LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 July 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

!l is estimated that additional storage for ].,(iilO.(IOll carcases of mutton is fifing provided at tlio various freezing works in Now Zealand. In 4S hours ended 8 a.m. on Thursday nine inches of rain fell. The llawora record, for the whole month) so fur, approaches seven inches.

The Presbytery of Turanaki has ask-d tile Session of the Ha.wera Presbytori.-.H Church to take over the charge of the Mokoia district from Normanliy. Th's the .Session lias agreed to do, though it will mean an additional burden for the- minister.

Volunteering for active service on the part of students, and a higher scale of tees at the institution have caused a reduction in the number of students studying at; Victoria* College. In I!H3 the students unmoored 403; in 1014, 377; and in 1D1.5, 3731.

A somewhat serious accident occurred in tlio neighliorhood of Petaue on Tuesday night, when a; motor-ear crashed so violently into ir telegraph 'post that the arm carrying the wires was broken mid several of the lines snapped, causing an interruption to communication north of Jfaniai 1 ;.

There are forty-nine sick soldiers at present in the "Wellington Hospital. Two- tiro■ seriously,ill, two dangerously ill, and one very ill. Sixteen are doing well anil twelve- arc improving;- sevenare up, and five are. satisfactory, -while Tour are convalescent. The dangerous eases are one each of meningitis and measles -with pneumonia.—Press Association-.

The-Stratford'Scottish Society has derided to hold tlie Mock Court at 2.30 this afternoon in front of the Stratford post office. In Honor of the occasion the District High School drum and fife band will make its first public appearance, marching along Broadway just iimnedintel'v preceding the commencement of the Mock Court proceedings, and playing in front of the post office.

Australian medical men at the front are putting up a; record equal to that of the military. News lias arrived in Sydney of one of the flneat 'triumphs of modern surgery performed during the present war. l>r; Roper l Cope, of Bellevue 'Hill and' OTacqua-rie -street, successfull'y substituted a sheep's bone in place of the hopelessly shattered forearm of a wounded soldier at a- hospital' in St. Halo.

The rainfall recorded at Stratford' for •tlie- fbrty-et'glSfc hours comprising Tuesday and Wednesday was nine inches. The heavy rain on Wednesday caused a big % slip on the Stanley road. Mr. Frank .Vfaekay's property was isolated, together with the settlers -below it. The land between Toko and near Douglas was all under wator. The Strathmore Saddle was badly blocked, and two teams carrying wool were stopped and forced to leave the waggons en tlie Saddle-. A Wellington Press Association mes-. *agc states that the-.Prime Minister, has received the following cablegram from the 'Minister for Trade and Commerce at Ottawa: "The Shipping Company is taking 450 torts paper, per the Karainea, for New Zealand. Will do my possible thereafter. The service is l'l;e----ty to continue." Mr. Massey is continuing his efforts to ensure regular supplies of paper, of which there was a serious threatened shortage. A late press message this morning says that a settlement of tlie Pateena trouble is in sight. The Union Company's offer of £l2 for the run across to Sydney (with free return passage) for firemen and greasers, and £lO for for trimmers and seamen, has been accepted by the stokehold men, but the seamen have not yet had an opportunity to say if thev are willing to go on those terms. It is anticipated that no further difficulty will arise and that tlie vessel will get away to-day.

The Taranaki Jockey Club te'opraphed to the Minister for Defence, the Hon. J. Allen, offering to place the New Plymouth Racecourse at the disposal of the Defence authorities until November. The following reply was received yesterday bv the secretary. Mr. E. 'P. Webster, from the .Minister: "I am Grateful to the Taranaki Jockey Club for the kind offer of its course'as a. temporal'' - camp until the end of November. Twill rdaee this offer on record. Meanwhile, the envps have been provided for.— Allen."

At tlio Pahiatua competitions. ' the judges were:—Music, Mr. C. W.'Savior, Palmerston Xorth; elocution. Mr. J. H. 'Kirbv. Masterton. Results.—Musical monologue, W. R. Richardson 1, .T. A. Walsh 2; prepared speech, D. Boyle 1, 0. Johnson 2: prepared reading (ladies), W. .Morton 1, C.tM. ißrown 2; ladies' test piece, \V. Morton 1, C. M. 'Brown 2; humorous recitation (ladies). Agnes MeDavitt 1, Miss iShottandor and M. Drown equal -2; bass or baritone solo, 0. Ball 1, E. J.-(Stevens 2; humorous song, fi. Ball 1, E. J. Stevens 2. There was keen competition in the children's section.--Press Association.

The MamvwatU; County Council has written to the Taranaki County Council, asking for its support of the'following resolution: " That this council approach all other councils in New Zealand with a view of making a combined cll'ort to get the Telegraph Department telephone regulations amended so as to allow telephone exchanges where there are over thirty subscribers to be onenw between the hours 0 f 8 a.m. and 8 p.m." In email towhshins where the majority of subscribe'-? are farmers it is-very often impossible to obtain fifty subscribers, nnit farmers are thereby penalised, as the Department's regulations do not iprovide for an cxi'liamjc to he open other than between (he hour? of 0 a.m. and 5 p.m., unless sub[.cribers number fifty or over. "The Pilgrim's Progress." John Bunvan's famous allegory, is the Wok chosen 'by the Rev. ,A. iB. Chappcll for his monthly sermon with literary illustration, and will be dealt with bv him at the Whiteley Memorial Church tomorrow evening. The anthem will be: ''The .Radiant Sun," by J. T. Lightwood. The mcnrbers oj the Xew Plymouth Civil 'Service have arranged two art unions in aid. of tile Wounded Soldiers' Vuml. One is for n handsome oak sidehoard, and this will be drawn for on the night of the Civil Service ball, while tile other art union is for a new Overland motor-car to be drawn for at the end of 'September. The Xew Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co. and Messrs Webster Dolisom and Co. draw the attention of clients lo their Stratford sale which they are holding in their Stratford yards on Tuesday. 27th inst. Full particulars will be found in our advertising columns on page S.

Campbell's King, the pedigree Jersey bull to be offered at Mr. .T. It. Hill's sale on Tuesday next, July 27, is a very handsome hull, two years old. bred bv Mr. H. C. Sampson. Campbell's Kiim's dam. All Cream, has produced :)4l> lb< of butterfat in the year and his full sister 400 lbs.

Preparations are well in hand for tlii (will on August S in nid of the Wounded Poldiers' Fund. Good prizes havo been obtained for euchre and bridge, tickets are selling rapidly, and the whole affair promises to be the huge success such a worthy object deserves. This ball shou'ul be a fitting: termination to the patrioiic demonstration proposed to be held i>n that day.