LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 6, 7 June 1913, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Australian and English mails, ex Marama,. at Auckland, will arrive here on Saturday, per express In the Whiteley Memorial Church tomorrow evening, the Rev. J. W. Burton will continue the series of addresses on "Christianity and Social Life," and will speak upon "The Solution Christianity Offers."

A novel feature of a wedding celebrat. Ed at St. John's Church, Brooklands, near Manchester, was the singing of tho bride's sister of the well-known sentimental song, "Because," during the signing of the register.

The Prime Minister (the Hon. W. F. Massey) has written to the Napier Chambar of Commerce to the effect that tho request that the Government preserve 38,000 acres of Maori land at Waikaremoana for a scenic reserve, extend the road to Ruatahuna, and appoint a ranger, will have his earnest consideration. An object of interest to the passengers of the Hinemoa, when the vessel called at Dusky Sound last week, was the wreck of the Union Company's Waikare. The hull is still lying idle on its side, and at the time of the Hinemoa'a visit the sea was going through huge rents in the decks and gushing out of the portholes like geysers.

The Entertainment Committee of the cycle road race (Mr. Dineen in the chair) met last night, and made final arrangements for the second of the series of euchre parties and. dances to be held in the Brougham street .Ha 11,., on Tuesday evening next. The prizes to be presented are valuable and utilitarian, consisting of ladies, Ist, 100li> of flourY 2nd, 501b of flour; gentlemen, first prize, half a ton of coal; second prize a razor. Eight sections in the Mahoe Survey District were offered by ballot yesterday in the Lands and Survey Office, New Plymouth, and four of them were disposed of as follows, there being no applications for the other sections.— Section 1, block 15, 708 acres, B. Spooner Section 1, block 15, 708 acres, B. Spooner; section 4, block 11, 248 acres, David Murray; section 8, block 11, 907 acres, W. H. Jones; section 3, block 6, 378 acres, M. Marfell.

The wandering cattle nuisance is still very prevalent in the Clifton county, despite the efforts of the County Council to check it. At the meeting yesterday, the foremen's reports from all parts of the country almost fairly bristle with the names of the owners of wandering stock, with a description of the said stock. The Council resolved to forward the usual warning notice to three settlers reported for the first time, and to take proceedings against the rest, many of whom are old offenders.

The Argonaut on the Balkan war.— "But for the'stringency of the military r.ews censorship we should recognise this war for what it is—one of the greatest in size, one of the most hideous for its reckless and wanton massacres, that the world has ever known. From returning travellers and from a few private letters that escape censorship, we get some slight glimpses of burning villages, of women and children ruthlessly slaughtered by the thousands, and of a whole panorama of barbarous horrors in which Turk and Christian seek to outdo each other in cruelty and lust and murder."

"Some of the worst churches I have seen are in wealthy dioceses," said Bishop i alius in an address at Christchurch. We did not believe/he continued, in the wealthy parish. He did not believe in a few people giving large sums and the r"st doing nothing. He believed rather in all helping, .and in this respect poor parishes were often examples : to the richer parishes. In them all set to work with an unconquerable spirit, while in others it was apt to be left to one or two with money. The real spirit of sacrifice was alive in the poorer churches, and it was this spirit which did anything worth while in the Kingdom of God. In response to the usual formal request from the Public Works' Department asking the Council to notify particulars of grants required for the construction of roads and bridges, the Clifton County Council resolved to submit the following little list, totalling in all £13,300: Mimi-Mokau -(metalling) £2,000; Otnraoa (formation metalling), £500; Matau-Kiore (formation and improving), £200; Piko (formation and improving), £600; Autawa (formation and improving), £200; Uriti (metalling £000; Okoke-Tangitu (formation) £500; Mangatoro (formation), £000; Tonga-porutu-Mang-aroa (formation), £I,OOO, and Mount Messenger (metalling) £SOOO. A remarkable state of affairs was indicated in a peculiar discussion that took place at the Lake County Council meeting last week. According to the Lake Wakatipu Mail's account, when the clerk asked for instructions regarding certain burial expenses, ' Councillor Johnston made a complaint about the poverty of a coffin provided in the case of a death recently at Skippers. The coffin, he said, was partly made of keroserits and whisky cases. He himself saw part of the whisky cases at the end of the coffin, which was painted with lampblack. He felt ashamed of it, and was sure that the members of the County Council would not sanction such a coffin as the one he had described. He was not previously aware that the Council paid for such coffins. The chairman, related one instance where the Arrow Borough' Council bad to bury a Chinaman. He did not know if there were a standard coffin. After further discussion the clerk was asked to find out the law on the subject, and to interview the makers of the coffin complained of as to the timber put into the coffin.

At Huntly, about one o'clock on Sunday morning, a party of four people, Mr. and Mrs. Edwards, Mr. J. Eaves and Miss Eaves, started to cross the river, on their journey homewards, in a flat-bot-tomed boat. It was very dark, and there was a thick fog on the river. About half-way across the river the boat fouled the punt-rope, and capsized, all the occupants being thrown into the river. The boat drifted down stream, but the party managed to hang on to the punt rope, and remained in this precarious position for nearly 20 minutes. The screams of the ladies eventually attracted the attention of Mr. Charles'Hottridge, who resides on (,hc western side of the river, and lie got up from his bed; and puling off in a boat, managed to rescue the partv. Tt was most fortunate Ihat he arrived when lie did, for everybody was completely exhausted. On Teaching the shove, oiic of the ladies collapsed, but ouicklv recovered. Tt was ascertained that, besides several severe bruises and the loss of a bag containing money, none of (he party were otherwise hurt. The promptness of Mr. Kettridge is highly commended. A splendid picture of the Oxford-Cam-bridge boat race, decided on the Thames n fe wweeks ago, is now being shown at the Theatre Rova 1 ,

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A unique weapon of offflnce, with dan. gerous possibilities, lias been introduce! in Melbourne for the first time, and form, ed the subject of an inspection by th« Chief Commissioner of Police (Mr. Sains* bury). This is a pistol fitted with 4 Maxim silencer, made by the Maxim Silent Firearms Co., of Hartford, Connect* cut, and has been brought out for is* in an American play.. With a smokeless cartridge the weapon when find makes neither smoke nor sound. It being realised that the use of auch a weapon would provide a danger limitlessin its possibilities, the silencer is restricted to military rifles only, and under United States prohibition its manufacture for application to pistols is not allowed. yhis weapon was therefore made for use in the play under special permission from the New. York police authorities. Mr. Sainsbury examined the weapon, and the undertaking being given that special precautions would be taken at the Theatre Hoyal to keep it ito safety, and that one member of tne staff would be held responsible for its keeping, the Commissioner of Police stated that there would be-no objection to its us* in the play. In the third act a murder is committed with the Bilent pistol, a display of the' effectiveness of which is previously given by one of the actors in the drama shooting to pieces a vase of flowers, without any sound or amok* being emitted. A scene that was not without a touch of humor was witnessed outside jthe Adelaide Gaol recently. A man who had refused to pay a fine inflicted upon him for defiance of the defence law was released one forenoon, and his friends were | waiting outside to receive him. They had provided a motor-car and, more im[po'rtant still, a kinematograph< machine, and had announced beforehand that a I picture showing the release of the martyr [ and his welcome by a sympathetic populace would be circulated broadcast in supj port of the anti-militarist propaganda. [The machine was in position when the man stepped out of the prison gate. The kinematograph operator turned the handle. The sufferer met his wife in the middle distance and embraced her. The crowd closed in, lifted him shoulder high and carried him before the whirring machine to the motor-car. The man stood in the car with his wife's hand in his and his son, the cause of all the trouble, j beside him—and just then the operator noticed that the machine had not been working properly at any stage of the proceedings. There was a dreadful pause, | and then the martyr rose to the occasion i nobly. He went back to the door of the prison and gave the signal for the j demonstration to begin all over again!