LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 226, 22 March 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Woolwich Arsenal at present employs nearly ten thousand hands. The average annual earnings per man are about £IOO. •'» :' The Age states that a woman was attacked by a savage dog in Masterton some weeks ago, and was so. severely bitten that she has been under the doctor ever since. On the motion of Mr. Quilliam (Govett and Quilliam), probate of the will of the late Mr. Alfred Marsh has been granted by the Supreme Court to Mrs. Emily Marsh, the executrix named in the will. The shooting match to have been held by the Royal New Zealand Association of H.M.; Veterans yesterday was postponed to Thursday next, 28th inst (Waireka Day). The shooting will commence at 10.30 a.m., and squads will be formed up to 12.30 p.m. In the evening the veterans, will be the guests of the younger men of New Plymouth. "So much has been said of the New Zealanders at the Boer War," said Mr. F. A. Hornibrook at Christchurch, "that it is high time someone spoke plainly. The New Zealanders were the eyes and ears of the army, fine scouts, daring riders, but the battles were won by the British Tommy Atkins, and *he brunt of the war was borne by regiments like the Dublin Fusiliers, who rushed Pieter's Hill with 900 men and left over 250 dead and wounded on its slopss," Christehurch is carrying out some experiments in road-making. In one instance a few chains of thoroughfare have been prepared with loose metal and dressed with tar. The work has been done only a couple of days, and has had had scarcely time to settle, but already there- is a hard and even surface which could hardly be improved upon. There is also a sample of another method, which comprises merely a dressing of tar, which is also very satisfactory. It is proposed to treat thirty miles of road with each method, and it is officially stated that the results from the experiments in the busy parts of the city where they have been already tried fully justifies an extension of both methods. Four of the leading moving picture show concerns in Australia have amalgamated, and formed what will now be the largest cinematograph concern south of the line. The whole of the Australian interests of the firm of Pathe Freres have been purchased by West's Pictures and will be handed over to the new firm (says the Sydney Morning Herald). The first move in the direction of amalgamation was made by West's Pictures, and the negotiations have been conducted for several weeks. The firms now included in the new firm will be Messrs Wests, d. Spencer, J. and N. Tait and Johnson, Gibson and Co. Mr. J. D. Williams was a party to the negotiations, but eventually decided to remain outside the new company, and run his business independently of the new firm. The final arrangements were settled a few days ago by Messrs Edwin Geach and Gee, and the company came into operation as from March 1.

Payments amounting approximately to £IOOO were paid out to the Territorials at the Westoe camp. Other expenses will probably total another £IOOO. After many postponements the Central School picnic was held at the East End Bathing Reserve yesterday. Crowds lined the beach, and various amusements were arranged for the children, the outing going off with a swing. It is reported that a discovery of a gold-bearing reef of considerable proportions has been made at the Baton (Nel-' son), about Ave miles from Taylor's accommodation house, by Messrs Wise and Davies. A syndicate has been formed to further develop the find, and samples will be sent away for analysis. Among the competitors in the married ladies' race at Maketewa was a grandmother, aged 04. The old lady, who entered with zest into the spirit' 'of the thing, ran in her stocking feet, anld showed a turn of speed, that, though it failed to secure her a place, outdistanced many of the younger competitors. Will young women please note the fact that Mrs. Eockel, 90 years of age, was a competitor at the recent Masterton Horticultural and Industrial Society's show, and that she was awarded first prize for a quilt—a splendid piece of work. Mrs. Rockel has put up a record in this connection for the Dominion.

Referring to the discussion at Wednesday's meeting of the High School Board of Governors 'on the proposed alteration in the constitution of that body Mr. Dockrill explains that while he stated that borough and county councils should not have representation on the board, he did not remark that councillors were not competent to serve.

The Clutha JJree Press states that a well-known farmer of the district—Mr. William Taylor, of Stoney Creek—has fallen heir to an estate valued at £5,000,000, left by a near relative who has just died in Holland without issue. Mr Taylor it is stated, has strong documentary evidence to support his claim to be the next of kin, and this evidence he has within the past few days dispatched to Holland. The great Central Hall of Westmin»ter, costing £250,000, erected by the English Methodist Church out of the centenary fund, is to be opened in the course of three or four months. It is one of the finest ecclesiastical buildings in the world. The auditorium, seating three thousand people, will be one of the best concert rooms in London, and on Sundays will be the centre of a forward movement in mission work, in charge of the Rev. J. Wakerley. There is (says the New Zealand Herald's Waimarino correspondent) a somewhat uneasy feeling amongst millers.regarding the stability of the timber market, and recent fluctuations have been viewed with a fair amount of apprehension. At present, however, there does not seem to be much cause for alarm, as the mills have been busily engaged since Christmas. The recent importations of Oregon pine may have been responsible for a temporary glut in the market. A well-known Paris surgeon has a number of patients who have lost a limb and are willing to undergo the experiment of grafting another limb on their bodies in place of the one they have .lost. After considerable difficulty the surgeon is said to have secured for'a patient the promise of the left arm of a butcher named Renard who was guillotined in Paris last week. To the surgeon's dismay the patient for whom the limb was destined flatly refused to have a criminal's arm grafted on to him. He declared that there was no knowing what risks he might run, and that he would prefer to continue with one arm than to stand the chance of ruining his disposition by going through life with a criminal's arm.

The Elthain Dairy Company manufactured last month 229,265 lb of butter and paid out to suppliers £9423, at the rate of liy g d per lb. In the corresponding month last year the- amount manufactured was 212,0481b and the pay-out £7617. Taking the respective seasons from September to February (inclusive) the figures are: 191041, 1,4G9,7231b manufactured, £53,005 paid to suppliers; 191112, 1,436,9781b manufactured, £59,010 paid out. The present season so far, therefore, shows a comparative shortage in the output of 32,7451b, but an increase in the payments of £5,945. The Ngaere Factory paid out nearly £4,000 on Wednesday. The amount constitutes a record and includes "back pay" of Id per lb of butter-fat, making 13d for the season.— Argus.

Cases of mistaken identity are not so frequent nowadays as they used to be, but they come along occasionally (says the Invercargill correspondent of the Lyttelton Times). One came to light in the Magistrate's Court on Thursday. A judgment debtor answering to the name of William Todd stepped into the box and submitted to a close examination with respect to his weekly earnings, the size of his family, and other such details upon which solicitors are wont to dwell in pursuit of an order of the' Court. The alleged debtor mentioned quite incidentally after a time that he did not know the plaintiff, that he had never owed him any money, and that he had never lived at Kennington, where the debt was claimed to have been incurred. At this stage the bailiff interposed with the suggestion that the wrong man had been served. The case was accordingly dismissed, the Magistrate remarking that there seemed to be quite a number of William Todds about.