LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 152, 23 December 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

We understand that at a meeting of the Liberal Party in Wellington the Premier intimated his intention of resigning* the leadership of the Liberal Party. The new leader will 1)0 cither the Hon. Thomas Mackenzie (member for Egmont) or Hon. James Milliar (member for D lined in North). A farm in the Mangorei district was sold recently for £35 an acre. It is perhaps the most highly improved place in the locality. The Post and Telegraph holiday arrangements for Christmas and New Year will be found fully notified under the mail notices.

On the steamer Delphic, coming from the Old Country, are six Ayrshire heifers and a bull consigned to the State. By the same steamer Mr. J. 0. Wilson is importing three Shropshire rams.

John Stevenson, who was sentenced at Hawera on Monday morning to six months' imprisonment for disobeying a maintenance order on the grounds that he was not the parent of the child, was later released on paying arrears amounting to £B.

We have been asked to state that for the convenience of bathers at Fitzroy the newly-erected sheds will be open for use during the holidays. They arc not quite finished, 'but the committee in charge thought bathers would appreciate hawing the convenience of sheds as soon as possible.

At the Court yesterday, before Mr. J, S. S. Medley, J.P., a first offending inebriate, arrested by Constable Whitehouse, was convicted and discharged. James Brown, against whom there was a previous conviction for drunkenness, was arrested by Senior-Sergeant 'Dart, and was fined 10s, or in default three days' imprisonment.

A ballot was taken at the Parnell school recently on the question of prohibition. The result was only one vote for Continuance. The small boy who voted that way explained that he did so because he knew of a racehorse of that name! Discussing this point, the Dominion says editorally: "A ballot taken in almost any school in the country would result in Prohibition being carried. The children naturally know nothing of the real merits of the issues involved, but they have had the evils of intemperance drilled into them, and they grow up *-ith the idea deeply rooted that the only cure for intemperance is Prohibition. This is the real force which the Liquor interest has to contend against." The December issue of Progress is an architectural number, and affords proof of the progressive policy of this interesting journal, inasmuch as twelve extra pages have been added in order to comprehensively treat the subject of the proposed new Parliamentary Buildings competition. There are no less than 25 pages of designs and illustrations of this subject, which cannot fail to convince us of the great skill and talent of the architects dwelling in our midst. In the engineering section there ia a description and illustrations of the new Tesla reversible steam turbine, which is making such a stir in engineering circles at Home and in America. The British "New Pick" car is described, together with various other matters of interest to motorists. Astronomy and yachting are also treated. ■Special Christmas music will be rendered at the son-ices in the Whitcley Memorial Church to-morrow. The morning, subject of the sermon will be "The Child and the Ages," and the address to the children will be on "How Christmas Changed Scrooge." The evening subject j will ibe "The Incarnation in Nature, Conscience and Christ."

A Motuelai tomato-grower states that a recent hailstorm swept out of existence his 30,000 tomato plants. He has not sixpence worth lei'l. At a fire at To Maiianga station. Hasting", recently, a collection of jewels valued at from CISOO to including bracelets and necklaces, won by Mrs. Douglas' raeehors'es, wore destroyed. The Prohibition party who conducted the campaign in Auckland against the liquor traffic, advertised themselves as the "Wowser Company. Limited (fully paid up.!"

A banfaeed theft occurred in the town yesterday afternoon, when a pair of hoots was filched from outside a local boot emporium. The police have the matter in hand. There have been destructive bush and grass fires in the Poverty Bay district, several 'homesteads narrowly escaping destruction. Extensive areas of grass) have been destroyed, and , numbers of sbeep are said to have been lost.

At the Taranaki Oil and Freehold Company's meeting last evening, the chairman (Mr. F. P. Corkill) read extracts from a letter from Mr. Balloch, who is in the oil regions- in Yeiuuela. He said he hoped to be back in New Zealand ill three vears.

The Ilawera Acclimatisation Society this year restricted netting at the mouth of the Waingongoro river, with the /result that kawhai have been more plentiful than for four years. One day last week two or three anglers between them secured about one hundred good fish.— Star.

Auckland is advancing rapidly in the number of births registered before the local registrar, and the present year promises to beat all previous records. Should the rate of birth registration continue to the end of the year the Auckland record will be close on three thousand births.

Nearly all the visiting axemen are now in Eitham for the coming carnival Amongst the number arc Sam Johnson, who won the big event last year, and who is said to be in great form. Dave Pretty arrives on Monday night. Humm and Wall, the crack cyclists of the Dominion, also arrived last night. New Plymouth's new theatre, opposite Nolan's auction mart, Devon street, opens at 11 o'clock to-day, and will remain open till 11 at night, a continuous picture show being given. The grand opening night will be Tuesday (first race night), when a star programme, including the great picture "Zigomar," will be submitted.

Up to (be other day paper-bag cookery was the vogue, and it has remained for a New Zealander to reduce the idea to the minimum of bagless paper cookery. Mr. G. 1). White, a Dunedin contractor, has just taken out patent rights for his new system. Soon someone will put'all these things out of date by patenting a cookeryless bagless' system.

Statistics in the current Gazette show that out of a population in April last of ] ,008.408 in New Zealand, 12/350, or 1.2 per cent, are foreign subjects. The number of New Zealand-born persons is 702,779, and those born in the United Kingdom number 228,684. The arrivals for November 1 were 5248 and departures 2054, compared with 4524 and 1777 in November, 1910.

The mail train last night was a particularly heavy one owing to the holiday traffic. Two engines were required to bring the train up as far as Stratford. Despite the extra luggage handled, and, consequently increased stoppages, the train ran well up to time, arriving here only about 12 minutes late. The llarawa, which left for Onehunga, later, was a full ship, carrying over 150 passengers. A -small boy with a whistle caused the passengers of the mid-day train somfc amusement at a country station yesterday. The train usually remains thorp several minutes, and a commercial traveller took advantage of this to interview a customer some two or three chains away. Hardly had he opened fire when a peremptory blast was blown on a whistle at the station. Thinking the train was off he made a record dash for it, only to find the aforesaid small boy grinning at him. The train did not leave till live minutes after. Adjoining Lake Titacaca, in Peru, lie the ruins of a great city, whose origin was as much a matter of conjecture 900 years ago as it is to-day, according to the records of the Incas. The stone walls of the largest buildings were elaborately carved. Evidence in abundance exists that the inhabitants were skilled masons. At present the region is cold and arid, and entirely incapable of ripening cereals. It is inhabited by a few hardy mountaineers. It is evident that the climate is entirely different from what it was when the, plateau was the centre of a large population. Dr. Findlay took the Auckland people into his confidence after the elections. "I left a lucrative practice at the Bar five years ago," bo declared, "in order to devote myself entirely to the public service of my country, and since coming to Auckland I have been accused of making desperate efforts to secure a fat billet. Well, this fat billet I am entitled to means less than probably three-fourths of the lawyers of New Zealand are earning to-day. A memorandum sent to me the other day by my accountant shows me that my lciss in those five years has been £ 15,400. That is my reply bo those who talk about the fat billet." After stating that his first thought now would have to be devoted to his impaired fortunes he said that he yet hoped to see the day when he might again enter the fight. On the llauraki Plains, in the Thames Valley, near Auckland, the Government have put down five artesian wells to depths of from 300 ft to fiOOft. A splendid supply of water has been met with in each case, the flow rising several feet above the surface, and yielding from

4000 gallons up to 115,200 gallons per

day. But the water is warm soda water, and the people who first drink at the crystal flow usually get a taste which makes them look thoughtful for a while. As a matter of fact, although this water can be ranked as a first-class corrective in cases of rhc-umatism or bladder troubles it is not a pleasant beverage, and the settlers have not yet cultivated a taste for it, so they depend on rain.

Stock seem to like this drink even unadulterated and thrive on it, and there seems a likelihood now that the district is carrying so many cows that milk and soda-water, will become the general product of these nevvlv-reclaimed fertile plains.—Herald.

If you are like the majority of people you find it is somewhat difficult to choose Xmas and New Year gifts. You think of one thing and then another, only to dismiss them from your mind as unsuitable or too costly. A timely hint often helps one out of a difficulty, and here you are offered suggestions for gifts which will give satisfaction and pleasure to all concerned. From the recipient's standpoint a neatly finished stereoscope is bound to be acceptable. While from your point of *view such a gift will solve your problems of "what to give." We are selling stereoscopes woth 7/0 for 3/6, or complete with one dozen assorted stereoscopic views, 10/-, post free to any address. The stereoscopes have engraved aluminium hoods, with plus covered edges. Send for one to-day before the limited supply is exhausted. Harringtons N.Z. Ltd., 42 Willis street, Wellington.—Advt.

The latest rumor with regard to steam-! ship developments of the future is that) the Union Steamship Compan- > utilising the Panama Canal for a New Zealand-London passenger route; that they are. prepared accordingly; and that the San Francisco boats are to he utilised iu thi! new trade. This information comes from a correspondent who saw Sir .James .Mills at Plymouth on the occasion of the Tahiti's departure for Sydney.

The contest for tho Ashburton seat was not devoid of humor, Mr. "'Jock" McLachlan, an cx-M.P. for the district, who was recently lined for drunkenness, re-contested the seat, and landed at the bottom of the poll. At one of his meet- | ings a member of the audience asked in j all seriousness if Mr. McLncblan had been invited to stand in the interests of the Prohibit ion party. Loud applause greeted .Mr. McLaohlan's indignant denial of the imputation. So far as the Wellington Labor Bureau is concerned (says its report), immigrants have, had no difficulty in securing situation's. The majority of those arriving, however, have been booked to various parts of the South Island. Farm laborers just now are. in demand; in fact, the local office can place more experienced men than it can lay hands upon. General labor conditions are also good, although the approaching holidays are to some extent responsible for a little slackness in the cities.

Remarkable heroism was shown by a lad of Hi who was serving a.s a wireless operator on the American steamer Lexington. The vessel was driven ashore oil' the Florida coast during a hurricane. Three times the vessel was covered with water and the ship'a-ivirelegs system was wrecked. The operator, whose name was Sheesley, then climbed into the rigging, adjusted his instruments there, and frota that point flashed calls for help, which resulted in the rescue of part of the crew.

At Hie court yesterday morning, Chas. E. Baker was summoned by Senior-Sergeant Dart for allowing straw and paper to blow about Devon street on' December 18. Accused pleaded' guilty, but said that after lie started unpacking his goods the wind sprang up, and in one of the crates there were 390 articles. He said he had not caused any obstruction, and it was the first time he had been before a magistrate. Senior-Sergeant Dart pointed out that people had complained about the straw and paper blowing about, and said the accused was not summoned for obstruction. A fine of 10s and costs 7s was inflicted.