LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 February 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The tramcars, streets and public baths in Napier are being sprayed daily wtih a strong disinfectant as a precaution against the spread of infantile paralysis. The Borough Council has taken out a fire policy over the six tram-cars In the National Insurance office, and the public risk policy has been plaeed with the United Insurance Company, The special appeal being made in Hawera on behalf of the Wounded Soldiers' Fund is proving very successful. The amount acknowledged to date in the Hawera Star is JM429 4s 3d. A Paliiatua telegram says that a critical case, bearing symptoms of infantile paralysis has been admitted to the hospital. The patient is a girl from the country and has been ill for seme days. Extract from a soldier's letter received in Eltham "I see you have been knitting socks and balaclavas. Just a word of advice. Don't knit rainbow socks, or flaming yellow scarves, or red balaclavas. J have seen some of these, and even now I break Into sweat when 1 think of them. Keep to the dark colors.''—Argus. A London cable says that the tercen-' tenary of Shakespeare's birth will be celebrated by a. Festival of Mercy in April and May. Every inhabitant in the Empire is asked to wear a medallion The profits will go to the Red Cross, the League of Mercy, and Belgian Relief 1' und. Major Sandford, District Scout Commissioner, last night received two medals from the Governor to be presented to the boys who saved the lives of three, children in the Wanganui River recently. The boys are members of a troop of scouts which comes within Major Sandford's district. _ A shipment of produce was made from New Plymouth this week, consisting of 7000 boxes of butter and 6000 crates of cheese. The value of the butter is approximaely £24,500, an d that of the cheese £.10,000, making the total value of the shipment £54.500. This makes the value of the total exports of produce from New Plymouth this season £742,384 10s. The ordinary civilian does not always realise what an enormous difference is made in the cost of material through freight rises in -war time. In conversation with a hardware merchant on Saturday, a representative of the Otago Daily Times ascertained that the freight alone on a keg of wire nails, weighing lewt., is 9 8 per keg. The Methodist Conference opened last night &l Auckland, when the retiring president, Rev. Dawson, emphasised the need for more extensive Band of Hope work. Referring to the war he said he had names of 2354 Methodists who had volunteered up to the end of the year, and the list was still uncomplete. 'Rev. W. Lawry (Ponsonby) was elected president for the ensuing year.—Press Association, Two sections were b&l lotted for at Wellington yesterday. They were jfor returned soldiers." Two applications were received for the sections which are situated in the Tablelands settlement, cast of Martinborough. One section of 709 acres was drawn by W. E. Amis, and the other section, of 524 acres, adjoining it by R, Holmes, The Board resolved to recommend the Minister to proclaim the applicants under the Discharged Soldiers' Act.—Press Association. In the Palmerston North Supreme Court yesterday an old man named John O'Connor, for indecent assault on a little girl was sentenced to two years' imprisonment and five years' reformative treatment. In the case of William Newberry, charged with indecent assault on a little boy and gh'l, the defence was that he was mentally defective. He was sentenced to five years' imprisonment and ten years' reformative treatment.

The National Service League, Masterton, has just issued a neat badge with the words, "Fighting men first." The words are the motto of the League, taken from the incident when the Marquette was sinking ft nd the nurses stood back crying, "Fighting men first." The wearing of these badges signifies that the wearer has promised the following for four years:—(l) To give preference to returned soldiers in work or business" (2) preference for the goods of the British Empire; (3) not to pay for liquor at a public bar for a returned soldier. The membership fee of the League is one shilling yearly. Writing from Ciallipoli on Christmas Day to an Kltham resident (reports the Argus), a member of a machine-gun section says: "We had a quiet Christmas, but managed to get some pudding. We had a whqle one between us. The Australians had a lot over their number, so they passed them over to us. We also got some Christmas billies, containing all sorts of things, chocolates, cigarettes, socks, shaving soap, writing material, and several small articles. Mine came from a lady in Tasmania, so T am writing to thank her for it. I shall be glad when this old war is over so as to get back. We have not come across any place as good as New Zealand yet, nor any girls as good, either." In a divorce case at the Wellington Supreme Court on Tuesday, the respondent, George Cochrane, was described as having been "born at Guernsey, in Kngland." His Honor, Mr. Justice Chapman, pointed out that the description would have to be amended. "Guernsey is not in Kngland," he said. Mr. P. \V. •lack-son (counsel for the petitioned): "It is an island; but it counts as part of Kngland, f suppose." [lis Honor: "No; it is a self-governing dominion, like any other dominion." Counsel: "'[ suppose it should be 'Guernsey, near Kngland.'" His Honor: "Xo; 'Guernsey' is near enough.'' (Laughter). Shortening days, the chilly note in the evening air remind us of autumn. There are other reminders which speak more plainly to smart ladies. Every department at Mnvey's is brimful of autumn style novelties. There is n n advertisement elsewhere—turn to it. Mr. T. W. Welch, estate ngent and builder, advertises in this issue several unencumbered house properties and house mortgages he has in exchange for dairy and sheep farms.

Tlie Melbourne Clothing Company have opened put another shipment of men's natural shirts at -2s Oil ami pants at 2s 1 lil. These goods are of a nice soft finish and light weight. Exceptional value. Singlets have short sleeves. A NIGHT ALARM. Worse than an alarm of fire at night is the brassy cough of croup which sounds ike the children's death knell, and it may mean deatli unless something is done quickly. Dr. Sheldon's New Discovery for Coughs and Colds never fails to at'once relieve the worst form of croup. Small dose. Pleasant to take. Every bottle guaranteed. Price, Is Cd and 3s. Obtainable tx.< ■•.; ijjiere.

j A message from Sydney says that good monsoonal rains have fallen and the weather is cooler. Ostend is the name given to the newest of Auckland's seaside suburbs. It is situated on the island of Waiheke, in the Hauraki Gulf. At the Magistrate's Court. Eltham, on Wednesday, John Taylor and Gordon Edmonds were each fined £3 for using obscene language at Kaponga, Another party of French reservists, mostly islanders, 138 in number, arrived at Wellington from Tahiti by the Moana yesterday, en route to Noumea. The sitting of .the Conciliation Council in New Plymouth will be continued this morning, when the bakers' drivers' dis- j pute will be heard. . ' An Auckland citizen has offered to give five hundred pounds to an aeroplane fund if four other donations of the same omount are made. The committee reports that encouraging offers have been -received.—Press Association. Thirteen cases of infantile paralysis have been reported in Auckland since Wednesday afternoon". The total reported in the city and country is 264. Press Association. Four thousand bullets, made during the Maori war, have been presented to the New Zealand Government by the Ngaita tribe, of Torero, in the Bay of Plenty. The bullets (says the New Zealand Herald) had been buried for some years, and on the outbreak of war it was suggested that they should, be given to the Government to be used in the making of munitions. As an indication of the development of the mining industry in the Wakaiaarina, a witness in the Warden's Court at Havelock stated that during open-ing-up operations at the new scheelite mine at Mountain Camp Creek as much as 401b of scheelite had been picked up by hand in one day. Also in the new ground now being opened up by Mr. G. Humphries the outcrops of about twenty good bearing reefs had been discovered. In this locality (says the Marlborough Press) a syndicate will shortly spend £2OOO in development work, after which it is anticipated that the prospects will warrant the erection of a battery. The Gisborne Times states that the local Council's beach caretaker, Mr. Tlios. Hanlon, although sixty-three years of age, has been sent for by the War Office, and he proceeds shortly to London to take up a position on the Recruiting Stuff for the English Expeditionary Forces. Mr. Hanlon spent twenty-seven years in the Imperial Army, and took his discharge at Calcutta with the rank of Sergeant-Instructor. Referring to his' age, he said that age did not count now; it was a man's service papers that were responsible for an appointment, for a position could be found for every competent Imperial man. The War Office lias sent Mr, Hanlon £IOO to pay the passage money of himself and his wife Home. A conference of county and borough councils at Timaru on Saturday affirmed that a speed limit should be fixed for ,motor-ears and motor-cycles for the South Canterbury district, that all drivers of motor-cars and motor-cycle should be licensed, a ml that the Levels County Council should be empowered to apply to the Government to have the Act amended so as to give effect to this resolution. The "co-operation of other districts is to be requested. It was recognised that the speed limits would not suit both town and country. The majority of representatives at the conference thought that twenty-five miles an hour should be made the limit. The minority said that twenty-five miles an hour was too slow for a clear road. It is interesting to observe how the credit of enemy countries has been affected by the war. One might quote tlie example of Turkey, which in 1800 issued in London a 4 per cent. loan at S9. To-day that loan is quoted at 34, but, as interest is not paid in London, the figure is not a fair index to the Ottoman credit abroad. Ofie is on sounder ground in quoting the prices of enemy war loans in America. Early in December the German a per cent, war loan, redeemable in 1924, was offered at 202d0l 50 cents per 1000 marks. The value of the mark before the war was 23% cents, so that 1000 marks should be wortli 237.50 in dollars. German Imperial 4 per cent, bonds •have been selling in New York at 185.50 per 1000 marks. As for Austro-Hungarian credit, tlie approximate value of 1000 kronen is 203 dollars. The third Austrian war loan at a'/j per cent, has been offered at 141.75 and the third Hungarian 6 per cent, loan at 140.75. One American correspondent states that at current prices tlie Austrian and Hungarian loans would return over 8% per cent., and he adds that even at that attracive figure they are not what would be termed popular as. investments. An Englishman attached to a submarine flotilla operating in the Mediterranean war zone writes of a recent experience during a gale as follows:—"We left 'Oll a mission,' and stopped outside in a small bay, where many ships were moored awaiting instructions. A terrific; gale sprang up from the north, and we had ships breaking up all round —dragging anchors and drifting on a lee dhore. A torpedo-boat bore down on us and broke our securing wires. We had orders to 'abandon ship,' but we stuck to her, and worked for three and a-half hours in tfhe driving snow, often in water up to our armpits. Finally we rescued her and managed to secure her, only to find both propellers damaged and one engine displaced, one of our flood tanks badly holed, cleats pulled out, our tail twisted, and our frames bent ami seams opened. At 7 a.m. we broke adrift, and to save ourselves we bad to risk it and submerge. There we sat on the bottom for six hours, then started dragging on a wreck and bumped away! We did tlie only thing—'blow tanks,' and up in it all again on the surface. Tlie pressure was so great that when the air valve was opened my car drums cracked and my feet went woolly, like walking on air! However. the wind had hilled, and we tied up and finally got back to our depot. Tt was a bad experience for one's first 'sink.' and T thought.l had lost >my chanec of 'doing 11 bit,' hut T am now writing this 1 l'.iiwied line as I am off again for 'somewhere,' "