LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 150, 21 December 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The theatre has been pencilled by H. B. Irving's company for January 22, on which date "Hamlet" will bo produced. A caucus of Ministerial supporters is, it is stated, to be held in Wellington this week to consider tho political situation. The first boat to load at Waitara this season for England is the Whakatane, which arrived in the roadstead on Moriday morning.

At the court yesterday morning, before Mr. 11. S. Fitzherbert, S.M., a first offender was convicted and discharged for being drunk in Devon street.

The new Empire Theatre, to be opened on Saturday, is considered one of the finest picture theatres built in New Zealand. It has seating accommodation for between 700 and SOO people.

In our report of the High School prize presentation it was stated that the prize for literature and botany, Fotrm 111., was won by Ida Mills. It should have been Ida. Miles, daughter of Mr. W. Miles, of Korito. Messrs. Gillies and Nnld&r have purchased the Eltham and Kaponga yards from Messrs. Young, I-lobbs and -Co. Mr. J. C. Hobbs will be in charge of this branch of the business, and will be stationed' at Eltham.

The breaking-up and presentation of prizes .in connection with local schools takes place to-day—The Central, at the Theatra Royal a»t 2.30 p.m.; West End in. the West End gymnasium at 2.30 p.m.; Fitzroy at 2.30 p.m.; and Frankley at 8 p.m.

Pilfering ocean cargoes is going on somewhere. A local boot merchant had one of his cases opened the other day in the goods shed, and there were only six pairs of boots out of a total of 60 supposed to have been packed. The lightness of the- case led to its b.eing unpacked in the shed.

At yesterday's meeting of the Education Board Captain A. C. C. Stevens, staff ofl'icer for junior cadets, forwarded a memo, from the Defence Department to the effect that it had been decided that studients at teachers' training colleges, who would ultimately become teachers and so officers of the junior cadets, were to. be exempt from training with the Territorials.

The Theatre Company have recently .effected considerable improvements to the seating accommodation at the Theatre Royal. The dress circle has been fitted up with up-to-date tip-up seats. The whole of the work was done locally, the woodwork by Mr. €. N. Johnson, who had the contract, and the iron work by .Messrs. Okey and Rollo. The dress circle chairs have been removed to the orchestral' stalls.

At Waverley on election night a misguided individual was foolish enough, and, it afterwards turned out unfortunate enough, to ithrow an egg which struck a lady on the back. The lady's husband, a very well known Waverley gentleman, was not far away, and he gave the culprit chase, catching him in one of the back streets, and there administering such a thrashing ito him that if he recovers by next election day he will be lucky. • . •

In the Magistrate's Court yesterday morning, before Mr. 11. S. Fitzherbert, S.M., the case of Callow v. Keith was called. Mr. Johnstone (for defendant) applied the previous day for a re-hear-ing on account of an error, by a witness, which made a difference of 800 gallons of oil won. After consulting with Mr. C. Weston (for plaintiff), they agreed to have, the judgment amount reduced by £2O. thus striking out the application for a re-hearing. The S.M. gave judgment accordingly. An important meeting of the promoters and residents interested in the Opunake' harbor was held at Mr. Rogers' office on Monday (the Opunake Times reports). There was a good attendance present, and the meeting was presided over by Mr. MclCeown. Several matters of importance regarding harbor affairs were discussed. It was decided to make a forward move, and call a public meeting at an early date, when it is expected to have the member,for the district and the Public. Trustee present. Yesterday a deputation from the Central school and medical men of the town visited, the' Central and- Courtenay street school in order to judge for themselves the condition of the buildings and environments. The medical gentlemen were Drs. Leatham, Walker, Wylie, Home, and Fookes. They were received by the chairman (Mr. F.'P. Corkill), the deputy chairman (Rev. S. S. Osborne), and the headmaster (Mr. H. Dempsey). Each class-room was visited and ■'inspected, also the out offices. We understand that the doctors are meeting to-day, and will make a formal report later. . •

• Mr. E. 'Eagle, of Belvedere, Wairarapa. is recounting a pleasant surprise which he experienced the other day. After having finished judging at the New Plymouth, show, the secretary of that society induced Mr. Eagle to take a ticket in a guessing competition. This he-did-, jocularly remarking at the same time that the pig (the first prize, valued at £3) couldbe forwarded at once. Mr. Eagle's surprise may be imagined when ho received a telegram two days later, saying that the pig had heen despatched ,for Carterton by that morning's train. Mr, Eagle should now be a firm believer in guessing competitions, especially when pressed to buy a ticket.

In view of Taranaki being an oil-pro-ducing province, and also in view of the experiments made in the country with petroleum as a dust-layer, the following passage from Edmond O'Donovan's book "The Story of Merv," written in 1879, should be of interest:—"While I was in Baku I was a good deal interested in the peculiar nature of the soil. During the storms that are very frequent, dense clouds of dim yellow dust arise, and this contains so much bitumen that the least glow of sunshine fixes it indelibly upon one's clothes. The streets are moistened with the coarse black residual naptha that remains after a distillation of the raw petroleum, and this effectually lays the dust for about a fortnight." Baku, it is to be noted, is still the most prolific oil-producing centre in Southern Russia.

Many retailers in the town hoped to do <i bit of extra business this week by keeping open in the evenings as, owing to the continuous wet weather unit the late nrrival of many shipments, business generally has not ibeen too brisk lately. On enquiring of the local Inspector oif Factories, Mr. Willis, as to the legality of keeping their assistants at work, he informed them that he had no power to grant permits to do so. Yesterday morning, Mr. C. E. Baker, president of the Employers' Association, wired to Mr. Lomas, Chief Inspector of Factories, Wellington, asking if under the circumstances any relief could be granted-, but received a reply that Mr. Willis' interpretation of the. Act wivs quite correct, and that neither he, nor aimine elso had any power to grant anv concessions' m the matter. Tradesmen may, however quite legally detain their assistants oil Friday night up to !) p.m. -and oil Saturday (Xmas Eve) up to 11 p.m. VISITING CARDS.—Wiiei, ~l in out of card?, send vor.r order fw rutin to the Daily News Printery. 3/# for 50, <>r 6for 100 (postage paid).

It is'an ill-wind, that blows nothing of gciod. In Masterton there is almost an entire absence af codlin moth, in local orchards this season, due to the woailusr conditions prevailing, and an authority informed- a reporter that orchardists should, now have a clean lot of apples.

The Otaki paper savs: ''lt is most probable that our newly-elected number of Parliament, ill- J. Robertson, will -take lip his residence in the Otaki township. Ho reiterated the statement he made at Otaki on Wednesday, that he was not pledged to either the Lafbor or Socialist party."

Letters from Home by every mail to friends in New Zealand refer to the abnormally high cost of living. Several colonists now at Home intend hastening their departure for New Zealand', apprehensive.' of further la\bor troubles with consequent economic drawbacks tending to cause increased anxiety as to the future.

Berlin has made the experiment of appointing thirty .feminine "policemen." These guardians of the law will have, children as their especial charge. Not only will homes be visited', for the woman officer may walk into any house at her own discretion, but schools and. institutions where little people are boarded l and educated will be entered and examined at will.

Some of the farmers in the Manawatu district (says the Standard) are growing a considerable area of peas this year to be used a.s fodder for their stock. The value of the pea as a fodder plant is not generally appreciated by farmers to the extent that it merits. Probably the example that has been set will be folio-w----ed by others. Ensilage is also being made in one or two instances. The distinction is claimed for the Duke of Buccleuch, who recently celebrated his 30th birthday, that he introduced the cigarette into English society. As Lord Dalkeith, the Duke was attached to the special mission of Lord. Granville to attend the Coronation of Alexander II in 1855. Cigarette-smoking was then habitual in St. Petersburg, but had not made its. way into London. Lord Dalkeith introduced it.

A recent item from New York is to the effect that leading firms in Portland, Oregon, have begun a campaign against {Socialist street orators. They declare that business is being injured by the crowds that gather to hear the anarchist speakers, who hold forth daily in the streets of the city. The Socialists and Labor men keenly resent the epithets applied to them, and will make a determined stand for the right of free speech in the streets. One often witnesses unusual sights in the >l>ackblocks. savs the Te Wharau correspondent of the Wairarapa Age. On a recent Sunday, divine service was being conducted on an East Coast station, and a very stort time afterwards the preacher was seen with his coat off, sprinting : over several flights of hurdles, while his more or less astonished congregation looked on from a distance. The preacher in the 'backblocks must evidently .be an all-round man.

Industry, close attention to business, frugality and abstemiousness no doubt go far in ma'king for success in any walk in lifa, but there are some factors often overlooked which are absolutely requisite if a dealer proposes to keep his head above water, says the Auckland Herald. On Monday, in the Supreme Court, a young man who had made a bold struggle to successfully carry on a grocery in a neighborhood where apparently no such store was required, was charged with having committed a breach of the Bankruptcy Act. During the case Mr E. Gerar. who for a considerable time was official assignee in bankruptcy in Auckland, gave some interesting details as to the possibilities of money-making by grocers in this part of the world. He said that in this particular case the gross profit made in the business was 10.96 peT cent., and that amount was not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses incidental to the successful conduct of such a store. Mr Gerard added that such a business could not be successful unless the gross profits on the turnover were 17y 2 per cent, at the very least.