LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 314, 14 February 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

To-day is the forty-first anniversary of the White Cliffs massacre.

It is reported that an attempt wis made on Friday evening to burglarise the railway goods shed. Mushrooms put in an appearance m South Taranaki very early this season, some being picked five "or six weeks ago. During last week they were (sa/s the Star) fairly plentiful. At the S.M. Court on Saturday morning, Frank Meagher, a youth", 'charged with the theft of a cheque for £4O 17s 2d, was further remanded, to come up for trial at Eltham on Wednesday, 16th inst.

A drunken man was arrested on Friday evening at the railway station, and afterwards released on bail. He failed ■to appear to answer to the charge on Saturday morning, and a fine of 5s and costs was imposed, in default 24 hours' imprisonment.

A local wag attributes the presence of sharks off the town just now to the mixed bathing craze, the finny gentlemen being ratner curious concerning what is a novelty in New Plymouth. There will probably he other ".sharks" about during this week, but they'll seek their victims on land. The Egmont Box Company's employees will hold their annual' seaside picnic her a in March, and will probably disembark at Fitzroy instead of going on to Moturoa. The East End Hath: ig Committee has been approached, si ml has granted permission to use the bathing shed, etc., as well ns offering 1o provide hot water for the picnicker's.

Mr. J. F. Hooker, borough councill ir, took the Council or its Inspector to (a-k on Friday evening,' complaining of the prosecution of a Chinaman for wa-de of the municipal water supply. He was of opinion that the action should nevr have been taken, and never would have been but for the man's nationality. The Mayor said he had not known of the case until he saw the result of it notified in the newspapers. The borou-h engineer said that the proscution was fully justified, for the Chinaman had been warned five or six times by the borough inspector, and the charge was brought as a last resource. Inspector Tipping informed a "News" reporter thift'the case was a very bad one, lr.it that the man who appeared in Court as the defendant was not the man upon whom he served the summons.

Last evening Rev. John Laird, in the Baptist Church, gave the second of a series of addresses on the Information and the resulting Protestantism. The first of the series given a week ago showed the need for a reformation, aad yesterday the subject was the eaviy protesters, naming ITuss, Savanarola, Reuchlin, Erasmus, and lastly Luther. Hnss and Savonarola were shown as the popular preachers, Reuchlin and Erasmus as the progressive scholars anil teachers, and then Luther as the fearless leader of the whole movement. There was a good attendance and the subject was dealt with in a simple, interesting manner; while the practical les?ons were firmly emphasis' 1 :!, and our present-day privileges resnii'incr theivfroni were pointed out. The scries w'dl be continued to the cud o f February. A WORD TO TRAVELLERS. The excitement incidental to travelling and change of water an 1 food eften bring on diarrhoea, 1 colic and pain in the stomach, and for this reason i o one should leave home without a -bofile of Chamberlain's Colic, Cholera and Diarrhoea Remedy. It can always be depended upon to effect a quick cure. It cannot be procured when on boa» - d trair. or steamer, and thsv is when it is mo*'- liKely to be needed, an! for this reaeou should always be procured before leaving home.

If the following recent advertisement is anything but sarcasm, there should be a 'happy home somewhere for a domestic assistant: •'Wanted, a good general; no cooking or waging; every afternoon in the week off, Sundays included; private? sitting-room; (line with family; use of piano; good wages.-'

The traffic returns' on the North Island main lines and branches for the four-weekly period ending Stli .January amounted to £153,00!), against £141',05S for the corresponding period last year, an increase of £12,5.">1. Passengers accounted for £77,709 (against £09,121), and goods £03,473 (against £59,027). It is not often (the Timaru Herald remarks) that a man expresses pleasure at being in Oio prisoner's dock at court; but such a thing happened at the Supreme Court on Tuesday, when a. prisoner in the course of a long and eloquent appeal to "the intelligent jury" before him said that he was proud, and they were all proud, in this free and enlightened country, of being in a position to be tried by a jury.''

Mr. Hugh Girdlestone, Government slirveyor, who i.s stationed at Raetihi, had a very narrow escape from a serious accident recently. It appears.that Mr. Girdlestone was out with his men, surveying on some very rough land, and was supporting himself by a branch over a gorge, when the branch broke off, and he was precipitated to the bottom, striking a log in his descent, and being rendered unconscious. Upon examination, it was found no bones were broken, and he had suffered .nothing moro serious than bruises and strained muscles. Mr. Girdlestone has now so far recovered as to be able to return to camp and resume his duties. The Southland News was recently shown a remarkably good imitation of a half-crown. On first appearance the spurious coin would have passed unnoticed, so exact were the features, but a test by ringing, and the judicious use of a pocket-knife, revealed the fact that instead of being worth 2s (id it had an intrinsic worth of about Od. It wasl a silver-plated copper-lead alloy, but the impressions on both sides were, beyond perhaps a slightly less clear lettering, perfect, while the size was absolutely exact. The date is 1575. There are several circulating in Dunedin and Christchureh, it is understood, the coins having come, it is,' thought, from Australia.

Dynamite caps are dangerous things (says the Taihape Times). A local man one time had occasion to us'c dynamite caps and explosive gelignite, and when he had finished the job he had one cap left. He wrapped this up in paper and put it on the kitchen mantelpiece. It remained there for some time, and on a recent morning, as the resident was lighting his fire, this package fell to the hearth. He picked it up, and, thinking it was just a piece of paper, threw it into the fire. Almost instantly there was a fierce explosion. ' The door of the range flew to the kitchen table, the kettle bumped hard against the chimney, and various other pieces of range flew in all directions'. Some of the fire was blown on" into the room, and the man's clothing was set on fire, though fortunately lie was able, to knock the flames out before they had burnt to anv extent.

A sensational experience marked a recent visit of a number of Ballarat concert performers to a neighboring township. The party numbered about a dozen, and included several ladies. They had given a successful entertainment at Meredith, and were driving home in a, drag. When at a railway crossing the vehicle suddenly stopped, a horse's" boot having become caught between the rail and the guard. Several of the party were attempting to release the horse when a distant rumbling was heard! Seizing a . lamp from the vehicle, Mr. Whidburn ran in the direction from which the sound proceeded. His signal, however, failed to stop the train, for it rushed by, fortunately not on the set of rails on which the horse had been caught, the road being a double one. Almost immediately the lights of another train showed up in the opposite direction. The crew of this' train saw the warning lantern, and pulled up. The officials then helped to release the horse, and the vehicle was moved out of danger.

Mr. George W. Smalley, for many years correspondent 'of the New York Tribune in London, and during a later period representative of the London Times in New York, is now taking his ease in semi-retirement, and writing more of those "Studies of Men" in which he displayed so much ripe experience and penetration in the late nineties (says the English correspondent of the Age). In a magazine article which he has just written, he recalls a visit to a country house in Sussex, where his fellow guests included Lord Kitchener, who was then pondering his scheme fo r the establishment of lh' Khartoum College. Ho ■ wanted £IOO.000, and doubted whether be could get it. The smashing of the Dervishes had been comparatively easy; an appeal to the mysterious British public was quite another enterprise. Me'hesitated. ''Nothing than £IOO.OOO will be of any use," lie said. "It is a la-rge sum. I should not like to fail, and if they gave me only pert of the amount, to have to return it." His friends assured him that there would be no failure; bis name would be enough; the psychological moment had arrived. Lord Glenesk (propriety- of the Morning Post) offered £IOOO across the dinnertable. Other sums were promised. He was told that he could rely upon the Support of two powerful newspapers. Still Lord Kitchener hesitated. He repeated that he would not like to fail. At last one of the company said, "Well. Lord Kitchener, if you 'had doubted about your campaign as you do about this, ynu would never have got to Khartoum." His face hardened, and his reply was characteristic of the man: ''Perhaps nat : but the-rt T could depend on iMvs-lf :! ,. ( l , low i n ., v|l Ul ( |„,„ ln .i on the British public." But. the appeal was ,i-.-i,|c. ami. as everyone knows, it was highly successful.

Members of t»<i Equitablf Bnildin« Society of New Plymouth (First and Second Groups) are notified that subscriptions will :* due and payable today (Monday), at the Secretary Office, Currio-street, from 0 a.m. to 12.30, from 1 w.m. to 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. to !) n.m Advt, A millionaire dangerously ill, Whose denied him a pill, By advice of the cook. Laxo-Tonic Pills took, . He recovered, and made a new will. LAXO-TONIC PILLS, lOVid and la fid. Obtainable at Bullock and Johnston's.