LOCAL AND GENERAL

Taranaki Daily News, 8 February 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

There are some fine crops of grain to he seen in the Wnilii district, and, indeed, in all parts of Taranaki. The .majority seem to have been well saved. Aspyhxiating gas is to be used in the Argentine, not for killing human beings, but for destroying the locusts, which plague that country. Mr. John Howard, the octogenarian philanthropist, of Brighton, has arranged to build twenty-four cottage homes for incapacitated trained hospital nurses, ami to allow each inmate 10s a week. Mr. Howard's scheme, which is In memory of Nurse Cavell, will cost £30,008, The Riverlea correspondent of the Hawera Star reports that for the 24 hours ending Saturday morning, 0.C5 inches of rain fell. Several private dams have broken away, and some bridges are down. Some damage has been done to the bastions of the Mangawhero bridge, but to what extent is not yet definitely known. He says it is reported .that damage has also been done to a bridge on the Stratford-Opunake road. The Hon. G. W. Russell, discussing the dearth of doctors in the Dominion, states that a few days ago he received a letter from an American university informing that a number of graduates of that institution were' considering the desirability of emigrating to New Zealand and asking for information regarding our law of registration and particulars of the country itself. This information, remarked the Minister, has been supplied. The Minister greatly appreciates the steps being taken to assist medical students of Otago University to secure diplomas at the earliest possible moment.

A senior officer in Egypt, who had a great deal to do with the handling of gifts sent by the people of New Zealand to our soldiers, writing to a friend in Wellington, says:—"[ think you should endeavor to deal with the Xew Zealand luircc as a whole; the parochial business does not work quite satisfactorily, and has caused a little jealousy. Some districts are more lavish than others; while we have divisional units whose men are drawn from all over New Zealand, and who are rarely thought of in New Zealand."

"Farming is going ahead in South Africa," said Mr. A. Mathc-on in reply to a Pabnerston Times' reporter's query, 'and there is no reason why the country should not have a great agj'ieultural future. Closer settlement is gradually ridding the land of the numerous .pests such as locusts, mosquitoes and flies, witli which farmers have always had great trouble to contend." In reply to another question, Mr. Matheson said .that the Government did not tncqurage immigration. Its aim was to put the poor Dutch on the land first.

Mr. John Payne, M.P., is apparently irrepressible. He has now blossomed out into a newspaper proprietor. Tn the first Usue of his paper, "The Philistine,'' he says: From time to time, in the. pages of the Philistine, I shall communicate to our readers those matters concerning Parliament which, as electors, I think they are entitled to know. In so doing I want, every elector, 710 matter what shade of political opinion lie or she is, to realise the face that I owe no allegiance to any party, that ] was sent to Parliament by the people of Grey Lynn to further the cause of the people as a whole. lam quite certain that if you could realise the innate rottenness of Parliament, you would get to work and kick us all out and make a fresh start.

A particularly mean action U reported fo have occurred in the Xorlh Tnrnnaki district. A young sheep farmer, imbued with patriotic feelings, left his farm and volunteered for the front. A neighbor, who wa s unable to go to the front himself, but who was anxious also (0 do his bit for his country agreed to look after the farm while flic farmer

was absent. This trust he was faithfully fulfilling. Imagine his disgust, therefore, on mustering the sheep lately to find that a considerable number of them had been shorn without his knowledge or permission. Evidently some one was not satisfied with the increased value of his own wool through the action of patriotic men like his neighbor, but had taken advantage of his absence to siteal his wool. When the soldier hears of this ho will wonder why he went to fight. It is hoped that ithe action cyj be sheeted home

Tin? Kaimata School picnic will be held at the East End Reserve on Friday, 25th inst.

Australian mails, ex Riveriua at v'.'ellington, will arrive here on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 8. The East End Reserve Committee acknowledges with ithanks a donation of £1 from the Eltham Box Company. A Wellington telegram says that the Imperial Supplies Branch has paid to date, on account of meat sent to the Britisli Government, £7,000,(100. To-morrow is the anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone of the New Plymouth Harbor, the ceremony having taken place on February !), ltiSl. The 'patriotic wheat crop'' on Mr. H. Western's property at Bell Block will be brought in to-day, and the work will be carried out by a large force of voluntary helpers. There have been some greait hauls of schnapper caught along the North Taranaki coast lately. One afternoon last week, fishing from the rocks at Pukearuhe, two lines hauled up 62 fine Bchnapper. Another rise in the price of benzine is announced. This is the third within a few weeks. A year ago there was a rise of (Id a case, and since then there have been increases amounting to 2s 10(1, or :is 4d per case in twelve months.

The letter from Mr. W. F. Masscy, president of the Recruiting Board, in connection with it he appointment of local recruiting committees, was brought before the Borough Council last night, but after some discussion the matter was deferred until next Monday's meeting.

The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Ltd., have received the following cablegram from their London house under date 7th inst: Sales closed generally firmer than last cable. Inferior scoured Merino, greasy crossbred lambs five per cent, higher. Mr. T. Knowles, owner of the Moturoa, Hotel, destroyed by fire on Sunday night, informs us that the main building was only eighteen years old, built of the heart of totara, whilst ilhe other buildings were ejected recently. A commencement was made yesterday with the erection of .the new theatre ("Everybody's") next the Criterion Hotel, Xew Plymouth. The contractors are Messrs Chappell and Wolley, of Auckland.

A Cambridge hospital lias received nearly £SOOO, the property of a Jew pedlar, who was kindly treated in the i hospital when a poor man. He died leaving over .C 12,000, and showed his jgra'titurte by the legacy. "All the Pitlochy boys got their sleeping helmets from the public school girls yesterday, and are very proud of them. Many of them wear nothing else in the trenches since they got them," says the Dundee Evening Telegraph, Evidently the trenches are no place for us, says the. Inglowood Record. An appeal has been lodged by the defendant in the case, of Docg v. the Railway Department, a claim for £IOOO damages for personal injuries received as the result of a collision with a goods train crossing the level crossing near Ngacre. It will be remembered that Docg was awarded £147 17s as special damages and £452 3s general damages.

At the Police Court yesterday morning, before Mr. A. Crooke, S.M., George ,Grant pleaded guilty to his third bout of insobriety within six months, and .with breaking a window. He was fined 10s on each charge, and lfls costs, while a prohibition order was issued against ,him.. A first, offender for drunkenness was convicted and discharged.

At the Uremri sale yesterday, a cow and calf donated by Messrs Sorenson Bros,, and a heifer donated by Mr. Sorenson, were put up on behalf of the Wounded Soldiers' Fund. They were sold and re-sold, realising .£2B 15s. The young men of the district have volunteered freely, whilst those remaining have subscribed freely also, no less than £9OO having been collected since October 23.

When boys and girls "go mushrooming" their parents should enjoin them to be careful about visiting paddocks where there are numbers of cattle, for bulls are no respecters of persons, and some of the heads of our dairy herds are not always to bo trusted. On one farm just beyond the suburban limits are three bulls, two of whicli are not trusted by the farmer or his men. Yet these fields are a favorite place for mushrooming parties of little, children.

It is not often that cattle sales are graced by the presence of ladies, but the sheep and cattle fair a>t Urenui yesterday provided the exception, three young ladies who were present taking a keen interest in the selling and watching closely the fall of the hammer. Is it a sign of the times, and will the ladies, should labor be much scarcer, undertake the buying and selling, while the men remain home to attend to harvesting and other farm iabor?

A Pukearuhe settler, in conversation with a Taranaki Daily News representative, stated that this was one of the finest years for grass the district had ever .had, while for winter, feed large areas of root crops had been provided. The supply at 'the factory had considerably increased, whilst the tests, which averaged from 4 to 4.5, were probably as .high as at any factory in Taranaki. The price to be paid out should be a good one, as two of the shipments had realised 91s and 02s per ewt. This factory, it will be recollected, is in the Unique position of having all its suppliers as directors.

Almost every district has its strong man, whose feats of strength are recounted with bated breath. Okoke, however, possesses one young fellow, quiet and unassuming, whose prowess would take some beating, A waggon got stuck with a load of wool, and while •others were debating how to shift the load he suggested that they should carry the hales up the hill, about a five chain journey. The idea was rather laughed at, but he soon set all doubters to rest by es'.'rying four bales on his back in as many trips—no mean effort as most of 1 them weighed individually over 4f)olbs. "Absolutely the best place in New Zealand to spend a holiday in,'' is the praise which a recent visitor gives to New Plymouth in the visitors' book at the Tourist and Expansion Bureau, 'throughout the season the bureau has demonstrated its usefulness, and on one occasion there were a hundred visitors to the bureau within a period of ten days. The rush of visitors to the North ligmoiit Mountain House is now falling oh' somewhat, and aeeommodaliioii is now available there. During the past week end there were over a hundred casual visitors to the mountain. The Melbourne, Ltd., notify that they are still able to do most sizes in their famous lines of men's Panama hats a*t 19s fid and 255,

The piano lent for the Theatre Royal concert on Sunday evening was the latest model Chapell supplied by Messrs Collier; »' magnificent tone, and admirably filled the. bill, ' "~