LOCAL AND GENERAL

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 198, 29 January 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Mr P. J. Flanagan lias placed his team of donkeys at the disposal of the Floral Fete Committee free of char ,c, and it is to be hoped parents will c.'.itribute towards the Belgian Fund - giving the children the spare penr. available.

Kodama, the well-known Japacwj prophet, says:—"The great war will continue until April, when at the request of one of the great combatants, hard pressed on every side, fighting will cease and a long, long period of negotiations follow; but the fighting will not be resumed."

In the current number of the Gazette a notice has been Inserted authorising the laying ofE of Ypres street, in the town of Greenmeadows Extension, Hawke's Bay. It is to be hoped the local authorities will insert upon the name plates instructions as to how "Ypres" is pronounced.

The building trade in Hastings during the present year is likely to assume large dimensions as new Imildings to the value of about £75,000 are to be started, this estimate does not include private residences, and it is safe to assume that something like £IOO,OOO will be spent during the next twelvo months.

A valuable discovery, in the shape of an original (Maori spade, has been found in some swamp land owned by Mr. T. Hilton, of Horotui, near Ngaruawhia. The relic, which is made from a preco of matal wood, measures about 7ft in length, and at its business end is about 4in wide. Although the implement lias been lying near the surface of the ground for so long a time, it is in a good state of preservation.

lAi lady had a very narrow escape from being taken by a shark while bathing off the Napier beach one morning last week. The shark, which was about nine or ten feet long, went close to the bather, who was almost in a state of collapse tnrough fright. Fortunately, several other bathers were in the vicinity, and they succeeded in driving the' shark away.

One evening at 7 o'clock a man and a wife and eleven children, many of them grown up, appeared at the entrance of an entertainment ha'll, bought two tickets and demanded that the entire family should be admitted. The doorkeeper declined to admit the family with only two tickets. "But all these are niy children," said the man. "Of course," said the doorkeeper, 'but some nf them are too old to be admitted free." "Too old? What's that to do with it? Don't it say on your bills that children under twelve are admitted free with parents?" "Yes." "Well. I've only got eleven children, and if eleven children aren't under twelve I'm beat." ,

source of considerable interest in New Plymouth yesterday was a big motor 'bus. The machine arrived by the Rarawa, and is to be used by the Tarana'ki Motor Transport Company in its New Plymouth-Opunake mail service. The car, of the char-a-banc type, has seating accommodation for thirty to j thirty-five passengers, l together with i luggage, and in a trial run yesterday .made light of the stiff gradients on the ppunaike road. The new service starts on Monday morning. There will be ' two trips daily each way, one in the ! morning, and one in the evening. The | "buses, which* are as easy to ride in as a motor car, should fill a real need in the coastal district, and prove a safe investment for the Transport Company.

An amazing feature of the war ia the steady run of British trade and the small percentage of unemployment, which is lower than a year ago. In the trades compulsorily insured against unemployment the percentage of unemployment on November 27th was 3.69 as compared with 3.77 a week ago, 4.16 a month ago, and 4.07 a year ago. ±>'or uninsured trades the number of men and women on the registers of the labor exchanges on November 27th is nearly the same as the figures a week ago—--54,467, as compared with 54,865. For men there were 21,553, and 21,400, and for womtn 32.914 and 33.369.

Two hundred thousand shells for the Allies have already been made in Canada, and 600,000 more are now in process of manufacture (says a Vancouver paper). The British Government early in the war asked the Canadian Government what could be done regarding a supply of shells for the Allies, and General Hughes conceived the idea of having large quantities made in the Dominion. He got a committee of experts together, including such authorities as Colonel Bertram and Colonel Cantle, who acted in conjunction with the experts of the Militia Department. They developed a plan to distribute the orders among the various shops in Canada which had the proper equipment. It worked successfully, -with the result that over £1,600,000 has been distributed among the firms in Canada. The money comes from the Allies.

So generous a response was made to an appeal instituted through Messr.= Wright, Stephenson and Co. in the wool | sale room in Dunedin that the sum of £319 10s was raised in the building. | The Star states that it was just before their sale that the firm's auctioneer an- | nounced that Mr. lAUen S. Orbell, of the j River Station, Waikouaiti, had presented one of the best bales of wool in his clips to the Belgian fund, on condition that it should be put up for public auction in the room, the purchaser in each instance returning the bale to the Belgian fund. The proposition was first submittedto the chairman of the Buyers' Association, who heartily concurred in the idea, and forthwith the splendid sum of £319 10s was raised in the building. In addition, the bale of wool still remains to be sold on behalf of the Belgian fund, which should bring the total to about £350

Some very interesting information about sport in the British lines was sent to the Cape Times in December by its London correspondent. Not only have football matches heen played (the ■first "big match was to have "been on Christmas Eve between British and French teams), but a pack of hounds was brought over from England. There is little for cavalry to do as cavalry, and Sir John French did not object to the suggestion that officers should hunt when off duty in order to keep in condition. A Hunt Club was formed at headquarters, and French as well as British officers and several Red Cross nurses took part. This is not the first time British officers have mingled hunting with campaigning. Wellington's officers kept a pack in the Peninsula, and those who have read Brigadier Gerard's adventures will remember how the gallant Frenchman joined in a hunt, and, quite ignorant of the etiquette of hunting, made himself notorious among Brit- , ish officers by killing the fox with his sword.

The primary schools in the Taranaki education district re-open on Monday.

The Public Works Department has approved of the Taranaki County Council's proposals lor the expenditure of the grant of £250 on the Carrington road.

Owing to the congestion of work in Wellington, the Paritutu will not be able to get on the patent slip until Saturday. In the meantime other repairs are bein' carried out. **

The borough staff, with the assistance of a steam plough, is engaged in re-grading and levelling Victoria road, .through Vogeltown. The work is long overdue.

A New Plymouth visitor to Te Kuiti informs the News that owing to lie Slackness in the timber industry there m a good deal of unemployment in the King Country.

The floral stall at the fete next Thursday is being prepared by a band of enthusiastic workers, and this alone promises to be worth going to see. Lavender satchets may be bought as well as flowers.

The Saturday half-holiday movement is being revived an New Plymouth It is recognised that to be successful the alteration must be general throughout the province, and an endeavour will be made to work in eo-operation with committees in other centres.

New Plymouth, with its magnificent beaches and mountain scenery, is such a delightful holiday centre that many of the bowlers attending the Taranaki bowling tournament bring their wives with them. Such being the case, it is suggested that a garden party should be arranged during the bowling carnival.

In addition to the stall provided by the Victoria League at the New Plymouth garden party in aid of the Belgian Fund, there will be flower produce, jumble, ice cream, bran tub, fruit and soft drink stalls, and a sentinel box, m which cigarettes, matches and war extras will be sold.

• Some of the small boys in New Plymouth will be getting into trouble 'if they do not mend their ways. The other day a motorist was going along in his car when two urchins took aim deliberately with pieces of road metal at ; the car, missing the occupants, but dami aging the side of the car.

The children attending the Anglican schools in New Plymouth were taken by train to Bell Block yesterdav for their annual picnic. The ground? selected, Mr Choimeley's. were ideal for the purpose, the beautiful fou&h giving welcome shade. There was a large attendance, both of children and parents. The children spent a happy time in games and contests, and were liberally ■ regaled with refreshments.

, The Borough Engineer is putting good and pormantent work into the footpaths he is renewing in Devon street. <A section fronting the Theatre Royal has now been completed. Instead of ashj>lmlt, he has used concrete flaos which .not only look mmieh better, but have the advantage of easy removal in case of gas on water pipe laying. The cost •as but threepence per Square yard over asphalt. In value it should work out at t'hree shillings. Permanent work of this character always pays, whatever the initial outlay, and tie Council will be well advised to put down in the same .material all the main streets that are now being narrowed and cut about, in anticipation of the coming of the trams.

A boating accident, fortunately unattended by loss of life, happened at Opu'iiake on Wednesday. At about 4.30 pjm., Messrs W. B. Pearon, T. Breece and C Hartley, all of Kaponga, went out in a rowing boat, and on returning, got broadwde on to the waves in a part of the bay usually avoided by such craft. The boat capsized on top of the men, and pinned them down, so that they were severely pounded and badly lacerated, and were well-night exhausted When they eventually reached shore. One of the three it 13 said, was- resuscitated only after strenuous efforts. The boat was anchored, and a couple of local men tried to bring her ashore, but they, too received a severe buffeting, and had to give up the attempt to reach the craft.

Tihe Wangamii excursion train to be run on the first day of the Taranaki Jockey Club's meeting at New Plymouth lias now been definitely fixed. The tram will leave Wanganui on the Wcdwesjlay morning at 6 o'clock, Aramoho 6.11, Kat Iwi f1.3», Waitotara 7.36, Patea i-SO, arriving at New Plymouth at 11.15 a.m. This means the train will run at express speed, and will not stop) at any stations north of Mokoia.. The return tram will leave New Plymouth on the *\T* 8 ?t tlle Beoond da y' s ra ces at ,cAS for Wanganui and stations, south of Hawera, Return tickets by this train Will be available on all trains (mail included) af'/r the 11th and up to and including; Vebnmry 22. visitors from south of Hawera will thus be able to spend a nice holidav in New Plymouth returning at their leisure. Special trains' iiave also been arranged to leave Habere on each morning at 6.30 a.m. returning each evening at B p.m., and 6.30 p.m., the ordinary train from Hawera leaving at 7.25 a.m. as usual

A laiga amount of general street work in the borough, for the ourpose of analmtenance a«d7 the/ /preparation of main streets for tramway traffic in the near future is progressing very satisfactorily. This includes a good' deal of formation work, and a short enumeration of some of its features may be interesting. The large reinforced concrete culvert on Cutfield road, 60 feet long, with a width and height of six and eight feet respectively, is now completed The road at Moturoa is being graded m preparation for the coming tramway system, at Vogeltown the main road is being re-graded and re-metalled; kerbing and channelling 0 f the central portion of Devon Street is now in progress; and kerbing and channelling work is now m full awing in Young, Hine and Molesworth Streets. During the last twelve months the big total of twelve umlcs of kerbing and channeling hag been put down by the borough staff, which comprises about 80 men at its present strength. This is a good record, and mows that the ratepayers' money is being expended in substantial works.

Before Messrs J. E. Wilson and J. F. •fcustace, JVP., at the Magistrate's Court yesterday, D. M. Crozier was dharged with being found in a drunken-condition on the Esplanade on Wednesday. He pleaded not guilty. Constable Smyth gave evidence that the man was bo dnmk that he had to be taken to the look-up in a cab. When he first saw accused he was drinking out of a bottle held by another man. Sergt. Bowden said that there was no question that the man was drunk, and he added! that it was no use for himi to take out a prohibition order, us he disregarded them. Grazier's list of offences was very long and he would like to see the full penalty of £5 inflicted. Crozier made an explanation that during the afternoon he had taken one glass of beer, which had made him feel very sick and S! , \ As had been "working at th ? boiling-down works out at the abattoirs during the morning, it was probacy the odours that had upset him. Not earing to hang about town in his bilious condition, he bad gone down on to the Esplanade, and there had had a drink out of a bottle to see if it would pull him together. He was, he said,' not drunk. _ A fine of 20s, in default 14 days' imprisonment with hard labour. was inflicted. 'A request to be released for an hour to obtain the money was refused.