LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 83, 24 August 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mails for London despatched from the Dominion on July 19 arrived in London sn the 21st inst. Two short sharp shocks of earthquake were experienced in New Plymouth at 1.15 and 1.22 this morning. The local memorial services in connec- I tion with the death of -General Booth ' will not be held to-morrow, but on a later date to be advertised. At a public meeting held at MastcTton last night a resolution was passed in favor of establishing a high school in the district, and requesting the Wellington Education Board to take the necessary steps to establish the institution. Mr. Astbury remarked at the annual meeting of the Mangatoki Dairy tjompany the other evening that a reliable authority had informed him that they could rely on cheese remaining as firm as it was at present for the next ten years. • • The anniversary services at St. Mary's Church will be held to-morrow. Holy Communion will bo celebrated at 8, Matins and sermon at 11, and at 2.30 p.m. a confirmation service will be held. The latter service and evensong-(7 p'.m.)>will be conducted by the Bishop of Auckland. The vicar will preach-in the morning. The Parapara Company's experimental ironsand works at Moturoa have been taken over on lease by the local syndicate, and the patentees (Messrs. Smith, Bransgrove and Tweedale) will forthwith proceed to experiment for the purpose of demonstrating 'the possibilities and commercial success of their process for treating the sand. ■The following gives the amount of produce handled during the past year by j the West Coast Refrigerating Company, Patea:— Cases of cheese, 117,929; boxes of butter, 50,229; pork and bacon goods, 61 tons. The above represents a gross tonnage handled of—Cheese, 9396 cons; butter 1496.6 tons; bacon goods, Gl tons; j total, 10.953.6 tons. The above shows an increase over the previous season of I about 1000 tons? gross weight. At the New Plymouth Brotherhood meeting, which is' to be held in the 1.0.G.T.'11a1l on Sunday afternoon at 3 o'clock, a return visit is to be paid by Dr. Home, who is to give the address. Mr. H. Coodacre will preside, and Mr. Symes, of the Empire Picture Theatre", Will give a violin solo. Mr. Symes has just come from Rotorua, where he was connected with the Government orchestra. The membership is just on 300, and as week by week new members have joined the 300 mark should be reached on Sunday next.

In tlie House of representatives on Thursday Dr. Newman suggested that if the Minister of Finance "collared" all the oilfields lie could pay off half the national debt if lie struck oil. About

£BO,OOO ■ could be made every year by coining copper and silver bought wholesale in London. If the Minister of finance bunted about in a variety of ways he would discover a great many source:, of income without troubling the people every year for an enormous lot of money. The West Coast of the South Island was a favorite spot. On every nook and corner rained showers and showers of gold. This, too, the doctor

described as shocking. New Plymouth is an orderly town, and would be more so but for the temporary lapses of strangers, many of whom come in from the back-country for the express purpose of having a "good time," commonly conveyed in the expression, "a beer up." A case in point was heard in the Magistrate's Court yesterday morning before Mr. A. Crooke, S.M., when Peter Higgins, who hailed from so many miles out of Uruti, was charged with obscene language and drunkenness. On Thursday night accused was discovered by Constable Smith, gracefully reposing on the Devon street footpath. Biggins appeared to be asleep, and the constable shook him up. The accused deeply resented this intrusion of his slumbers, and gave vent to some not over choice expressions—not set out in Webster's—within the hearing of several ladies who were hurrying home after tripping the light fantastic. It was a very chastened Peter who pleaded guilty in the dock to both offences. Addressing the accused, the Magistrate remarked: "If I were satisfied that you saw the women when you used such language, I would order imprisonment without the option, but as there is ' some •doubt about the point I will order you to pay a fine of £3, in default one month's imprisonment with hard labor.". The accused paid £2 into Court, and was given one week in which to find the ■balance. On the charge of drunkenness he was convicted and discharged, and ordered to pay 7s Court costs.

The fact that it is not necessary to prove drunkenness in the case of an application for a prohibition order was brought home to a defendant in the Magistrate's Court yesterday morning. The defendant (Percy Alfred Fabian) was before the Court on Thursday, when he was granted an adjournment of a day in order to allow him to call evidence on his behalf. He could, he averred, fill the Court with witnesses. When the case was called on yesterday, the defendant was asked where his witness where. "I did not consider it was necessary," he replied, "because I have never been drunk in may life, and there is nobody in New Plymouth who can ever say that I have been. The whole thing has been brought on as a prohibition movement. You can ask the constables in Court, and ask anybody in town, so far as I am concerned, j. did not consider it was worth calling evidence, because. nobody has seen me drunk. I have never been before the Court in my life." The presiding Justices (Messrs Bewlcy and Lepperj asked Mr. A. H. Johnstone, who appeared for the defendant's brother, applicant lor the order, if he wished to call any evidence additional to that adduced on Wednesday. Counsel replied that he would do so, providing the JJencli held that the evidence already given was not satisfactory. Mr. Bewloy'licld that the case was proven, and issued the order, after explaining to Fabian that it was not necessarily a matter of drunkenness, so much as the fact that it had been shown that he was mis-spending his money and wasting his substance in liquor. That ground alone was sufficient justification for the issue of an order. The defendant denied this impeachment. DRY. SAFE STORAGE IK BRICK BUILDINGS. WE HAVE IT. There are times when um want storage—for furniture, for good*, for haggage. We always have it when you want it. It's dry. safe, convenient, clean. Storage is available in this t",v.n, and in all other towns in which v.e have offices. Charges are reasonable.—'Hie New Zealand Express Coy., Ltd.—Advt. For Influenza, take Woods' Grc;'i; Peppermint Cure. Never fails. 1/6, 2/6,

Last year 4,525,000 groy squirrels, 1,500,000 white; hares, 200,000 ermine, and 12,250 sables were killed in Siberia—victims to fashion's demands. According to the Hon. G. Fowlds, the people of New Zealand have saved from £ 150,000 to £200,000 per year in insurance policies since the State Fire Insurance Office was instituted.

In Southland the other day, a farmer who could not obtain a ploughman undertook the work himself, although he was not well at the time. Unfortunately he overstrained his heart in following the team, and died before a doctor could be brought to attend him. "No man ought to be allowed to arive a motor car, even for himself, unless he is a skilled driver—otherwise he is a menace to the public," remarked his Honor Chief Justice Stout at the Supreme Court at Auckland on Monday, during the hearing of a case in which the driving of a motor car was under review.

A Canadian writer states that he has proved that it is possible to destroy a field of Canadian thistle by planting the field with lucerne. ■ The thistles were turned under and the lucerne then sown, the produce being a glorious field, of lucerne, which yielded £8 per acre off the first cutting of hay for the season. A young man pleaded guilty at the Christchurch Supreme Court to. a number of cases of stealing money from his employers, amounting in the aggregate td over £430. His counsel said accused was now 22 years of age, having entered the service of the firm at the age of 14 as a store boy, and worked himself up to the position of town traveller. The Judge, in sentencing accused, said he was giving full credit for his previous good character, as his was not an isolated offence, but was a series of offences.

Our readers are reminded that to-day is the last day of the Melbourne's great reduction sale. It will positively be the last opportunity of securing every-day regular standard goods at genuinely reduced prices. No spurious bargains at the Melbourne.