LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 September 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A Wellington telegram of Saturday stated that the total value of war loan certificates issued now exceeds £700,000. The prospectus of Ngamotu Resorts, Ltd., will probably be available to the public, at the end of this week. The Manawatu Patriotic Society is gazetted as having been duly incorporated under the War Funds Act, 1915. Friday's military hospital bulletin diowed that there were 44(1 oases altogether in the variaus hospitals, of which only 8 were serious. In the Supreme Court at Napier on Saturday, Chief Justice Sir Robert Stout, sentenced Thomas Albert Rafter to eighteen months' reformative treatment for obscene exposure. The flower stall receipts at the promenade concert on Friday evening amounted to £2 10s Bd, and those from the sweets stall were £3 15s 3d. Money taken at the door was £lO Us fid, but 'this total amount £lO lis fid) is mqrc :;han likely to be doubled from sales uf tickets and donations. Mr, H. Williams, of the Mountain House, reports* that splendid weather conditions again prevailed yesterday. The house:- were well patronised and a : large number of visitors wended their ' -ivay to the snow line after dimiei, but no one attempted the summit climb. Glissading at Humphries' Castle is now a regular pastime. A New Plymouth soldier who has been home on leave for a few days spoke in terms of high appreciation of the comforts supplied to the local men by the loca'l Women's Patriotic Committee. The hold-alls, he told the Mayoress, are especially complete, and compare morb than favorably with those he had inspected from other districts. In fact, the men from this quarter were better snipped with little camp necessities than any others, and it was a pleasure io ii'm to pay tribute to the good work oi the New Plymouth ladies in Ibis respect. The surveying and pegging of tlw zoute of the railway extension from Kapuni to Manaia is now completed, but beyond that nothing has been attempted (says the Witness). The line will pass over the section on which Mrs. |). Mitchell's residence and outbuildings stand, and these will disappear. Pro-perty-owners have not In all cases been .satisfied with the prices. The railway people are offering at the rate of £7O in acre, whioh has been declined as being below current values of. town lands. In one instance, a high boxthorn fence which shelters a homestead from the fierce westerly gales is to disappear, but the claim of the owner for compensation is not recognised undei the Pubi'ic Works Act, and not unreasonably the person affected feels he is not being equitably treated. 1

At the IP'Olicc Court op Katunlhy morning Mr. A. .Croukc, S.M., convicted a first oN'cnder fur drunkenness ami discharged liim.

The shareholders of tne Opunake Dairy Company decided on Saturday to continue paying for unolhet yuar the subsidy of Is pur ton ion their output towards the salary of an agricultural expert. Mr. A. Cray, technical organiser to the Taranaki Education Board, was present and addressed the meeting. During the diseusion, Mr. E. J. O'Hanlon, an exhibitor at the last autumn show at New Plymouth, spoke in high terms of the work done by the Technical College hoys, who acted as assistant stewards. Several exhibitors would, he said, have found themselves very badly off -but for the assistance of the boys. A New Plymouth boy, who is "somewhere in France," in a recent letter .home, says:—We have been relieved in the trenches and arc once more billeted in town. This is supposed to be "rest," but there is not much rest attached to it. Every night since we came out we have had to go up and do fatigue duty, digging and patching up trenches. We do about four hours' work, and it is not what you can call easy, as most of the time we are working in water, and the mud is very heavy and sticky. We have eight days of this and then go back again. Soldiering would be all right if they would cut out the navvying part. At the Farmers 1 ' Co-operative welcome to Mr. Lynskey, Mr. Swindlchurst, a director from Inglewood, in a few remarks referred to the history of cooperative associations in Taranaki. Hij, experience dated back to 18S1, and he had invested and lost money in Waitara, New Plymouth, and Inglewood. The businesses which rose from the Cooperative in Waitara and Inglewood had both proved good and prosperous, concerns. Out of the former had grown the Waitara Freezing Works. At Ingle.wood the first directors were pushed by their 'bankers to provide the sum of £4OOO, and, though this for a good growing business was a comparatively small sum, those directors would not take oi\ the liability. New Plymouth had gone right out. He had been very much "off" co-operative associations, but after seeing the results of the first year at Havvera he felt sure that this concern was going to flourish. They had men of substance at the head who had confidence in the business and were not afraid to personally back their opinion.—Star. The road over Mt. Messenger this winter is as bad as, or worse, than ever it has been, despite the fact that a considerable amount of work has been done thereon during the past two or threu years. Mr. A. M. Bower, chairman of the Clifton County Council, states that when he came over the Mountain on Thursday the mud in place? was up to tiie horse's girths. The mail contractor (Mr. C. H. Johnston) must have considerable dillieulty in getting the mails across with his horse coaches, and, of course, the mail is not always punctual in arriving. Bullocks, said Mr. Bower, seem to him to be the best method of conveyance over the Mountain at the present time. Undoubtedly the state of Mt. Messenger has for many years past acted as a deterrent to the progress of the northern part of Taranaki, and it is to be hoped the Minister of Public Works can be prevailed on to visit the district during hi.s forthcoming tour of the Dominion, when settlers car draw his attention to the state of the road and allow him to see for himself tinslight improvement in the surface, if any, since his visit here three years ago, Though the war continues to rage as fiercely as ever, and .shipping disasters make'it still more difficult to get supplies from the Old Land, extensive shipments of spring goods are opening up well at Amburys, and every department will shortly be well represented with the season's requirements The attention of all importers is specially drawn to an advertisement appearing' on our front page relative to licenses for the importation of goods from all countries other than British Possessions, United States, France, and Japan. Members of the F.quitable Building Society of New Plymouth (Second Group) are notified that subscriptions are due and payable to-day (Monday, September 4), at the Secretary's office. Curria Street, from 0 a.m. to 12.30 p.m., 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.— Advt.