LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 143, 26 September 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Might has already appeared in local potato crops. One of the newly-elected members of the Jolinsonville Town Board rejoices in the name of "O. Jerusalem!"

A death from an apparently simple cause occurred at Dargavillu lost week, when the son of Mr. V. Sefton, aged 12 years, died through the effects of a bruised knee, caused by an axe handle. A week after the accident blood-poisoning set in, and medical skill failed to combat its course.

A smart arrest was effected by Constable Flanagan on Saturday at Hawerd, when he took into custody a man named James John Lyttelton, who was "want-1 ed" at New Plymouth in March last for not having paid a fine. Prisoner was brought to New Plymouth by the 11 o'clock train. At Christchurch a dog has been temporarily blinded by pepper being thrown in its eyes. It appeared animal had done garden, and the owner had retaliated in the fashion indicated. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is looking into the case. ■Matters dm connection with the Eltham gasworks ore being pushed on. Tenders have been accepted for portion of the plant, fittings having been ordered and a contract let for the gasholder. It is worth noting that the contracts have been Pet at a figure below the engineer's estimates. —Argus. At the 'S.M. Court on Saturday morning a first offending inebriate was convicted and discharged. The Maori Te Roto Tokaiawa, who was to have appeared on remand on a charge of breaking and entering, was brought and remanded for a week, owing to there being no sitting of the Court today, Dominion Day. "But I was riding behind a man who nod a bright light on his bicycle," said a cyclist at the Dunedin Court who was charged with having ridden a bicycle without a light at night. "I consider," said Mr. Bailey, S.M., "that a cyclist behind another with a bright ligM is more dangerous than any other. A person approaching is blinded by the light and conl not see behind."

The Tongariro on Friday landed a motor charabanc with four transverse seats, to carry twenty adults. It has « canopy hood and solid rubber tyres, with double seta of tyres on the rear wheels. The car, which weighs 4 tons 6 cwt., was manufactured by Arrol Johnston, Paisley, 'Scotland. It is consigned to Mr. Newton King, to the order of tlhe Motor Transport Company. It arrived in New Plymouth last night. The working bee on the Park Tennis Courts on Saturday afternoon attracted five committeemen and one other male member, whilst eight ladies were present to attend to their wants. Spurred by the excellent attendance of the ladies, the "bee" did splendid work in planting trees, hedging and general earthwork. A capital afternoon tea was served. The ladies selected tlhe site for the clubhouse, near the Carirfngton Road fence, and between the tennis and croquet lawns. The following Druids from Mofcuroa Lodge will journey to Waitara to-mor-row evening to play Clifton Druids at cribbage and euchre, the 'bus leaving Ambury's cornier at a quarter to seven: Perrot, H. J. Gilbert, Arnold, Jos Sarvey, Beard, V. Holmes, G. King., Holmes, F. Horsup, Mines, F. Joseph, W. Yardley, E. Lee, C. Haskell, :S. Haskell, E. P. Lister, V. H. Beal, W. Liats, Cooper, W. Borne, G. Dickinson, A. Nisbett, G. Blanchard, W. Groombridge, L,, Wells and 0. Harvey. Mr. H. S. Bdydell writes to the Christchurch Press:—ln a cricket match at Kaiapoi on Saturday a local player named Merrk in three successive throws of from seventy to eighty yards, hit the wickets three times, getting one man "run out," and, as the other batsman put it, "gave me a couple of shocks." Can I any of your cricket readers beat this? In over fifty-five years' close interest in the game I have seen the wicket hit once or twice in a match, but never three times running from fairly long distances by the same man. Taranaki is not going to be behind in the field of aviation. A correspondent says that a youth has been making tests for the past three years with model aeroplanes, and these proving satisfactory he will proceed to build a fuilsized machine, the chief feature being tlhe total absence of a motor. The propellor of the aeroplane is worked by pedal-wheel, and the gearing makes it possible to get about 480 revolutions of the propellor, and this, considering the absence of engine weight, ought to prove very satisfactory and easy to operate. The three motor sledges which Captain Scott is taking with him to the South | Pole arrived in Wellington last week. They are in charge of Mr. B. C. Day. Motors were tried by Sir Ernest Shackleton during his late expedition, but while his experiences showed that the machines could work at the lowest temperature, the wheels would not support the sledges in the soft snows that are met with over a large part of the journey South. Captain Scott has therefore designed a special' form of tractor, with very broad wheels and other improvements. Instead of the ordinary car wheels there are fitted two chain wheels on the powerdriven rear axle, and these drive an endless chain, which carry patterns and studs that grip the snow or ice, and by the motion of the chain urge the tractor.forward. This tractor will partly take the place of the dogs and ponies in hauling the loads. Captain Scott has not been content merely to devise these tractors; hte has had them tried experimentally. Two years ago he made experiments with one in the Alps, and last year he put the invention to a severe test in Norway. The trials have been highly satisfactory. Petrol will supply the motor power, and each of the three sledges will have a capacity of two tons —one ton for fuel and one for food. Discussing the advantages of motor-carriage, if it* is found to succeed, Captain Scott recently observed rather grimly that while it would require much less food for the amount of work done by a pony or a dog, and when idle need not be fed at all, a disadvantage was that you could not eat it when it ihad finished its work. Many of those most deeply interested in this undertaking look forward to the improved motor-sledge, or tractor, as perhaps the most hopeful feature iln the arrangements. "To the Pole by motor" sounds quite up-to-date. Members of the Equitable Building Society of New Plymouth (First and Second Groups) are notified that subscriptions will be due and parable to day (Monday), at the Secretary's Office, Ou/rrie street, from 0 a.m. to 12.30, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.— Advt. F

TRAVELLING IS A PLEASURE When you have checked your baggage through us. You have no bother at all. We do all the work, collecting the baggage, checking it on, and delivering at other end by the time you are there. —Alew Zealand jU(um* Company,

rn ■■»./, .;■■;; "v _ —r* ; .■-,• Lord Straibhoona was on July 81 in* formed by ,6he Minister for the Interior at Ottawa that, during the past five years, £121,000,000 worth of British capi tol has been invested in Canada.

A local person is indulging in the unpleasant pastime of writing anonymous letters to citizens. The letters are not in the best of taste, and are apparently intendied to annoy. Unless the anonymous person desists from the practice, it is possible that moans will be taken to ensure #he discontinuance of this absurd and harmful form of spite. Mr. G. V. Penrce, M.P., is making an effort to get the question of route in connection with the proposed Opunake railway determined, and he has submitted the following, question to Sir Joseph Ward—ln view of the fact that the Premier in his list of proposed railways included three alternate routes for t)he railway from Opunake to the main line, will the Premier set up a commission of three, two commercial experts and on* engineering expert, to take evidence in the district, and decide where the best route for the line would be from a commercial, as well as from an engineering, point of view, with the object, of allowing the local bodies to raise the money to construct the line, if the Government will not undertake the construction! A local -medico toimects the prevailing epidemic, of, influenza with the comet His theory is thftt in passing through the tail of the comet the atmosphere of the earth absorbed gases of an obnoxious nature, which, though their presence was not noticed at the time, have *rnce manifested themselves, causing trouble to the respiratory organs and producing the type of illness that has been so prevalent during the last few months, not only in New Zealand, but throughout the world. He points out that the present form of influenza differs very greatly in character from any previous visit*/tion of the kind. It is more virulent in its effect, more pertinateious, difflcul* to shake off, and likely to recur, whilst remedies and treatment that previously proved efficacious are of little or no avail. •

A recent surgical case at the Nelson Hospital presents some remarkable features. About a fortnight ago a 'boy infant, ten months old, whose parents reside at Oroixelles, was taken to the Nelson Hospital, and the surgeon, Dr. Johnson, was informed that the child had swallowed a pocket-knife. The thing seemed hardly possible, especially as the child showed no bad symptoms, and three days had elapsed since lap, accident. Owing to bad weather it-was not possible to 'bring in the, earlier, Oroixelles being remote and the means of communication with Nelson tjicertain. Examination by means of the 3|rays revealed the knife lying paromLto the spine in the region of the stomem. Three examinations were eachSUiowihg ttue knife in the same positiprand ft was eivdemt that it had jhwome fixed. An operation was performed, and an ordinary pocket-knife, two and a-half inches in length was taken from the intestine in a position behind the stomach, the Jcnife having passed through the stomach The Colonist states that the child is making a remarkably good recovery.

Among the returning Wellingtomans who arrived by the Moana recently vnu» Mr. John Domenech. He belongs to the city of Barcelona, in Spain, "where the nuts* come "from," but in the rudely-dia-turbed state of the country he found that there was a new species of nut that one had to be very wary ,of. Bombthrowing had grown into a habit "I tell you this," said Mr. Domenech, "it is so common that no one takes much notice of the bomb outrage, except those who are blown into the next world or lose bits of themselves. I was walking down a street one day, when I heard an explosion. I kept out of the way, but saw in the paper next day that two men had been killed by tlfe bomb. They just leave these things in a man's office, tuned to go off when he is likely to be there, ft is all bad, but what can they dot" The merchant and the better class people only shrug their shoulders and light another cigarette." Mt. Domenech said the bomb-throwing, was not to be attributed to the Anarchists or Socialists. Behind it all, he said, was the great struggle for supremacy between Church and State.

Writing to the Timaru Herald on ti» subject of his resignation from the charge of the local Presbyterian Church, the Rev. J. H. G. Chappie remarks: — "Now that tlhe heat of controversy to over, it is easier to see things in the mellowed light and the safter tones. The wrench baa 'been hard. . . . With some vairation it is 'Robert Elsmere' over again. If this letter should be read: by any member of the Presbytery they will kindly remember that I bear' nomalice; I wish to meet them all with a good square look and hearty hand-shake. Six weeks' mental pain and distress, with sleepless nights, through .the indignity of the whole thing, is not conducive to the choice of elegant words and phrases. To feel strongly and write mildly is an art I have never cultivated. Evidence is reaching me from all sides that it has made South Canterbury think. Even if

this has happened life has not been altogether vain. The most stubbornly orthodox must be subject to a flash of reason now and again. . . . The future is being asked from me on all sides. It is indefinite. I have a message—« modern message, a wider view and a newer vision —if God opens up the way it must be delivered."