LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 January 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

At a special meeting of the Parihaka Road Board on Thursday. Wednesday was again declared the statutory haliholiday for shops within the district. This resolution applies to Puniho, Warca, Pungarehu, Kahotu, and Oaonui. All kinds of reports are in circulation regarding the Corman Crown Prince. The latest is that lie lias become so evidently a lunatic that lie has been shut up in one of the Imperial palaces under the care of specialists. At tile annual meeting of the OpuuaUe Nursing Association the statement showed that the association has £O3 in the ■Savings Mank, and assets valued at £•200. Mr. Maclteynolds was re-elected secretary and treasurer, and the Rev. R. Welsh was re-elected chairman. As the result of Mr. W. «. Wright'* appeal 377 slag bags were brought to -tlie Rahotu Hall last sale day. This will make over 500 to send forward. There must, he a considerable number of bags in the district, and as they are so serviceable at the front, Mr.' Wright will be glad to receive any further additions on future sale days. Nice rain fell along the coast on Wednesday night, and. was greatly appreciated by farmers, many of whom were feeling the shortage of water owing to the lengthy dry spell. The rain should be of incalculable benefit to the turnip crops, though it probably came too late to save some, which will have to tie re-sown. The 'Taranaki County Council lias commenced cutting down and regrading the Mountain road between Norfolk and Rugby roads. This will do away with the succession of small knobs and will considerably ease the grade. Motorists and others using the road will probably be inconvenienced during the next three or four weeks whilst the work is in progress, but the benefits to be received should more than compensate them. There are gome fine crops of oats to be seen between New 'Plymouth and Opunake. This year a much larger area of grain than usual has been sown. Despite the number of men that liave left Taranaki for the front the shortage of labor, though felt in many instances, is not as intense as was expected. This is probably due to the fact that everyone is doing his or her little bit extra. That farmers are paying more attention to winter feed for their cattle is evidenced by the much larger area oi land that is being put under crop in all parts of Taranaki. The 'higher price received for their produce is evidently causing farmers to go in for more intensive cultivation. 'Proof of this may be gained from the increased amount of farming machinery that is daily carted along the roads for local settlers. One of the firms carrying between New Plymouth and Opunake has already carted over twenty drills. During last week forty-two applications for work were received at Wellington. Thirty-two of the applicants were placed, eight are general laborers for whom work is available, and three registered for harvesting. In Christchurch off men asked for work, and six were accommodated. Twenty-four applied at Uunediu. and eight were found employAt fii'cymoutli, Oamaru. Palme'rsti»i North, New Plymouth, and Timaru i!.; unemployment was. reported. The work of examining the convalescent enteric soldier patients who rctnrn- ! Ed by the hospital ship Maheno, and , who were isolated in the Auckland hospital annexe in the Domain, has Ticen completed. On Tuesday the last three men were discharged. There now remain in the hospital two enteric convalescent cases, but who have complications of other troubles. These two men are cot cases, and although thev have been discharged from the isolation building they still remain in the hospital. At a meeting of members of public bodies in South Taranaki held ii, !<awera on Saturday for the purpo e of devising a scheme to augment the Wounded Soldiers' Fund, Mr. O. W. Peaive, M.P., said he was prepared to start a list with £250. From Manawatu to I Manaia they should be able to raise! £20.000. Men who made extra profits should pay. The cheese farmers had higher profits than any others and they should be waited on and asked to look after the men who had come back from the war. Chinamen are generally credited with being lucky individuals on a racecourse. A son of the Flowery Land was '-chaffed" a good deal at the Ocvmoutl. trots while stuffing his pockets at the back of the totaiisator with rolls of notes, the result of £2 invested on the winner of the Runanga Handicap. "John" took the barrack in good part, as he, indeed, could afford to do, for his profits on the race exceeded four score in singles. Tile statements concerning the futurt pnepects of the Taranaki oil wells made by .Mr. J. D. Henry, and published in yesterday's News, were referred to Mr. C. Carter yesterday. Attention was drawn to the following paragraph "rje had kept in touch with the directors, who were seriously considering plan* lor the more vigorous development of the industry, and a serious business move could be expected directly the war situation changed for the better." Mr. Carter said he could not elaborate or even verify this statement, and he added that the local directors had received no information about any future developments. A correspondent writes to the Hawora Star: "On Thursday I travelled by the mail train from Wauganui to Jliiwera, ! every car iage being literally packed. In the same carriage with myself there was a badly wounded soldier,'who had been in hospital at Rotorna. This poor fellow, whose left, shoulder had been almost completely shot away, was compelled to travel second-class, no sleeping accommodation being found lor him, and when I met him he had been sixteen hou s in the train. Fancy a man with a .shattered arm. still in the doctor's hands being floated in such a manner! The wounded man told mo that he had received his wound at the same time as Colonel Malone was shot." The Opunake Seaside Improvement Committee have olTecud ,-rveral improvements at the popular Opunake beach during the year or two they have been in existence. That this work is bearing fruit is shown by the ever-in-ereasing number of camper's from outside districts, as well as from tile surrounding country, who frequent the beach. The society has erected „ tea Uio-k. bathing sheds, etc.. all of whi,h are much appreciated. Funds for this work are raised by voluntary subscript ion and also by fetes organised by the society, whose annual seaside picnic is the event of the year in Opunake. and i° eagerly looked forward to. The picnic this year will be held next Wednesday and additional attractions have been introduced. Half the proceeds will be voted to patriotic purposes, and the balance is to be devoted to additional inn-rove-ments at the beacli.

The first Opunakc cattle Gale of the year was held at the Farmers' Co-op. yards on Monday. Prices for grown stock were good, especially dry cows with any condition on; springing heifers, for thl» time of the year, realised high price*, says the Opunakc Times. The iCi'inie 'Minister slated on Wed. ucsday that a temporary secretary to the Ilecruiling 'Hoard would be appoint. I'd almost at once, and the Board would then get into communication with local bodies with a . view to early organisation of recruiting committees. Alphabetical lisU showing men of military age would be available early next week.— Press Association. Tho Kllham Argus launches forth: ''Mr. Ashniead Hnrtlett has been interviewed by the Xew V'ork press and per medium of the Times and Sydney Sun cable service nis views are cabled out to Xew Zealand. This man Bai'tlett appears to be as full of conceit as the proverbial egg is full of meat. This heaven-born politician, general and admiral all rolled into one, sickens us with his superior air. If this journal had anything to do with the management of the Xew Zealand Press Association it would quickly take steps to stoj the self-advertising of this great Panjandrum Bai'tlett at the expense of the. Kew Zealand papers. It has been a matter of amazement to us for months past that loyal Britishers, such as we take the managers of the Press Association to be, have not long ago muzzled the disloyal, rapping, cavilling and conceited literary Inminarv, Mr. Ashmead Barlett." In its annual report, the South Taranaki Hacon Company .states that during the whole of the season satisfactory advances were made for pork received, and the balance on hand from profit and loss account made it possible, after paying interest at the rate of •)'/> per cent, on all capital paid up on November :10th, 1014, to make a fui'thei payment of (Mil per lb on all baconers received. After due consideration the directors unanimously decided to erect works for th#, slaughtering and boning of cattle, to bo carried on in conjunction with the pig business, and thus enable them to keep the works running at full pressure, and make the most use of the present buildings, plant and power, and also to make it worth while to erect offal works, and thus turn to profit what is at present costing money to get rid of. The new works are expected to be ready for operations before the end of February. A sensational accident occurred in Wellington last week, when a runaway motor-lorry crashed into a house and caused damage thereto. The lorry had recently been placed in commission after repairs to the radiator and was engaged in conveying a full load of furniture up a narrow street, called by the name of Olenbervie Terrace. As the lorry proceeded up the rise, the wheels were blocked from behind in case of accident, but the lorry, it is stated, suddenly commenced to go backwards, over-ran tho blocks, and, gathering considerable pace, crashed into the house at the foot of the street. The hack of the lorry,struck the window of a bedroom, smashing the glass to atoms, and knocking the wall itself completely into the room. The bedstead next tff the wall was buckled out of shape, and had anyone been on or near the bed at the time, the result of the crash might easily have been a fatality. On the. previous day, at the same hour, the occupier of the room, Mr. Marigold, was in the room, but, fortunately for him. he happened to be absent when the accident occurred. It will take a considerable sum to repair the house. Extraordinary values in men's suits are being offered "by the Melbourne, Ltd. This firm holds the finest range of men's suits in the province, and specially features all wool colonial made clothing. Prices range from 35s for Roslyn ,Petone and Kaiapoi suits to 50s Bd and (ios for the best suits in tlic, store.