LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 July 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A cable from Boston reports that Sam McVey gained the decision over Langforl in ten rounds. The vital statistics for Eltham for the quarter just ended are:—Births 32, deaths 4, marriages 8. For the previous quarter the figures were:—Births 30, deaths 2, marriages 4. A Napier telegram says it is understood that Mr. Leslie Mcllardy has offered the Ilawke's Bay Hospital Board his large residence in George Street as a hospital for wounded soldiers, together with a largo sum for maintenance.

The customs duties collected at New Plymouth during the past month amounted to £4322 10s 3d, and the excise duty to £57. For the corresponding month last.year the customs amounted to £41.84 18s 2d, and the beer duty to £B3 12s.

As illustrating the value of an adequate supply of munitions in the present war, the Rev. W. G. Monckton, in the course of a lecture at Auckland, mentioned that if the super-Dread-nought Queen Elizabeth fired all her guns as fast as they could be fired for 24 hours, the cost of the ammunition discharged would be £(>,000,000. A Wellington telegram says the Military Hospital Guild has formed a sub-committee to receive and distribute comforts for the sick in the various military hospitals in the Wellington district. The Mayoress and Mesdamcs M. Myers, and A. K. Pearce will be grateful for money donations earmarked for soldiers' comforts. Several farmers in the Drummond district had a return of 100 bushels to 'the acre this year, and were lucky in disposing of the yield when the oat market was at its height of 4s per bushel (says the Otautau Standard). A simple arithmetical calculation shows such a, return as £2O per acre, more than the present market value of the land.

Over one hundred and thirty remits are already on the order paper to be considered at the fourteenth annual Dominion Conference of the New Zealand Farmers' Union, which will open in Wellington on July 27. The remits all come forward from the various provincial conferences, wdiere they have been discussed more or less fully. Very little interest was evinced by tho ratepayers of Eltham County in the proposal to borrow £SOO towards {he cost of erecting a bridge, over the Patea River,- on the Rawhitiroa road. The proposal was carried, the voting being: Eltham riding: for 24, against 2; Omoana riding: for 0, against nil. An Auckland telegram says merriment reigned at His Majesty's Theatre yesterday when the members of the \Villiamson Pantomime Company held a mock court in aid of the hospital ship and the war funds. Many well known citizens were lined for various "offences," the total amount realised being in the vicinity of £OOO. It would appear as if the Germans in Belgium were taking lessons from the Carnival Courts in New Zealand. Because a man standing on a platform of a tramway ear simply said to an officer, " There's no room,'' he was arrested and sentenced to eight days' imprisonment or a line of £5. Another time a lady at the passport bureau, on being refused a passport for Antwerp, asked "'Why and was lined £2 10s for the question.

The return of the numbers of births, deaths and marriages for New Plymouth district (Mr J. S. S. Medley, registrar) for the month of .lunc, 1015, and for the half-year ended June, IUIS, is us follows : —Month of June—Births (l!l]f)i, 112 ; (191-1.1, 40. Deaths (11115), 14; (1014), 10. Marriages (101.")), 13; (101-1), 17. For the half-year ended 30th June- liirths (1015), 172 ; (1014). ITS. Deaths (1015), 70; (11)14), 03. Marriages (1015), 53 ; (101-I), 00. The Samoan seven-mark piece, in circulation (luring the German occupation. bears a close resemblance to the British half-sovereign, as a Christchurch purveyor of small goods found lo his cost on a recent Saturday night He had a crowded shop, and was serving his customers with all eeleritv. One tendered the .Samoan coin, and the unsuspecting shopkeeper accepted it as a half-sovereign, and handed over the change. He discovered his mistake shortly afterwards, but too late for his own good.

At the meeting ol the Wellington Education Board this week, a letter was received from the Auckland Weekly News suggesting that school children througliout the Dominion should he encouraged to collect the seeds ot such as cocksjoot from various roads on which it is growing. This seed could be sold by the children, the proceeds to e<> | 0 the wounded soldiers' fund. Members pointed out (says the New Zealand Times) some districts stock pastured ou the road---, and in any case the cooperation of the local bodies would be scheme.

A meetin,:.!' of the committee for Mh' f«»rfiic'niiiiL! plain and fancy divss ball, I'l'jaiiiM'i] by {lie liirnilii'ix of tin- public sen ice, \v :l s held ai the ('iiiirlhoiise on Tuesday "veiling. it was decided thai, (he hall he !)"ld on Thursday, August "'th, in the t'iH'nna! ion Hall, cards (euchre ai;d bridge i to b' provided fur noudancers. Slronjr sub-coin mittoes have been formed, ami tickets (Indies, 2s lid. anv menibur of the s"r?k*e, X

All Irish lady who recently returned from Belgium, writes ; " The Germans are trying to get all the young men to promise not to take up arms i in defence of their country when the Allies come back through Belgium. At first the men protested vigorously, in some of the villages they were overcome by the officials, but now, remember, ing Germany's own outraged treaty they do so quite voluntarily. 'A mere ■scrap of paper,' they say, taking up their pens. 'Oh, certainly ; where do I sign ?' Which makes the oilicials awfully wild, because of course, they can't re tort about the sanctity of written promises. Awfully clever of them, I think." The movement in connection with the memorial which it is proposed to erect at the Heads to commemorate the first settlement of the native race on the west coast of the South Island is, the J'atea Press understands, being takenup en thusiastically by the natives throughout the district, and the local Town Hall should be well filled to hoar the address on the subject which is to he delivered by the Rev. T. G. Hammond. It is stated tliat upwards of £IOOO will he subscribed for the memorial, which it is suggested will take the form of a native war canoe in stone with carved prow and sternpost. The monument should not only be of great historical interest as times goes on, but should induce many to visit the town in future who would otherwise pass it by. At the meeting of the delegates at Stratford fear was expressed that unless there was organisation there would be overlapping in connection with the patriotic funds. This fear had reference to the administration of relief, but it seems to be justified in respect of collection of funds. The Hawera committee had arranged to take a street collection yesterday for the fund for the wounded, and. to their surprise, found that collectors from Wellington were at work. Of the intention of Wellington authorities to make a collection no notice whatever had been received, and the procedure is not only altogether out of place in view of what the Hawera committee has done and is doing, but also extremely discourteous. An explanation is due from somebody, remarks the Hawera Star.

Says "W. A. 5.," a writer 111 thp. Bulletin:—Von Tempsky, who foti^flit in the Maori war of the sixties, was not shot by a Maori, as is generally believed, but by a white man, a deserter from the 4.'ir<l Regiment, at Ngutu-o-te-Manu, in tin; Patea province, I was within ten yards of him when lie fell, with a bullet .through his brain. In the same engagement Captain Rowan, whose widow is the famous painter of Australian wild flowers, and who was with the Taranaki contingent, of which I was the youngest member, was shot through the jaw, but recovered. Major von Tempsky w»9 a gallant man and fearless. I can picture him now with a shawl round his waist in lieu of trousers, a Crimean shirt, and an old forage cap on his head, lie always carried a thick stick with which he used to belabor his men on the spot instead of court-martialling.

An appeal for the continuance of games during the war was made by Mr. '!'. W. Reese, the well-known cricketer, during an address at Christchureh :m Sunday afternoon. "When the war started," said Mr. Reese, "many people immediately suggested that all games should be stopped. That was not done, and I think rightly so. If some things must go to the wall, the games must lie left. What should have been done was to abolish luxury and extravagance, aho drunkenness, gambling, and other evils which tend to degrade a man rather than uplift him. Games improve a man, and that is absolutely necessary during the present crisis. We should certainly continue our games, so that men, when thev feel the call, can step off the playing field and go to Trentham fit and well, and be the equal of the man who conies in from the country and is used to rougliing it."

Writing to Lis people in New Plymouth, Dr. J. 8. Doekrill, who belong to the Field Ambulance, !)th Division, says : " The journey across to France was very pleasant. We came across in a tramp, escorted by destroyers. With us were a, lot of transports of other units. Spring is well advanced here, the hills and valleys being very beautiful. The inhabitants waved anil clapped their hands frantically at us as as we went to the front. At present we are billeted in a lunatic asylum. A pity all those responsible for' the fighting couldn't be shut up in such places ! The Hermans were here and let out all the lunatics. 1 was having a bath in the place yesterday, and ran into a Trinity College (Dublin) man in the Royal Irish Hides, and also their medicai ollicer. Who was the latter but Dr. Carberry, of Ntra-# rd ! He has been at the front for months, and the strain is beginning to show itself. The ell'eet is the same on all those who have been near the trenches for any time. The soldiers are becoming very bitter since the Germans let the gas go on them. Kveryone is of opinion that no treatment is too bad for them. It's a pity 1 cannot write unrestrainedly, ib I could teii you some very interesting things. The place is reported to be full of spies, and no doubt it is so."

Purser de Beaufort, of the French liner Niagara, which has arrived at New York from Havre, spent several days in the heat of tjie fighting /.one in France on his last trip home. He has two brother:' serving in the army as ollicers, and numerous relatives lighting for their country, ninny of them in important positions. " The great, battle in the Wocvre. district," said M. de lieaufort, after he had eagerly perused the newspapers coming up the bay, "is the beginning of 4.1 m great offensive movement against ties Hermans. An important factor in this movement is the French '7.V— the gun that mows down forests and armies. There is already on hand enough ammunition for these guns to allow the firing ol 1(10,1)1)0 rounds a day for a year, and the ammunition is still being manufactured. The next gun which will ligure in the French oll'ensive is the .f>r>-ceiiti-mctre siege gun, of which an immense (|iiantity has been manufactured. Tliesn guns will throw a shell weighing twe tons. They are intended to attack forts, and will not be called into use until the Germans are driven back to their line of fortifications. France now has forty army corps in the field, and each coi>ps has -10(1 guns. Recently (here have licen enormous shipments of what seemed to lie pianos from America to France. I ■saw some of those piano boxes unloaded. They wore filled with arms and ammunition."'

"Oriel," of the Argus, went into the. Cafe Ruedebourke (Melbourne) last week to have ci inii* :r - He asked for bifteck a I'Angtais. The waiter brought luiu-a-plate on which tbtiy wore, two potatoes and a nut'ber of haricot brttn-s ''Ah, yea!" he said. "But where'is the steakr" The waiter lifted u;i ine of ll.e haricot beans. "1 put it under here, >ir," he said, "to kp-y '• warm.' "Time isn't very much of it," growM "Oriel." "No, sir," replied the waitrr. "Jjut meat's gor.e up." He went a.vuj ami Jirouglit soiae 1'! <M(i. a -r;;i!! butter philter, and a glass. "What tile devil," asked "Oriel," "is the glass for? And where's the butter': Vott've dropped it!" "Xo, sir." replied the waiter. "The is to see the butter. Butter's very high just now, sir." "Oriel" had some fruit salad—without castor sugar, because, according to the waiter, "The Sugar Company is holding the stocks, sir," and finished up with "Ci' % avec." The waiter brought him blac-iv erfll'ee. WVhere's the milk?" ne inquired. took a small capsule, about a centimetre in diameter, from his waistcoat pocket, broke it in the coll'e, and said triumphantly, "There y'are, sir. Milk has gone up, but we still manage to supply customers." "Oriel" drank his coffee in gloomy abstraction. The waiter brought sponge soaked in chloroform. "What on earth is that for?" he asked. The waiter explained that "some customers like a whill' of it before they gets their bill, sir. "Oriel" faced the operation without anaesthesia. Later he wished he hadn't.

Hand of Hope to-night, Good Templar Hall, 7.3o.—Advt.

Hoys navy worsted jerseys with buttoned shoulders are again in full supply at the Melbourne Ltd. A bib shipment of tlieset goods arrived ex "Papiiroa." Other items arrived by the same boat ar.Finlay's sheeting, men's lawn handkerchiefs, 3 for a 1/-, and our famous"King'' four-fold linen collars at !)d each.

Morey and Son will have only eleven days to get rid of their surplus stock. The builders take posseion on the llltii, so Morey has to " get out" and go into smaller premises. In order to do this the iirm is hulding a speedy clearance sale. This starts on Tuesday, July tlth and ends on the 17th. Particulars arc announced in to-day's issue.