LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 107, 21 September 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Alijiost £2,000,000 Las been spent in moto|: CfU ' s ' in i .X"Y Zealand during the past two'years.:., [

Sojfarno succesor has been appointed to the vacancy on the New Plymouth Harbbr Board caused by the death of Mr. fcwadling. The power of appointment! lies with the Government. In ponnection with the bankruptcy of A. Ej R. Collins, 'Messrs. Stephens and Byrn, wish it to be understood that bankrupt's farm was mortgaged to their principals (Messrs. Hatrick and Co.) and not t|o themselves." "

The first consignment of fry from the Taranaki Acclimatisation Society's fish hatcheries was sent out last week to the Inglewood ponds., The consignment consisted of 10,000 well-developed rainbow trout. T.he whole of the fry at the hatcheries ate now -."right, on the feed,", and are growing rapidly. A .Lahore paper describes a curious case 'of primitive justice in one of the Simla hill States'. The plaintiff and defendant were each called 'upon to pro-' duceja goat in court. To the goats was administered by* the court sweeper, undor the orders of the presiding officer, a dose of poison, eachdose having been earefully 'weighed and ' made exactly equal. The suit was adjudged in favor of tlie owner of the animal which succumbed last to the poison, the unsuccessful party losing both goat and case.

A jGerman publication gives a new method of keeping potatoes from sprouting, which consists in placing them on a layei| of coke. ' Dr. Schiller, of Brunswick, who has published the method, is of thje opinion that the improved ventilation iby means of coke is.not.alone responsible for (he result, but believes that it is,due to the oxidisation of the coke, which, however, is a very slow one.' Coke alwavs contains .sulphur, and it is very possible that the minute quantities of oxides of" carbon and sulphur, which result from the, .oxidisation, mixing with the qur and penetrating among the potatoes, are sufficient greatly to retard sprouting. The resourcefulness of a schoolmaster transferred from thei way-back to the city was seeniafr the .Stanley Bay public school the other, afternoon' (states the Auckland Star). It was pouring with rain,'and there was the master on a pair of steps putting in a pane of glass in one of the windows. A passer-by remarked that he had seen such a thing in the bush districts', hut never expected to see such a thing in the towns. "Oh," replied the teacher, -'I have spent a. good deal of time, in the backblocks, and know howto rejpair a broken window. . I find that the committees, as a rule, have enough to dj> with their money, and I like to help them all I can." * The pied piper' of Hanlelin would be much appreciated oh board the Government; steamer Pline'moa, especially when the good ship touches the harbor of Auckland (states-'the Auckland correspondent of the Post). Xo sooner are the ropes ashore and 'the vessel moored than; swarms of'rodents' crawl or jump aboard to pay an official-visit to'their whiskered confreres in the hold below, and to meet their uncultivated advance the shipper has recourse to the spreading out Af dozens of rat-traps, through which the visitor has to gingerly pick his way; in fact, it is customary to see the chief salt sitting at his .desk surrounded with traps in which an occasional rat can bo heard squeaking for an official pardon, which, for official reason, he never gets. ther6 being a reward of 3d on his head'.

Drjnk was' the. excuse offered in the Magistrate's Court yesterday morning by a man who pleaded guilty to the theft of property valued'at"lßs,' belonging to James Tuthill, proprietor of the Taranaki Hotel, and to a further charge of having stolen a lady's bicycle, the property of some person unknown. The accused (John William Campbell) elected to be dealt with summarily. He asked for another chance, drink having been, he said, bis downfall. In intimating tbat he could not comply with the request of the accused, Mr. Orooke, S.M., said he could not overlook the fact that he had ten previpus convictions against him., A sentence of one month's hard labor on 'the first ' charge, and two months' hard kbor on the, second count was imposed, the sentences to run concurrently. His AVorship made an order for the restitution of the stolen property.

The St. Andrew's Sabbath School last evening held their annual tea and entertainment, A large number of the parents and friends gathered with the children at, the tea at. 0 o'clock, and the hall was crowded by 7.30 for the entertainment. The programme was given entirely by the children, and. was of a very enjoyable nature, over forty items being given, including pianoforte solos and duets, songs, violin solos, a trio by three of the elder girls, and several recitations. Mr. X. K. MacDiarmid (superintendent), as chairman, welcomed the parents and friends. The Rev. Mr. Pvoseveare moved a hearty vote of thanks to the superintendent' and teachers for their work during the past year, which was received with acclamation. It was stated that the school'was now at highwater mark in its history, and was still increasing Sabbath by Sabbath, so that everything points to this year being a record one. The piano was kindly lent by Mr. P. von Lubbe. The entertainment closed with the singing of the Doxology. There should be a good gathering tomorrow afternoon at the Good Templar*' Ha 11. when Mr. C. IT. Weston speaks to the Brotherhood on Stoic Philosophy. The Brotherhood meetings are open to all men, whether members or not, and visitors are oordiallv welcomed. The chair will be occupied by Mr. P. T. Bellringer.

Messrs IT. Collier and Co. have imported vk Athenie a horizontal grand Bnmsmcad piano to (lie order of a'\c>v Plymouth client: The instrument iknown as [lie "Boudoir" Crand. and is of fuh concert compass, viz., seven-and-one-third octaves and, excepting as to ;izc resembles in detail the concert grand. It has been "specially' designed for the drawing-rooms of modern .house*. It is noted for its weight of tone and mellowness, and is of very chaste design. By the same vessel Messrs. Collier and Co. have landed an upright firaud In Brim sin cad, made especially for concert "so. It is overstrung with repeater action, end will bo reserved exclusivrlv for 10.-al concerts. It will he on hire for .1 merely nominal fee.

' Now houses to the, (number of 120 hare been erected at South Napier during the past,six months.

A prop of swede turnips raised at Raetihi has .been officially certificated to as yielding 48 tons per acre.

• Seventeen ewes on a Dannevirke farm have 1 given birth to fifty-two lambs—one ewe has four and the remaining sixteen threii each.

The highest tide in the world is in the Bay pf Fundy, between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The tide there sometimes rises to the height of 71ft., and the increase is occasionally as much as a foot everv five minutes.

The bridge across the Zambesi river, Africa, is the highest in the world. It is of the cantilever style, and crosses the river for a distance of 650 ft, at a height of 420 ft. from the low-water level to tlie rails, or about 380 ft from high water. It consists of three spans, and is about 30ft wide.

"It is freely stated that the picture shows are taking all the money from the billiard saloons," said one of those present at a meeting of creditors in Auckland.' "I think, too," he added, "that it is a good thing. A picture show is much better for a young fellow than a billiard saloon." A recent .arrival in Auckland is, Mr M. Aropoff, a former resident of Vladivostok, Asiatic Russia. Mr Aropoff has purchased a large estate of over 2000 acres on the island of Waiheke. He was formerly an, engineer under the Russian Government, but retired subsequently to the Russo-Japanese war, and some months ago was compelled to seek a mlide,r climate dn account of the state of Madame AropoiFs health. '"I intend to. remain in New Zealand and develop my estate on Waiheke," said Mr Aropoff to a Herald representative. He does not speak English, but Miss Lury, a young Russian lady who has. resided in New Zealand for some three years acts as interpreter. "I shall also attempt to open up a' trade between your colony and Vladivostok in our Siberian timbers," he continued. "The Siberian oak and the 'cadar,' a timber which much resembles your kauri, I consider should prove particularly useful to New Zealand builders. There is also 'an excellent opening for a large fruit trade from New Zealand'to Siberia. Our Siberian climate' is tob severe to grow any fruits except a fe\v varieties of berries and your fruits would be eagerly purchased in the markets of Vladivo'stock and other towns. It is'a pity," observed Mr. Aropoff in conclusion, "that New Zealand "is not better known in -Russia, and Siberia. I feel swre•that were your excellent climate and fine country better known there, you would soon find a large number of moneyed Russian people coming, to the Dominion." ' .