LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 256, 8 March 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mushrooms have already made their appearance in South TarauaUi.

The Transvaal's output of gold last year was valued at over 32 millions sterling, the total since IBH4 being over 200 millions. •A. theatrical matinee and street collections on Saturday Increased the fund for the Porteous family, who were the victims of the Ponsonby (Auckland) lire, by about £SOO. A small whale, said to he of the blackflsh -variety, was stranded last week on the Waverley beach. The mammal is 15 feet long, and about 12 feet in girth. The annual athletic sport's in connection with the New Plymouth High School will be held on the school ground on Thursday. Given a fine day an attractive day's sport should result.

A four-roomed house at Manaia belonging to W. Bigham and untenanted, but containing some furniture, was destroyed by fire early on Monday morning. The insurances amount to £l5O. In the case, Wilkes v. Wilkes, heard at the Magistrate's Court on Monday morning, Mr. Quilliam, in addressing His Worship on behalf of the defendant, was made to say that the action of the complainant in charging the defendant with intent to fail to provide maintenance, was "unjustifiable," whereas it should have appeared "justifiable." A German magistrate who sought relief from the married tie explained to the court that his wife, in order to wear a hobble skirt with grace, had taken strenuous measures to reduce her weight. She lost 311bs in three months, and in doing so, he maintained, "she ruined her complexion, her digestion and her temper." The application was granted! on the ground that the wife's deterioration had come about by her disobedience. '' •, .

The Public Health Department is being reorganised. During the retrenchment of 1909 the position of chief health officer was abolished, Dr. Valintine (In-spector-General of Hospitals) being given general charge of the department in addition to his original work. An administrative head of the Public Health Department, under Dr. Valintine, has now been appointed, Dr. Frengley, district •health officer, \v ellington, being placed in that position with the title of medical secretary. He has also been appointed senior district health officer for the Wellington, Hawke's Bay, Marlborough, and Nelsoh districts.

At the Supreme Court sittings yesterday, before Mr. Justice Edwards, true bills were found in all cases. Frederick Cooper was sentenced to six months' imprisonment, with three years' deten-; tion for reformative purposes, for the theft of seven shillings from a dwelling at Inglewood; Cornelius Allen to three years in the reformatory for passing two valueless cheques; Martha Tainui, a half-caste Maori, was found not guilty of theft of wearing apparel; and the case of George Gedge, in connection with the Toko road shooting affray, is proceeding, and will be continued this morning. Gedge was liberated without bail. A cattle-stealing case, and one of carnally knowing a girl under sixteen years of age, have yet to be heard. The March number of Progress is to hand, with some very interesting matter. The solar eclipse in April next is described, and there is an appeal to the Government to join in the observations by sending an expedition to Nassau and Danger Islands, parts of the annexed group of Rarotonga and other islands, which two islands are the only territory in the Dominion through which the totality of the eclipse passes. These islands are some 900 miles north of Tonga, where the Australia expedition of observation is to he located. In the event of bad weather, the presence of a Dominion expedition at Nassau would be invaluable. A review of British industry in 1910 is worth reading, and the aviation department should on no account be missed this month, fos it brings the subject, advanced as it is, up to date. Speaking to an Auckland Herald re-v presentative on Monday evening regarding the New Zealand battleship gift, Sin Joseph Ward said, the launch would probably take place on June 25, but no ■arrangement had, as far as he was aware, been made as to who should perform the ceremony of christening the new vessel. As to the suggestion that the gift should he altered to a super-' Dreadnought, it was practically impossible to make any alteration in the ship now. He had received a letter from Dr.| Richard Arthur, M.L.C., of New South Wales, on the subject, and had replied that the change was out of the ques-; tion, inasmuch as the battleship was already so far advanced that she would be launched before the end of June. Moreover, tin? greater portion of the cost of building the vessel was alreadv paid for.

_ What appears to lie a really useful life-saving device, lias been invented by a German. It is called the life-saving lining, and consists of about one-inch thickness of some soft material like fine hair (the composition of which is the inventor's secret) enclosed in a double cover, the outer covering being of water-proof linen. The lining can be fixed to the coat, waistcoat, or other garment, and is claimed to give absolute safety to any person who is thrown suddenly into the water. At a recent demonstration three men, one of whom wore upwards of fourteen pounds of oilskins over his suit—and a woman, threw themselves into the deep end of the bath, and tried in van for half an hour to sink. Finally they stood in the water, their feet not touching the bottom, and took some refreshment They wore attached to their garments the device alluded to. The invention might be further improved by the addition ot pockets to the lining in which to store sufficient provisions to keep the person from starving in the event of a lengthy immersion. YOU SHOULD BEAR IN MIND That ny usmg tme uoimnereial njuealyphis Oil, wWch is now bought up nt (M per lb. weight and battle, and. on account of the large profits, pushed, you are exposing yourself to all the dangers to which the use of turpentine will expose you—irritation of kidneys, intestinal tract and mucous membranes. Bv in' sisting on the GENUINE SANDER EUCALYPTI EXTRACT you not e»ly avoid these pitfalls, but you have a stimulating, safe and effective medicament, the result of a special and careful manufacture. Remember: SANDER'S EXTRACT «m----bodies the result of 50 years' experience and of special study, and it does what is promised; it eurw and heals without injuring the constitution, as the oiJs on the market frequently do. Therefore* protect youTsell \>v rejecting other brands.

There will be family bathing at the municipal baths this evening from 7 to I) o'clock.

C. Stevenson, in a 14-l(i Darracq car, completed a non-stop run of 1004 miles in 4i hours at Timaiu last night, establishing a world's record for small cars driven by one man.—Press telegram.

Cinematography by wire lias been successfully accomplished by a French inventor, who has constructed an apparatus by which a series of photographs can be telegraphed instantaneously many miles away.

"Imperial Federation" is to be the subject of an address by .Mr. A. S. Malcolm, M.P. for Clutha, in the Theatre Royal on Friday night. Mr. .Malcolm is an en- ' thusiast on this question, and has given it a deal of close study and attention. A , musical programme will lie rendered during the evening. "It is a hard thing to be a Christian," , remarked Bishop Julius at the citizenship meeting in Christchurch, "and what we want is not quantity, but quality. | And I tell my Methodist brothers that if they would take half of my people , over to themselves and double the quali ity of the other half, I would thank them : for it."

A striking instance of the productive capacity of the land of the Waimatc Plains (South Taranaki) district, and, at the same time, of the wealth of the dairying industry, is afforded by the fact that a sum of £300,000 is paid out annually to settlers farming land within an area of six miles. There, is probably not another area of land in the world of similar dimensions producing the same amount of wealth.—Witness.

It is satisfactory to note that in the opinion of an expert there is a great fu- , ture before the Taranaki oil industry (says the Rangitikei Advocate). Let us hope that it will be worked as an industry and not as a share-speculating concern, otherwise the expression used by the expert may have another meaning than the one he intended to convey when he said "the production of oil will bury gold out of sight." That is what seems to have happened in connection with • Waihi mining.

During his journey to England, the Hon. Dr. Findlay (Minister of Justice) will spend a week in America. Several days will have to be spent in travelling, but lie will find time to continue his investigations into the most modern and humane systems of reformatory treatment of criminals, visiting several well known institutions. "'I hope to have an opportunity," remarked the Minister just before leaving Wellington, "of discussing prison reform with Mr. Winston Churchill, the English Home Secretary, who has taken a great interest in New Zealand's efforts at reform, and has been supplied with particulars of my scheme."

A Palmerston lady now on a Home trip, and staying at Gainsborough, in Lincolnshire, writes to a friend expressing surprise at the snow and ice in Britain being so much less than she had been anticipating previous to her departure. "In a visit paid to the South Island, two years ago," she writes, ''l saw more snow and felt the weather colder than during this winter at Home." Her friends told her that the winters at Home are getting milder than they used to be, nothing like so severe except in the matter of rain, which is frequent. A terrible accident is reported from Orange, New South Wales. A man was working a clmiTcutter, when his foot slipped into the feed box and was drawn through the rollers and under the knives. Six times the knives sliced off inch lengths of the unfortunate man's foot, which was chopped away to the instep, while the shin bone was badly bruised. The poor fellow rctnined his presence of mind and reversed the gear. Ultimately the engine was stopped. The leg bad to be amputated below the knee.

A rumor has been set about that Dr. Findlay had definitely decided to become a candidate for the Marsdcn electorate. The Whangarei Advocate has been asked to state that, although the AttorneyGeneral has been requested to stand, he will not decide until after his return from his visit to England. Altogether, Dr. Findlay has been asked to contest elections in five constituencies, and it is more than probable that he will be a candidate for a seat in the Lower House at the end of the year. It is stated that one of the largest stock breeders in the Feilding district has disposed of his property, valued at between £90,000 and £IOO,OOO, to a syndicate. It is understood that the vendor does not intend to leave the district, or relinquish all his interest in it. It is also stated that the information refers to Mr. E. Short's well-known Parorangi estate at Waituna of 5000 acres, which was recently placed under offer to a southern (inn at .£lB per acre. The proprietors of the circus which

visited Wanganui recently advertisod seats at 4s, 3s and 2s, and would-be patrons were disgusted and indignant beyond measure when the doors were opened to find that prices had virtually been put up a shilling. A rather angry though haphazard demonstration was made, and many who could not afford the extra money went home, while others paid up and tried to look pleasant. There was no remedy in sight for this action, and a police officer, on being appealed to, could do no more than advise people to stay away in a body. Had they done so, the proprietary might have been brought to their senses, but as the advice was not taken, the higher charge was obtained.

While speaking to a representative of a southern paper the other day at Queenstown, Dr. Cockayne, of the Lands Department, stated that he had about completed an inspection of the sand dunes in the Dominion. Dr. Cockayne says there are over .100,000 acres of sand dunes scattered through New Zealand, the sand in many cases covering land which would be worth up to £4O per acre. When asked as to how these waste places could be utilised, he said that in European countries, especially France, sand-covered land had been planted with forest trees and excellent results had been obtained. Dr. Cockayne will, at an early date, make a comprehensive report to the Government on the results of his inspection and investigations.

A PERSONAL NOTE. TO THE READERS OF THrS PARAGRAPH. We want to get right into the presence of eaeli individual reader of our advertisements, just as closely in personal touch as possihle. Wc want you, madam or sir, to know that our effort is to reach yon personally .just as if a letter were typewritten and mailed to your home. We are selling sneh a lot of good merchandise at bargain prices that wc want to impress you with your shopping opportunities. You must come in and buy all the soft goods and ready-to-wear apparel that you require for present and future needs. The inducement is one you can hardly resist—prices that are down to the most sensational bar-gain-giving point. There win never he a better shopping time than this. Will vou come? MELBOURNE CLOTH IXO CO. BARKED YOUR SHINS? Well, try Dr. Sheldon's Magnetic Liniment; it will take away nil the rain and stiffness, and you will forget nil about it. Price Is fid and 35." Obtainable everywhere.