L0CAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 28, 26 February 1909, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

'1 here is no alteration in the price of Hour. The reported reduction has not taken place. A young iiiiiii named Martin Klein expir'-d as the result of a joke at Maryborough ((Queensland), lie was watch ing a mail building a skill' iu a disused wharf-shed by llie aid of llare lamps. A [ young person named iMct'licrson rolled a slone along the lloor. and Klein ex, ilaiineil, - The place is haunted.-' Mac-I'liei-son, seizing tlus opportunity to scare Kleiu, rattled empty tins and blew I lie Hares out while Klein was looking for the cause of tho sioiso. Klein fainted, and died soon afterwards, In the Kobe .Street hall Just night the visiting competitors at the West Coast championship swimming meeting wcro I entertained at a smoke concert bv the New I'lymoiith Swimming Club. There was a large attendance, ill-. A. 1!. Islandish presiding. The evening passed plcas-

antly with songs, recitations, and the I usual toasts. -Many of tin- visitors were exceedingly complimentary in their reference to the management of the swim mi'.ig sports of the afternoon, and to the ability and activity of the officials. Iluriag the evening several speakers urged the formation of a Taranaki Centre of tl ( e N.Z.A.S.A.

Two men employed bv u mist company in the Jlaiiawatu district mc, according to till- Arbitration Court award, each entitled to receive live shillin«s worth of meal, i„ addition i„ Uit-7r wage*. Hc-ing .single m»a tlicv iind no use for the meat, which nils'in consc-iU'L-iici' nut supplied tliein. Tile Inspeetor ol lactones sneil the eni|ilovers for not paving proper wages. and tile cmI ployee- lor arr'-pting less than the statutory wages, tile Inspector's contention being that the meat was part of tfrj wages, and that the employer should he compelled to give it mil the employee to take it. The Magistrate iicld tiiat

there was nothing in the award to compel an employer to give cash in lieu or meat, ami dismissed the infonuatiin against tie- company, bill the employees had committed a technical breach.' altliongh it was absurd to compel them to lake meat which was 110 use to them. -V conviction was entered in each ease, but 110 tine was inflicted. As the award I docs not provide for the e.jiiivalenl of the meat being paid in cash, an exchange I suggests that under the. circumstances a single man should seek a partner in life, or as an alternative keep lU , army of cats.

Mr. W. Wilson, ol Revans-strcet, Newtown, Wellington, N.Z., writes: 7, My liver has given me a lot of trouble; Not long ago I had liver blotches all over my face, and tried all sorts of things, but obtained no relief. On the ailvfce lof a friend I tried Chamberlains Tablets, and before I had taken two bottles the blotches had disappeared from my face, and I have not- been troubled storekeepers.

A party of Invercargill motorists, states the Daily Times, who happened to get stuck up on the road between Banxhali and Wallacetown through the supply of petrol giving out, got out of their awkward situation in a peculiar manner. One of them had thoughtfully procured a bottle of whi>U,v earlier in the journey, and the genius of the party suggested emptying this liquid treasure into the petrol tank for use as fuel. This desperate course wias reluctantly adopted, and the party motored cheerfully on, the whisky carrying ihem almost into town. it is not often tihat fortune follows on misfortune as it has done in the case ol John Collins, a station hand from Junee, New (South Wales, who is supposed to have fallen among thieves in the grounds of the Melbourne University. A man called at the police station and saul he j was a brother of John Collins. He '"'i he stated, been, looking for the lor some time, as they were both en- > | titled, to a considerable sum of money . from relatives' in the Old Country. Ml. E Collins had been, living in Queensborry

street, Carlton, for the past fourteen t Tears, and might never have nra across . his brother but for the fact that Ins , name had gained publicity in connection with the case. Speaking on the question of the rail wav time-table in Wellington the Minister for Railways (Mr. \lilhir) saidtnat the acceleration "f the Wellington U!i ,ns would lie carefully considered. It was an exceedingly hard matter >» arrange those trains so as to suit Xcw IMyn.ou Auckland, Napier and Wairarapa people mvin" to their wanting to connect. wit.i the "steamer arriving at Wellington from I lyttelton. The timetables were being considered with a view to . i .in„ ing tbat passengers or mail, h.i\„ the Bill If could go direct to Auckland. To lit Ibis in. tlie whole steamer m i « with the Smith l*h»»l \ sidcrcd. We wanted trains to mil out to all places along the Wairarapa, - •t----nier and New Plymouth lines aftei tin slc-i'mers came in, and similarly to catch the steamers south. To arrange this through service from the Blull jo Auc h d was a. very difficult matter, and Since he bad taken over the portfolio he bad been so much rushed in endeavouring to get conversant with'th^ ! lines tbat lie bad not had leisuic to „ , into it as be intended to do.

The following from an English paper r, Now the builder and roadmakei to been at work, and a town now exists wft.li 12,000 inhabitants. Our wnu pondent, ■sll'. A._Huggins, mfoim • lb-it Auckland builders cannot get lan lv coiiipetent n.™ to do their work and, •it is the same all over fcew Uaml. Tbie writer sav* he is a working brick taw- ha. been in the trade Utty-two splendid to work in, and there is plm of room for the laborer who is «illi „ to work. Sober people can lut « and save money. Tlio laibor laws o l country compel an employe to pay Ua workniiui's fare to bis job an ba' v and full time of travelling "P 1 u n after that time and a-l alf 101 refreslnuents. The New cheaper and better than bis linglish brother, and is far better housed.

•An account of a liussian who ha* reacted the age of 130 without u= b any of the latent medicines which scui to form the chief diet of. our ceui iuijaus who write testimonials lm «■ inuiei- advertising is fc" v(!U lrum ... tUt m the Medi/.inischc Wochenscimlt. ol SI. Petersburg hy the this panel': —"We need haull) ) our informant hears a the strictest integrity and the iiigiiu, scieutilie accuracy. Newthe'llm, must disclaim any rcsponsihil i y to. th astonishing account wnicli follows. A. drew Schmidt was born on beptcmbu 5 1772, and served in the Ke\<4 L D moil for many years, taking par W the famous campaign against Aapou. In 17U8 he accompanied buvarol s hii„ ade across thu Alps, and later oil m| took part b the skirmishes which a army of pursuit waged against French troops retreating from .Moscow. His military career is probably unique, as he remained on active service imti he was eighty-six years of age his hiia campaign 'being the Crimean War. in 1858 he was pensioned, and since then he lias lived quietly, carrying the weight of liis rears well, lie 3s «Ue ito feuahout, asid talks and hears well. During the last few years, however, his sight lias been gradually failing, and lie has suffered from anthritic pains. To his medical interviewer he declares that he has never indulged in alcoholic drinks, and never smoked, flis " u .» "° means restricted, and even at present, when he is Klli yearp of age he eats Ins meals with a hearty appetite.'

A woul-wasbcr named Paul Morion recently put up at a boarding-house in {Sydney, lie went to the Turkish baths ill Klizabeth .itreet, and *aid liu wanted a vimy hot bath, lie seemed to be under ilt«' inllnenee of lienor, lie was given a warm shower, and then passed into the hot-air room, where Llie temperature stands at about ISOdcg.. the attendant telling him to remain there iroin live to ten minium. The lattir r-etnrned to the hot-air room in seven or eight minutes, and Morton had then disappeared. The attendant, Bernard Henry Halm, noticed that the asbestos door or shutter, about 2Sin by 21iu, had been removed. This leads into the iluecleaning room. The spate was only sullieient tv enable one man to move about for tiie purpose of cleaning Hit' Hues; The temperature in that space is about oOUdeg. To Halm's consternation lie heard, someone talking in. the llueroom, and tried to jump through the aperture. What with the tremendous heat and the excitement he was laboring under, he was uiiable to do so, and -wont for assistance. They then found Morton sitting on the lloor. Morton, who said he wanted to be left there, was got out with dilliculty, carried upstairs, and placed 07i a niarbel slab. It was found

j that he was very badly burned all over the body. Morton was taken to Lin; .Sydney Hospital, where lie. died. The>e facts were elicited at an hujuest on the Ist in>l. The curoner found death was due to bums accidentally received. Tin; examination of the premises shows that au ordinary person would as soon think of crawling into a furnace itself as into the place Morton entered with such dire results. : , ,