LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 278, 3 May 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

At Timaru sweet Island oranges arc being retailed at 20 for Is, and handy sized cases at '2s lid per case.

According to official estimates, there are no fewer than nine hundred thousand married men in the King's new army.

The butchers of Timaru have decided to /educe the price of mutton by on* penny per lb for all cash sales over the counter.

The. Xew Plymouth Bowling Club's season will be closed on May 13, when a match will be played between teams selected by the Presidents and tiie Vivepresidents.

It is proposed to close the shops in Xew Plymouth at noon instead of one o'clock 'on Thursdays, the weekly halfholiday. The necessary requisition will be prepared to-day.

A public, bowling green on the recreation ground at I'etone is now under construction, and tennis and croquet lawns are also to be put in hand by the I'etone Council at an early date.

Uuiibeatli is in Fifeshiro, the constituency of Mr. Asquith; it has a total population of -25(10, and of these 1000 have enlisted. In all Dunbeath there is not now one eligible man who has not joined the colors.

The. Customs returns for Xew Plymouth for the month of April show that duties collected amounted to £3035 lis lid, and the Excise duty to £OS lis. In April last year £-1501) Us <!d was collected in duties, and £7O (is was the amount of Excise dutv.

The Saturday half-holiday has been carried in Wellington bv a ma|o,'ilv of !IJS votes. Dimedin has' also decided in favor of Saturday, so that the whole of fhe cities ill the Dominion now observe the one dnv.

The Belgian Consul at Svdnev writes to the Vice-consul at Wellington:—l am asked by my Government to express to you, the authorities and the people of Xew Zealand, the heartfelt appreciation of his .Majesty King Albert and her Majesty Queen Elizabeth for their magnificent help to Belgium. I would aslcyou, dear sir and colleague, to have this wish Kindly conveyed to the authorities and the people of the Dominion, of Xew 'Zealand.

J Territorials who .had failed to put in I .their parades were fined by. Mr. Kcnrick, I ,'S.M., at Stratford in sinus varyiinr from £i to £4.

It is stated that the unemployment question in Auckland at present is mora acute than ever before in the history of Hie city.

A Wellington telegram received last night stated that there were no further developments in connection with the ga-s asphyxiation cases.

As supplies of rifle barrels are unprocurable in England, it has been found necessary by the Defence Department to stop the sale of rifle barrels to ride clubs during the currency of the war. Notification will bo given as soon as stores are in a position to resume sales.

There has been ;-. regular supply of Stewart Island oysters since the season opened, and the excellent condition in which the bivalves have reached the local market has been the subject of much favorable comment. The Auckland rock oyster season will open on Saturday next..

-The construction of the tramways in Si'ff 'Plymouth will be commenced this morning. The ceremony of turning the first sod will be, performed by the Mayor (Mr. J. E. Wilson) at the corner of the South Koad and the Breakwater Road; at ten oVlock this morning, and tho., public ar» invited to be present.

The general manager of the Bank tig New Zealand has been advised by wir«v less message that a branch of the bank was opened at Apia, Samoa, on -Wednesday. Mr. Arthur Keeling, formerly of Palmerston North, and recently bank manager at Suva, is in ehargo oSrthe new ijranch.

Entries for the dairy produce section at jrhe Dominion Show, to be hoft! at Hawera, closed on Friday night, and easily" constitute a record. La**- year twenty-two factories competed' in ' the various sections, but this year, ifhe number has been increased to thiri^six.

The Napier district, whiclt includes the counties of Wairoa, Hiiwfce's Bay, East Taupo. Waipawa, 'Patangata, Waipukurau, Danncvirke, and Weber, exported goods and' produce to the tune of £1,275,827 during the quarter ended March 31.,

We were shown on Saturday last a particularly good saitifle. of apples grown by Mr. Harry l>tq, of the Veale Road. The fruit in is a cooking apple, known as tho Alfroston, but as a desert has considerable merit. The apples are large, liwrntifully even, and of good appearances

There will shortly reach New Zealand one of tha pontoons carried ovesthe desert by the Turkish soldiers and launched in th« Suez Canal during the., enemy's unsuccessful attempt to crws. The Minister, for Jcfoiicc says the Nelson Company of the Expeditionary Force captured the pontoon, and, therefore, it will be presented to that town iti, commemoration of their good work.

"I have to get the meat before getting the dripping," was the reply given by a judgment debtor at the Auckland Magistrate's Court, when asked if that article could not be substituted for butter at Is Cd per lb. He also volunteered the information that since the debt had been incurred he had had three deaths and two births in his family, It is needless to add that no order for pay. ment was made.

Farmers in the Cheviot district aro still anxiously hoping for rain. While it is too late for any strong growth of grain a good fall of rain would enable grain lands to be ploughed, which is impossible at present. Prospects for .winter feed are very bad, feed generally being very scarce. All straw is being saved this year, even wheat straw being in strong demand. One effect of the dry weather has been the drying up of a number of wells in and around Mackenzie. This is the first time the'underground supply has been known to give out.

The girls' branch of the New Fiymouth Victoria League has decided that the work for the ensuing year will be of a social, musical, dramatic and literary character, and girls willing to assist in any of these spheres of work should send in their names to the honorary sccreary as soon as possible. The following executive has been elected:—President, Mrs. Denny-Brown; honorary secretary, Miss Baker; committee, Misses Drew, W. Brooke. I. Crooke, Lcatham, B. Bedford and Dempsey.

The Okato Koad Board, lias written to the Taranaki County Council, asking that the latter contribute a'deiinite yearly sum towards the maintenance of the Oxford, Saunders and Carrington Koads between the Okato township am* the Upper Stony Bivcr bridge. The board is prepared to spend £OO a year on the portions of road all'ected, and as the county collects £152 10s from ratepayers who make this their main outlet considers that at least one-third would be a fair contribution from the council. The board is also making application to the Kginont County and the Parihaka lload Board for contributions.

A correspondent writes ancnt the references in Saturday's issue to the discredit that attaches to the young fellows who so shamefully neglect their duty as territorials, and mates a comparison of those wdio have so neglected their duties with three professional men of Taranaki, middle-aged, with families who are prepared to sacrifice their time, and, if necessary, their lives, for their country. The three young men, whom he names, he refers to in these terms: ''They are all young men and unmarried, (but art too lazy and indifferent to attend the drills which it is their duty as territorials to do, even in times of peace, and much more now. Need more ibe said to make these and all other slackers hide their heads in shame?''

Commenting on the state of the money market and the fact that the banks have an amply supply of funds in hand, the Trade Peview says that the change in the position in the last three months amounts to an improvement of £3,(118,387, as compared with an improvement of 1,305,03-t in the corresponding period of a year ago. This position arises chiefly from the tremendous increase in the value of exports this season. The figures give ample evidence, that there is an abundance of funds for all ordinarv requirements for the present, and 'it is anticipated thai, the supply will remain at a satisfactory level for some months.

The postponed meeting of the Women's Christian Temperance Union will be held in the Lodge room at 2.30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 5.

The Loan and Mercantile Company and Messrs. Webster, Dobson and Co. draw f.he attention of clients to their Sfriiffonl sale, which they are holding in their Stratford yards ou Tuesday, May 4. Pull particulars will be found iu our advertising columns on page S. Members of the Equitable Building Society of New Plymouth (First and Second Groups) are notified that subscriptions will be due and payable today (Monday, May 3), at the Secretary's office, Currie street, from 9 a.m. to 12.30, from 1 p.m. to 8 p,m,, and J pan, to 8 p.m.—Atlvt,