LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 66, 27 June 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Maori troupe which has been touring the music halls of America for some months hope to sail for New Zealand next Wednesday. There are about 2000 justices of the peace in the Dominion. Under the law of this country their offices are unaffected by a change of Sovereigns. It is definitely arranged that Sousa and his band will visit Australia and New Zealand next year. The entire tour is under the direction of Herr Benno Schreck.

In the Supreme Court, on the motion of Mr. Quilliain (Govett and QuilJiam), probate of the will of the late Susan Copestake 'has been granted to George McGahey, the executor named in the will.

Mr. G. MeKniglit, one of the Labor candidates for Auckland East, has informed a Herald representative that his total expenses had only amounted to £6 10s. In addition to this, however, Mr. McKnight's deposit of £lO was forfeited.

It is stated that an American engineer is coming to the Ross district from San Francisco to inspect the Mikonui river and vicinity, with a view to mining development, and there are sanguine expectations as to the outcome of his visit.

In' May, Mr. W. Knight, of the Lower Hutt,- took over £BO for eggs. This from female stock of just over IQQO, a good proportion of which were secondyear birds. At the present time, 40 dozen are being collected daily, and these are selling at Is lOd. Bishop Grimes has been visiting the works at the Otira tunnel, and says that the workers generally are well satisfied with their treatment by the contractors. He expresses the opinion that whatever little trouble may exist at the tunnel works is due probably to the presence of agitators. The New Plymouth Harbor Board's new dredge Paritutu was to go on the Wellington patent slip last week for cleaning and paintings and to be prepared for her duties at th'e Taranaki port. The dredge is to come off the slip about Tuesday or Wednesday, and will leave Wellington about the end of the.week for New Plymouth. Mr. J. Grant, of Taiporohenui, returned from Sydney on Thursday, whither lie had been with a consignment of fourteen draught horses. Mr. Grant was over a couple of months ago with a lot, and he has space booked to take over twenty more (all draughts, including colts and mares) next month. He reports having found the market fairly satisfactory, but with a down-grade tendency. The Dominion correspondent of the Sydney Shipping List writes:—Vessels arriving in New Zealand from London are coming practically half emptv. The returns made up by the Statistical Department of New Zealand show that i the imports for the year ended December 1909 decreased from £17,232,422 in 1908 to £14,800,484 in 1009, a decrease of fully 4 per cent. The West of England service keeps up fairly well, but shippers are disappointed in the time taken by the vessels running in that line.

The Wellington papers are publishing a statement that some time ago a resident of Christchurch, who holds the commission of the. peace, was arrested for drunkenness. As he did not wish it to become known that he had been so charged he referred the matter to a member of Parliament, who, it is alleged, was successful in inducing the t police authorities to have his name altered on the charge sheet. Recently, however, the facts came within the knowledge of another Parliamentary representative, who brought the matter under the notice of the Justice Department, by whom the circumstances are now being considered. Speaking to a deputation of Maoris on Friday, the new Governor said: "I was among the very last of his subjects to see the late King Edward* and in that last but memorable conversation he laid special stress .on his admiration of the Maori race, and desired me to convey his appreciation of the great qualities he knew them to possess, and the splendid loyalty they have always displayed to his person and to the Crown of England. He went on to say how he had always watched and admired their career, and regarded them amongst the most loyal of all his native subjects throughout his wide Dominions. So this message it is mv sad privilege to convey to you to-day, and to ask you to pass it on to your fellow Maoris throughout the Dominion. I am sure that it will be cherished among the most precious remembrances throughout the whole of the Maorj race in New Zealand. In King George you have a Monarch who knows you personally, and has visited your land, and you cam feel assured that he will ever watch • over you and your interests—those interests which are now so inseparably bound up with those of the British community among whom you dwell."

Men's Suits.—Worsteds in particular, our reputation for carrying; the best in these is established. This season's are particularly liobby, are cut in the vert latest style, with hair-cloth fronts, good F"«nch canvas .put right through the coa», <m& verv good linings. They're branded The Prestwell." and you won't see their equal in New Zealand. Prices •25s to fi5s.—THE TCASH, Devon Street, New Plymouth.—Advf.

Mr. K. Jackson, of Stratford, purchased two heifers at the sale of Mr. R. Ban*Mister's Jersey stock at Palmerstoic Other Taranaki buyers were Messrs Clarke (of New Plymouth) and Corrigan (of Hawcra).

'Writes a correspondent to a contemporary:—"When a bank lends a man £IOO for three months, it pays the £IOO. in its own notes, and charges him £2 as interest for the loan. That is only one illustration of the way the banks make their proiits, and we find that, as a result of this, they are able to pay very large dividends to their shareholders or proprietors. Our Government sometimes borrows money from the banks, and it has to pay interest, just the same as do ordinary (business men. Of late, people in the Dominion and io Australia have been asking why the Government should not issue notes them* selves, instead of authorising the banks (which are ontly private trading companies) to do so, while they themselves have to pay interest for the notes they borrow." By way of retort, it is noted that the banks pay the State £2 per annum for every £IOO worth of noteß issued—but for that same note issue the banks charge the borrower £B.

The postal officials who deliver letters in the large centres of population lose, in the aggregate, a very great deal of .time owing to the delay that so frequently, occurs in obtaining a response to theil knocks at the front doors of residences, The Postal Department is about to at* tempt to minimise this difficulty. In accordance with instructions received, the postmaster at Dunedin has requested a carpentering firm to supply him with the price at which it would be prepared to make 'letter-holes in the front doors oft residences and fix thereon the usual plate. Circulars will then be sent to alt householders urging upon them the desirability of making letter-holes through which the letter carrier may put letters without delay, and pointing out that the work may be.done, by arrangement with the department, at the cost of 3fl or 4s. The postmen for a time will act as a kind of commercial traveller, and will submit to interested householders sample letter-box plates and prices. This endeavor to shorten the labor of lettercarriers is being made throughout NeTl Zealand.

Mr. Thomas A. 'Edison's newly-iuveht-er storage battery tramcar, which has < been used experimentally on the Twenty-eighth street cross-town line itt Kew York, has proved so successful that the company ordered sixteen more of the cars. The company say the expertmental car has demonstrated the efficiency of Mr. Edison's invention, which is the result of ten years' application to the problem of the storage battery. The car has run sixty-six miles a day for three weeks, with enough energy left in the car at the end of each day to work it twenty miles more. The cost of working has ibeen slightly less than a halfpenny a mile, which is below the estimate of Mr. Edison himself, who thought' the cost would approximate a penny a \ mile. The ordinary electric tramcar in New York, which is somewhat larger than the Edison car, costs 2V 2 d a mfie to Avork. Surface car and underground railway companies throughout America have been watching the New York experiments with great interest, tout a longer period of success will,be necessary before there is <a general demand for the storage battery" cars. Mr. Edison believes the greatest saving to be effected •by his invention will be in the working of underground railways. Mr. Ralph Beach, Mr. Edison's representative, says the present maintenance cost .of electric underground roads is £3OO a mile, which can be reduced to £2OO a mile by the use of the storage battery cars..