LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 14, 10 February 1909, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A hot box caused the mail I ruin to bo about twenty minutes laic in articling at Jlawera yesterday morning. About a fortnight ago (says the Feild-. iag Star) there were extra high tides, the dwellers in the cottages at the iiorowhenua beaeli were surprised to lind one morning a iuge net, considerably torn, yet containing a large number of lish. The net contained 'M sharks from 18 inches to six feet long, four schnapper and sundry other lish. Some people have peculiar ideas of I what constitutes sensioie amusement. For the munificent sum of live siiillings a man, fully clothed, jumped into the Avon at the Casliel Street Bridge on Friday (states the Press), and swam about a hundred yaius down stream. His performance was watched by a I laughing crowd, and he was cheered as lie climbed out on the river bank. He was then the one cool man in the crowd.

When travelling, Padercwski always insists upon having his piano in his licdlooin, and it is a matter of much dilliculty to get him away from it. He is by no means the conventional player of novels. For instance, lie never " tears his hair," neither dues he rock upon his scat and nod his head to the rhytflm of the music. His hands are always under tiie control of the brain ; llry .|„ M ..| lly from the keyboard al. ■)■ ilu liiaivcr of the fourth-rate pcrfor,ec \ Dr. T. C. Twitchell, Anglican Bishop of Polynesia, who is now in Auckland on a short visit, states that it will take j him about three years to visit the whole of his territory. There is a wide field of labour in front of the newly-ap-pointed bishop, as in addition to the white population of the islands a-.d. the natives, there are some Sll,()0ll Indians coolies working in the sugar plantations in Fiji. So far very few clergy have been appointed but the Bishop hopes to make more appointments as lie becomes better acquainted with the needs of the ; diocese.

Enormous quantities of small lish, like j sardines, are being c-ast up «n liw'ittvn bench. They swim in of ikoi; own i.ceord, or are driven in by sonic natural enemy, and once in the s,','." do not appear to be able to swim out to se.:. again ; thus they are left stranded on the bench as the tide recedes. Tie-re are millions of edible little. lish deposited on the beach, and lire regret is tilat such excellent food could not be returned to profitable account. Many years ago there was a similar visitation, the lish on that occasion making their way over the New River bar and up the estuary, along the banks of which large quantities were taken.

A meeting of "Hospital Saturday and Sunday'' committee was held last night, ilr. Nicol presiding over a good attendant*.' of workers. Districts were arranged and canvassers appointed for the town and district, and it was decided to send lists instead of collecting boxes into the country. The Jnglewood, Wai-tiu-a, and Garrison Bauds are to be invited to assist in the Hospital Sunday demonstration in the Recreation Grounds on Sunday. 21,st insl. It was also decided to issue "indemnity badges" at "is each, that form of collection having proved highly popular last year. There will be a filial meeting of the committee on Friday to make the coneluding arrangements. A short time ago two Spanish paintings—one representing Christ after being taken from the Cross, and the other the Immaculate Conception—were represented to the rector of St. Laurence Jewry (London) for the uuoriiiueut of his church. Ilolli were .11 excellent preservation, but needed cleaning badly, and were accordingly sent to a picture cleaner This cleaning disclosed the-fad Ihaf the lirsl named painting is the work of Juan ISaplista del Mazo, a great Spanish painter who ranks next to Velasquez, his instructor and father-in-law. This discovery has converted a picture of comparatively little value into one of great worth, for it is a veritable old master such as picture collectors arc always on the look-out for and willing to buy at fabulous prices. A snake suddenly appeared in the State School at Fairyvale lately (says a Victorian paper), when the lady teacher showed both courage and presence of mind. She lirsl ordered all the children to get on top of the desks, and then advancing bodily against the enemy, crippled him at the first attempt. The admiration of the pupils knew no bounds. " Well done, teacher," said an enthusiastic six class boy, who had strategically established himself on the highest desk. "You copped him first clout, didn't you." Another boy on going home that evening had the'samc high estimate of the lady's valour, but didn't quite know In—, to express it. "My word," he said, •• teacher was savage to-dav. She killed a snake all bv herself."

> According to an Australian pan"i' an interesting character, in the |>ii >nn nl' an nlil man, named Thunius Pit/.gcrald, died at tin; Warriiaiiiliool Benevolent Asylum la»l week, at, the age ui HI years, lie, therefore, lived in live reigns. Mi- was a native of (utility Kerry, in Ireland, and nils horn in January,' 1708. He en tn Victoria in 18.*)."), making tile voyage o'.i the .Margaret Chisholin, anil Has, therefore, a colonist of 5-1 years' standing, lie liiid been an inmate of tile local benevolent asylum for live years, anil during tile |iast two years was bedridden. He was troubled'with deafness, Inil was mentally alert to tire Inst, and occasionally related incidents in his long life. The authorities of Hie institiilion kvk interested in him, and took steps to ascertain liis exact age. The house steward, Jlr (i. Coltiuhoim, reeently wrote to Ireland for information on till! point, and received a reply to the effect that the ollieial register of liirlli in the parish in which Fitzgerald was bom, gave tlie dale of his birth as 1708, a-nd thus endorsed lira old man's statement.

Burns has ''made good" his assertion that he would, after his contest for the world's boxing championship settle down as an Australian citizen ki a peaceable walk of life, for he has (savs the .Melbourne Age of 25th of January) made agreements lo lease the Bijou Theatre for a. period of live years. Air Burns states that his intention is to keep the Bijou stocked with the best and the latest in the "show" business, • His manager and partner will he Jlr I Lawrence Keating, who has for many years been a theatrical manager and proprietor in the United States, and who now has two theatres running at Oakland, California. The new lirm contemplates building a new theatre in Sydney, To quote Jlr Burns's own phrase:—"We hi tend to oiler the best and brightest goods. Australian, American, and any other -can,' that the Ans--1 trnlian public show a laslc for." As a matter of fact. Jlr Burns's lirst actual .stage venture outside his own alhlclie turn is a -'can' act. He last week patented a milk can trick, and Ibis yesterday made its lirst appearance and scored a great success al the Tivoli Theatre. Sydney, under the management of Jlr Harry liickanls. A huge milk can is placed on the slag'.) and Idled with water ; a man enters it, is padlocked in witli any lock the audience may care to ■u.sc; a. clolh is thrown over it, withdrawn, and the mini is seen dripping wet miUiile flic cull, while the can is still securely locked. >

Taihapo can claim to I ic of the most [.ro-rcssivi- towns in the Immi lira. Three villi's ago it Mils converted rv Jill 11 " mnd-holc " into ;i horough, unci a limn n( OUIOO was raised to construct the streets. Tiiis was a lii'g di'lil for a yo'ing township to incur, soring Hint it Inul already shouldered one of some .C.'IOOO left by the llangitikci Council, whose country il had partly absorbed, lint the result is that now 'i'aibnpe's well-paved streets will compare favorably with I hose of niiy other country borough in Vew Zealand. The iniblic'delit at the present time is Cll.Ml. but with eatevirise has come population, and the later now sin mis Htneiirlv2o(K). The main ibjoefiro of the residents of Taihape low is to make their (own the '■half-I vay house" between Wellington and | Wickland, and with this idea :i scheme i ins l.een formulated lo make the place H'opevly attractive to visitors. Authortv has been given tn raise a loan of 131.0110 for the installation of an eleiric lighting system, ir.nl also ilraimi.ee. | .niter supply, nnmicipal baths, and a lire brigade station. The town is built right on the railwav line, and the .Mayor. Mr A. Nathan, ami Mr lleiinett. president of the Tailiape Chamber of Commerce, are of opinion that, with an attractive town, the Covernme-nl will act wisely in making Taihape the halfwav 'house on the railwav line between I Wellington and Auckland! ! It. Woodhousc and Co. have a parcel of \e«- Plymouth (Ins. and New Zen- J land Loan mill Mercantile shares for uule.-Ailvt. Just arrived, nt Diick'-iilV Devon street Central. Few Plymouth, an. in I (lent of AllitnV, famous gents' boots, al* 0. and .T, Clarke's superior ladies' boot and slinea. Tn stock, n large assortmen o f the best Indies', gents', and children' colonial toots and shoes by reliablu makers, All the above ar» offered t' the public af. pri'ej that can't bc^at*