LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 December 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Union Company advises that the Kara will arrive here on Tuesday in place of the Oorinnu.

The balance-sheet of the Huntly mines disaster relief fund,, which has been returned as correct from the Audit Department, allow® that the total amount collected was £7430 9s. -By the addition of £l4l 2s 8d as interest, the total amount available is thus £7571 lis Bd. Of this, Mm 3= «d was paid to beneficiaries, while £2O 8s 2d, including £.« as exchanges ou cheques, was spent in office expenses, leaving the sum of JE0076 to be administered by the l'ublic Trustee.

A pathetic sight, which should stimulate single men to onlist, says the Lyttelton Times, was witnessed recently when the Eighth Reinforcements were on the return march to the train after parading in Cathedral Square in Christchurch. A private in tlie Rifle Brigade was observed, with tears streaming down his face, carrying an infant a few months old, with the mother clinging to liia arm. People in the vicinity who watched them pass were heard to remark that it was a pity at this stage, when so many young men were available, that young married men should have to step in and shield them from fulfilling their obligations to their country.

The Dunedin correspondent of the Lyttelton _ Times states that the largest Dunedin estates upon which probate has been granted recently are those of the late Mr. John Sidev (set down at under £130,000) and of the late T. W. Kempthorne (set down as at under £51,000). Under the former will there are bequests of £IO,OOO to the Otago Unifind £SOO to the deacon's court of the Cnversham Presbyterian Church. These legacies are not payable until on and after the death of the last survivor of the testator's four .children.

The practice of riding behind the seat on motor cycles i a somewhat common, and it is not generally known that it is a breach of the by-laws to do so. At the Magistrate's Court yesterday, before Mr. A. Croolce, S.M., Victor Gunson was charged with riding a motor cycle with a side-car attached and carrying' a passenger behind his seat in addition to one in the side-car. The borough inspector (Mr. Tippens) said lie would not press for a heavy penalty, as this case had been brought as a warning to others. A fine of i» and costs 7s was inflicted.

A shortage of shearers is reported in the Poverty Bay district. Although the position is not considered serious, in several instances farmers have had difficulty in securing a full board. The present position is largely due to the Maori Reinforcements leaving for the front. It is expected that when the shearing season is over there will be a ■big rush of Natives to the colors. Sir iJames Carroll, who is gratified at the .patriotic spirit displayed by the Natives, •believes it will be possible to get 1000 Maoris together in January, with a view to their leaving for the front in March.

Gazette Extraordinary states:— "The permit required under' clause 2 of the War Regulations of November 15, lfllS (relative to persons leaving New Zealand for any place beyond the seas), may be granted by any person authorised in that behalf by the Minister of Internal Affairs, whether generally or with respect to any partioular persons or classes of persons. A permit granma by any person so authorised may be invoked either by himself or by the Minister or Under-Secretary of Internal Affairs."

Or. Sunday afternoon, the beautiful grounds belonging to Messrs Sole Bros., known as "Aotea" will be thrown open for inspection. The Citizens' Band will be- in attendance, and a large body of active young ladies will be prepared for continuous toil in making tea and distributing cakes to patrons. No fixed price will be charged, but the grounds are being opened for the purpose of improving the Belgian and Wounded Soldiers' Fund, and therefore generous patronage is expected. "Aotea" is looking at its best now, and if fine weather prevails on Sunday there should be a throng of happy and delighted visitors. The district of Waihi ig working energetically to promote the patriotic funds, says the Mail. Collectors have been appointed for every by-road, and a sum of between £4O and £SO will bo collected every month. At a meeting of the branch committee held on Tuesday evening a sum of £3O odd was handed in. It was decided to hold a gift sale and sports during the month of March, and Messrs G. Graham and H. M. Purdie were appointed delegates to wait on ,t!tc committee in Waitura on Monday to submit the proposal, Donations of stock are to be sought, to.be sold at Urenui by auction, and it is expected the effort will result in a large sum being raised. Messrs S. Elliot and Purdie were appointed to wait on the ladies to secure names ®r a ladies' committee.

At different times queer places have been devised for hiding money and oilier treasures. In this connection p. well-known Gisborne lady is relating a good story against herself. Last week, when about to leave home to go to the carnival, she remembered that she had a good sum of money in the house, and for safety's sake popped the bank-notes in the kitchen oven, as the most unlikely place in which a possible thief would look. The fire was out, of course. On returning home after the carnival the lady was horrified to find that her daughter, who had arrived home first, had, in ignorance of the precious contents of the oven, lit the fire. Prompt salvage operations resulted in much charred fragments of the notes being retrieved, and the lady was doubtful whether the banks would accept her little heaps of ashes and fragments for good money. It is stated that sufficient of the notes remain for identification purposes, and, consequently, after certain formalities, the banks will "pav out."

A story of genuine human interest is told in a recently issued report of the British Red Cross Society. At the King, George Hospital, where the gift stores are called upon to find between 50,000 and 60,000 cigarettes a week, a child in quest of cigarette pictures was run down outside the buildings. The accident necessitated the amputation of ita leg. Someone wrote to the manufacturers to ask if they would do anything for the child. They promptly promised to the child £1 a week "for life on receipt, by a given date, of 10,000 of their cigarette pictures. The sands were running out, and only half the number required had been collected, when thev heard about it in the gift stores. The ward sisters took the matter up with enthusiasm. More than one man gave his prized collection—loo pictures and more—as a whole. Within two or three days the outstanding 5000 had been collected among the patients themselvei,

'Am [ a shirker? Am I sheltering behind petticoats V' ars two trite questions posted in a conspicuous place in I tlie office of a Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages in a towu not 100 miles from Wauganui. The Eltham Argus learns from Mr. Gow, secretary of the Axemen's Association, that he lias already received entries from such well-known axemen as West, Peck, Becker, Neal, Mather, O'Neill, King, Dwyer, Pyke, and other less well-known contestants. The ladies of the North Taranaki Patriotic Committee, on Tuesday evening, decided that they would contribute twelve "housewives" and" carry-alls each month to the total required by the Wellington Committee. On November 21 the New Zealand Dairy Association, 'Ltd., distributed among its suppliers the sum of £Bii,ir>3 ■ls 4d. This covers 1,433,4701b of butterfat supplied (luring the month of October. The amount distributed for the corresponding month last year was £68,715 2s 2d; thu3 tlie increase for the month was £16,438 2a 2d,

Experienced pastoralists are of opinion that the Poverty Bay district is in for a record season. As a result of the recent splendid rains the country is Jooking remarkably well, and, though most places are heavily stocked, inanv, indeed, being overstocked, there is plenty of food and a certain guarantee that this will remain the case. One result of the rains, it is stated, is that the season will be an unusually late one.