LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 302, 15 May 1913, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Quite a number of young telegraphists from all over the Dominion are leaving for Australia to take up wireless telegraphy work. A fine of £2OO was imposed in a Canadian Court on a man for stealing a kiss from a girl. His comment on the sentence was: "It wasn't worth it!"

"It is an epitome of married life—one wants to go one way and one the other, and then you quarrel. You were quarrelling with one another, which, after all, you have a right to do. Pay half a crown each." —The Tower Bridge (London) Magistrate to a husband and wife. A music-typewriting machine has at last been invented. Its mechanism is naturally complicated, but the method of use is simple enough, and the speed attainable reasonably high. On the same machine one may type both music and words, and it may also be used for ordinary correspondence work. In conversation with a Masterton Age reporter, one of a party of four deerstalkers, who spent a fortnight in the Martinborough district, remarked that, without exaggeration, one could count thousands of deer. But not one good "head" was seen, although a wide tract of country was covered . The sportsman in question suggests killing off a large number of the animals and the introduction of new blood as the only means of restoring the reputation of the Wairarapa for good "heads."

Great amusement was caused in the Auckland Police Court on Friday morning, when a Maori was charged with being drunk. The accused intimated that lie was unable to understand a word of English. Mr. Lundon offered his services as an interpreter. He then put the charge in Maori to the accused, who responded, through his interpreter, to the effect that he did not object to speaking English to the Court, but that he would not talk to a policeman. Almost immediately the accused, anid much laughter, threw the interpreter's services to the wind, and burst out into Englisli, the quality of which would have put many Englishmen to shame.

This morning at 9 o'clock Morey and Moore, King Street, offer two yards of 72 inch herringbone sheeting Is yd., good, 'heavy stuff, just what you want.*

The Australian mails, ex Moeraki, at Wellington, will arrive here this (Thursday) afternoon. The North Taranaki Hunt Club will meet this afternoon at Mr. G. N. Skelton's Waihi property.

The Timaru Borough Council has decided to lease in four lots the 2000-acre reserve owned by it. It is estimated that the borough will benefit to the extent of £2OO a year. The Inglewood Amateur Operatic Soeiety intend to stage that old favorite of Gilbert and Sullivan's "H.M.S. Pinafore" and an initial rehearsal will be held at an early date.

The Auckland Star's London writer says that the High Commissioner, on instructions from New Zealand, has just appointed twenty-live nurses (probationary) for mental asylums in the Dominion.

A report just published by the Labor Department shows that there are 1155 slaughtermen in New Zealand. The average duration of their employment is thirty-three weeks. While during the main portion of this period their earnings average up to £7 per week, the actual average earnings throughout the whole period was £3 4s 2 1 / 2 d per week.

Guards on the excursion trains to the Hawera races sometimes experience some little difficulty in convincing passengers that there is no "have" in the excursion tickets issued by the Department, the price of which includes entrance fee to the racecourse. This entrance money is, of course, handed to the Jockey Club. No excursion concession is allowed except on these ticUts, and quite a number of minor arguments with doubting Thomases were heard on the race trains yesterday.

"I don't think we shall ever see cheap money again," observed Mr. E. P. Bunny {Mayor of Lower Hutt) at the first meeting of the newly-elected council on Monday evening, apropos of loan undertakings. "A portion of the money required for the borough's drainage work, £20,000, was raised at 3% per cent. Last week £IOOO was borrowed at 5 per cent. The large municipalities in Sydney and Melbourne have to pay 5 per cent, now, and in some cases are unable to get the money. In one case a loan of £12,000 cost tf per cent." A lawyer once asked a man who had at various times sat on several juries: '"Who influenced you most —the lawyers, the witnesses or the judge ?" He expected to get some useful and interesting information from so experienced a juryman. This was the man's reply: "I'll tell you, sir, 'ow I makes up my mind. I'm a plain man, and a reasonin' man, and I ain't influenced by anything the lawyer says, nor by what the judge says. I just look at the man in dock, and says, 'lf he hasn't done anything, why's he here?' And I bring 'em all in guilty."

The Royal Crown of Roumania is certainly the grimmest in the world. It was made by command of King Charles from the steel of a Turkish gun captured at Plevna. On May 10, 1881, after thisand the simple golden crown, without jewels or ornaments, maile for the Queen, had been consecrated by the metropolitan, King Charles took his crown into his hands with the words: "I assume with pride this crown, wrought from a cannon sprinkled with the blood of our heroes and consecrated by the Church; I accept it as a symbol of the independence and power of Roumania." The Inspector of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals might find a field of operation from a glance nt the manner in which stock, particu!'ilv sheep, are trucked on the local railway lines. Overcrowding, to the discomfort of the stock, even though their immediate destination may be the slaughterhouse, should not be tolerated, and a prosecution or two might have a salutory effect. In one truck-load of sheep which came under the notice of •i representative of this paper recently, two animals were down, their throats forced against the bars so as to render breathing almost impossible. Dealers f hould not be allowed to economise i space at the expense of dumb animals.

It is surely some demon of ill-luck that persistently haunts the shop windows of Messrs Cudby, Bridger and Co.'s hardware establishment at Lower Hutt. No fewer than seven or eight times during the Inst few months one or other of the windows has had to be replaced. They have been broken in putting in; the pea rifle fiend using a pane as a target caused another sma^h; the small boy with the inevitable stone has tested his marksmanship on the unfortunate plate-glass; and an unfortunate glazier slipped through the window when fitting it in and hurt himself severely. Later the earthquake came along and vented its wrath on both windows, and now the latest misfortune to befall the windows has arisen through a bullock enquiringly poking his head through. Over £9O to date has been spent in repairs to the illfated windows.

An amusing incident occurred at a recent sitting of the Native Land Court at Wellington, during the hearing of a case concerning the partition of the Porangarahu block, about which the family who were the owners were in nowise agreed. One of the native owners, an old man, retired from the proceedings, sat himself down in a remote corner of the Court, and went to sleep. While he slept the other brothers and sisters set-

tied all their differences. After two hours' rest, the sleeper awakened, walked up io the Judge's table, and, pointing to a map, asked, "What this map?" Judge Gilfedder replied jestingly, "Oh, that's a map of Tasmania." The old Maori retorted, "I want to see about case cutting up Porangarahu." The Judge replied. "Oh, that's all liecn settled. We have all made peace." Then, pointing to the map on the table, the awakened sleeper said, "Then cut off my piece." Of course, the assemblage in the Court was convulsed with laughter. At the conclusion of the same case another member of the family returned thanks to the Judge. "I thank his Honor very much," he said. "I hope his Honor live a long time. I hope lie live to see another man-o'-war."