LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 192, 3 January 1913, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

William Beck, -a man of 70 years, .had the lirat bath of his life wihen he was sent to gaol at luvercargill the other daj. At first, sight of the water lie .struggled till the warders lifted him in, when he found the new sensation so pleasant that lie had to be coaxed out of the hath. A Wellington gentleman who should have a good knowledge of what is intended, states that next session a strong effort will be made to iha.ve some of the "wiped out" racing clubs 'reinstated, and he gives it as his opinion that there is a majority in the House of Ileprcsenla■tives who favor this course.

A Xel-son correspondent states that an. almost .perfect specimen of a rnoa, 10ft high, was unearthed on the Takiika hills. Portions of a moa egg were also discovered. The find is a valuable one, by reason of the size of the specimen and its completeness, although it is not the first occasion on which remain's of the moa have been found on the Takaka hills.

The man who a year or two ago had prophesied that ox hides would some day fetch £3 apiece would have been placed in the category of foola I'et at Mr. Xewlon King's last hide sale the best hides brought £3 Is, equal to loy s d per lb. Ordinary cow hides realised up to £2 3s Cd each. And with a demand greater than the supply there is no immediate prospect of a reduction in pricea.

The recent rains have been worth thousands of pounds to the dairymen of this province, who, previous to tho welcome showers on Wednesday, were apprehensive over their fodder supplies, which the three weeks' hot weather was seriously aJTce-tinjx-. It looks.now as if the season will be a record one for quantity, and prices will on the whole not be much behind those of last year'?, which, it has to bo remembered, were not participated in by the many Taranaki companies that sold their outputs early in the season. With few exceptions, the companies this year have consigned and are obtaining full market prices.

"Is it a fact," asked a delegate at tile Teachers' Conference yesterday, "that the Minister of Education has just appointed a physical expert -for schools at a salary of £600?" "It is quite correct," replied the chairman. "It is almost equal to the Inspector-Gen-eral's salary." The secretary remarked what was more there were two inspectors to be appointed under, the director with salaries commencing at £250. and with the addition of travelling allowance. Various delegates commented that £OOO was considerably in excess of the highest salary paid in the teaching profession, and were of the opinion that it afforded good grounds for asking for more.

About fifty years ago Maori and pakcha were at war in Taranaki. That the native bears no animosity towards his whilom foe was shown yesterday, when in response to the invitation of the promoters, the Taranaki War A'eterans, to the number of about thirty, attended the -native sports at the Park. They were hospitably treated, too. On their way to the Grounds they were met by a number of Maori girls,; poipois in hand, and escorted to the enclosure, where they met with a stirring welcome at the hands of the "Maoris. Here with the poi-poi dancers thev were photographed. Later the Veterans were regaled to afternoon tea, which was dispensed by the dusky maidens. Judged by the conduct of their business at yesterday's conference, school teachers are not mere pedants when out of school. Nevertheless, there is a danger of over-stepping the mark, as one of those present pointed out to a fellow delegate who was in the act of moving a remit. "I don't waaiit." he remarked, "to be pedantic, but I would like to see 'not less than' altered to 'no fewer than'." /The alteration was made. Earlier in the day there was -more than one instance of rather careless abandon in 'handling the King's English. One delegato twice used the conjunctions "not" and "or" where "neither" and "nor" would have been more euphonious. When outside school, teachers should remember the old adage about glasshouses and stones.

•'I think the objection to the name 'charity' is false pride," remarked a delegate at ; the Teachers' Conference yesterday in commenting on the proposal to change the name of the Institute's benevolent fund to that of the "provident fund," "The man who refuses charity is thereby refusing to allow his fellow to exercise, the best virtue that mail can exercis*'." Several other delegates, however, pointed out that teachers in necessitous cireumstajim had often refused to accept assistance because the name ''benevolent fund" savored too much of "charity." The first speaker, however, stuck to his point, and in addition to the change of name, which was. decided upon, objected to contributions to the funds, hitherto optional, now being made compulsory.

The poor inducement offering to young men to join the teaching profession was deplored by a delegate at the Teachers' Conference yesterday. On the other hand, cadets in the railway service started. he said, on £OS a year, with annual increases up to £BO, and they were only required to pass the initial examination. Tn the Post Office, cadets started on £SO, rising by annual increments of £lO to £9O. Small wonder, exclaimed the speaker, {hat the Education Boards had difficulty in getting the bright and ambitions boys to join the profession. It was grossly unfair, and he went on to cite instances that had come under his notice, where teachers had prevented the ir own sons from following in their footsteps on this account. Another delegate from Auckland told how lie had received a letter from a firm of drapers who were desirous of seeuriiiff bovs, and were willing to pay them £1 a week to start with. Recently the N"e\v Zealand Educational Institute was requested to conduct an appeal against dismissal on behalf of a teacher employed in a secondary school. The Institute was legally advised, however. that it had no power to admit teachers in secondary schools to its ranks, and therefore tlie matter was beyond its province. Tt would bo necessary to go to Parliament to ask for an alteration to its present constitution. The sdine position applied to teachers in technical schools, but. not to manual and. technical instructors employed by education boards or high school boards. Under an amendment to the Act pissed last session all other technical school teachers. Ave re empowered to form associations of their own, and although the Institute could not admit them as mean-, hers, it now had power to back their appeals. Tn consequence, of this position, a remit at yesterday's fitting of the. Teachers' Conference in favor of admitting as members all persons engaged in the teaching profession had to" be withdrawn, and a further remit to admit technical school teachers as nic-mbers had to be similarly treated. Several delegates expressed diss-vtisfaction with the limitations placed bv Parliament on the membership of the Institute. I

"Warner's" Rust-proof Corsets. Styles for all figures at lowest prices consist tent with good quality. "Waraer's" are guaranteed, rememtier.—Mrt.

New Plymouth was visited by a torrential downpour about 4.30 o'clock yesterday afternoon, which lasted for fully an hour. A number of water-channels overflowed and the flooding in some of the streets was pretty bad. The crossing at Normanby where the fatal motor accident occurred on New Year's Day is regarded as a very dangerous one. This makes the third fatal accident at the spot in recent years. The public view is obstructed, and something should be done to make the crossing less dangerous.

"'Your land i.s 110 better than that of ■the other farmers in your district, yet you always produce better crops than we do," remarked a Wairarapa farmer to another the oilier day, "What is the secret of your ,success?" The successful farmer replied, "1 always tell my man to harrow the land, until he thinks it has been -harrowed twice too much, and then I tell him that it has not been done half enough."

Many of the principal houses in Pompeii and Herculaneum had Roman glass windows. The Egyptians made glasa at least 3000 years B.C. It is stated 1 that in some of the tombs near ancient Thebes there are still to be seen pictures of workmen blowing glass in much the same way in which it is blown to-day. After I'ome was destroyed by the barbarians, the art of line glass-making was nearly lost, and only churches aiuL-public buildings had glass windows. The New Zealand Trade Review, in its last issue, says: —The condition of the local money market exhibits very little alteration, and the supply of funds in bhe hands of the banks is still limited. The export season is now in full swing, and prices for our principal articles of export are generally excellent, but the returns front '"lie realisation of this produce will not affect the money market for some little time; while on the other ■hand the scale of importation appears to be -maintaining a very high level, causing a steady demand on t'he funds of the banks. The good prospects for the season appear to have a cheering effect generally, and trade is improving. A painful accident occurred to Mrs. Archie McMaister. of Greytown, when travelling from New Plymouth to the Wairarapa the other day. She was warming some milk for her child, when the spirit lamp exploded in her face as she was bending over it. Her clothing and hair were set ablaze and the flames were with difficulty extinguished by her husband. The rsufl'erer was unable to get medical assistance until reaching Palmerston. She continued t'he journey from Palmer,ston to Masterton although suffering considerably from pain and shock, and from thence completed the journey to Greytown, where she is recovering from the effects of her painful misadventime. i

A cable message to the Sydney Sun states Wiiat Spanish cattle-breeder of Tuy, in Spain, made a journey to a market town just across the frontier, and sold four large herds of cattle, receiving in gold and notes a sum equivalent to £IB,OOO. To take the money to diis home town he placed it in a cart, and it was guarded by forty mounted men aimed with rifles. In a narrow pass elo.-e to the border the travellers were suddenly attacked. A hail of bullets swept over the escort, wdio responded. A desperate fight followed, in which twelve of the defenders of the money were killed and sixteen severely wounded. Tihe remainder fled, and the bandits descended and seized the booty, afterwards escaping to the hillg again. A force of cavalry is out in pursuit of the miscreants. Writes the Christchureh Press:— Here and there in the Dominion communities are adopting new methods of advertising the attractions of their districts. The American system of "boosting" a town scarcely appeals to people so English as New Zealanders, so the methods employed lack the spectacular effect ol those used in Jthe States, but nevertheless they promise to be. effective. The people of Timaru have for some time been quietly spreading abroad the charm of the town. Dunedin has an Expansion League, and New Plymouth which has always set New Zealand an example in the management of its "Doma'ji," has an Expansion and Tourist League, with a paid secretary and offices, to which visitors to the town are invited to apply for information. This New Plymouth League is evidently going to be a live body. We are in receipt of two attractive pamphlets issued by it. in which a great deal of information is given about the holiday attractions of Taranaki. One. called "New Plymouth, .the Ideal Holiday Resort," contains information, interspersed with pictures, concerning the Recreation Grounds, the attractions of the water-front, the oil industry, facilities for games, and trips to Mt. Egmont and Pnrihaka. The description of the delights of the Recreation Ground is alone sufficient to draw visitors from outside Taranaki. The second pamphlet deals with the beauties of the Molcau river, and with trips about Egmont, and while superlatives are freely used, care is taken to give the impressed dweller in less favoured parts of New Zealand information about such material things as meals and motor fares.

The Napier Telegraph- comments:— "We ought to be hearing from Tarauaki shortly. That district is regarded as ■the' butter-producing area of New Zealand, 1 and it undoubtedly ranks very high in that. respect, 'it must mow 'have something to sav to or about Auclch'i7id, which province during the year now closing lias produced butter of' the •money value of £1,340,229. Of this total, it is stated, nearly a million's worth lias been exported. During 1911 the total value of this country's exported butter was £1,570,917, or only a little ■more than Auckland alone has produced this year. It is a wonderful record. Tt constitutes another illustration of the wonderful progress being made by the North Island generally, and of the altering conditions of that portion of it which even now is'appropriately styled "'(he roadless north.' No doubt we shall have disquisitions concerning the relative merits of various phases of farming ii: the light of the occupation provided for the ■people, and from this point of view dairying stands high. That is a sort, of general moral. Perhaps a more significant one is the reasonable deduction that the landed heritage of Auckland, which .in. the past it was considered fair to stigmatise as comparatively worthless, is proving an estate of great richness'. Auckland as a dairying*' province, Auckland running Taranald in butter production, is a conception which must startle those who have not vet broken with the idea prevalent up till a few years ago, that apart from gum and gold, Auckland had little but its climate ■and its port to boast of, Tt will bo interesting to witch for Taranaki's counterblast."