LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 181, 9 January 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

At a special meeting of the Egmont County Council on Friday, Wednesday was again chosen as the statutory half-holiday within the county. Imports and exports at the port of New Plymouth last year totalled 103,270 tons, as compared with 92,467 tons in 1913, an -ncrease of about 17 per cent. Suppliers of Canadian and Australian wheat purchased by the New Zealand Government for bread-making will -shortly arrive in the Dominion. Forms of application for supplies may be obtained from any Chief Postmaster. The amount of rates collected up to the 31st December, 1914, by the New Plymouth Borough Council was £14,767 as. The total amount of rates collected for the same, period of the preceding year was £14,055. making an increase in last year's rates of £lll 15s lOd. It is interesting to note that the steel darts used by the. aviators with the Allies, .referred to several times in cur cables, are an ounce in weight, and ere discharged by dropping 1000 at a tune. Dropped from a height of 520 feet these darts will penetrate through a man and horse. '■We went to a big shop," said an old countryman on his return home from London, "an' we got one of 'em 'ere things wot whizzes ye clean up to the top. Wot is their name?" "Choplifters!" his wife replied. The Farmers 1 Co-operative Organisation lias made a start with building their salcyards at Opunake. The yards are being built on most modern lines. The posts are of silver pine, and the rails and gales of .jarrah. The yard is to be concreted throughout, whilst a shed, with enclosed ring for the sale of dairy produce, is also to be built. The second annual meeting of the No. 8 Group Rifle Association will be held on the New Plymouth rifle range on January 14. The cash prizes total £6O. Territorials, rifle club members, and senior eade.ts are referred to an advertisement in another part of this issuo dealing with entrance fees, frae railway passes, and so on. The popularity of Opunake as a seaside resort is growing each year. At present tile town is full of holiday makers, and quite a canvas city has grown on the ■beach, where almost twenty tents have been pitched and are occupied by groups of happy campers. Alt the mouth of the Waiau River there is another large camping party, some dozen tents having been erected for their accommodation.

Mr Percy AVilson, of OpunaUe. suffered serious loss On the road to Oaonui on Thursday night, when ihis car, probably through some defect in the electrical a-ji-paratu". caught fire and was completely destroyed. He had no passengers with him at the time. The car was only three or four months on the road. Mr Wilson has been particularly unfortunate, Slaving lsst a icttr ra'elioiislv when a motor garage in Opnnake was destroyed by fire.

A feature of the present war has been the number of sportsmen who have fallen. One of the latest to lay down bis life for his country is Lieut. Collins, who, in a junior house match at Clifton, made the remarkable score of 028 not out. Tlie score was a wonderful one in many respects, not the least of which whs the illustration it afforded of the remarkable endurance of the 13 year old boy.

It is recounted that in the fighting mar Prz?mys] two gencvals reported to the wminander, General Radke Dmitrieff, &e Bulgarian now serving with the Russian army, that they were unable to hold out, owing to the overwhelming numbers of the enemy. General Dmitrieff replied with an aphorism which will doubtless become historic: ''Don't count the enemy. P.eat bim." — Renter Special.

In the market place of Alford the other morning (writes the Paris correspondent of the Daily Express) a number of fat pigs had come up for auction, and for one of tlicm the auctioneer started the bidding at 100 francs. "105," "110," came the bidding and "130," and then, to the. amazement of the company, a stentorian voice snouted "3000." Everyone held his breath, ''Fire!" It was an offiver at the adjoining barracks instructing a squad of artillery recruits in range-finding.

Dealing witli tlie question of annual leave this montli, the Railway Officers' Advocate says:—"There arc approximately 100 members of tlie first division at- Samoa with the, advance guard of the expeditionary force, and perhaps 40 or 50 have joined the main force or its reinforcements. We do not think that the absence of 150 members, the majority of whom, having been selected from the Railway Territorials, must be juniors, is a sufficient reason for tlie stoppage of annual leave that has been insisted upon by some district officers. Indeed, the fart that in most districts the granting of annual leave was resumed some time ago is sufficient evidence that fanlly staff arrangements ere at the root of the. trouble in those districts where annual leave is still being withheld.' DON'T RISK YOUR LIFE. ■Don't risk yonr life or take chances when you have a cold. Neglected colds often result in pneumonia and consumption. Chronic catarrh, chronic bronchitis and all throat and lung troubles are rendered more serious by each fresh -attack. Take Chamberlain's Cough Remedy at the first indication of a cold—!i e.-iimteracts any tendency of its re--uitiiig in piieimiMiia. and leaves the system in such a. healthy condition that future attacks are avoided, fold by all ehemi-ts ;nid storekeepers

The Patea Borough Council liave decided to move in the direction of erecting municipal dwellings. Late-sown crops of turnips were given a splendid start by tin's week's warm rains. 'There is a considerable amount of local dissatisfaction concerning the d:'atory methods of the Defence ]>ep rtmcnt in dealing with men who c :'cr themselves^for enrolment to join {he contingents that are destined fur Europe (says the Eltham Argus). Men ofl'er themselves for enrolment and in due course receive instructions to present themselves for medical examination. In some cases these men come, in from the hush and lose their situations thereby. They go successfully through the medical examination and are told ' that they are sound in wind and limb, and receive their "pass." Instead of being at once sent away the men are kept hanging around waiting for orders to report themselves at Trentham. While they are kept waiting in this fashion they are not earning any money but are getting into debt for board and lodging. They cannot accept employment, for they do not know the day when they will be told to report at the camp, and by the time they do receive orders they have debts which they are unable to pay. One or two cases of this nature which have entailed quite a hardship have been brought before us. Such treatment also has the effect of cooling off the military enthusiasm of men who have volunteered for service.

A young Lorraincr has, says the Paris Gaulois, just effected an exceedingly smart capture of a German spy on the Grands Boulevards. Paris. This is how it came about. At the beginning of the war the Lorraincr was serving in the German army, much against his will. At the first opportunity be deserted and took service in the French army. Wounded shortly afterwards, he, received, when convalescent, leave to visit friends in Paris. A day or two later be was walking down the Grands Boulevards when he saw an officer in the French artillery uniform seated on the terrace of a cafe. He duly saluted, but, so strong was the old habit, that ho saluted, not in the French, but the German fashion. Tic was about to rectify bis mistake, when the officer returned the salute in precisely the same manner. This set the Lorraincr to think, and the more he thought the stranger it seemed. He turned back, and spoke to a policeman at the corner, telling him his suspicions, and asking him to question the officer as to bis identity. The police, replied that he had no power to do so. The young man's mind was swiftly made up. He walked over to the officer ami jostled him, rudely knocking his drink to the ground. A scene, of course, followed, and the officer and the Lorraincr were led off to -the police station, precisely the result that the young soldier had been working for. There it was discovered that the artillery officer was a German spy. The Lorraincr lias obtained from the military authorities an extension oF leave, and the document accordingly bears the words, "Has contributed to the arrest of a spy."