LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 56, 24 July 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

ca f e were shipped north by the Tarawa last night.

n( A P l b V' g ? of !s ving obtained tlle Of £2 OS from flics. Isaac Lamason, by m i Ca " s of ,, fa J s n e , P re tences at Stratford on June 14, 1912, was alleged against, a young man named Frank Cowell in the Magistrate s Court yesterday morning J-he accused, who is a laborer, late Jf Tolco, was remanded to appear at Stratford on Friday. .

A pen is a most barbarous instrument to put into the hands of a young child to my way of thinking," remarked the' Inspector-General of iSchools, Mr. G. Ho<rben, in his evidence before the Education Commission at Wellington. "A soft pencil for use on paper or chalk for writing on the wall is very much to be oreferrecl." 1

Keserml judgment was delivered in the Magistrates Court yesterday by Mr. A. Crooke, S.M,, in the ease 'in which Okey and Rollo sued the Oaonui Dairy Company for £43 7s 3d for extras on a for S'l Jud ff en V™ for plaintiffs i , Wlth oosts totalling £lO 4s i • Mr" -Hutchcn appeared for the plamt. hj, and Mr. 0. Grey for the 1fendant company.

A premature report of the eupposed death of a parishioner almost placed a Dunedin clergyman ; in a quandary a few days ago. The Rev. p \V p-xir clough reported to the Jubilee Committee oi the fnpity Church that he had placed a certain early office-bearer in the list of the sainted dead in the jubilee souvenir or the church. A few hours before the souvenir went to press he received a letter of congratulation from the gentleman in question, and had to hurry to the printer to make a correction.

When the United Labor Party advocated proportional representation it found support from the Massey partv " said Professor W. T. Mills at a meeting in Wellington. "Mr. Massey himself declared definitely that lie considers (he Upper House should be elective, and elected under the system of proportional ■■'■ presentation. If Mr. Massey will brim.' about a reform in respect to both Houses" (hen, no matter what comes, he and (he party lie represents, will take a place in New Zealand history anybody might he proud to occupy,"

A Sydney cablegram states that incessant soaking rain is falling in New South Wales over a large area. A heavy sea Lg running on the coast. Four schools, as follow, have been temporarily closed in the Taranaki Education district on account of epidemics: —Rahotu, two weeks, through an epidemic of skin disease; Omata, 16th to 29th inst., on account of mumps and chicken-pox; Mangahume, two weeks, on account of mumps; Tututawa, one week, on account of influenza.

It will interest New Zealamlors to know that the interior of their interesting country is inhabited by ferocious savages. A Mr. Alva Cloyd contributes to the Wide World Magazine an interesting narrative of a walking tour in the Urewera, in the course of which he encountered "a yelling swarm of savages, ringing cowbells and beating tom-toms, which afforded a most 'surprising and at the same time terrifying spectacle." There is a good deal iu the article about the custom of "taupo," which is probably a printer's error for "tapu"! A very peculiar incident occurred at a local boardinghouse recently (says the Eltham Argufc). When the lady of the house was removing a boiled pudding from a saucepan the string tied around the cloth broke, and a portion of the delectable edible was projected into the face of a friend standing in close proximity, somewhat hurting her eye. The only explanation of this remarkable "explosion" is that the pudding was confined in rather too small a cloth, not enough room being left for expansion. However, it is fortunate the result was not of a more serious nature.

"I hope no one gets a chill—a spiritual chill—as they enter this church," said the Rev. A. A. Murray (Presbyterian) at Auckland on Sunday. He emphasised the need of warmth, and approved of the extreme action of the Boston and Erskines of Liulathen, who opposed the "Moderates" and saved the Scottish Church from the perils of sleeping sickness; Mr. Murray also referred to the habit of many Presbyterian brothers, who believed it necessary to send their children to Romish convents for "polish.'' This polish he doubted, and he was certain that their own theology and spiritual power were undermined. He remarked that he would sooner go without boots for his feet than have a child of his own educated in such an institution.

An invention of a particularly clever nature was shown to a Southland Times representative by the inventor, Mr. P. Sheedy, of Heddon Bush, the other day. Mr. Sheedy has produced a contrivance by which he can turn binder twine into rope in a few minutes. This rope can be made to any thickness and length. The contrivance "is wonderfully simple and will be sold shortly at about twenty shillings. Mr. Sheedy's idea is that it will be a handy thing about a farm. The twine used in fastening sheaves could be kept and turned into rope, instead of being thrown away. It is not supposed that farmers will in the future do .ill their own rope-making, but the handiness of being able to run out a piece of rope from 'binder twine just when it may be wanted, and the simple operation of the machine, will very probably make it worth a place on most farms. Mr. J. Rutherford,' manager of the Bell Block Factory during the past Six years, but who has just been appointed manager of the Te Aroha Dairy Company, for which place he leaves early next week, has during that period brought the Bell Block brand very prominently before the public by the success he has achieved at the various shows. In all, lie has won twenty-three first prizes, besides numerous second and third prizes. Four trophies have been won outright, viz., two challenge cups and two champion cups, and the company also has "a leg in" for three other tiophies, viz., one at Hawera and two at Xew Plymouth. The present year has been one of the most successful Mr. PvUtherford' has had, as he has secured one or more prizes at each of the winter shows held in the Dominion, viz., at Dunedin, Hawera, New Plymouth, Auckland and Palmer,ston North.

The dairy factory managers of S.outhland have formed a union and held a meeting in Invercargill recently, when a list of demands was adopted to submit to the employers. There are over fifty factories operating in Southland (states the News). and the strength of the union wijl be seen when it is, stated that forty-three of the managers are members. Mr. John Sawers presided over an attendance which, exceeded twenty, and it was stated that the union, which h*d been .registered for nbout two months, was the only organisation of .the kind in the South Island, if not in New Zealand. It was also mentioned that managers were- receiving salaries as low as £9G, which was not considered sufficient, and the union decided that the minimum should be £l3O. The cheesemakers wre not dissatisfied with the long hours of work, recognising that these are unavoidable. It was resolved to communicate with the employers with a view to a conference being held and an amicable-settlement arrived at.

In Chicago recently a woman sued her baker for ,£2OO damages because she found a sausage in a loaf of bread, an action which drew from a facetious London contemporary that "some peopis don t deserve any luck." In Melbourne (says the Age) another lady sued a wellknown city firm a few months ago because she had found a mouse's head in a pie that had been sold to her at the Arm's establishment. Now has come to light a case in which a mouse was found in a loaf of bread delivered lately to one of the lunatic asylums by the contract baker. Officially this is interpreted as a breach of the Pure Foods Act, and the matter it in the hands of the Board <of Health. A visit to the bakery was made by Dr. Burnett Ham and Dr. Robertson. Their report submitted to the board wa* to the effect that the machinery and appliances at the bakery were of the best quality. The proprietors were naturally much concerned orer the matter, and explained that every caro was taken in the making of the bread. The whole of the surroundings were most cleanly, and the only way in which they could account for the thing was that the mouie had been purposely placed in the dough with a malicious motive. The members of the board took a serious view of the matter, and \t was decided that a prosecution be instituted.

•Tack 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." ''Why, what can Tdo with them?" 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 he enlarged and used in the decoration of the home. We are experts in enlargement work, and guarantee satisfaction in every instance. Cur charges are very moderate, and include the mounting of enlarged prints on °.ood quality board. Send /our best photos along, and after a h.w dsys we'll return the enlargement—:i ml you will be more than delighted wlui the work. —Harringtons N.Z. Ltd,, 42 Willis street, Wellington.—Advt.

The sight of natives playing football' with bare feet has often occasioned considerable surprise to spectators, though, it is a fairly common occurrence in this district (says tho Otaki Mail). Until last Wednesday, however, we have never seen a hockey player engaged in a match barefooted. On that day, in the match Otaki v. Kia Ora ladies, one of the Otaki players—a native girl—played throughout the game barefooted, and acquitted herself excellently. She did not shirk the tight work, either, despite her bare feet.

The Lyttelton Times says that it is evident that the present Government is going to adhere very closely to the Liber'al policy and that tho long-sustained cry of the late Opposition for "reform" hail chiefly to do with the constitution of the Cabinet and the privileges of office. Our contemporary adds: "But there can be nothing to prevent the Minister of Finance making a substantial addition to the graduated land tax at once, and when this has been done we shall .begin to think that progress may sound as sweet under one party name as it may under another."

Some changes are ponding in the conduct of the State experimental farms. "I hope to do a very great deni more than has been done up to the present in the way of using the experimental farms for what might be called training college purposes. I hope later to secure some suitable men who have been trained in the agricultural colleges of the Old Country or America for the work that I have in view," said the Hon. W. F. Massey, Minister for Agriculture, to a reporter. Mr. Massey said his object was two extend the scope of the farms, and make their usefulness more practical. He believed that could be done without increasing the cost 01" the scheme.

A cruel and most reprehensible hoax was perpetrated recently near Wcstport. A bottle was picked up on the sea beach containing a message stating that a man well-known in the district was stranded on an isolated spot indicated, with a broken leg, and was without food. There was a suspicion that the message was a hoax, but lest it might be otherwise, a constable and a local resident decided to investigate, though doing so entailed a long and arduous journey. A thorough search of the locality proved the message to have been absolutely a fabrication. On the return journey very adverse weather conditions were experienced, and the constable had a narrow escape of losing his life through being washed from his

horse when crossing a swollen river There is much public indignation in connection with the authorship of the misleading message.

The following was cabled from Berlin a few days ago to the Sydney Sun:— Germans await with keen interest the results) of the meeting between the Czar and I'jic Kaiser. The assertion has been made, with almost suspicious zeal, that the object of the interview was merely to cement the cordial relations already existing between the two countries. It is evident that some weighty affairs in political, naval and military spheres were discussed at the meeting. During the past week the Berlin papers have published a number of suggestive editorials. These articles have let the cat completely out of the bag as to what Germany wants from Russia. It is nothing more or less than a friendly understanding, the effect of which is that Russia should declifte to fall pn Germany's rear if the day ever comes when Germany and Austria find themselves in the death grapple with Britain and France.