LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 59, 18 June 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

I An Eltham farmer states that he finds it impossible to get good' men to do drainage work, although he is willing to pay Is 3d iper hour, equivalent to 10s .per day. The Auckland Star says there is good authority for stating that in all .probability the Government will not rill the vacancies in the Legislative Council' caused by the deaths of four mem'bers. ' Members of the mystic craft will foe' pleased to note that the installation of! Sir Donald McLean Lodge has been fixed for Friday, -24 th instant, so as not to clash with the De Burgh Adams installa-! tion, which takes place the preceding, evening.

In the event of the sailing ship Viganelk requiring the use of the cranes on the wharves a charge of threepence per ton of cargo will be made. The regulations of the port provide for a charge of sixpence a ton, with a minimum hire of ten shillings, with power to make special arrangements for large cargoes. As this is the first direct Home cargo handled at the wharf the Board felt justified in making a concession.

One or two of the members of the Harbor Board are looking for remarkably economical consumption of coal bv the new dredge. The master reported from Albany that her consumption of coal was 0y„ tons, and that she had covered 3434 miles in 507 hours. When this was read out a member said it was very satisfactory to find that the vessel could steam so far on such a small consumption, 'but amidst quiet smiles it was explained that this was probably the hourly consumption. , ,

■At the seventeenth annual Otago Dairy Show, which received such flattering remarks from the Hon. Mr. Mackenzie, the entries for the dairy produce were some twenty less than those received for the Dominion Dairy Show to 'be held in Hawera next month. For the Hawera show .the dairv produce alone will require 280 ft of 4ft tabling, these figures ibeing worked out by the Dairy Division, who are to judge the exhibits.' The Hon. Mr. Mackenzie has written to J the secretary tendering his congratula-1 tions upon the large entries for the dairyi classes, and wishing the venture every I success. I Hearing a commotion in« shed at Hunt-! ley where a bulldog and two pups were kept, Mrs. Broadbent proceeded thither* to investigate. No sooner had ishe open-l ed the door than the (brute, which weiphs some 451bs, sprang at her, under the| impression that she intended to interfere with the pups. Mrs. Broadbent was carrying a baby, and the ferocious animal seized her by the arm and dragged her into the ipaddoek. Her screams were heard by her husband, who was the owner of the dog, and he at once hastened to her assistance. Mrs. Broadbent had her arm an 4 thisjh severely bitten, but bravely succeeded in protecting her baby from' &e. animal's fangs.

It rained heavily in Rotorua on Sunday night, and next morning a peculiar greenish dust was found to have fallen during the hours of darkness. It was probaJbly a deposit of sulphurous dust from the air collected by the rain. The following will represent Warehouses in their match versus Service on the Racecourse to-day: Ward, Crockett, Jensen, McAllum, Stannering, Jury, Dines, Hawkins, Roberts, Boucher, Richards, Simmers, Jeffries, Arthur, Johnson; emergencies, Doughty, Howell.

Life an the hnckblncks! The Tanmarunui Press reports: Some little time a2O the wife of one of the new settlors a: Tangitua 'became seriously ill, A party of twenty-five men carried her in relavs over nine miles of rough track to Wn'imelia, whence she was brought to the local hospital. Jack Rabbit, who for a quarter of a century has threatened this great district with ruin (says the Wairarapa Daily Times.) has really been the mainspring of its .progress and prosperity. Ho has forced a thousand settlers to' clear and improve their properties when thev did not want to clear and improve them, and he has compelled them to destrov sill harbor for Jack and his relations, until it lias come to be recognised that ■under certain conditions Jack and his limitless family may become manageable.

There are reports in circulation concerning Powelka which, if true, can point to only one moral, .and that is that it. •was highly necessary in the interests of Powelka and the public that he should be placed beyond all possibility of eontact with the people (says the Eltham Argus). What these reports are we cannot explain; they are unprintable; 'but if there is any truth in them then Judje Cooper by the severity of his sentence afforded a necessary protection to society for which it has reason to be grateful. We have no doubt but that the matter will 'be 'brought up in Parliament, and then more facts than are now available will be placed at the disposal of the public.

In a money-lending case nt Christchurch on Monday a financial agent claimed £3l on a dishonored cheque. Defendant stated that he 'borrowed £3O in December last at the rate of £3 per month. He saw plaintiff at his piv.-su-. house, and was never in his business office till March. -No part of the transaction took place at the plaintiff's registered address. This was not contradicted. The Magistrate (Mr. H. W. Bishop, S.M.). said that if moneylenders •went outside the Act they only had themselves to thank. It' was quite clear that all instruments and transactions were absolutely void as against a borrower that were not carried out at a money-lender's registered office. That was quite clear. Mr. Justice Denniston upheld the view he (the Magistrate) took of the matter when the first case 'was brought 'before him. His Honor even went further in regard to trespass under a bill of sale. Judgment would be for defendant, but he would make no order for costs. He would impound the cheque and draw the attention of the Stamp Department to it, and they could take what steps they liked. Writes J. W. Ellis to the' Auckland Star:—"There was a time when the Aucklanders were much concerned re the construction of the Ongarue-Stratford railway, and it almost seemed then as if they thought Auckland's existence depended on the railway being made in that direction. Times change; there are more men 'working on that railway today than on any other railway in the Dominion (see report of the Labor Department lately published by you), but j where are they all working? Does Auckland know, or care ? The Minister for Public Works told the settlers in the Ohura Valley on his late visit that New Plymouth was their natural port, and that if they only waited patiently they would in time get connection by rail with the outside -world, 'but from the Taranaki side. I was lately in the Ohura district, and found a very bitter feeling amongst the settlers, owing to the Minister's statements. The district has been very loyal to its .members, Air. Jennings, and to the Government, but Mr. McKenzie's statement seems to have changed this feeling. I asked why they did not try to get the assistance of Auckland, but they said, What is the use? All they care about is 'At Homes' at Government House, duplication of the Auckland tunnel, etc., and that they had not seen or iheard a word of protest from Auckland re Mr. McKenzie's attempt to tack them on' to New Plymouth. I presume the Minister's statement was not reported, and I mm writing to draw Auckland's attention to the refusal of the Minister to consider the starting of the Ongarue-Stratford railway from the Auckland end, feeling sure that they will not 'be satisfied to accept the Minister's decision lying down."

For ways that are dark, etc., some J members of the Taranaki farming comfj munity bid fair to rival the heathen [ Chinee. At Wednesday's meeting of the ( Stratford County Council one of the fore- .! men complained that a settler was very ,' dissatisfied with the present system 1 j adopted by some of those obtaining I shingle otit of the river on his property. ■J It appears that settlers are supposed to i pay the Council a certain royalty for '. any shingle taken for private use out of J the river, and the Council in turn hand i this over to the owner of the property. i Cash is supposed to be the basis on which I the shingle is taken, and the county foreI man is supposed to be the intermediary, i I The tenor of his complaint was to the | effect that it was impossible for him to I be at the river when every one who took I gravel arrived, and in many cases he I could not afterwards find out how much I had been taken. The owner was natrtrI ally verr dissatisfied. The Council dis- ■ cussed the matter. Some members were | of opinion that the foreman should be instructed not to allow any gravel to i be taken without the cash being paid in advance. Councillor Astbury observed | that it was very awkward for a road foreman to have to collect from a ratepayer, and, in fact, one ratepayer whom I the foreman had "stuck up" in connection with some shingleroyalty had told I him (Councillor Astbury) that next time i it happened he would knock the foreman | down. Councillor Astbury facetiously ! observed that there must be something j very demoralising in the dairying busii ncss, instancing the trouble at various j factories over stealing each other's skim ! milk, etc. iHe thought, any demand i should, come from the office. After deliberating for a few moments, the chairman drafted the following resolution, Which it 'was considered would meet the exigencies of the case, and which was accordingly adopted:—That owing to the difficulties that have arisen (is to payment of royalty on boulders or shingle, aJI persons in future requiring such materials for private use must apply to* the county clerk for a permit for its removal, prepaying royalty on the same, and Such permit only to lie operative if the foreman can spare the material. ( The services in Queen-street Church ito-morrow will be conducted by the Rev. J. Nixon—morning at 11, evening at 7. All seats free. No need any more to be ill, Because there' a wonderful P'Jl, Ever growing in fame, Laxo-Tonic its name, The summit of medical skill. Laxo-Tonic Pills, 10y 2 d and Is d. Ob rainabU at. Bullock and iToi.nstonV

Joll's cheese factory at Hnwero paid. lOVid per lb for butter-fat to December,, and liy 3 d to the end of the season. Kaupokonui and Hawera each paid lO'/jd. right through the season. The Auckland electric tramways carried 28,73(1,000 passengers last year, an increase of 2,592,000, and earned a profit of £35,124, from which the shareholders, draw a dividend of 0 per cent. An expedition of ' British explorers is reported to have dw-.wcral a tribe of pigmies on the .Snowy Mountains,. Dutch 'New Guinea. Xothing was previously known regarding, these dwarfs, whose height averages 4ft 3in. Those on board the Mamari, which - arrived at Lyttelton last week from Home, had not heard of the King's death till arrival in port, the steamer having been cut off from news of the world for 41 days. The announcement was made in Xew York on (Ith June that a cure for leprosy in its first stages had been discovered.. The (Government, however, was jealously guarding the secret to prevent its monopoly by private capital. For some few days past (says Tuesday's Star) the stock and merchandise traffic on the 'Hawera-Wangnnui section, of the railways has been particularly heavy, the local staff having a busy time in shunting operations. Yesterday three specials from the south arrived in Hawera, and a like number were despatched. Early this morning a big stock train passed through here from Palmerston Xorth to Stratford. At 10 o'clock a special mixed train of goods and stock arrived from Stratford en route to the Main Trunk. It picked up a further consignment of stock here for the Waikato district, including 451 i head of sheep, 24 head of cattle, and 32 horses, which are being despatched 'by Messrs J. J. and J. L. Campbell to their farm at Walton. near Cambridge. One or two instances of the value of advertising in the Daily Xcws are worth recording. On Saturday Mr. Hoffmann, manager of the British and Continental Piano Company's New Plymouth depot, advertised a second-hand piano for sale. On Monday it was ordered by letter by a gentleman away down the coast, on Wednesday he inspected and paid £2O for it, and he'll have it home to-night. A £42 10s new piano advertised in the same issue found an owner before night, and another piano was sold off the same advertisement yesterday. The other day Mr. C. X. Johnson published a paragraph about some handsome furniture made for a Wangnnui gentleman. Fully fifty people called in to see the furniture as a result, and amongst them was the owner of it, who had read the paragraph in the train ibetween Patea and Waverley, and came on to see the work.