LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 25, 30 June 1913, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A parcel of 48 Taranaki (New Zealand) oil well shares was put up for auction at Webster Bros. Mart on Saturday, and realised 10s !)d per share. Mr. C. IT. Drew, watchmaker, of Devon street, was again the successful tenderer for repairs and renewals to the Railway Department's clocks on the New Plyniouth-Bunnythorpe. Ohakune section for the ensuing two years. "The price of land, 1 believe, is much the same now as it was 12 months ago; but the ju ice of cows is steadily on the increase, being now £2 more than it was a year ago." Thus spoke a fanner at a recent meeting of the Auckland Wholesale Milk Vendors' Association. Within a few weeks now the building trade in Wellington is expected to brighten up, and continue for the rest of the winter. According to enquiries made the other day the conditions at the present time are very good, though not comparable with the experience of five or six years ago. At a sale this month at Sotherby's rooms, London, a number of Napoleon and Nelson relics were put up for auction. Napoleon's death mask fetched £B4, his gun £133, his hat £BS, while a portrait of the Emperor was sold for £350, and a marble bust for £190.' The christening shirt worn by Lord Nelson was knocked down for .CBO.

From enquiries made at various shipping offices in Auckland, it is ascertained that the passenger season next year will probably eclipse that of the past year. Bookings for steamers sailing as far ahead as March next have already been made. This is stated to be the earliest period at which bookings have been made. The "cabins de luxe" on the steamers of one company have all been allotted.

Six motor 'buses are to be run by the Auckland Electric Tramways Company during the period of the Exhibition. They will ply between Grafton road on the one side, and Parnell on the other, to and from the Exhibition entrance. The chassis for three of these 'buses have just arrived, and the bodies will be built upon them locally. Each of the 'buses will have seating accommodation for 35 passengers in addition to the driver.

There was a very large attendance at the Brougham Street Hall on Saturday •night, when, after a successful run, the Arts and Crafts Society's exhibition w,as brought to a close. The proceedings took the form of a promenade concert, and a number of excellent vocal and instrumental items were given bv local amateurs. The exhibition has been a pronounced success, and it is confidently anticipated that it will be the forerunner of many other similar functions.

It is an ill-wind that blows nobody any good. The recent fierce storm at Hokitika removed the surface from large stretches of beach, and left exposed the black sand, which is nearly always goldbearing. Kegardless of the heavy rain and the wild gale which had been blowing all day, parties of men were at work on the beach skimming off the black sand and carting it out of the reach of the waves. So quickly does the beach formation change ' that the next tide may bury the black sand with several feet of ordinary sand. The local hardware merchants, we understand, retail corrugated iron (flft. lengths) at 2s 3d per sheet, yet at an auct ":t 011 Saturday afternoon, some four-tn-n sheets of the same length of iron Ii -;od 2s fid, despite the fact that the had been pierced with nails, and, as i result, could only be termed second class. The iron we refer to was used in connection with the visit of the battleship New Zealand- to New Plymouth, and whether this accounted fbr the pi-ice which it brought or whether there is a dearth of this class of iron in town, we are unable to say.

The final work on the largest liner in the world, the Tmperator, which reached New ork fit the end of last week, was done by the biggest crane ever mado. The huge lifting appliance lniilt at Hamburg for use in connection with the Imperator can handle a maximum load of •275 "short" tons within a radius of 113 feet, and the movable arm ia equipped with a small crane that can lift 10 tons at a distance of 2,'!() feet from the centre. Thus the crane has a sweep of 400 feet. It is operated bv electricity, and only two men are required to serve it. The chief operator is provided with a searchlight to enable him to work at night. An "M.8., 0.M., F.R.0.5., Edinburgh," writes to the British Medical Journal warning British practitioners against rushing to New Zealand, lie observes that with a population of only a million theie are 100,000 members of societies, "who pay the lodge doctor on an average 15s to 18s for attendance on a man, wife and family," and he adds that "abuse is rife." The correspondent considers that as there are 130 students at Otago University Medical School, and many New Zealanders are in England studying, the local output is sufficient, or more than sufficient, to meet the demand. He.adds that manv who have accepted guarantees of £2OO or £SOO a year for bush townships have found the net result not satisfactory.

A small boy who appears to have developed street arab tendencies, slipped out of the ,<jlutches of the police the other morning (says the Auckland correspondent of the Lyttelton Times). In consideration of the fact that his family history pointed to insullicient parental control, the lad was taken to the lockup, with a view to.his being sent to an industrial school. The youngster is eleven yeiirs of age, and was given a seat by the fire in the watch-house, which opens directly on to the street. About a quarter .to eight some disturbances arose among the prisoners in the cells, and the watch-house keeper went to see what the trouble was. He returned to find that the young prisoner had improved the opportunity by slipping away. Unstable Gillespie noticed the lad in full flight and gave chase, but the agilo, bare-footed urchin, with the start thrown in. was too fleet for the coated constable. Constable ,|. J. Power mounted a bicycle and set off on a stern chase, but beyond glimpsing the tugitive at a distance scuttling round a corner of Rutland street, he got no satisfaction.

Members of the Equitable Building Society of New Plymouth (First and Second Groups) are notified that subscriptions will be due and payable today (Monday), at the Secretary's office Currie street, from 9 a.m. to 12.30, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. to 8 p.m Advt. y

SALE OF SUITS AND "JOB" This sale at the Melbourne, Ltd., offers splendid saving oportunities to purchasers of men's and boys' suits, etc. Heads of families and others buying in anticipation of the various Taranaki winter shows and the forthcoming visit of H.M.S. New Zealand will be well advised to make their purchases at the Melbourne during the currency of this sale. Here are a few of the wonderful bargains:—Boys' tweed knickers, Is lid; men's all-wool 'varsity suits, 10s 6d' boys' Norfolk suits, 13s 6d; men's Kaiapoi suits, 28s fid; ladies' costume skirts, 3s 6d; ladies'-fabric gloves, 3d pair: men's new Hydrotite coats, 29s 6d; Roslyn saddle-tweed trousers, 7s lid;' Roslyn tailored suits (stunning value), 455; men's high-grade tailored suits, 59s 6d; and the famous Llama suit* for 655! Come and see them.

The tender of Mr. F. Lundon, of W.hangamomonn, of £4303, has been accepted for the railway station buildings at Whangamomona.

The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, Limited'* advrtisement stated that Mr. p. sa e of pedigree dairy stock would 1)8 held in the Opminke salevariN This was an error, as the sale 'is ho'ing held at the homestead, Opunake, Honeymooning is not all a blissful experience. A newly married couple from New Plymouth decided on a motoring tour. The man roile a motorJ)ike the lady bestrode the carrier afhxed to the machine. At Hawera the nark tyro blew out—two hours for repairs. Near Pa tea the front tvre went flat, and the hissing of the wind from the. tube seared the bridegroom, who ~ , is ] lea( ' an< l steered into the roadside hed'ge. More repairs and more forceful talk. At Waverlev, the back tvre capitulated before a horseshoe nail and gave out with a sickening sound. Weary and lieartsore, the traveller# sought solace at an hotel, where they soothed their wounded feelings in biscuits and lemonade. Then, utterly diggusted, they decided to view '"The Oeisha" in Wanganui. and earning the desire into execution, left for the city of the ditch—by train. A peculiar ease came before the Stipendiary Magistrate in Waitara on Wednesday afternoon, when a young man was charged, on the information of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, with ill-treating a horse. Delendftnt was employed bv Mr. Mallett, storekeeper of Uruti, and was comimr home after packing out some stores. There were five horses, and in the mud on the Moki road, one of the horses lay down. It would not get up. and (icfendant, using a knife, slashed its tail, taking away about one inch of flesh The explanation (says the local Mail) was that defendant believed the animal was poisoned by eating leaves from a tree on the road side, and he had heard that to bleed from the tail was i a possible assistance in such cases. The Magistrate came to the conclusion that defendant had acted in a bona fide manner, and he dismissed the case. Some time ago a paragraph went the rounds giving a brief account of the miraculous escape of a couple wlio were overtaken bv a train on a narrow trestle railway bridge near Patca. Acting with great presence of mind, the young man swung his companion off the bridge into the creek, and jumped after her, just as the train thundered over the bridge. He.then had to swim to the young woman and,keep her afloat until! rescued, which was a matter of some difficulty. The young man died in the I atea Hospital last week. He was a son of Captain Tinney, harbormaster at Patea, and formerly master of the s.s. Aliuriri. He was a very popular voting teJiow. Some time ago he complained of pains in the head, and was ordered into hospital where he died a few dav« afterwards. He was a member of the I atea Riflea and his remains were interred with military honors. But for his promptness and presence of mind on tho occasion referred to neither could scarcely have escaped meeting with a terrible death.