LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 223, 26 October 1909, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

'the a'ar.inaki Education Board meets tins evening.

Mr. :Newton King has received the fol lov.ing cable from Svdnev re hides• "Eiglilh higher."

At the amateur spin-i, on !lIU Jfovcin•)if. Mr. 11. Kerr, ihe Ans.ralasian champion walker. «il| „i V e an exhibition m.'.i

Ih.'-s.x-ineli sewer in t'ou.-tenav street ne.u the l.ianlci street corner, 'is beicg lowered In -nine four feel, in order |o iKlii'il of Ihe new private hospital con-ni.-in.g with the drainage system of the borough.

lJortieiilluralists arc bitterly bewailing the effects of last week's southci'y lilow. Roses and other dowers in even slightly exposed positions have been badly onltercd about, and brittle boughs nf small sl.riilie were snapped off. A lev days of tin, present weather condition?

wi'l work wonders. Perry's Binraniii concliulcd ii mu.L snncessfii)'season nl Hie Theatre ltoy.il Inst evening, when -an cxcollenj. kinematogcphic outcrLsiiniiiuttL was fiivon. Ther. 1 . wr.s a i»«oil attendance. The lilnis shown were highly inlcrestim., thiit depicting •'Su'dicrs <if tlie Cro-s" being a remarkahlv line one.

I The usual fortnightly mceiine of U)c Loyal Eguiont Lodge. UMI.K., jj'.l'., was held lust, evening, P.ro. A. Duller, X.!!.. prc-iding. There was n fair nttepdanc:: ot member,,, including P.i:. K, Lve and P.li. 11. Hooker, wlio have been members of I lie Lodge for over 52 veal's, due candidate was proposed I'or'mcinherslii,). and Hie Lodge elo'-cit in tile usual wav. Perry's ['.ioianin Hand played a capita) prograniine of music on 3isrslai|.l Hill yesterday afternoon, attracting a fair number of people, delighting them and the residents in the vicinity. IJevou stiect. disturbed by I lie regular tralllc, heeded it not, bin in the streets between I the centre of the town and Aliirsbuiil I Hill Hie concert was di-tiuetlv audible, [nnil pleasing. I After thirty or foity years in use inuili of tne timber in ii hinifie recentlv demolished in Vogellown is found lo be as found as a licit. The bouse was once occupied by the late Colonel Trimble, mid old identities can figure out its a"o for themselves. "You ean't liny that sort of limber now." said an experienced builder after viewing the wood yesler'laj ■

' In its report of the llawkc's Bay Show i ihr Hastings Standard ,4ates':—llol-|stcin-Fiesian cattle proved an excellent class from every point of view, and a credit to the breeders. Dairymen mc evidently not yet aware of the value of this breed of cattle lor their purpose Tie tliree-year-nhl heifer J'rince.-,- Cala,. tea, the properly of Mr. Newton King ~New- Plymouth) is a magnilicent speei" irui, and beyond her beauty is a good utility «)\v. She yields SSlbs of millc daily and lets !.i I i.

There is lo be a great siuugliter of prices it the A 11. C. Boot Shop. The !iry. Ims been successful in securing he stock-in-trade of the late Ivjn. Hancock. A big sale is l now proceeding, and a discount of 10s in the £ will lie allowed on all marked prices.—Advt.

Whether or not the box hedge planted i around the larger lake in the Kccrrn-1 tion Grounds is siillieienlly strong to. prevent children from falling into tne wdd-r would eeem to have been settled, for on Sunday afternoon a child named Bishop, who was rocking on it, fell into the lake. Fortunately help was at hand, and the child was soon brought ashore. | It is remarkable that accidents of this . inturc ire 'o rare. The box hedge is ni.-L continuous and it is almost extinct ■ opposite the band rotunda, where the children usually disport thcmsclvM. I -Win the box is not a linn hedge plant, I but =oft nnd yielding, offering no great ru-iflauec. Something a little more reliable is required to safeguard the chddren, and parents and guardians would welcome the provision of a stronger and nmre secure fence, for a walk around the pond in charge of children at present keeps une's nerves on tile rack the who c tune if the youngsters are as lively as children should he. Whether or not the parents are prepared to pay for bctt.-r protection is quite another matter.

School inspectors are supposed to have a rosy time. All they have to do, the small" boy will tell you, is to visit a school once or twice a year and see that ali hi clean and tidv, the children dilto and punctual, and that the teacher keeps them in some sort uf subjection, a mar, ter bv the way, that is easier when the inspector is present than when he's not. It i B doubtful, however, wheth'-'r our friends the inspectors would cudoive this statement of their duties. Be that as it may, the job isn't nil beer and skittles. For instance, last week Messrs ISalluutync and Whet ter journeyed to Wnngarnomona on an inspection tour. Incidentally they added greatly to their store of knowledge as far as backbloe;., roading is concerned, added much mud ti their clothes, and exercised their vocabulary of expressions to the full. They travelled via the Junction road. Just beyond Matau was a landslip. They had to retrace their steps to a settler's house, presently re-appearing with axe and

shove], wherewith they made the hcaf of mad and slush and roots and tree;

something like negotiable. Then they hauled the gig through and over the obstruction. A curtain must be drawn over those chapter* of the 6tory which relate to the endeavors of the inspectors to get the horse across to the vehicle. Rut at. last the component partis of the

turnout were re-united. On the main Ohurji road in the Pohokimi Valley tne mud was so deep and so holding that che horse was left to plough a lone furrow in thf middle of the sea of mini, whilst '.he travellers dodged along the road'ddes as best ttiev could. They started from Tnglewood at about half-past eight in (he morning. They reached Whangamomona, somewhere 'about forty miles distant, at nine o'clock at night! The Minister of Education is reported to cave stated that the system of issuiug free passes to school teachers attending teachers' instruction classes has beea abused. A "News" reporter had a conveteation yesterday with Mr. W. A. Ballantyne, the Taranaki Education Board's chief inspector, and this matter cropped up. Mr. BaJlantyne said the Department had not been defrauded of a penny a« far as the Taranaki educn-

lion district is concerned, and he explained I lie system adopted here of checking i In- issue of tickets. It is a rule with the Railway Department to forward these tickets to the chief inspector, and they are cheeked with the attendance return supplied by the instructors of various classes. In the event of a tcacaer using tiie privilege ticket and not attending a class, he or she i 6 immediately written to and asked to forward the amount of the full fare, and when the. money arrives it is paid over to the Department. The system of checking used here i 6 very complete, and it is difficult to see how any teacher could use a free pass without.qualifying for it. Mr Bal laiilyiie suggests that instead of aiiolishniji the system it might be made compulsory lor „ teacher to attend more than one class i„ order U earn the privilege (ii a free pasfi. It is worth while to attend one class for forty minutes or an hour each week to secure a savin" of tro. three or four shillings in raihey fares to a shopping centre. The system »"}'.llt he amended, 100, by the M.houlleacher paying the fare in the ordinary «.IJ. anil being entitled to a. refund of i Hi:' money only upon making, say 80 per ifcu. of attendances at two classes of niAlriietion. At present a teacher, bv I entering for one Saturday class, can at- •.'"" l" Rl »■!" e likes, „r when it suit. his fonye„,enee-on pay-day, for infle would like to make it cbaJ u-eTn • "," 5 """ (>sti0 » °f improper "pwtar!'" l ,r,vlle S ß »■«• ""«"« by the In