LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 273, 15 May 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The revolution in China and the docking of the pig-tails is said to have caused an enormous boom in the hat and cap trade.

Last year old-age pensions in New Zealand necessitated an expenditure of £335,000, hospitals ,£237,000, and charitable aid £116,000.

An axe, stated to have been a personal present from Captain Cook, 143 years ago, is among the heirlooms of a native at Waingake (Gisborne).

Owing to repairs being in course of operation at the Munipical baths there will be no hot baths to-day, but they will be available as usual to-morrow. A local resident (says the Otaki Mail) who owned property in Levin for which he paid £l6O three years ago, on Monday disposed of it for £IOO, after paying rates and taxes for the full term.

Miss Mackenzie, imported only twelve months ago to act as matron of the Dunedin Hospital, is shortly resigning from that position in order to be married to a leading local Presbyterian clergyman.

At the present time there are no less than 124 counties, 113 boroughs, 60 town districts, 149 road districts, 41 river districts, 43 harbor boards, 13 education districts,_ 42 land drainage districts, and 37 hospital districts existing in New Zealand.

At the instance of the Borough Council, the town clerk (Mr. P. T. Bellringer) has written to the Minister for Marine, asking that the foreshore below Woolcombe Terrace, from the end of the railway reserve to the Henui river, should be vested in the borough for recreation and other purposes.

The output of the Stoke Canning Company this season was 350 tons (says the Colonist), and it was disposed of in advance at a satisfactory price. In common with other factories, great difficulty was experienced in obtaining sufficient labor, while the present plant also proved inadequate. It is understood that a larger plant is to be installed. At the meeting of the council.of the Taranaki Acclimatisation Society, held last evening, it was decided to request all holders of shooting licenses to hand in to the secretary the names of all persons met with dog and gun. This action has become necessary owing to a number of persons shooting in the society's district without paying the usual fee for a license.

Said the Prime Minister at Balclutha: —"I will challenge the House when it meets. I will not hang on by any political legerdemain to the control of a majority. I will do nothing to cozen men out of their votes, and unless ';lie good feeling that has been shown to me in all parts of the country I have visited during the past few weeks is also behind me in Parliament, the Government will go out of office honorably and with no regrets."

A New Zealander who has just returned from a trip to Sydney, has informed a South Island paper that the boom in trade in Australia is unprecedented, and the only drawback to the general prosperity of the country is the scarcity of skilled labour, which is everywhere at a premium. He also stated that it was remarkable the number of New Zealanders that were at present in the various towns of the Commonwealth, and all reported to be doing well.

During the month of March, 1012, there were 77-65 men employed by the Public Works Department on railways, roads, buildings, and development of water power. By far the largest number were employed in the Stratford district, where there were 1211 on road works and 402 on the western end of the Strat-ford-Main Trunk railway. There were no railways under construction in the Wellington district, and only 308 men were employed on road works.

The Hon. G. W. Russell, Minister of Internal Affairs, has replied by telegram to the New Plymouth Harbor Board's protest against the representation of the local bodies at the forthcoming Wellington conference to consider the provisions of the new Local Government Bill. He points out that it would be impossible to give each class of local bodies separate representation at the conference, as this would make the conference so large as to be quite unworkable. The Minister added that the representation had been allocated on a population basis, and it was hoped that local authorities would assist in making the conference a success.

With reference to the representations made by the deputation from the Borough Council that awaited upon the Prime Minister recently, in regard to the proposed agreement for the vesting in the New Plymouth Borough Council of a portion (Leach street) of the land belonging to the railway reserve at New Plymouth, the town clerk has received a reply from the Minister of Railways regretting that he cannot see his way clear to make any alterations in the conditions stipulated by the Department. The Minister adds, however, that as soon as the necessary steps are taken by the Council, the Department will make arrangements to carry out its side of the agreement. The matter in dispute between the two parties is the demand for payment by the Council of £265 for the land in question.

A deputation representing the Otago A. and P. Society and Dune-din Fanciers' Club waited on the Hon. Mr. Myers yesterday, and urged that the Railway De partment should charge a quarter rate each way for stock exhibited at show societies on guarantees as to the bona fides of the stock as exhibits. Mr. Myers said that when a similar request was made two years the General Manager opposed it on the ground that it would mean considerable loss to the Railway Department. He was anxious to facilitate matters, but it was essential that its interests should be thoroughly safeguarded. The suggestion of a quarter rate was simple, but it was a larger question than appeared on the surface. He would ask the Departmental officers to look into the question again, and if it was possible to facilitate matters he would do so.

Application is being made to the Government by the Borough Council for a grant for the purpose of removing the remains of soldiers buried in the Te Henui cemetery to two plots, one in the Catholic portion of the cemetery, and one in the Church of England portion, and for suitable, obelisks to be erected, commemorating the names of those buried. At the present time the graves are in various places, scattered in different parts of the cemetery. The Government has from time to time made small grants to various towns for keeping soldiers' (graves in order. In their present condition many of the last resting places of those who have fought and died for Queen and country are overgrown with weeds. Many headstones have decayed, rind the inscriptions on others show signs of becoming obliterated. A Government grant would enable the Council to disinter the bodies in a common burial plot, over which would be erected two obelisks, bearing the whole of the names of those soldiers buried in the cemetery. This would also get over the difficulty and expense of maintaining a number of separate graves scattered at random.

A Manaia syndicate of three purchased Mr. Dick's farm at Otakeho last week at £45 an acre. Twenty-four hours afterwards they were offered £BSO on their bargain.—Witness. A3 showing the quantity of stock that has been changing hands this season (says the Manawatu Standard), a wellknown lirni lias put through £2o,fl'lO worth of stock .more each month this year than last vear.

In Great Briiun there is no less a sum than £47,0-:),000 invested in sport, and the British people annually spend close upon ,£45,000,000 in supporting it. Cricket and football have over £10,000,000 invested therein; and the public support the two games to the extent of over £11,000,000 annually.

Keas appear to be plentiful in the hill country, and it is gratifying to know that some settlers are waging determined war upon these pests (says the Ashburton Guardian). Mr. Anderson states that on his Stronchrobie run, about .'lfi miles from Mount Somers, his son and himself shot 45 keas in two days last week.

After a long period of anxiety (says the Duncdin Star), the farmers have had a happy harvest. One farmer says he was exactly four months at the ingathering of the yields of his fields. He got everything in. however, and finds nriees rather good. His experience has been common in Otago and Southland. The yield* !riv<> heen exceptionally heavy and there b"eu little loss from the very bad weather. There is a strong demand from Australia and London for New Zealand oats, but very little business is being done with London owing to a shortage of freight. The market prices for oats are good—2s n'/jd for A Gartons, and from 2s 4'/>d to 2s scl for B Garton, f.0.b., sacks in. The wheat market is still finn. All things considered, the times are kind to agriculturalists.

. An interesting experiment in wireless telegraphy lias just been carried out (states the Sydney Daily Telegraph) by an American cyclist, J. Wolff, who has been endeavoring to develop a system that can be used successfully on a bicycle. He succeeded in maintaining communication between his own machine and that of an associate three and a-quarter miles away. This communication was obtained without a ground wive.for it was found that the rubber tyres insulated the apparatus completely from the earth. The assistant rode ahead, sending messages as he went, whilst the receiver managed to keep in constant touch with him. The messages were flashed from a ten-foot mast affixed to the back of each machine, whilst the electric apparatus was carried on a small platform clamped on to the back of the steering gear.