LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 351, 31 March 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Owing to the gale the Rarawa did not make her usual trip to Onehunga last night. (Provided the weather takes up, the vessel will depart to-day. Local volunteers are complaining of the delay of the Defence Department in paying out for the Kitchener parad*. The Department wag prompt and businesslike in-getting tho men to sign receipts for the money whilst in camp, but so far the cash has not been forthcoming.

At the last meeting of the Taranaki Education Board the following resolution was passed, on the motion of Mr. Cargill:—"That the Board cannot agree with the attitude taken up by the Department, and still adhere* to iti previous opinion that the action of the Department in curtailing the grant for the Frankley school compels the Board to draw heavily upon the fundi which should he utilised for repairs to carry out work Which, in view of the curtaiiment of the maintenance grant,, should be done by the Department. The Board wishes to point out that whilst during the past seven years over £II,OOO ha« been received for building grants, which on account of their insufficiency has had to be supplemented by £4BB from the maintenance account, no corresponding increase nf the maintenance grant had been made; that the Board ask the M.P.'s representing the Taranaki districts to bring before Parliament at the forthcoming session the very unsatisfactory position in regard to the maintenance srrant and rebuilding of wornout schools, with the object of having the whole question gone into by the Education Committee, and a more equitable and satisfactory basis arranged; and that the co-operation of other boards be invited."

Tf von want to sell *dvorti«* in the "Daily News." It -circulate* throughout Taranaki.

TJie Post Ofltcc advises that the Bris-bane-Vancouver despatch of 16th February arrived in London on the night of 26th instant. The Wellington-Naples despatch of the 18th February arrived in London on the night of the 2Uth inst. The Pakatoi school, neir Maurakahia, Dargaville, was burn' to Mie ground on Saturday. The origin oi the fire is a mystery, but it is surmUvi that some natives must have teen sneping in the building on the night oa -which it was burnt, and probably Jroppt! lighted cigarettes on the floor. This ! s ihe eleventh school burned in tli« X>>rta Auckland district in a comparative/ short space of time. New Plymouth, says f,re Elthain Argus, appears to be merfumig in popularity as a seaside resort The time is not far distant when balL;pg machines and other conveniences wi ! ie available. In the meantime things ?r. ; a little bit ''in the rough," but mi moments are gradually being effecte 1 and a number of public-spirited people -;< the town, headed by their tnerget-c Mayor, Mr. Tisch, are formulating' plans for further improvements.

It is reported that the refvse oil from the bores at Moturox is now fnding its way into a creek from wVd) the Maoris resident on the beach draw their drinking water. The Maoris complain bitterly of this, and allege also that the oil w having the effect cf making the shellfish a most unpalatable food. As showing the large amount o f oil deposited on the beach, it m rented that on Sunday evening the sand wa? set afire and a big blaze resulted '

It may surprise ni.iny of our readers (asys the Wanganin Hca.d) to know that no official records a-v keot of the ■"ital statistics of the Ma-lis' Births, deaths and marriages <<-ntinually occur, 'but the natives are v, d t r no obligation to record or report tne same to either European or "native authorities. The only time that any n;le i« made of the Maori population is v.-l.m the census is taken quinquenialiy aim the estimates then made ar .• fa; from reliable. Now that the holilay; are over, his Worship the Mayor will mh about the introduction of electric t:\inuvays. A correspondent in th:s suggests that Mr. Tisch «hou'd form a committee of representative latepayers to work in conjunction wita him and his colleagues in the Coun. 1 in gathering information and arranger for placing the scheme fully before the ratepayers. "Good organisation *id ?&.iu work," he continues, "are the essentials to success, even though the need for improved methods of passenger transit is generally admitted.

During a recent v ; j.it t« the south I was impressed (says ' Indus) vial Tramp" in the Auckland Star) with the fact that the prospects xor a busy winter were brightest in Auckli- d. ' Christchurch is fairly busy at p-esent, but in Wellington the union seoittaries whom I called on, report plenty <' men seeking work, and work not too j.'cntiful. In the building line, I founl that 11 carpenters had been discharged from one job alone, with the i.-sui* that over 30 oarpenters were signing th>: employment book as wanting work 1 ainters are also slack, as are lab'.rere o f a)! classes.

The Auckland Harbor Board has received a communication from the Secretary for Marine to the effect that ViceAdmiral Sir Richard Poore has advised the Department that he has forwarded to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty a copy of the communication addressed to him on the subject of the survey of Rangitoto Channel, and that he had also strongly recommended to their lordships that this survey should bo carried out, or that a complete resurvey should be made of Auckland harbor and its approaches by surveying officers of the Admiralty. The weekly session of Egmont Lodge, No. 112, 1.0. G.T., was held on Monday night at St. Mary's Ball. The attendance was not quite as large as usual, owing to the holiday. x4.n interesting paper wa3 read entitled "A Day in Naples," at the conclusion of which a . vote of thanks was passed to the writer. Impromptu speeches filled in the evening, the subjects being "Protection," "Education," and "Backblock Roads," the various subjects being well handled by the speakers. On behalf of the Fancy Pair Committee it was decided to issue invitations to all workers to attend a special meeting at the lodgeroom next Monday evening. A lad named Henry oeLeph Hand, aged fifteen and a-ha'f year.i. broke into shops at Milton on Fi (u\ last and stole goods. On Saturda,' a Fairfax he overtook a young woms-. on the road and tried to snatch her 1 andbag,. containing £7. He waj weiring a mask. The woman noticed that Le was pointing a revolver at he- a;:! screamed fori help, and the youth ran off. Defective ! Mitchell and Consta>-e Mtßae (of Mil- j ton) traced him, and in tie afternoon £ave him chase 'berweci. Fairfax and the beach, and caught h'm. When caught Hand was ar:ned wiih a aevenchambered revolver :uid a !>' eath knife, and had a mask. He wil; W also charged with stealing a saddle and J bridle.

Subsequent to the recent match in Wellington between the Pussian wrestler, Haelcenschmidt, and R. J. Scott, of Stratford, Haekenschmult's manaper collected the stake of £SO lod«ed I>v SCott. and handed it to his principal. The Hawera Star learns t h at when the cheque was handed over T :r aekensehmidt enquired, "Who is the m n? Is he a poor man?" On being assured that Scott was not a moneve' man. he replied, "Oh, poor man, eh? Hum!" and meditatively tore the ?hc;iue into fragments and threw it away The crucionsne=s of the little incident lies in the fact that hp made no r: premutation* concerning his cancellation of the bond to either the public or to his defeated opponent.

"GiTherd and Sons of Y-. ?n?anui, are heavy losers by the fre iUt destroyed their nlaee on Saturdav. ns the insurance ( £2OOO on the bu'll'-ne and stock) would not half cover tj'." firm's loss. Some 25 tons of soap m d three tons of tallow were in th° facluv and this, as well as the valuable machinery, is all destroved. The cf-oc l - in Hie storeroom, which was saved, -.vis lower than it has bpoji for vears wh'V thf factory contained much more th.i'i ns'H. The firm hnd recently cypenao o!n=p nn "£IOOO on new machiiPr, ■. nd additions to the factorv, in cdor to cone with the increased busimes Scott's fellmoneprr and stock, neft donr_ which narrowlv escaned destrurt'on. "ro insured for snmo £IO.OOO. l.nt ihp firm's loss would hnyo lic PTl much vove that sum hod +he fire not been The 'hnildin<r is miifh charred and some of the stock considerably dai? acred.

If you want visiting cvds. niemorium cards, billheads, dance p - r<rrammes. invitation cards."or anythi'.e in the wav of printing, ring up the 'Daily Xews," 'phone 17.

A whale measuring 60 feet was strand' ed on the beach at Pihama, and the Maoris reckoned they had made a haul. The following high tide,, however, set the carcase afloat, much to the disappointment of the natives. A bright look-out is being kept for its expected 1 wash ashore again, says the Opunake paper. v Some practical joker recently stated that the Egmont Box Company purposed removing their factory from Eltham to one of the bush Bites on the Main Trunk railway. Thw, however, is not the case, Though the company intends to make some important developments in that district. Hawera Star. Mr R. Cook, chairman of the Puk«kura Park Board, has received a donation of £SO from th© H<m.i 0. SamusL ■who wrote as follows:—"In recognitioi of the good work which your board (under the very able auperintendency of Mr W. W. Smith) has done and is doing for the public, in relation to the beautifying of Pukekura Park, I enclose a donation of £SO towards it* funds." Such an act of public spiritedness and liberality will be appreciated by everyone interested in the gardens —and who is not locally?—and ahould ■serve as an example to other of outwealthy residents. Settlers in the Bourail district, N«tx Caledonia, have been victimised for over two months by a brsl ranger names Dumont, who lived :o tit mountain and came down into the plairs pillaging the outstations. News has been received of his capture by gendarmes last month. A letter was sent to Dumont, offering to buy secretly a quantity of rubber which it was known he had stolen from a plantation. A rendezvous was fixed in a lonely D srt of the mountains, and Dumont ken*, the appointment. The place was :n a depression. High boulders lay about on the side of the hills, and 'behind theji gendarmes with Titles lay in ambash The bushranger walked right info the trap, and was overpowered before he could Are a shot. He submitted calmly enough tobeing searched, and said h* was a gatherer of wild honey in thi mountains. His retreat was afterwaidq discovered. In it were several loaded rifles and a number of skins of stolen cßttle. 'Dumont is a convict who e.'-aped over two years ago. He has bee.j sentenced again to five years' imprisonment in addition to his former sentence. Af the conclusion of the trial he dflgred he would have no difficulty in escaping again.