LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 August 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A sitting of the Native Land Appellate Court will be held in New Plymouth :his morning. An official inquiry will be held at ths Courthouse to-morrow morning into the recent disastrous fire in Devon Street.

It is rumored in London (says a cable message) that the New Zealand Government is taking over a fleet (presumably of merchantmen). The rumor has been officially denied by Mr. Massey.

In the article 011 "Land Values" in .yesterday's issue, "Agricola." was made to say 5s as the annual outlay for manure. Ho meant las, and must, in his 'hurry, have made a mistake.

Donations desired to be acknowledged are as follow:—By New Plymouth Fire Brigade, £1 Is f>'om Mr. A. Bartlett; by East End Seaside Committee, £1 4s from Mr. M..EII3SOH.

A Press Association message from Wellington yesterday stated that the dead body of Ellen Roberts, an elderly woman, who escaped from the Ohiro Home, had been found in the artificial lake in the Central Park.

It is stated that a travelling post office has been established in the Masterton district. It provides for the sale of stumps, postal, notes, etc., to settlers along the route of the rural deliveries. Another death from eerebro-spinal meningitis has occurred at Trentham. 'General l-lenderson states there are no other cases in either of the big camps, except one suspected case at Trentham.—Press Association. On view in Mr. W. T. Hookham's window at the present time is the silver cup presented by Mr. A. Alexander, president of the North Taranaki Hunt, to the winner of the North Taranaki ■Hunt Steeplechase. Members who intend to ride at the forthcoming meeting should remember that applications for a gentleman rider's license should be put in on or before Tuesday next, the date of meeting of the Metropolitan Committee.

The North Taranaki Hunt will meet again to-day at Mr. T. Sampson's property, Sentry Hill, Mr. Sampson and the surrounding farmers having very kindly granted the Hunt permission to hunt over their country for the third time in succession. To-day should see a good gathering of • as the time is drawing near for putting on the finishing touches to those horses starting at the steeplechase meeting on the 31st inst.

"Although one might not believe it, I am £SO worse off this year than I was last year, despite the high prices," remarked a speaker at Okatcc on Tuesday evening. The reason, lie explained, was the scarcity of labor. As he would not employ any man eligible to enlist, he was left with only his wife to assist in the milking, and accordingly he had to reduce his herd. ■ He intended to follow the same plan this year. Labor was difficult to obtain again, and, if necessary. any cows that he and his wife could not milk themselves would be given a holiday.

"Is a commissioned officer who reenlists and re-attests required to take any position offered to him, as a noncommissioned officer is?" asked Mr. W. T. Jennings (Taumarunui) in the House on Monday. A non-commissioned officer, lie added, had rejoined on distinct understanding that a position as non-commis-sioned officer would be given him, but he was refused that position and left the service. The Prime Minister said that the question was not one that he could answer. But he would like to say that he could se2 no reason why a non-com-missioned officer should be put in a different positipn from'a commissioned officer. He would be glad to .pass the question on the the Defence Minister and ask for an explanation.

Mr. W. T. Jenninga (Taumarunui) called attention in the House 011 Monday to a statement in the Waitava Mail that a returned Anrac soldier who had been offered a job at Awakino, went up there, but was unable to cope with the work. His employers wrote, stating that lie was suffering from a wound in the hip, and was badly bat'teved about; and that it seemed that he ought to have had a pension, and.needed at least six months rest. They had paid all his expenses to Waitara, and enclosed a cheque for £;> to be used for his benefit. Mr. Jennings asked the Prime Minister whether, if the man was wounded 11s stated, and buttered about, and was refused 11 pen-, sion he would have the matter longed into! Mr. Massey said that if the ifu ts were as stated, he had no hesitation in savin" that the man was entitled L; .1 pension, even if only a temporary one. It was quite possible for a man vno applied for a pension to be turned down in the first instance, but to be a iu» i\ pension when further evidence was raven. That might be one of those eases, Xj; jux it wrtuld have t$ bp.

Wharf lumping is sometimes highly payable. A man engaged at Bhili' told a Wyiidham Herald representative that he made .€« His to £7 a week at it. The overtime rates do it. One day's earnings brought him £-2 .is; that was "round the clock" with intervals I'or meals.

Say the Christcliurch Press:—The antishouting regulation is not an attack upon personal liberty. It removes one right—only to substitute a much better cue, namely, the right to drink 110 more than one wishes. The right to drink in company is unaffected. All that is attacked is a very silly and noxious custom.

A novel scheme in connection with the Anzac Art Tnion, promoted bv Mr. P. A. Metlardy, will be carried out by that gentleman in Wellington on 'Saturday next, when he will traverse Lambton Quay, Willis, Manners, and Cuba Streets and give away a half-sovereign to each person who, on a request by him, can produce an Anzac Art Union ticket. A peculiar state of affairs lias arisen out of a case listed for trial on August 1 in the Civil Division of the Auckland Supreme Court. It was an action of Alexander Campbell v. Angus McKinnon, and the issue involved the possession of some Maori land. In the first, place an important witness for the plaintiff died, and a witness for the defence died shortly afterwards. Then, to crown all, the plaintiff himself (lied, and (says the Herald), it is now difficult to say what will happen.

A remarkable accident occurred at the Gisborne wharf the other afternoon, when a horse and cart belonging to itlie Westport Coal Cim'pany backed over the wharf and plunged into the river (says the Times). The driver pluckilv jumped to the rescue of the horse, which was a valuable one, and endeavored to keep its head above water, but without avail, as, hampered by the cart and harness, the animal was unable to keep itself up and soon drowned. The curt was salvaged after a great deal of trouble. Recently the New Zealand Government informed the Governor of Oceania, through the Britisli Consul at Tahiti, that no charge would be made for the accommodation of French soldiers passing through Wellington, en route to the war. A letter has been received bv the Government from M. Julian, French governor, expressing the warm thanks bf tilß French colonists for tlie kindness extended and the "esteem and sincere admiration which I, and all good Frenchmen, feel at this moment for our dear and valiant Allies, the English."--;Prcss message.

Chaplain-Captain King, speaking at his lecture last week at Balclutha, said that to most people Egypt was synonymous with sands and deserts. This, however, was not the ease, a? Egypt, as a country was worth holding for its own sake. Tn New Zealand there were eases of men giving such high prices as ."£OO and £7O an acre for land, but alongside the railway line between Alexandria and Cairo the land could not be bought under £2OO an acre. The reason for this was obvious. The land could raise three or four crops a year, the cotton crop alone being worth from £35 to £45 per acre, according to the year tindei review. At present this land was supporting 10,000,1)00 people, but with drainage the delta could be made to" support three times as many.

Ah interesting letter has been received in Christchurch from Corporal F. Kellegher, of Wellington, who left for Mesopotamia with the New Zealand Wireless ■Corps. Corporal Kellegher says: "The hardships our boys have to go through are very trying. The heat and the floods are the principal ones. The cholera is also about, but, thank goodness, none of the Wireless Troop have been a victim to it. All our water has to be boiled before we are allowed to drink it. Mesopotamia is no white man's country. The heat is something terrible. We have lleas, flies, bugs, ants, mosquitoes, snakes, turtles, wasps, and hundreds of other pests to keep us company. Of a morning one of our aeroplanes flies over us to see that everythng is O.K. Our troops are doing good work, and are in good health." Fully £10,(500 worth of Asiatic eggs in preserved form were imported into New Zealand last year, according to the executive of the New Zealand Poultry Association, which interviewed the Hon. <!. W. Russell on Friday. The deputation stated that these eggs are largely used by confectioners, and that their importation considerably affected local poultrykeepers. Ovei £3OOO worth of Asiatic eggs came into Lvttelton in a year. Tlicv asked for the enforcement of the Food and Drugs Act regulations to prevent importation to the detriment of the local poultry industry. Mr. Russell undertook to get a statement from the Dominion Analyst as to the relative food value of the Asiatic eggs in the form they reached New Zealand as compared with fresh eggs. The imported article might be cheaper, but it might be found to lack food value. In his opinion it was to poultry keeping, fruit growing and similar industries that the country had to look for the support of many soldiers when thejr returned. This was an important reason why the poultry industry should be fostered and proj tceted.

One very obvious method of combating submarine attacks on merchant vessels would be to arm every ship. Captain Kelly, of the steamer Waiwora, now in Wellington, stated in the course of a chat with a Wellington reporter that enemy submarines as a rule fight shy of merchant steamers known to be armed lor self-defence, and he agreed that the arming of all vessels of peaceful intent, deep-sea as well as coast (in the danger zone), would mean a very 'big demand on the munition factories for the class of gun 3 they could carry, and, if need be, work. He stated that most of the larger vessels that have to travel in the danger zone carry one or two guns as a. protective measure, and attributed the probable reason for all vessels not being a 'mcd to a shortage of guns. If vessels were to be sunk without notice, and tlio crews of these vessels shelled even while they were taking to the boats, iliere was no advantage in being unarmed. Captain Kelly states that there is little difficult;) in training men of a vessel's own crew in handling a gun, and so dispensing with the necessity of carrying a special gun crew. The gunner of the steamer Cian M'lntyre, wheh put up a good tight with an old 12-pounder against the raider Moewe, was one of Captain Kelly's crew not long ago, and learned the essentials lot gunnery from him. This man —a seaman named Rces—was ultimately taken prisonei by the Moewe, and is still a m '.r.one.' in Germany. Ask distinctly for -SANDER'S KHCAVA'PTI EXTRACT, or else you :nav receive one of the Tnanv substitutes. The GENUINE SANDER EXTRACT cures colds, fevers, indigestion; prevents infectious diseases and heals ulcers, poisoned wounds, skin discuses, burns, sprains, etc. It is much nore powerfully antiseptic than the I common eucalyptus and does not depress )ik« thfl latt'-J.

A Sydney cable report* that Chidley, tile "simple life" advocate, has been released.

The half-yearly district meeting of the Ancient Order of Foresters was held in Ilawera on Tuesday, when seventeen delegates were present. The most important matter discussed was that of sick pay to members serving in the Expeditionary Forces, and it was decided not to allow sick relief. The delegates, in corning to this decision, considered that t'lie members at the front were well provided for hv the authorities, and that the money would be better reserved for emergency cases, either foi the soldiers' own use when they return or for their dependents. At the monthly meeting' of the Central School Committee, held on Tuesday evening, Messr- S. (i. Smith (chairman), P. I'oleman, Ci. Dolby, A. Milne, T. Hardgraves, C. T. Mills, and Dev. A. B. Chappcll were present. The headmaster reported, inter alia, that the average attendance for the past four weeks had been 500, out of a roll number of 612. There bad been a few isolated eases of diphtheria in the early part of the month; many of the children were suffering from sore throats and colds, and lliis accounted for the low percentage (83) of attendance. Workmen were at present painting the lower parts of the walls in the hall and passages. Miss (Jleeson left at the beginning of the month to take charge of a country school; she had been a faithful worker and deserved her promotion. Mrs. Firth was acting as temporary teacher. Congratulations were extended to the chairman upon his election to the Education Board. The attendance at Vogeltown had averaged 37 out of a roll of 41. The drainage at this school was inferior and the cause of complaint. The secretary was instructed to write to Miss Cleeson expressing the Committee's regret that she was leaving the Centra! School and congratulating her on her promotion. . A pub-committee was set up to look into the matter of the Vogeltown school drainage. The chairman's action in allowing the Ladies' Physical Culture Class the use §f the gymnasium was confirmed, and a sub-committee was set up to consider the question of moving the gymnasium to a better site near the road.