LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 141, 23 September 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

"The best Mayor we have ever had in New Plymouth."—A tribute to Mr. Tisch at last night's meeting by the Rev. S. S. Osborne.

It is reported that a warrant has been issued for the arrest of a Waitara professional man who is supposed to have gone to Sydney. The charge is one of misappropriation of funds.

Captain C. T. Mills, commander of the Taranaki Guards, has been ordered under arrest, and is suspended from all military duty, including target practice, until his case is disposed of. The cause for arrest seems to be that he has failed to furnish a satisfactory reason for'ne«lect to attend a battalion parade hefd on the 22nd of last month, and that he was again absent from parade on the 19th instant.

Mr. H. Baily, manager of the Co-oper-ative Transport Company,' proceeded to Wellington yesterday morning by the mail train to take delivery of the new and more powerful motor vehicle which the company have obtained from England for the Opunake service, and which is aboard the Tongariro that arrived yesterday. He was accompanied by Mr. btinson, motor expert, and it is their intention to drive the machine through from Wellington. *°

. At the Police Court yesterday morning James Wallach was charged with having been helplessly drunk at Opunake The accused, who had been on remand and under medical treatment in the New Plymouth prison for a week, was convicted and discharged, and orio e l *? pay ex P ense s amounting to M (ss, in default one week's imprisonment. r

As the outcome of the many complaints recently concerning horses and cattle straying on the roads in the Omata district, the county foreman has been performing the unpleasant duties of ranger. Yesterday morning John F. Hooker was charged upon the information of the ranger with having allowed five horses to stray on the Beach road, Omata, in the County of Taranaki. Mr. J. H. QuiUiam appeared for the prosecuting County Council, and said that as this was th* first case in the locality the Council did not press for a heavy penalty. But they were determined to put down the practice of carriers ana others who turned their horses on to the "long paddock," thus saving grazing fees. He did not suggest that this defendant was in. the habit of doing this, but it was a common practice, and a very dangerous one. The defendant admitted the offence, but explained that he grazed his horses on a farm at Omata, But sometimes they got on to a neighbouring property, and the owner of that turned them on to the road. He never turned his horses out on to the road, nor did he want to get this cheap grazing. The Magistrate inflicted a fine of 5s withput costs, except the payment el ths solicitor's ftt of aue guinea, ~„,

One io'ertl hotel intends to reduce the price of beer to 4d a pint. A half-pfat will cost 3d.

The Government has informed Mr. Okev. M.P., that it has not yet considered the question of inviting Mr. G. D. Henry, oil expert, of London, to report on the prospects of the oil industry ol New Zealand.

A candidate for the Opiinafce Town Board having announced himself as a progressive, a "woman elector" writes to the Opunake Times asking why if he is genuinely progressive he does not get married.

Information obtained from the M;?anee Mission on Moiuhiy (says the Nap er Daily Telegraph) shows that llal'.ey's comet is now behind the sun airl is entirely invisible. It will not he seen agaiii by dwellers on this eartn for about 75 years.

A favorable reeommeinlntion ha--, bv.en made to tfo? Government, by the f'iihli:' Petitions Committee on the prayer i>f Michael Quirke, aged 70, for a compassionate allowance on account of the death of his son, who was fatally shot while searching for the escaped prisoner) Powelka.

The North Canterbury Farmers' UrJfrm has resolved that the executive should approach the Minister of Education to have included in the public school syllabus provision for the teaching of practical agriculture in the fourth, fifth and sixth standards. Gisborne is not likely to be far behind the rest of New Zealand in the matter of aerial developments. Two young men (says the Poverty Bay Herald) have imported one of Wright Bros.' aeroplanes from England. It is expected to have the parts assembled in about three weeks' time, when a test will be made. At last night's gathering in the Theatre Royal the Rev. S. S. Osborne, in moving the customary compliment to the chairman, regretted that the Mayor of New Plymouth had no chair of office to distinguish him from "the common herd." He hoped the matter would be taken up, and promised a guinea towards the purchase of a Mayoral chair.

The intimation just reecived by cable that there has been a great shortage in the production of jute this year, does not make good reading. Jute; which is grown in India, and is obtained from the bark of a species of plant belonging to the lime-tree order, is employed in the manufacture of many fabrics. In 1901-2 India exported 14,755,J55c\vt. of raw jute, valued at £7,864,848. Wool-packs are made of this material, so that thei'e will be an increase in the cost of these articles very shortly. Replying to Mr. Hanan's suggestion that daylight saving hours should be aJoptcd in Government offices, the Prime Minister states: The Government are fully aware of the advantage that would be derived by the clerical staffs of the Government Departments through an earlier attendance during the summer season, but the public who transact business with Government departments must be considered. It would therefore be undesirable in most departments to alter the office hours, unless the system of starting an hour earlier in summer were adopted by the business public generally. I favor the reform, and will be glad to assist in furthering it. The shaft of sarcasm was delightfully veiled by the Hon. 0. Samuel last night when he was referring to what he termed the tendency of elected members of public bodies to imagine themselves experts in the business or profession in connection with the administration of which they happen to be connected for the time. "Every member of a borough council," he said, "and every member of a road board, imagines somehow, on the day after his election, that he is an engineer." The audience roared, and the speaker went on. He had often been astonished, he said, when he met men of this kind. Friends of his, decent men enough, whom he had always considered knew no more than he did, had, he was astonished to find, been experts all the time, but he only found it out after their elevation to public positions, and then he discovered that they knew more than .lie did, knew more than the men whom he had always looked up to as men of standing in that particular calling, and far more about things than men whose business it was to know.

The Egmont Lodge, I.ChG.T., held their anniversary last evening in St. Mary's Hall. The function took the form of an "at home," and the hall was most tastefully decorated for the occasions, curtains and evergreens being the predominating decorations. There was a fair attendance, and a most enjoyable evening was spent. Bro. J. C. Legg, who presided, read an apology from Mr. T. E. Taylor, M.P. A short review of the history of the lodge was read, showing the satisfactory progress mode by the Order. An excellent musical programme was submitted as follows: New Plymouth Orchestral Union (3 items); songs <by Misses Blake, Reay, Guildford, and Messrs. Rich, Asher, and G. H. White; duet by Misses. Gilbert and Mr. and Mrs. G. H. White; piano duet, Misses Smith; violin solo, Miss Dowling; recitation, Miss White; character sketch, Mr. Milton Scott; address, Mr. J. ('. Legg. An elaborate supper was provided and done full justice to.

At the annual supper of the Melbourne Medical Association, Dr. H. M. Hewlett, in delivering the retiring president's address, said Australia appeared to have a more unenviable reputation for fostering evils and abuses of quackery than any other part of the world. TEe increased mortality which was due to that cause was enormous. It was a crying evil, which the State looked on complacently, allowing cancer "cures" and consumptive "cures" to be foisted on an ignorant public. Tlie only means of dealing with quackery was legislation. Every preparation for the prevention or cure of a human ailment should have a formula on the label, and no recommendation, testimonial, certificate or declaration of merit should be permitted. The aid of the postal authorities should be sought to prevent the transmission of advertisements and circulars dealing with quack preparations. In that way Australia would be copying legislation of enlightened and advanced Continental nations.

At the time of the Powelka sittings of the iSupreme Court in Palmerston North a man named William Worthington, who was said to be dying of consumption, was found guilty of theft in defrauding a woman at Dannevirke. He conducted his case with ability, and pleaded persuasively, and was sentenced to imprisonment for 10 days, as his Honor, Mr. Justice Cooper, "could not make an order against a dying man." He was placed in the Palmerston North Sanatorium, and after a short and pleasant stay went out into the world again. Mr. Worthington, or as •he should be called, Mr. Green, went north, and got to work at once, exploiting some land agents as one "Wilson" He was again arrested, and unfortunately for him came before Mr. Justice Cooper again, anl got her desserts, receiving a sentence of two years' hard labor. If he tow*-out; the sentence and comes before the Court again, he will be declared an habitual criminal.