LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 43, 16 March 1909, Page 2

LO CAL AND GENERAL.

if If "*■ I f To-morrow is St. Patrick's Day, the I anniversary of Ireland's patron, saint. ia -^ l '- -\ewton King lias received the t following cable.from his Sydney agent: £ "Hides unchanged." It A line crop of about 22 tons of pota- & toes. (Up-to-date) Jias just been dug by £ Mr. C. Kclling, of Mangatoki, from a F piece of land less tlian two acres. | Ihe Jilthaui Tradesmen's Association U have decided to make. Wednesday, Marc'h If. 31st, ;i whole holiday in honor of tlie anniversary of Taranaki. The Eltliam £ Caledonian Society's sports will consequently be held that, day. | According to Vice-Adiuiral Sir Percy » Scott, who is visiting South Americau i A ports witli the liiitisli cruiser squadron, I tl'e matter of coastal defence is solved i bv the. submarine. In the course of an I interview at Jlontei Video Sir Percy a said; "With two modern submarines £ there are no battleships in the woi' 1 J that could got within a radius of sixl i miles. The only expenditure neccssai t for the most perfect coast defence sv f teiu would consist of the cost of t'w v submarines ami the depots to keep the i in." I There were at least two real sport I men at the Trcuthain rille meeting, an I both of .these could have prolited limn cially by adopting tactics not unknow to the mounds. Captain King con] liave won in tile aggregate competitio had he elainicd the "four" which sou other competitor placed on his targe J J ill e Ilia n "Pred*' Uuy, of Kaponga, niigh have- headed the list for the Dominio had lie accepted an oll'or of a plac earlier in tie day when he made onl, 38 out of 50. The weather at the tiin the oiler was made was just perfect fo shooting. Later in the day the wim was but a collection of eddies, differed Hag* about the range blowing in dill'er out. directions, and loose pieces of pajie] being whisked and twisted about at i height of eighty or a hundred feet frou the ground. To change places is agaiusl tile. rule, but the rule is not always si rigorously observed. The present financial stringency shouli be relieved a little locally in a few days when the New Zealand shareholders in the Wellington and -Manawatu liailway Company will be paid for their share? with tile money which has already been handed over by the (.iovcnimcnl to the company (says the Dominion). Tile amount due to shareholders within New I Zealand—the majority of whom reside in Wellington—is approximately a of a million. Jt is argued that the greater portion of this money will be available for investment locally, as those wiio have the handling of it are materiallyinterested in Wellington. The liual meeting of the company will he held on Thursday, when the directors will sit as such for the last time. Liquidators ""ill he appointed to wind up the affairs of the company, which has done so much lor tlie advancement and prosperity of the Wellington district.

r London Ims at last awakened to iU condition. A recent consular roporfc declares that " onu of the scientists of the Loudon conference staled as a result of his analysis that between 000,000 and 1,01)0,001) tons of sulphuric acid were produced by the consumption of 10,000,001) tons of coal used annually in that city. Citizens are familiar with the ell'ect of the acid oil the respiratory organs. ,lts damage is visible on buildings, iron surfaces and public monuments." At a recent meeting of the Coal Smoke Abate- , nient Society in London, Sir Frederick ' Treves, the famous surgeon/''declared : •• Loudon fogs kill people by the thousand. The lungs of a young child have a line, pink tint, but tile lunirs of I an adult who has spent bis )Ko "in a great city are a dingy blue. This is wholly the result of dirt and soot. Kog kills. .Sunshine is tile simplest, cheapest, anil most effective germicide known. It prevents depression and disease." Sir William liichmond, chairman of tin* society, Slid : "Our influence in the London County Council is increasing a ud I he fruits of our campaign are multiplying. but the work is only well begun. The immortal monuments of architecture are in peril. Tile angel tower of the Canterbury Cathedral, one of the most beautiful in" the world, is in process of I destruction from coal smoke. The cloisI iers and exterior of Westminister Abbey are suffering from the sulphurous acid's thrown off by tile factories across the river. Hundreds of other buildings and precious memorials are decaying. .Hut I lie worst of all is that the smut and acid-laden air is striking at the base of the physical fitness of the mail."

A IY'\y items clipped from The Ivash sale list : Men's dungarees 2s Od, men's caps Bd, men's units 5s in the pound reduction, men's saddletweed trousers 7s lid. men's braces fid, men's and boys' handkerchiefs (1 for Is, 'toys' knickers from Is lid. The Kasli Alteration Sale.—Advt. Ever to the front with keen prices. The Knsh is still below other stores in price. At their sale they've got hoys' washing Conway suits 4s lid, hoys' knickers Is lid, hoys' caps fid, hovs' braces from 3d, boys' stockings from j; le.—Tihe Kasb Alteration Sills,—Advt. (

Last night the plumbing, dressmaking, I tandanl VI. preparation. and commer- \ ial arithmetic el'aswes were opened at he Technical School, Tin* woodwork j lasses start to-night. L ' in the ordinary course of evenU the j Lospital Board should liavo met yosier.ay, but owing to tliei absence of the 'j luiirman in Auckland the mooting t'ands postponed to next Monday, the j 2nd instant. The Gisborne Times reports that ( ~t. Ilow Cliow, formerly owner of the Karaka Hotel, Poverty Bay, who returnid to China about two years ago, and wis seized by Chinese brigands, is returning to New Zealand, It is stated that! iiis captors obtained a very large ransom. Some amusing and absurd questions are occasionally asked tin; drivers a n idl guides iu Wonderland. The other day a | driver was talking about the eruption of I Tarawehi, and mentioned the lact that it threw the ejecta six miles high, as measured by Archdeacon Williams. Said a passenger innocently : " Was he standing ou it when it wont up evidently this person thought the only way to, measure the height of an eruption was to go ui) with it, A Southern paper reports a malicious plot that came to light last week on a farm in the Taieri. Large pieces of scrapiron had been placed in three sheavfcs and when the lirst sheaf entered the machinery of the mill the piece of iron llew out quite close to the hand of an employee. The other pieces were thrown out in the sank* way, fortunately witnout injury to anyone, but the beaters oi the mill 'were damaged through contact with the hard siibstauce.

A well-known resident of this town (says the Waiiarapa News) had lather an alarming experience with an aluminium kettle. This kettle, ho declai'rs. brought oil a very serious com plaint', suggestive of lead-poisoning. Alt' other resident hud much the same ex pericnee. lie purchased two pots lit 10; e;K'li, ami when lirst used the potatoes boiled in one were turned black, and ii the other the cabbage was turned blue it could only be considered there was something wrong with the pots. " A number of our teachers think thej are little tin gods, and when they get: cane in their hands they don t knov when to stop. 1 think there is 110 neei for a great deal of the punishment tha takes place in our schools. No doubt some pupils will not work unless the; are punished, but the trouble seems t( be to get teachers who will use th necessary discreliun." —Jlr l'irani, chair man, speaking at the Wanganui Educa tiou Board meeting on Thursday even ing on the question of corporal punish ment in schools. The London correspondent of the Lyt telton Times writes :—A trial shiji ment of New Zealand eggs has arrivei on the London market, and on being te* ted were found to be in very good condi lion, despite a journey of almost cigli weeks duration. The eggs were steril ised immediately 011 being laid and pack ed in singly-layer trays in a patent cast • each egg being held securely in its plac ! -by a wire spring, It is possible, of course f tiiat tile expensive method of packin , and freight charges, etc., may prcven " the New Zealand article from enterin seriously into competition with th European and Home product, but ovei u confidence ill this regard is certainly 110 warranted, c All veterans are invited to alien e the service at SI. Mary's- Church 011 S\ra day afternoon, March 27 th, when tlire hatchments, to complete the set painte by Archdeacon Walsh in memory of th volunteers and Imperial regiment* wli fought in the laranaki Maori war, wil be unveiled. The hatchment in nifmior of the Hoyal Artillerymen will be un veiled, by 'Sergeant Arch, llood, K.A anil that for the Koyal Engineer will b imveital, in. the unavoidable absence 0 Mr. Andrew Morton, a former ineiube of the Engineers, by Mr. 'l'. McGuinius: late of the Artillery and a lieutenau of volunteer corps diurnig the war. Th hatchment to the 12th Kegiment will b unveiled by Captain Maee, who was as sociated with the regiment at Waitar; and at Omata.

Some interesting statistics are to lurid from the Census Office of Canada relating to values, wages, and so on in that dominion. The average value of farm land for all the provinces is £7 |>s per acre ; the highest price is in British Columbia, £ls lis, owing to the comparatively large extent of farm land there in orchard and small fruits. The average value of horses is £0 12s for those under one year, £2O ITs for those of one year to under three and over. Milch cows have an average value of £7 2s ; sheep are given an average value of £l' Is 9d per lead. The average wages for farm and domestic help for Canada per month was £5 2s (id for males, and £-2 Ids 3d for females, and per year £43 10s lOd for males, and £27 Is Sd for females. The highest averages are reported for the western provinces, where they reach about £ll2 IDs per year for males and £33 lis Sd for female's. In Ontario suul Quebec the average, for males is about £SO, and fur females £25 per year.

Tlic proposal to form a town, district of portion of the Barrett road distrid . is being vigorously opposed l>y resident? } in the remainder of the area under tlu j control of the Road Board, and a coun-ter-petition is- in circulation. The area selected to constitute tile town district is a block of laud lying between Outfield road and the Iky.ly road, extending from the beach inland to the 'northern [ boundary of sections 17, 18, ID, and 2(J. "which is the boundary at presevnt he--1 tiween the Eliot and Barrcitt road dis- ! triets. The area is 'ISO acres. This is ' probably the most highly valued slice of ' country in the whole Omata riding of the county, y-et it contains only a very small length of main road, and should make a compact and cheaply administered town district. The petition having been signed by S3 householders, which is more than the number required, some doubt is expressed as to the value of the counter-petition. This latest phase of the suburban rating problem may have the effect of reviving the Greater Xew lMyuiouth scheme. It is understood that all the floiirmillers originally associated with the Association have signed the new agreement save one. The mill holding out is doing so not with any intention of bursting up ihe Association, but as a protest against what the proprietors consider unfair treatment at the hands of UK' directors, in that they (the millers) are I given credit for much less flour per month than tliev consider they are entitled to. From what can be gathered, millers generally recognise the Association in the liglit of a necessary evil, j! evil it can be culled at all. Certain it is that it relieves the individual miller of much business worry, in that all payments for Hour sold are made through tlic Association, by whom the losses are borne. The effect this arrangement is that whereas under former conditions bad debts up to A!!ftlU() per annum were j nude by some of the mills approximate only .L'iloOU. For the miller this is a good Ibing, especially as each is allowed to run his mill as he thinks lit, and receives a payment for his Hour in accordance with its quality. For the fanner, too, the Association is claimed to have advantages, for tlie assurance that their nimiev is safe mul enable ill., miller t.i

give till! best price for wheat. Quite a mild sensation was created oi hoard tliu German steamer l'rinz Sigis inund, berthed at Sydney, one niglit hist week, when an encounter took place he tween two lady visitors to the vesse and a Custom House officer (says tin Sydney Horning Herald). It seems thai for some time past the authorities liavi suspected that the Chinese, smuggler? employed the services of women to as ■dst them in landing the contraband,and two women who boarded the vessel ami remained on board tor several hours a roused the suspicions of Oll'icer Anderson, who concealed himself on the wharf As the women were walking along tin main deck with a view to making foi I lie gangway, Officer Anderson suddenly sprang oil board, and till- women shrieked ind lied. The officer gave chase along Hie deck, Mid through one of the diningrooms, but before lie was able to overlake the women I hey divested themelves of their petticoats, which they loft in tile door of one of the compartments, uid continued their iligiit. The petti •oats were secured by the oll'icer am ouml to contain 37 tins of opium. Tin jarmcnts had evidently been specially oiHtrueted for the purpose of smugging. There were rows upon rows of lounccs, in each of which was' a pocket uffieicntly large to hold one tin of ipium. By an ingenious arrangement, ipou an alarm being given the wearer ould drop the gai'mcnt without difficuly. The petticoats and their contents i'-ere taken to the King's Warehouse, iiit the women are still at large. Mr. A. Warner, Stafford, N.Z. writes: A few months ago while working in a Low at Utilni X had a severe attack of iarrhoea. As I was steadily growing I ■orsc T -decided to try Chamberlain's (die. Cholera, and Diarrhoea Hornedy, nd I was surprised to find that it only >ok a few doses to cure me. Sircc len I have never lost an opportunity > reco,m>mend it to any of my friends ifferliig from! the same complaint." or sale by all chemists and storekeep-