LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 159, 11 December 1914, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

One of the most progressive business firms in the province is the Melbourne Clothing Company. In Addition to shops at Inglewood, Stratford, Eltham, Ilawera and New Plymouth, the: fifm arc opening up a permanent branch at Wanganui.

Hebrew desired to help tlie enemies of Hussia. He supplied Austrian reservists with tickets'and money ■to enable them to go back to their colors, and instructed them to swear that ,ihey Were Bulgarians. He has fourteen charges of high treason to answer for,, and the penalty for each is death. If he is convicted it will bother-tlie authorities to find fourteen varieties of executions. 1 i The public meeting to consider the proposal to lay down tennis courts on Kawaroa Park will probably lie held on Friday, the 18th inst., at tlie Bungalow. The auatfccr lias been taken by . the v\ '' ; t End FoKthonv Improvement SoL ejety, and is arousing considerable in-. terMt. Therfc is excellent site in a •nollow bfiiiijid the municipal baths for one or two courts. Very little earthwork will be necessary, and it Ss hoped* to enlist the energy of the (menfolk in accomplishing this, or.most, of it. • I _ "It had often been stated in volunteer' days that shooting men were the backbone of the various companies," said Major H. Marshall at the last meeting of the Wellington Rifle Association. "This had been proved equally true to-day, with the Territorials," continued * the speaker. "It is an interesting'fact that every Territorial officer on the committee of the Wellington Rifle Association has gone to the front. This speaks v .^| umes f° r ' the wisdom of encouraging rifle shooting amongst all ranks, and is a point to be well remmebercd."

From the Bulletin.—Another injustice to Germany! A Teuton, who runs two places of pizness in Melbourne, had been raided by the military. Owing to some misunderstanding, the Herald gave the address of the office whicli wasn't railed instead of that of the one which waß. V\ hereupon the outraged suspect fired in a writ for £3OOO damages for .ibel. J. hat; was his notion of demandiiicr reparation for the wrong which he hadnlt suffered. Then the above-mentioned injustice was done to Germany— the military authorities raided the gentleman's other oil ice, and his grievance against drcam WBPapCr Vanished like a j

With this issue Messrs Nolan and to. announce an important and 'f£mn lV f ) ™f eß , erve<l action sale of £SOOO of high-class jewellery, diamond, watches, silverware, Sheffield plate, marble clocks, bronze cutlery and fine art eluna brought out direct from Eng. land for the Auckland Exhibition by the Official representative (Mr. H. Davison) who is returning shortlly to England to l n j+ I cx , tc " slVL: preparations f->r another extended tour or the TJominlon. Owing to present war ,goods have been Jield back, but must now be sold without reserve, regardless of cost. There will be a special view night this evening, when there will be a gaslight display of the ! p '° k . ,S f tho , ?. tosk 7 p.m. to !) ..Jut; -public ir? specially invitod to view the coCeeVon \viii«Ji j., n „ .dii«W. the finest ever sjbrrKted to aj.Ihe J!> tY , Pl^'"outll - A feature of L »i fli. r a , rU '' k is war < allied at the time of sale. Mr Davidson since arriving from England, has. gained thei distinction of being the undisputed leading jewellery auctioneer of the Do mimon.tna off a ciOO to any charity »ot a I repreacnted. Hr.

. This being, (the da|y of the Maori eleetiori • polls:' ' all licensed houses are deemed to l> e closed to- Maori betwotn • 9 o'clock and 4 o'clock. This provision of the law is not gdnerally known. The residents of Opunake are; holding a gift auction sale on Saturday, 12th inst., the proceeds from which 1 will be given to the British and Belgiaji Relief, Fund. Some valuable stock and useful sundries have been presented, as well as a Belgian flag, all of which will be sold without reserve. It is hoped there will be a large attendance, and that the sate will< bo a complete success. { , "lord Kitchener's message, • 'Young man, your 1 country needs you!'; applies to the manhoOd of New - Zealand (is well as to the manhood of Great Brit-, ain." This is the hcadnote' to a notice which figures cbnspicuously at Wellington's military barracks. The notice mns on: 'ln order to maintain supply of reinforci.-m'erttS for. the New ZeaJ'riiid Expeditionary Force, mun who is a British subject, is invited to volunteer his services to his country at once. Volunteers should' register their names with the nearest Defence office, Territorial office)! - , or local recruiting committee, who will forward them to the proper authority."

" It is a matter of open knowledge in military circles that the "General staff of the German Army in the west was not at all sorry to see the Kaiser's back,: writes the Daily Telegraph's war correspondent. Wilhelm 11. is not like Wilhelm 1., who gave a free hand to his generals. The Kaiser is an arbitrary man, who has considerable confidence in his own military capacities, and insists on personal intervention. Occasionally he gives orders which: are technically impossible of execution. He harries his troops, and demands' of them superhuman efforts. To him is attributed the responsibility of the forced marches of the German right wing after the battle of the Metise and 1 the too precipi-. tate offensive of General von Khick, which, thanks to the military genius of General Joffrej ended in the decisive defeat oif Gorman armies on the Marne.

That there will bo a great shortage in the cocksfoot • crop ia now beyond doubt, writes the Akaroa correspondent of the Lyttelton Times. The recent rains came too late to materially alter the prospect. To begin with, a much smaller area was closed up in the spring, and later on, owing to the shortage of feed; many dairy farmers were compelled to turn their cows ilito the cocksfoot paddocks, .and now the crop is so meagre and stunted that reliable experts predict that where in normal years five to six bags per acre could be assured, this season the yield will fall to one and a half bags. In some localities, owing to .the land being previoualy lightly grazed, better results may be anticipated. The use of explosives for blasting purposes is a source of extreme danger in the hands of inexpert people, and a case in point was referred to at a (meeting of the Port Chalmers Council (states the Otago Daily Times). According to the testimony of several councillors somo trees and stumps were being broken up by explosives recently in tlie vicinity of the baths, which were frequented at the time by children, and it was stated tha some of t'he pieces of timber were hurlec a -long distance and landed perilously close to some bystanders near the bath, on the road. Strong exception was taken to the manner in which 'these Wasting operations were carried out. A lot of things are being said aneht the exportation of pig-iron from this country since the Kaiser ordered 30 ; 000 iron crosses for his special heroes at the front. Somehow, one does not associate heroism with bronze or iron instruments, but military tradition insist? on its chosen warriors wearing with dignity pieces of metal , the color of a flat-iron.! In a London pawnbroker's, recently, 11 saw a string of Victoria Crosses for sale, together with a box full of medals won in many parts -of the Empire. Their owners had long since drifted into asy-, lums or workhouses. And, now Cohen and his. assistant Isaacs dust and put away, each , night, the little black emblems of forgotten valor and glory. TII3 Crosses of. Irony.—Writes an English paper, ■ '

Judging by the way the German prioners from New Guinea are being reated (says the Sydney Daily Tele;raph) if the captain of the limden were o come liere, no residence but Sir Gertld Strickland's or the Primate's would )e considered worthy of him. The Minster of Defence ha? explained that it is lot true that these prisoners are being iccommodated in. expensive flats at Potti Point, and the best rooms are be ing provided on a scale entirely dispro portionateto their condition and deserti VVhy should it have been agreed, wide' terms of capitulation,' that "tin higher (German) officials should receiv tlire'e months' salary?" Could they no be persuaded to surrender without that And why "the higher officials?" Was i because the lower and plebian sort ha< probably less to do with the" importsnci ox those jagged bayonets that smash -th. bones and break the rules of .:ivilise< warfare? Higher and lower, these mil are simply prisoners, entitled to bi treated humanely, and given reasonable tlioligh simple, accommodation, and ni more. They are not honoured guests o iiigh degree. ' A communication was read at ;as meeting of the Council of the Welling ten Chamber of Commerce from the Sec nlary of the British Imperial Council o Commerce suggesting that the outbreal of war with Germany provided a fi'tir.' opportunity to take determined st™ to place inter-Empire trade on a mon lasting basis. "We have no reason ti It grateful to Germany in the past/ the letter wc-nt on, "for the methods In winch she has sought to undermine ni intcr-Einpir" trade in an Empire whicl she did nothing to found, and whic! she is now domg her best to overtlir jw antl it would ill become the Chamber: oi Commerce not to seize the opporSjn it> to repel these attacks and to hoh £«yd consolidate our own." Statistlci were forwarded' of the trade betweei Germany am; the various dominions o tie Crown, and it was suggested tad tiit chamber should address reprcsenm tions to the British Council ind'icatin, the best m. thods of supplanting thi enemy" tride by an Imperial inter change of conditions. The Congress o Crambers of Commerce meets next an tumn at Toronto, when it is hoped tha question;) will receive special am practical attention. In conclusion, Vn letter stated: "In this fight for na tlonal and Imperial existence the greaimportance ot economic pressure slirm U not be overlooked. It is as importan' a means of bringing the struggle ti an early and successful close is the th sinking of ships and the slaying of men Navies cannot be kept on the seas o armies in the field unless the trade am wealth of the country are maintained We must also look to the future to r< pair the ravages of the past."