LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 5, 25 May 1914, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

On a recent morning two horses wove killed by electricity at Redfurn, N.S.VV. Their, drivers escaped. Two tipdxays were carrying blue metal, when a telephone wire snapped, falling en to the overhead tram wires, Ohh«r 'telephone and telegraph wires fused immediately, and the dangling wire touched the dray horses. The two drivers, fortunately, were walking by their drays. They witnessed the fatal contact, which instantly killed their horses, hut tohey themselves were able to run dear of the wires. Once at a dinner at which Dr limil Reieh was present the conversation turoon marriage. "That was a wise saying of the old Greek philosopher," said someone, " 'whether you mar.ry her or not, you will regret it.'" "Yes," said Dr. Reich, "it reminds me of a certain' old maid who something almost as good as that. 'Auntie,' stud her little niece to her, 'what would you do if you had your life to live over again.' which the lonely spinster quickly reivlied: 'Get married my child, before I had 1 enough sense to decide to bo an old maid." ,

At the end of this year the Government wiil have to raise a loan of over £3,000,C00 to renew the unconverted portion of the five million loan raised by the Ward Government in 1911. The Hon. James Allen (Minister of Finance) on Friday (the Dominion states) when questioned on the subject, said that he did not anticipate any difficulty in getting the money. "The Reform Government," he contnued, "has put the finances of the Dominion straight, and whan we have been a, little longer in office we hope to make them a little straighter still."

Tin? secretary of the Turamaki brand •of the Royal New Zealand Veterans' Association (Mr John Black) has received a letter from' Oaptain Stevens, conveying to the association his thank* for the able assistance of the members in making the recent visit of General Sir fan Hamilton and hi* stall such a pleasure, more especially for the good muster of veterans oti pa radio, and for the Social gathering in the evening, all of which had been most >high% appreciated. Captain Steven* aJso expressed his especial gratitude to Mr Black for the trouble he had taken. More than usual interest was shown in a sale of warships at Portsmouth Dockyard recently, because of the inclusion among the lots of the battleship Renown, which conveyed the King and Queen to India in 1905. The vessel was then converted into a yacht, much of her offensive armament being removed to provide additional accommodation, and she has never since been restored to service conditions, but fas been employed as a training and depot ship. The Renown was started at £20.000,

and sold at £39,000. Other sales were: Battleship Resolution, £35,650; cruiser Scylla, withdrawn at £11,800; cruiser Forte, £18,500; cruiser Madca, £10,375. In the case of the battleships it was stipulated that the big guns are to be removed and the vessel broken up within one year.

Mr Harry liignell, a Gisbornc taxidriver, and a passenger had an unenviable experience while returning to Gisbornc by car from Napier on Monday last. They were driving steadily along a good piece of road near the Tutira Lake, about 30 miles from Napier, and felt the car become slig'htly hot. Suddenly, without warning, the front portion became enveloped in flames. The two occupants had just time to jump out before the whole vehicle was completely ablaze. The two men did not even have, time to rescue a portmanteaux which was in the back of the car, and which, with spare parts and spare tyres, was completely consumed. The travellers walked about six miles to a hut, where the night was spent. By means of -a conveyance tJiey returned to NapiCq - , and came on to Gisbornc Iby steamer. Tlie car was insured for I £2OO. I The vagaries of the taw are almost in-

explicable as tlie manner of i,s admin-

istration. At Carterton, a weak-minded and inoffensive man was sent to ga'ol for six months on a charge of being a rogue and vagabond. At Wellington on the same day, a Supreme Court Judge ordered one maniilo come up for sentence when called upon on a charge of theft and re-

ceiving stolen goods; treated anothei

man similarly for the theft of a horse; adrnated' a trim! to probation after hi had been convicted of 'breaking! and entering; sentenced! a Maori to a. month for asßa-ult with intent to rob; and lined two seamen .-C5 each for a common as-

sault on a girl, with the alternative of fourteen days in gaol. The sentences imposed at the Supreme Court strike one a« being particularly lenient. Some people may even question whether they will not have a l>ad effect upon those who have criminal 'tendencies.—Masterton Age. The earwig which held up tlie London District Railways service last month, by short circuiting the electric signalling apparatus, was unwittingly emulating the spider, which, on June 4, 1008, dislocated the traffic, mi the Irish Great Northern IMway for nearly two hours. Tlie electric staff instrument failed, and ultimately (lie cause was traced to a spider wliicd bad lodged itself between the lover nnd the contact po'ints. Last year a train was derailed on the Loudon and Nwth-wcstorn railway owing to a hedgehog liiaving been caught between tho point and side rails and preventing thorn closing properly. A Mississippi steamer was recently s! : ".;;ed by ait invasion of willowbugs, whi.-h made for the emrine-iwm and ellogged the engines, while a swarm of bees in Dee., 1012.. took possession of a South African railwa'v station, drove off the p'.i'-scngers and officials, land prevented anv drains until they took their leave in the evening.

The importance of the milk supply, so far as infants were concerned, said a lecturer in Auckland the other evening, was manifest from the fact that breastfed babies were singularly exempt from infantile diarrhoea and many diseases which afflicted those fed on cow's milk. Impure milk was the greatest single factor in tho death rate of infante under one year of age. It also figured largely in the propagation of typh; id. <lir>h theria. scarlet fever and tub.n-culosis. Milk drawn by a sterile catheter from a healthy cow was practically free from all bacteria, but when taken by ordinary milking under the. most perfect conditions, and with the greatest aseptic precautions, it contained from 100 to ."iIKJ

bacteria per cubic i-enitinietre. As Nilplied by the .buiy Talbot liuciety in Melbourne, it containeiii -2000. The New York standard for ccrtilicd milk has been reduced from :!O,C<!O to 10,0":). Auckland milk, tested under s'ni.iiai- e". dit-ions, varied in the summer from 100,000 to a million, the average beiir» 200,000.

J!r. Sheldon's G'n Pills ar,. the latest and best Tcmci'.y for Backache and Kidney roubles. They have only to be tn» to be appreciated. Sold in glass containers at ls fid and 2s fid. Obtainable verywhere.,

Daiaty rimless eyeglasses. Ernest Jive AtQitdOß-qiailified opUoi*i»>