LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 100, 5 January 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

, Plans of tTie Pakowai Estate to be submitted to auction on January 10 : by Messrs Dalgety and Co., mav be secured by those interested by calling at the office of the Daily News. Particulars of the sale may be seen in our advertising columns.

Before Justices J. S. S. Medley and Hickman Russell, yesterday morning, a ] first offending inebriate was convicted and discharged. A similar offender was convicted and fined ss. The accused stated to the police that he was not drunk, and witnesses had to be produced to prove the charge. The prisoners were] arrested by Constable O'Neill. New York claims credit for being the world's largest toy market, ine statement is made that the annual volume of trade at wholesale prices is 75,000,000 dollars, a large part of which is shipped to the great fairs of Europe and Asia. Export trade from New York commences in July, and lasts until well into October. Toys in loads have been sent from New York to India for Durbar celebrations. Six hundred Indian princes resolved to give public 'entertainments that will include the distribution of toys to children. Canada wants less of the American flag. Manufacturers of moving-picture films at New York are dismayed over an order from Toronto that the United States flag must be cut out of <fii«M sent for exhibition in the Ontario capital. Films depicting Civil War incidents have been sent back, as showing "too much waving of the Stars and Stripes." Even a film showing the rescue of a drowning man was sent back because the American flag was flying at the stern. The film was sent back with the curt order* "Cut out Stars and Stripes." At the court yesterday morning, before Justices J. S. S. Medley and Hickman Russell, Anthony Lehrke, who was arrested early yesterday morning by Constable Whitehouse, was charged with being a dangerous lunatic wandering at large. Senior-Sergeant Haddrell said the accused had been before the court on several occasions, and had been sent to gaol for medical treatment, but at the end of a week he was considered' fit to be released. He had been suffering from insomnia recently, which probably accounted for his present condition." Accused was remanded for a week, and in the meantime will undergo medical treatment in the gaol. Premium Bonds.—A Christmas gift for your wife, an endowment for a child, or a nest egg for yourself. Apply for booklet and full particulars Walter Bewley, Egmont street.

As illustrating the danger of ladies

wearing big pins in their hats (says the Masterton Times), it may be mentioned that a local resident, in the crush at the Caledonian sports, had his face severely cut by a pin which was protruding from a lady's hat. Thv wound was over three inches in length.

Constable Douglas, of Kawakawa, 'says the Auckland Observer, has had a most .unique experience. Dame Nature has indeed been kind to him-—at least, she has in two instances;, the other is still in doubt. Tn the first, a fine mare presented the bobby with twin foals; then his beautiful cow brought forth twin calves; and in the midst of his jubilation, his wife -presented him with bouncing twin >ons. What a Christmas hamper!

Mean malice or wanton mischief (says the Hawera 'Star) caused considerable damage to a bicycle belonging to an officer of the Borough Council the other evening, the inner tubes of the tyres being taken out and cut almost to pieces, the nuts and washers of the hind wheel scattered about, and the bicycle-pump stolen. If the perpetrator's motive was personal towards the offer who uses the bicycle, it missed its mark, as the maintenance of the machine is a charge against the borough funds. The offender may yet be found and' treated, as lie deserves to be, with the utmost rigor 'of the law.

Some concern has -been, expressed by Mr. W. A. Boucher, Government pomologist, at the quantities of dutiable fnu'ifc that comes to New Zealand —fruit that could be produced here. For the i year ending September 30 last it amounted in value 'to £56 ; 687. Mr. Boucher, through the medium of the Agricultural Department's journal, shows that the markets auei more than halfstarved for fruit over a considerable portion of each year. "It is not to be supposed," he says, "that our markets cannot absorb at profitable prices to growers considerably more fruit than is available." His remedy is the cool storage of fruit, which the Department of Agriculture has been most successful in carrying out.at Auckland. Charles Schuppel. a window-washer, of Toledo, Ohio, is probably the most inside-out-and-upskle-down man living (says the New, York correspondent of the London Standard). His heart is on the right side, his stomach is too far to

to the right, his liver is on the left side, his kidneys' have changed places, and his spleen .is around to the; right side instead., of the left. Occasional cases have been "known of people with right-sided' hearts and other displacements of organs, but Sehuppel holds the record, so far a* can be traced,- for one individual' with so many -peculiar formations. Sehuppel makes considerable additions to his regular income by exhibiting himself at clinics. Many X-ray photographs have been take of him for the use of medical students. He is 40 years old, and is in excellent health. Discovery nf his numerous organic peculiarities was made when he was 18.

Following upon a recent announcement that he intended to curtail the privileges of military officers in campj the Federal Minister of Defence (Senator Pearce) has issued orders relating to the employment of orderlies- at schools of instruction. Soldiers of the permanent forces are not to be employed as personal servants, or orderlies, to .officers at camps or schools of instruction. Approval is given for the employment of civilian labor at authorised- schools of instruction on the following scale:—At mounted service schools, one servant to every two officers; at dismounted service schools, on,e servant to every six officers.. It is provided that where Government horses are used at mounted schools, and -where the horses are cared' for by the personnel provided for that purpose, the civilian labor employed will be as for a school for dismounted service., Tire wages of men so employed will be 6s a day, • with tentage or quarters and rations.

That there Is more liberty in the hearts. of the British people than in America, in spite of the great Statue of Liberty at New York, is the opinion of a returned Australian traveller, Mr. Lindsay, Thompson. "It. was amusing to me," he said, "to learn on good authority that the millionaires in the States and, the big trusts practically dictated who should be elected President under the threat that if they were not obeyed they would stop making loans and close their factories." The Australian visitor was also struck with the amount of "graft" (not hard work!). Nearly all the daily papers exposed instances of it, yet it went on. Nothing made Mr. Thompson admire the British judges more than an observation of the American system. He found also that waiters in large hotels had actually to buy their positions, and live ;on tips. Still an attempt was being made to deal with political "graft." And instead of a Mayor and Council, some cities were being governed by a commission of five men. While 'Mr. Thompson does not think ' this plan would act well, he says it was agreed that anything would be better than the graft whose place it took.

"I had a great surprise in England," said Mr. MeGowen, the New South Wales Premier, at the annual dinner of the Yorkshire Society in Sydney recently. "I had read my Dickens at home, and I thought that there was no man more naturally humorous than the Cockney, and no man. less so than the Scotchman. Well, I was at a dinner in London, and I said" that after watching the London policemen and the splendid work they do I was quite prepared to believe the story of the twelve French policemen who came over to study the way in which the London police control the traffic. They stayed some months in London, and endeavored on their return to put into practice what they had learned. A few days afterwards there were twelve funerals in Paris. (Laughter.) Would you believe it?—a London reporter, in mentioning this story, remarked that I failed to explain whose the funerals were, (Laughter.) Well when I was in Scotland, the Provost askedi me't'o attend the council. I went, and made a speech, and told them that we could tell a man's nationality in Australia by the way he got out 'of a tram. If he jumped out of it before it stopped he was an impetuous Irishman; if he descended leisurely and walked firmly out of the station, we knew him tor the matter-of-fact Englishmen. Then, he added, the other man looks under the sieat—(laughter)—or on the hat-rack —(loud laughter)—to see if his companions have left anything behind. The Scotchmen I was talking to saw the joke as well as you do. I was afraid I'had trespassed too far on their generosity, so I added, 'Of course, he is «oino- to return it to the Lost Property Office.' And I heard a Scotchman murmur 'Ah. weel, it all depends.'" '

"Get the habit!" is a Yankee expression, and now quite hackneyed because it is used under all sorts of circumstances, warranted and unwarranted. We would much rather urge "Breakaway from the habit," and we urge it in connection with tea. Break away from the habit of drinking cheap and inferior teas, and take to Crescent Blend tea—the finest; purest anfl most fragrant tea on the market. J(, is" sold at •II- per ib. by most grocers in the district. —Acivt.

The Auckland Star says that the recent gale played havoc in the orchards in the Auckland district, and very severe losses'are reported. Fruit-growers .->late that in, some cases the damage done amounted to 60 per cent, of the entire crop, and in many cases, where branches were loaded with ripening fruit, severe injury has been done to the trees as well.

A man named Quinn was the victim of a .peculiar accident at Kirrup, West Australia, recently. Another man was fixing an axe-head to a handle, and finding that it .did not lit properly, he made a strike at a tree in order to'-free the handle. A.-, he swung the axe the head Hew o.T, striking Quiim on the shoulder bla.de, and cutting down the back until it reached a lung. It is expected he will recover.

Mr. Caynor, Mayor of New York, has appointed a committee, composed of a hundred persons, to prepare plans for the celebration of the centennial, of the peace .of English peoples. This celebration will .extend from February 17th, 1915, to the summer of the same year. Senator Roots suggests that for five minutes on February 17, 1015, all human activities' shall cease and that 150,000,000 English-speaking people throughout the world! should engage in silent prayer.

Mme. Sarah Bernhardt has celebrated her 67th birthday. '-What is the secret of your eternal youth, madame?" a representative of the Daily Mail asked her. "Work, work, relentless work," she replied, enthusiastically. 'T never get old because I work harder than anybody I know, qnd also, perhaps," she added, laughingly, ''because I dine terribly three times a day! Then I take a great deal of exercise. I play tennis for four hours every day. Four hours! What do you think of that? But work is the thing first and last. All my life I have worked as hard as I can."

The Queensland Government has under contemplation a splendid scheme formulated by Mr. Cullen, engineer for harbors and rivers, which will utilise a large area of' waste land along the Brisbane river for wharves. The contemplated scheme will entail an expenditure of between £BOO,OOO and £900,000, but the land.reclaimed will more than compensate for the outlay, as it will give nearly two miles of wharfage. The Government are at present considering the scheme, which, of course, cannot be completed in a year or two, but once done will be permanent.

An interesting experiment, and one that may prove of great value to Australian mixed farmers, is about to be earried on at Geelong, Victoria, by Mr. Lascalles, of that centre. Two Corriedale stud rams—a breed of sheep evolved in New Zealand from the merino and the Lincoln—have been secured for the purpose of mating with some comeback ewes of the type known in Western Victoria as Eeyeuk. Pleased with the appearance of the New Zealand importations, 20 ewe hoggets were secured from the same stud. These Corriedales will be crossed with the comeback type referred to.

"A wave or prosperity Is now pas-;!;;g o\er Great Britain, and money appeals to be p'entiful." remarked Mr. Alfred Nathan, of Auckland, who returned on Friday last from a visit to the Old Country, in conversation with the N«*w Zealand Times reporter. He said that everywhere the manufacturers were busy, the shops reported excellent business, and the theatres were well patronised, showing that the people had money to spend on both necessities and luxuries. ' Mr. Nathan said he thought thew was very little unemployment in the big eitie.? of (iroat ;Britain, and in all respects Die people! appeared to have enjoyed a pro?pesou.j year. h 4 teapot a ballot box within the meanly 'of the Act? The election of officials at the town of Norridgewock, Maine, are of opinion that it is not. At a "town meeting" the other day a vote was taken as to the: purchase of automobile fire apparatus. As no orthodox ballot box happened to be available, it was proposed to use a silk hat as a substitute, but this was vetoed by the "select men" on the ground that it was not "dosed' 'as required by law. A teapot was then called into service, and as each 'ballot paper was deposited the lid was screwed down. When the voting was'over the election authorities ruled that this, too, was not legally a "closed" vessel any more than a hat, and ordered another "town meeting" to be held, at which a regulation ballot box was to be employed. Says the Wellington Dominion:—A correspondent recently drew attention to some items appearing in the list of -'instruments registered," published in the Mercantile Gazette of D?eember 20. It is there recorded that seven farmers, resident in Tangitu, near Ohura (Taranaki). borrowed from the Minister for Lands, on the security of cows and heifers, sums ranging from £lO to £oo. at 5 per cent. It was ascertained recently, upon inquiry at the Department of bands, that the transactions recorded in the Mercantile Gazette arc* of a nature frequently entered into by the Department with settlers on improved farm holdings. By virtue of regulations made under the Lands Improvement and Native Lands Acquisition Act of 1894, advances can be made under various heads to settlers upon improved farm holdings. A sun not exceeding £4O may be adfor the purchase of grass seed, tents, tools, provisions, etc. Up to £3O may I» advanced on a dwelling, and £SO for fencing and other purposes. The settler is entitled to a maximum loan of £l2O. The Taranaki case, above-men-tioned, is the first in which advances nave been made for the purchase of stock, .but it is held that the regulations indicated sufficiently cover such cases Frequently, as in the case of a number of Wellington improved farm holdings, the settlers derive a sufficient return from the sale of milling w.uer on their allotments to purchase stock, but there was no saleable timber on the holdings at Tangitu. The transactions recorded m the Mercantile Gazette are simply intended to give the Crown security for the advances made. It is the practice, when these improved farm holdings have been broken in, to capitalise the advances made, together with the value of the land, and give settlers the option of taking a renewable lease at four per cent, rental on an O.R.P. tenure at a five per cent, rental. There are some hundreds of these improved farm settlements in the North Tsland. and"most of the settlers are reported to be doin<* well. ° IT IS THE RESOLVF *° to obtain the GENUINE EUCALYPTI EXTRACT which will procure for you a remedy of sterling value and will protect you from having your health injured by one of the many crude oils and so-called Extracts" which are passed off by unscrupulous dealers as "just as good," and_ which are, according to authentic ™* r - v to the heart. The GENUINE SANDER EXTRACT is absolutely non-injurious, and brings instantaneous relief in headaches, fevers colds, bronchial and gastric affections, and its great antiseptic powers protect from future infection. Wounds, ulcers, burns, sprains, are healed without inflammation. ZANDER'S EXTRACT is endorsed by the highest Medical Authorities, and is unique in its effect; purity reliability and safety are its distinguishable qualities. Therefore, get th° GENUINE SANDER EXTRACT; ij s t if you hnvi to, but get it, and derive the benefit. .. : ,

It is stated that a ■well-known ex-"' resident of Feilding has inherited a baronetcy and a fortune of beCTveen £ 100,000 and £200,000. Kinematograph rights in connection with the Davis Cup match, which took place at Christchurch have been secured by he Australian Photoplay Company, of Hydney. The idra is gaining ground, and we should say that there are good reasons for it, that the Prime Minister will not call the House together until after the 31st March, which is the close of the financial year.—Klthain Argus.

The Opunake Times mentions that an old grey horse and trap were left standing in the'township on New Year's Eve while the owner went to an adjacent hotel. The horse was found next morning in a local blacksmith's shop painted like a draught-board.

A well known Taranaki M.P., who sojourned in Manaia on Sunday last on his way to a holiday fishing excursion in i the district, woke up in a local hostlery om Monday morning fifteen pounds sterling poorer than when he had retired on the previous night (says the Witness). Another visitor was also relieved during 1 the night of some; loose silver that he had in his pockets. In both instances the bedroom doors of the victims were left unlocked, which permitted the thief to secure his plunder with comparative ■ ease. It is surmised he gained admittance to the hotel through the fire escape door.

Writing in the Salmon and Trout Magazine,, Colonel R. F. Meysey-Thomp-on claims to adduce instances of New Zealand swimmers being attacked by eels. He states that many cases of bathers being drowned occurred in a rapidly ilowihng river near an out-station in New Zealand, owned by a relative of the writer. After some time it was found * that the fatalities were due to the swimmers being seized by eels—"whiclr attain an immense size "in these waters", —and dragged beneath the surface of the' water. The bodies, when recovered, wera (it is alleged) invariably found to be partly eaten by eels. The Waimate,Witness says it has been informed on very good authority that at the party caucus held both at Christchurch and Wellington the Premier announced his readiness to retire from the leadership of the party if.it was the wish of a majority of his followers. The offer was received in comparative silence, formal objection being made only by a few of his close personal friend's. His retirement from the leadership is ■ regarded as certain und as it is well known that the Hon. J. A. Millar, if offered the position, is determined to refuse acceptance, it is regarded as certain that the next choice is the Hon. T. Mackenzie, who is regarded as the coming man for the leadership of the' Liberal Party. Discussing the political situation, the Christchurch News states: "Canterbury is conservative to the marrow; it,is the most unprogressive portion of the Dominion; it is the most apathetic towards all political and municipal developments; it takes the least pride in its own future and the future of the Dominion; it is the most poverty-stricken in public-spirited citizens, and generally it doesn't care what happens, so long as it is allowed to devote itself td commercialism and, sport. It is unpleasant to have to say these things about a .place with history and traditions; but it is necessary that someone should say them, and go on saying them with emphasis till the people wake up."

The proposal to construct W ship canal between Sumner and Oh.ristch.urcU has again been brouglit up in ejiristchurcU. lhe matter was before the Lyttelton Harbor Board a few>dey.vji&b, and the Board decided to hand responsibility of going into the question to a. commission. The proposed canal would give direct communication between the city of Christehurch ana* the sea. ',

A very ingenious method of preserving strawberries from slugs and birds has been devised by a lady resident at Hamua. writes a correspondent of the Pahiatua Herald. She has placed the bunches of fruit in a preserving jar laid down on the ground beside «ach plant. The artificial heat brings on the berries much faster than without the appliance. The device is simple and well worth the trouble.

In a letter to a friend in Wellington Mr. A. W. Hogg writes from Masterton: "In common with some of my friends, you appear to be at a loss to understand why I have declined to accept the testimonial which it was proposed to present to me in recognition-of my services to the Masterton electorate. I have been told that I was too proud, too independent, and so forth. And yet in the past I have been the recipient of several testimonials, and I have accepted and regarded them as substantial tokens of the esteem in which my services were held. On this occasion no false pride ,pn my part has actuated me in the course I have taken. My aim has always been to assist my constituents; irrespective of creed or color, political or religious, and it is, I believe, due tq this thai I have so many friends and supporters. But you can hardly imagine my surprise and annoyance when I found under a heading in a conspicuous part of a local paper the announcement that a testimonial was being promoted for my benefit, that Mr. Sykes, M.P., my opponent in the late election, was appointed a joint treasurer, and that subscriptions would be received and acknowledged iby a journal that had systematically attacked me during the late election. What course could I take under the circumstances? There was no pride in the matter. I was invited to sup humiliation and I refused. I am satisfied you will see that, without loss of self-respect, I could take no other course than the one I adopted."