LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 26, 24 February 1909, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

-Mails for United Kingdom and Continent of Europe despatched on January 15, via Brhdisi, arrived at London on February 19th. Efforts are being made to bring back a certain local business man wno recently "skipped by the light of the moon," leaving behind quite a number of lamenting creditors. In the Supreme Court, on the motion of Mr. A. it. Standish (Standish and Blandish), probale of the will of the late Elizabeth liallantyne has been granted to Mrs. Sarah Sole, tho executrix named in tho will.

I The offer of the Ngaire Dairy Com- : pany to provide the half ton cheese at ! the National Dairy Show at l'almerston has been accepted by the committee and it was decided to place in it £.15 worth of coins. It was resolved to again store tho cheese exhibits at Pateu. The annual conference of tile United Firo Brigades' Association commences at Auckland on Monday, March S. The Haw era Brigade's delegato will be Mr J. P. Keen, who proceeds to the northern city about March 5. The bi-annual demonstration under the auspices of the Association commences at Auckland about the same time. A local auctioneer was yesterday offering a line of false moustaches, but tliere was "nary a hid." Then he caught a matron's eye, and started: "A shilling I'm offered. There's pluck for you, gentlemen, A shilling I'm offered, from a laily." The lady pleaded not guilty. " I was just saying," she said, " that you could do with one yourself," and the auctioneer blushed a beardless blush. Tho Hawcra Star has been asked to voice a complaint of a well-known native woman about the "rudeness of certain low-class pakehas" on certain nights during last week's gathering at Taiporohenui. "In passing from one house to another," said the lady who complained, "we would run up against these pakehas standing in the darkness, and there was no apology for the rudeness. Besides this they gaped in at the windows with offensive curiosity." It appears that last week's big gathering at Taiporohenui was firstly for the purpose of forming a union amongst Taranaki Maoris with a view to giving concrete expressions of opinion respecting native affairs. "The farmers have a union." "tile tradespeople have a union," "the workmen have their unions," tlie natives say, why not the Maoris! Parliamentary representation, the need, for land which I lie workless Maoris arc anxious to cultivate, a restoration of W'est Coast Reserves laud which the natives declare have been subjected to a second confiscation, and questions of a similar kind are to come in due course before the Maori Union.—Star. The South Taranaki correspondent of the New Zealand Times writes:—Local bodies should take pattern from the New Plymouth Harbor Board balance-sheet in regard to arrears of outstanding rates. Willi about £OOOO to collect the amount outstanding is only £2O. As the Board has about eight counties to collect over and numerous towns, it is a feather in the hat of ill*. Rennell, the secretary. Should the New Plymouth port become what its sanguine supporters say it will, viz., a calling-place for ocean liners, there is to my way of thinking plenty of room for another freezing works for dealing with cattle, sncep, and pigs. Waitara works can hardly manage to keep a clearance of sheep at any rate this season, They are, I believe, "killing WOO sheep per day, and several large lines of fat lambs are being held in paddocks waiting for room. Tho branch railway between Stratford, on the Taranaki line, and Hie Main Trunk railway, at Ongarulie, is being stcadlily pushed ahead. There are now between IiOU and 400 men on the works. The lino is open for traffic for sixteen miles inland from Stratford, and a further section of six miles will be opened hoforo the end of the year. There is still a gap of eighty miles from the present terminus to the Main Trunk line. Mr \Y. A. McOulehan, who has for many years taken a prominent pari in local government in the Wllangauiomona (lis- i trict, and who is on a visit to Wellington, says that satisfactory progress is being mado in the settlement of the 1

country between Stratford and Ongaruhc. The general feeling of the settlers with regard to the future is a sanguine one, notwithstanding the present financial depression. Mr McCutchan says that the Government valuer rccentlvpiit

up Uio unimproved and capital value of the land very substantially. In one case tile valuation of a section has been raised from 17s to £ll' 10s per acre. Probably over the entire district the valuations would he trebled. Seventy-five civil eases were set down for hearing at yesterday's sitting of the Magistrate's Court. Of those forty-nine summonses' were issued by the Taranaki Oil and Freehold Company against shareholders who were dilatory in payj ing -calls due on shares. There were 110 defended eases, and judgment was entered by dofault in the following:—ls. B. Ivyngdon (Mr, Wright) v. W, 11. Herbert, claim ,ei 0» lOcl, and costs 13s; Taranaki Oil and Freehold Company (.Mr. Weston) v, Miss M. J. Conncli, el'iini C.'i and costs ss; same v. H. J. .Tteid, claim '£2 8s and costs ss; same v.

Ct. J. Hunter, claim £3 10s and costs ss;- same v. A. Hull, claim £0 and costs £I 13s fid; same v. F, 8. Hanliam, claim £2 14s and costs ssi; same v. Mrs. S. P. Le'wi>s, claim £2 Ss and costs- ss; same v. Xoakes. claim £3 12s and costs 8s; same, v. H, A. Itill. claim £0 a-.id costs 18s Od; same v. T. Pfisk, claim £7 10s and costs 18s Od; H, Weston (Mr. I 0. .11. Weston) v. Chris Crane, claim £ll 10a and costs '£. l 10s Od. In a judgment summons, s>ew Zealand Clothing Factory (Mr.. Wright) v. Michael I Malier, claim £1 lis, the debtor, "who did not appear, was ordered to pay the amount ill' a. wtck : in default a week's imprisonment. [

One of tile iloa Koad Board's foremen reported tliat he had " made a track up to Death's Gate." Plucky man! Tho Education Board last night decided to favourably recommend to the Education Department the application for Ihe establishment of u district Iligli School at Opunako. At a meeting of the Hawera County Council 011 Saturday it was stated that 110 reply had been received with reference to subsidies from certain dairy companies ill connection with the toll-gate on the Skeet road. The general impression of councillors was that it liad been left to the liltham Council to move ill the matter.

Extraordinary successful results are being obtained in the Calcutta Medical College by a new system of injecting a very strong salt solution into the blood of cholera patients, the mortality in 173 cholera cases since last .Jcnuary having been reduced from iiO to 30 per cent., though in other Calcutta hospitals wliore the new system had not been introduced it remained as before. The Eltham Argus is responsible for the following explanation of the threepenny beers at ail luglcwood hotel. ''The two publicans had mutually agreed as to the retail price per boltie of a certain brand of whisky. One publican, however, was a backslider and sold the whisky at sixpence per bottle below the agreed-upon price. Upon receiving proof : of his rival's offence the other publican, by way of revenge, started, to sell three- . penny beers, ami the beer-drinking por- , tiou of the community are rejoicing in

the misunderstanding that brings to I them beer at half-price." In accordance with the provisions of the, -Maori Councils Act, 1900, an election of members for the Maori Council of Taranaki Maori district was held lust week. The following Maoris were elected members of the Council: Rima Whakarua (Waitotara), Riwai Rimitirni (Pakaraka), Mana Tunie (Purangi), Aotonga Tima (Whenuakura) , Mani Onekura (Meremere), llokinga Rangikaitu (Oaonui), To Muninga ParctJ (Ilawcra), Tuhikaka liupc (Hawera), Rophiha Rangihaukori (Kaipo, Waito tara), Rangialni Pikirapu (Meremeye), Wi Ngapaki (Whcniiakura), and Ngahoota Ramapuipui (Pariroa).— Hawera Star.

Is education valued at its true worth The Chief Inspector of the Taranak Education Board reported to the Boar* last night: "Several of the students wh attended the technical classes are in at rears with their fees, and althougl llieir attention has been called to th matter, I regret to say that they hav neglected to remit the amount due/' Th Board decided to send a final notice t the defaulters, and to notify them tha unless the amounts are remitted wilhi a fortnight, the matter will be placed i: the hands of the Board's solicitor. Thi complaint is made chiefly in regard, t the Stratford technical classes, thoug there are also cases at New Plymoutl A most extraordinary operation on ; lunatic was recently reported by tl\ medical oflicer of the Richmond (Dul lin) Asylum. A male patient, on trans ierence to the institution, complains 01 internal pain, and stated that he hat swallowed a knife and fork. On exam ination the presence of a foreign suli stance was detected in his stomach. T clear up all doubt the-.medical superin tendent of the asylum had the patien placed under Rontgen raya. The resul of this confirmed the first diagnosis and by an operation a knife, a fork some rags, and a woollen muffler wer removed from the man's stomach Strange to say, the patient "made i good recovery." A Bill for the suppression oi stage ioor callers has been introduced intc the New York State Legislature, say? the New York correspondent of the London Daily Mail. Whether it is <) iolce or not is not stated. The measure provides for the registration of all male nitron* of a theatre who desire to send lotos to any actress appearing in the )lay. Under its provisions all theatrical managers must keep registration ists of visitors and all persons sending lutes to actresses must sign their lames and slate whether they are marked or single. If it is found that the tender is married the note will be preserved and sent to his wife. If a false lame or address is given the signer will »e punishable <by imprisonment or me.

Discussing the question of a paper currency the Eltham Argus says: "We must remember what happened a few years ago when the Bank of New Zealand and other banks were tott-ning. As soon as the State pledged its credit on behalf of ihe bank the run ceased and confidence was restored. Tliere was no gold back ing, merely the promise of the State. There is no gainsaying the fact that many people, some of them men in important commercial positions, are coming to the opinion that banks and money-lending institutions have been looked up to with a superstitious awe that tliey are not entitled to. About 40 member* of Parliament met and had conferences on the subject last session, and the idea is gaining ground that the State could, with perfect safety, issue a half-million of its own notes and keep them alloal for some time in payments for wages on our public works, redemption taking place gradually. This would be equivalent to raising a loan without interest. We arc not advocating such a scheme; we rather lean to t'lie conservative idea of having the gold backing But it is veil to take note of tlhe opinions of people who think along different lines." !

It has bceii known for some time that the Persian exchequer has been in serious difficulties, but quite a novel way ,out of theni—in one direction, at least—has just been reported from Teheran (says the. London Daily Telegraph). The clamors oi numerous malcontents for pay at Bagh-i-Shah had become somewhat more serious than usual, so orders were given to serve out some old weapons of the "Brown Bees" type which an enterprising official had unearthed, and compel their acceptance at fl uniform representative value of about £3. Some of the complainants, glud enough to get even this, took their antiquated weapons to tile bazaar, and sold theni for something less than 30s. But then the full beauty of the arrangement came to light. For, since the coup d'etat, 110 otic i<3 allowed to have arms, so all tlieso bright ornaments of the Imperial arsenal were confiscated by tlio Cossacks, restored to the authorities, aud rc-distributcd by them in precisely the same manner the following week, whereupon the same process wa9 repeated.. It is rarely that so convincing an ingenins example of Oriental finance has come out of the ancient East ill modern times.

Dr. Emily Noble, who luis seen Orientd soldiers at the end of a long match Jirow themselves in complete relaxation on their backs, gives possibly the most practical of all directions for the mature in the important art of relaxation (a writer remarks). " She bids him lie upon his back on a hard surface, with head turned on one side in order to relieve the tension on the muscles of the neck, with arms extended at right angles, with the palms turned up, with feet turned out and spread for comfort at lest o foot apart. The Jungs ai|-i then to be cleared of their static air by a few deep inhalations, made through tile left nostril, because in the average man it seems to furnish a freer channel for the air than the right nostril. "Next the insonmiast settles down to lighter rhythmic breathing, which is | nothing but the consequence of the conscious effort to make each exhalation equal to each inhalation. He should take the 'breath in as gently as the fog creeps in from the sea.' He should 'let it out as the air goes out of little children's balloons when it is allowed to escape.' As with experience all feeling of conscious effort passes, ho will have a sense of letting go, the muscles will of their own accord relax, the quiet mind will come, especially if a pleasant thought be held steadily before it, tire S»» nn .' n ;ii9f «-;n etrMoh nn.l mm take

instinctively, if lie be in bed, the sleep position, and pass off into a dreamless sleep, which will indeed knit up " the ravell'd sleeve of cave.'" j