LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 290, 2 May 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A press message states that forty-two Maoris, who will participate in the Festival of Empire, (have arrived in London. A Clydesdale stallion bred by Mr. J. S. Oughton, the well-known Okaiawa breeder, realiseil 500 guineas at the recent Sydney sales.

It is understood that Mr. J. W. McEwan, Mayor of Petone, will be a candidate for the Hutt electorate at the next general election. As illustrating the peculiarities of the present season it may be mentioned that an Ashhurst resident has several gooseberry tries now producing a second crop.

Mr. Alfred Ingleson, at one time wellknown throughout the Dominion as a scenic artist, died at the Wellington Hospital the other day, aged sixty-three years.

At St. John's Church, Johnsonville, on the 24th inst., Mr. A. R. (Bert) Potter, son of Mr. A. A, Potter, of Ilawera, was married to Miss Gladys Inch, daughtel of Mr. Inch, late of New Plymouth. Although some £300,000 has been spent on straightening the railway line between Wellington and the Hutt, tl\e new time-table shows that it now takes three minutes longer to get out to Trentham than it did before the line was straightened. Aramoho is losing its Zoo. The proprietor, having failed to negotiate a sale to the Wanganui Borough Council for the £IO,OOO which he asked, is now taking his collection of 000 birds and animals away from Wanganui, and intends to establish a permanent zoo at Onehunga. It is expected that General Godley will pay a visit of inspection to Taranaki at the end of the month. He will probably go into the question of ranges, drill hall, registration, and matters generally affecting the Territorial force of the province. He will be at New .Plymouth on May 23rd. Mr. Chas. M. Berkeley, touring manager for J. C. Williamson, Ltd., arrived yesterday morning from Auckland to make arrangements for the appearance of the new London Dramatic Company who will appear next Monday in the Theatre Royal in the spectacular drama "Via Wireless." At all the Protestant churches at Feilding on Sunday addresses were gievn on the Bible. All denominations, from the Anglican Church to the Salvation Army, were associated at night in a public meeting to celebrate the tercentenary of the publication of the authorised version of the Bible.

The secretary of the Taranaki Hospital and Charitable Aid Board informed the Taranaki County Council yesterday that the amount payable by the County Council towards the funds of that body, based on a valuation of £1,051,726, would be £GSO lis Gd per annum, or £.jj 4s 4d per month. In a man-eating shark recently captured in the straits of Juan de' Fura. British Columbia, some fishermen found the remains of a man and a camera. It is presumed that the photographer and the shark tried to snap each other, and that t]ie shark, which was SCJft. long and weiged 15 tons, won. | The Paris printer of the Liberator, which published the libel on King George, has declined to print any further issue of that journal, having been warned by a number of his best customers that .they would withdraw their business if he continued to have any; connection with such a publication. I

Lady Eileen Knox, daughter of Lord Ranfurly, ex-Governor of New Zealand, is to be one of the four train-bearers of the Queen at the Coronation. Hitherto the train-bearers have always been pages, but Queen Mary has introduced an innovation by selecting four daughters of peers. Lady Mary Dawson. Lady Dorothy Browne, and Lady Eileen Butler are the other three train-bearers.

In the Marokopa district large numbers of natives are congregating for the purpose of collecting the bones of those buried in a ground across the Marokopa river during the troublesome times of Te Ranparaha (writes a Te Kuiti correspondent). Many battles have been fought and decided there, and day by day relies of those bloodthirsty days are being found in the form of stone axes, pnriri spades, greenstone, artd flint-lock guns. The gathering of these_ Maoris is, of course, a time for feasting, and pork, potatoes, kumaras, beef, mutton, fish, maize, and other articles of food are being cooked in native ovens.

At yesterday's mooting of the Tara naki County Council, the speed of motorcars along the main roads came in for adverse criticism. One member stated that he had lately had two "close shaves" while driving along the road, owing to motor-cars travelling at from •TO to (10 miles per hour. If he could have secured their numbers, he would have prosecuted them for driving at excessive speed, but they had 110 numbers. Tn the course of discussion, it was pointed out that a reply had been received from the Hon. D. Buddo, Minister of Internal Affairs, stating that an arrangement had now been arrived at so that the application of the council marks for motor-ears and motor-cycles would be dealt with at an early date. Members considered that this" would make identification much easier, and steps should be taken to compel the speed to be limited to something reasonable. Paved crossings every short distance were suggested as a means to this end, but it was considered that a few prosecutions would be better. The method of setting traps, as is done in England, was incidentally mentioned, and it was finally resolved to leave the matter in the hands of the chairman.

A discovery made by Dr. Babcock with reference to cheese-making was thnt the previously conceived idea that the curing process was due to the action of bacteria was totally wrong, said Mr. F. Greville. editor of the Dairyman, at Kaupokonui on Saturday. All cheesemakers had been taught up to that time that the curing process was due to the action of bacteria, but Dr. Babcock discovered that this process was purely chemical and that bacteria bad no more to do with it than witchcraft except to make what would otherwise be a good cheese a bad cheese. The TCanpoknnui was the first factory in the world to take full advantage of this great discovery by insulating the curing room so as to keep the temperature as low as possible. Continuing, the speaker said he would give the manager a hint about shrinkage which the directors were so keen about just now. Shrinkage could be prevented b.v using two cheese bandages instead of one. and inserting between the two bandages one layer of parchment which was absolutely impervious to moisture. The parchment l should be inserted between the caps as' well as the bandages, which would se-i cure it being completely enveloped in parchment paper.—Star,

A party of sportsmen procured thirty wild ducks yesterday morning not four miles from Hawera.

Yesterday morning, before Mr. 11. S. l'itzherbert, S.M., ,las. AlcNiven pleaded guilty in the local Magistrate's' Court to' a charge of having, on Saturday, been found drunk for the third time within six months. The prisoner, who had been locked up since Saturday, eonsented to the issue of a prohibtion order against himself, audi was convicted and discharged with a caution.

Speaking at the laying of the foundation stone of the Kaupokonui Dairy Co.'s new factory on Saturday, Mr. W. I'owdrell, chairman of directors, said that I.lyears ago, when the company was first established, the output was 8314 Iks; last year it reached 122,000 lbs. When the factory was Btarted the 'land was selling at £lO an acre; now the same land brought buyers at £SO.

On Wednesday, the 10th inst., a rural (one diy a week) class will be opened at the Technical College. The course will include English, mensuration, and surveying, farm carpentry and metal work, dairy work and agriculture. It will commence at 11 a.m. and continue till 4 p.m., so as to enable farmers' sons to get full benefit of the day, as far as the train service will allow. Already several have enrolled themselves, and all who intend to take advantage of this class are asked to make application immediately, so as to be able to complete the whole course.

In connection with the fire at Bell Block on Sunday, whereby Mr. Sheehy's residence was totally destroyed while the family was at church, it appears that the fire was first noticed by Mr. A. Cliff from his residence. He immediately went over, as did other neighbors, but the flames had such a hold that nothing could be saved but a few sundries from the verandah. The dairy, a short distance from the house, escaped. Precautions, which fortunately proved unnecessary, had been taken to remove the machinery. The building was insured in the Commercial Union Office for £IOO, and the contents in the same office for £2OO. The fire appeared to have started in close proximity to a chimney.