LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 February 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

At Napier yesterday Sydney Nettleford, a bookmaker, was fined £»0 for taking bets at the Petane races. Only two applications for military arm badges have been received at the Defence headquarters, Hawera. The badges have not yet been received. The Chief Postmaster advises that the Pacific Cable Board has announced that full cable facilities have been recovered ami delay in deferred traffic is normal. Week-end traffic is still, however, subject to delay. Writing to a friend in Palinerston North, a' soldier in Egypt states that the men of the Main New Zealand Expeditionary Force who have survived the lighting on Ciallipoli are all to be given six months' furlough in England shortly. "When the old wharf was built in 1887," said Mr. Thomas Pattie at Motueka, "the staple products of this district were corn, potatoes, butter and bacon. In those days the settlers were not so prosperous as they are to-day. In fact, I do not think I am exaggerating when I say that many of us had to make £1 go as far as £5 goes to-day." The usual weekly meeting of the Egmont Lodge was opened last evening by Sis. Legg. The programme was comprised of short papers, and the following members contributed: Bro. G. H. Maunder, Pro. Hooker. Sis, Mi*. Bruce, Sis. Miss Callaghan, Sis. Blanchard. It was decided that the Lodge was to heljj i" working for the Red Cross Committee, and this was begun last night. The session was closed at 9.30 p.m. in the usual manner.

It has been stated by some authorities that the eels in Taranaki rivers do not prey upon trout, the latter being too nimble in their movements. Last week, however, an eel was captured in the Te Henui river with a nine nr ten inch trout in its stomach. The trout had been swallowed almost whole and still had life in it when taken out.

It is computed by someone who reckons he has a knowledge of these things that the profits made in New Zealand from the war since the start is 7'/i millions sterling. The amount raised for the Wounded Soldiers' Fund has not yet reached half a million. For other funds rawed by voluntary subscription (states the Opunake Times) we can allow a total of a million pounds, without being precise to a few hundred pounds. There should be no necessity for the New Zealand Financial Treasurer to worry about sources of taxation for revenue purposes.

On Friday night the C. and I), liner Tiidrapura, which has been loading frozen meat and other produce in the Wanganui roadstead, sailed for Tokomaru Bay to continue loading. The liner took from Wanganui the following cargo:—l7f>ii quarters of beef, 020S carcases of sheep. '"■>"> carcases of lamb. '2IS casks of tallow. 112 casks of pelts, 1111 bales of wool. About flflO bales of wool were left behind, as the vessel was due to commence loading in other ports. Oisborne. Napier and Wellington will subsequently be visited, the liner making its final departure from the latter port for London' about March (!.

On Thursday next, Waihi's first real effort on hch'alf of the Belgian and Wounded Soldiers' Fund will eventuate in the form of a monster gala day in tlv Wiiihi school grounds. Every effort is being made to ensure the success of the gathering, a comprehensive and attractive programme having been aranged; the children being especially catered for. Mr. Haydeu has arranged to take out a party of the Moturoa Beach Committee, and it is expected that the function will he liberally patronised by New Plymouth residents.

East Sunday a party of night left New Plymouth at II a.m. for Mokau in the Taranaki Motor Transport Co.'s Cadillac car, and had a most enjoyable day. ' The road was splendid, anil except for the dust the motor trip was all ,that could be desired. The party stopped for breakfast at Tongaporutu, then caught the launch at 10 a.m. and preceded for a considerable distance up that beautiful river, and the glorious scenery was much admired. The party finally returned to town about T.:i(l p.ni. Weather permitting, the trip will again lie undertaken next Sunday, for which all the seats have already been booked. EVERY TRUE-BORN BRITISHER LOVES LIBERTY. And when he travels he likes to move about as he likes, and not be (.verlastingly tied to baggage. For this reason, thousands check their baggage through us. We call for it, cheek on, deliver immediately. The passenger is free from trouble from beginning to end. &I M§ w Zealand Express Co., Ltd.

There is only one case of infantile paralysis in the New Plymouth Hospital. Ou Saturday evening a New Plymouth place of business might have been 'burned down, owing to a careless pipe-smoker knocking out the contents of his pipe on a window sill. The glow of the tobacco embers was noticed by a passer-by, but not before the woodwork had started to burn.. The first batch of men from New Plymouth to go into camp at Kangiotu for their animal training left by the mail train yesterday morning. They numbered about 25, consisting of seven members of the Army Service Corps, under Lieutenant Standish, and about 17 men of A company, in command of ■Lieutenants Crutch, Davies and Reid. Another lot will go forward on Friday, and the final detachment leave on Monday next. A deputation the Hast End I'athiug Reserve Committee waited on the Borough Council last night and asked that a start should be made with the entrance to the reserve, from Watson Street. It was pointed out that a big picnic would be held at the reserve on March 9, and it was hoped to have the new entrance ready by then. The Mayor promised that the matter would be considered.

An increase in wages was asked for by a deputation from the General Laborers' Union, which waited on the Borough Council lust night. The rate of pay is now As a day. and Mr. H. Ford (secretary of the Union) pointed out that the high cost of living inducted the Union to ask for 10 a day. He said 10s a day was the rate paid by every other local body in Taranaki. The Mayor said the request would be considered at the first opportunity. Mr. E. Doekrill last night tendered his resignation as a member of the Higli School Board, as a protest against the action of the Government in connection with the grants promised to the School. The Board went into committee to appoint members in place, of Messrs. Fraser and MqHardy (resigned), but publication of the names was withheld, pending acceptance of the position by the nominees.

A Wellington telegram says that the Education Department has effected a .saving of about £I2OO a year in the salaries of members of the clerical division, through arrangements made by the Minister for carrying on the work_ of officers who have joined the Expeditionary Forces. The Department has lost, temporarily, seventeen of its officers in connection with the war, but their positions are being kept open for them, and temporary clerks are employed in the meantime.

The following is an extract from a Home letter received by a Wellington resident:—''We have just engaged a nurse, a charming Scotch lady, Miss who lias done some nursing at the front, and is glad of a rest. She says that her superintendent nurse was shot by a German officer because she refused to turn out British and French wounded, and to nurse for them. This seems an even more cold-blooded murder than that of poor Nurse Cavell, and I hoar that several French sisters were also shot! These horrors did not get into the papers." Striking evidence of economy in domestic administration is afforded by the returns of butter delivered for local consumption from the Auckland Farmers' Freezing Company's cool stores. During the. period from July 1, 1915, to February 12, 1310, the quantity has bven '15,022 boxes of ofilb each, though during the equivalent period of 1914-15, the quantity was lll.fiiiii boxes. A portion of the city's requirements is met by supplies received through private stores, but the figures given afford a reliable indication of the quantity of factory butter consumed. The shortage lias been met to some extent by an increased use of the cheaper '■' farmers' butter."

A recent number of the well-known radio journal, the Wireless World, contain* the following paragraph:—"A few weeks ago a wireless operation in Now Zealand distinctly heard the West Australian stations at Broome and Perth (approximately 3000 miles from Wellington) testing, but as the staff of the station where these signals were heard were inclined to doubt the genuineness ol ihis, the operator wrote to the station at Broome, quoting particulars of what he had heard, and received a letter in reply giving a complete confirmation. Considering that the signals would have to traverse the whole of the continent, including desert . . . this record is remarkable."

An Auckland firm recently received a cable message in code, which it desired to transmit to its Wellington oliice. • On presenting the telegram at the Auckland Telegraph Office, however, it was informed that inland messages containing code words could not be accepted. Writing on the subject to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, the lirm suggested that it was absurd that a menage which could be sent from Sydney to Auckland, or vice versa, could not also be sent from Auckland to Wellington. The explanation of the Telegraph Department on the point was that under the consorship regulations the use of code language in inland messages is prohibited, the. purpose being to avoid the delay which the censoring of code language would impose on inland traffic. In the case of cable messages, it vvns pointed out, censoring is unavoidable, and code language is therefore permitted. This explanation was accepted by the council of the Chamber as being satisfactory. The results of the Public Examinations, 'which were now to hand, reported Mr. Moves, headmaster of the Boys' High School, showed 1 hat of 15 pupils who had entered for matriculation, nine bad passed, two had partial passes, and four had failed. Nine had entered for the Public Service Entrance; six passed and three failed. For the Public Service Senior Examination three had entered and all had passed. Of three who entered for the University terms, two had kept them. Three pupils had gained Senior National Scholarships, and one bad gained a Junior National Scholarship. Tha Bayly Memorial Scholarship had been won by a boy attending the Preparatory School. Miss Hodges, Principal of the dirts' High School, reported (hat the results at the various examinations were very satisfactory. Two candidates who sat for the University Scholarship examination both obtained Taranaki scholarships of the value of £OO, for three years. For Matriculation, six candidates obtained full passes and two received partial passes. Two candidates obtained free places and one candidate who entered for the Senior Civil Service had obtained a full pass, Owners of far properties desirous of exchanging for sound rent-producing propositions arc directed to the advertisement in this issue of Messrs (irant | and Campbell, land agents, of Hawera, Two outstanding bargains at the Melbournes:—Extra stout white calico, 3fl inches wide and perfectly pure, Cd yard; and a -y.lcndid quality white flannelette, "•> ii'?!'".- vide, free from "dressing," at fld var.i

The taking at the Red Cross Market i on .Saturday amounted to £lO Us, thus I bringing the total up to £519 lis. Anyone who can do so is asked to gather blackberries this week, before the crop is over, to make blackberry jam i'or the soldiers. Twelve cases of infantile paralysis were notified in Auckland yesterday—six in the city and suburbs and six in the country. The total is now 235; of these 133 are city and 102 country cases. —Press Association. Colonel Logan, Administrator of Samoa, reports that the following members of the garrison are under treatment for ailments mentioned: Privates W. Bowles (vesical fistula); W. Fuller (colitis); W,-Marshall (ruptured vein); W. Chumull (ruptured biceps).—Press Association. Although the New South Wales Railway Department benefits to the extent of £20,000 yearly from leasing the refreshment rooms, it has for the last two years beea recognised by the Chief Railway Commissioner that the leasing system is not the best in the public interest. The view held by the Commissioners is that when they sell a man a ticket to convey him comfortably to any given point a long distance away, they impliedly contract that during the interval he should be properly and decently fed. Under the leasing system they say that the public has not been catered for, and they have come to the conclusion that it would be better if the refreshment rooms were under direct departmental control and the staffs engaged by the Commissioners. Accordingly, a scheme providing for State control will be brought into operation as soon as the Government approves of the expenditure of about £50,000 needed to bring the service up to the required standard. The. admirable spirit shown by the Maoris at Te. Araroa, East Coast, in connection with a Queen Carnival just coneluded has set a generous desire alight on the coast (says the Auckland Star) to render notable support to the patriotic fund movement. A "queen carnival" on approved lines was organised, the five candidates for royal honors being Miss Queenie Mulligan (Horoera), Misses Hinewa Hawkins and Henio Hokatnau (Te Araroa), Miss Albert Tuka (Hick's Bay) and Miss Kurn. Hayes (Matariki). By the time the keen voting was through, with support given at sixpence a vote, and the funds amassed by the numerous gifts of cattle and produce were added, the sum of £1551 was available for the Patriotic Fund. Miss Kura Hayes was the successful queen, and the crowning ceremony was carried out by Tipiu Hokamau, whose brother is a very old chief. Among those present at the ceremony was Mr. A. T. Ngata, M.P.. who was very greatly interested in the success of the effort to raise funds. Everywhere along the East Coast, he said, attempts would be made to beat the Araroa total, if only by £5. A partner in a Scottish distillery firm which has a world-wide reputation has been spending two or three days in Dunedin, and has given a representative of the Otago Daily Times an account of an interesting incident which, he stated, occurred on a steamer on . the voyage out from England to Australia. Before reaching Malta the captain assembled the passengers and informed them that no photographs were to be taken of any place in this important strategic island. Notwithstanding this explicit instruction, a passenger, with an AmericanGerman name, surreptitiously used a camera, but though he was shrewd ; enough to take the, photographs without being seen, he was not shrewd enough to keep his achievement to himi self. He wrote to his sister, in England, and told her of the fine selection • of photographs he had secured. The ; work of the British Intelligence Depart- ' ment must now be of a very searching character, as this letter was intercepted , and opened. The captain of the Malwa . was then communicated with by wire- , less and instructed to destroy the photo- , graphs. He paraded all the passengers, . and told them that despite his specific , instructions a passenger had taken . photographs at Malta. Would that pas- , senger hold up his hand? Needless to I «ay, no hand was stretched aloft. Then ! the captain got in his fine work. He . named the man with the American-Get--s man name, and a search was at once made of tliis individual's cabin. His . camera went through the' porthole with I a. swish, all his 'photographs followed . suit, and on reaching Colombo he was . arrested and pent back to England. "You won't see Australia this trip," was the parting comfort he received from the gallant skipper.