LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 323, 12 July 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ihe next shoot of the New Plymouth Defence Rifle Club for the champion shield will be held on the Rewa Rewa range on Thursday next. Thirty-three applications were received by the Mountain House Committee for custodian and wife to conduct the. hostelry. These have now been reduced to four, concerning whom inquiries are being made. A horse attached to a light delivery cart belonging to the Taranaki Meat Lazaar bolted yesterday morning, owinoto a wlieel coming off "the vehicle. The hoyi driver fell to the ground, but was uninjured. The cart was only sli«htly damaged. ■ The adojurncd meeting of the New Plymouth ladies who are assisting i n the movement to present the battleship iNew Zealand with an Ensign and Union Jack will be held in the Mayor's nlom this evening at 7.30, when *a plan of action will be decided upon. All interested are invited to attend. An indignant defendant at the Invercargill Police Court last week caused a little amusement to those present (says the News). He was charged with tailing to clear his property of noxious weeds, and when asked whether he pleaded '•guilty" or "not guilty." he replied, "Your Worship, I am guilty according to law, but not to justice." He stated that he had been unable to obtain labor to cut the weeds, and further added that the pest on his property had been the result of growth on adjoining Government lands.

Objection to the Civil Service junior ex-animation was made by Mr. Fleming, Wellington Education Board's chief inspector, in giving evidence the other day before the Royal Commission on Education. The witness held that these examinations restricted the freedom of the teachers in district high schools and secondary schools, and that if the community, such as the offices—Government merchants and others—depended on the schools for recommendation of boys for appointments, quite as good a 'result would be obtained as was now obtained by the examination under notice. "We are sweeping the vice from San Francisco as fast as the work can be done," said the Rev. George Burlingham, of San Francisco, to an interviewer in Auckland. "The authorities wish to make San Francisco a safe city for people to come to, for we expect" hundreds of thousands of visitors to our 1915 exposition to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal. Barbary Coast, the great block of evil and lowest vice of the world, will soon, we hope, be unknown. That is all that is .wrong with San Francisco. If we could sweep Barbary Coast away we should not feel ashamed'to talk of our city. It would lose the name of 'the Paris of America.'"

The quarterly meeting of the New Ply mouth Methodist circuit was held on Wednesday evening, when it was reported that the financial returns for the quarter were good, and had more than met the ordinary expenditure. There was at present a credit balance of £4B 14s. Eight members were lost during the quarter on account of removal", leaving the membership at 272. It was decided to authorise collections during the coming quarter for the Foreign Missions and for the Whitelev Trust. The Sunday schools showed a substantial improvement in the average attendance. The splendid, though unostentatious, work being done by (he Deaconess (Sister Florence) came in for much commendation, and it was resolved that her report be read at a Sunday morning service. Rearing upon the fact that the Methodist union takes place next week the meeting adjourned until Tuesday next. _ The officials of the 'Primitive Methodist Church are to be invited to meet the circuit in conference, when proposals will be tabled for consolidating and extending (he effort to be carried on by the united church.

The Tanuuki Acclimatisation Society recently placed an order for 100,000 searun brown trout ova from the Hakakaramea waters. The consignment is expected to arrive in a day or. two and the eggs will be placed in the Society's hatcheries on the Frankley road.

Mr. Frank Moore's well-known herd of pure-bred Jerseys was sold at Wanganui yesterday. There was a spirited bidding. The prices of bulls ranged from 40 guineas downwards. The highest prices for cows were paid by Mr. H. Purdie, who gave 75 guineas for Prim II and 70 guineas for Poppy 11. Other cows brought from 54 to 30 guineas, and twenty-one heifers averaged just under 30y 4 guineas.

Arrears under a maintenance order claimed by Mrs. Annie Johnson at the Magistrate's Court yesterday morning from Julius de Silva, who resides in Wellington. Mr. Frank Wilson appeared for the plaintiff, and on behalf of the defendant. Mr. Rov (instructed by Messrs. Wilford and Levi, of Wellington) applied for an order directing the defendant's evidence to be taken in Wellington. The application was granted. Hearing of the case was adjourned till July 25, at Xew Plymouth', aloiv; with the defendant's cross summons for the cancellation of the original order and the arrears.

Hobart, very ambitious and with a magnificent harbor, has mot with a considerable measure of success in securing new tonnage of late. In place of transhipment at Melbourne, it is the intention of the German-Australian line to go to Hobart direct with general merchandise, and the trade will be initiated by the steamer Altona. This is not the 'only ; departure. Oil from New York, which used to come through Melbourne, will, in future, be brought to Hobart. The Union Company havo decided to coal New Zealand-Melbourne steamers at Hobart, and the White Star line are making enquiries at Liverpool in regard to coaling certain of. the steamers at the Tasmanian port.

The Chinese are bent on having a strong military force in the near future, according to Mr. J. W. Webster, who is on a short'visit to Invercargill. He says that they had four million men in training before the Dynasty was upset, but other nations have nothing to fear, because China lias first to put its own house in order. The country has no naval boats and the army is intended simply to keep peace within its own borders. China is, however, going to' raise a navy as soon as possible, but the difficulty at-present is that the nation is without money. They have a. few men ill training for the navy, are opening naval colleges, and for years have been making their own guns. They have a very big arsenal in Shanghai, another in the fur west, and a third in mid-China.

Sydney is growing skywards. Cramped for space, the city'is adopting thw skyscraper. City ground values' liave reached such a figure that it is found impossible to meet them except with loftier buildings. There is now before the Sydney City Council for sanction the plans of ft building of 22 storeys, to 1)9 erected at the corner of Pitt street and Moore street; and to adjoin Somerset House, a 10-storey structure. The block of land on which this first sky-scraper is to bo built is valued at £115,000. It is at present occupied by a. three-storey building. This is in the very heart of the city, just across from tlie General Post Office. The chief objections raised to the sky-scraper are baied on the danger from fire and the consequent risk to human life. The authorities have not yet given their approval to the erection of this huge building.

Commenting on the scarcity of boys for office positions. Mr. T. R. Fleming, before the Education Commission the other day, and in reply to Mr. T. W..Wells, of Auckland} said that he thought that the average intelligence of the Sixth Standard boy was very much higher than it was ten years ago. He was aware that certain merchants had complained that the reverse was the case, and he could only account for that by the fact that boys -who had passed the Sixth Standard usually preferred to pursue a secondary school course before applying for positions in nllices. This would account for the scarcity of boys applying \for these positions, and also for the fact that those who did apply were of the lower standard. It was possible that a number of these applicants were boys who had left school between the Fourth and Sixth Standards, and had drifted about aimlessly for some time. Witness felt certain that the average Sixth Standard boy was better equipped in a general way—in the matter of intelligence, com-mon-sense, in initiative and resource—than the lad of ten years ago, whose horizon was more restricted as the result of a too close application to a narrow course of education.

Two servants of the Borough Council figured in a court cn.se yesterday morning as contending parties in a by-laws case. The borough inspector (Mr. B. Tippins) proceeded against Henry Ford, custodian of the Carnegie Library, for having swept rubbish on to the footpath. Defendant, who pleaded not guilty, was defended by Mr. Frank Wilson., The inspector alleged that on the day in question he watched Ford, from a stable opposite, sweep dust and rubbish from the steps of the library on to the footpath and leave it there. Subsequently he taxed the defendant with the offence, and later on the accumulation was swept off the footpath by Ford, so he had been informed. Giving evidence, the defendant swore that he neither swept the rubbish on to the footpath, nor subsequently removed it. Under cross-examination, he admitted that he might have told a councillor at a committee meeting, of the council that he had done it to annoy the boroiurh inspector. In the face of defendant's admission, the Magistrate (Mr. A. Crooke, S.M.) said he must convict him. A fine of 5s with costs 7s was imposed. For cycling at night without lights the Rev. R. J. Liddell was fined 5s and costs 7s, as was also Win. TTardgrave for leaving his horse unattended in Devon street. M. Thompson was fined 5s and costs 7s for having ridden a bicycle on a footpath. At a sitting of the Juvenile Court a boy pleaded not guilty to having ridden a bicycle without a light. The' case was dismissed. Inspector Tippins prosecuted.

THE PRICE OP BOOTS. ; Owing to the recent award; it is a moral certainty that manufacturers will raise prices, thus passing the added cost on to the public. The Melbourne—ever ready to anticipate such a move is heavily stocked with all lines of New Zealand manufacture, and -will be able to offer goods at prices in no way influenced by the recent award. Hereunder is published a list of every-day wellknown boots, which you are asked to carefully compare with ruling prices elsewhere. We are confident -of the result. Men's stout bluchers, 6/fi; men's strong kip shooters, 7/11; youth's strong boots, sizes 1 to 5, 8/11; men's water, tights, 14/fi; heavy kip shooters, 12/0; men's medium weight chrome shooters nailed or plain, 13/9; youths' shooters. 7/fi; children's chrome balmorals, 5/11. 0/11. 7/6; women's chrome two-bar shoes, 5/11; women's felt slippers, carpet soles. 1/-; women's check felt slippers, with fancy buckle, 1/3; women's colored felt slippers, with cord soles, 1 /3; women's leather slippers, sewn soles, 3/11; women's chrome slippers, sewn so l o 9' 4/11. The above are all wellknown colonial made lines. No prices low »9 ®i6 Melbourne's—Advt.

Imiaru is keeping up its reputation for progress and expansion .by the erection or projected erection of buildings of a total value of £200,000. The buildings in course of erection include a new four-storey warehouse, with frontages to Sophia street and Bank street, a big grocery shop in Stafford street, new premises for Messrs Ballantync and Co. in North Stafford street (which are to cost £24,000), new municipal offices in George street, a new Theatre Royal and a new boys' High .School, in North street. A number of important buildings are to be commenced shortly, and about 100 dwelling houses are in course of erection in various parts of the borough. About thirty years ago the bleached remains of a man's body were found hanging from a tree in the'-bush adjacent to the 'Manakau Harbor, the supposition being that the man had committed suicide. The skull and other bones were removed to Onchunga, and buried in the lock-up yard. These remains were recently distinterred by some men engaged in excavating the foundation for a new look-up. Dr. W. J. Scott has applied for possession of them on behalf of the local .branch of the St. John's Ambulance Association, in order to have them articulated and used bv the medical gentlemen for demonstration purposes when engaged in instructing members of the Association.