LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 86, 28 August 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Six schools are «t_ present closed in the laranaki Education district on account of epidemics. The WlVan«amomonn school is closed on account°of mumps; Rahotu, chicken-pox and mumps; Pungarehu, mum ps; York mumps; Opunake, measles; and Taruru' tangi. About two months ago certain school committees, hkely- to be affected were written to by the Taranaki Education Board with regard, to the introduction of the regulations dealing with compulsory , attendance .at continuation' and technical classes. Reporting to the (Mr. YV. A. Ballantyne) stated that so far »o replies had come to hand. He added that if these regulations were to be -brought into force next year it would probably be wise to again 'approach the committees concerned. The report was adopted. . the ladies comprising the committee set up to defray the cost of installing electric light throughout the new North ■ Egmont Mountain House are at present actively engaged in disposing of tickets ; lor a benefit entertainment which is being given in-aid of the fund by the [Royal Pictures. The prdeeeds of the , entertainment will go to pay the expenses of a. monater garden party to 'be | held at the end of November or the beI ginning of December in aid of the elec- : trie light installation fund. Local residents are never flow to respond when an | appeal for assistance is worthy of - patronage, and it is to be hoped' that I they will not -overlook the present obIject. The. Mayoress (Mrs. Browne) is ) chairwoman, and Mrs. Dockrill secretary of the committee. * '-.-''"

A copy of- the letter from Messrs. Ismay, Imne and Co„ wiich has been received through His Excellency the Governor from the Secretary of State for the Colonies, acknowledging the -receipt of the expressions of sympathy forwarded by the Borough Council and other, local, bodies- fn connection with the. Titanjc disaster, expressing the deep gratitude' of the sufferer* for the kindlv sympathy' shown, has been forwarded to the town clerk (Mr. F. T. Bellinger). "We desire," runs the letter, 'to offer to you our sincere appreciation of your kindness in forwarding us these resolutions, arid should be grateful if von could find'means to express to all those concernedthe_ deep gratitude of the sufferers for their expressions, of such kindlv sympathy, which, coming as thev do from practically the other side of'the world,, are «s unexpected as thev are acceptable." Only eight public bodies in New Zealand pawed resolutions of sympathy' in connection with the disaster," and the New Plymouth Borough Council was one of them.

I The New Plymouth branch of the •, Sports Protection League, which announced its advent sonic monlhs ago with no_ small flourish of trumpets, has, to all intents and purposes, departed '. this life without doing anything to its credit. The branches of the league located in other parts of the Dominion I have lately been very much in the public eye in protesting against the restrictions placed on the sport of the turf. ) but all that the local branch appears to ) have done—and that a considerable time ago—is to have elected a large number of vice-presidents without consulting them as to whether or not they would hold office, and to loudlv voice the fact that the league was not'being formed in the interests of horse-racing alone. In the light of the action of other branches of the league, this denial may be taken for what it is worth. There arc many other forms of sport besides horsc-raein"' however, commendable, but the league appears to have early overlooked This J fact. The local branch has not even } elected a secretary, and the committee set up has apparently never once met. : j Land agents were at law in the Magistrate's Court yesterday, when John IT. Wood proceeded against Cornwall anrl Whitcombe with a civil claim for £3O- - being the balance of Jiis share: in' the commission alleged to be due on the sale of a goodwill of a lea,s<e of a farmat Bell Block. Mr.'C. TT. AVeston appeared for Wood, while Mr. A. H. Johnstone defended. The plaintiff contended that in April last 'he introduced to the defendants a client of his named Bat-ev, who was desirous of purchasing the freehold of a farm. The defendants stated that they had the freehold of a farm of *O2 acres at Bell Block, belonging to Edward Westwood, at their disposal. While negotiations were in progress, the plaintiff learnt that, instead of the freehold. West wood had only the. lease, with a purchasing clause, for sale. Plaintiff said he pointed this out to Cornwall and Whiteonibe, who thereupon 'agreed to pay him half of the commission (£Sfi) that would have been netted had it been a sale of a freehold. Batcv purchased the goodwill of the lease for £4lO, and agreed, so the plaintiff alleged he had been given to understand by Cornwall and Whitcombe, to pav commission as if it was a sale of a freehold, and not merely a sale of a lease. Subsequent, to the sale, the defendants compromised with Westwood by accepting £25 in full settlement of the claim. This amount was at the usual rate for the sale of a lease. The defendants paid half of this sum to-the plaintiff, who, however, refused to give ii settlement, alleging ihat they had misrepresented the position to him by giving him to understand that they had a straightout freehold for sale, whereas such was not the case. The defence was ihat the alleged arrangement on the part of Westwood to pay £SO commission was purely a voluntary one, quite unenforcihle, and one which the defendants declined even to try and enforce against Westwood. The defendants also denied having mis represented the position. The Magistrate (Mr. A. Cronke. S.M.) reserved hi* decision. The case lasted throughout the whole day.

Followers of all sports, whether active or passive, delight in the bracing effect of a bottle of GAMTJOO DTvV fiTXGER ALE. As a non-alcoholle drink it has no equal; as a thirst quencher it h unrivalled. All hotels and stores. 0

The itarawa last night took TOO boxes of butter for Auckland. The special Parliamentary committee '] set up to consider the petition of McLean Bros, for relief from the Otira Tunnel contract met yesterday morning. Mr. Lee was elected chairman of the committee: It was decided not to admit the press. Vandalism is again in evidence at Pukekura Park, just now the gardens . are robed in vernal garb,, the' sprii.fc; flowers being a mass of bloom. Many of the best blooms, however, •have been surreptitiously filched. It is a pity that at least one sneak-thief cannot be run to earth and made an example of. The North Egmont Hostelry will be officially opened on October 4 by His Excellency the Governor, who has consented to perform the ceremony. Mr. and Mrs. Bromley, who are to have charge of the hostelry, will take up their duties on September 1. The furniture is now being conveyed to the house. An envelope containing a cheque and some notes is advertised for in this issue. It was lost by a boy who has quite recently arrived from England, and, as a result of the loss, is practically penniless. The advertiser would be obliged if the persons who finds same | would return to P. 0., Inglewood, or Daily News office, New Plymouth, and leave name and address. The committee of the North Taranaki Hunt are making provisions to. accommodate a record number at their annual ball, which is to be held in the Theatre Eoyal on Thursday evening next. Already a great number of tickets have been disposed of locally, and judging by the number of visitor* from outside New Plymouth, who have signified their intention of being present, there is no doubt but that the accommodation will be taxed to the utmost.

I Sitting in his civil-jurisdiction at the j Magistrate's Court yesterday morning, Mr. A. Crooke, S.M., gave judgment for the plaintiff bv default in the cases of A., J. Way v." A. E. R. Collins, claim £3 Is 3d, and costs 10s; M. A. Ibbotson v. A. E. E Collins, claim £3, and costs 10s. The judgment summons case of Carter v. F. Yon Lubbe, involving the sum of £4 19s lOd, was, after, a partial hearing, adjourned for a week so as to give the defendant an opportunity of preparing a detailed statement. Commenting at the annual meeting of the W-clington Meat Export Company on- the very satisfactory results of the year's operations, Mr. Foster, managing director, said that such results should not mislead the shareholders, for the meat market furnished all the factors for a big gamble". Last season, while one of plentiful pasture, was not r-ealy a good fattening one. In view of the rapid increase of the dairying industry, it was conceivable that New Zealand was not far from the maximum of its frpzen meat possibilities. There has been a rather serious mortality among the ewes in the Feilding district, the symptoms 'being akin to sleeping sickness, eventuating in death. A good many flocks have been affected. Enquiries made reveal that the trouble is pretty widespread in the district, and quite a number of studs have died. An officer of the Agricultural Department . states that every year when there is abundant food the same trouble presents itself. The ewes get very fat and lazy before lambing; they do not get sufficient exercise, and the liver becomes badafflicted. They simply lie down as | itin a natural sleep and die. The losse3 promise to be considerable.

. At the last meeting of 'the St. Aubyn Town Board, tenders for various works ;wero accepted as under:—T. and R. ; Parkin, at 8s 3d per yard, for cartinc .metal beyond Morshead's Hill; Kyngdon and Russell, at Is per yard, for removing earth on Calvert road,, subject to an avi'angement being made to cut a race fpr the Mangotuku stream; Russell and Son, at Is 4d per foot, for 0-inch pipes, laid and cement jointed, at corners of streets; Russell and Son, at £l3 10s per chain, for constructing an asphalt .footpath from Glen road to Bracken .street. The engineer . (Mr. John Skin•ni'il was instructed 'to'widen Calvert road on the east side to the full width, sfiut to continue the formation qf Newton 1 street from' Mr. &}-■&. Honey field'a to the Moturoa road. Tenders are to be called for carting gaol gravel required on 'Glen road, Lorna street, and -Game. Street.

New Plymouth has a confirmed Isaac Walton-in its midst. It would be hard, indeed, to find a more ardent pisc.v toriiiliat than the one unearthed this week. An elderly local 1 resident was reported missing. Search'was instituted by the police and anxious relatives, and at nine o'clock at jfight the search party chanced upon the quarry, ensconced in a> sequestered spot—fishing! The Philistines when they beheld the slaving of their giant champion Goliath by' David, the shepherd lad, could not have been more surprised than our angler when informed of the nature of the quest. The f&ct that the piscatorialist had been fishing from 0 a.m, to 9 p.m., regardless of such mundane considerations as dinner and tea, and witfc only indifferent luck with the rod, did not deter the angler from going off into high dudgeon at being interrupted. Such patience and perseverance are surely born of greater things.

-In an attempt to put off the inevitable, in the shape of the Greater New scheme, the St. Auhvn Town Board recently played its trump card, but it apparently over-looked the fact that the Borough Council had the "joker" up its sleeve. The Board passed a motion urging that the merging of St. Aubyn and Moturoa should be postponed until Marel> HI, 1913. To this the Borough Council replied, through the Department of Internal Affairs, pointing out that the petition subscribed to by the residents of St. Aubyn and Moturoa was for merging into the borough at once; that the petitioners residing in that part of the Moturoa district named in the petition had not indicated any desire for delay; and, further, that as tho members of the town board would go out of office on September 18, it was inexpedient to re-elect them for such a short period. The borough also raised other points, and as a final move the Mayor interviewed the authorities in Wellington. As a result, the borough has received the following communication from the Under-Secretary of Internal Affairs:—"Referring to the town clerk's letter of August 19. and to your personal interview, I have the honor, by direction of the Minister of Internal Affairs, to inform you that it has been decided that the alteration of boundaries of the borough of New Plymouth shall take effect from September 2, 1012. The necessary Order-in-Couneil will shortly he issued."

The amateur photographer will sometimes give up his hobby just at the time when it should be holding him fascinated. "What is there to show for it?" he frequently laments. Well, it does seem a pity spending time and money nn photography, and having as a result pictures which, though good, can at best only be of use in an album, The war out of the difficulty is to have your favorite studies enlarged so that, framed, they can occupy positions on the walls of your home. Harringtons' specialty is enlarging from negatives. Our charges are low. When your enlarged print is returned to you neatlv uio'intcd on good art board you will be delHited'with it. Pend eloilT a few to-day.—Harringtons X./5, Ltd.. 42 Willis street, Wellington.—Advt.