LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 197, 29 November 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A number of Waihi miners have left for Western Australia in connection with the Bullfinch rush. As showing the improvement to the harbor the Corinna was able to leave port at almost low water yesterday drawing 10ft 3in. of water aft. The curator of the hatcheries reported to the Acclimatisation Society down South that one eel caught in the Mataura was found to contain three ducklings in its .stomach and another was found to have consumed a goldfinch. Among the events wt the forthcoming show of the Otago Central A. and P. Association at Omakau is a rabbiters' race.) The prize as two dozen rabbit traps. Competitors have to set five traps every five, yards, and when setting is completed return to starting point. Mr. C. Hoskin, Bell Block, has purchased a pedigree yearling Shorthorn bull, from the famous milking herd of Mr. A. Chamberlain, Ellesmere, Canterbury. He is by the imported bull "Charming Count," and should prove an acquisition to Mr, Hoskin's dairy. In connection with cinematograph entertainments a censorship established in America is eliminating undesirable films. Its certificate is regarded as being of business value, an evidence of good standing and respectability, and this system of control will probably find its way to other countries.

The Maoris are predicting a hot and dry summer. The cabbage palms have flowered very heavily this year, and there is also an abundance of flax blossoms in various parts of the district. Both these circumstances are regarded by the natives as evidences of coming heat and a, scarcity of rain* Says the Wairarapa, Age:—"Judging from the paragraphs which have appeared in the newspaper press of New Zealand since the Melbourne Cup was run, it would appear that fuDy one hundred prizes, representing approximately £IOO,OGO, has been won by people ot the anti-gambling Dominion in Tattersail's sweeps." In the trail of the gale! Among those who suffered as the result of the heavy weather of April last was the Taranaki Petroleum Company, Ltd., in whose annual balance-sheet (just issued) we notice the sum of £l3l 3s lid set down to cover the loss therefrom. Incident ally, it may be mentioned, the loss bj fire during the year was £7B 15s 6d. As published in yesterday's News, the champion cow in the Hawera Show but-ter-fat competition belonged to Messrs. Ambury and Nowell. . They are young fellows who started milking only last year, and their win is very creditable. They also got a second in springers. Mr. Joe Ambury, of the partnership, is a son of Mr. Walter Ambury, of this town.

It is not often that business debts are paid after an interval of twentyseven years. One such case has just occurred "within our knowledge, says the Dunedin Star, where people who gave up business in Dunedin in the early eighties, and removed from New Zealand, sent payment in full to an ancient creditor, whose books had in the meantime been destroyed. The further the Paritutu dredges down at the harbor the greater are the quantities of oil that are disturbed, and while the buckets are in motion oil is seen oozing up. The contents of the hopper of the dredge are covered with rich iireen colored oil, 1 and' the surface of the water alongside also looks as though a drum of oil had been poured over the side. In view of the accident at Te Henui on Saturday it has been suggested that a lifeline should be available at the bathing shed on all occasions. Such a line would be inexpensive, and perhaps youths and others of a mischievous nature might be taught to respect it and only remove it when occasion warranted it. But past experience leads to a different conclusion.

His Worship the Mayor (Mr. G. Tisch) is in receipt of a letter from His Excellency the Governor who expresses regret at his inability to accept the invitation of the Council to pay an official visit to New Plymouth on 14th or 15th December owing to previous engagements for that date. His Excellency hopes, however,, to have the pleasure of visiting the town on some future occasion.

A Tory colonel, who, recovering from a motor accident which had affected his head and being allowed to read the papers again, suddenly asked his daughter: "Do you mean to say King Edward is dead?" When he had overcome his surprise and sorrow, he asked: "Who is King, now?" "George, father," was the reply. "What!" he cried, "that blessed little Welsh solicitor?" The Chancellor himself tells the yarn.

Copy of an Order-in-Council, dated 7th November and signed by His Excellency the Governor exempting High street (from Molesworth street to Gill street) and portion of Gill street (abutting on the southern side of St. Germain's Square) from the provisions of section 117 of the Public Works Act, 1908, has been received by the town clerk. Now the Agricultural Society can proceed with the subdivision for leasing purposes.

Quaint was the description of the'country teacher's residence given to the I Buard of Education in Timaru. A week or two ago it consisted of six rooms, but in order to qualify for improvements under the wonderful scheme of a strangelyworked Department, it was reduced to five rooms. "Rooms!" ejaculated one member, "you can't call them rooms. The place is something like a rabbit hutch. You have to shut one door to open another. Four or five of them have been placed within a few feet of each other. How the family can live there I don't know." Another member termed the house a collection of lean-to's. Evidence that the Show to be held in the glad summer time is not far off was not wanting in town even yesterday. At intervals lorry loads of stuff that makes for merry-go-rounds or "ocean waves," passed up Devon street en route to the Society's grounds; a circus "professor" whose chief aim in life is to make performing animals put shekels into Ms pocket strolled quietly round in anticipation of the fun he would provide for the youngsters on Wednesday and Thursday; and in a side street an itinerant camera man improved the shining hour by ,taJdng .photos "while you wait."

A visitor to Palmerston from Australia remarked recently on the oppressive heat of a day or two ago. His opinion was that heat of that character is much more enervating than in Australia. He says the glass over there sometimes goes up to 130 (this is not exactly shade temperature) and is not felt any more than when it is only between 70 and 80 in this Domanion. A lady, now a resident of Palmerston, who has probably been further inland in Australia, riding on a camel's back, than any other white woman, says she felt the heat in Palmerston last summer much more than in , .the hottest part of Australia.—Standard. •!,,:'.■ ,i_

At the annual meeting.of the NeW Zealand Amateur Athletic Association, held last night, the next New Zealand championship meeting was allotted to the Canterbury centre. The Minister in charge of the Geological Survey Department is being asked by Mr. Bine, M.P., whether he will authorise an extension of the survey now being undertaken in a portion of tile Taranaki district, so as to include the country south of Inglewood as far as Stratford and inland to Whangamomona, as there are considerable indications of oil-gases in that locality. There was remarkably close calculation in the weight-guessing competition at the Egmont Show. W. Appleby (Hawera) gave the exact weight of the cow, 022 1 /glbs., and secured first prize. \Y. G. Marson. (Normanby) and A. K. Death (Hawera) each gave SOSlbs as the weight of the sheep, which turned the scale at 302'/»lbs. The weight of the pig -was ll)21bs, and J. L. Campbell (Inaha) was nearest with 191%Lbs. A somewhat novel competition in the shape of an eel-fishing tourney is occasionally held by the Nelson Anglers' Club. One of them took place this week, when (reports the Mail) the six competitors caught the large number of 106 eels between 7 and 9 o'clock in the evening. The winner's tally nearly ran into three figures, 87 being captured by him, which number would have been considerably augmented had escapees from the landing stage been taken into account. The next two catches comprised lots of 48 and 15 eels.

According to Dr. Te Rangihiroa, it U no easy task to collect reliable census statistics from the Maoris. The gatherer of statistics requires to be a man of infinite patience, with, a nose for a Maori joke. Errors arise from two causes, over-conscientiousness on the part of the Natives, and levity on their part. Some Natives have huts in several villages, and their friends in each village are fond of including their names on the return. The return also is apt to be swelled with the. names of dogs and cattle, for some of the Maoris view census-taking as a joke, and think it excellent fun to have their animals numbered as human beings. Alluding to charge 3 against Mr.. Symes, which the Hine Committee finds was ''not established," and which concerns the Stratford Post, the Post says: "That this matter was included as a 'charge' by the member for Stratford was, to say the least, surprising, and we can only characterise his action a& unwarranted interference in this journal's private business. Had he taken the wiser and certainly more courteous course of consulting those most concerned before making his plunge, Mr. Hine would have learned that no shadow of blame could attach to the Government in this matter, and the blunder would have been obviated." '

One very potent cause of the Republican debacle in the States is given aa the high coslb of living resultant from the Payne tariff there. In a letter to Mr. M. Cable, of the Wellington Corporation Tramways, Mr. C. H. Haddrell. late of the Addington Workshops, and now with the General Electric Company, Lynn, Massachusetts, says that the cost of living is now very much higher than it ever was, and unless there is a change goon the cost of some things will be up out of sight. Beefsteak, he says, ranged from Is 8d to 2s a lb; eggs from Is 6d to 2s Od a dozen; calves' liver, Is a lb; bacon, Is 2d a lb; and bread 5d the l»/ a ll> loaf. It is expected that the recent elections will bring down the tariff. Whilst promenading the Mahunga Beach, near the Boat Harbor, a litftfc Maori girl made a discovery which is estimated to produce about £4BO (sajos the GSsborne Herald), As she was walking along, the child came across a large spade-nose whale, which had been thrown up on the beach alive. The alarm wan quickly given, and the natives proceeded to the beach in large numbers. What little life was left in the leviathan was quickly disposed of, and the Maoris set to work to cut up the monster. The whale is 58 feet in length and 12 feet in depth. Other indications of its size are that the fin of its tail measures 12 feet from tip to tip, and three Maori women were seated in its mouth extracting the teeth. The Maoris are very jubilant and hope to get 12 tons of blubber. Those who planted potatoes in any quantity for the present season are (says the Auckland Herald) likely to be well repaid for their outlay. Owing to the prevalence of blight in the crops of recent years growers have been limiting the areas devoted to potato-growing. In fact, many growers have given up the cultivation of this useful article of diet altogether and gone in for dairy farming instead. In consequence of this there will probably be a limited supply of local tubers this season, and prices are likely to be comparatively high. So far the crops have been remarkably free from blight, and many who had been shy about planting potatoes are now hastening to make up for lost time, and seedsmen have been rushed in supplying orders for seed potatoes, which are v» fortunately not at all plentiful. There is a keen demand for potatoes in the south, and at the auction sales they have realised as much as <sd per lb. Addressing the Central Mission Men's Brotherhood at Wellington on Sunday. Sir Robert Stout repeated a story which was ttold some time ago in an address to the Sorbonne at Paris by ex-President Roosevelt. While Mr. Roosevelt was attending a round-up at his cattle rancl in America he noticed a cowbov branding with the Roosevelt brand a beast that already bore the mark of another ranch. A«costed, the cowbov declared that he knew his business. The ex-President had him immediately discharged, remarking, in explanation of his conduct, "a man that will steal for me will steal from me." "I don't draw any moraTtf' said Sir Robert Stout, "because I don't touch politics." He went on to state that the moral Roosevelt drew and submitted to the Republicans of Paris that it was both wrong and foolish to elect a member of Parliament for the sake of what he could get for you. "Reward Mm for stealing for you," said Mr. Roosevelt's dictum, "and a time will come when he will steal from you." "If yon ask your member to get thinigrs for your district," Sir Robert concluded, "than you are training dishonest politicians."

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