LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 August 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Taranaki War Relief Association had invested £IOOO in the war loan. At Palmer.°ton North up to Monday war bonds sold totalled £14,350 and certificates £OBI2, Wangamii investments in the war loan to date amount to £105,000 through the banks and post office. A regulation gazetted alters the age at which males are permitted ta leave New Zealand, without a passport from 18 to 15 years.—Press Association. The tender of C. Roebuck has been accepted by the Education Board for the erection, in concrete, of an engineering building at the New Plymouth Technical College. A contract was let yesterday to Mr. G. G. Pollard, of Auckland, the lowest tenderer, for the construction of an up-to-date theatre in Waitara. The contractor is starting operations at once, and Taranaki Amusements, Ltd., expect to show in the building by Christmas. At the meeting of the Technical College Advisory Committee on Tuesday evening it was decided to send a notice to be displayed at the Soldiers' Club pointing out that all returned soldiers can obtain free tuition at the Technical College, and that they should not .hesitate to consult the director (Mr. A. Gray) if in doubt as to their future occupations. Owing to the counter-attractions this week it has been decided to postpone the benefit concert which the Citizens' Band was to have given on Friday to raise a book fund for the pupils at the Roys' High School who lost, through the fire. The concert will take place on the following Friday, September 1. A rumor was current in the camp that the Government was sending an extra reinforcement draft. The Hon. James Allen stated that the Government had mo such intention, but it Had been agreed that New Zealand should supply the men for another battery of artillery. —Press Association.

A mishap that f might easily have ended in disaster happened on Saturday night to the New Plymouth-Wellington cxpiess, which was delayed an hour and a-lialf, about half a mile north of Oliau. through the two front wheels of the engine leaving the line. A testimonial, to Driver ■Slceman and Guard Mcßurney signed by 110 passengers, was presented for their prompt action in stopping the train. Arrangements have been made for war loan certificates to be available to pur-, chasers at the stamp counter of the post nflice each day after the closing of the money order office. All money order ollices are to be re-opened from 7 p.m. to !) p.m. on Friday and Saturday of this week and the two nevt succeeding weeks for savings bank withdrawals and for the sale of certificates. Up to the 21st inst., the value of the Avar loan bonds'applied for at the New Plymouth Post Office was £10,850, and certificates .£4525. In other parts of the postal district the value of bonds applied for was £23,000. and certificates £7040, making a total to the date named of war bonds £33,850, certificates £12,165. These figures do not include applications through the banks for bonds. The great semi-annual reduction sale at the Melbourne, Ltd., commences on Friday morning, and will continue for three weeks. The genuineness of the reductions at these sales is such that the buying public has come to regard these events as "the" sale of the season, and the present one, judging by the sensational bargains advertised with this issue, will in no wise be found inferior to its predecessors. A sneeze leads to a Cough. SYKEfS'S CURA COUGH leads to a Cure. Is (3d, all stores

A fable from Sydney yesterday states ' that speaking' at tho opening of the i Commonwealth Bank, Mr. Biggs declared that it would be a good (lay for the Commonwciiltli if six o'clock closiyg was permanently in force throughout Australia. A telegram from 1 Wellington last night states that heavy southerly weather and liig seas during the last few'days ha s broken up tilt, last portion of the steamer Devon, wrecked at Pencarrow Head, August, 1013. All that remains to-day is a small portion of the bow. "It is up to people to see if they can help us to stop thU bare-faced robbery," remarks a London agent writing to his firm in Wellington. This remark is prefaced' by the statement that freights were about to be raised from £■> 2s 6d to .-eft 2s fid, and the assertion that' one well-known line had just netted a profit of over a million sterling. The remedy —State ownership of ships! The Mangatoki correspondent of the ■Hawera,.Star states that there has been a good (teal of sickness among the cows of late, and several farmers have lost valuable units of their herds. The owners put it down to the bad and changeable weather, and in some cases to overcondition. at the time of calving. This, of course, is the result of such an exceptionally good early winter now turni ing into an unusually bad late 'winter

There is on view at Messrs. Sole Bros.' butcher shop a fine specimen of a sheep for a weight-guessing competition in aid of the Red Cross Fund. Tickets for guessing are being sold at Is each, and the following prizes are being offered: Ist prize, turkey; 2nd. prize, «itred iamb skin; 3rd, prize, pail of fowls; 4tli. prize, leg of mutton, valued at ss; sth. prize, shoulder mutton "valued 4s; 6th. and 7th, prizes, loin mutton, valued 3s eich; Stii. prize, engraved pumpkin; !)th. price, ox tongue, valued at 3s. The lamb skin mats were cured for the Red Cross Society by the Fitzroy Tannery. The Taranaki Education Board discussed, in committee, the question of reorganisation of the manual and technical instruction rendered necessary by the enlargmcnt of the Education district. On resuming, it was reported that the following resolutions had been passed (1) That a director of technical education be appointed to control the whole of- the technical schools under the Board, and that a director of agriculture be appointed to - have control of the agricultural classes, both manual and technical, and that the arrangement be reviewed at the end of two years; (2) a committee, consisting of the chairman, Mr, Trimble and the Rev. A. B. Chappell was appointed to draw up terms of appointment to be submitted to a special meeting of the Board to be held on Wednesday next. For some time past the Bell Block ?chool has been opening at 0 a.m., instead of MO a.m. and closing at 3 p.m. At last meeting of the Board, a petition was received from some 25 householders, asking that the school should open at 1>.30 a.m.. and only take half-an-hour for lunch. The Board referred the petition to the committee. At yesterday's meet? ing, the chairman of the committee (Mr. •f. W. Downs), waited on the Board, and protested against the change. Hu pointed out that many of the children now arrived at the school by milk-carts at 7.30 a.m. The change had been in operation for three months, and there had, he thought, been no genuine complaint In tiie course of discussion, it was pointed out the Board's regulations provided that schools should open at 0,30 a.m. It was resolved to druw the School Committee's attention to this, with ;i request that the hours be adhered to. The action of School Committees in closing their schools on account of an epidemic, and then notifying the Board of the fact, is to lie put a stop to by the new Education Board. The matter was brought forward at the meeting yesterday, When five committees notified that they had closed their schools on account of epidemics, and their action was before the Board for confirmation. Mr. Dixon considered that it .was too wide a power to place in the hands of any committee, the right to close a school. The committee often took fright and closed the school unnecessarily. Every application to close a school sliould come through the office when the health officer could be consulted. After a little dis cussion, it was resolved, on the motion of Mr. Dixon and Rev. A. B. Chappell, that a circular should be sent to all committees, that in the event of an epidemic taking place in their districts, schools should not be closed without the sanction of the 'secretary of the Board. To-night a really first-class concert is (o be held in the Good Templar Hall, the proceeds being used to provide Christmas comforts for the soldiers at the front. The items are varied and many, and all will he of exceptional merit. Miss A. Jenkins (Wnitara,) is to give some very fine Highland dances, while Mrs 'Nathan ] will give of her best from her varied repertoire of dramatic recitals, These two items alone ought to make it worth while for everyone to attend, apart from the object for which the concert has been arranged. "The Golden Claw," the drama, is the story of the penalty paid by a man and woman who had fallen into the grip of the gold-lust and then found the burden it imposed too heavy to bear. The subject • has received just the correct amiiint of attention both by the producer, Thomas H. luce and the two princi| ils, Bessie Barriscale and Frank Mills. Just as "The Coward" was essentially a man's drama, so "The Golden Claw" carries an appeal to women. But just whp.t that appeal is must be seen in the films. I

Mr. T. Hetherington, bf Te Puke, crossed the Mokau River on Thursday last with over 300 head of empty dairy heifers which he has recently purchased from Taranaki breeders through Mr,, Newton King. Farmers of the Te Puke and Tanranga districts should be able to select choice dairy cattle from .this line when Mr. Hetherington decides to put them upon the market. The raffle for the motor launch in aid of the Red Cross Fund takes place at 8 p.m. on Monday, the 4th September. All books must be in the lion, secretary's hands by the 31st inst; therefore there is only "seven days' left for selling and buying tickets.

Two returned soldiers, one from Taranaki, tlic other from Wanganni. They mot. "By Jove," exclaimed the former, "I never expected to *ee you again! Do you know when-1 sajw you last? It wan after that Chunak Halir affair. You were jn=t about 'ka mate,' and J was digging your grave." The Wanganni soldier, it appeared, had subsequently i.liown signs of life and was taken aboard a vessel, and after a long stay in hospital was invalided home. He had a close call. The Postmaster ■ General announces that, in order to . protect the public, he is obliged to forbid the sending forward o[ letters, ordinary or registered, containing coin to soldiers' overseas. The mails receive such rough handling that the coins wear holes in the envelopes and the contained letters and so escape, and are too frequently lost to the addressees. Tin' proper way to send money direct to a soldier is by llritish postal order. These orders are negotiable at all field post offices. At a time when the Government is inviting trustees of private estates to invest their money in war bonds at a rate of 4'/a per, cent., which works out, with the income tax deducted, at per cent, on large amounts, it is regrettable that the Public Trust Office lie lending'money at a minimum rate of 6J per cent. Private trustees naturally ask why they should tie invited to lend money at a lower rate than the Public Trustee is prepared to lend. This is a question that the Minister of Finance should promptly investigate. - The Government has pretended a desire to keep down the rate of interest. And vet it allows one of its own Departments to charge a higher rate than it is prepared to pay itself for money, thereby prejudicing the loan proposals.—Age. '