LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 201, 3 December 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A novel may of announcing the spouting of a geyser has been introduced in Rotorua. When Pohutu geyser bursts into eruption, a flag is hoisted on the prand Hotel, and' the laundry whistle is blown. There will be no steamer to Onehunga on Monday night. The Rarawa proceeds to Wellington on Monday morning after landing her passengers and discharging lier cargo, as she is to undergo her periodical overlhaul. She returns on Wednesday and proceeds to Onehunsa the same night, and will thereafter run triweekly. A creditable feature of the Show this week was the flood conduct of the crowd, the units of which, dressed' in tlhteir holiday best, were out to enjoy the sights. But they knew how to take care of themselves, as there were no signs of drunkenness on the grounds, while in the evemiing the town was well-behaved. As a consequence the police cells next morning were found yawning. The fact that there was not a single gaming table to be seen at the Show was a silent witness .to the attention being paid to this matter by our guardians of the law. The Wanganui Fire Board has imported a petrol motor first-aid machine, comprising a hose tender, ladder, carriage, hose reel and chemical engine. It will be used for first turn-out to a fire, and as it can start instantly, and travel at between 20 and 30 miles an hour, it should prove of immense value; in faetj there is no doubt tihat a large number of fires will be extinguished by the chemical engine done, without resort to the more powerful pumping plant. The chemical cylinder contains 35 gallons of fire-extinguishing fluid, and can be brought into action in a few seconds. The ladders, which can be -used for lifesaving or as a means of gaining access to the flames, extend to 30 feet, and can be rapidly Unshipped from the carriage when required. The proceeds of the Bullfinch township sale, Western Australia, which realised! £25,140, .wall just about pay the cost of the railway which the Government is to construct from Southern Cross. The country :has a few undulations, but is generally level, and little earthwork will be necessary, and the cost will probably not exceed £llOO a mile for twenty-tteee miles. The purchasers of the township lots paid 10 per cent. cash. The balance is payable in four quarterly payments, under penalty of forfeiture, of the deposit. The plan of the applications for leases around Bullfinch looks like a Chinese puzzle, writes a correspondent from the new field. Tliwo is over-pegging in all direc- . tioiiH. I'ivn surveyors are operating around linllflneh, but tlhio applications for lfviiHCH arc pouring in so rapidly that the Mir.vrvoTtt arc losing ground rather tlwi'ti gaining upon applicants. Since the Itnl'lfliicli were pegged over 14,000 iici'ch ol mining IwiwH luive been applied 'J'or, mid fully another 1-1,000 are pegged. Tim mim-y fees alono paid into the .VliiicH Department amount to £3500. The xoi'vioiM in Queen Street Church tomorrow will be as follows:—Morning, nt 11, Rev. John Nixon; children's add.M'fM, Rev. H. J. Lewis. Evening, at 7, Rev. James Guy (from England). All scats free.—Adyt.

It is stated that Henare Kaihau will resign his scat and contest a. European seat at next election. He lias challenged Mr. Hiine to a contest. Last year t-lia sum of £2358 was collected from sly-grog sellers and drinkers, and there were 233 of them dealt with, an increase of 7.5 over the previous year. The direct cost to the Dominion in detecting and prosecuting sly-grog sellers during the year was £lO9l, or £1207 less than was collected by way of fines. It is computed that about 3700 adults paid for admission at the Xew Plymouth Show on People's Day, as represented by the cash takingc, £lB7. Altogether, there must have been close on 7000 men, women, and children on the ground considering that member's tickets (about 400) and other passes hare to be taken into consideration. "You Xew Plymouth people are not half as enthusiastic over your lovely public gardens as you should be," said a; recent -visitor to Pukekura Park. "They are easily the best I've seen, and I've been all over the world, but to the average New Plymouth resident they seem of no particular interest or worth. You should boom the gardens and never cease singing their praises." The Gonville-Castlecliff Tramway Board decided on Thursday to sign an agreement with the Wanganui Borough Council to supply electrical power for the suburban tram service to the sea beach.. An amendment to make further inquiries about Edison storage battery care was rejected. Tenders have already been invited for material, and a poll will be taken -in January for the loan. Amy Bock, it will be remembered, was sentenced to two years' imprisonment and declared a habitual criminal in connection with her masquerade as a man aud a mock marriage to a southern Otago lady. Her conduct, in gaol has been exemplary, and her sentence, tak--1 img in the remission for good conduct, has now expired, so she will be shortly sent to the New Plymouth prison. The business at .the quarterly meeting of the Taranaki Licensing Committee yesterday occupied only a few minutes. Thie application of Thomas Knowles for a .transfer of a publican's license in respect of the Breakwater Hotel to Frank Poland was granted, Mr. T. S. Weston appearing for the applicant. Mr. Fitzherbert presided, and the other members present were: Messrs. W. Ambury, W. L. Newman, and J. S. McKellar. As evidencing the enthusiasm behind the Y.M.C.A. movement in Wanganui and approval with which it has been received by the community, it is stated that the amount required to cover the expenses (secretarial and other) for the first three years, a total of £750, was subscribed up to yesterday afternoon, as a result of less than three days' canvassing by the members of the executive. lit is understood that tihis is a record for the Dominion.—Press wire. Interesting testa were recently made to determine the respective pulling power of horses, men, and elephants. Two horses, weighing 16001b each, together pulled 37501b, or 5001b more than their combined weight. One elephant, weighing 12,0001b, pulled 87501b, or 32301b less than its weight. Fifty men, aggregating 75001b in weight, pulled 87501b, or just as much as the single elephant; but, like the horses, they pulled more than their, own weight. One hundred men pulled 12,0001b. If the mortality among the natives of the Kadkoura district can be taken as any criterion, it is very evident that ■. the Maori is a dying race, says "* the Raikoura Sun. Since lasit Sunday two more deaths occurred, but as no official records are kept, either by registration or otherwise, it cannot be stated for certain what is the actual number of deaths this year, although it is well known that the percentage during the current quarter has been alarmingly high. Consumption is the main cause of the high death-rate. During the visit of Mr. J. Gardner, the well-known draughts champion, to New Plymouth, he engaged several local exponents, and some excellent games ensued. The challengers were Messrs. Bruce, Davy, and Wilson, and most of the games were in favor of the champion, Mr. Bruce winning buit one, and] four being drawn. Mr. Gardner an-| nounced that on his next visit to New Plymouth, he would 'like to meet more of tli® local men, and would play five or six games simultaneously. The draughts room in the Carnegie Library was the scene of the contests. Mr. A. Hardgrave writes:—As different accounts have appeared of the bathing accident to Mr. Hancox at the Te Henui beach I beg leave to state what ' really occurred, in fairness to Mr. S. Stroud, who deserves as much praise as myself. On Mr. Stroud and myself being informed that Mr. Hancox was in trouble, we raced along the beach to the spot, i and, after divesting ourselves of our clothes, we swam out to him, I! getting there first. Holding him up I started for the shore, when Mr. Stroud took hold of his other arm, and between us we assisted him to safety. Because I am a believer in, "Honor to whom honor is due," I pen these few lines. A firm belief that New Zealand will afford a profitable market for aeroplane's has induced the formation of a syndicate j in Dunedin under the title of the New Zealand Aviation Company. The company has secured the agency for the Farman bi-plane, and in addition is prepared to construct various portions of aeroplanes. The price of a Farman bi-plane landed in New Zealand is placed at something over £I7OO with a Gnome engine, and over £I3OO with a Green engine, while without a motor it costs about £9BO. A use lias been found for New Zealand timbers in the construction of areoplane components, and quotations are made in a leaflet recently issued by the company for propellers made of laminated kauri, According to a well-known up-river resident, whose business takes him to many parts of the Dominion, New Zealand contains several German spies in the guise of scientists and commercial men. He met a pair of them on a Wanganui river steamer a few days ago, he informs the ] Wanganui Herald, one of whom seemed to "know every hole and corner in New • Zealand'." This man posed as a botanist, but was also ready with his pencil, and had in his possession sketches of various New Zealand towns, harbors and rivers, together with plans of roada, coasts, defence; in fact, everything that would afford information to an invader. His baggage, if overhauled, might possibly reveal more about our defences than even the authorities themselves know. SPLENDID TAILOR-MADE SUITS. SPECIAL, 50/0. 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