower J measured was wider that a florin and a penny .side by side. On one plant 1 counted 24 blossoms."

Bare creatures are occasionally fotr.ul 1 on both land and sea, and Stewart Jslaud has funished the latest in this respect. llecently (according to the Southland Daily News) a party of three were having u jaunt at Kinga-ilinga, when they discovered sonic commotion in. the water near the beach, and on hurrying to the scene they discovered what; ■ .they thought to be a baby whale, which. | had apparently grounded on the beach and was unable to get oil'. The parly attacked it, and after a desperate struggle the creature was despatched and dragged to the beach, where it was secured. On examination it was found to be about cig'ht feet lovig, sharp-nosed, und without any sign of teeth, and to have a peculiar shaped tail and a .small tin on the back; towards the tail. A nautical man who examined the monster pronounced it to"lie a mystery, not being of the whale or black tisli species, though it has a blow hole on the top ol the head similar to the whale.

The Perth Police Court recently committed fur ti'i-il> on a charge of conspiring 1o obstruct the course of jiislic.', \\ illiam Piviiliei: Silverstone. licensee of the Ka-l Perth Hotel, and J. D. Waters. maingvr of the East Perth foundry. Silverstone win a juryman in a much litigated case I']. S. King, metallurgist, against the Ivanhoe mine. The evidence for the prosecution warf l hat Waters approached King, and proposed to win his case through a juryman if guaranteed 10 per cent, of King's claim. .U3OHO. King communicated with a detective, who advised him to ke.'p another appointment- with Waters, they shadowing him. Waters then told King that Silverstone was the juryman whom he meant.. After the second interview the detectives followed Waters to Siiverst one's home, and ascertained that he had an hour's interview in a private room with Silverstone. Next clay the whole matter was laid before the Judge, who dismissed the jury and adjourned the case till March. Silverstone and Waters were then arrested'.

A singular and dramatic episode in tile life of William Pitt. Karl of Chatham. is brought to mind again by t.ie announcement that North Knd Place, llampstead Heath, was >old by auction by Messrs. Lowe, Coldsehniidt. and llowland at Tokcnhouse Yard on November 17. The small room in which .Pitt remained for days together, seeing no one. still remains, and contains the curious box cupboard in the wall through which the patient received his meals and anything conveyed to him. The Chatham correspondence shows instance after instance of the urgent appeals sent by (he. King, the Duke of Craftoii, and other Ministers, all of which failed to induce Pitt *to leave North Knd. and the author of "The Hecords of the Manor and Borough of llampstead" remarked in reference to North Knd Place: 'ilad Lord Chatham not been here, but in health and at his post, the Boston tea duty would never have been imposed; and over the American Continent the Union Jack (who can say) might at this day he fly- j i»g. w I

Considerable interest was taken in a ( case at Die -Melbourne District Court ■when three fashionably-attired young men were prosecuted on a charge of acting in an offensive manner in public. The evidence showed that the three defendants, disguished as 'women, came into the city, and. according to their own statements to the police, were refused; or did not gain, admission to the Scandinavian ball, whereupon they went to the theatre, From there t.hev went to the Vienna Cafe for supper, where their behaviour was such as to attract j attention. When they left the cafe a crowd gathered in the street, and very I strong remarks were parsed a bout their disguise. One of the youths lu\d stated that he was roughly handled, his Viioeher's dress, which he was wearing at the time, being badly lorn. Mr. Dwyer, S.M.. said tile suggestions made against defendants in the case had not been justified bv the evidence. They bad nut conducted thenis'clves impropcrlv, nor taken undue advantages of the costumes I hey were wearing, t'nlrss there was a km! which forbade man to assume the garb of woman, or vice versa, thciv seemed to be nothing against defendants. .Still, (hey were silly young donkeys, and lie (Mr. Dwyer) did not for a moment regard their action ;is a proper proceeding, whirli only tended to raise scandal and injure their reputations. 'I hey were ti'eadiag on thin ice. and might get themselves into trouble, with-1 out the intervention of the htw, if they WiT" not more careful, Defendants were j discharged,

A very large proportion of the people of New Zealand stiller more or less with their te.el.h, and there is no doubt that modern living is playing havoc with 1 hem. .Mr. Arthur Hoby, L.U.8., iu his presidential address at the Dentists' Convention, which opened in Wellington on Monday, made some remarks on the subject. "The remedy, in my judgment," he said, '"is to get back to a more primitieo way of life, but I do not see any way whereby this could be 'brought about—tho tendency all over the world |is just in tho opposite diiection. | be- ! lieve that if a much simpler life could be lived, plain food with mucn fewer j articles of diet, so that (here would not be the temptation to eat after the real claims of hunger were satisfied, and the food wc should eat required mastication

thorough and persistent, right from tie* eruption of the temporary teeth, then !l think that many of our present dental troubles would vanish, and the result would be that not one-third of the present number of doctors and dentists would be required. T do not think that the .persistent use of wholo-tnoal bread by the whole community and a system of 'fletcherising' our food would accomplish a great deal. To Mletcherise' is to chew, chew, until the material being eaten"passes down the aesphagus with hardly any perceptible effort on the chewer's part, but to do this requires a considerable amount, of education. This subject could and should he-included in the teaching of oral hygiene. 1 am not

Ctopian enough to imagine (hat this primitive condition of mankind can ever be realised again, but T do think that in 'coiisoqirenco of the whole world.hehg aroused to the need of sound dental argans, incalculable good will be accomplished, and we may be enabled to inr prove the quality of these organs all tho WW over."