LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 91, 26 July 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The total takings at the Dominion! Daiiy Show at Hawera amounted toj £IO4O. The next Auckknd-Taranaki tennis match is set down for New Plymouth in! February next, tlhe third Saturday in' the month. I

The valuable Challenge Cup won by the North Taraimki Hunt Club's hounds at the Hawke's Bay Kennel Club's show a few weeks ago is now on view at Mr. J. Avery's premises.

The Hawera show dates have been altered to a day later to suit visitors from the north end of the line, so that the show will now be held on Wednesday and Thursday, 23rd and 24th November next.

There is a dangerous mud-liole on tlie Victoria road, where the traffic has broken clean through the metal. The bad portion of the road is that which was left by the Borough Council when metalling the road a year or two hack. Last Sunday was Children's Day in Queen Street Church. The Rev. S. Bailey delivered powerful addresses morning, afternoon and evening. It was a record day for attendance, and there was special singing by the children. Mr. Goldmg conducting, whilst Mr. W. Hosking was at the organ, and Miss Amy Ward presided at the piano.

A profitable deal in Southland sheep' lias just been mode. A line of one thousand four-tooth ewes was purchased two or three weeks ago by an eastern district resident for 14s each, sold within a week or so after purchase for an advance of 4s per head on the price given.

Mr. J. F. Jones, District Traffic Manager, has informed the Borough Council that the Railway Department will grant them a lease of portion of the land on the foreshore between Cntfield road and Belt road in order to allow of the esplanade being continued to the campingground. The Department is treating the Council very liberally, offering the land at a peppercorn rental. The re-assessment of lower Vogeltown properties has caused a flutter amongst' those people who have only recently erected houses on tlheir properties. Some ten or twelve property-owners are affected, and their valuations have been increased in some cases tenfold—the improvements now being taken into ac count. The revenue of the Hurwoith ridiinig will be correspondingly increased. A business man in the Okaiawa district expresses the opinion that sharemilking is a curse to business. In many instances the contracts are only yearly ones, the contractors run up accounts, and at the end of their term leave the district without settling up. This system and the system of short leases are a big drawback to the district. The lessees take all they possibly can out of the land and put as little as possible back. The result is obvious; but who will blame them? In the report of the last meeting of the Borough Council's executive committee a portion of a resolution dealing with the dispute between Or. Dockrill and Inspector Tippins was omitted. The: full resolution read: That the committee 1 is completely satisfied with the explana-! tion of Or. Dockrill with reference to' Inspector Tippins' complaint re the. bneach of by-la,ws by Mr. A. Hooker, at-1 tributing to Cr. Dockrill a statement which, in the opinion of the committee, he meveir made. " I A Bathurst (N.SW.) jeweller has invented a telephone which will automatically register the number of calls: the calls will be limited to three minutes each | and half a minute before the expiration of this period a warning (bell will ring to j enable the user to insert another penny in the slot should he desire to extend lite conversation. It is also claimed that the | telephone will automatically connect and disconnect subscribers, and that it is much more private than those at present in use. Negotiations are in progress with the Commonwealth Postmaster-General 1 for a trial of the invention. j The "'drunk" who, hlavin'g been released from the lock-up on bail, neglects to put in an appearance ait the Court when the charge of drunkenness is brought against him, is not treated' us leniently as the man who turns a sorrow,fid and suffering eye towards the Bench and pleads "Guilty, Sir." The latter, if a first offender, is convicted and discharged. The other, who escapes the publicity of an appearance, before the dispenser of justice, has to pay. Yesterday one of the bailed-out first offending fraternity was fined ss, in default 24 hours' imprisonment. j

At a meeting of the Park Lawn Tenni» and Croquet Club's Committee last evening, draft rules were adopted', based on the rules of the New Plymouth Club, for submission to a general meeting of members to be held in about a fortnight's time. The secretary reported that the contractor, Mr. A.. J. Cole, had commenced work oni the courts, and, that the membership was increasing. Members are to be circularised, asking for payment of subscriptions, in order to enable tlhe Club to meet engagements at the completion of the contract, and to provide for fencing and other necessary wtork,

Mr. M. Jones collected £ls last week for the widow of the unfortunate sailor i Larsen, who fell over the wharf and was' drowned at Moturoa. The case is a very, pathetic one, the unfortunate woman j J being left almost unprovided for, and! I with a family of children. Mr. Jones met with a ready response to the ap-l ! peal. Besides the ampunt collected, about ! £7 was subscribed by the wharf laborers, and a further sum from the crew of the Rimu. In all New Plymouth has eontrij buted about £25, and the money has been sent, we understand, to the secre-1 I tary of the Wanganui Hospital Board. 1 An effort to raise funds is being made I in Wanganui, where Mrs. Larsen resides. What hais become of the proposal to erect an agricultural hall in New Ply-i mioutli? At the time of the winter show I i't was very generally recognised that) , suoh a building is required df we are to! . have a proper winter show. It is sug-i I gested that the building should be placed | on the Agricultural' Society's freehold I j in St. Germain's Square, which is situi ated in the midst of the most densely! I populated portion of the borough, whilst 1 I a leading commercial man expresses the j opinion tfhat there should be no difficulty 1 in raisinig sufficient cash on debentures' to secure the success of the imdertak- • ' n o' Now is the time to move an the' , matter, whilst the discomforts of our I initial winter show 'are fresh in the jmemolry. | j A local business man who advertised ; a reward for the return of some lost property received a communication from | a country reader of the "News" eon-, j lit, and subsequently saw him there. It Was arranged that lie should I sent ithe property in to New Plymouth. I So thie owner paid out the ten shillings reward that had been offered. Next day a farmer brought in the missing property to the owner's business premises during the 'hitter's absence. His assistant remlarloed, "I suppose you want the reward." not knowing that one ilvad already hoop paid. The other answered in the affirmative, and the money was paid over. The worst part of it was that the 'article was worth no more than fifteen shillings, whilst the reward for its recovery amounted to twenty shillings.

Mr. Robertson, secretary to the Pos-' ta.l Department. in a speech at a "social" in Wellington last week, remarked flint, telegriapb messengers were statmatine in! the one position. and he oronosed to make a recommendation to the m!a<ster-Oeneral that they should he allowed to learn operating in their snare time. Tn the New Plymouth office there are lads who were en<rn<red as messengers. who learned onenatinsr. and are still receiving messengers' wasres, whilst doinrr 'Hw> work of cadets. Thav haw applied. wo are assured, for eadetsh,ip«. hut VTithout success. There is no doubt that; thefe is need for Mr. Robertson's scheme to do awav with the stagnation amo~i<r tine boys—a stflp-mt'on that should not ovist if the lion fa of departments were! intei-octinnr fj 10 we ]f<, n . p ' of the most iiTvouile otheir 1

Women's Christian Tonmprance —-file ir.nnt.hlv nioetino- of the W.C.T.r. will bp hnion We'lnooflpv next, in the Bnntht. Clmi-Pi, P t ?.sn n.m. •M<»nilv>rv nleisp notice thp ph<in<m fa the time—, 2.30 p.m.—to meet.—Advt.

Messrs. (Rennie and Co. have puroliiised the business of Mr. W. P. Snell, of Waitara.

It is estimated by the Labor Department that the cost of living has declined in Wellington. It is stated in the annual report that rents have declined 5 to 10 per cent., and that the .necessaries of life, generally, are below the prices that have ruled in recent years.

The necessity of taking care of sheepskins on the farm mav be gathered from the -fact, that at a Masterton sale some of the inferior skins only brought 1 i/.d per lb., while some of the fiirwt-elass skins reached <%d per lb. The driference in these prices to a farmer who disposes of any number of pelts during the year would mean a fairly substantia] cheque.

The New Plymouth Fire Board has written the Borough Council that its contribution for the year 11)10-11 has been assessed at £205 15s 4d, payable Quarterly. The estimated expenditure for the .year is £476, and as there was a credit balance of £lB 14s lOd at the end of the year just closed, the Board has to raise £457 5s 2d. Of this the amount payable by the Government is £45 6d, and the Borough Council and 'the insurance companies provide the remaining £4ll 10s 8d in equal shares.

A Christchurch syndicate has purchased the Presbyterian Church situated at the corner of Colombo and El-jin streets, Sydenham, and intend transforming the building into a pictures theatre. The steeple is to be removed and a new front will be built on to the Colombostreet frontage, which will be devoted to shops and offices. The main entrance to the theatre, as well as to the shops and offices, will be from Colombo-street. The internal alterations proposed include the erection of a circle and provision for orchestral stalls. When completed the theatre 'will have seating accommodation for between six hundred and seven hundred persons. Mrs. J. Smyth, wife of Dr. Smvth. Ph.D., Principal of the Teachers' Training College, Victoria, is at present paying a short visit to her brother, Mr. C. A. Strack, headmaster of Hawera District High 'School. Mrs. Smyth takes a keen interest in education systems, antf on Saturday she explained to the Hawera branch of the Wanganui Education Institute the system of training and of appointment and promotions of teachers adopted by the Victorian Government. His many friends will be pleased to hear that Dr. Smyth, formerly chief inspector of Wanganui 'Education District, is still as enthusiastic a 9 ever in his reforms of the* education system. 'His new book, "The Country Teacher," will shortly be published. The doctor has recently been appointed lecturer in mental science at the Melbourne 'University.—Star.

American papers just to hand, in their notes on the recent fight, contain the following item:—"A Los Angeles message reports that Jeffries may seek another match with Johnson. The latter replied that, if Jeffries were sincere, ne would gladly meet the ex-champion again. That Jeffries' pitiable showing against Johnson was due to some drug administered in a mysterious manner several hours before the battle is the opinion 'of Dr. McClanahan. Spectators of the fight who returned from Reno have also freely expressed the opinion that Jeffries was drugged before he entered the ring. Although nothing definite has yet been arranged, it is thought possible in some circles that Warren Barb.our, the amateur heavy-weight champion of the United States, may decide to make an effort to wrest the championship from Jack Johnson. Sporting critics hold the opinion that either A 1 Kautmann is the hope of -the Barbour or A 1 Kaufmarin is the hope of the whites."

A Maori chief of the Tainui tribe named Hanana Rihari died at Ngaruawahia on "20th April. The triibe arranged for burial in their ancestral ground at Raglan, but King Mahuta wished him to I be interred in the "Royal" cemetery at Taupiri Mountain. A compromise was suggested that the body be cut in two, 1 one half to be buried at Raglan and the ' other at Taupiri, but this was not api proved. After a long korero Mahuta osI tensibly yielded to Tainui's proposals but ' arranged to have the body removed sur- ( reptitiously and buried at Taupiri. The | Tainui chiefs disinterred the body, and , as a result they appeared in Court at ; Ngaruawahia changed with a breach of ; the Cemeteries Act. Mr. Loughnan, S.M.. ! decided that a breach of the Act had I been committed, and said the dead chief (wished to Jbe buried at Raglan, and it was only right that he should be buried with his ancestors. Defendants did not know they were breaking the law, an'l he considered that conviction was sufficient without punishment or costs.