LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 142, 10 November 1914, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A Gazette extraordinary issued yesterday, contains a proclamation proroguing Parliament until Friday December 4th next. —Press message.

It is understood tliat the elections will take place on Decemlrer 10, the postponement for a week from the date originally mentioned being due to the. sitting of 'Parliament running into November. At last night's meeting of the Bor- . Council, a petition was received from a number' of residents of Spotswood settlement and Main South roa.l to extend the electric light system along the road, they undertaking to instal the light in their houses.

The Citizens'- Band has been approached by the committee of the Citizens' Ball, to bo given in the Coronation Hall on Friday night in aid of the Belgian Relief Fund, and has offered to play from the centre of the town to the hall, and a few selecTions outside tho hall, 'prior to the -ball commencing. Mr J. Terry has received advico from Wellington tJhat there will be four sittings of the. SupTcone Court at New Plymouth for 1915. The dates will be as follows:—Tuesdays; .February 2, May 1R„ September 7, and, for civil and divorce business only, November" 23. There are usually only throe sessions in tho vear.

At last night's meeting of the Borough Council, the engineer reported that on Thursday next the flood gates to the conduit would be opened, and tho dam in the Mangamahoe valley filled with 'water from tha Wai.wakaiho , river, He -suggested that the Council should visit the work on Thursday if possible. The Council decided to make the visit, ''though the bowling members of the Council would have preferred a-mother day.

Conciliation Commissioner for the Northern and Taranaki Industrial districts (Mr Harle Giles), is in New Plymouth and will preside over a sitting of the Conciliation Council at Waitara to-day to hear a dispute between the Waitara General Laborers' Union and Messrs Tlios. Borthwick and Sons, Ltd., of Australasia. The claims of the union include increased wages and improved conditions.

■ At the liorough Council meeting last night a letter was read from Mr VV. If. Skinner, stating tehat in view of the facts submitted by the Council it had been decided by himself and Mr H. D. f-Vmner to let" the original offer relative to their collection's of curios remain op«n for a time A vote of thanks was aceorslod. to Moswvs pinner who are to. be informed that the Council- is taking steps to suitably house suoh curios. Tiie matter was referred to a public meeting with a view to setting up a committee for the purpose.

' A meeting of the local Patriotic Committee was held at the Town Hall yes- * terday, His Worship the Mayor, presiding. A letter was received from the Otago Committee stating that they had asked the Central Committee to return part of the money sent to them so that it might be used by the relief of local cases of need, and suggesting that New Plymouth should do likewise. The New Plymouth Committee -decided that as I Lbey had sent forward only £1250 to the | Central fund they would not ask for any j portion to be returned. I It is safe to assume that the cost of the new freezing works at Patea will work out at considerably less than 1 the original estimate. Not only so, but additional accommodation has been provided as well. Whilst not impairing the general clficency of the works the strictest economy has been practised, and in .this respect the shareholders owe much to Mr Powdrell and the company's engineer. In the rebuilding of the manure works by the company's own employees it was found to incorporate large quantities of the old brick and concrete with the cement, and thus save, very considerably in the quantity of concrete used.— Star.

A Masterton resident lias received a letter from his sister, fa the south of Fiance, from which wc have been permitted to make the following extracts: ''Wc are suffering all the horrors of war not with a civilised nation, but with a horde of savages, with whom, honor, honesty, humanity, are nothing but words. Belgium has been devastated, and France, in spite of the help or the English, is in danger if the Russians do not hasten to reach, Berlin. It is a question of life and death for England, Holland, Belgium and France. The Germans prove themselves to be the truo descendants of the barbarians who overthrew the Roman empire, and they have at their service the-- same brutal, beastly, and savage propensities of their forebears. Their civilisation was but shin deep, and the war has r-.vealed to the world their true nature, to tlic ruin of our women, children, old people and prisoners. We in the south are safe for the present. We are continually receiving hosts of people who have escaped from burning towns, as well as prisoners of war and wounded, both French and German. The lat. ter are as well nursed as our own."

We are surprised that neither politicians nor newspapers have had sufficient courage, or, gratitude, to admit that Japan holds the key of the position so far as naval matters in the Pacific are concerned (says the Eltbam Argus). Let any reasonable, thinking being ask himself the question, what would the position of Australia or New Zealand have been if Japan had been hostile to Britain'; The answer to that question is not diilicult to find, and it is not a pleasant one; we leave our renders to the contemplation of it. Wo have not huaril of even one of our politicians expressing any feeling of gratitude for Japan's friendship for Britain, nor have we read a line in any New Zealand newspaper—of course wc have not read them all—in any way acknowledging Japan's good offices. Why is this? Is it moral cowardice that prevents politicians and newspapers from acknowledging our indebtedness to the' gallant "little brown man" who is so materially assisting Britain at the present moment? They are not slow to acknowledge the great service that is being rendered by other brown men—the Indian troops—on the bloody battlefields of Europe at the present juncture; then why not give credit wherever it is due, and acknowledge that Britain, Australia and New Zealand have every reason to be thankful for Japan's assistance. We conclude by repeating the Prime Minister's words, with a slight alteration, and say that the. people of New Zealand have cause every day of their lives to thank God that Japan is with Britain, and not against her.