LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 274, 11 April 1913, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Railway. Department, it is understood, is making preliminary arrangements for the conveyance of school children, teachers and members of committees by special train from New Plymouth to Wellington on April 21, in connection with the visit of 11.M.5. New Zealand* The' train will leave immediately after the mail train. This arrangement suggests that there is little prospect of tha battleship visiting New Plymouth.

It is said that the number 1 of motor cycles in the Dominion has increased by 50 per cent, during the past six months.

There are 4185 names on tin new electoral roll of the Borough of New Plymouth, as compared with 3682 last year, an increase of 503. The opening meet of the North Taranaki Hunt will take place next Thursday at Mr. Wheatley's property, Lepperton. Luiicheou will be provided at 11 o'clock, and the throw-off will take place at 12 o'clock sharp. Rev. E. Robertshawe, of Dannevirke, has brought buck from England some specimens of what is known as York-shire-made "mungo," whicli is cloth made out of rubbish, and which, he said, would surprise colonials. Over 100,000 Jewish people make their living in this industry.

Great numbers of eels were caught in the streets of Otautau b< tli on Saturday and Sunday (says the Southland Times), and some idea of the heijht of the water in the streets may be g leaned from the fact that amongst otherj an ell weighing llValbs was caught in front of a centrally situated hotel.

J Supporters of the Saturday halfholiday are much disappointed to find that, owing to ignorance of the latest regulation governing petitions for a poll { on- this subject, their petition must fall to the ground. The position briefly is that a number of signatories to the • petition are invalid, as they are not electors of the old electoral roll, leaving the petition short of the required numj ber. It is understood that this unfortuj nate oversight throws out the Inglewood and Waitara petitions also.

Mr. A. Goodwin, a settler at Otunui (Main Trunk line), had a startling experience last Thursday. He was driving a team of three horses, one leader and two shatters, and was seated on a waggon load of timber, iron, etc., for his house. At a bend of the road the wheels skidded, and Mr. Goodwin, realising that a capsize was inevitable, threw himself off on the road just as the loaded vehicle disappeared over the side. The horses went with it and all tumbled to the creek at the bottom, but fortunately they escaped injury. There is being introduced into the Napier Technical College a class for dealing with electrical engineering. It is intended to start with wiring, and then, step by step, to proceed till the students will be in a' position to erect a wireless station. This the director feels quite assured they will be abl» to aecomplish in time and with the receipt of a permit from the Government they would be able to use the instrument and so turn out locally efficient wireless operators, an appointment which is being much sought after in many quarters at .the present time.

M. A. Noble, the well-known cricketer, says that baseball is going strong in Sydney. "The game is going ahead like wildfire. In my opinion, baseball here in New South Wales has come to stay. ! mm not prepared to say anything about i!>' other States, but I can only hope Hi ' , in the near future the game will [lo'Y'sli elsewhere in Australia as it does in i ";o Mother State. I have such a firm uiiiuion that baseball is here for good and I am sure of it, that, regardless of adverse criticism, 1 really believe that before very long summer baseball will be instituted."

As n result of his observations in England, Rev. E. Robertshawe, of Dannevirke, in an interview, had a word of advice for the slicep farmer, and that was that they should see to it that their wool was heller graded than at present. A bale of wool in Yorkshire was judged by its worst staple. Merchants Tiought the-bales in this way, turned them out, j had them re-graded, and made 'fortunes out of the wool so treated. A Yorkshire J gentleman told him that by merely touching the wool in the dark he could tell what should be done with it. If wool were properly graded here there would not he such immense profits in it for people who bought it in England. ' A remarkable veterinary feat is reported by the New York Herald. A dog belonging to Dr. Milton Clark, of San Francisco, had his foot crushed in a door. An operation was performed, and a diamondbearing silver hinge was put in in place of the joint of one of the hind legs. "I shall have many arguments to meet," says Dr. Clark. "There is the argument of wearing out. We know that silver corrodes under certain conditions, but not diamonds. There is the argument as to the growth of tissua. We have answered this by deflecting certain teadons, bv ending out all extraneous tissue, and leaving only tendons, arteries, veins and nerves. These grow, but cannot grow about the new joint." When in Palmertson, the Premier was wailed upon by Mr. F. Pirani, on behalf of the Manawatu Master Printers' Association, who asked in regard to the Dominion awards under the Act of 1911. that before being joined to an award an employer should be allowed to show cause that it would not be equitable to be so joined; also that there should be separation of citv from country in the Dominion award.' lie also asked that the law in regard to debts incurred bv candidates for Parliament, particularly in regard to advertising, should not be allowed to protect dishonest candidates who repudiated just debts. Mr. Massey said he was already considering an amendment to the law regarding Parliamentary candidates' expenses. The other matters referred to would be looked into. The ilea lh is announced of Dr. S. De Laval, the well-known engineer and inventor, at Stockholm, at the age of 07. | Dr. De Laval was one of the inventors of the steam turbine, having tak(n out his first patent in ISBL The peeuilarity of his invention was that it made full use of (lie expansive power of the steam at a single step or operation, and this he did by means of what is known technically as a "divergent nozzle," of which he was the inventor. By means of this apparatus his high-pressure steam issued 111 jet form at enormouslv h!gh velocity, and, impinging on the blades of the turbine, escaped at atmospheric pressure after giving up the greater portion of its energy to the wheel. Tie Laval form of turbine lends itself best tj work where small amounts of power are required. J urbines of this class ale in use for driving dynamos and fan- and similar forms of machinery. For installations where greater power mus; he employed the Parsons turbine is generally employed.

A somic CONVINCED. "T whs very had with colic," writes Mr Joseph Itvaii, Tlotelkeeper, Palii, X 7... "and my wife w;is recommended to {jive nifl Chamberlain's Colic and Diarrhoea Remedy. I was sceptical and refused to take it hut jit last T *rot so bad that niv wife prevailed upon inc to try it. After two doses T was nlrijjht and have been so ever since. I swear l>v Chamberlain's Colic and Diarrhoea Remedy now."— All chein; s t; 3 aTlf j (storekeepers.

J During their stay in Wellington the I nieuihei of the New /.calami's crew will ) bo granted free rides on the city trains except during rush hours. A London cablegram states that the Maori troupe who visited England with disastrous financial results, will return to New Zealand by the Paparoa.

"The Seventh Commandment in Modern Life" is the. subject on which the Rev. A. 11. Colvile will base the address that he will give at a service for men only to be held in St. Mary's Church on Sunday next at 3 p.m. At a meeting of the executive of the New Plymouth Brotherhood, held last evening/it was decided to commence the Sunday aftprnoon meetings on May 4. The liev ,W. K. Gilmour, of New Guinea, will address the Brotherhood. Mr. U. Okey, M.P., recently communicated with the Hon. W. 11. llerries ; Minister of Native Affairs, asking him to visit Taranaki in order to go into the matter of the West Coast leases with representatives of the leaseholders. Mr. Herries has replied that it is doubtful whether he will be able to make the. trip, but if he can possibly find time t« do so before the session he will.

The Government has purchased an area of 0000 acres in the Wairarapa district, adjacent to Masterton, for purposes of closer settlement. The estate includes the property of Mr. Stone-Wigg and part of that owned by Mr. W. H. Bectham. The Government will not be able to get possession of the land for some little time, lint most of it is considered very suitable for settlement, and the Government anticipates that it will be steadily taken up. Apparently a life on the rolling wave has still a glamor, for aspirants fo~v a free trip to Yankee Land were found stowed away on the H. D. Bendixsen, Captain Thurnell found one individual in the forecastle, and ran another to earth in the hold as the result of the customary search prior to leaving on Wednesday for Puget Sound. The Bendixsen has, unlike some of her predecessors here, had numerous applications for enrolment, and has had 110 difficulty in making up the complement. There was a good attendance at the Brougham street Hall last night oil the occasion of the first euchre party of the season given by the New Plymouth Defence Rifle Club. The first prize for ladies was won by Mrs. Winslade. but she being a member of the committee, passed it on, to Miss Gunson, who had finished second. The second prize consequently fell to Miss N .Reid. The gentlemen's first prize fell to Mr. A. Bullot. who had to play off with Mr. L. McCoy before securing this honor. Another' of these social gatherings will b# held In a fortnight's time. The prizes were donated by Messrs. Newton King, John Avery and Cock and Co,

The Hawera Borough Council passed the following "resolution on Wednesday evening:—"That, subject to the borough solicitor's advice, that this Council accepts the petition of the ratepayers to hold the poll on the distinct understanding that if tlie ratepayers decide by a poll that Saturday should be the half-holiday in Ha\yera, this Council will not bring the Saturday half-holiday into operation until such time as neighboring towns also have a Saturday half-holiday, so that it shall be understood that the voting at the poll of those in favor of Saturday shall be contingent on the neighboring towns coming into line."

Some amusement was cafised at a meeting of the Whangarei Acclimatisation Society on Saturday night by Mr. H .F. Friedricks asserting that just prior to the opening of last shooting season s number of pheasants were shot in Wairua district and supplied for a Masonic banquet in Whangarei. He further asserted that a AVhangarei policeman got one of the pheasants from the oven where they were cooked. Another member announced that he had attended the banquet and lie explained amid laughter that the only game on the menu was the ordinary domestic fowl. Mr. Friedrick* was requested to make a definite statement, but he declined to do so and the incident closed. Mr. Vincent Astor, a Jed 21. America's richest young man, and now in absolute control of his father's millions, has sought the advice of Mr. Snlzor, the Democratic Governor of the State of New York, regarding the best way in which he can serve the communitv. They sat up almost the entire night (savs the Telegraph) discussing various departments of public service—the law, medicine, politics, journalism, mercantile pursuits, organised philanthropv, mechanics, finance and agriculture. Mr. Sulzer was greatly impressed by the youthful millionaire's desire to shun a life of idleness and pleasure, and congratulated him upon having done one useful act recently in joining a volunteer fire brigade. "Finally," Mr. Sulzer said, in describing the midnight conference to the reporters, "Mr. Astor decided that scientific farming would he his role. He already possesses one of the finest farms in New York State, and this he declares he will develop by experiment, and leave in trust for the people.