LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 283, 22 April 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Eggs are worth 2a 4d a dozen in Wellington. On Monday night householders' meetings will be held at the various schools throughout Taranaki for the purpose of electing committees for the ensuing year. An adjourned meeting of the Borough Council will be held on Monday evening to consider tenders for drain pipes iu connection with the proposed sewerage extension, and also for earthwork at Barrett and Morley streets. There is no abatement in the measles epidemic in Manaia and district, says the local paper. On the contrary, it seems to be spreading and at present a very large number of children and some adults are down with it. On the motion of Mr. Roy (Roy and Nicholson) Mr. Justice Edwards has granted probate of the will of Elizabeth de la Roche, late of Omata, widow, deceased, and letters of administration of the estate of George Hurfit Sampson, late of Waitara, settler, deceased.

It is estimated that about 2000 people were at the Dawson's Falls Mountain House on Easter Monday, and that half of them reached the top of Alt. Egmont. A lady surely put up a record. She did the ascent in high-heeled boots, and a very light silk blouse was part of her costume.—Star. At the annual meeting of subscribers to the Xew Plymouth Library, held in the Town Hall last night, even more than the usual apathy was shown by subscribers. Out of two hundred and forty-one whose names appear on the books, only nine attended the meeting, and of these five were members of the committee. Man's selfishness to woman's entry into public life is disappearing, says the Opunake Times. At the last meeting of the Parihaka Road Board a lady pound-keeper was appointed. When th»» application for the position was being considered one member said: "I will second the appointment—l back the women every time." A Gisborne telegram informs us that on Thursday afternoon a man named John Keogh entered St. Mary's Presbytery and stole Father Lane's umbrella. He pleaded guilty at the court yesterday and was sentenced to three months' imprisonment. If every person who "made a mistake" in the matter of lifting umbrellas was sent to gaol, there would need to be a very big prison extension programme. The dairy factory returns for March are a good deal below the figures for the previous month, this being due principally to the spell of dry/weather. Of the factories in the Hawera district, Hawera will pay out the largest sum for the past month, viz., £3728. The butterfat totalled 8a,1201b5., and the pay-out was at the rate of 10y 2 d. Mells will distribute £1312 for 31,5051b5., while the suppliers of the Normanby Co-operative Factory will receive between them £1147. The amount of the butter-fat was 27,5481b5. Tenpence per lb. was the pay-out in connection with the lastnamed companies. Xgaere will pay out £IBBB. Mr. G. H. Stubbs, of Waitaraj writing to the Wanganui Herald, says: "I. have been staying in your picturesque towu for a few days, and note that great interest is being taken on the question as to whether the harbor should be made at Castlccliff or at the town of Wanganui. Having been interested in the working of the ports of Xew Plymouth and Waitara for a number of years, I can assure you it would be a. fatal mistake not to have your harbor in the town. The inconvenience and extra expense in handling cargo at the New Plymouth breakwater through being so far out of the town is the one drawback to otherwise a useful harbor."

The inoculation of calves, a3 a precaution against blackleg in the Hawera stock area, is about finished, only one or two districts requiring to be visited. To date no fewer than 16,000 calves have passed through the inspector 1 !, hands, as against 8300 for the previous season. The inspector said to a Star reporter that the big increase was due to the fact that farmers were keeping more calves as there had been apparently a shortage of fat cattle. Asked as to the condition of stock generally throughout the district, the officer replied that they were all satisfactory, perhaps an odd thin beast here and there. With the advent of the autumn growth there should be an abundance of feed for the winter.

Mr. Fred Honan, of the staff of Mr. Newton King, met with a painful accident late on Tuesday night. When cycling down the High School hill on the Avenue road, he was thrown heavily on to the metal, through an accident to his machine, and considerably cut about the hands and face. He was stunned for some considerable time and has ne recollection of what happened until he found himself on his bed at his residence in Vivian street at about 5 a.m. His bicycle and hat were found at the scene of the accident by some lads early in the morning. Dr. Home, who attended Mr. Honan, found it necessary to put him under an anaesthetic in order to dress the wounds. It is hoped that there will be no permanent injury, although some little time must elapse before he is able to be about again. Complaints are received from time to time that newspapers, magazines, and periodicals are hardly shelved at the Carnegie Library before they are destroyed by some vandals deliberately cutting out articles and pictures, or ruthlessly tearing them. At last nightS meeting of subscribers the matter was discussed, and the chairman intimated that the iirst offender detected, irrespective of who he might be, would have to face court proceedings. The difficulty of detection was commented on, and there was some mention of the formation of a vigilance committee to assist in this. Mr. W. 11. Skinner also stated that pilfering from the museum in the old building was so pronounced that the committee was compelled to lock the room. Some of the more valuable exhibits had recently been stored in one of the rooms in the new building. He further intimated that he was just considering the loaning of a very'valuable collection of Maori curios to the museum.

A hearty laugh was raised ,at the complimentary dinner to the Hon. D. Buddo, at Waimate, South Island. The .Minister was explaining that it was not the dullest boys who are put to farming nowadays; they were put to something else. At this point the Minister was interrupted with the remark by one of the audience, "No, we make politicians of them!" "Any man who wastes his money keeping a second home deserves little consideration/' said Mr. H. W. Bishop, S.M., to a man charged with disobeying a maintenance order. The man replied that he did not waste his money, but the Magistrate replied: "Any man who brings illegitimate children into the world and supports them to the detriment of his legitimate children is wasting his money." According to country papers, some new caves have been discovered in the vicinity of Kaipororo, in the Forty-mile Bush. They arc on the private property of Mr. H. Renall, are fairly easily accessible, and the beauties of 'the stalactites and stalagmites are simply wonderful. The caves extend for some distance, and in places are very large and roomy, while at others there is only room for one person to walk.

A gross expenditure of £30.559,950 was provided for in the British Army Estimates for 1910, but the actual gross expenditure was £233,464 less than that sum. Estimated grants in aid were £3,454.030. but the actual receipts were £42,280 less. The net surplus on the year was therefore £191,175. There was a deficit of £120,000 through the working of the new system of clothing soldiers, under which the men get a clothing allowance. The gratitude of an inmate of.the Napier Hospital was illustrated at the last meeting of the Board. The chairman stated that a lady, a patient at the hospital, wished to give £3OO towards the funds, on condition that she reeeived interest on that sum paid quarterly. He did not see how the Board could accept the offer, as, if the patient ever left the hospital, she would be destitute. The matter was left in the hands of the chairman, and the secretary -was instructed to send a letter of thanks to the patient. The other day Major-Gcneral Godley received a letter from his cousin, Lord Kilhracken, son of Mr. John Robert Godley, the founder of Canterbury. Lord Kilhracken has been lately created a peer, and he states in his letter that on the supporters of his coat-of-arms he has a representation of the Southern Cross, which he has placed there to show his connection with New Zealand. He explains in his letter that he was with his father at Lyttelton when the first four ships arrived. His Lordship was a mite of three years then, but he states that he can remember the incident. His title is the name of his estate in Ireland, Some time ago the Taranaki Provincial Executive of the Farmers' Union offered prizes for the three best essays on "The achievements of the Union; its position to-day, and its prospects for the future." The competition was open to all. At its meeting at Hawera on Thursday, says the Star, the executive received the judge's decision, and the order of merit in which he plaoed the essays was: J. S. Inglis (Milton, Otago) 1, E. C. Jack (Wellington) 2, John Couchman (Dunedin) 3, Herbert Lewis (New Plymouth) and T. L. Mills (Feilding) 4. Mr. Jack is secretary of the Dominion Executive, and in a letter which accompanied his essay he desired that in the event of his essay finding a place amongst the first four the prize should be awarded to the next in order of merit. He did this because it might be supposed that he in his official position had access to information not available to the ordinary competitor. At the same time he mentioned that the information his essay contained was public, having been published again and again. The executive expressed its appreciation of the position taken up by Mr. Jack, and awarded the second prize in accordance with his wishes. Mr. Inglis secures £lO, Mr. Couchman £5, and Messrs. Lewis and Mills divide £3. It was left with Mr. Jones (chairman), Mr. Allhusen and the secretary to arrange for the publication of the successful essays.

Messrs. Bortliwiek and Sons announce that their freezing works at Waitara will close down for the season on Saturday next, 29th inst, for nil classes of stock with the exception of pigs, which will be received until further notice.