LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 52, 26 March 1909, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A special holiday will he observed in New Plymouth on Wednesday next, 31st inst, the occasion being the anniversary of the Province of Taranaki.

A member of a colonial lirm manufacturing boot-polish told j, Gisborue Herald representative that New Zealand sent £22,000 abroad last year for imported boot polishes.

Consequent upon complaints being made in Wanganui as to the Maori tamps on the river bunk near the town, it is reported there is a likelihood of the Native Land Court being removed from Wanganui, which merchants of the town state will result in n loss of about £2OOO per month to the town. The Court usually sits three months at a time.

New Zealand's telephone exchange system came into existence in 1881, in | which year there were 111! subscribers, and the service yielded over 8 per cent, on its capital value. Last year there were 23,881 telephone subscribers in the Dominion, and after paying working expenses, but making nu allowance for depreciation, the return (says an exchange) on the capital invested was only I 1.81) per cent.

During its career the Manawatu Kailway Company sold 24i,804 acres of rural land, realising .C27G/100. Pari of this territory was granted by the Government to assist the construction of the line, and part was acquired by the company for cash. The sales of township land (involving the laying oil and subdivision of eight townships) comprised 1702 acres, for Uili.UOO, making an aggregate of CJ42.000.

At a meeting of farmers held at Otaki| last week, it was decided that the dairy I farmers of Olaki supplying milk to the Wellington market hereby decide not to sell their milk for less than 8d per gallon for the coming winter, and also not to sell for butter-fat rates without getting skim milk returned, and that all dairy fanners along (his coast who arc supplying milk to Wellington be asked to co-operate to this end. A Hawera Star reporter was authoritatively informed that the l'atca channel has improved wonderfully during the past month. As an instance the Star's reporter mentioned tb.lt the Aorcie entered the port 2>/. hours before full tide on Wednesday morning. The steamers Aorere, liana and Kiripaka are working the port daily in order to cope with the produce exported. On asking if the Ipvoposa! of the settlers to build h steamer of their own had been dropped, the reporter was told that the project ■ is still being considered. The informant said that souicthillj; will have to be done to make up for the loss by the discontinuing of the running of the Ara|>awa and Kiripaka, as quantities of stull' were constantly being railed. This necessarily meant a big increase in the cost of transhipment, The proprietor of a labour bureau in ] llawera informed a Star reporter the other day that he hud "new cnuius" ' from Home looking for work on farms

in New Zealand who had absolutely no iili'ii of what they were rfqiiireil to do. He mi id lie had an enquiry from one man quite recently who styled himself a " farm hand anil milker." When asked the number of cows he had been aecustonieil to milk the iipplicimt said "six." lie also remarked tliat he expected 23s per week. When informed Unit in the colonies a man milked 25 cows tor 255, sometimes getting :S(ls in the Hush of the season, the. " new elumi " was astonished. The informant gave another instance of a new arrival getting a jolt on the strength of his saying that he was a coiulieteut farm hand and a milker, ft was afterwards found that the man did I not know anything of fanning. The adjourned meeting of the High School Hoard was held on Wedneiday, when the following members were present: Messrs. McDinrmid, tilasgow, Dockrill. ami Dr. Fookes. in the ahseme from the district of the chairman, .Mr. MacDiarmid was voted to the chair. A suggestion by Mr. Wills to conduct musical classes was referred to the princijiiil for his report. A very salisfaetorv report on the Board's reserves from Mr. ilareli.i-.it, the Board's ranger, was read. It was resolved to recommend the Department to grant extended free tuition to two pupils. The usual grant to the s|torts. fund was authorised, and a special donation to cover expenses incurred through the school playground not being available. It was dceldcd that the mutters of the staff and boarding-school accommodation he dealt with at a special meeting of tie.' Board.

The Dominion suggests that the W.C.T.r, should give a little attention to the subject of -Maori marriage laws. So far as one can gather, our contemporary says, a. very unhappy state of things prevail at present in the Maori villages. It -was only the other day that an Anglican clergyman, who has has had many years' experience of Maori customs, expressed the opinion that .Maori girls should be encouraged to go into domestic service with the European, because it was not lilting that lliev should return from school straight to the kaiuga. lie said that a girl's parents would arrange for hev marriage, perhaps with someone for whom she -had no affection, and it was only considered binding while her parents lived. As s t as they died, tne girl would, without any formalities, choose another partner, and she might perhaps leave him for a third. A missionary sneaks of knowing one Maori girl, whit is only seventeen, ami who already has her third husband, and another girl of twenty has iter fifth husband. The marriage of convenience seems largely responsible for this stale of thing's. A girl's parents may choose for he? a husband whose land is near by her, and she may never have seen hint (ill the wedding day. .lust the otli.-r day there was a wedding, when the liride 'and bridegroom met for the first time on their wedding day, and it is in. cases like Ciis that there is most temptation for the parties to dissolve the union, (hough tha.l does not account for the third and fourth and fifth marriages that are so lightly contracted.

The campaign which has fur some year, K'l'n carried on in Denmark, that 'most regressive of agricultural countries, gainst the common rat is at last, if Sir harles JlcUrcn's proposals are adoptil, In be transplanted to British soil 'e\v iiave any elear idea of Hie enorinills (iinuiiiil of injury caused Uv ruts o; if Hie extreme rapidity with which tiics, mall animals increase ami multiply vhen not .strenuously kept, down. It lia 'ecu calculated lliat. if all t|„. vmiii! ived, a single pair would in three'year' inltiply to (i4Ii.OUU rats Fortunately here are automatic checks upon the rat, f increase, which prevent il from eve »i practice attained. Tint eve o, unless vigorous measures are lake! gainst rats, they increase to such a do :ree that they h'eeouie a nuisance and i imsc of heavy loss. Xuschalg the Dan sh engineer, who led the ratdctructio' iioveincnt in Denmark, i-timutes tha ach.rat daily consumes one farthing' vortli of food, and in the vast inajoril. if instances that fooil is stolen ' fror nan's preserves. Xow ali,l again the ra oes the work of the scavenger and con limes waste matter, lint even when h iocs act thus h<- incidentally cause neat damage. Thus, in huri'ou injr ( n cr ( . o the sewers rat- will undermine pipe ml drains, eat through lirickwork, urn iroduce sulcidences in the streets' ail. '•iiks in gas and water pipes. In th ocks, .n- wherever edible materials ar tored in huge quantities, the huniai eiug is at his wit's end to Know now t. eep rats down. Xothing seems to ex liide them ; they will make their \va ■hrougli concrete and work round sheet ron interposed in their path. The dam igc indicted by the rat in Kngland alo:i s calculated at C,l."),00fl,(KI0 amuialU .liough this estimate is probably oxcei o've. Hut whatever the exact' figure nay be, there is no questioning the an loyanee and danger caused by the. :al And. over and above the material injur to buildings, crops, and warehouse \m perly. there is the risk of infection ari, ing from the rat. for he is known to 1. I lie host nf the parasite which produce the horrible disease of trichinosis, and '

largely concerned in the spread 'of 111 plague.

WHY Is SANDER & SONS' EUCALYPTI EXTRACT superior to any ot/icr Eucalyptus product? Because it is the result of full ex pr.ricnec and of a special and careful process of manufacture. It is always safe, reliable, and effective, and the danger* attending the use of the irresponsible preparations which are now palmed off as "Extracts'' arc avoided. A death was recently reported from the external use of one of these concoctions, and in an action at law a sworn [witness testified that lie suffered the most cruel irritation from the applicu tion to an nicer of a product which waa I sold as "just as Rood as SANDER'S EUCALYPTI EXTRACT." Therefore, beware of such deception. Insist upon the preparation which was proved by experts at the Supreme Court of VicVir'm. and by numerous authorities durng (l.e past 35 years, to be a preparation of genuine merit, viz., THE M'.'Nrrero pander t sons' -pure VOLATILE EUCALYPTI EXTKACT.\l""nists and storekeepers.—Advt,