LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 238, 17 March 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A slander action, in which the parties concerned are Maoris, will be heard at the forthcoming sittings of the Supreme Court at Masterton.

According to a press telegram, Timaru has been made a grading ])o rt for honey. It g calculated that 100 tons will be sent away from that port this season.

There are 175,0110 men in Chicago out of employment, according to a 'report of the City Industrial Commission. The commission has asked the co-operation of the police department in finding places where men can he given work. °

"There is one point on which I would like to enlighten you," said Mr E. H. "ile.v Ceneral Manager of Railway. , io a deputation which interviewed him fit Rotorua last week. "Von have complained that the season is a had one, hut the railway returns show that the bookings to Rotorua this year have been greater than they were'last year"

Addressing the jury in the final criminal ease before the sittings of the Supreme Court at Xapier, 'sir Robert stout. Chief Justice, said that fro-,, what he had seen of Xapier juries. tli< seemed to imagine that the responsibility did not rest on them. The jury Mele tee 'protectors of the community, and if they chose to ignore the evidence and. believe men who were telling lies they were not protecting the community, J

llejrnrdinj? the telegram !-—:n-| by the •Press Association on Saturday containin? a tliro.it liv Mr Ifassev that, if the 'price of bread p'oes any higher the Government will establish bakeries in the four principal centres of the Dominion with the object of regulating prices, the Klthani Argus savs:—"This is not a mere accidental slip 0 f the tonsne on Mr Massoy's part,, not a hasty ill-con-sidered utterance in a moment ofs political excitement. TTe made the threat and said he was "speaking on behalf of tin. Government.'' Tlcre is a socialistic 'proposal that will make smiie of Mr Mary's supporters shake ;n tiicir bonN, and cause, all the Socialists and lied Feds -in iho land to hai] Mr Massoy as their deliverer from the "rinding of the capitalists."

4 Speaking at a meeting of tho'Wanganui Agricultural Association, Mr-A. Robinson said that oaten sheaf chaff was one of the greatest distributors of noxious weeds. He knew of one instance at Walton, near Te Arolia, in connection with an area of 12;000 acre® of land. Horses were brought there fr"oni Matamata to winter, and chaff came with tliem. The result was that this aro>. was soon covered with California; thistle.

Most Americans are beginning to "oe that, next to the security arid well being of their own country, there is no higher American interest tiian the preservation of tlio British Empire on its present footing, and that a Germany bestriding Europe like a jack-boot'ed colossus would eventually menace the policies and fortunes of the United States in the Pacific and South America

That is why American neutrality may be said to be only beyond discussion so long us Germany does not win.—Sydney Brooks.

A British officer, looking through pay sheets found that one man, entered as

married, was not allowing his wife anything out of his pay, so lie told him straight that he was not doing the right tiling in allowing her to get along on her separation allowance, ending up with, "Surely you can spare her a few shillings a week." He nearly collapsed when the private said: "Well sir, I don't think it would make winch difference tn her if I did. You see, I allow her .C-100 a year, and she has another ,i:000 a year of her own." Housewives in Port Melbourne held a meeting to protest against, the rise in the price of bread (says a .Melbourne newspaper). They have shown their resentment at the increase in price by withdrawing their custom and baking their own bread. This campaign of protest is spreading rapidly. The women claim that they can make a four-pound loaf for a fraction over Si'/id. They alio claim that the home-made bread keeps better and cuts to better advantage. Some housewives are co-operating to buy a ton of (lour. They consider that by adopting this method their bread will cost Icsb than the present price. The gentle art of German persuasiveness is illustrated again in the case of the. Cologne Yolkszeitung, which has thunderously denounced the Dutch newspaper, the Tvd, a s being "in the paid service of England and France," and" warned that it had better go straight, or etc., etc., etc. And when the bellowing ceased, and the reverberations died away, the Tvd gently replying that no proposal of bribery had eoiiic to it cither from England or France. Onc overture, however, had reached the newspaper in the early stages of the war. It came, from Germany, and had been declined. •Tan Cherninvsky. pianist, one of the three world famous brothers of that name, has been a close the progress and development of the Euroroan war_ and carries about with him from town to town a colossal man in a sfiecially-made case. The flags of the nations engaged are regularly .moved in their proper order as each batch of news comes from the front. The three brothers are issuing a map of the four continents with all the towns they have visited marked red, and as there is hardly a city of importance in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia that they have not visited their man should be interesting. Owing" to the martial instinct which prompted Jan Chcrniavsky to follow colsely the tactics and strategy of the opposing forces, liis ( brothers have now named him General Chcrniavsky, Connnander-in-Chief of the European Forces. These, three young geniuses of world-wide repute will pay a Russian rushing visit to New Plymouth on March 22, ere they depart for New York.

At last the War Office lias agreed to reasonable terms of recognition for our Home Defence Corps, which now represent well over a million veterans in an advanced stale of military training and keen as mustard writes our l.ondon correspondent, Some of the members o" these corps are discovering what a great leveller is! the sergeant instructor. It is by 110 means all "if you please" and "by your leave" even in the Home Defence Corps as the following true story illustrates: In a famous old city in the south of England, whose civic archives are not much more ancient that its university charter, the Vice-Chancellor of the latter institution was among the recruits to the Academic Corps. A distinguished scholar, he was also a great patriot, hut ho was a very awkward recruit. At last the impatient drill sergeant could stand it 110 longer. The grizzled man of war had no notion who the erring member of the squad was, but striding up to lijm and addressing him fortissimo, he said: "See 'ere! That's your right arm; that's your left; that's your right foot; that's your left. Xow, clear off 'ome, and, when you know which is which, come hack 'ere." A Maori war canoe, known to lie at least 100 years old, has been handed over to the llev. F. A. lienuett, of the Maori Mission, for preservation, and has been placed in the grounds of the native church at Ohinemutu (writes the Rotorua correspondent of the Auckland ller-

aid). This old-time craft, winch i* about 4 feet in length, and was capable of c.arryig some seventy n.cn, was knoiwi by the name or Iro Iro, and belon/cd to the Xg.iti Rangiwewehi hapu of the Arawa tribe. It was bured for SO years at the east end of Lake Rotoiti, having been interrod_ in accordance wil>> ancient Maori "custom", with the body of the chief A\ho owned it. Some eight or Ten years ago it was dug up, and wa:> i,«c-l : n a canoe race at a carnival held shortly afterwards. It was found to be too heavy to compete with i:h ; . modern lighter craft, and was removed t 0 the Island of Mokoia, on «iie northern shore of which it was drawn up and placed in a spot regarded as of peculiar sanctity, a walii tapn, the site of an ancient oracle. Here it remained until 't was transferred to the car; of Mr Bennett. During its sojourn at the wah; tapu it was seriously damaged by iln !lc . cident. A large willow tree fell across if and broke o!V several feet of nno gunwale. It is intended, as soon as funds can be found for the purpose, to restore the old craft, and by the addition of a carved figure-head and sternpost rende! its appearance similar to what it wa\ a century ago. Tt will be kept m tin', churchyard at Ohinemutu av.iT suitable protected from the weather.

YOU SHOULD BEAR IN HIND. Tlint by iicmn the commercial auealyptus oil, wVirh is now bought at 6<l per lb.. wt«ht ami bottled, and on aecoiiMt ni (lie larfre profit pushed, you art' exposing yourself to all the dangers to which the us,> of turpentine will expose you—irritation of the kidneys, intestinal tracts and mucous membrane. By insistiiipr on the f!E\ T TTT\ T E PANDER'P EUCALYPTI EXTRACT, you not only avoid these pitfalls, but you have n stiniulatim;, safe and effective 7nedieament. the result of special and careful manufac*'- A trial will at once eonvincr. (Quality in a small dose distinguishes it from the bulk and dansvrous products. Remember: SANDER'S EXTRACT embodies the result of SO ycaTs' experience and of special study and it does as promised; it bonis and cures without injuring the constitution, as the oils on the market frequently do! Therefore, protect yourself by rejecting other brands. PANDER'S EXTRACT' possesses curative properties peculiarly its own, and can be used with p«rfceS safety.

The Wellington Brindisi despatches cf December' 31 and January 8 arrived in London on the 19th ulto. Mr. Frank Morton, the well known journalist, will deliver a brilliant lecture on the present war at New Plymouth on March .'list. The lecture will be illustrated by lantern slides. A meeting of Stratford borough ratepayers endorsed the Council's proposal to borrow .€(1(100 for tile erection of" municipal buildings to replace those recently destroyed by fire.

The annual harvest festival services in connection witli the Salvation Army will be held on Sunday next, when special services will be conducted % Adjutant Cook, from Stratford. The festival will be continueed for the three 'following evenings, when special programmes will be rendered. A scheme for the establishment of a bacteriological and pathological laboratory in connection with the Auckland hospital was approved at a meeting of the Board last night. It is proposed t.'o appoint a bacteriologist at a salary of from £1)00 to ,C7OO, the Government paying half the salary.—Press Association.

A speculator would have had a rare chance to make money had he happened to 'pass through Kakaranira on Sunday. By the roadside were to be seen no less than three motor vehicles consisting of one 50 h.p. and one 15.20 h.p. car and one motor cycle, all more or less disabled. Judging by the remarks of their owners a small bid would have purchased the two cars with the motor cycle thrown in.—Patea Press.

Pvte. John Graham, son of Mr. Alex. Graham, of Omiero, mei with an accident in Egypt through his horse, falling on him, and the young soldier had to go into hospital for twelve days, but he is now all right, and, with the other boys, anxious to see some fighting. It appears that the Taranaki lsds did not participate, in the small "scrap" .at the Canal with the Turks.

The Maori in tlic witness-box is a very -hard man for counsel to score off. An instance of this was manifested at the local Court yesterday, when cross-exam-ining counsel asked a Maori witness if be knew the plaintiff, receiving the reply, '"Oh, yes, quite well." 'ls he an honest man ?" queried the counsel, evoking the reply, '3 don't know about his honesty," amid laughter. In rep'y to a further query as to his own probity, the witness acknowledged that he "holiest sometimes."

Tlic tragedy of Serbia and the tragedy of Belgium were, but episodes in a still greater tragedy, and the crimes that had been committed in Flanders and in tlic North of France were but episodes hi a greater crime than these against civilisation. U was the crime of a nation which was resolved not merely to be powerful, to be prosperous, but wliich said, "All these things arc valueless to me unless I can also dominate and coerce the whole civilised world." That was the root difficulty which we bad got to face. —Hon. A. j. Balfour.

Stratford and New Plymouth activity in popularising Mount Egmont was quoted at a meeting at Kltham on Monday night, several speakers-urging that more up-to-date accommodation was required in order to attract tourists. It was decided that the Kltham Chamber of Commerce co-operate with the Kaponga Mountain Committee in any action having for" its purpose the separation of the Dawson Falls Mountain House from the Kgmont National Park Board, and that a separate board be created for the management of the Dawson's Falls Mountain House.

The sub-committee appointed to go into the question of tenders for the'propsed additions to the East End pavilion lias decided to recommend the acceptance of the tender of Messrs Hardwiek and Danks at £4OB. The additions provide an additional 47ft on the length of of the present building. The ground floor will be divided into two large dressing rooms, one for ladies, aud one for men, and upstairs the additional accommodation will lie divided, so that there will be an additional 30ft on the hall and then at the extreme end thero will be a supper room 10ft. by the width of the building—32ft. Cin. The balcony Mill be continued arbund the additions. When complete the pavilion will cover "Oft. by 32ft. Gin., and will be the finest structure of its kind to be found on any foreshore in the Dominion. Arrangements are also made for additional sanitary conveniences, and for a septic tank.

In advocating an alteration of the hours of the local public library, the Tnglewood Record says:—Wo quite realise the valuable work done by the Committee in the past when the "Town Board" was the ruling power, but those days are behind us, and we have "hit out," 011 more modern methods, old ways will no longer satisfy present modernised peoples and modernised institutions. As the old Latin proverb tells us, "Times change and we change with them." What satisfied our great grandfathers will not satisfy us, and to bring it right up to date, what satisfied Inglewooduins and the Inglewooit 'i'own Board will not satisfy the burgesses of Inglewood and the Municipal Council of to-day, and the sooner this is fully recognised the better it will be for all concerned. The advent of a now librarian may well be used as an opportunity for a better and more up-to-date service for our Free Reference Library and Heading Room There will not be any difficulty in getting the position filled at the present salary with much more suitable hours of attendance—an attendance that will tend to greatly popularise our capital little institution instead of having it subject to the public platform jeer of visitors that we have "an excellent library and reading-room, which, I understand, are open sometimes." It is quite time this "sometimes" was changed into something a trifle more definite.

"Rawhiti" writes :--To-day, the 17th March, is the fifty-fifth anniversary of the commencement of the Maori war in Taranaki, when an attack was made and the first shot fired on the "L" pa, at Waitara. Some mounted volunteers took part in the engagement, and therefore were the first volunteers in the world to be engaged with British troops m active warfare. In addition to the mounted men were two lads, John .Tfawke and Jack Phillips, who were engaged in driving the bullock teams with the big guns. Aft or the affair was ovor these lads were called before Colonel Sillery, O.C'., who patted one of them en 'the shoulder, and said:—"My lads, you don't know the service you'have rendered, and the danger you have been in t.O-day. Your cool courage must be rewarded, so you can each have the choice of a commission in the colonial forces, a sword, or a revolver." The lads decided on revolvers, and shortly afterwards, at a parade of the troops, thev "•ere duly preesentcd' with revolver's suitably engraved as follows: "PrcsentZealand Government to 1 'V'l'iw for gallant conduct, in the field at laranaki, A.D. ISfiO." The writel leceutly saw this revolver, and copied the engraving. Tt is now in the possessum of Phillips' relatives, who live in /•over Street. Hawke took his revolver away to the West Coast diggings and lost the run of it. The mounted men distinguished themselves, as thev always did when thev had the chance When the flag stall' tn the Maori pa was cut, and. with the flag, fell out over the palisade, two mounted men galloped up to the .pa to capture the flap. John Kartell fell mortally wounded, but 0. Y. l.ethbridge took the flag. William Johnston (Mounted Volunteers) was slightly wounded in the leg when riding in a dangerous position.".

A lad named Norman Frost had a nafv ow escape of losing his life at the Wfti;ara railway station on Mbad'ay morning, and as it was the- lad sustained serf- ■ ous injury to one of his nands. By some means he fell between the platform and tlie train, and the wheel of one of the earn passed over his hand. Mr. W. Perry, of the station staff, saw him and dragged liim 011 to trie platform. The !a<l was at once taken to l)r. Campbell, and after tliu injured luind had been temporarily attended to, he was sent to theNew Plymouth hospital.—Mail. .The fear that the Opunake Railway will junction Willi the 111:1111 line south of Hawera led, to a very fine meeting cf Kltha.ll> business men beeing hehl on Monday evening under the auspices of the Chamber of Commerce. After some dis-

cussion, the following motion was carried: "That a deputation be sent from

this Chamber to Wellington to wait -upon the Government in connection with the railway to impress upon the Government the importance of Kltliam as a

centre of the main Opunake railway connecting with a train running north. Also the matter of getting the mail train and the New Plymouth train to cross at Kltham." It was suggested tha,t New Plymouth, Stratford, and Kaponga would co-operate.

During the discussion on railway questions at Eltham on Monday tile-presi-dent, Mr. G. 11. Uuckeridge, said that if Taranaki were to have a deep water harbour, that place would be New Plymouth. It was not p«»5;t)le to have a deep water harbour at Patea. Every Home liner that berthed in New Ply-' mouth would mean so much less cost in the carriage of the Taranaki farmers' produce to the consumers in the Old Country. It was possible that within a very short time a vessel drawing v as much water as any of the largest Home liners that came to the Dominion would berth in New Plymouth. Continuing, the speaker said that the faat • that a large vessel had already berthed in New Plymouth harbour was proof that tlllf harbour could ably hold a vessel of large draft. It could hold the majority of vessels coining to New Zealand. Mr. Wilkinson, M.P., said that as a member of the New Plymouth Harbour Board, he could confidently say that within a very short time New Plymouth would he able to accommodate the biggest liners that come here.