LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 181, 18 December 1912, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

There are forty-nine lighthouses erected at various points around the New Zealand coast. The wool clip at the Canterbury Agricultural College was a record in value this year. The clip was disposed of at the last snips, and realised, with skins the sum of £1024 !)s Gd. The College Hoek numbers about 3200 sheep. ° A local tradesman has received the, following advice:—"We regret that we are compelled to advise you of a further advance in all lines of boots, shoes, uppers and leather. The tanners have raised leather during last month 15 per eent. without notice, on account of the very high price ruling for hides. It is no use our taking exception to the same. We. are placed in the position of having to advance all our goods from five to ten per cent., so that you will understand thai all old prices are cancelled as from the 7th instant. The heavy lines will be affected much more than the lighter lines."

. Thirty including two racehorses belonging to Mr. Gardner, were shipped North by the Earawa last night. , Applicants are reminded that applications for the position of huntsman to the North Taranaki Hunt Club will close with the secretary (Mr. A. Humphries) to-nronw.

The New Plymouth Defence Ride Club will be represented at the North Island Rifie-shooting meeting at Wangamii probably by two teams. The meeting will open on December 2fi. From the A.M.P. Society, the National Insurance Company (Messrs. A. L. Nolan and Co., local agents), and Mr. Arnold George (cycle importer) we are in receipt of attractive wall and table calendars.

The promoters of the recent entertainment in St. Mary's Hall, in aid of the Girls' Friendly Society's Club-room, desire to thank all those who assisted to make the entertainment a. success, and also Messrs. Collier and Co. for the loan of a piano for the occasion. At yesterday's meeting of the Taranaki Land Board a person made application for an area of 020 acres, o.r.p. in the Bangitoto-Tuhua, (50 c.. No. 1, without competition. The 800-i'd declined the. application, holding that it could not see its way to grant land without competition when there were so many people unsuccessful at the ballot. Something like Yankee hustle! A week ago Mr. A. E. Svkes took possession of a portion of Messrs. Okey, Son and Arnold's property in Central Devon street. In a week new and handsome windows have been installed, elaborate fittings fixed, a full stock put in, and this morning the shop will be open for customers! Congratulations, Mr. Sykes. You arc setting a good example and deserve to win, and win handsomely!

The first transactions for the purchase of the freehold of the lease-in-perpetuity under the Land Laws Act of last session were made bv the Land Board yesterday. Two applications were grant id and it is interesting to note that in the case of one of the sections the original capital value was £291 12s, while the purchase price was £382 7a 2d. In the case of the second section the original value was £345 12s, and the purchase price paid £435 ss.

The New Plymouth Seaside Improvement Committee have erected a bathing shed on the beach at Moturoa, which will be for the use of ladies. It should be much appreciated by those ladies attending the picnic on New Year's Day. Tents will be erected for the convenience of men. The ladies' shed is a permanent structure, and will be available all through the season free of charge. The key is to be had from Mr. Julian's store at the foot of the Breakwater.

Sitting in bin civil jurisdiction lit the Magistrate's Court yesterday morning. Mr. A. Crooke. S.M., gave judgment for the plaintiff by default in the following undefended cases:—Win. Rowe v. Joseph Priestley. £2 2s lid and costs lis; Weston and Weston v. William Pycroft, lijs Od and costs ss; Westport Coal Company v. Henry E. Callaghan, £2 14s and costs 10s. In a judgment summons case Norman Frank Clarke was ordered to pay the sum of £3 5s to W. A. D. Banks, on or before December 23, or in default undergo four days' imprisonment. Writes a Wanganui resident, a Hrmer resident of New Plymouth:—"Glad to see you are "boosting" New Plymouth. Do you know what Wanganui business men say 'when they return from your town? It is this: 'The shops in New Plymouth are disgracefully dirty. One man, the manager of a hig concern here, reckoned that lie didn't see a clean win-' jdow in Devon street !!!' I am a strong Jbarracker for New Plymouth, and have to stand the knocks afterwards. Here most of the window-cleaning is done by a private company, and this town is certainly clean. Tiled fronts to shops set the place off, too." Tn the light of the following letter received by Captain Black from the Maori Sports Club Committee, it is difficult to realise that fifty years ago Maori and pakoha in Taranaki were pitted against each other in dcadlv warfare:—"To Captain J. Black, Hon. Sec., H.M.R.V.A., Taranaki Branch. We, the members of the Maori Sports Club, hereby cordially invite you and the members of your honourable association to attend' our sports, to be held on Thursday, the 10t.h instant, in the Recreation Grounds. The Band will leave the centre of the tow T n at 1 p.m. Will you kindly join in the procession, and oblige. Taiiiati, president; Te Ara Rata, treasurer; Captain Rangiteihinga, Matene Raharulii. Taarc Tupuki, To Tapuki, Manurau 11. King! (Hon. see.), Ilenare AVaaka, committeemen."

A well-attended meeting of the New Plymouth Seaside Improvement Committee was held last night, Mr. IT. Gilbert presiding. Arrangements were completed for the annual seaside picnic at Moturoa on New Year's Bay. The picnic, will be run on similar lines to those held during the past three or four rears, and arrangements have been miule to provide hot water, tea, sugar and milk for about 5000 people. The New Plymouth Expansion and Tourist League are to be approached with a view to assisting the committee with the picnic, as their objects are, it was held, one and the same —to advertice the town and its magnificent stretch of ocean beach. The Seaside Committee for some years past have been running the picnic on their own initiative, with splendid results, bringing from 2000 to 3000 people into Mew Plymouth every New Year's Day. The Garrison Band'will be in attendance at the picnic. The following new books have been added to the Public Library:—Grit Lawless (F. K. M. Young), The Distant Lamp (Harold Begbie), The Trustee (Harold Bindloss), The White Gauntlet (P. F. Brebner), Streets of Axalon (R. W. Chambers), The Fusing Force (K. 11. Chapman). The Red Lane (ITolman Day), The White Waterfall (J. F. Dwyer), Paul Rundel (Will X. Harben), The Recording Angel (C'orra Harris), Rosaleen O'Hara (J. Hocking). John Rawn (Emerson Hough). The Woman Of It (Mark L. Luther). The Fagra vc Square Mystery (A. W. Marchmont), The Hollow of Her Hand (G. B. McCutcheon), The Olympian (James Oppenheim). The Moth (W. D. Orc.utt), Old Brent's Daughter (11. O. Roberts), Rayton (T. G. Roberts), The Closing Net (11. C. Rowland). The Long Engagement (F. S. Stevens), A Favourite of Fortune (Annie Swan), Antagonists (F. Temple Thurston). The Car of Destiny (('. N. and A. M. Williamson). The Lady Married (Anonymous), The Serpent's Tooth (B. M. Croker). Writing in the October number of the Nineteenth Century, Dr. Dillon prophesies the dismemberment of China within the next twelve, or even six. months. "Inner and Outer Mongolia," he says, "have severed their connection with China. Tibet has followed their example. Russia, finds a document which proves Mongolia's right to swede. Great Britain refuses to recognise the world's 'youngest and greatest Republic' unless the Republic formally'undertakes to respect the virtual independence of Tibet. St. Petersburg and Tokio accord to the Mongolian rebels the rights of belligerents. The Czar's Government sends military instructors to Mongolia and tells China that she may not exercise a vestige of real sovereignty over that rebellious people. And the three 'friendly' Powers are now turning the LfSin.MiO •quare miles of China proper into a vast Pale of Settlement in which 380 millions are to be cooped up henceforth, forbidden to settle not only abroad but even on the 2,744,000 square miles beyond the .Wall which the Republic has just proclaimed 'integral parts of China."'

Mrs. Godley's New Zealand cadet musketry prize fund now amounts to £I4OO lis Od, plus a few cups as trophies.

The Postal Department advise that English and American mails ex Makura at Auckland, will arrive here per mail train this evening.

Mr. Henry Shaw, a member of the Auckland City Council, lias presented to the city the whole of his collection of ancient books and manuscripts, valued at from €2300 to ,€3OOO. The Council resolved to place the books in the Auckland Free Librarv.

The fine weather of the past week has enabled farmers to forward their stock to the freezing companies. The Gear Company is handling 4000 sheep daily at the Petone works, and expects to be trea ting over 7000 head daily at the Petone works. At Npaliauranga the Meat Export Company is being kept fully employed.

Returns issued by the Board of Trade last week contain some interesting information regarding last year's importations of butter into Britain. The principal colli) trios from which shipments were received, with a total value of the imports, were «s follow:—Denmark £lO,000,000, Russia £3,800.000. Sweden and New Zealand £2,000,000 each, France and Victoria £1.300,000 each, New South Wales £1,100,000. The causes of bush sickness have been the subject of searching investigation by odicers of the Department of Agriculture for some time, and it is now believed that an explanation Ims been found for the strange disease that affects cattle in a large area in the Rotorua district. With a view to a closer study of the disease and a practical examination of suggested remedies, a farm of 305 acres has been acquired at Makamu. Commenting on the scarcity of hides -and the effect on the boot trade, the Christchurch Press says:—"While we think it very desirable that all these grievances should be agitated, the weak point in the situation is the fact that, as a rule, only one side is presented. The consumers, on whom the burden ultimately falls, are, as a rule, without any special representation, and because they are passive and voiceless, their interests are very apt. to be completely overlooked."

A clever swindle was perpetrated on a local business man in one of the King Country towns recently. A well-dressed young fellow presented himself, and, after suggesting that local tradespeople were charging extortionate prices, submitted a list of articles he could supply from his Auckland headquarters. The business man fell into the trap, and gave the man a cheque for £O, and has heard nothing further about him, except that the rent of a small office occupied by the vi>itor has not been paid and the office is again to let.