LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 155, 29 December 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A movement is on foot to start a third daily newspaper in Mastcrton. This is the outcome of the recent general election. A number of local tennis enthusiasts are visiting Christchureh to witness the Davis Cup contest, which opens there to-day. An Orepuki prospector has discovered what he declares to be a deposit of radium. He has sent a specimen of the mineral away to be assayed. It is rumored in legal circles' that a young lady from Cambrian has issued against a Dunedin man a writ claiming £5Ol for breach of promise of marriage.

Advices .show that tile share of the receipts of the Australasian football team now touring England has already reached £4500, the expenses being £ISOO.

A Wanganui paper understands that tho Union Company contemplates establishing a direct service between Wanganui and Australia, taking out timber and bringing back coal. Xegotiations are at present in progress.

"The people of New Zealand are tho greatest letter-writers in the world, and the Postal Department is one of which the country should be proud," said Mr. G. B. Hall (Inspector of Post Offices) at the letter-carriers' dinner in Auckland.

Pickpockets are plying their calling in unusual numbers in Auckland. A gentleman who was waiting his turn to get into a tramcar ielt a click at his pocket, and upon seating himself, looked to see if it were torn, and then discovered it was turned inside out, and his money gone.

William Whiler, a miner, had a terrible experience while working in a water race alone, says a cable from Hobart. A big stone fell, pinning him by the legs, and he was not discovered for six days. Water was passing over the lower portion of his body the whole time. He is expected to recover. That the arm of the law is long has again been demonstrated. In July last a Master-ton resident lost his bicycle. The machine was traced to Carterton, where it had been sold by a voting man, who mysteriously disapepared. On Wednesday last a man was arrested at Herbertville on a charge of stealing the bicycle. There was a severe thunderstorm in Hawera early yesterday morning. The forked lightning was very vivid, and the accompanying peals of thunder unusually heavy. Half an hour before the thunder ended heavy rain set in, and continued at intervals throughout the morning. As far as can be ascertained, no damage resulted. From January 1 the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company will accept deferred- plain language telegrams at half rates between Australasia and all British colonies and dependencies, Germany, the German colonies of Togo, Cameroons. South-West and East Africa, and the United .States, in addition to between Australasia and Great Britain.

In the Magistrate's Court yesterday, before Justices J. S. S. Medley and Hickman Russell, a first offender was convicted and discharged for being drunk. A resident of Tongaporutu was arrested by Senior-Sergeant Dart on Wednesday evening and charged yesterday morning with indecent conduct. He was convicted and ordered to come up for sentence when called upon.

At Christchurch his Honor Mr. Justice Denniston last week dealt rather severely with the legislation of the Dominion. Speaking of the provisions dealing with gifts made within three years of a man's death, he said: "This is one of those Acts that are passed by the House and then sent to a revising Chamber, where the members are waiting, carpet-bags in hand and steamer tickets in pocket. The time has come, I think, when no Act should become law until it has been revised by a select committee to see that it carries out what is, as far as can be ascertained, the intention of the Legislature."

Messrs. W. Armstrong, Commissioner of Crown lands, New Plymouth, and David Craig, District Valuer, stationed at Wanganui, have been appointed by His Excellency the Governor to be a commission to hold an inquiry and make a report as to the suitability for municipal control of a certain area in the County of Taranaki, described in several petitions praying for inclusion of that area in the Borough of ST«w Plymouth, and to make such alterations in the boundaries proposed to be included, as they shall deem necessary and advisable. The land which tho petitioners desire to be merged in the borough comprises an area twice the size of the original borough, and includes Vogeltown, Frankley Road, Westown, Avenue Road district. etc. Mr. Craig is expected to arrive here on January 4. A young lady from Ashburton, who was attending a wedding at Lyttelton on Monday, was, by a slight accident., mistaken for the bride, and to her great confusion was subjected to the shower of stinging rice which the bride proper and bridegroom escaped. As the newlymarried couple were about to leave the church after the ceremony, the bride suddenly remembered that she had left her bouquet at tho altar, and one of the young ladies attending her returned for it in company with a young man. The 'bride and bridegroom passed out of the church without the usual honors, which were bestowed on the happylooking couple with the bouquet, with more than usual liberality. Newly-mar-ried couples have practised many subterfuges so as to escape tho attention of friends immediately after the ceremony, and this latest idea shows how inexhaustible a woman's wit is. It is as well that judgment debtors Sihould know that they are expected to furnish the Court with a statement of their earnings since judgment was first obtained for the debt. A case in point cropped up at Hawera, when a judgment debtor said that he could not give an accurate account of his financial position. The Magistrate said judgment debtors would not give the necessary particulars, and expected the Court to know what their earnings had been. He noticed that in the City courts a large notice, in red ink, was stamped on the summonses, cautioning the debtors that they must give an exact account of their earnings, and the days on which they had worked since tho judgment was obtained. He thought that this was a very food plan, for up to the present nothing seemed to be able to make the persona supply the Court with the desired information. Uric Acid is the chief cause of Kheumatißm and kindred diseases. Knowing this, why continue suffering untold agony when RHEUMO will cure you? It removes the excess Uric Acid from the Blood, and thus quickly gives permanent relief. 2/6 and 4/6 per bottle, at till chemjats. 13 >

Tt is possible that the two Norwegian whaling ships will make Westport their headquarters. It is probable also thnt Captain Amundsen's Antarctic fillip Fram will visit Westport. The total amount of gate money taken at the Eltham Axemen's Carnival was £212 IDs, being about £3O less than last year. The falling-off was most noticeable on the first day's amount, vyhich was £144 17s, there bring less difference 1 in the second day's amount in comparison. It must be remembered, of course, that the 1010 meeting was -,i record one in regard to attendance. —Argus. It would appear that the police officers stationed in Gisborue are by no means lacking in energy and enterprise. A member of the County Council a few days ago niissid his Panama hat from a hotel, where he was dining. The police ascertained that three natives toad left the town during the day. The constable caught them aflcr a chase of eight miles, searched their effects, and found the missing hat in one of their swags. Accused was fined £3 10s (id, in default 14 days' imprisonment.

Here is a rather peculiar personal coincidence with regard to Mr. Hogg, who was rejected by Mas'terton, and Mr. Jennings by Taumarunui. So far back as 32 years ago these two gentlemen were associated as part proprietors of a cooperative evening paper devoted to Democracy. It was published in Dunedin and called the Age. Mr. Hogg was its editor, and Mr. Jennings was foreman. Both of them were staunch Liberals, both took to active politics together. The complement to the genei'al coincidence came when both were rejected at the same election.

The most important branch of school life, said Professor, David in an address in Sydney last week, is the development of a sound body, without which a sound mind is unattainable. He urged the great value of school games in the development of character where the sport was elean and manly, "and," he continued, "we must include the noble art; of self-defence iso long a* it does not degenerate into exhibitions of more or less brutality." He strongly deprecated prize-fighting, which had nothing to do with the finer sides of character that were developed in games where discipline and unselfishness were demanded.

The war between Italy and Turkey has led to a tragedy of an unusual nature. In St. Petersburg an Ottoman girl, Tawa Komiko, was receiving her education. A3 soon a* hostilities began the young lady prepared to return to her country, but as funds were wanting her departure was delayed. Then cauie the announcement of the fall of Tripoli, with the result that the girl was in a state of despair. She seemed to think that her country would never recover itself. She said she could never survive the disaster, and her friends kept her under close surveillance. The girl, however, managed to evade her guiwdians, and threw herself out of a window. Just before her death she regained consciousness, and was able to murmur: "I cannot survive my country's misfortune. I wish to die."

Our note the other day on the remarkable homing instinct of the crustaceans who were liberated eighty miles from "home" and eventually returned to their Borrowing relations none the worse for the journey (says the Westminster Gaeztte) reminds a correspondent of a queer use which crabs are put to in certain parts of the Devonshire foreshore. They are used to catch rabbits. Having located a promising burrow the snarer takes a -crab and affixes a short length of lighted candle to its shell back. The behaviour of a crab which finds itself in a narrow enclosure is well known. It begins to run. It therefore starts away up the burrow at top-rate, and presently "Master Bunny is horrified at the sight of a jog-trotting for hfesanetuaries. Off he goes for the other exit—only to find himself, when he emerges, in a trap.

Certain officials at the Auckland railway station, says the Star, are looking for divers frolicsome spirits, and are promising dire trouble if a meeting takes place. Christmas is always a busy period for the railway servants, and is just the time when the pranks of the practical joker -are least likely to be appreciated. All day long on Thursday tired officials were turning away angry callers. One after another trooped in. "A parcel for me? So-and-So is my name. You rang up to say there was a parcel of poultry for me from the country. Trying weather like this, I can quite understand that you are glad to get such perishable freight off your hands. Very good of you to ring up."' In such manner innumerable people introduced themselves to the officials in charge of the railway goods sheds on the Breakwater road, only to be informed that some wag had been at work. Finally the railway people got so tired of that where they suspected the errand of a caller they rapped out, "No, there's no Christmas poultry for you," before the hoaxed citizen had time to embark upon enquiry. A railway official informed a 'Star representative that they had had over SCO such inquiries in two days, and they were tired of it.

"We may possibly not have another licensing poll for five years, or we may have one every year," a man interested in licensing polls told a Dunedin Star reporter recently, when discussing the possibility of a, dissolution of Parliament next year. This gentleman quoted the clause of the Licensing Act which says that "if at any time Parliament is dissolved before it has been two years in existence, then at the taking of the electoral poll for the new Parliament no licensing poll shall be taken, but the result of the licensing poll taken at the last previous general election shall continue in force until such licensing poll is again taken simultaneously with the electoral poll next after the dissolution of such new Parliament." The clause was somewhat vague. Suppose (contended this authority) Parliament A, just elected, continues in office for less than two years, on its dissolution no licensing poll will be taken when.the succeeding Parliament B is elected, as the result of the licensing poll taken at the election of Parliament A will continue in force until the election held after the dissolution or expiry of Parliament B. That may mean five years. Supposing, however, that Parliament A exists 'only for six months, and Parliament B, which succeeds it, lasts for a similar period, then the obvious reading of the Licensing Act is that as a consequence of numerous short-period dissolutions of Parliament a licensing poll may .possibly be taken every twelve months. On the other hand, if Parliament A lasted just under two years, and Parliament B ran its full term of three years, there would consequently not be a licensing poll for five years. "And every live years would be often enough," concluded this quoter of Acts and propounded of figures.