LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 194, 14 February 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The New Plymouth : growers jvill observe a half-hdiiflay to-day (Wednesday) and to-morrow .-' (Thursday), race days, closing at 12 noon. . The public would be well advised to be on the alert pickpockets during the next few 'dsiys. The advent of the racing meeting has brought a big influx of undesirables to the town, and according to one- ppjjce officer New Plymouth is just now "full of thieves." Some magnificent yellow blooms are to be seen from the railway train in different portions of Taranaki, and excite much admiration. from the uninitiated. The settler, who recognises them as that dread pest ragwort, is not so enthusiastic over their beauty, knowing the difficulty of eradicating the weed once it becomes established. While about to dismount from his father's trap on Monday the four-year-old 6'on of Mr. L. F. Laurent had the misfortune, owing to the horse suddenly starting, to get under one of the wheels. He was removed to the hospital with his right thigh broken. Advices last night <were that he was progressing as favorably as could be expected. "Now, where is this man to whom you say you gave the £4O? Is he not here?" inquired a solicitor of a litigant in the course of a cross-examination at yesterday's sitting of the New Plymouth Magistrate's Court. "I hope he is not here," replied the opposing counsel with mock gravity. "Where is he?" persisted the other. "He is dead!" ejaculated the other. No further questions were asked. Pigs have in the past been regarded as a side line by most Taranaki farmers, and in the majority of cases as a most neglected side line. The price now being paid for pigs by bacon firms, viz., 5V 2 d per lb., is causing many farmers to regret that they have not followed this line more closely. One settler up Tariki way took six baconers to a receiving station yesterday, which will give a return of £3O 4s 3d.

Counsel was addressing the court yesterday afternoon at the conclusion of a long and weary case involving an amount less than £5, when the presiding magistrate interjected: "Excuse me, but has it been the practice for counsel to have two speeches?" Counsel replied in the affirmative, to which His Worship remarked: "In all other courts in which I have been only one is allowed. Still, I will abide by the established practice."

A peculiar phase of mental aberration is recorded by the Lancet. It is that of a mulatto woman who died in an asylum, and a post-mortem examination showed that she had swallowed more than 1400 nails, screws, thimbles, and other 'objects, weighing altogether 51b. The woman had never any signs of disease of the digestive system. She was often seen to pick up nails and pins, but was never detected swallowing any.

Mr. Walter Bcwley, land agent, reports that during the last six weeks land business has much improved and reports the following sales (in conjunction with Messrs Mandcno Jackson and Co.): —Messrs. Fagau and Nicholson's fine property known as "Okahukura," being situated at Kaipara, Auckland, and comprising 13,500 acres, to Mr. Arthur Harding, of Ashlinrst, the purchase price being close on £-10.000. The late Geo. WiuM's 25 acres at Westown to a local investor. Mr. K Xops' (Te Jlemii) property to Miv Gv'H. Stubbs, of Waitara. One and a half acres at Te ITcnui to Air. .fas. Moorb',', of Woodville. J)r, Leatliain's house, Leocli street, to Mr. Lei toll, of New Plymouth. Mr. Caves' 137 acres at Oakura. Mr. Wilton's 100 acres at Franklcv road to petroleum syndicate. Mr. T!'Jackson's 10!) acres at Onuila to ill's'.' Flint ham. Mr. Featherstone's 110 acres, Okato. One and a quarter acres and two houses (Hawera) to a local investor. Mr. Nops' 990 acres, Pohokura, to Mr. A. Fcatherstone. Also several town and suburban sections at satisfactory prices.

IBy a codicil ;to his will the late Rev. Dr. Norman Macleod requested that his sermons and papers be destroyed. The Auckland Tramways Co. lias decided, to extend the service in three directions in the Remuera district, at an estimated cost of £25,000. It cost the Farmers' Union Defence Committee £2OOO in legal expenses and the getting of evidence when fighting the last demands of the farm laborers, Fresh demands have been filed. The new cable between Auckland and Sydney, for which soundings have been taken by the steamer Iris, will be 1100 miles in length, and will cost about £200,000.

A cinematograph picture of the races and racecourse will be taken to-day by Mr. Bernard Haugliton, the Empire Picture Company's expert. This film will be shown to-morrow night (Thursday) at the Empire Picture Palace.

A well-known Chinese resident at Wanganui has received thirteen cases of rare plants from China, which are intended by him as a gift to the Wanganui Beautifying Society. The plants will be placed in the Society's Cliino-Japanese garden at Wanganui East. Farmers and fruitgrowers in Canterbury are loudly complaining of the operations of tariffs and regulations 'between the Dominion and Australia, saying that the disabilities on both sides are sadly restricting trade, and causing a great deal of irritation. Several factories in Southland are already showing a heavy falling off in the daily intake of milk, and this is generally put down to the pastures being too old. Each year, as the dairying industry grows, the necessity of high-class farming is more and more demonstrated (says the Invercargill News). Mr. E. C. May, the organiser of the expedition which is setting out for the Auckland Islands with the object of trying to recover the treasure in the General Grant, sunk at these islands many years ago, reports that he is now busy laying in stores, etc., ready for shipping on the salvage steamer, which is expected to leave Dunedin for the south within a fortnight's time'. Whilst at the circus on Saturday night an elderly man lost a cheque for £3O and two £5 notes. In company with the manager of the circus he spent a considerable time after the close of the performance in searching for the lost property. The cheque was discovered in the street by one of the police, but of the money no trace could be found. Mr. Easy, the loser of the money, states that he and a mate contemplated buying a section of land with the money, and .on this account would be grateful for the return of a least one of the £5 notes.

The Park Saturday subscription movement was the subject of discussion at a meeting of ladies held on Monday afternoon at the Town Hall. There were also present: Mr. Ford (chairman of the Pukekura Park Board), and Messrs. Percy-Smith and R. C. Hughes. Saturday, March 2, was appointed for the appeal to the public. It was decided to invite all ladies interested in the moYement to meet on Friday, the 23rd inst., at the Town Hall to make the final arrangements. At the conclusion of the preliminary meeting Mr. Percy-Smith invited those present to join him at afternoon tea at the "Kia Ora" tea rooms.

The Tariki cheese factory i 3 now manufacturing 24 cheeses daily. This factory, in addition to testing for butterfat, has adopted the experiment of testing for casein as well, and payments are made on the combined tests. In previous seasons there has been much discontent, as it was contended by the man with the low fat test that his milk might contain more casein, and thus be as suitable for cheese as the high fat test, which might lie deficient in casein, whereas on the system of paying out on butter fat the high tester had an unfair advantage. The casein test is being carried out by Mr. Fulton, of the Dairy Department. The result of the season's operations will be awaited with interest by cheese factories throughout New Zealand, and in all probability several others will take up the casein testing next season.

The size of a table was responsible for several hours' litigation at the Magistrate's Court yesterday afternoon,' when 0. Penwardle and Hart, of Okato, sued L. Graham, of the same district, for £4 14s, representing the price of two tables. Mr. Hughes appeared for plaintiff, and defendant, for whom Mr. Nicholson appeared, paid £1 19s (the price of the smaller table) into the court and disputed the balance. According to one of the plaintiffs, he had been given an order for a twelve-foot table, the length of which lie had on his own authority reduced to eleven feet so as it would not be too big for the room. He had also supplied a smaller table, about which, however, there was -no dispute. He had delivered the eleven foot table _ previously and helped to put it in the dining-room, but on subsequently being approached for payment defendant had met liim with the remark that the table was too big, and the best thing he could do was to take it away. Much evidence, some of it of a very humorous nature, was taken by the court in regard to the dimensions of the table. Defendant, for instance, averred that it was a sheer impossibility to even sit down at the table as it almost covered the room. Another witness (his wife) said it was impossible to shut the door while the table was in, while a third witness declared that she had actually been unable to get out 'of the room until the tables, which were never used, had been transported to another part of the house. Plaintiff, it was further alleged, had refused to take the table off the premises, and his workshop was not big enough to hold it. ■ Plaintiff, they contended, had been told to supply a table big enough to hold about 8 persons, and instead of that he had promised one which virtually filled the room, leaving no room for diners, or their chairs. Judgment was for the defendant, with costs amounting to £3 Is 4d.

MORE MELBOURNE SUIT TALK. The majority of men desire to get as much for their money as they possibly can. That is the basis upon which sensible people plan their expenditure. They have to, because it is easier to spend money in this day of "high cost of living" than to earn it. You have probably decided in your own mind that you ought to get a good suit at a reasonable figure without the "frills" that are supposed to give "class," and that you are in the throes of weeding out the diflcrent "makes" that do not meet the ideal you have created about the "kind" and "price" of a suit you want to buy. Then lot us advise you not to be misled into paying a frmy pries for something that von could have bought equally well, if not better. from JV Melbourne at a very wucli lov.it «-o<-f. !?:•- member this, that when yon Iniy a Melbourne suit you jmrelm?.' '/na.'-nntee of workmanship and material :!ir:t invites comparison. Whatever vcvlaim for 31 it will do —wear well, fit rii.l <»;vc you all the suit com Fort; v>rt iW'.v, and plenty of service. JJnS ev.-.v • am! ?"<■ our beautiful array of spit suits, all tailor-made r •j.Jv in ;mi! on. Try one on. Co nvcon.' ruction inch by inch. Feci iis • ii.<•!«.•>•, and notice the finish. Test the and purity of the dyes. Take »f fi, high grade linings arid-the •!.->.-il. Then, most important of .!•> j.L" low prices, ranging from 40/p ?.<, It will, be a strange thing hide yr-.-.i do not become a purchaser

Mr. 4- W. Hogg, of Masterton, claims to have been completely cured of his severe attack of sciatica by the use of a contrivance obtained from Auieiita, by which oxygen is infused into the blood, thereby killing the diseased germs. The Empire Picture Company will present an entirely new programme of films to-night. All the items have been selected to suit the racing season, and include such "star" attractions as "Rogues of the Turf," ( 'A Romance of a Jockey," and "A Lad from Old Ireland." It is claimed bv the Empire management that these three lilms alone equal anything yet shown in Taranaki.

A large shark of the deadly white species, Measuring lift (iin, was caught in the Auckland harbor by the keeper of the hulk Alexander Craig, on Thursday. A baited hook was placed in the water, and wlieu the shark was hooked it took the. strenuous eii'orts of live men to land and despatch the monster. A very ugly row of sharp jagged teeth, quita an inch high, protruded from the jaws, which are quite big enough to take a limb off an unwary bather.

The man who has a paying oil well on his property is going to make money. A local resident figures out that No. 5 bore, if it maintains its present average of 36 barrels a day, will receive in royalty no less than £7 16s a week. He bases his estimate on the crude oil being worth only 4d a gallon, a low estimate, and the royalty as 5 per cent,, the usual amount. If Taranaki farmers had a few such wells on their properties they would not need to worry about their cows and the tests at the factories. There will be no winter show this year in Auckland. At a meeting of the Auckland Agricultural and Pastoral Association last week, the chairman stated that at a meeting, held in committee in the morning, it was decided to abandon the winter show this year, the reasons for this decision being tlrat th'ere was a difficulty about securing a suitable building, and it was also believed the public was getting tired of such exhibitions. This is not the case in Taranaki, where the winter shows are quite,as popular as the spring shows.

It is a surprising fact that in spite of the hot weather there has not been a brisk demand for fruit in Auckland. Nectarines are offered for sale at from 24 to 30 for Is, and yet they are difficult to sell. Plums have glutted the market and are being offered at. as low a price as 41b for Gd. Peaches are being offered at the same rate as nectarines, 'but the demand is not strong. Apples are purchasable at 5s a case, and good tomatoes were being offered at 3d per lb, but an improvement in price is expected for these from now on.

At the Mowbray races, Tasmania, last week, a man suspected of having stolen £SO, in £lO notes, from the wallet of a .Melbourne bookmaker, was detected ill the act of passing one of the notes at the totalisator window. He made a bolt for it, and led the police an exhilarating cross-country steeplechase, over fences and through paddocks, a crowd of curious people following in full cry. The quarry was run to earth at the railway station, and a revolver shot fired over" hivliead prevented him from carrying out his threat to shook anyone who approached. The man was then captured, and gave the name of Joseph Williams. An extraordinary occurrence took place at the Coonamble (N.S.W.) baths. The basin was being emptied, and the seven-year-old son of the caretaker, A. Faulkner, fell in near the discharge pipe. He was sucked into the pipe feet first and carried in the pipe, which had a diameter of only 0y 2 in, to the river, a distance of 2® yards, and was plumped into a waterhole in a senseless condition. A townsman, J. Fleming, happened to |be passing at the time, and had his attention drawn to the boy by the barking of a dog. He quickly removed the boy to the doctor. Some hours elapsed before the lad recovered consciousness. Younk Faulkner had a number of abrasions on his body, caused by contact with the pipe.

Some diversion and not a little amusement was created by Mr. Alfred Dillon, the ex-member for Hawke's Bay, during the ceremonies in connection with the turning of the first sod at Westshore (says the Hastings Tribune). ..The chairman of the proceedings, Mr. J. Vigor Brown, was introducing Mr C. H. Cranby, chairman of the Napier Chamber of Commerce, when Mr. Dillou sallied forth to the front of the platform, and with all the vehemence at his command asserted his claim to some of the kudos which was so lavishly toeing, showered on the head of the member for Napier. Having aired his chagrin, the ex-member for Hawke's Bay retired to his seat, and Mr. Brown poured oil on the troubled waters by calling for cheers for his late colleague, to which the crowd responded with great zest.

A young lady, who lived in Napier up till quite recently, and became fairly acquainted with the "high sassiety" of Bluff Hill (states the Telegraph) was betrothed to a Sydney gentleman. The wedding-day was fixed, and presents and good wishes received from various sources, many from Napier. Several local resident were even invited to the ceremony, and preparations had been made by them for ordering new dresses. Before leaving Sydney, the bridegroomelect was also the recipient of many good wishes and presents. On arrival at Wellington, however, after an absence of some two years from his fiancee, he did not altogether meet with her approval, and was informed at the eleventh hour that "she would not marry him." Telegrams were despatched to stop intending guests journeying to the capital city, and, it is stated, the presents were returned.