LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 323, 14 January 1909, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The publicans of Rotorua. have reduced the price of a medium glass of beer to 3d During the past lifty-Lwo years New Zealand ha si 'exported 18t7'2jjl27oz of gold of the value of £73,534,087. , The contract for the new police staI tion to be erected at New Plymouth, at a cost of about £I2OO, lias be<:;i let' to Air. R. W. Pond, of New Plymouth.

'ihy secretary of tiie Seaside Improve- I meat Committee desires us to acknowledge receipt of donations of £0 froln Mr T. Knowles (Breakwater Hotel) and £1 Is from the Dresden Piano Co. A meeting 0' tanners was held at Mokoia on Tuesday 10 consider the question of the mliK.Jon in the price paid, for pigs. A conn, itt'ee was set up t o confer with*-the directors of the tiltliain, ißacon Company. i "The Farmer's Glory 1 ' is the name of a gooseberry grown by Mr. W Dingle •(says the liawera Star), live of whieh easily turned the scale at '/jib. Mi. •Dingle says that his crop of fruit this year is very heavy, aiul his berry fru'l, generally speaking, very large in size. The following team will represent the Taranaki Guards in tire tug-of-war at the Electric Light Sports to-right:— Sergts. Oliver and Lewis, Corps. Green and Rent, Privates liill, Kurta, Bruce, Rogers. J. Skipper, Alex. Gray. Emergencies: Kirby, Hlvde, I'iruiston, Drinkwater and lioeock.

Reporting to tin: Patea Harbour Board 011 Tuesday the wharfinger said: ''The wool has been coming in very freely lately. A lot of it is going loose to tlie wool sales, principally in Wellington. Wc have every hit 01' space here filled with dumped wool, and in some places we have si\ or seven tiers of loose wool 011 top of them. The hide shed is full almost to tire roof."

A strange coincidence is recorded. Twelve months ago Mr. 11. C. Swift, of Marton, while a passenger between .IJO- - and Capetown on the Corinthie, threw overboard a bottle containing his address a.nd a message. Last week the bottle and contents .were picked up on the Otaki beach—that is, within 100 •miles of Mr. Swift's residence, after •having drifted at least 5000 miles.

At -Jlastcrton tlx: other day a man left his liicvi'le inside a tVnco, and told his tn watch it. rnforlunatcly, a lady had left her bicycle in tile same spot, and when she went for it the dog went for her, and she lied. In vain she called in the aid of a constable. Tim dog challenged the officer of the law, and he advised the lady to wait till the owner of the faithful animal arrived and relieved the situation.

The Kuuroo estate (acquired from the Teschuuiaker family) of I!I,(JUU acres near Oamani (says the Timani Herald) is to be put to the ballot shortly in allotments of ;ItJU to 3(1110 acres, ilessrs. J. ilacpherson (Totara), (i. Livingstone, and E. A. Atkinson have completed the valuations of allotments into which the -estate has been divided, the rentals ranging from 2s (id f(»r head that has not been ploughed to KJs for cultivable land.

The following team, representing the carriers, will challenge the world (including Bell Block) in the tug-of-war' tournament fo be held in the Recrealion Sports tlronnd to-nighl: (captain), A. Hooker (support), William Hake, \V, Snrlon ami ,1. Kenyon (refreshment committee). Frederick Smith (time-keeper and rest-enrist), 0. Moller, (orator and limelight operator), \V. Sands (hauler anil foot-anchor), I'. Dutton (without portfolio). Aa astonishing freak llowcr is on view just now in -Mr. J. Buttiinore's window ill Devon street. It is a line yellow arum lily (Eliotiana), the bloom growing out from the leaf stem instead of in tlie ordinary way. Another peculiarity is that the leaf shown is of a bright golden hue, whereas in the usual course it would be of a dark green, spotted with yellow. Ihe trcak is attracting a iot of attention. It was grinvn in tiie open by Mrs. (ionlon. in Young street, and bore mi less llian twenty-lhrec largo blooms.

There is a growing democratic feeliag ill the minds of the members of tllu" Methodist Church, and it is reffocted in the management, t'mlcr a new regulation the congregation is now "riven am opportunity of elecLiug its own representatives til the (|iiarterly board. Thus the management is not so min-h in the hands of the minister as was formerly tlie ease, anil is still the ease in various other denominations. There are alwavs a good few -growlers" in every congregation, and if these can persuade "thi> I'est ~f the members that some solid growling by solid grumblers is needed, the quarterly meetings should lengthen and grow in interest.