LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 323, 24 February 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

, A hundred and fifty cadets and nine officers, from the New Plymouth, i(itzroy and Okato schools, entrained at .the New Plymouth railway station nv yesterday morning's mail train, for Wellington, to take part in the reviews by Lord Kitchener. These cadets, who l.e.long 'to the No. 1 Battalion, Taranaki School Cadets, are under the charge of Major Sandford. Detachments from Bell Block, Waitara, Urenui and Inglewood also boarded the mail train at ,their respective stations. A special .train which left New Plymouth at (i a.m., running empty as far as Stiatjford, picked up the Stratford, El than and Hawera companies. Family bathing was commenced Inst night at the municipal saltwater baths. The attendance was such as to any fear that the Baths Committee may have entertained as to the wisdom ot their action in acceding to tlv request of the petition for the institution of 1.. There were a hundred and tweu.y adults and eighty children under tie age oi 14 years there last night th■parents and guardians being glad of _ opportunity of superintending _ t»o youngsters' bathing, _ and appreciating the shelter ot the baths cleanliness and comfort of the dressing boxes. Family bathing, which is to take pl-ve every Wednesday evening, is going To "catch on."

After all, the complete rout of the representative cricketeis a Auckland was . good thing, a matter for pleasure, north and south (says a Dunedin Star contributor) I. sufficed to show that m the midst of disappointment and bitterness o. spin there is always sweet consolation. Consider the thwackirig experiences of the wood people of Auckland. In 'fi nrn ter of Ministerial representation the fair citv, as compared witii a fairer city in the "robust south, has long been an example of sufl'ering aflliction. Then there was the Captain Knyvett affair, leaving the people in a fever of discontent. And, worst of all, the fair fame of Auckland harbor had become tarnished, blighted by a rock in the main channel. This in a Haven that held the White Fleet! Were not Aucklanders ripo for honor and proud satisfaction when Otago boldly challenged Auckland I cricketers) "to try fortune in a single, fight"? How the day went with the holders of the Plunket Shield every man knoweth.

The Taranaki veterans, probably 70 m number, leave by this morning's express for the big review by Lord Kitchener ill Wellington. The volunteers leave by special train to-night. It is stated on what appears to be very good authority that Mr. R. McX;t ■> •has been selected by the Government as the Liberal candidate for Hawko's Bay at the next general election. It is not yet definitely known if Mr. McNab has consented to fill the position. Should he accede, it is almost certain that he will reside for a time in the district. Another probable Liberal candidate is Mr. A. E. Jull, the well-known Waipawa brewer, who is very popular, and who during the last nine or ten months has won some distinction as the champion of the country party on the Napier Harbor Board. Mr. Jull has a very strong following. Still another probable candidate is Mr. A. L. D. Fraser, but there is some uncertainty as to whether he would subscribe wholly to the Liberal platform.

Surprise has been expressed at the fact that no offers have been received for the right to take sealskins at the outlying southern islands during the season to be opened shortly. Extraordinary Government restrictions supply the explanation. Restriction No. 3 provides that no female seal shall be killed or taken, and No. 4 enacts that no bull seals under twelve months old shall be killed or taken; and a sufficient number of full-grown bulls shall be left for breeding purposes. Until it is possible (states the Bluff correspondent of the Otago Daily Times) to keep a register of births and deaths of the seals it is absolutely impossible to observe the regulations'. Seal-hunting means slippery footholds on the naked rock, combined with a great deal of cave work, where the light of day is dim and altogether uncertain. The terms of battle are, "You kill your seal or your seal very soon kills you." There is no time for investigating ages and pedigrees.

An incident in connection with Lord Kitchener's' visit that was not provided fer in the programme took place at Sawyers' Bay on Friday morning. When it became known that Lord Kitchener, accompanied by Sir Joseph Ward, would be passing through in a motor about midday, over one hundred of the schoolchildren were formed up on the road, leaving, just sufficient space for the car to pass through. The Union Jack was) suspended across the road, and as the car approached it was gradually lowered to the ground by the dux boy of the school. Even Lord Kitchener dare not drive over the Union Jack, and the car was brought to a standstill. Mr. McDermid, the chairman of the school committee, in a few words explained to Lord Kitchener that, as the great majority of the school-children would have no opportunity of seeing him, they had adopted this means of doing so. Lord Kitchener was then presented with a bouquet of'flowers; and after expressing his pleasure with the novel ceremony lie drove away amid the hearty cheers of the children.—Otago Daily Times.

Regret was expressed at Melbourne that the Tyser liner Tomoana did not stop to make an examination of the boat which, as reported by cable, is said to have been observed by the lamptrimmer and one of the firemen when the steamer was 500 miles north-west of the Cape of Good Hope. The trimmer declares that the bows' and a considerable portion of the derelict were visible, the stern part being under water. Neither he nor his companion could discern any name on it. and it appeared also to be without oars or equipment of any kind. It was evidently a large lifeboat, and had been in the water for a considerable time. Roughly speaking, the Tomoana swept past the derelict at a distance of about 30ft, and the lamptrimmer and the fireman are both positive that it was a ship's boat of more than ordinary dimensions. It is thought that possibly fhe boat might have belonged to the Shaw-Savill liner Maori, which was wrecked off Duiker Point, near Cape Town, and the masts of which vessel were still visible as the Tomoana rounded the Cape. The identity of the boat, however, remains a mystery. There is, of course, no evidence to connect the drifting derelict with the disappearance of the Waratah (remarks the Argus), althought it is' quite possible that the boat belonged to that liner, all her boats being painted white.