LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 107, 13 August 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

On Monday the local Post Office will bring into use the new combined telegraph form and envelope which is being introduced throughout the Dominion. "A member of Parliament has to make sacrifices for his constituents, and to make a great many sacrifices, tt he doesn't, he loses his seat, and that's all about it."—Mr. Major at the School Commissioners' meeting. There was a large attendance last night at the cadet officers' School of Instruction. Major Bellringer dealt with the disposition and command of the corps oi a battalion as the centre unit of a brigade in a frontal attack.

i Mahomed Ali, who abdicated the 1 throne of Persia last year on behalf of i his son, Ahmed Mirza, and who is living t in Odessa, in a villa placed at 'his disposal by the Russian Government, has taken up the study of medicine. He is particularly interested in surgery—of course! A meeting of shareholders in the 1 Equitable Building Society was held in 1 the Town Hall last night, Mr. F. P. 7 Corkill in the chair. An appropriation [ of £3OO in No. 1 group was iballotted 5 for, the successful shareholder being Mr. r Alexander Davidson. An appropriation ' of £3OO in No. 2 group was disposed of |. by tender and realised £2O. [ The Stratford Post reports that Mr. , McCluggage received the loiiowing wire \ yesterday morning from the Minister . for Public Works in reply to the re*ulution passed at Whangamomona last \ week: "Government has authorised the . expenditure of £9OOO in the completion , of the Tangarakau Gorge Road, and the [ work will be put in hand soon." [ Theatrical circles in America have i been astonished iby the announcement i from Cincinatti, Ohio, that the Poster i {Printers' Association had decided not to i print any more posters in which ladies i are depicted wearing tights. This step : is believed' to be the! commencement of a . purity campaign which will result in the total extinction of vulgar or suggestive ! posters. The School C6mimissioners' Board is having considerable difficulty with regard to its insurances. The Board's 1 standard lease contains a proviso, de-j spite the fact that the improvements; axe the property of the tenant, that the' insurances are to be effected in the name' 1 of the 'Board. The Government lending 1 department, however, are refusing to ■ lend money to these lessees unless the 1 insurances are effected in the names of 1 the departments. 1 Pending the erection of a refinery, or 1 the establishment 6f Mr. Garter's wire- ' less telegraph station on the top of Paritutu, it is suggested that the Taranaiki Petroleum Company enter into the patent medicine business. Yesterday the company received a letter from a gentleman in the AucKland district, who,! acting on the advice of his physician, 1 applied to purchase a small quantity of, the crude petroleum to be matte into pills for the treatment of. bronchitis. The physic will be sent. At Opunake the other day, Mr. H. S. Fitzherbert, S.M., adivsed a.litigant tßat in dealing it was wise to trust no one, but to obtain tickets on delivery of j goods, and receipts for payment of ] > monies. Other magistrates have from time to time advised upon the value of; receipts, and the unwisdom of throwing them away, even if-they are of ancient date. A settler in Normanby, many years ago, obtained a receipt from a neighbour for half cost of erecting a ' boundary fence between the two. Now : the line of fence is found to be quite in- ■ correct, and settler No. 2 is endeavour- [ ing to have the fence, placed on the right line. That receipt, 37 years old, is still in existence, and it has a very importtant bearing upon the negotiations. ! Sir Joseph Ward wears many expree- . sions, says a writer in the Evening Post, but the list does not include worry.

No political storm can cloud his brow with care. He can foe roused to some show of wrath, and' indignation can! make him talk loudly, arid even thump hia desk, but he declines to ever look abashed. The leader of the Opposition and his lieutenant, Mr. James Allen, can arrange a pretty forward rush. They can dribble half a tori of nicely-bound books upon Sir Joseph and look expectantly for bewilderment, flurry, fluster, worry. By all the laws of Nature, perj 'haps, they should have their man looking troubled for the moment, but he forgets to wear the look required. "You're too subtle," a disappointed Oppositionist exclaimed at one of these times. Sir Joseph can look very alert, with his wits as sharp about him as the pointed ends of his moustache. At these times he usually has his hat off, and he may affect to Ibe interested in the piles of papers that litter his desk, but he is missing nothing that an opponent is saying. He can also look .bored, very bored. At these times he sometimes wears a hat. He extinguishes his interest with a black bowler. He does not run to a top-hat or cap in the House. It is the bowler or nothing. If a strariger peeps in and sees the bowler on he may as well depart at once. It is a sign that there is nothing to do. Is it really worn as a signal for other Ministers and! Government meinbera who may wish to go into the lobbj for a smoke?

The Bevt John Nixon will resume Ma ministry to-morrow in Queen Street Church. Morning at II a.m.; subject "Eternal Life," evening rat 7 pm.J subject "Christianity and Pessimism." All seats free.—Advt.

It is reported that a now daily paper is to be started- in Hastings by a local j syndicate. It is reported that Kaupokonui factory has decided to dispose of this year's outjv.»t upon consignment, with recourse, iu .'.i-.:n Messrs. Lonsdale and Co. T.ie Wellington City Council has decided not to renew the engagement of A. E, Bertling as superintendent of the zoological gardens. Applications lor the position will be advertised for in the principal Australian and New Zealand papers.

Mr. H. Okey, M.P., has received a letter from the Sir J. G. Ward, stating that an additional letter box will be erected at the corner of. Devon and Liardet Streets, and that inquiries are 'being made whether other boxes can be erected with advantage. It is understood that over eight thousand signatures were obtained in Christchurch to the petition to Parliament, asking that the abolition of the totalisator and the abolition of the bookmaker should be put as one issue. The total signatures to the petition from: all parts of the Dominion is estimated at forty thousand. A Hokitika telegram states that a special, meeting of shareholders in the Ross Goldfields Company will be held in Wellington shortly to put forward a proposal to raise £15,000 to carry on operations. A later message states that owing to a failure in the electrical power at the mine it has become flooded, and it will take some time to pump the water out. The directors are considering the situation.

At Inglewood yesterday Mr. G. T. Murray, district Toads engme'er, sat as a commissioner to enquire into the control of the Waipuku bridge, as between the Taranaki and Stratford County Councils. The Stratford Council was represented by Messrs. O. A. Marchant (chairman) and E. C. Robinson (engineer), and [Taranaki Council by Messrs. J. Brown (chairman), R. Ellis (clerk) and J. H. Quilliam (solicitor). Evidence was taken, and the commissioner intimated he would forward his finding to the proper quarter. Practically every vessel which arrives from overseas brings some new electrical contrivance for the Wellington City Council. The electric lighting department's showroom in Manners street is well worth a visit (states th,e 'New Zealand Times), all sorts of novelties being on view, from an electric cigar lighting machine to a large oven similar in construction to a gas cooker. The latest innovation is an electric coffee percolator. This will operate on either/ direct or alternating current circuits. Water is Heated in the lower portion of the apparatus, and finely-ground coffee is placed in a glass bowl at the top. When the water boils it is forced up into the coffee bowl, and the beverage is ready for use. It is strained through very fine wire gauze, and comes out of the urn perfectly free of grounds. Coffee can be had in ten or twelve minutes after the electricity is switched on. In a few days' time electric foot-warmers will be on sale. It is expected there will .be a great run on these. Electric bedwarmers can now be procured.