LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 257, 30 April 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

In pursuance of his scheme to reorganise the traffic branch of the railways, the Hon. A. Myers proposes to appoint two traffic superintendents, one for the North Island and one for the South Island, who will travel and ascertain local conditions and then report to the general manager. is expected that suppliers to the Kaupokonui dairy factory will receive between Is 3d and Is 3»/,d per lb for their butter-fat this season. The company's working expenses are paid by the return from the sale of produce made from whey, which hitherto was practi-' cally lost. The following nominations have been received for the five vacancies on the Moa Road Board:—Messrs. William P Bishop, Albert B. Gopperth, Mark Hopson, Albert E. Laurence, Chas. Therkleson, Harold Trimble, and John Williams. A poll will be held at Inglewood on Saturday next, May 4 . An Auckland telegram states that a threatened shortage in the supply of benzine is reported, and motor-car owners and others view the position with some apprehension. The stated shortage is due to the freight war in America, The next boat from the United States is not due till the middle of next month. Mr. O. N. Firth, secretary of the Taranaki Acclimatisation Society, received the following telegram from the Department of Internal Affairs last evening:—"As some doubt appears to exist as to whether native pigeons are to be shot this season, I have to inform you that the Government has decided that a close season is to be observed in all districts this year for native pigeons." Mitchinson's gardens, at Te Henui, are being cut up by the owners (Messrs Townsend and Paul, of Wellington), and, in the course of a month or so, the sections will be offered for sale. A road is being put through the estate, on which some very fine trees, including a splendid kauri, are growing. These will not be disturbed. The estate is in a good' locality, and the sections sliould meet with a ready sale. : During the late territorial encampment I a substantial bundle of the Daily News j was left daily at the encampment. The [ Adjutant (Captain Lampen) writes:— "On behalf of the officers. N.C.O.'s and | men of the XTth. Regiment Taranaki j Rifles, allow me to thank you for your : kind and generous gift of your daily paper. Needless to say, the paper was in great demand, and your kind thought ; much appreciated. Wishing you and your staff every good wish."

Speaking of his trip to Auckland the Prime Minister informed a Times representative on Sunday night that the tour had been to him a most pleasing experience. "There can be no doubt about it," he said, "that the country is quite prepared to give the new Ministry an opportunity of showing the metal it is composed of. I notice in the south a good deal of adverse comment has been made and the usual abuse indulged in, but as time wears on our critics will see their predictions falsified." ,

The following are the amounts paid out by seven dairy factories for milk supplied during March, 1012, the sum disbused for the corresponding period of the previous year being mentioned in parenthesis:—Okato and Puniho Company, £2304 18s 9d (£1582 13s 7d); Bell Block, £lOlO 12s Gd ( £1269 0s 9d) ; Rahotu, £I3OB 13s 2d (£895 2s 9d); Warea, £1343 Ms 8d (£9OB 12s 8d); Omata, £775 0s 5d ( £570 10s Id): Uruti Valley, £731 3s 2d ( £497 9s Od); White Cliffs,' £378 12s 0d (£251 lis 9d).

According to the San Francisco Call of March 7, on that date Kr, W. Smart, superintending engineer for the Union Steam Ship Company 'of New Zealand, was on an important mission in San Francisco. He was investigating "till! fuel oil situation" and the latest oilburning apparatus, in view of the fact that the new ships building for the Union Company in Britain "are to be oil burners." Moreover, "in addition to getting data to be used in their construction, Mr. Smart will take up the matter of converting the present ships of the line so that they, too, can use the modern fuel." Mr. Smart said that he was particularly interested in the new mechanical oil-burning system that had been installed by the Union Ironworks on a number of steamers, "It is understood," adds the Call, "that prior to converting the older ships, the Union Steam Ship Company will establish an oil station at Tahiti. *The Union ships at present burn Australian coal. The fuel for the homeward voyage is brought over as freight, and here transferred from hold to bunkers. This is an expensive operation, and a dirty one, and it is believed that the change from coal to oil, despite the cheapness of coal in Australia, will effect a material saving, in addition to adding to the efficiency of the ships."

"The Legion of Frontiersmen." about which nobody seems to know very much, loeally, has written to the Taranaki County Council asking to assist it in its propaganda work. Explaining the objects of the League, which has its New Zealand headquarters at Christchurch; the secretary, remarks: "We are organising the New Zealand command so that we may enrol every one of the estimated 12,000 men who, of the 200,000 or more that are excluded from territorial service in New Zealand, should be qualified for membership in the Legion. Our exact status in connection with the defence forces is not yet settled, though we wish to be recognised as a permanent field force, ready for service at a few hours' notice. Where we would like your assistance is in this: In each district we need a committee of at least four men of influence and standing in the county, who can exercise the necessary discretion in the control of the organising of the district." The writer asks if the Council cannot see its way,to assist it officially it might possibly be able to suggest the names of "some gentlemen of suitable qualifications who might undertake these duties." According to the pamphlets enclosed in the letter, "we have to organise a civilian mob into an army." Branches of the Legion are already, it is stated, established in the United Kingdom, Canada, Africa, Asia and Australasia. The classes of membership are are follow:—Class A., active, pledged to atcive service anywhere in time of war, if, and when, called upon; to provide the uniform of, and to attend the minimum number of drills adopted by, the command or sub-unit; class A., reserve, pledged to active service, but without obligation to provide uniform or attend drills; class B, active, pledged to active service in defence of the land in which one lives if, arid when,, called upon; to provide the uniform of, and to attend the minimum number of drills adopted by, the command or sub-unit; class B, reserve, pledged to active service as above, but without obligation to provide uniform or attend drills; class C, honorary, in sympathy with the objects and work of the Legion. Members of this class need not be qualified frontiersmen as in classes A and B. As far as can be jratheral the Council will, as several counties have already done, simply decide that it is not within its province to undertake the work of rvjanising a scheme of the sort \

During the past week or two the Pukekura Park staff have been busily engaged in clearing the higher parts of furze, etc. The work is now almost completed, and the grounds are looking the better for it. In the Whiteley Hall to-night and tomorrow night a number of enthusiastic amateurs will produce the bright and tuneful operatic cantata "Phyllis," or "The Farmer's Daughter." The cast is a comprehensive and clever one, and as the canatata is studded with delightful solos and concei led numbers, the performance should lie a pleasurable one. The orchestra will begin at 8 p.m. and the admission is only one shilling. In Wellington on Saturday Detectives Kemp and Hammond arrested Walter Richard. Sadler on a charge that, on April 26, he attempted to procure abortion. The arrest was made ol the authority of a warrant from Christchurch, but the alleged effence is supposed to have been committed in Wellington. Sadler was one of the two accused who stood trial on a charge of murder in connection with the death of a yoiin" woman named Ethel Bradley in Christchurch about a year ago. He was found guilty of manslaughter by a jury, but the conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal. The other accused, Jack, was sent to gaol for perjury committed at the trial.

The usual weekly meeting of the Eg mont Lodge, No. 117, was held in the Good Templar Hall on Monday, April 29, and was opened in due form by the C.T. at 7.30 p.m. The business of the evening was election of officers. The following were elected:—C.T., Bro. G. Hayden; secretary, Sis. L. White; marshall, Bro. L. Pepperell; guard. Bro. White; C.R., Sis. B. Connett; reporter, Bro. S. Maunder; V.T., Sis. Reid; financial secretary, Bro. H. Hayden;' sentry, Bro. Rowlands; treasurer, Bro. S. H. Maunder; pianist, Sis. Rushden. After this the lodge was closed in due form at 9.30 p.m. A "Good of Order" committee will be held on Thursday, May 2, at 7.30 p.m., in the Good Templar Hall.

With reference to a recent cablegram reporting that Professor Payr, of Leipzig, had cured an idiot child bv transferring a portion of the thyroid gland from a healthy mother to the child's mouth, a prominent Auckland surgeon said that the operation, though not common, was by no means a new one. The cure would only be of n specific form of idiocy caused 'by the congenital absence of the thyroid glands from the. throat of the patient. The operation had been successfully performed boH: '.; i England and America, with equally good results. Healthy glands, moreover, had been restored to adult patients when disease had necessitated the removal of their own. Neither the cure effected nor the operation of transplantation presented any novel features, save that it was customary to plant the gland in the patient's abdomen, and not in his mouth.

Shoals of applications are being received by the secretary of the Agricultural Society for space in the new winter show building, at present in course of erection, on the occasion of the show in June. Unless the number shortly commences to taper off. it looks as if the demand for space will exceed that available. Under the circumstances it behoves local tradespeople not to delay any further their applications, if they all wish to be accommodated. The entries for the non-competitive sections are also coming to ihand in very encouraging numbers> and all things considered, present indications point to the show being a record display. The new building has now reached an interesting stage, and the circular roof construction is seen to its best advantage, more so than when the whole structure has been completed. The circular construction makes for greater strength and width of span. Tt allows a clear flow space, no supporting columns being necessary. A cablegram published last week noted the apprehension of a New Zealand girl in Sydney who had proposed eloping to San Francisco with her lover. The Sydney correspondent of the Otago Daily Times writes:—"The girl, who is the daughter of a well-known New Zealand merchant, arrived by the boat with the intention of meeting her lover, who had come over by a previous boat, and going with him to San Francisco, where they were to be married. But inntead of meeting him, she was met by two detectives, who took charge of her, with the intention of sending her back to her home. Her father apparently heard of the young couple's intention, for he had communicated with the police authorities here, forwarding a description of the girl, and instructing that she be sent back to New Zealand. The girl is only seventeen vears of age. She stated that her father objected to the man of her choice, and she had, therefore, determined to run away and get married. However, she will shertly be back home again, unmarried." In view of the shock that it received a few months back, it would seem that "The Trade" in New Zealand is going diligently to work to put its house in order. A Dunedin paper, which is said to have "the cause" at heart, suggests the passing of a Bill through Parliament which will embody the following provisions:—First: Every hotelkeeper, notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary, may purchase any, or all 'of his goods in the open market, wherever it pleases. (This will effectually kill the tied house, the greatest menace the Trade has to contend with). Second: Every hotelkeeper will have the right to have his rent fixed by arbitration for a period of six or nine years. Third: Goodwills will be abolished forthwith. Fourth: The Government will standardise all liquor, and no brewery, wine or wholesale merchant will he permitted to sell any article for consumption unless it agrees with the statutory requirements. All liquors sold in hotels must bear the legal labels and be exactly what they profess to be. (This will he an absolute guarantee to the public of the purity of all liquors). Fifth: Any license* who will be guilty of any breach of the above regulations will have his license cancel- ] led and will not be eligible again to hold a license for a period of seven years.