LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 231, 4 February 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The annual picnic of the Norfolk road school will be held at Moturoa on Friday next. A Sydney cablegram reports that the Defence Department has decided that all forts in the Commonwealth shall be absolutely closed to the general public. The Garrison Band will parade in Devon street this evening, commencing at the Red House Hotel corner at 7.30 o'clock. A collection will be taken up in aid of the contset funds.

Yesterday's Palmerston Times stated the local reservoir only contained two days' supply of water, the river feeding it having dried up, and unless rain soon fell the position would be most serious. A few more loads of spoil from the Templars' hall site were tipped over the Carrington road bank near the boot factory yesterday. It looks a good investment, too, for unless the roadway ai this spot is bolstered up in some way there will be a big expenditure for repairs before very long. The road there is supported by timber, and in several places considerable depression has taken place. Perhaps the most singular coffin in which a human being was ever buried is the one of which the following story is told. A workman engaged in casting metal for the manufacture of ordnance in the Woolwich Arsenal lost his balance, and fell in a cauldron cantaining twelve tons of molten steel. The metal was at white heat, and the man was utterly consumed in less time than it takes to tell it. The War Office authorities held a conference, and decided not to profane the dead by'using the metal in the manufacture of ordnance, and the mass of metal was actually buried, and a Church of England clergyman read the service for the dead over it.

Enquiry as to the absence of Mr. H. Musker (member for Mokau riding) from the Clifton County Council meeting yesterday elicited the fact that he had met with a severe accident in a peculiar manner over a week ago. It transpires that Mr. Musker was out riding after oattle on his property at Uruti last Tuesday week, and when heading off a beast it swerved, and collided with the horse, which was knocked over, Mr. Musker being rolled on. It was fortunate that the accident was witnessed, as help was procured at once, and the victim was carried on a stretcher to his home over a mile away, and Dr. Fookes sent for. Mr. Musker was then unconscious, and remained in that condition for eight days, and is even yet reported to be only semi-conscious. District Nurse O'Callaghan is in attendance. Bandmasters, bandsmen, and lovers and detractors of bands will be interested to hear that the world famous John Philip Sousa and his band of instrumentalists are to include Australia and New Zealand in a world's tour. Mr. Herbert Baillie, Chief Municipal Librarion, has received word from a friend in America to that effect. The band, to the number of 60 musicians, opened in London on January 2, and the visit (the fourth) to Great Britain is to be followed by a tour through South Africa and Australasia, the return journey to be made via Honolulu. Mrs. Sousa and her daughters will make the tour, and the band is to be accompanied also by Miss Virginia Root and Miss Nicolinc Zedeler, who will be soloists at all concerts. The band will open in Capetown on March 24, and will play fifty concerts in that country. Australia will hear the visitors in May. The Mayoress of Wellington, Mrs. Wilford, has received a letter and circular from Lady Mary Trefusis, of Porthgwidgen, in Cornwall, who is acting on the executive dealing with Queen Mary's coronation gift from the Maries of the British Empire. Lady Trefusis asks for co-operation, in that she feels the Maries of New Zealand would wisli to be represented in this movement, which includes the whole Empire. Mrs. Wilford proposes to close, the list by March 1, so that the money collected may be sent by May 1. The circular states that it is proposed the gift shall take the form either of a personal ornament or of a sum of money to be placed at the Queen's disposal. Donations will be limited from one penny to one pound, and confined, as has already been notified, to those bearing the name of Mary, Maria, May, Marian, or Marion. A list of contributors will be kept, but noi the amount given by each. "I must really ask that something be

-'lie now," ran a letter to the Clifton County Council yesterday, and the reason was set out as follows: "Last week I broke a shaft of my dray, Mr. Freeth's horse fell in one of the holes, and Mr, Martin broke a spring of his gig!" This was in reference to tlje hills on the Wai-iti road, for improving which last year it was stated the Council had obtained an estimate of £lB, but could do nothing owing to shortage of funds. The chairman said that the matter oi improving the road at the time mentioned was never before the Council, the estimate having been supplied by the engineer for the settlers' information. "Honestly," said Mr. Foreman, "I can't support the application." The matter was held over, and at a later stage of the meeting Messrs. Freeth and Martin waited on the Council, and it transpired that bad blood existed between some of the neighbors, Mr. Freeth admitting that he had refused to close one of the gates on the road, and as the chairman put it: "There were daggers drawn between the two." The deputation hung on to the position they took up that they must have the road improved. Eventually they were successful, the Council agreeing to grant the sum of £l2 to bo spent in the improvement of the Toad, subject to the recommendations of Cr. O'Sullivan and the surfaceman.

A deputation from the Waitara Borough Council, consisting of Messrs. W. F. Jenkins (Mayor), A. Klenncr, Brabant, and T. Buchanan (clerk), waited upon the Clifton County Council yesterday with reference to the proposed erection of a bridge owr the Waitara river, and the amount to be contributed by the County towards the cost. The Mayor said the estimated coat of the bridge was £9, r >oo, engineering expenses £SOO, clerk of works £3OO, preliminary expenses £2OO, and. abour £2OO for preparing the approaches, Tims the total was £10,700. A fair proportion of the amount to be paid yearly by the County Council was suggested at .GlfiO. The chairman of the Council said that there were several inn tiers which would have to be put before I he Council before any decision could be | come to; among others, they would waul a plan of the bridge, and Miey would i have to consider if ,Cl(iO wan a renmiu I able amount for flic lluroiigli Council In | ask. There was a long desultory ills I mission on the matter of I lie Itnrnuoli ■ Council's endowments, estimate nf hrldne according lo old plans, etc., and the re suit was that the whole iptcrdiuu wn« held over for discussion by ». lull nieel ing of the Council. The fact Hint the two councils had come together willi I he object of discussing the jdslflun in (in amicable spirit and without luwlllify In the propositon, no as to save Hie expense of a commission to decide the relative contributions to be made, was pointedly remarked upon by speakers on both Stteg, _ . ,' _ : _.__

"Wars are not between peoples, but between politicians." Thus Mr. John Hodge, British Labor member, in the course of an address to workers in Dunedin.

It is rather interesting to note that stirf-bathittg promises to aid the dental proiession. During the boom in surfbathing at Duncdin several sets of artificial teeth went out to sea. They would be queer finds for the fishes! A carpenter, who has just arrived in Ashburton from England, states that the wage in the Homeland is 10>/ 2 d per hour, against Is 4d per hour in New Zealand. He also says that work in England is very intermittent, and men. in the trade are frequently out of employment.

It is stated that one farmer near the Eakaia Gorge, North Canterbury, lias a fifty-acre pauuock of dun oats that would have threshed fifty bushels per acre before the wind, but which will yield less than five bushels now if he takes the trouble to reap it. An interesting scrap of history was related the other night at Thames by Dr. Bell, when speaking of the Waihi mine. In 1878, he said, the mine property was purchased by the Waihi Gold Mining Company for £3OOO. The property has produced about £9,000,000 worth of gold.

One dozen cremation urns are to ue purchased oy the Wellington City Council. They will be imported from jjondon. The Mayor replied to a question at the Council meeting that the urns were to be of terra cotta, and would cost 6s each. The idea was to get out a dozen as samples to submit to local makers, who would be asked in future to tender for their supply. ''We want to encourage local industry," said his Worship. Sir Joseph Ward, whilst at Auckland the other day, stopped to inspect ami christen an aeroplane that is being constructed at Papakura racecourse." The machine, which is the facsimile of the Farman biplane, which at present holds the record from London to Brussels, is being built by a number of Auckland gentlemen, with the object of educating New Zealanders in aviation matters, and when completed will probably be exhibited in the principal centres. The christening ceremony was unique in its way, each of those interested in the machine calling out a letter of the name until the full name "Manurewa" was spelt. The name is a most appropriate one, meaning "flying bird." The i'rime Minister then said he had much pleasure in naming the machine, and he wished the enterprising engineers every success in their venture.

Under the heading, "Subscribers, why don't you jpay up?" an exchange says: We are posting to every subscriber his account this month, and we want them paid. Year after year we are battling away in the interest solely of the producers, and year after year do they go on allowing their indebtedness to us to continue and increase. You cannot carry on a business in Wellington on the "long time." The printing bill, salaries, and all the thousand and one expenses incidental to carrying on a business of the kind we arc engaged in, nave to be paid every week or every month, and unless vou send in your share of the amount this"is next door to impossible. There are few newspaper offices in the Dominion that will not give a responsive echo to these sentiments.

The nong Kong correspondent of the Tung Wah Times states that a Chinese dirigible has been invented, and is claimed to be the first practical airship. The inventor is Mr. Tsi T9an Tai. The airship, which is to be called the China, has its car made of aluminium, and the inventor claims, that in time of war the balloon of his ship could be cased in that metal for protection. The China depends for propulsion on bow and stern propellers, and utilises perpendicular shafted propellers for lifting. It is steered by means of steel wings, operated by electricity, which lie concealed when not in action, thus offering no resistance to the air. Mr. Tsi Tsan Tai was born in Sydney in 1872,' and educated at the Grafton High School. In 1892 he went to Hong Kong, where he continued his studies, especially in mathematics.

When the burning Parisiana went down at sea, she carried with her the trucks and equipment for the new tramcars now being built by the Wellington City Council. The loss is much more serious, says the Post, than would appear from the mere statement of the fact. The Tramways Department has long been in need of more cars. Six single-track cars are being converted into combination cars, and it was for the3e the trucks were chiefly intended. The todies are practically complete for three of the six, but will have to wait for the trucks for another couple of months. The conversion of the box cars took them fur the time being out of active service, when the demands of traffic were for more cars altogether. At present the department has all its cars in commission, and when a special rush comes it is extremely difficult to meet it. Fortune sometimes knocks at our door when almost too late to be welcome. There is an aged goldminer of the Westport district, Mr. A. W. Pearee, now 79 years of age. Many years ago he left London in pursuit of wealth in the goldfields. Like many a hundred of wanderers he got out of touch with his home and relatives, and probably seldom thought of them. One day he noticed an advertisement in a newspaper for a person with a name identical with his own. He replied to it, and the advertiser proved to be a young man in Canterbury, who was in search of his missing uncle. Mr. A. W. Pearee proved his identity, and now it appears that on the death of his mother in England, some forty years ago, a legacy of £3(100 was left him. This money has now accumulated at compound interest, and is a very considerable sum. The necessary proofs have been forwarded, and the aged miner, after the vicissitudes of many years' toil and hardship, will probably soon be able to claim his wealth.

The news that Dr. Marshall, a professor of the otago University, and one of our best-known geologist's, reports molten lava in the crater of Xganruhoe, is of uncommon significance to those people who know anything of our volcanic mountains (says the New Zealand 'rimeM. Dr. Marshall ascended Ngaurulioe lately with Professor Skeates, of Melbourne, ami discovered for the first time redhot lava in the crater. This he considers a very bad sign, and indicative of an eruption at any time. Dr. Marshall is a cautious scientist, and this report of his carries considerably more weight than if it had been made'by the ordinary sighi.-secing climber. Hitherto il has been generally concluded that the lava age is a thing of the past in New Zealand volcanoes. At the worst, it, could no) do much damage; and if it. xhonld occur, its principal effect would probiildv be (o stimulate tourist, trallic alone the Main Trunk railway. We are optimistic people; and a real lava volcano in full blast, in an eminently suitable locality, might very reasonably be iwknlled j |s ~||,, ~f ,„„. '-irrcat llallOlltll ri'ionivei," There's nothing like making Ihe bed of everything. '

NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. There is no doubt about the curative properties of Chamberlain's Cough Remedy, which is the best, safest, and most reliable eongh medicine you can take. Kor h-M'sh, hard, chronic coushs it is a .splendid cure. Easily taken, and it nuicklv relieves and cures the most okstiuato cases.

Very heavy rain fell in South Canterbury yesterday. It will hamper the harvest work for some days.—Press, telegram.

The Garrison Hand has arranged to give a programme of music at the Kawaroa Park rotunda in the West End to-morrow afternoon, commencing at 3 o-clock. A collection will be taken up in aid of the contest funds.

It was rumored in Xew Plymouth, last night that the Gazette eontained some intimation concerning the proposed amalgamation of Fitzroy and New Plymouth. Communication with Wellington, however, revealed once more the unreliability of rumor. Mr Henry George, son of the faniouß. author of "Progress and Poverty," was elected to Congress for one of the Xew York seats in the recent American elections. Mr George, who has already gained some note as an author and publicist, is an enthusiastic exponent of the principles with which his father's name is identified.

From reports to hand and inquiries made in various directions, it seems, more than probable that the grain crops in the South Island as a whole will be somewhat heavier than last year. With the exception of North Otago, where as a result of the prolonged drought the crops will be thinner than for some years past, the yield throughout Otagoand Southland will be fairly good, and in many places excellent, while in Canterbury, taken all round, the average yield it is believed will be in excess of last season. The turnip crops have a healthy appearance, and the same remark npplies to potatoes.