LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 190, 31 December 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

There will be no issue of the Taranaki Daily News to-morrow (New Year's Day). The Waitara Band a'dded about £2O to its funds by ''carolling" on Xmas Eve. English and American mails via San Francisco, ex Tahiti at Wellington will arrive here on Thursday evening, the 2nd January. Sunday was the hottest day experienced in Asliburton this year. It must have also been the warmest TaranaJu has experienced this summer. A novel sight was witnessed in Timaru on Tuesday morning when a whale on: a lorry drawn by five horses passed through the town on its way south to be boiled down. A commencement is being made with the extension of the electric ■ light to Westown, several of the polos having been deposited along Eliot Road preparatory to erection. After dropping £(1000 in the unprofitable venture of whaling in New Zealand waters, the Norwegian Whaling Company's barque Mimosa has left Port Chalmers for Europe.

No less t'han 2179 cases of cheese were received at the I'atea Freezing Works last Tuesday. With 350 boxes of butter received the same day, the value of the day's supply was nearly £IO.OOO. The produce represents a day's milk from 120,000 cows.

A Russian Lochinvar, a widower, 40 years of age, and father of seven children, carried off a widow of SO years of age during the ; absence of her relatives

(stated a recent London cablegram). The pair were then married by a priest, who concluded the ceremony just as the enraged relatives arrived upon the scene.

Shearing on the East Coast is nearly over, most of the big stations having cut out. There has been (says the Poverty Bay ITerald) an abnormal clip this year, the wool being, on the whole, of good quality. The pun try at the back of Tokomaru Bay is very dry. and the settlers are wanting rain. Nearer the coast abundance of rain has fallen, and there is plenty of feed.

A plebiscite has been taken in Paris to find out the attributes of the idea] woman. A young girl won first prize w;th the following definition: "She must •be neither a blue stocking nor a housekeeping fanatic. She should be able to play a, Schumann melody without six months' study, and she should be able to make cushions for a bazaar, and, if necessary, darn socks."

When those who had faith in the agricultural potentialities of Auckland province foretold that in a few years the dairies would produce more wealth than the gold fields, many Regarded their confidence as due to an unfounded optimism (says the Herald). During 1!)12, however, the butter output of the province reached the satisfactory value of 11,300.000 a sum exceeding that which the gold output would have reached even unfortunate Waihi strike not taken place.

"The members of the Stratford County Council deserve to be gaoled." remarked an indignant motorist to a News' representative yesterday. He proceeded to say that the Comity had recently put down_ about four miles of metal," with no blinding. The metal was machine crushed, and, therefore, had jagged, tyrebursting edges, and it was playing "Old Harry" with motorists' tyres.' ft was almost an impossibility, added our informant. to traverse this wicked patch of roadway without sustaining punctures and damage.

Judging b.v their large families. quite a number of the Mamari's third-class passengers are Ann disciples of the full cradle arced (says the Otago Daily Times). One tnmily nf nine rosy-cheek-well-clad "iris "mustered before the officials for inspection, ami one of (he officials told the proud father, in a burnt of admiration, that ;hc was a "ph u .kv man." The remark vps apparently overheard by tho mothe,- of the nine, who fairly beamed approval when the admirer of her numerous ofl'spring spoke, and caused that gciitlenia'ji to remark later that it was a smile ijf quick-witted' appreciation that he i'ould not readily forget. |

There lire some big crops,of wheat in the Gulgong district, N.S.W, A grower who sold his crop last weqk estimates that it will yield (iOOO bags. It has been decided by the Government to send Mr. W. S. Short, Assist-ant-Tudor-Secretary for Public Works to Australia, to report upon the Public Works systems of the various States, in so tar as they relate tp roads and bridges. They have some hard eases in Eltham, if local reports go for anything. Some contractors' hands went into town the other evening and "celebrated" in royal fashion. They wore returning home over a bridge, and noticing some tar-barrels at the El than] County Council's yard, promptly ''tapped" one of them. We have hoard of dead-beats taking on methylated spirits, and even kerosene, but tar is about the limit.

Gisborne claims that more children wore born there this year than in any other borough in the Dominion. Up to date (»31 little strangers have been presented to proud fathers, as compared with ~yll last year, and Gisborne held the record number of births for the boroughs each month so consistently that the claim for the yearly record will almost certainly be found to be we)! sustained. The number of deaths during the year was 179, leaving a natural increase in births over deaths of 452. No fewer than 203 marriages were eolmeniscd during the year.

The Egmoiit Lodge, 1.0. G.T., met last evening. Bro. L. F. Pepperell, 0.T., opened the Lodge, but with a rather small attendance, owing to the holidays. The routine business was light. A proposal was adopted to invite the Westown Lodge to unite with this Lodge. The Lodge entertained a number of visitors from the Snow Hake Lodge, Elthani, including' the Lodge Deputy and secretary of that Lodge. Bro. E. Hartnell introduced and welcomed the' visitors in a graceful little speech, to which Bros. JTevans and Iligham,- of Eltham, suitably replied. Refreshments were handed round and the Lodge closed at the usual hour.

Wah-hagun-ta, Chief Fire ■ Maker, a Blackfeet Indian .front the Glacier Reservation, said to be one hundred and thirty years old, last month travelled to Chicago to attend a land show. He is said to have been born in the region now known as Glacier National Park, in 1781. The chief was the first of his race to visit the "Great White Father," and his visit to Washington when President Jefferson was in the White House (1801-1800). was a memorable event in his life. In his tribe he is regarded as an oracle. At the time of his birth, according to the Indian legend, the Father of all Spirits, standing on a mountain, shot ail arrow which found a mark in a tree near his father's topee. The prophecy, as interpreted, by the medicine man. was that lie would live for ever and assist the gods in their councils.

Tn the district in the "vicinity of Marai'oa (says t'he Southland |Ne\vs) there is a herd of about COO wild cattle, half (if which arc lmlls, and graziers naturally are averse to their presence, which is a menace to station operations and a danger to human beings. Several attempts have been made by venturesome stockmen to remove them by the usual means, but all have failed, the animals proving extremely intractable, while the country is rough, adding to the difficulties of the task. Two residents of Inver-cargill-recently spent six weeks in the district 'arid nmde repeated efforts to secure control Of some of the beasts, but though ■•provided with horses ajul dogs and armed with Hfles no success was met with. The bulls were t'he wildest, but cows Showed almost as strong resentment to interference and the rifles had to be used on more than ,casion in self-defence. It is a dangerous task, but would have proved a profitable one to the hunters had they been able to reduce to control a dozen ■or so of the animals. Tt is stated that owners of properties affected are only too willing to allow hunters on the ground, and t'hat no charge would be ma'de if any were secured.