LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 65, 13 April 1909, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mr. Richards, the local observer, states that nearly three inches of rain fell in the 24 hours from Saturday afternoon till Sunday afternoon. A special meeting of the Harbor Hoard will be held to-day to consider a cabled communication from Messrs. Council ami King in respect to the dotation of tin" harbor loan in London.

There arc now between o'OO and 700 men on the Stratford-Ongarue railway. Each week sees about 40 new hands put on, and about 20 a week lind the wurk has no further attractions for them.

The Public Works Department is placing, fascines on the worst parts of the Ohura road between Stratford and the railway works. The settlers blame the Department's heavy traffic for the collapse of the road at this early stage of the wet season.

We have received lroin the publisher, Mr. W. «'. lloycs, Wellington, a souvenir of the Nimrod expedition. It con- j tains photographs of the leading characters of the expedition, of Mount Erebus, South Pole penguins, Eskimo dogs, etc., and verses, " The Ximrod's Return, by the publisher. A settler in the Shannon district lias an acre and a half in Stunner Pippin apple trees, the crop from which he expects to net Jiim £l5O. There are 140 trees to the acre, and ne calculates mat he will get between two and a half aim three sixty-pound cases of fruit from each tree.

Besides those tablets to he placed on the MarsJaud Hill memorial, particulars of which were published on Saturday, there will be two others, one with the following inscription: S. Percy-Smith (chairman), E. Corkill (treasurer), W. F. Gordon (secretary), Captain F. (i. Jlaee, N.Z.C. (prime mover). The other

will contain the date of the unveiling of the memorial by Uis Excellency the Governor.

The Stratford Post is informed that some sort of epidemic has m;,de its appearance in the fowl runs of Stratford, and a local resident states that he has lost nine fowls from this cause. He has also beard of others who have lost birds in a similar manner. The symptoms are that the bird attacked (usually a young one) mopes, goes blind anil finally dies. The informant further states that he has consulted several persons well versed in knowledge of poultry, none of whom have been able to assign a name to the disease.

The Post icports that at the last meeting of the Stratford Hospital Board a letter was received from a resident of Opunake, asking whether in the event of her removing from Opunake to Stratford the Board would extend to her the assistance at present being given to her by the llawera Board; also whether the Board would bear the cost of her removal to Stratford. (The reading of the letter, needless to say, caused some laughter, a member remarking that the applicant did not want much anvwav). The secretary reported having 'replied in the negative in a sufficiently decisive manner.

Wiseacres have told us from time to time that Hie new Recreation rports tirounil was of such funny eonstnietion that it would never he able to dispose of its surface water, and that a day's rain would place it out of action ior some time. The chairman of the active committee which has made the grounds and now controls them assured us there was nothing to fear. The state of the ground on Hie day of the Auglo-Welsli v. Taranaki football match bore out 111'. Humphries' hopefulness, hut still the " wet blankets" hung tenaciously to gloomy forebodings. "Wait,"' they said, and' \vc wailed. We wailed till yesterday, and the state of that ground, within a few hours of one of the most furious downpours the district has experienced for a very long time past, convinced all but the most hardened sceptics that the work of turning a morass into a modern athletic sports 1 ground has been successfully accomplished. There are few grounds which have stood the test half as well. On Sunday it was seen that the high cam- j bev of the ground was taking oil the surface water. There was one lower level, due to subsidence, and there the ' underground pipes carried oil' the water quickly. The liecreation Sports Oround committee, individually and collectively, may well be proud of the result of their labours so far. .Mention should lie made, too, of the. excellent condition of the turf on the tracks, and of the terraces and paths for the use of the people. At Tuesday's meeting of the Patca Harbor Hoard a letter was received from the Maugatuki Dairy Company, forward-, ing the following resolution: "That this Hoard of Directors is strongly of opinion thai- the best intcrots of' the dairy interests of Southern Taranaki are being irreparably damaged by the course now being pursued by the Patea Harbor Hoard and the Tatea Shipping Company, and that unless something is done, and done speedily, the bulk of the, present trade will be forwarded through other outlets."—Mr. Baker: They give us the disease, but no cure.—Tire chairman (Air. (i. V. Tcarce, M.P.) said he had an interview with one of the directors, and the company- was 0119 of the si rouges! supporters of the proposal to pmcmv a new steamer. There was an impression Hint the Hoard was biassed against the Tatea Shipping Company. This was ■lolallv erroneous, as the Hoard was always'prepared to assist the Tatea Shipping Companc or any other company, but liiev did' take exception to unsuitable steamers being built and by going ashore damaging the name of the port. --Mr. McKeniia moved: "That this Hoard is satislied that it is doing its best to improve the entrance, and trusts that on the completion of the eastern wall the port will be still further improved; the Board is willing to encourage suitable steamers to visit the port, nad will do its best to encourage such slcaniors, and has no bins against the Tatea, Shipping Company. The extension of the casern wall has already improved the entrance to the port."—Tic chairman seconded the resolution, which was curried.—Press.