LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 16, 12 February 1909, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A couple of loud reports were heard lust evening, the sound seeming to the highly imaginative to conn- from the direct ion '.if the gaol. A rumor was ijuickly current that a prisoner hail escaped, but the story lacked foundation in fact.

The Ellham school children, with their teachers, parents, and residents of Kllhnni generally, picnicked at the breakwater yesterday, accumpanied by contingents from one or two country schools. The day was perfect for spending a. day at th'e seaside, and the visitors had tin. cjoyalde day.

The Ellliam Argus reports that last Sunday two men engaged <m Mr. A. Walker's run. between Oinona and 'Manganiingi. failed to return in the evening, but next day one of the men turned up and reported losing his mate, named Tucker. Search parties were immi'diately sent out, but although a thorough search was instituted, no trace was discovered of the missing man, and nianv surmises were made as to Tucker'-: fate.'many thinking lie had been cornered und,siill'ocaled by lire* in the neighborhood or else that he had fallen over li gorge into the river, But these conjectures happily proved incorrect, as the ■ search party discovered Tucker on Tuesday evening on the banks of the river some distance from the. camjfc much exhausted from his involuntary stay in the bush.

The present demand for fresh Hat lish in New Zealand exceeds the supply (said Mr ,1. -I. Niven, Napier manager of the New Zealand Travelling Company to a Dominion representative), and there should therefore be scope for further enterprise by trawling companies. \ possible, deterrent, however, were the initial expense-, which were very great. The Sydney market absorocd all the lish unsold by his company in the Dominion, which were shipped in a salted condition. Asked how it was thai, in the main, the country districts between Napier and Wellington were so badly served as regards a lish supply, Mr Niven stated that it was because the lish would not keep. New Zealand foil were en light ill warm waters, and were always subjected to a higher temperature (hull, say. those captured on the great fishing grounds near Iceland. Such lish wore laid on ihe deck of a ship during a llirct' weeks' voyage to (Ircat Yarmouth, and then sold in a quite fresh condition. < !

Wellington people (says the Dominion) may have noticed that coloured men about the city have been growing more and more assertive ever since the great boxing match in Sydney. A contest which resembled in many respects Unit recently took place for the championship of the'world was held in the vicinity of the J'Vrrv Wharf on Tuesday. Among the workers who were waiting for emilituvmcnl were a number who began lo ■discuss the merits of the white and colojireil boxing champions. High words between a tall negro and a short aggressive European quickly led to blows hcin" struck. In the'initial round (as ' was Ihe case in the big contest) "liurns" went down.temporarily. Seeing "Johnson " ascending into the " donkey-room," •■Hums'' went after him expressing a «rcat determination " to kill and cat his opponent. Hostilities, which were resumed subsequently, abo proved rather disastrous to " liurns II.," whose head wis so severely bruised (as a result of a knock-down)'that ho had to be taken home in n cab.

Tlio I'i'iilm-y »f I'ilii'n i< ' hl ' iwi-nmnli ll'lltllV In' IS" 1 llll ' i ' l ' w ""' oill . v " Fmmivun i-iliis villi nmvo tlinn lim.HlKI iiiluiliiliniU Tlusc ritic* woiv London, ! Dulilin. .Maisiiilli'S l.vuns AiiHlcnlain. IVvliii, Kaiiilmv;.'. Vii'iiim. Niipli'". Koine, l Milan, Vi'iikc. Piili'nii". -Mmlriil. Jiinwloim. Li>l.i>n, M. lWwsbnv;;. Al.wny. Warsaw. (.'«>l»< - «i>»K«>'- n 1 " 1 ■;i(i|ilc. llf I fiosc iml.v two liiiil ilium I linn

I iiiilf n million inhabitants, l.nnihm ami ! Paris. Al. till' present time! KlU'o|)e cumI tains s.-vra Htics with a -niHltt.ii or iirorr. These arc l.omlon, Paris. ISei-lin. Vienna. St. Pelerslmrg, lloscnw, Constantinople, while. America has three cities with iiinii' than a nillli»n inhabitant*. 'l'li.M- are S«Wt witli over 4 000000 about 1.000,000 less than !.'>n,ion Chicago Willi over 2,0(10,0(111, I'hilaI ileMiia. with over 1,000.000. In Asia also there are severalties with p..,,,,lations exceeding a million, lhc- ,k»,milation of tlio great cities of aiil..|n.t,v ;. „(it accurately known. Sclcneia has i,,-,.i, credited with 000.000 bhal.itants, Aloxnmlfifl with 000,000 or. 700.000. Homo, in th> reign ot A '!?" "' u ' s'lfiOOO- Carthage Willi 700,000. Iml llmse estimates are little other than guesses.

YOTT OAN fiKT IT CHEAPER AT THI? BED POST. :.•}...

A large herring caught at the breakwater on Wednesday evening was found to contain a. pca-riilu bullet. It i, nut suggested that 1m swallowed the pellet iu the course of his feeding, lur in the side of the libli was the partially healed wound caused by the impact of the bullet.

A good story is told against a onetime* inspector of noxious weeds in the Auckland district. He was a bit of hobbyist, and dabbled in dowers. One day he told another hobby-hunting individual that he had a rare plant in his conservatory. No one had been able to 101 l him its species, lie described it, a ; jid named the llower and foliage in highly scientific terms. Jiis friend was interested, and readily fell in with the suggestion that lie should go along and see the plant. One glance was enough. The inspector had never been in naki, but the other man luid, and he instantly recognised the very fine specimen of ragwort that the otner had been carefully tending!

A campaign -against the murderous hatpin has been instituted by the news papers o[ Berlin, hi view of a series o accidents whieli occurred during tin busy period of Christinas shopping Numbers of niuri; or less serious in juries have been caused by these dan gerous implements prOn tiding from the huge hats of fashionable ladies. One Sunday a lady was pernranenlly blinded ill one eve when taking part in a rush at a '-bargai.i sale." two nays later n ■lift attendant at a neighbouring shop had his face mi baillv injured thai, il was neeessarv In lake him lo the hospital. .Many eases of seralehed faces | were reported from many quarter, 'l'he j newspapers remind ladies that they are liable to punishment for wounds' thus indicted., awl urge them lo use guards on the points of their hat-pins. According to a minister who recently lectured to a gathering in Sydney, a baptism is no ordinary thing in the farout haek. where the voice of a, clergyman is seldom heard. Sometimes) hatches cniisi-liiig of a. whole family, the eldest "child" of which might be 25 years of age, arc baptised at the oiie time. At. such a function the minister once started with Clio baby, ami then on the two-year-old toddler, Inn when he reached for the others they had vanished. In the thick niiilga scrub could be heard the crash and scranmle as they sea tiered away. Finally, (he irate "old man," with (lie assisinnec ot a stockwhip and some friends, rounded bis hopefuls in. The disinclbation of the "brumbees" was explained by the fact that they thought baptism and branding were closely related. A sailor named Frank liussell lias been arrested in Xow York on a charge of attempted murder of a diver. Wis victim was tleorge Smith, an expert who was investigating a. wreck fifty feet under water in the rapids of Hell Gate. East Kiver. Smith found the air-supply suddenly fail him. and,' no response being ■ given to his signals, he gave himself up for lost. The cause of the air failure was high above him in the tug, where n. man named: Benjamin Parkins, who had

been attending to the. diver's pump, was engaged'hi a. fierce, fight with Russell. The pump lay forgotten in, the quarrel, which the entire crew were watching, reii-ardless of the siill'ocating diver. Bussell snatched a crowbar, struck Parkins senseless, leapt ashore, and disappeared. Then one of the crew remembered thai Smith was under water, and the diver was drawn to the. surface seemingly dead. It was not until artificial respiration had been tried for an hour and ahalf that he recovered.