LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 255, 7 March 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

In the handicaps for the High School sports to-morrow I* Warren's mark is 18yds (not 20yds) and G. Sykes' 20yds (not 25yds). One of the County Council dog-tax collectors got a surprise last week. When eaitering along an unfrequented roftd, his horse suddenly lowered its head and kept going, leaving the rider on the ground. A barbed wire stretched across the road had caught him round the waist, and brought him down!

Cr. McAllum's notice of motion in the County Council with reference to a proportionate part of the net revenue derived from the toll-gate at Puniho being expended in the Omata riding, has been postponed, and will be dealt with at next meeting of council, when it will take precedence of other business. An Australian paper.has some cable items that have not appeared in New Zealand journals, in reference to the outbreak of plague in China. They are to the effect that soldiers are riding on the carts which are collecting the corpses to coerce the peasants who threatened to oppose the cremation of the dead. Tt is estimated that half a million people have already died from starvation and that, two millions more are on the verfe of death. . . ''

A Wellington lady is said to have recently engaged an attractive-looking housemaid who enquired among other things whether it was the custom to allow the servants to have a hot bath at night and to have supper. She was assured these were in the comforts of the home. She ate a hearty supper, had her hot bath, and next morning was not to be found. All the attractive young person wanted was comfortable and°inexpensive board and lodgings for the ni"ht; she wasn't looking for work. ° In the curator's report presented to the Pukekura Park Board last evening, it w.is stated that there had been a good deal of flower-stealing lately, and that the thieves not only plucked the flowers, but were also pulling up the bulbs and carrying them away. The Board is determined that strong endeavors will be made to bring the offenders to justice, and prosecutions will immediately follow upon anyone bein* caught in the act. In such a matter as this, the public can materially assist in preserving the aestheticism of their own preserves.

"The mountain'-"•traffic is goin" to be a big thing," said Cr. Carter °at the County Council meeting yesterday when advocating the erection of finger-posts throughout the county, and he continued: "Wc should do everything we <an to encourage tourists. I* think the council should have one erected at the junction of Egmont Village-Mountain road." Cr. Stevens: "If they cannot find their way to the mountain from here we will have to provide them with brains!" The council resolved not to move in the matter, the Tourist Department to be informed that if it feels inclined to put up finger-posts the council will not object. -

A fireworks display arranged by the Pukekura Park Board will take place in the park, on Thursday, 23rd inst. Four more nurses have resigned from the Napier Hospital staff, and have accepted similar positions in an Australian hospital. The bush land around Te Kuiti is being rapidly cleared, and it is estimated that fully 20,000 acres of bush have been felled in the vicinity of the northern township this season. The Pukekura Park Board last night discussed the question of improving the Vogletown entrance, near the tennis courts, and it was resolved that the proposed improvements be abandoned, owing to the financial difficulties of the Board.

There is a fairly strong agitation in Timaru now for a tram system. The town has grown so rapidly of recent years that people have been compelled to i build a long way from the business centre, and the long walk is found something of a handicap. A Japanese paper received recently states that a. Japanese recruit drawn for service in December cut four fingers oil' his left hand in order to escape service. The reason given for the act teas his intense desire to return home, he having received a letter from his wife stating that his baby had begun to smile. The oat crops in Southland are now being rapidly reaped, and m'ost of the grain is in stookf Judging by a glance at the crops, thetc seemß every prospect of a bountiful harvest, both grain and straw promising well. It is not so much the case as one travels north in the South Island, as\there is not a very great growth of straw, even where the grain promises well. The shipbuilding industry is very busy in Auckland at present. During the past week contracta have been let involving an expenditure of something like £35,000. This is apart from various small work which is taxing the capacity of all the yards, and which will keep shipbuilders busy for months to come. "Had we adequate accommodation," remarked several of them, "we, could do as much work again."

Foxton possesses a debt collector whose bold commercial methods would put mercantile and commercial agencies to shame (says the Manawatu Herald), He is original —decidedly so. A bicycle is brought into requisition, on which is attached a notice, triangular in shape, and suspended from the front bar, which bears in bold letters the words "Debt collector." The bicycle, when left outside a debtor's house, becomes a conspicuous and suggestive object. "Hideous advertising!" At the County Council meeting yesterday Cr. McAllum drew attention to instances of this, which, he said, was in evidence in the county. And he asked—when it was pointed out that "no one puts them there,"—whether the council could not proceed against the people whose names appeared thereon. It was shown from the discussion that this was something of a forlorn hope, as the chairman said that the council had given pots of paint to paint out the advertisements. The übiquitous advertiser scores every time.

The Acclimatisation Society has been definitely thwarted in its attempt to provide a better waterway for trout over the weir at bridge. The County Council yesterday fell in with the objections raised by the Fitzroy Town Board, and Mr. E. A. Clements, and withdrew its consent. Th» anglers' champion on the council is Cr. McAllum, secretary of the society, who stated that in England local bodies had to provide proper fish ladders in the streams. The chairman interjected: "I am afraid the society will have to wait until that law comes along!" Cr. McAllum evidently recognised the futility of his self-imposed task, as he replied wearily: "We have no objection to the weir, but to the wire!"

In the borough barbed wire fences abutting on footpaths are an offence against the by-laws. In /the county there is no such by-law. The question was raised by Cr. Carter at the council meeting yesterday, and none of the members was certain that owners could be proceeded against under such circumstances. The county clerk informed the council they were powerless. Cr. Carter said he knew of a lady having a valuable over-all destroyed through coming in contact with certain barb-wire fencing, while a man damaged his coat. Cr. Carter wished to know the position, because if they were not empowered to take action, he believed this owner in Hurworth riding would remove the fence as the. result of moral suasion. At any rate, Cr. Carter is having a try. A statement showing the cost of the Taranaki County Council's property and buildings in Robe street was submitted to the meeting yesterday. The total expenditure was £2002 (is Id, made up as follows: Land £IOOO, new buildings £944 12s 6d, repairs to cottage on the site £57 13s 7d, annual cost £ll4 (interest £IOO, insurance and rates £14); recoveries, rent £96 4s (Agricultural Department £62 Bs, cottage £33 16s). The council's annual rent is £l7 16s (as against £4B previously), with infinitely better accommodation and one room still available for letting. The chairman (Mr. J. Brown) was the recipient of warm congratulations upon the successful termination of the scheme, the members, one and all, referring to the improved sanitary conditions and convenience of the new offices compared to the old. The chairman said it had been a pet scheme of his own, not only since he had been in the council, but for years before. He never could understand why a local body should not have its own building, and he had advocated a similar scheme for the Moa Road Board many years ago. When he brought the matter forward he estimated the council would make a saving of £2O to £3O, and the present figures showed that they would save more than that amount. lie was, indeed, proud of the office, and it was pleasing to him to have heard expressions of congratulation from outsiders on the move the council had made. He proposed to bring before the ratepayers at the next county election a proposal to raise a loan, so that the present liability might be paid off. Mr. Brown thanked the clerk (Mr. Ellis) for bis assistance in the scheme, and said as much credit was due to Mr. Ellis as to himself.

YOU SHOULD BEAR IN MIND Thai ny using me uommerciat iMicalyptua Oil, which is now bought up at fi<l par lb. weight and bottle, and, on account of the large profits, pushed, yon are exposing yourself to all the dangers to which the u«e of turpentine will expose you—irritation of kidneys, intestinal tract aad mucous memhra-nes. By insisting on the GENUTSE F.TTCALYPTT EXTRACT you not only avoid these pitfalls, but you have a stimulating. safe and effective medicament, the result of a special and careful manufacture. Remember: SANDER'S EXTRACT °mbodies the result of 50 years' experience and of special study, and it does what is promised: it cures and henls without injuring the constitution, as the oils on the market frrmmnllv dn. Therefore, protect yourself bv rejecting other brands.

A remarkable electrical display was witnessed on the farm of Mr. H. A. Paec.h, Walla (New South Wales), during a recent storm. The lightning struck a tree, to which a gate was attached, and the iron hinges were cut clean through. The lightning ran from the gate around the whole fence qf this paddock, which contained 250 tons of hay ancl 750 acres of wheat partially stripped. Mr. I'aeoli says he saw the four miles of fencing wire red hot and throwing off millions of sparks. At every knot in the wires they were scared, and most of the metal-droppers were welded on to the wires. In all the lightning started about 50 different fires in and about this paddock. A chain break ploughed on each side of the fence gave the scores of hands present, a good chance to fight the flames, and £3500 worth of crop was saved by their exertions. Five or six other fires were started by the lightning in the Culnairn and Morv'en districts.

Washington (the Western State, not the capital of the United States) is admittedly a go-ahoad State, but the American public in general, and Washington in particular, declare that "the extreme limit" 'has been reached in a new by-law that has just come into force in Tacoma, the capital of the State. This is nothing less than a ban on "treating," and the by-law makes it a misdemeanor to ask a friend to have "just one more" (alcoholic). The measure was introduced by the Mayor, Mr. lawcett, was passed by the Citv Council, and became law, but the Christmas merrymakers declare that "Mayor Fawcett will find himself up against something if he 'tries to cnfawcett it," as they express it in a local newspaper. Mayor Fawcett declares that the "just one more" fiend is responsible for more drunkenness than is generally believed. A number of Christmas roysterers were arrested under the new law, and the Mayor swears that he will enforce the law "even if it takes every policeman in the city." The Chinese pork industry is still devol oping. Two large consignments arrived in Liverpool recently, comprising about 10,000 carcases, the two steamers also bringing about 23,000 cases of eg"s and over 15,000 cases or boxes of ducks, snipe, mallard and poultry. It appears that the carcases of pork do not comply with the Local Govenrment regulations, in certain technicalities, and therefore the health authorities have refused them admittance. The carcases will, therefore, simply be landed and placed under bond in cold storage until re-shipped, probably to the Isle of Man, for curing into bacon and ham. It is understood that both steamers left China before the requirements of the Local Government Board were fully understood, and that future consignments of pigs will be dressed in accordance with the regulations in force in England, and will, providing they are found to be perfectly wholesome, be admitted for immediate consumption, just as if they eame from the United States or any other country.