LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 324, 15 January 1909, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

■ In good faith we published veslcnhv an alleged team for last night's lug-of-'war. We might jn-.t si v. for the infornratic those who objected'to the 'use made of their names, ilia I we have traced the source of the information supplied to us, and the writers will hear more of the matter. At a well-attended meeting of the New Plymouth Tradesmen's Association in the Town Hall this morning, a resxlution was passed that the association should notify the Borough Council that it recommends the continuance.of Thursday afternoon as the statutory halfholiday within the borough. In referring to the public services of the Mayor (.Mr. U. Tisch) at the seaside •opening ceremony yesterday, Mr. R. Cock stated that since Mr. Tiscii had left the helm of the Taranaki Hospital Board the borough's hospital rate had increased by £7O a year, which meant that the cost of running the hospital had materially increased. "There must be something radically wrong." added Mr. Clock.

I At the opening of the Te Jlcuui ;)in | inonade yesterday afternoon, the .Mnvo | suggested I hat he wimlil he pleased - n £ receive donations i.f pohutukawa o £ other suitable tree-, for the hcniilifviu; |j of Hi,' seaside. Messrs. (ico. liou'lloi \ and 11. T. .1011, who were present, ilium- & dialcly responded, promising 7.") and 2; & respect ivcly for the next plnntiiij! ski i son. Wo will ho pleased io acknowlodg | further donations of u similar kind. , A:i interesting trial of the "excrtiol wage'' or premium homis system, is be ing made at tlic-Olirm tunnel, now beini constructed hy .Messrs. .McLean Bros' contractors. The men working in Hi head were informed that .CI per foo extra for every foot they excavate, above (ili feet in any one week would h divided among them. There was s outcry against; this attempt at "speed i'ng-up," but the men seem to have re sponded as desired bv their eniploverLast week they made 74 feet, the' hie gest' week's work accomplished sine the boring was slartcd. This meant i sum of fS to be divided amount v. men. Mr. .Murdoch McLean, speakin: to a JJoniinion reporter, said that if thi rate of progress were maintained. Dion would lie no dillieulty in finishing tie tunnel within contract lime. A large meeting of't|,c Kilzrov Howl ing Club on Wednesday evening dis cussed the (|iie,(ion of Sumlav plav. .' petition from fifty-three liuaiicial incur her* was presented against Sunday plav and it was reported, on the other lino's that many members would not pa\ their subscriptions if Sunday play wen disallowed. There was a ieugtl'iv dis cussion. and ovouluallv a resolution w,icarried, t« the cll'cct that it was desir •able that it should lie known that tin club had given no sanction to Sunda\ play. Tlie greens will be open on Sun ilays as usual for those who prefer If lake their rest in a little, mild exercise. The. Jim tier was refilled to vestenl.n ill. the Kitzroy green by .Mr.' li. rock, fte president of the New I'lvmouth t'lub, who t'iiid that for his part he ■would never allow Sunday play on the town gr.fcn. Apart altogether 'from the religions a <ueel, lie considered the green was' Ih.' heller for a. rest, on at least cue dav ia Ibe week, and the remark cerlainlv applied Io (he caretaker.

11l one of Hie Stall's .if America, sev frul liniiilrcil miles from San Fraucisc. there me iiini' hundred Russian fiuuilii' -ii. community of about hvo (hnusaii other lii'liU under other skies aad olhc lnws. TlH'.v suv through llu'ir ciivuv.Messrs. Vluiliin'ir, l'isarcnke a.id \\ Flcissiier, who lire now in .New Zcahini' Hint, owing In tin.' action of the Amcri I'iin railway trusts, tjrey arc unable t .profitably si'll their produce. Therefor they desire to sftt.lt- in 11 country *W their labor will bring them better re. wind. The envoys lmve visile,! il„ I'hilippiucs unci Ansli-iilin, n-iiil arc nnv examining the possibilities of Xeu Zen liiml. The delegates dciied to knnv whether the ,\e,v Zealand Covernineii would grant Hie Russians agisted pus sages from San Francisco In \e\v 'f.n\ limit, and also stated they would wort on (he system. I.nl ivonli rci|iiirn to li:iv«- tile 'land allocated li them in such a way that tlicy cou.W uc :aipy it as 5,,,,,, ~s ' ||,ev arrived. .\ iv pWK'iitiiliveof the Wellington I'osl «■«, informed tliat Die (invernment had de :'ided to reply that New Zealand did not grant assisted passages rrnn, it,, I'liited States or Canada, as such a poicy might lie regard"d as an mifriemllv lction Ipy these two countries, which vere (ryiag to attract population of a lseful kind. Also in view of the tad hat the (tovernmelit eonlil not supply 'iioiigli land for the applicants alread'v

in New Zealand, it was unable Id accede to the request for the allocation „, a special area for tlie liussians. 'the envoys proceeded to I'almevston \orlh. It is understood (says (he local Times) Unit Ihey are infikhi<r cupm-i,.* ahout tlie prospects of senirin« land from private oinii'i's,

■ According to a resident of Greymouth who was in Tiinaru mi Wednesday last, politicians on the West Coast take time by the forelock. The visitor, in conversation with u Herald reporter, suid that Air Michel, who so nearly dc fcated Mr. T. E. Y. Sudilou fur Mi>" 'Wcstlaud seat, has already made a start with his campaign for the next general I election, and with the object of enuring his- return next time, lie is keeping all his committees together for a long, | a strong, and a sure pull three years I hence.

itabbils are destructively plentiful mi I J'Urville Island at present, says the Velson Alail. In some eases they have jecn known to burrow down and eat >otuto seed alter it hail been in the ,'round some time. o:ic of the settlers illed a tub three parts full of water and ihu-ed some bread where it could be seen. Before very long the tub was full if rabbits. Recently, it lias been found that, owing to scarcity of food, the rabbits are becoming cannibalistic in their habits, so the trouble, it is thought, will be less acute. A letter has been received in Sydney Iriuu Jiear-Admiral liodney 1). Jivuns (" Kighling liob")j The American Admiral said that lie'looked upon the visit of the I'nited Sillies lleet to Australia ;is being "of deep srgiiifiranee, and must result in great good lo both countries."

" It has always hen my desire, continued the liinioiis sailor, "to visit Australia, and just when it seemed that I was to do so iit the most favourable conditions, I was taken ill, and had to give it up. You can imagine how sadly I was disappointed. However, I am only

si.uv-uvo v:mrs olil. and mv wish may yet'be gi'atilietl." Viiiccnzn liiiti-i. a notorious Italian brigand, who Ins been m penal scrvitmlo lor fori,-two years, ill the end (if November riicivcil' tin- i-».v«l purdoii. liucci. wiui i> niiv eightv-lwo years of age, stali'.s ilmt hi' liaii killed thirtytnrce persons and wounded al least lil'tv. Hi' expressed no repentance for his'crimes. «,id In' states that lie had 'dime his duty because St, (ieiiiniro, who had appeared to him in a dream, commissioned him to crush the eneniies of ' Naples mill to re-establish the JSourbons on (he throne. On leaving prison the ex-brigand was informed that a rich man. who died several years ago, had lel'i him a eirasiderable fortune. In conversation with a Herald report er. a Tmiurii eitizen, recently relumed from the Old Ullu. said he had been ■very sorry to see so much distress ir (sniiliiiul.' Aberdeen was nothing aiow ilmt a fishing centre, and the dcpressioi there in trade was awful. Hut Glasgow! 'lt was ii sorry sight to see so main strong, line, able men, hopelessly loaf ('ing around without, so far as he coub see, the remotest hope of employment

■The three great industries of Ulasgdw— | iron, steel, and shipbuilding—had faded ■for many months past, and everything I 'was suffering hi proportion. The (lis- | 'tress committee said that there were Iti.OOO men out (if work, and that close upon IUO,<M)O were feeling the pinch of distress. A correspondent, writing to one of the Wellington papers, contends that the ghastly struggles for food in the ruins of Messina emphasise the nccessitv of teaching in all primary schools throughout the world that it is easy to live fur weeks without eating, so long as fresh water is obtainable to drink. "So long,'' be continues, " as fresh water is procurable no one need die in the bush, or at sea, from starvation, even if no food be consumed for a period ranging from four to six weeks. Where fresh water can be had persons under such circumstances dying in a few days of 'starvation' really die from the effects of funk or fear, that is, assuming they have sense enough to drink water.

■ "By what marks could we distinguish a moraine deposit from a river or lluviatile deposit?'" That is one of the questions on the geography paper prepared for the proficiency certificate examination, of IIIUB at Auckland. Here is another: "Though the earth turns 3(iii limes on its axis in a year, we have unlv 305 davs in the year-how is this'" A third reads thus: "Why do we believe that the position of the earth's axis is approximately stable?" Still another: "Many inland plains in the /South Island were once large lake basins—what evidence can be given in proof of this:" A'speaker at the Educational Institute at Dunedin remarked, ami not without reason, that such questions might not be always correctly answered by adults.

Jt is estimated that within'a month every copper coin in Wellington passes through the train-ears, and sonic of the pennies have many trips. From Cloto C2O in copper is counted up in the paying olliee every day. If the Wellington City Council 'desired to ■•comer" the nipper, it could have every penny of the local supply locked up and could quickly absorb reinforcements from other districts. Always the Thornduii pay-in, olliee has been a popular change bureau, and Ibe husim'ss of giving copper and •mall silver for gold and notes has been specially brisk during the holiday season. 'l'he railway station aiith'i.rilics scud for a " fiver's worth " every now ami then, and trades n call in frequently to give big niouev for an equival.'nl'of little things. While up country last month (says "Artisan" in his labor column in His Auckland Herald) I came across several fanners who were by precept and example encouraging local industries. They bought and'used only as far as possible goods manufactured in and from products of the Dominion. If this practice was to be followed universally throughout tlie Dominion tile internal trade of the Dominion would receive a stimulus, and would be worth more than any tariff revision. The products of the Dominion arc equal to, and in instances (especially in woollens) superior to the imported article, and if a proper measure of support was given to our local industries, the Dominion would in a very short time become a self-sustaining country with its best market within "its own boundaries."

Interesting particulars regarding (he il-borc ul Koiiui, Queensland, wliieli i'iis mi lire fur about six weeks, arc ivcu in this month's "-Vcw Zealand lines Kecoril." In ]!)00 a bore hole ins put down 31i83 feel, to obtain u inter supply for the town of Hoiua; as was struck at thai depth, and it is ni'tl at a rate esliiuated at 40,(100 ciibh eel per dav. The gas was allowed li ;o Id waste for four years, ami the! he bore was elosed. and the town pipei ■o lie supplied with the natural gio Vhi'il everything was completed, th (as was no longer (lowing, and th igliling scheme had to be aliaudimei I'hi' bore which look lire on Oclolic 17th. was put down, in a .search of oi nil had reached H 702 feet when a rus if gas blew U]i the rocking beam Ilia rorkeil the wire boring rope and tool' !'he gas spread iiround, was ignited n he lire in the steam engine driving th (ear and the Names shut up from Hi lore to n height of 51) or 00 feel. I wenlv minutes the iron derrick oiv he bore had softened, in the heal an ell over. The How of gas was impede ■V a piece of (he gearing dragged dow o the mouth of the bore by n rope ■el the llamcs continued to rise 3(1 feel ud II bstrucfion at (lie lop of Hi Hire caused two streams of buniin as lo rush out liori/onlallv to „ <|i< a nee of :)l) feel mi oppositc'..idos. Th mount of gas Unit went In waste a inula could not be estimated, bill i rjis probablv over a million feet pe ay. lias Hows uf several million fee er day have been known in America' lillieliis. the pressure being so grca Unit no further drilling could be 'do',l until the How decreased.