LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 48, 15 July 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mj! Mullholland, well-known on the coast; will enter into possession of theEahotu Hotel next month. Miss Jcnnis Crocker, whose dog kennels at San Francisco are worth' £30,000, visited New York recently to buy trifles for 'her canine pets, including speciallymade toothbrushes with which the dogs' teeth are brushed, twice a day. ' Each dog' will have his own brush. A broken thigh-bone at the advanced age oif 92 years calls, for fortitude on the part of the patient. Mrs. Benge, senr., had tihe misfortune to slip at her back doof,'breaking her thigh-bone near the higli joint. The old lady bore her misfortune with great courage and patience, and is now, thanks to the care and skill of her medical attendant, well on the way to recqvery. The doctor hopes to have her walking about again shortly. There was a splendid attendance at the meeting of the Brotherhood yester|day afternoon; in fact, one 'of the [largest since the inception of the move- ! ment ;in New Plymouth. Mr. G. W. Browrje, Mayor of New Plymouth, presided. ■ The singing was again a feature. Mr. W. M. Perry rendered the solo "The Little Hero." The address by the Rev. .Hales, who chose as his subject "Facts and . Fancies," was particularly interesting and was very much appreciated. The Brotherhood now has a membership of over two hundred and fifty. On Friday evening the Literary Society will meet, when various essays will be given 'and be open to criticism.

'An interesting sidelight in connection with ihe recent strenuous battle in the House: of Representatives was mentioned to a reporter by Mr. C. R. Sykes (Oppostion member for Masterton). Mr. Sykes had been seriously ill, and, in order dhat his party should not lose his vote when the fateful .division arrived, Mr. Sykes was roused out of bed, wrapped in blankets, and conveyed to the House whenever it was thought that the psychological moment had arrived. Two or three times Mr. Sykes had this experience. Sir Joseph Ward, on ascertaining the condition of affairs on Friday night, remarked that it seemed cruel to disturb Mr. Sykes when he was ill, and remarked on the danger of his having a .relapse, and made a gracious offer to pair with Mr. Sykes, and thus relieve the latter of any risk of serious complications. However, Mr. Sykes stayed in the Whip's room till the division came on Saturday morning, and Sir Joseph Ward's offer was not availed of. "I thoroughly appreciated the spirit .which prompted Sir Joseph to make his gracious offer," remarked Mr. Sykes. "My party also appreciate it very much. Sir Joseph is a sport." Members of the Equitable Building Society of New Plymouth (First and Second Groups) are notified that subscriptions will be due and payable today (Monday), at the Secretary's Office, Clinic street, from 9 a.m. to 12.30, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.— Advt. .. ,

"Forgiveness, ia there a limit?" was (the text of an address given to men by ■j t%e Kev. A. 11. Colvile at St. Mary's Church yesterday afternoon to a large attendance. The subject was dealt with in an exhaustive and illuminating way. A gentleman saw the following advertisement in a London paper:—"The Road td Wealth. Send' twelve stamps to ." The gentleman sent twelve stamps, and in return for his outlay received minute instructions how to get to the Bank of England from any part of London!

Included in the electro-therapeutic department of the Middlesex Hospital i? an instrument called the "cold cautery." It is a little brass knife or spoon with blunt edges., on the surfaces of which an intensely hot arc flame is produced by electricity. Used for the removal of certain forms of malignant growth tins spoon or knife cuts its "way through tissues and at the same time seals the cut ends of the veins and arteries, preventing all bleeding.

The progress of stock-breeding is one of the leading agricultural facts of Germany. With the growth of the population, the demand for meat' has risen. Germany ranks next after Great Britain and the United States as a meat-con-suming country. It is also of interest to note that the number of swine has, constantly increased, while that of sheep has declined. It is also recognised that; the total dairy production exceeds in value that of dairy crops. A large gang of men was busily engaged mat Saturday on the deviation works near Hawera, when one new bridge was brought into use, the rails being shifted about 10ft. The main de. viation this side of Mokoia will not be ready for a considerable time. On the big new bridge all ..the iron work has yet to be erected, and this cannot be finished fer a year or so. The deviation which was decided on when it was found necessary to renew the wooden bridge will be' about 10 chains longer than the present route, but the grades will be much easier. It is expected that the alterations will cost about £2.0,000. To an overdose of the "Elixir of Life" is attributed the death of Gustav Neumann, aged seventy-three, and the serious illness of his wife, at a little greengrocery shop which they kept.at West Ham. They were found lying unebnscious on the floor, and the old man died shortly after. Interest in the case was chiefly centred round Neumann's alleged discovery of .the Elixir of Life, which he was wont to say made bim always to look and to feel young. The subtle operations of drugs and herbs had been his constant study ever since he came from Germany, and lie was always telling his friends that he had discovered the secret of immortal youth. It is said that,his cordial chiefly consisted of diluted phosphoric acid, supplemented at times by syrup of bunchu, and bottle upon bottle of this' concoction was to be seen in his private apartments. Christchuroh has become overcrowded with dentists, and many members of the profession in the city are finding it difficult to make a living. It is stated that some dentists holding high credentials find it hard to obtain sufficient business to enable them to pay their way. The older firms are firmly established, and the trouble seems to lie chiefly with the newcomers. A glance at the directory shows that there are at least fifty dentists practising in Ohristchurch, and a new firm is to start business shortly-. It is stated'that in order to alleviate the difficulties an effort is being made to form some sort of association, and one who makes- a feature .of extract i-.tions is said to have been approached with a request that he should not take teeth out where it is possible to make a 'tiling, the idea l: l ihg that rxf/'actions had the effect of lessening the amount of business in "repairing" teeth.

With the deserting husband the newspaper reader is painfully familiar. Meai> as the deserter is, the executive council of the Victorian Association of Ladies' Benevolent Societies have their eye on a still more worthless fellow. He stays at home and loafs on a wife who works and who appeals for charity when the burden proves too heavy for her. "The healthybrute, with work to be had for the • asking, deserves no quarter," comments the Melbourne Herald. "Presumably, the vice to which his degradation is said to be due in certain cases is generally drunkenness, for the ladies' man of the slums usually leaves his wife and le'vants with her rival. As to the sober waster who sees his wife overworked and his children want while he basks in the sun and orates at 'the street corner, the normal citizen cannot comprehend him. To deal with him is not easy. For the credit of human nature, it must be hoped that generally, despite a fair show of health, he is constitutionally unsound. If he cannot get work, it should be pro-. yided in a labor colony. There, if it be found -that lie is as he appears, capable of ' work, he should be forced to do it." A Taranaki resident who has just returned from a trip to the- Waikato and lower Thames Valley- says that 'he is convinced by what he saw that Auckland province will soon make good its reiterated boast that it will beat Taranaki in the matter of its dairy produce output. Wherever possible the land is being used for dairying, much of it being quite as suitable as the land in this' province, though on the whole not so good in quality. But there are exceptions, some of the' reclaimed swamp land he saw doing as well as the best Taranaki land. Swamp land that could be bought three years ago for from £5 to £7 an acre is now selling in its unimproved state from £lO to £l7, and good land it is turning out. The settlers on the Mata Mata estate, cut up some years ago by the Government, are all in dairying and prospering exceedingly, the land in that neighborhood being excellent for dairying, whilst the climate is wsnrm and genial. Around Te Aroha and Paeroa are some splendid dairy farms, and before long the whole of the lands <n these districts will be utilised for dairying. The Ohinemuri river is being cleared of the timber that has been blocking it and the bed has already been appreciably lowered, this having the effect of draining the neighboring country. The future of the country, around Morrinsville, Mata-mata and up to Paeroa is, says our informant, very bright indeed, and so soon as the drainage work now going on is completed, the diistryct will be heard of as .a great dairying one. Jack was an ardent and rather clever photographer. Jim was a fellow enthusiast—also pretty good at the game. One wet day they met at the former's "'digs" and commenced to overhaul Jack's prints. Jim waxed eloquent in his praise of some specially fine scenes, and declared that it was "a jolly shame to have such good work hidden away in an old box." "AA'hy, what can Ido with thorn?" queried Jack; to which innocent question Jim answered: "Get them enlarged and make some use of them." In the house of every amateur photographer there are hundreds of splendid prints lying hidden away —prints that should be enlarged and used in the decoration of the home. We are experts in enlargement work, and guarantee satisfaction in every instance. Our charges are very moderate, and include the mounting of enlarged prints on good quality board. Send your best photos along, and after a few days we'll return the enlargements—and you will be more than delighted witli the work.—Harringtons N.Z. Ltd., 42 Willis street, Wellington—Advt.

The suit for divorce begun in New/ York in November, 1910, by the wife of J Richard Harding Davis, the author, has; been discontinued 'by order of Justice Guy. The application for the discontinuance was made by Mrs. Davis. They were married in 1899. While Mr. Davis was in London and Miss Cecilia Clark was at home in Chicago he proposed and was accepted by cable. A messenger boy from a London hotel carried the engagement ring 4000 miles to Miss Clark!

It is seldom that a Maori appears.in a Court case who has not a fair know- ] ledge of the English language. A Court case at Napier, in which a Maori defend-1 ed himself, caused some amusement. At' the outset the Maori stated he had a ' very poor knowledge of the English language, but as time went on he proved himself a good cross-examiner in English: The Magistrate asked him if he had any further questions to ask the plaintiff, to which the Maori replied: "That's where you have me beat, mate. You won't let me ask them in my own language." Pickpockets appear to be fairly numerous and clever in Wellington. A few evenings ago a gentleman attending a concert at the Town Hall had his pocket picked of a well-filled purse, which he found later ripped open in the gutter, needless to say empty. A young man was stopped in Manners street by a welldressed, middle-aged man, who enquired the way to Lambton Quay. After a few moments' conversation the man departed; five minutes' later the young man found that his gold : mounted fountain pen had disappeared from his waistcoat pocket.

: Some interesting impressions of the motor car industry in New Zealand were tfiven a Press repo'icr by Mr. l-V-idorL'k Eastmead, a visitor from England. "What has struck me most," he said, "is the manner in which New Zealand has realised the importance of motor cars as a means of transit rather than as aid to sport, In view of the recent petrol famine here I might be able to make a suggestion as to how the difficulty might Ibe overcome. In France and Germany the Governments have been offering prizes for cars using vegetable alcohol. This is distilled from various root crops, and is quite equal -o petrol. I sie no reason why it should not be made successfully here, and a move in that direction might be made at one of the experimental farms. The roads here are certainly much better than in Australia, and those'of Canterbury province are practically equal to the English roads." Last year upwards of 100,000 American citizens entered Canada, and the movement this year is expected to be a record, i Mr. Champ Clark, one of the candidates : for the Democratic the Presidency, in introducing to Congress a Homestead Bill, which is intended to arrest the constantly increasing emigration from the United States to Canada, said: "Tome the most painful feature 1 of our time is to see the constantly increasing stream of the very best American citizens t6 Manitoba and Alberta. One day in my'country, one of the wealthiest and largest and most beautiful counties in God's own country, 43 families loaded an entire freight train, as much as one of those big locomotives could pull. They chartered a train, and with every one of them in a sleeping car, pulled out for Alberta. . There was not a man among them who-was not fairly well-to-do. An- , other man in my district sold his farm | for £5200, and his stock and other valuI able assets ran the sum up to £BOOO. 'He moved to Manitoba, and purchased 10,000 I aeres. He gave each of his eight childi ren 1000 acres, keeping 2000 acres for himself. That is the kind of American citizens who are leaving the.. United States and goiug to the British NorthWest. The immigration agent up there estimates that every American citizen arriving there carries with him on an average £200,"