LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 157, 12 October 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Yesterday the Sydney branch of the Lomson Despatch Company completed the erection of a "wire" cash carrier sys tern for Messrs. White and Sons.

The ages of seven old-timers in a vehicle that attended the funeral of a pioneer miner at Westport totalled 54!)M> years, an average of 78 years per man, the respective aiges being 70, 76, 73, 80, 81%, 83, and 80.

The newly-formed company of Defence Cadets at the New Plymouth High School will hold their first muster to-day, when there will be a "field day" for the boys, the work including marching, outpost duty, skirmishing, defence and attack.

"What is the cow for?" asked the Toowoomba (Queensland) Chronicle. The Hughenden Observer answers quaintly: "Well, from our experience in Hughenden, the cow is chiefly used to furnish an approbrious epithet for other animals—including humans."

At the special meeting of the Borough Council yesterday afternoon a letter from Messrs. Govett and Quilliam, the borough solicitors, was read in reference to the amendments made in tht local leasing Bill now before Parliament, and suggesting what action might be taken to have the Bill further amended. The Mayor, however, saw no reason to cavil at the amendments made by the Local Bills Committee, and the Council followed his lead.

According to the Minister for Marine (the Hon. J. A. Millar) oil is likely to be .extensively used as a motive power fon steamers on the New Zealand coast before long, and its use will affect the employment of firemen. Mr. Millar informed a deputation of seamen on Monday at Wellington that companies were standing off till the permanence of the Taranaki oilfields was proved, and once that was established they would equip their ships to use it. The number of Bremen who would be employed would thus be reduced.

The Western Park is the only borough reserve vested in the corporation as°a reserve for public recreation, and therefore qualified to receive half of the revenue derivable from the lands proposed to be leased under the New Plymouth Recreation and Racecourse Reserve Amendment Bill now before the House. The Fort Niger reserve is an ordinary endowment, held in trust for public utility. The Mount Bryan reserve is vested in, the Council as a Domain Board under the Domains Act of 1881, and Marsland Hill is vested in them as the Marsland Hill Domain Board. Half tke revenue goes to the Recreation Grounds, and the Western Park must have the remainder, unless the Council decides to purchase other lands for recreation purposes, such as the extension of the esplanades and so on.

At the Magistrate's Court yesterday Mr. H. S. Fitzherbert, S.M., presiding, judgment was given in each of the following eases:—A.B.C. Boot and Shot. Company (Mr. Wright) v. James Barlow, claim £2 17s Gd (costs 12s); samt v. A. H. Martin, £1 19s 9d (ss). In the judgment summons ease of L. D. Nathan and Co. (Mr. C. H. Weston) v! F. Gilmour, the debtor failed to appear. He was ordered to pay the debt, £2 Is, within seven days, in default seven days' imprisonment. Robert Wright, against whom the Collier and Colonial Piano Company (Mr. Cecil Wright) sought a judgment order in respect to a debt of £7 3s, admitted that since judg ment was given against him for the account in March, 1909, he had received £l5O in cash from the sale of a property. He was ordered to pay the amount within seven days, with the alternative of seven days' imprisonment. "The New Idea" for October strikes us as being specially suitable for mothers, as a number of the leading articles and stories bear on the question of the growing child. But the magazine is just as strong as usual in its other features mid no member of the sex from the schoolgirl (who is taught how to play tennis) to the grandmother (win. is advised how to preserve her good looks) can complain of any neglect. Special mention should perhaps be made of a most delightful article by Dr. Fitchett, entitled " The Lady with the Lamp." and which is published in memory of the late Florence Nightingale. Among other high-class articles are "Flying as a Sport for Women," "How Society is Entertained at Cowes," "Some Australian Song Writers" and the first of a series of articles on the circus, entitled "A Fool and His Money." Then there are the usual practical articles, and a fine array of bright, wholesome fiction.

It is understood, says a southern exchange, that the Westport coal miners have entered into a working agreement with the company for two years. An Auckland auctioneer sold, says the Star, 35.0't!i) shares in the Imperial Cold .Mining Company which were forfeited for non-payment of the call. The price realised for the lot was l'.)s (id. "If all the material comes to hand November will lie an exceedingly busy month,'' stale-, th: (!i-):c:;:e borough engineer. Th.- ..uaiahi tramline, sewerage reticulation, road construction, and botanical gardens are some of the works that will be in hand. The who;e of Auckland Island, 3(H) miles to the south of the J3lull', is open for *i lection on the pastoral system. There are i.vt. runs, one of 3S,(Km'aeivs, and the other of 75,0U0 acres. Enderby 'lsland, of the same group, 1<I!I3 acres in extent, is also available on the same system. "VolUte," a new powder invented by A. T. Finli, of Auckland, for dectroplating, is being used in that city by nefarious individuals for converting sixpences into half-sovereigns and pennies into tlorins, and passing them olf on to the public. It is reported that quite a number of tradespeople, newsboys, tram conductors .etc., have been victimised by this means lately ,and that the imitation "gilding" and "silvering" in each case has been so remarkably good that the bank tellers in the banks have been warned to be careful in passing both gold and silver coins. A warning to Hawke's Bay people was uttered by Archdeacon Walsh in a lecture at the Auckland Institute on the effects of deforestation in the Dominion. The great Hoods which swept the distract in 1893, he said, had their origin in the destruction of the bush, which had since been pushed on to a much greater extent. In the future there must be other floods, greater and more destructive. J'f Napier people did not foresee these floods, and provide readier egress from the lagoon into which several rivers empty themselves, either the northern part of the town would be inundated, or the harbor works at the Spit would be carried away. The tenders which are being, called for the erection of three seven-storey warehouses for Messrs. Arthur Yates and Co., the well-known seedsmen, mark (says the Star) an epoch in the history of building in Auckland. In the construction of these buildings the method which is universal in America in erecting famous sky-scrapers will be em ployed for the first time in Auckland. In this method the steel girders and , stanchions are the main supports, and the walls, technically called "curtain walls," are simply shells compared to the ordinary walls, the whole of tin weight being taken by the girdeTS and stanchions. In fact, the filling in of the walls in brick, or other material, is often begun from the top, instead of the bottom, as is the case where the walls support the structure as it 'rises. The construction is of steel, protected with coni crete, and curtain walls of brick. All the floors will be fire-proof, and the roof is to be flat, giving a large useful surface, which will be used by the firm for many of the purposes of a yard. The three frontages, bold, but plain, will consist mainly of glass, to admit the maximum amount of light. It is expected that the cost will run into some £15,000. Mr. T. W. May is the architect.