LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 328, 21 January 1909, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Major Sanitford acknowledges the receipt of a 5s donation to the cadet fun Is from Mr. H. Okey, M.P. Owing to Mr. Masscy being unable to attend at the date lixed, the Opposition banquet arranged to take place at llawera has been postponed till February 12. ' The number of candidates for the Thames bye-election is increasing. The candidates' consist of Messrs. Lucas (Government and Labor), Hasehlcn (Opposition), D.'eble (Opposition). Taylor i((!ovcrninent and Prohibition), and Rhodes (Government and freehold!. The candidates are now touring the electorate. The election will take place on January 28. . Sergeant lladdrell has been advised of the destruction by lire of Mr. R. J. Oveuileu's private dairy factory at Waihi on -Saturday last, in the early morning. The factory was close to the' house. Mr. Ovenden was awakened about J.JO ley the smell of smoke. He found the lire had got a linn hold, and nothing could be done to check it. The. building and contents were insured for C 1(1(1 in the Commercial Union, and were valued :tt ■ £]«."> 10s. Apart from the actual loss of the buildings and plant. Mr. Ovenden will lose by the lire occurring in the height of tlm Imtiter season. The darkest cloud has a silver lining; the most pathetic spectacle the possibility of humorous incident. A local youth was examining the bones of the Tnrannki war heroes the other day in 'this old Courteitay street cemetery. Turning to a companion, one of whose progenitors was killed during the hos'tilities. he asked if his deceased relative had been buried in this spot. "Hurled be hanged." replied the other: "tieMaoris ate him." The lirst youth looked 'anxious for the earth to open and swa 1 - ■low him up..but, instantly recovering, hj" 'asked. "Then I suppose you look on 'every Maori to-dav as a sort of relative?" ' The Girls' Realm gives views of n •number of famous women on what they 'would do if thev were nirls agaiii. 'Nearly all answered that 'they would live over again the experiences of girlhood, with .something added of interest or of work which at seventeen they had not but which they would not now part from. (hie breezy exception is .Mrs. Reeves (Helen Mathers) whose "Cumin 1 ■Thro' the. Rye'' made a mark.at once: "if I were a, girl again I. would, shun ain- . dntion, hurl my inkpot-intu the street, anil' never seek to win that 'splendid •mourning in purple, for lost happiness' (that i.s called Fame. To marry a loyal, •kind man, to have half a dozen ehild•ren, and possess enough brains to keep me out of a lunatic asvluni—that is the -life 1 would choose."

• At Monday's meeting of the llawcrn 'Hospital Board, .Mr. Duirs moved, "That ■private wards bo established in the lios•pital." He said that the. hospital was not being- patronised at present, and it •would be n great advantage to the institution if private wards were available. There, were wealthy people who 'would be glad to pay handsomely for such aiwoininodaliun. but who would not go to the hospital al all under present 'conditions, lie thought private wards 'would do the institution a lot of good, (and certainly could do no harm. Mr. '.Marx, although opposing the motion. Seconded it pro forma. He thought that (the establishment of private wards Mould be detrimental to the welfare of ■the place. It would at" once, create the question of "caste." The doctors wanted .that sort of thing, but the Boards' are *)|. posed to it. It would mean a private (hospital within a public hospital, and flic felt sure it would not work. The mo-. (lion was lost, only the mover supporting it.

A meeting of the- Central School Committee was held on Monday. The subcommittee appointed to form a deputation to Mail on the Education Boiutl with' regard to the ventilation of the school, reported having visited the school in company with the Board's architect, and having .subsequently waited on the Board, who approved certain alterations .being made to the windows. This, it was mid. would supply sufficient ventilation for present requirement'. The Education Board notified that three pupil teachers bad been appointed to the stall' of the school. A discission follovI ed. and if was evcntuailv resolved to acknowledge the letter and to inform the Board Unit was expected that assistants would be appointed to the stall', as they considered the importance of the seho">! required the services of experienced i teachers instead of pupil teachers. The qimstion of the jiiinie and giving of prizes was discussed. It was resolved that (he school picnic be held on Thursday. .February IS. in the Recreation Grounds. Dealing with the question of I prizes, a sub-committee, consisting f

Messrs. Iliidd. Mi-Galley and Grant was elected to discuss the matter with the ■headmasler. with a vicv lo giving a limited number of prizes as awards during flic; currency of the year instead "!' at the close of the si-hooi as at present.

GILLETTE SAFET- RA7.ORS. Bengal razors, high-class pocket cutlery, all the latest on hand. Boys' watches (good timekeepers) can be obtained al 5s each at J. Avery's, tobacconist, Devon .street.—Advt.

I After all's said and done "The Prcstvell" suiU arc already tlio best known I suit in Taranaki. Made in New Plymouth by experienced workmen they have the style and fit of the best tailor made suit. You'll he wanting a Christmas suit, better call at "The Kasli" and ask one of the salesmen to shew I .you a Prestwell suit and you'll be inore than pleased with the style an | fit.—Advt. i

TO TRAVELLERS AND TOURISTS. I Hake your trip pleasant by getting u? to handle your baggage. We can save 'you no rad of trouble. llaggage collected from ship, station, or hotel and transported to any address safely, quickly. JCxcollunt storage accommodation and spacious sample-rooms always Available, Note name: N.Z. Express Compain'- Offices throughout the Do-

! Air. F. E. Hardy, of Eltliani, has licen M.|>|iointoil h:iiidicui>|irr In the New i'l.V■mouth Caledonian .Society.

The annual picnic in roiuii'rlioii will' ■llns Whitclcy Sunday School takes place 'tu-itay at Mr. Sexton"* properly, Car•riugton road. 'Buses will leave town at '2, 2.30 and 3 o'clock. From tin- ar-

rangements made the public should have a very enjoyable time. Readers are re'(erred to the advertisement for further 'particulars. ' An unrehearsed item on last night's concert programme ivas enjoyed by only u small section of the audience. The

'management was made aware of the] presence of eight people who were secur-1 a free "peep" at West's Pictures through the theatre windows fronting I rcu the King street lire escape. A bucket •of water was shot down the steps, and | the free-peepers shot alter it. I It lias come at last—the fashion magI azino for men. '('his is Fairchild's Magazine, published in New Vork at Id cents u, copy. It is replete with the latest plates of novelties in men's apparel, and tells one just what is the ac-

oepted thing at tl iment. For example:—"The trousers this siason are quite shapely, the average width at the knees being about IS o.- IS>/. indies, the width at the bottom UP/., or IT inches. Must of Ihe trousers seen were without braid ai the ontsenm. although it is enlirel'. i-onime il taut' to have braided outseanis Ih'se ilavs, and several rows of braid at that."'

| Whenever a Shaw. S.iviH a:id Albion < Miipauy'-i Hacr is expected from Ijim- I ilo:i. inlcici is always taken ill the proliaiiic mimiier of passengers for Dominion jiorls. The emmianv's liner. It.M.S. lonic, which i, due al Welling! on fi'imi ! London via C.i|ietir,vn and Ilnhari early next week, his (INS passengers booki'd in the llr.-l. .-.'coiid and third-class, as follows:-!'.)!- Wi.lliiijrLi.ii. 210; Auckland. 174: Xapier, Hi: Oisbornc. 7; Lyttellon. I lil: Tiliiarn. -I: Oainaru. 1; DiYiiedin. 7:1; Willi'. IS; I'iclou. 1: .Nelson, 1; Westport, !); (ireyniimth, 4; 'Wiingamii. 13: and New Plymouth, 35. (If these 3-1 arc lirst saloon', 105 second 1 sa'loon. and 54:) lliird-elass.

I'lic ingenuity displayed liy Chinese in hiding in nil sorts of Jiolcs ami corners of vessels has induced application to 1)0 made to the president of the Xcw South Wales Hoard of Health (Dr. Ashlmrtun Thompson) to ascertnin if some ready means eonld lie used for ascertaining the presence of stowaways. Mr, Thompson lias .suggested that on" method of compelling the men to dielose their presence would be to distribute' pepper in the parts where they are likely to he hidden. Another way, and lie thinks on the whole more preferable, would be to use a 2 per eeilt, solution of formalin, whieh could bo sprayed in all possible hiding places. The penetrating power of formalin is well-known, as well as the unpleasant effect it lias on all persons who encounter it. I An interesting experiment bus bee'.i 'carried out recently by Messrs. D. Jlac'Urayuc anil Co., the owners of the fain- I •ous line of passenger steamships which ■have made the islands of the West Coast •of (Scotland so familiar to the lirilisli •tourist. The. linn has had its steamship •Lochicl litted with an electrically-driven gyroscope. This lias been severely tested by the recent heavy weather on the coast, and has come, most satisfactorily Vint of its trials. When it was not in ■use the .vessel rolled to a total angle of 'thirty-two degrees. When, however, tlie 1 apparatus was put in action the roll was reduced to a maximum of four degrees, which, it is said, is not enough to disi turb the most sensitive of passengers. ; 'The instrument, as litted in the Loehiel, . is said to he. mere compact than •liUlievto in use. ami iu)t to occupy any , | important amount of space in the ves-

Whether it was ''on information received " or in coasequcnee of a pronounced development of the olfactory nerve, the Oamaru police attended in force al the railway elation one morning lust week to await the arrival of the first express from the north, says Friday's North Otago Daily Times. Comfortably stowed under the'seal of a sccon.U-la.sS carriage were found two Gladstone bags and a carefully packed and sewn sack, which apparently had no owners (certainly they were disclaimed by all in tko car). These and their contents interested the police considerably, and the whole was removed to the police station, where a display was arranged of the goods. Over 50 bottles of liquor, nearly all whisky, thus fell into the hands of Sergeant Griffith and the constables, and it is intended Xo institute proceedings against two or three persons in connection'with the circumstances. The liquor came from Tiniaru. Writes the Wellington Times:—New '/wulnnd is supposed to lie quite free from old-fashioned restrictive methods, bill intercommunication in Unworn and Kltham counties seems to lie still hampered bv the toll-gate, an institution which even conservative old England abolished with obliquy many years ago. According to the councillors heavy traffic and consequent damage to tile roads makes this method of money-raising impernliv if thoroughfares arc not to drop haul; into sloughs. When a tollgate is erected in one distance, a good dill of bailie is unfairly thrown upon alternative routes, which in turn have to be similarly gunrded. II seems extraordinary thai some better way of •providing for the upkeep of roads canWit be devise, ill these enlightened (lavs. AW do not know all the circuin.stances, but llawera and Eltham arc .surelv not worse oil' than scores of less kettled districts in the North Island [Whore they manage to have roads without toll-gates.