LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 15, 11 February 1909, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

IMckpocla-ts w{'n> busy on the llawera racecourse yes I erdav. Several pa irons of tin.' "sport of kinds'' were relieved uf j sums of liioiu'V ranging from AM to 'iJLia. At Napier recently a butch of about twenty domestic servants arrived at 11 o'clock and stayed for the niglii at a boarding house. The next morning at breakfast time tliey had all obtained situations, except one girl, who was in ill, health. Imports say the domestics are I not too pleased with the work allotted to tlicni.

Quality i- not. based upon what you pny. lint what you got for what you pay. When you buy all "AH'a-Ltval" Naparator, you .buy a nuK-hine willi 111* endorsement of '.IS per cent. of practical ami separator experts. Jf you were travelling hi a strange land and eauie to a fori; in the road and should enipiire the way to your destination mid !18 per con!. told you to take the light ha-nd and two per cent, the left, which would you taku? The man who buys ail imitation separator and thinks lie is getting as good a separator as the "Alfa-Laval" is like the fellow who tried to blow out the electric light—he didn't know any bettor. Catalogue "T" anil all particulars fi'oni the sole New Zealand agents, Mason, Struthers and Co.. Ltd., Main street. Palmer?,ton N". Local agents. T. Griflith* and Cn„ Xcw Plymouth. The next time yon feel bilious take n dose of Chamberlain's Tablets anil see bow quickly the trouble 'will disappear, They cleanse and invigorate the stomach a'nd give one a relish for his meals. They also regulate tlif siver and bowels. For sa!e by all chemists and stofekpspera. i

Since Saturday last the blight lias played liavue with potato crops throughout llawera district. On the niu through to Manaia several lields, which presented a gloriuusly promising eoudition a few days ago, are now blackened, and the tubers on being dug are i'ouml with the diseased spot which marks tin* initial ravages of the blight upon the potato itself.—Star.

Mr. J. B. Hinc, M.P., on learniji.g that the no\vly-jii>jioiiite(i Minister for liuilways, the Hon. J. A. Millar, intended making a tour of nil railways in the Dominion, at onee wrote to him asking

that opportunity lie given his {Mr. , liiae's) eo.nstituen.ls to draw the Mill- 1 ister's attention to various requirements in the electorate. A reply lias been received ill which Mr. Millar states that lie will be very pleased to meet Mr. Iline. and any of his constituents :it a date to be lixed, ample notice of which will be given.—l'ost. When on his reueiu visit to Kngland, Mr. W. Cowern, of llawera, saw a machine for which it was claimed that it separated the gold from the sand hi auriferous iron siind. The process was first to separate the iron from the grey, sand, then the jiold front the latter. Mr. Cowern informed the l'atea l'ress that as the outcome of correspondence the linn had sent him a machine, which had ju.st lauded in l'atea. Mr. Cowern pvi.poM-'s making experiments with the local ironsa.id ami testing the machine's capabilities of being able to separate the iron from the grey sand. Maori school children art belter oil

tie,ill' |iiikc'.i,i youngsters with icynia to | cvesight-testing mill medical inspection generally, Tirey are well looked after | by Dr. I'omare niul l)r. l'.uck, tlie nntivi; I health ollicers, and by the ollicers and teachers working ill harmony in Ibis matter Willi tbeni. The Health Department is ao|iiirin(, r a considerable amount of most useful information not only with respect to the eyesight of the youngsters, but also anthropometric details. The department whilst desirous of obtaining similar information about pakelia school children, lias 110 funds for the purpose, consiM|iH'iitly the work of testing sight, examining teeth, taking chests measurements, anil so oil, lias to b'd done voluntarily by medical men. The volunteers are extremely few, however, whatever may be their enthusiasm, and the work is accordingly going 011 very slow-

I) The Liberal Government lmil never had anv trouble with its finances, the Minister of Public Works reminded his hearers at Motueka. In regard to the tightening of the money market, fortunately it was lessening. So far as the Government was concerned. it had made very little difference to it. Certainly the Government had to raise u little more money to help the settlers along, otherwise the, (iovernmcnt had not felt the financial strain. The Government had no intention of taking any risks with the affairs of this country. The Government's would look after the people's money, and see that it was spent to the best advantage. The railways had never paid less than £3 8s fid, ami the interest on the costs of connection was £3 15s. The Government had no intention of raising fares oi freights. The revenue from the railways was increasing and the volume ol trade was also steadily increasing i The i'Ymilcy factory is the heart of tlio Hastings fruit district (says the Dominion reporter in the course of an interesting article on Hastings' latest : enterprise) ; and to that heart there is ! now (lowing a constant stream of inut, 1 and in return the heart is sending hack 1 to the fruitgrowers a stream of gold. I The fruit is divided into two classesfresh fruits, dessert and cooking lor the j market; and special kinds which are | »ro\vn solely for canning. This *cason , has been a good one for fruit. The crops are abundant. It is confidently expected that front the Krimlcy district this season r»CI0 tons of fresh fruit, consisting principally of peaches, apples, pears, and plums, will be sent to markets all over Xew Zealand. In addition to this .>(10 tons, there will he at least another 800 tons sent away in the shape ol canned fruit and vegetables-principally canned fruits. The figures will give some idea of the development and progress of the fruit-growing industry hi the neighbourhood of Kriinlov, near Hastings, llawkcs jjay. This i;i()0 tons of fruit is the product of orchards of an area of IJSU acres of trees in full bearing. In addition to the trees in bearing there is an extensive area on which are growing young trees from one year old up to j hose coming into bearing for the tivst The waipiti imported by the Government from America anout lour years ago are apparently quite at home in the rugged but magnificently picturesque lake, fiord, and mountain country at Western Otago. When on a recent trip to the Sounds, in company with the new Minister for Tourists and lH'aUh liesorts (illon. T. Mackenzie), Mr T. K. Donne, of the Tourist Department, landed at the bay where the animals had been put asluire, and after an excursion into the bush he lor.ited a line lmll Waipiti having a magnificent head and fine commanding presence, lie worked round to the hill shle of the beast, and then drove him slowly through the hush towards the shore'so that those on board, including the Minister (who had injured his leg), might get a glance at the stranger. As the waipiti approached the shore, two others from "the steamer assisted as beaters, but the bull evidently " "ot the scent/' and moved ofT resolutethe tliick bush out of harm's wav before he could be seen from the steamer. Mr Donne states that he noticed the spoor of other wapiti, young us well as matured, from which he gathered that the herd was doing very well. Native bird life wias in abundant evidence in the Sounds district. It would appear that the Government is exerting its full power to prevent tile use of the stewuer service between New Plymouth and Onehunga —that is, so far as settlers on the Main Trunk line are concerned (says tile Stratford Post). l*'or instance pussenger* wishing to reach Taranaki from Tnihape and beyond leave the latter place at six o'clock in the morning,'in carriages-that, would not grace a dust heap, change at Marton,go on to Aranioho, and there wait two or three hours for the mail train. These condition*- are not conducive to a free use of the service, and many wlio would perhap> prefer taking a short sea voyage to Auckland are deterred by the inconveniences experienced. Those who wish to go to Wellington from Taihape are treated in a far different manner, having the latter place at eleven o'clock, and catching the mail train at Marton. Much might he said of the unsatisfactory niiinner in which the train services between Auckland and Taihape are run. Chaos is observable in every direction, but perhaps there is some excuse for this until matters settle down, and those in authority realise thai timetables are maile for the convenience of the public. Su far as we can gather there is no earthly reaxm why train* from Taihape should not meet the Wellington train, as was the custom beforej I lie Main Trunk line was completed, and the question sliould be taken up by the various Chambers of Commerce and other bodies interested in Taranaki. in order that a probable injustice may be

lighted. Dr. Xorthcoto Deck, from tin; Solomon Islands mission, retells the story of I lie narrow escitpe ol' Mr .Jack London and liis wife, when their boat was cast, up on a reef about 2UU or 3<>U yards oil' llle shore of .Malayta, on which island Dr. Deck and .Mr J, Canliield are engaged ill missionary work. Jle says that Malayta ean boast of the liercest an<l must uncivilised natiws in ihe .I'acilie, mid there is practically a price mi a wliite man's head—a relic of trie old ivcniiting days, as everyone who happens tn have had a relative taken to Fiji or who did not return ; thinks it is his solemn and sacred duty to u get even " on somehady white. The mission lias about 10(H) Christian "hoys," of whom 200 or U0( l lived along the shore

opposite where Mr London's hoat ean re to grief. The wild hill tribes, however, I regard a wreck as common properly, and so they down to the beach, and canoe-loads of them surrounded the little vessel in a dangerously threatening manner. If the Christian hoys under .Mr CaullieJds direction had not hoarded the vessel to resist ihe attack. Dr. Deck is convinced that the novelist, j his wife, and party would have paid the penally for visiting such an inhospitable coast. Our visitor states that (lie missionaries alone are safe on Malayta.

simply because the native Christians are loyal to the last degree, and because- —- and this is largely blulV v —the missionaries have 'never carried arms of any kind. "But no white man has yet penetrated into the interior of the island. Tl would mean death from behind to attempt anything sn fool-hardy. Dr. Deck was present when Mr Sutto, the repre-

sentative of Pathe Freres, took a number of kinematograph pictures illustrative of life in the Solomons.

WANT ANY CARRYTXfi DONE? Tf so, we have a staff of competent |'hands, with vehicles suitable for all kinds of work, at your disposal. (Jood* I of all kinds removed safely aud spiecd- ' ily to wherever desired. Parcels forwarded fco anv address in New Zealand or flbro.nl. Furniture carefully removed in our special vans.—N.Z. EXPRESS ; Co., Brougham Sltreet.-^Advt.