LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 233, 7 February 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A polo match between the Beach and West End teams will be played at the Municipal Baths this evening. On and after to-day, February 0, there will be second-class accommodation on the 11.10 goods train, Hawera to New Plymouth; A recent visitor to Taranaki says he has never seen the province looking better for this time of the year. The grass is growing luxuriantly,, and the cows are milking as in spring, Taranaki county settlers will be pleased to hear that another move has been made by the council towards procuring a steam road roller, the contracting firm (Messrs. Proctor and Co.) having agreed to the conditions as suggested by the council, the members of which considered the arrangement very satisfactory. Owing to other meetings on the the date originally fixed, the meeting or householders to elect representatives to the new advisory committee in connection with the New Plymouth Technical School will take place in the Borough Council Chambers on Wednesday, the 15th February, at 8 p.m. We hope that a good number of those interested in technical matters will attend. The Mayor (Mr. G. Tisch) will occupy the j chair.

Almost without exception, at meetings of local bodies for some time past the scarcity of casual laborers forms the subject of discussion, the difficulty oi completing contracts and even ordinary work being stated to be very marked. The position has now become so acute in the Taranaki County that the council at its meeting yesterday decided to authorise the foremen to employ casual laborers at an extra shilling a day, viz., nine shillings. Last week 4000 young trout, which have been in the Taranaki Acclimatisation Society's ponds at Ingle wood for some time, were liberated in the Waiongona river. The 6000 trout in the Tariki ponds are doing very well, and will be liberated in local streams shortly. The Bociety has but to continue its present progressive policy and the streams this side of the mountain should in a very few years become noted resorts for the disciple ofs Isaak Walton from all parts of the Dominion.

Several local residents were spending Thursday last in the Gorge (writes the Dominion's Woodville correspondent), and after partaking of their lunch ramDied round to have a look at the scenery. Upon their return they found a yearling calf enjoying itself at the food basket. Besides overhauling the foodstuff, the calf had eaten a large tray cloth, in which was wrapped the party's return train tickets and Is 4d in small change.

Various types of young Britons continue to come to New Zealand, some of them of a desirable type. One young man from Scotland is to leave on his way out by the Ruahine with £SOO capital, with which he hopes to settle on the land. In the meantime he will to start as a farmer's boy, to get a practical knowledge of the land. By the Tongariro, bound for Lyttelton, another youth is coining from England to start farm work, while a third, somewhat older, claims to be well up in horses, and will be prepared to "put out" for the land. Two Irishmen bound for Lyttelton came by the Athenic. One is a gardener.

A rather peculiar incident happened during the interval of one of the picture shows on Friday night at Palmerston. A young man of about twentythree years of age was seen to staggei about and then fall on the floor, indicting a rather nasty cut on his face. He was carried into a side room, and quickly recovered, but whilst he was being attended to another young man, a friend of the first one, was seized in exactly the same manner. He also, however, soo recovered, though feeling anything but well. Inquiries were made as to what brought about the seizures, and the only thing the young men could attribute the attacks to was the smoking of too many cigarettes, The bicycle-on-foothpath nuisance is very bad up Vogeltown way, according to a letter read at the County Council meeting yesterday. Mr. H. Howell said that as a ratepayer, and one who "nearly had his back broken" through being run into one night, he thought he had a right to speak. The nuisance was worse than ever, he stated, and the foreman will never stop them, because they ride on the paths before he is there in the mornings anJ aftar ho lflaves at night. The proper person to look after it is the ranger, Mr. Loughlin, who has stopped the cattle wandering. Mr. Howell was informed that he could lay informations against the offenders, as the council could not appoint a ranger to attend to the nuisance.

The half-yearly meeting of the St. Mary's branch of the C.E.M.S. took place last night. The committee for the ensuing year will be Messrs. H. Fookes, W. H. Butler, Renaud, W. Crawford, and G. Moverley. Mr. B. Baker was appointed secretary, and a vote of thanks was tendered to the retiring secretary, Mr. Moverley. The balance-sheet in connection with the Church Magazine was submitted and adopted, and a committee of five appointed to consider the question of the further running of the publication in its present or any other form. The matter of Home immigrants arriving in New Plymouth and arranging for their accommodation was considered at length, and a scheme formulated. Mention was made of the retirement of Rev. F. G. Evans from the offico of presideut and the splendid help rendered by him in the inauguration of the branch, and a letter of appreciation was ordered to be forwarded to him. The Rev. J. Wilkinson presided, and there were also present the Rev. H. E. Lewin, of New South Wales, and Rev. Kempthorne, of Te Henui.

The Fitzroy Town Board has declined to give assent to the Waiwakaiho weir being interfered with, as suggested by the Acclimatisation Society in the interests of the trout, and agreed to by the County Council, provided the society and the Board arrived at a satisfactory agreement. At the County Council meeting yesterday when the Board's letter was road, Cr. Hill immediately moved that the letter be received and that the council endorse the Board's opinion. Cr. McAllum: "You can't do that; we have already stated we have no objection to the society's proposal." Jt was pointed out that the fish could go up the weir easily when the river was in Hood or at half-flood, but the troublo was that at low water the fish jumped up and beeamc entangled in the wires. The Acclimatisation Society did not complain of the height of the weir—the fish could jump up from 10ft to 15ft if the water was clear—but the society had no idea that wire, was going to ho put in the weir. It was resolved to obtain a report from Mr. Clements on the question of altering the weir so as to moot the requirements of tho Acclimatisation So-

A Ma«terton labor agent states that there is u marked scarcity of plough--111 cll in the district at the present time. An attempt is being made to form Otn-ki township into a borough. A petition has, however, been lodged against the proposal. The Wairarapa Lake is very shallow in parts just now, and it is possible to ride on horseback from Kahautaia to Wairongomai. Says the Waimatc Witness: —Mr. Dive, M.l\, is sanguine that there will be a railway line to Opunake sooner than the people expect. That is a good, safe piece of prophecy. It depends on how soon they expect it. Being sensible people, they probably don't expect it nt all. Asked by a Wellington reporter if he intended to .seek re-election as Mayor at the election to be held in April next, Mr. T. W. Wilford replied, after a meditative pause: '.lt looks as if it were going to rain, but it might not." Concerning the above, the Petone Chronicle remarKs that "Mr. Wilford U. understood to be making a close study of the political weathercock as well. Some people say that the indications are for squalls!" A peculiar incident has been recorded in West Australia. A man and his brother contracted to sink a well, and when they had reached a depth of thirty-one feet one of the men went down for a shovel, and succumbed to the effects of foul air which had accumulated during the night. A railway employee was lowered down to send up the corpse, but he also was overcome by the gas, though he recovered after having been hauled to the surface, A somewhat similar incident occurred in the Stony I Creek district a good many years ago, two residents losing their lives in a similar manner. A safe precaution in such cases is to send down some combustible materials ignited before the workmen descend in the morning. If the air is very bad the llame will probably become extinguished. A hint that it may be actually possible in the near future to telegraph to the South Pole was one of the featurea oil Dr Mawson's Antarctic lecture at the] Science Congress. Reminding his audii ence of certain facts about that region, , which are not generally known, he drew attention to the circumstance that the coast of Antarctica lies nearer to Hobart than does Melbourne to Perth, "Indeed," said he, "it is within telegraphic range of the new wireless station at the Bluff—in fact, the radius extends even to here," and he pointed on the map to the Pole itself, amid applause. "In summer time navigation is no more hindered than along a great portion ot the coast of Alaska. The Antarctic constitutes the highest and largest plateau in the world. It is the only almost germ-free continent left. Its scenery, contrasting absolutely with that common to Australia, and its never-to-be-forgot-ten invigorating atmosphere, determine for it, indisputably, the location of the future premier sanatorium of this portion of the globe." To be poor is to be uncomfortable, ana that was the position the chairman of the Taranaki County Council found himself in yesterday. Several deputations appeared before the council and asked for money to be spent on the roads. A typical case: "I am in trouble, Mr. Chairman," said one settler, as he approached the table. "And what is your trouble?" was the reply. "Oh, I want a few pounds put on. my road—it is terrible bad. I have been thrown out of my dray three times; once, on Christmas Eve, I wa sthrown out and run over." The children had also been pitched out, narrowly escaping being run over. "I only want three chains of the road done,'* the hard-worked settler added, as he thought he noticed the members "thawing out"—"I think I can scrape up a bit of time and help in the work!' But all the satisfaction the road-less stricken deputationists received was the promise of a report on the cost from the council's foreman. Through it all Mr. Brown was ill at ease, and his feelings can oifly be guaged by the ramark passed by Cr. McAllum at the conclusion of one incident: "You are not so hard after all, Mr. Chairman; I can see the compassion shining in your eyes!" A most extraordinary scries of suicides has (says the Daily Mail) caused consternation in aristocratic circles at Moscow. M. Juravoff, a wealthy merchant, was enamoured of a beautiful married women, Mmc. Gribova. He urged her to agree to be divorced from her husband and marry him. She arranged to give him her final decision by telephone at nine o'clock in the evening. The hour passed without a message. M. Juravoff wrote a few letters to his intimate friends and shot himself. About 10 o'clock Mme. Gribova called up M. Juravoff on the telephone, and was informed that he had just shot himself. She at once entered her boudoir and also shot herself. The next morning M. Tarasoff, another of her admirers, on taking up the morning newspaper, learned of her suicide, and immediately put a bullet through his brain. M. Tarasoff was a well-known figure in Moscow. He possessed great wealth,and was a prominent supporter of the Art Theatre. He had written several farces which had been played with success. Mme. Gribova's mother followed the example of her daughter, and is also dead.

The two great goWmljiing centres in Queensland arc Mount Morgan and Charters Towers. The former, which is probably the most wonderful mine in the world, is about twenty-four miles from Rockhampton, and is at an altitude of 800 feet above the level of the sea. The total yield of gold and eopper since its inception must approach something like twenty millions sterling, A rather pathetic interest attaches to the -world-fam-ous mine. It was portion of a "selection." ami, a poor one at that, owned by a mini named Gordon. On his selection Cordon grazed a few foead of cattle, and had a struggle to earn a. livelihood. Away back in tho 'eighties two brothers named Cordon were out prospecting and came upon specimens that appeared auriferous. When tested they returned nearly four thousand ounces of gold to the ton. The next step was to buy out Cordon at ill per acre, form a syndicate, purchase machinery, and launch the mine, which has made them all millionaires. Seven years after the mine was first opened over a million sterling was returned to the handful of shareholders in the shape of dividends. The mine now employs three thousand men, whilst it may be said to support a population of some thirteen thousand persons. When, lcs« than thirty years ago, poor Cordon grazed his cattle and fought for an existence, last year this wonderful mine produced between three and four thousand tons of copper, the great ingots containln« !>!> per cent, of copper 'and l'ioz of gold to the ton. What colossal riches lay underneath the former rusrged. lwirren "selection," now a great hive of mining industry producing mineral wealth on as c-ale probably unprecedented anywhere else in the world.

A RELIABLE REMEDY. Rexoua is a reliable remedy for nil eruptions and irritations of the skin, eczema, pimples, sores, chilblains, chapped hands, sciatica, itching or bleeding l>ilc«. cuts, burns, bruises, scalds, bad legs, st,inirs of insects, and nil kinds of inflammation. Rexonn is sold only in triangular po'- at Is fld and 3s. Obtainable at Bullock !'■•' Johnstnn's.