LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 309, 8 February 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

There will be no swimming for men at the municipal baths this evening. One hundred and fifty Angora goats were purchased by Xortli Taranaki farmers at a sale at Xapier last week. At the municipal baths last night it was "ladies' night," and about forvy ladies attended, about twenty of them swimming. Some Kaimata settlers are talking of erecuftg a cheese factory there. A meeting to consmef the idea is to iie held shortly. The rainfall figures for January showthat 12.32 inches of rain fell at lngiewood during the month, 9.31 inches at Stratford, 5.05 at New Plymouth, and 5.75 inches at ETuiam. We understand that there is a probability oi' the Taranaki Bacon Company's property at Fitzroy changing hands in the course of a day or two, and that'the buildings will once more be put into commercial use. The Minister for Education inforais Mr. W. T. Jennings, M.P., that Cabinet has authorised the erection oi school buildings for a native school at Rakaumii, Kawhia, and arrangements are ing made to carry out tho work as soon as possible. Speaking on financial matters at the Recreation Grounds Board meeting last night, Mr. C. AY. Govett said that he had visited a number of parks and recreation grounds at Home, and found that in every case the upkeep was provided by the city or town authorities. An Old settler toid the story yesterday of his "'new chum" days, when he formed almighty poor opinion of melons. He'ana a mate, having travelled per Shanks' pony from Inglewood, came upon a pumpkin patch out near l> john's hill, and thinking in their simplicity that these were the melons they had hearcl so much about, they "wired in" to a big one each! The popularity of the seaside at New Plymouth may be guaged from the fact that at the Te Henui end on Sunday morning" there were no less than' five hundred men, women and children either in the water o r on the beach. A photograph of the scene was taken and should prove rather interesting. There wefe also hundreds of people at Moturoa and between the baths and that point. The export of wool from the Dominion last year was virtually £2,000.000 more than it was in 100S; meat nearly £800,000; grain £700,00(5. These are spiendid results for which Ave are indebted, firstly, to an extremely favorable season, and, secondly, to improvement in the markets of consumption. In all the eases of increase the figures show a output, and in some instances there are also better prices, Mr. Newton King landed a shipment of Calthorpe motor ears on Saturday. These cars are making a name for themselves by their reliability, hill-climbing capabilities, and silent running. One of the new cars, which were greatly admired on their trial runs, is fitted with the new patent detachable RudgeWhitworth tyres, the first of "ji> kind in Taranaki. This car is for Mr. A. F. Chapman, of Rahotu. Mr. M. Jones, of Xew Plymouth, and Mr. F. Gooc-h, of Stratford, have purchased two of the cars, to be used in connection with their livery stable businesses. The Moa riding ratepayers are to be given the choice of two Henui bridge schemes for which to provide money :,y loan. The first provides for straightening the road and erecting the ne>v bridge on the site of the present old one, but about fifteen feet higher, estimated to cost £IBSO. The second scheme provides, for a big deviation, with a better grade and a shortening of the road to New Plymouth, costing £3350. It is doubtful whether or not the Council will have to maintain the present road in the event of a deviation being decided on. The Council has IEISOO authorised for the work, an 1 any amount expended above that will have to be raised by special loan. a meeting of the Egmont Lode". 1.0. G.T., No. 112, last evening, the following officers were installed bv Br>. G. W. Hartnell. D.L.I").:—C.T., Pro. 01 egg;' V.T., Sis. Rusden; Treas.. Bro. F. R. ?epperell; Sec., Bro. 11. Sniit'i: Financial See., . Bro. G. A. Hayden; Chaplain, Sis. Mrs. Bruce; Marshal, Bro. W. Bransgrore; Deputy Marshal. Sis. L. White; Assistant Sec., Sis. 0. White; pianist, Sis. Street. The Lodge recommended that Bro. -1 ■ iliggs and Bro. G. W. Hartnell be appointed Lod?v Deputy and District Lodge Deputy respectively. The hall committee reportpd that a site for a hall had ?>e"n bought opposite the hoot factory. Plans for the building will shortly be prepared. Disquieting storms emanate from the En si End "bathing resort. A parent caile'rt in last evening and complained That men arc allowed to ''duck'' newcomers on the plea of "initiation." Those members of the committee who do not favo r horse-piay. and are anxious that the beach shall become more and more popular, should see that the game isn't carried too far. Some of the bathers evidently feel very strong, too. as the result of their ablutions, for tiny are able to carry away more than th"T own clothing. We are told of on:' lad who lost his boots a week ago. .-ome more garments since, and on Sunday he was given the option ot stay in? on the beach or going home in h.is "tojs." Boy-like, he risked it. Councillor Wilson, who has undertaken the self-imposed task of seeing that the streets are left decently aft"r being opened up for gas services, may with equal advantage to the ratepayer continue his investigations. Tn Devuistreef; Central there are several traps for the unwary pedestrian, and these, we understand, are the result of the borough employees' operations. Just outside Hie London Dental Co.'s premises the asphalt was broken for sew-r----laying work. The asphalt has not be'.n renlaoed. and there's a hole a temple (if inches deep to mark the neglect. Tar*her iu> 'he street. near Mr."TT<'].."ratirvv establishment, just as ''■.•M-vl, <'omnensate for the demv--»'oti menHnnefi. there is a nioiin 1 f h />- fnny inches higher than 'he level of the footpath, again thr result, of the laying of sewers.

Now's the time to purchase cheap clotlmig for the bovs and men.. It's sale time at "The Kn«h," and you shrewd Taranalci people know that this mean lots of bargains. This firm buy for cash and sell for cash; that means' they buy absolutely in the best markets, securing special discounts which they pass on to you. Look them up at once and secure some of their bargains, "i'he Kasli." just below Nolan's action mart, New Plymouth.—AM,,

Mr. X. 0. Andrews ha* resigned h ; s position as toJI-gate keeper at Puniho. The County Council yesterday passed a resolution requesting" the Minister it Railways to re-instate tile old timetable in the mail train service. The East v. West End water polo mafcli arranged to lie held at the bams this evening will not take place owing to the baths beiiiii cleaned out. Nuisance has been caused in two i,r three eases lately by drovers leaving exhausted animals on the roadside 10 die. The County Council has decided to lake action with a view of prosecuting I.HVlKiullS. On the motion m Mr. •!. E. Wilson (Messrs "\ViUon atiu Grey), Mr. .lust'n-e Edwards lias granted probate of the .will of Mrs. .lane Marshall, late of X Plymouth, to .Messrs Clifford Marshall and Robert .lames Matthews. The liorougli Council is to be petitioned by persons desirous of having family bathing between 7 and S o'oloei; each evening. Family bathing had special hours set apart at one time, but the "unco' gmd" folk of -New Plymoul.li didnt' ''cotton via.' The Southland News reports that swarms of luuttonbirds are now to lie seen -weeping across the waters ■ f Fowaux Straits. Tile parent bird;- airvery busy catching fish for their young. The mutton-birding season opens in a few weeks. "'All those in favor, say 'aye,*'' said the county chairman yesterday in muting a motion. There was a dead silence. "On the contrary, 'no, " he con tinned. Cr. liopson called "No," and the chairman gave his decision in favor of the "ayes." At the Police Court yesterday morning, before Mr. C. Ahier, J.P., Walt'>v James Ross was charged with having obtained board and lodging to '.ho value of £3 from one Prebblc by means of false pretences, and was demanded 1o appear at Stratford to-day. The petroleum dressing on the Main ■South road is still giving satisfaction. The dust nuisance is almost a thing of The past on the parti? experimented upon. An unlooked-for trouble has come upon the members of the County Council who reside in the locality, ladies complaining that the oil spoils tli">r dresses, and some of the menfolk making similar complaints.

Licut.-Col. Okev has received instructions from the Defence Department, to grant free railway passes 'to veterans desiring to take part in the military proceedings in Wellington during FieldMarshal Lord Kitchener's visit. Applications must be made through tho secretary of the Veterans' Association, Captain John Black. So far over riftv veterans have intimated their intention to -lie present.

A trophy of the caterpillar's ch;.#e was brought to town (says the Christchurch Press) from Templeton by Mr. Ceo. Witty, M.P., in the form of a> sheaf of oats, which had been alm'.st completely stripped of all grain. The sheaf was taken from the centre of a (iO-acre paddock. There were not more than half a dozen ears of grain left ;r. the whole bundle, the caterpillars bavin? stripped everything off. Tlr iv method is to crawl up each straw, and at through the stem holding the grain, ■but tiier do not eat the grain, and il fails to the ground. The caterpillars invaded tlie p« ddo;k on Sunday, aa-.l completely ruined the crop. It miiht be Imagined that the small bird in turn would feast on the caterpillar wh-n robbed of its customary dinner, but '•'nfortunatclv tli-j sparrow will rarely eat the caterpillar, although the starling i ; no* so squeamish. Mr. 0- A. Taylor, toll-gate keeper at Puniho. wrote to the Tarar.aki County Council ycst'i'dnv that he was hnvin? trouble- with the Maoris ;n collecting-toll-charges, lie suggested that the •.«- sistance of tlie constable be obtain. l !. Cr. Andrew.- <>\iihmed that, apparently all the Maori- i'loued alike to the ne\.' toll-keeper, and tl'.ey made a fuss when he fried lo charge them a second time in the one day. Another difficulty vves that the.former toll-keeper had been a local man. and hadtiknown the Maori* personally, and he had "given tick" ; f the Maori hadn't got small change, taking tile risk himself. It was pom*"! out that the people should keep Mi? tickets received from the toll-collector, and there \v"uld !>!• no difficulty on "lie return journey. Tie advised the Council, in answer to one or two suggestions. that tli"*" should use discretion in the matter, "for they're a funny ir.t down 'there. Th"=e young fellows comdown to the Ve'tel at night ami l'O hack prettv 'full.' ready for any little' bit of devilment. There's no tellin:! what tricks t!t»v might get up to." It I was pointed out that persons refusing ( to pay the toll were liable to a penalty-' up to £2O. Councillor Andrews is to I enquire into the complaint. ' A tragedy which shows the rigor wi"h which the, color line is still drawn in America receutly occurred at New Orleans. it might" be supposed to be a chapter from an American wove.]. A reputed first cousin of Prince von BueJow, ex-Chancellor of the German Empire, has drowned himself rather than face a trial for a breach of the law prohibiting a white person's marriage with anyone possessing a trace of negro blood. TTe married in 1002 the daughter of an Am -ncau judge bearing an old and honored name, and settled at Xew Orleans. 'Mrs. von Buelow, a beautiful and cultured woman, confessed to him before her marriage the secret 'of the negro strain in her. Buelow. however, de.-lared (says the Daiiy Mail) that Germans were not so proud as Southerners, that he loved'her for herself alone, and that no one need know of her secret. Their apprehension that their children might show a reversion to the negro type vanished wHh the birth of n bov and a girl typically Teutonic, with blue eyes and flaxen hair. Mrs. von Buelow's secret is alleged to have been discovered and exploited by soil!:' of her business competitors. She was at once ostracised in society, her children w<ve jeered at in the streets, and her husband was arrested for his offence under the miscegenation law. A few days later )i : - 'tody w?- found in the Mi-sw--iiii. T?i- widow is awaiting trial for her violation of the law. FOR BABTPX There i* no hotter medicine made for babies than Chamberlain's Cough Remedy. Us pleasant teste and prompt and effective cures make it. a favorite with mo'hers of small ehildren. .t tlieT coueats and eobls and prevents pneumonia and other serious consequences. .Sold by all chemists and storekeeiers. A little forethought may save you no end of trouble. Anyone who makes it a rule to keep Chamberlain's Colic. Cholera and Diarrhoea. Bemedv at hand knows this to be a fact. Sold by all chemists and storekeepers. _

Messrs. David ltos-, William Mantes, .Robert JJaunon, and James Martin, prospectors, have been awarded a Government bonus of C.jOO for. the discovery of the Itlackwater quartz reef in the Inangahua district. This,' is themaximum reward for the discovery of a new goldtiekl. A naval officer writing from Sheerness six weeks ago to a friend in Dunedin says: -'We are always drilling and ready for action. You should see the mighty lleet—warships all fully manned, stretching from my ship as far as' tile eye can reach, and every one ready to put to sea at a moment's notice.'' Things cannot, go on like this for long, and I am afraid all this preparation mean* something sinister ahead." At present about 050 cases of cheese and l! 50 boxes of butter are coming into the Patea grading works daily (gays the Patea. Press). Altogether so far some 7.(HH). cases of cheese and 35(X) of luitter have been received for shipment by tile s.«. Una nine. The whole of the butter and some f>oo cases of cheese remain still in store. The late abundant rains justify a belief that the supply of produce may be vigorously maintained for some time yet, so that the total figures for the. season's' output should be quito abnormal. "All indications point to the prospect of a good year lor 1 ill 0," savs tinTrade Review in its last issue. The Review r epi>ris that at present, howliver, importing hou-c* describe trad" all round as distinctly quiet. The grocery trade generally is affected by the dulness which usually follows the activity of tile Christmas season. Tii the hardware section trade seems to have been slow in resuming work aft:'v the holidays, while the clothing tride is in the dead" period between two seaisons. On all hands, however, there «iid to be the expectation of a return to the activity which preceded the recent spell of stringency. It is probable that W. Franklvif Barrett, who is touring New Zealand taking moving pictures for the notod Parkin n firm of Pa the Freres, will obtain photographs of the petroleum industry in Xew Plymouth. Pictures already taken include the Waikare'n first trip to "the Sounds, scenes on the West Coast, views of the Franz Josrf filmier, and a very fine picture of "Pelovus Jack," the si range white fi-ii which haunts T'elortis Sound. The fi-h save a

very long display for the cinematograph operator. New Zealand h:inever been so exhaustively "captured" by the moving picture man as it is now by the Pa the Freres representative. A* automatic ship and mine wensounding apparatus has been invented by Mr. Christopher Vowell, an engineer's apprentice of Ngaruawahia (writes an Auckland correspondent of a contemporary). The invention comprises a simple electric bell circuit, which is completed by the water in the well when it rises high enough to submerge two electrodes. It then rings an alarm bell and operates an indicator showing when the well is full of water. By the addition of an indicator for each well, and a number of electrodes at different heights, the varying height of the water in each well, can be recorded. Any number of alarm bells can lie used in any part of the ship or mine. The electric current may also be used to operate pumps and' mechanism for closing watertight doors. Mr. W. H. H. Young, a candidate for the vacant seat on the Stratford Borough Council, in the course of an address to the ratepayers on Thursday night. quoted some ligurcs l>.v way of instituting a comparison between the boroughs of Hawera, Eltham, and Stratford. the respective acreages of which wore given as 500. 1590, 1020 acres, and the respective populations 2300, 1500, and 2300 person*. In llawera. there were 475 ratepayers, in Klt.iiam 347, and in Stratford 025, the (otal amount of rates piid in each town amounting respectively to £4250, .£2821, and £3204. On a a acreage basis this worked out: Hawera £8 10s per acre, Kltham £1 1 (Is per acre, and Stratford €1 14s 4d per acre. The average amount of rates per ratepayer in each town was: Hawera £4), Eltham '£B, Stratford £5 ss'. Thesf figures, he thought, showed that Stratford was financially healthy, and that it would be able to "stand the racket" if a loan were required at any time to carry out further works. The total indebtedness of the borough was, in round figures, £43.000.

*Plie editor of the Hawera Star a fow months ago had a conversation with Mr. Cameron, the Produce Commissioner in Londmn. and asked by what process ho arrived at his estimates of value, and Mr. Cameron replied that he exercised his own judgment after making enquiries in quarters which his many years' London experience taught him were most reliable. That, of course, was not ® very definite reply, and perhaps was not Intended to be, but the idea Mr. Cameron conveyed was that he did nctf; rely on any one source of information, that it would not do to take the unchecked opinion of any one set of men, and that after all a market report was' but an estimate. He, added that lie was quite content to be judged not by isolated cases, but by the general tenor of his reports and the conlidence that was placed la them alter some years' experience of them. That there was general confidence he -was assured by the circumstance that in certain eases his' weekly estimates of value were made the basis of contract between buyer and seller. That method of contracting he admitted he accepted as a compliment, hut nevertheless it was a method he protested against, because it would soon make his position absolutely intolerable And that, we think, would be quite likely to be the case. It would make the Produce Commissioner ail arbitrary declarant of absolute value. In the event of him being right to a tick he would get no ha'pence; in the event of him being wrong he would get very many kicks. His reputation for intelligence and perhaps for common honesty would be attacked by aggrieved parties, in a way which can be readily imagined I>y anyone who has' knowledge of the rough things which people who lose money will in their anger give utter™ic« t«. jj J

For your summpr suit you can't da bettor than to sonsult The Kash. Aiik thorn to show you one of their "Prestwell" suits they've just made. They're absolutely the nico6t fit-tinpr lot of .suits we've over seen. Woll-oadilod shoulders. pood smart collars .md just thftfc *ot about them you always see in the best-made suits. Try one at 37/6, <*f» if you can afford more, got one at 55«, and you'll be perfectly satisfied. Dil I mention that they're making a pregfinfc of an extra pair of trousers to every purchaser of a suit during the ne*t fartiightt—Adtt ._