LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 209, 2 March 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

n ; C f ßwiw from Wanganui that were turned, away on Thursday night from their show, lsth ins? VlSit NW Plymouth on

The vital statistics for New Plymouth for the month ending February 29 are as follows the corresponding figures of »J?«# iven in Parentheses :- Births 33 (24); deaths 12 (7); marriages

Mumps are prevalent at present in the Inglewood district. Among those afflicted are two members of the clerical staff at the railway station, and Mr. Tullv XSKSKP is accordingly woridn * Ho? e TO -+°w, ission of in< * uir y in con ™c tion with the proposed merging of St Aubyn town district into the borough of New Plvm , ut i heM . te flrst s . tt . « o terday. No objectors attended, and the commission will duly report.

Part- P P y /°, lts qUest the Pukekura n a ? rd , has been inarmed by the Under-Secretary f or Jllgtiee tha t unable to place the services of about six prisoners at the, disposal of the trustees to cut down noxious weeds in the park. The usual quarterly meeting of the Taranaki Licensing Committee was held yesterday the only business transa t d wv! w n6f€r of the lic ™se of the William Geo. Emeny to Rebecca Tabor During February 3.32 inches of rain were registered, at New .Plymouth, rain ailing on 14 days. The rainfall f o ' r the , Co JoSs°? dm «f month of la st year total led 2.24 inches, distributed over four days ine mean temperature for the month just ended was 03.82, compared with 05 7 degrees in February, 191 L '' Department has commenced operations on the erection of a Platform close to the East End Bathing Reserve It should be finished in tK °T »'» {™ days, and must proved inestimable benefit to excursion! ts from »rtS7t for a day at the seasid " particularly when accompanied by smal children, as it will obviate the Talk from the present Fitzroy station

RHEUMO permanently cures RkeunuLtiem. Thh is no idle boast nor an ocerdrawn .statement. It is a fact; and thousands of delighted users of EHEUMO testify to its wonderful curative properties. Sold everywhere at ,2/fl and 4/fi per bottle. 19

A monster mushroom reached Balclutha the other day from Clifton Estate. It measured Win in diameter. It is said that 2500 daily newspapers are published in the United States, 1500 in' Germany, and only 250 in: Great Britain. Japan has 400 dailies, one of them with a circulation of 400,000.

• The Park Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club have decided to hold a garden party in Mr. R. Cock's grounds, "Overdale," on Thursday week. An interesting afternoon's amusement is promised. It is stated by a Pohangina farmer (says the Manawatu Standard) that Californian thistle forms a. fairly effective cheek to the biddy-biddy weed, and that of the two he prefers the former. An Englishman who was looking for a barber's shop at Pekin came across three with English inscriptions over them. One had "Razor Shop," another "Chin Knives" and a third "Head-cutter to the English." Upwards of 4000 umbrellas, 1000 walking sticks, opera glasses, bicycles, jewellery and other goods, including an enormous assortment of wearing apparel, were left by passengers in the trains and on the premises of the Great Eastern Railway-Company, London, last year. They were sold by public auction.

The police' authorities of New York announced on January 4 last that during 1911 they received notifications that no fewer than 1000 girls and young women .were missing from their homes in New York. Many of these are said f;o be members of the wealthiest families, for whom the only excuse can be love affairs to which their parents are opposed.

The Ngaere school children held their annual picnic at the East End beach on Thursday. The day was a very hot one, and sea bathing was quite a seasonable occupation, so that it is safe to say that the party, which totalled 175, including children, teachers, committee men, and parents thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The party arrived by the 10.40 a.m. ordinary train, detraining at Fitzroy, and entraining'at the; same place at 4.25 p.m._ To-day the Eltham Box Company is holding its annual picnic at the East End beach.

A special meeting of the Taranaki Veterans' Association was held a few days ago to consider a draft petition- forwarded from the. general secretary of the New Zealand Veterans in reference to the proposed, military pension. After amending the petition the meeting decided to forward it to the general secretary for approval, together with a request that the executive committee be requested to authorise each branch to prepare and get signed a copy of the petition to the House of Representatives, and that each branch get the member of its district to present its petition to Parliament.

'Oddfellowship and the part it has played in British social life was ably dealt with by Lord Islington at his' initiation as a member of the Order in Wellington. The Order, he said, had been in existence for over one hundred years. • It began as a convivial institution, and it had become a powerful agency for good in the life of, the British people as a wnole. Its members numbered over one million; its financial strength exceeded £15,000,000; and it had close on 6000 lodges established in various parts of the British dominions and among British speaking communities. That was a great record; a splendid achievement for one organisation. Every-member in time of sickness received assistance—not as a charity but as a right, earned by subscriptions that meant self-denial. Friendly societies did much to prevent destitution; inculcated self-reliance and the development of British manhood. He greatly prized his connection with such institutions.

. The latest feminie craze (says a London correspondent to an American exehjnge) is to sit cross-legged on the floor and eat dinner with the fingers. An Indian philosopher has introduced the idea, explaining that the tips of the-fingers contain the soul forces, and convey these directly into the food, and thence into the systems of the diners. The women are loosely clothed in white Kashmir garments, and they wear sandals on bare feet. Their hair hangs loose down their backs. The chief meal is taken at midday, and is supposed to consist of vegetables only—vegetables which grow above the ground, such as rice and lettuce, being preferred. The difficulty of scraping up a sufficient meal of rice or peas with the finger tips does not appear to deter the enthusiastic spirits, though the i fainter-hearted can always fall back upon Indian corn, which may be comfortably grabbed in the hand. More than one duchess has been seen seating corn in this primitive fashion lately, and even impassive family servants are showing surprise at these newest developments of aristocratic unconventionality.

The Technical College is offering this year a most useful industrial cour.se for those whose work precludes them attending in the day. An expert in building and machine construction and drawing takes these subjects. To a young man earning his living at woodwork.or engineering these classes are very valuable. A veryfine collection of machine models has arrived from Cossens, of Manchester, and will be available for the engineering classes: Those who wish to get on in their line, be it engineering or in the woodcrafts cannot afford to neglect study of the principles underlying. Those taking wood work at the Technical College this year will have' for the first time opportunity of using lathes at the class workshop. Mr Sandford will meet his class on Monday to make arrangements for the work during the session.' Those who wish to take up the plumbing classes and receive a thorough grounding in the principles and practice of the trade are requested to meet at the Technical College on Monday at 7 p.m., when the instructor will be present. In view of the fact that technical education has eometos'tay.and that technical class certificates are being asked for from employall through the Dominion, all should strive to attain them. The opportunities are afforded, it is for those who desire to get on in life to take them.

A sensational road accident occurred one night recently, about three miles from Creswick, Victoria. Mr. Samuel Mason, accompanied by his wife, daughter, and a baby one year old, was driving along the road in a dogcart. He had. just started to descend a steep and dangerous decline when the swingle-bar broke. The horse immediately became frightened, and bolted. Mr. Mason dragged on the reins, but the broken swinglebar beat against the horse's legs, and made it gallop faster than ever. As the runaway continued downhill, a disaster seemed imminent every minute. When about halfway down the hill Miss Mason decided to jump from the vehicle, and while the horso was continuing its furious descent she leapt on to the roadside. She was found lying unconscious. About 50yds further along the road a group of young men were watching the bolting horse. They knew it would be hopeless to attempt to stop it, and realised that if they stood in the roadway the runaway would be certain to turn to one side and cause disaster. Mrs. Mason saw the group of men, however, and, thinking only of her child, she cried out to the men to "Catch!" and threw the baby. Mr. Michael O'Brien was among the group. He leaped forward, holding out his hands, arid the child fell into them without sustaining the slightest injury. There was a shout of relief whoa it was discovered that the baby was uninjured. The trap was overturned further on, and Mr. and Mrs. Mason injured, but not I seriously. '

The rising generation is apparently not without its grit. A boy of 13 years has ; just completed a walk from Wellington to Wanganui. He left the former town somewhat unceremoniously after school last Monday week. With the exception of one short "lift'' on the road, and a motor ride in from Marton, the youth walked the whole way, and arrived in Wanganui on Saturday night. An amusing story is told on the boulevards about a fraud perpetrated on a famous society woman, who is bitten by the craze for extremely small dogs now prevalent in Paris. A few days ago she bought from a street hawker for a large sum that looked' like the smallest griffon ever seen. When she took it home it promptly ran up the curtains, and when it was recaptured by the servants it turned out to be a rat, sewn into a dog's skin. Mr. Tong Chai Chili, editor of the Tuner Wah Times (Sydney), is returning to China to take up an official position under the new Republican Government of that country. In the previous revolution in China, Mr. Tong just managed to escape, but his two brothers were/beheaded for the part they took in the movement, and a reward of £IO,OOO was placed on Mr. long's head by the Dow-ager-Empress. It is only within the lost few years that this embargo was removed.

Visitors who returned to Gisborne from the East Coast before Saturday night'* rain stated that the coast presented a very burned up appearance, and that the feed was very scarce, so much so that many settlers have had to move their stock, some round the East Cape. At one period the Tokomaru freezing works were greatly hampered through the scarcity of water, although a better supply has now been obtained through tapping another spring. There has been practically no rain for five months, which, it is stated, is one of the worst dry spells ever experienced on the coast.

Mr. W. fi. Kenriek, S.M., presided over a sitting of the Magistrate's Court at Inglewood on Thursday to hear objections from ratepayers to being placed on the roll of the Ratapiko special rating area. This rating area was created by the Board as the result of a petition from the majority of ratepayers in that district, who asked the Moa Road Board to raise a loan for the purpose of building a concrete culvert over the Kupara stream'. Mr. H. Trimble (chairman) appeared on behalf of the Board. There were two objectors, viz,, Messrs. C. Young and J. Bils,ki, but after hearing the evidence in support the Magistrate decided to confirm the roll.