LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 12, 8 February 1909, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A man named .Moore, a .signalman on 11.M.5. Cambrian, has been sent back to his ship from New I'lyniouth. lie had doserted', and w«S living wlitU tile lisheriuen at Moturoa until Coilstables Flanagan and Rowlands laid hold of him on Friday.

The current, number of the "Lone Hand," the popular Australasian magazine, a copy of which is forwarded by the Cordon and Gotch Proprietary, shows an advance on any of the former numbers. Amongst other features it contains the photographs of the Australian, Queensland, and New Zealand 'winners in the beauty quest. We lla\e just received from the publishers, Messrs Baldwin and Kay ward, a copy of tin- February issue of "Progress.'' The journal still maintains its high standard ol' interest, and ils articles upon the new science of aviation convey a striking impression of the wonderful developments which are taking place iu this latest achievement of human skill.

The school cadets were invited lo show their interest- in tlie cadet movement on .Saturday by turning up on the new range for the purpose of constructing mounds and so on. Mr. Mcintosh, who so kindly placed the property ao tiioir disposal, will not feel that the boys are ciilhusiastirallv appreciative of his kindness. for only one lad turned up lo assjst, the battalion commander, ami, [ that hoy came as a " working hoe " with-1 ! out the tools wherewith to work.

Mt. Kgmotjt evoked the admiration nf an American visitor wlio gives a Jlattcring description of Xew Zealand scenery in the'l'acilic Monthly (San Kraneiscoj. The writer, (leorge 'O. IJaird, company Italy with New Zealand, so far as the common physical features of tin- two countries arc; concerned. lie hold* llja-I Mount KgmouL ranks with Kuji-Xati

(Japan famous ijionutaiul and Afounl Hood (Oregon) for symmetry a*ad beauty generally. Tim article is illustrated with JO full page pictures, including Skipper* liorge, the West Sounds. Waikaremoana, Tamilian Glacier, and -Mount Cook. The following account of a disgraceful funeral hoax appeared in a recent issue of the Jhitt audi Petone (.'hrniiicle : - On Tuesday afternoon at 2.-10, .Messrs

Aiistis and Simpson had waiting outside their stables. Lower Hutt, a hearse, two ealis, two gigs, and a wagonette, which was ordered !iy a Wellington firm to take the body of one S . Bay street. IVtoae, to the cemetery. After waiting »oni«? considerable time for the under- : take)', a message was sent to Bay street '

f o imjuire why the conveyances had nut | »ejj.t for. Word was sent hack to tin.'" .e/fwi lj/I.' corpse was yen* jiuiufx allvaijd \y#s !?o ; rj'y' that hj? ' WMijd not avail himself ijf iVv to Tiiitu w ki|)dj.V arranged 0|» his lahalf! Whewaf. [ho horse* >yc|:j? unharnessed and sent. t<* the 4nh|ps, while live sad-fa cod pall hearers discarded their solemn robes and resumed their ordinary avocation,

The railway metals in Dinoii Street are as great a nuisi.( u -e as ever, and people are wondering liuw lung tlie Railway authorities will In. i n completiii" the demolition of the abandoned line. On Saturday morning M., Cciii _\nlc;i «as driving across the r„,.H, -ml the jolt snapped the axle of his gig. lie was thrown out, but not hurt ° "The Mad Artist," though considered I by the police to be a iiuisiifiet» : to tihl'i public on account of his mental condition, could not be classed by the medical [jrolession as a lunatic! This decision was given to the KM. Court on Saturday morning, after a week's detention of the old man, who was thereupon set at liberty. Jle consented to the issue of a prohibition order a«uiint himself. °

During the month of .human- there wore slaughtered at the local abattoir* for local consumption 144 cows, 21 bullocks, 14 calves, 454 sheep, 20ti !aml>s, ami 13;) pigs. Compared with the corresponding month Just .year, there was an increase of one in* the number of cattle killed, and decreases as follow: <.alves <>, sheep 80, limbs 21, and pigs 2. I'our cattle, 2 sheep-, and 3 pigs "had been condemned.

On Saturday nUernoon Mr. L. B, Webster, of the linn of Webster Bros., disposed »f upwards of lUlll) cases' ofi fruit by auction. It, was a " tall order, Iml lie kept rattling along, and bv judicious handling managed to maintain llie prices, though the public were gvltiuy their fruit at prices that a few years ago would have been classed as amazingly low. .Messrs. Xelan ami Co. disposed of some hundreds of cases earlier in the afternoon. There should be a good demand for '' Mason's" and sugar to-day.

Jjieut.-Colonel X Uauchop, C.M.IiJ commanding the Wellington district, has | issued th.! lollowing district orders in connection with the Easter manoeuvres, M): •' OUicers commanding companies are requested to forward urgently a list •showing the numbers of members in their companies that intend taking part in the Easter manoeuvres, April 9 to 12 (inclusive). This information is necessary in order that provision may be : made for railway and tield transport, I etc. The camps will probablv be held | m the vicinity of Woodville. 5 '

A good story is being told by a Taranaki tanner who recently returned from England. Being a dairyman, he was not salistied until he found himself in one of the big "butter houses." And he was telling the fulks there about tile enormous quantities and unrivalled quality of the butter shipped from these shores. By the time he had reached the cool room there were four samples placed before him, and lie was asked to select the N'ew Zealand butter from the four. After much sampling he unhesitatingly declared in favour of a certain lot. " Well, you must be pretty 'cute,' said the storemau "You've selected the same sample as o:ie of your experts who was here a bit ago." The farmer rose two feet higher in his own estimation, and he felt like taking the whole staff out for a "wet," when the storenuin chimed in, "but, like him, you've taken the best margarine for prime New Zealand butter.'" Then the New Zeahuulor talked about the glories of London.

A visitor to New Zealand has found cause, to voice a grievance in an Auckland contemporary thus Allow me to draw attention, through tho medium of your columns, to the discourteous way of mauy of your Government ollicials i'ii the Dominion. 1 may state that I am a visitor to your country from tho Continent, and since my landing here have been much disconcerted, not to say disgusted, at the treatment Hint has been meted out to me and other* of inv party hi this way. 1 may say that I have travelled far and wide in all parts of the world, and have never met with this kind of treatment in any other place. It seems to me that Government ollicials should have the fact iuiprosvd upon them that they are public servants, or, to put it plainer, servants of the public. I will say [ have been delighted with everything else in your country except this. The accommodation is perfect, as good as anything I have found anywhere ; your -nature scenery is delightful ; your means of transit very good, considering yours is a young country ; but tlie maimers ut your ollicials are very bad/'

Un Tuesday morning a whare in tho occupation of a man named George Bond, a resident of Frimley, arid an "employee of the Frimley Canning Works, was entered by some persons, and a roll of notes amounting to £lOl abstracted. Mr Boml kept the money locked in a portmanteau, which was broken open for tho purpose of the theft. The police are retieieut regarding the matter. It appears that Mr Bond slept in the whare with three mates, the four occupying bunks placed rouud the room. The door was always left on. the latch, and when the men went to work each morning no precautions seem to have been taken to protect the premise* from entry by anyone so disposed. Tho money was placed in an ordinary leather portmanteau, which was left lying about without the slightest attempt at concealment. The employees received their monthly pay last Saturday, and it is surmised that the thief made the raid in the hope of securing the month's pay or tile major portion thereof, but without the slightest expectation of the haul that was awaiting his advent. As the miiiih hers of the notes are not known the operations of the police will be hampered, but they arc actively engaged in narrowing the evidence down, and there is reason to believe the culprit will bo brought to book. Mr Bond is a recent arrival from the Old Country, and came here lo gain experience in fruit culture, : with the object of ultimately acquiring j land and starting an orchard for him-1 self. I

I A case of an unusual character was before the Invercargill Magistrate's I Court recently, when a young lady sued | a man for the recovery of a love "letter, | and for ,C2 damages in connection with the wrongful detention thereof. Evidence was given by the plaintilf that she boarded at the defendant's house, paying 5s a week and helping in the housework. She had paid in full for lier board. After she had left the house she discovered that the defendant had a letter which had been sent her by her "young man.'' When asked for it the defendant said that he would keep it pending the payment of money which lie alleged was still owing by her for board. She said that she owed him nothing.uud defendant said he would show the letter round "to show her up." Defendant hail shown the letter to some of her friends, anil as it contained family matters it had done her harm in many wnvs. A man gave evidence that defendant hail

a letter addressed to the pliiintiir to I him, and that another voung mini was within hearing when the'letter was read. There was no defence, and the Magisstrate said that he was not. sure as lit the claim for damages. 'The valuation of (he letter was a dillieult matter, lie bail heard of some letters that had been sold for thousands of pounds. An ord"r was made for the recovery of the letter, anil judgment was given' for ,C2 damages lor its wrongful detent ion. The costs agaiiist the defendant amounted to .L2 2s.

'I lie Wellington Times speaks out : -For years and years we have had the assurance that Ministers were "fully alive ' to the anomalous position of the hulk of the native land in tiie Dominion, and the result to-day is that the law regarding it is chaos. Tinkering and muddling took tile place of resolute action, and (be result is I Mat dissatisfaction is riiinjKilit. Unless t|ui Ministry is pre-1 pared to grapple with the problem now be I ore it the result, will inevitably be a]

*till greater alienation of support. If! il will do t Ik* right tiling then it wj]] i]o I a service of im sliinable value to the country. To do what is right only re-1 <1 uires application and determination, l and. it may l>c remarked, an abandonment. oi ap absurd sentimentality concerning native properties. Xp ojkv wishes to see the natives dispossessed of -their land*. What people do wish is to have the scores ol thousand* of acres ll|«tarc now held liv n:i I iv,,. „,„i ..il,>

u»mj im.iu o\ natives and allowed to runiain in a \irgin ?>tatt' brought into the market for prolituhle settlement. |t U , no »ood doi;tg the thing in a. piecemeal I way. Thoroughness 'is called for ami must lie furthcoming. It may he true, as Mr Miller says, that the Native Minister is ' as (lesinui?, us anv person in J Zealand to have the dillicutty set. tied, but the popular impression, in J which we must confess we share, Mr ( arroll s achievements have no corres- I

poiidenee with the kefnuess of his deI sire. (Jreat. hopes have been raised that by tile work ol the Noyal Commission «t new era will he inaugurated. We sincerely 'hope these will he realised and that the Government fsvjlj (recognise' the importance of pruaccnting an active and progressive policy. As it is becoming increasingly dillicult for people of small means to acquire hr.nl the scandal of permit!ing \ri(|e areils of tor-

' ritorv to remain absolutely idle, overgrown wit|i fern and weeds, should be , prnM- i 11 ! 8 "inch |iocu.s | poena in connection \vit{| liiitivu lands. The legitimate settlor lias hppn and u still hampered at every turn. It Is no credit to anyone that things should be j as tliey m*

I'lie fishermen at llie Thames are getting large hauls of flounders. It is estimated (»ays Urn Thames Star) thai the other day fully 2000 do/:en flounders were caugfil, the ma jority being shipped to Auckland, while a very large number were received at Thames. One boat is credited with making the large haul of .'IOO dozen, while three other boats returned a tally of something like ''(10 making 1)00 dozen for the four boats. "What's in a name®" At i-him-h one day last week Joseph Ward was sentenced to three months' imprisonment for stealing a coat valued at. 4s lid. At Dunedin oil the same duv

Robert ilcXiib was fined IDs for drun'keness, whilst Thomas JlcKenzie was let: in for a us fine for running a secondhand emporium without a license. Care should ho taken not to confound these individuals with gentlemen bearin" the same name. °

A young couple who were drivin" on Sunday afternoon along the liendigo road from Cromwell had a marvellous escape from instant plate's the; Argus). Approaching the Fmvmiil' t reek Bridge the horse jibbed and began;

to back towards the riven hank, which) sheers down for 100 feel. The man «ot out and attempted to lead the horse across the bridge, but finding the animal beyond his control, called on his companion to jump, who did so just in time to escape being precipitated on to the rocks below. The horse and trap went o\cr. The trap was smashed to matchwood, but the horse, strange to sav, escaped with a few cuts and bruises. There have been many tales told of wandering cows, but that which is related of the doings of a particular beast in Dominion road, Mount lidcn, Auck-

land, surpasses them all (says tile Herald). It is stated that a cow of the | ordinary variety which is often seen wandering in back streets, was making its way along Dominion road when apparently it thought it would patronise a chemist shop. Whether it desired to do this out of sheer i]U]uisiiiveness, or because it required a tonic, it i« not ipiite clear, but at all events it made for Mr Riekerby's chemist shop, and walked in. Seeing no one there it proceeded to investigate, and made straight lor the doctor's room and pushing the door open with her nose, duly made her

entrance. There was, however, a patient there before her. On turning round and discovering wlio the next caller was, the patient in question was much astonished, and on recovering his senses, he chased the animal out. Kxpelled from the doctor's room, the inoffensive cow made up the stairs towards the destist's department, but did not get up very far when she was driven down stairs and out of the shop.

When Mr Albert Mallinson, the eminent song writer and pianist, is not touring, he resides at Dresden. The subject subject of conversation was the poverty of the masses in different countries, and Mr Mallinson had been saying how well off and comfortably fed the people of New Zealand seemed to he in comparison with tlioso of the older countries. '•Of course, in iny town (Dresden),"said lie, "you don't see much poverty. We know it exists, of course, but it docs not intrude itself for the simple reason that there are no slums. Everyone lives in flats—the higher you get up the less you pay, so that the really poor people arc more up in the world than the all'luent.

Poor—why. do you know that the poor people never oat moat from one week's end to tho othor. They can't go! it —it's 100 <lenr. You must know that no inoat is allowed to bo brought into Germany from other countries, whether by land or sea, consequently there is not nearly enough to go round. That is why they resort lo dogs or even cats to furnish some sort uf meat supply. Horse U, quite common, and Dresden possesses an abattoir for the slaughter of dogs. An attempt to introduce frozen meat is ! being made, but so far it has not sueI eeoded.''

The New Zealand Trade Review, issued on Thursday, contained tho following article on the money market The bank returns for the December quarter, which an; reviewed in this issue, show that tho demands niaae upon those in'institutions have continued without appreciable diminution. Further withdrawals of deposits have taken place to / Ihe extent of .C587,!)54 ht the quarter, almost entirely from the free class, while additional advances have : beenl made to the amount of .C20").7!*2. At j

the same time the total of Government credits has been reduced by C 171.421. The calls to which tho bank has responded have reached thus, a total of over ill.270.1)00 in the quarter in addition to tin? heavy demands that wore made during the twelve months ending on the 30t}i September, as recorded in previous issues. Wo also give some particulars of tho loans raised by local governing bodies in tiie Dominion according to the latest returns published. Those exlend, it is true, only to the 31st March, IllOtf, but they show tliat in a twelvemonth ending with that date over 11,100,000 of local money had been absorbed by those bodies, while the amount so raised within the Dominion equals nearly ,CJ,000,000 in four years."