LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 June 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

At Taumarunui yesterday, Lonis Ornfltecn, storekeeper, of Manunui, was fined £SO and costs £5 for sly grog-selling.

Don't fail to see the work of British submarines in the Mediterranean showing in a splendid moving picture at the Empire Theatre to-night. , At a meeting of the Citizens' Band Committee it was decided that, in order not to clash with special patriotic efforts now being made locally, the annual meeting be further deferred until Tuesday evening, July 3. Word was received from Kakahi yesterday that Stretton House, a boardinghouse of sixteen rooms, and the Stretton store, together • with Mrs.. Robertson's drapery establishment, had been burnedout.—Press Association. A writ has been issued on behalf of Downs Bros., importers, of Wellington, claiming £2OOO damages from the John Bull Newspaper Proprietary, Ltd.. for an alleged libel in connection with a paragraph which appeared in the issue of John Bull's Register of June 16.

The military authorities are against tho idea of sending men much over forty years of age to the front, but a Taranaki soldier, wdho will not see fifty again, and who left his farm and family to do "his bit" against the Boches is the only man of his recimoit who has not had a day's sickness, nor a day's let' The movements and manoeuvring of a British submarine are strikingly illustrated in a motion picture shown at the Empire last evening. It shows the vessel going at full speed, submerging and rising at full speed, with the crew on the top, and preparing for gun action. Altogether it is a very interesting and instructive picture. It will 'be shown for the last time to-night.

A smart piece of work has to be credited to the local and district police. On Tuesday evening of last week a motorist left his car for a minute or two outside the railway station, and, on returning, discovered his coat, a brand new one, was missing from the car. -He advertised for the coat next morning, and the police interrogated him, with the result that the police tracked a man they suspected to Mokau, where he was arrested yesterday and the coat recovered. On Friday accused will appear in court to give an explanation of how lie came by the coat.

•Mr. W. J. Chaney, lion. sec. and treasurer of the Poor in Belgium, Serbia and Montenegro Fund, has just received acknowledgement from the Lord Mayor of London of the £175, subscribed by the schools of New Plymouth and suburbs, who expresses gratitude and appreciation of this touching manifestation of their sympathy for the starving and much tried children in Belgium. Further acknowledgement has also come to hand from His Excellency the Serbian Minister of the sum of £lls, which was forwarded through the High Commissioner for New Zealand, and expressing warm appreciation of this contribution. The fund still remains open for subscriptions to assist the Serbians and Montenegrins.

Shareholders of the Taranaki Farmers' Meat Company. Ltd., and farmers generally, are reminded of the address, advertised elsewhere in this issue, to be given by Mr. J. C. Cooper, of Mastorton, at Stratford on Saturday next on "The Meat Industry." Mr. Cooper's reputation as a public 'speaker is well known, and his experience in the frozen meat trade should render the address both interesting and instructive.

Mr. A. De Bavay, the eminent analy tical chemist of Melbourne, testified at the Supreme Court of Victoria that SANDER'S EUCALYPTI EXTRACT compares with other eucalyptus products like well-refined and matured brandy compares with raw spirit. By insisting on the GENUINE SANDER EXTRACT you will get tlie advantage of quality and will be sale from harmSANDER'S EXTRACT.

Giving evidence before the Military Service Board at Wangaimi on Monday, Mr. C. 11. Burnett said £3 a week was being offered for farm laborers, but (mly one man in twenty was suitable. "A few miles out of Hawera they could not got one suitable man in eighty," said Captain Baldwin. "I can quite believe that," replied Mr. Burnett. "And so can I," added the Defence Department's representative. A Boer soldier, now in Richmond hospital, suffering from the shattering effects of u German explosive bullet, has cause to realise the difference between British fighting methods and Hun barbarity. He was subjected to an X-ray examination recently, and one of the first objects revealed was a British bullet with which the man was wounded when fighting against us at Colenso, 17 years ago. Its presence had caused him no inconvenience!

"You grew no wheat last season, but now you aro going to. Why are you going to do so?" enquired Mr H. W. Bishop, S.M., of an appellant before the Military Service Board in Christchurch. "Because I think it is going to pay, that's why," was the answer. Subsequently it was stated the appellant had 50 acres of wheat already sown this .season, which the chairman remarked put quite a different complexion on the matter. The appellant stated that all the asistance he could get was a boy of fifteen, who did ploughing and all kinds of heavy work. One hundred and teu pounds per acre is a high price for farming land, but at this figure SO acres on the Road, Hawera, part of the land subdivided some years ago by Mr W. E. Dive has just changed hands. It should be stated that there is on the section a large house, and it is understood that the purchaser had special reasons for desiring to acquire it. Still the price must be pretty well a record, and for agricultural land approximately the same price is asked.—Star. ' Pretty Prudence was full up with toeing nice and proper and lady-like. She just doted on pirate stories. So when her family left her at home for being naughty nnd sailed away on a houseboat cruise, Miss Prudence recruited a crew of desperate characters, captured a schponer, hoisted the Jolly Roger, and embarked on the great adventure she had so long dreamt of. "Prudence the Pirate" will ha finally screened at the Empire to-night. The Mayoress has received an appeal for facewashers and clean white rag. Parcels will bo thankfully received at the patriotic depot, St. Auhyn Street. When a | man first goes into camp ho ;,has numerous small expenses to meet, and cannot send his wife much out of his first month's pay. To overcome this .difficulty, the Wellington War Relief Association suggested to the Advisory Board of Patriotic Societies that the Government should make an advance of pay. The Advisory Board pointed out that an advance would have to be made up again later on, and that it would be best for the patriotic societies to grant relief instead. When this decision came before the Association it was (says the Post), resolved to grant relief in such cases for two months.

A visitor from Otago was to have ,been taken by an Auckland agent to .see a properly in the country, but al the day appointed was very wet it was .suggested that the trip should be postponed. This was objected to by the visitor, and accordingly the party Bet out. Some time later, when the rain was sheeting down in torrents, the agent thinking it was not calculated to favorably impress the probable buyer, suggested that they had better turn back. The answer he received was "Not a bit of it. This is' the first real downpour of rain I have seen for three years." That dairy farming is by no means an unprofitable industry at the present time is evidenced by the experience of Wairarapa farmers generally. Abnormal prices are, of course, prevailing, but the judicious culling of dairy herds has done much to place the industry upon a profitable basis. A Masterton paper has ascertained that one farmer in the Fortymile Bush, on a property of 64 acres, runs 56 cows. His miilk cheque alone for the past season was £llOO, or about £2O per cow. A farmer at Nireaha ran 20 cows on 48 acres, and his milk .cheque was £440. A business man in Carterton kept five cows on ten acres of land. These he milked himself night and morning. His cheque from the cheese factory was £lO3. On the larger properties, it may be pointed out, money is also derived from pigs, calves, etc.

Writing of his visit to Sydney and the Livepool Camp, an officer of a recent Reinforcement says:—"The Liverpool Camp is supposed to be the biggest in Australia, but it is nothing compared to Featherston or Trenthain. I'm firmly .convinced of one thing, and that is that we've got nothing to learn from Australia in the way of camp construction. The huts, roads, institutes, dining halls, stores, etc.—all are infinitely better in New Zealand. ' In fact, there's only one thing that we have got to learn in that line, and that is to steer clear of red tape, which thoy do very effectitely over here. Not wishing to be unkind, the only remark I will apply to the discipline in this part of the world is 'rough.' Everything seems to be dono with the idea of conciliating the men. Leave is granted to all men not on duty from 4 o'clock every evening—most of them returning to camp by the 11.33 (from town) train, and also week-end leave from Saturday midday. The result is that the camp is nearly always empty, and undoubtedly it must have a bad effect on training. Our boys have been put on their mettle, and I must say they have come through the ordeal with flying colours. . . . The Guard of Honour (100 all told) for the Governor on his inspection was great, no man under six feet and the pick of the Reinforcement. The inspection went off very well, and we were complimented on our appearance. . . . Within a few miles of the camp where we were passing our time is the big internment camp for Germans. It is really a great place, and the Huns have a great time. The whole place is enclosed with a net work of barb-wire, and the six or seven thousand inmates are closely guarded by a strong line of sentries, while perched it: prominent positions are searchlights and a machinegun,. ... The camps are open to civilians at all times, andthe result is that up to all hours of the night you see men, women, and even girls, wandering about the grounds. Hawkers are allowed to sell their goods even on the parade grounds, and many of them were deeply hurt at their reception when they tried their capers in our lines." THE MOTHERS' FAVORITE. A cough medicine for children should be harmless. It should be pleasant to take. It should be effectual. Chamberlain's Cough Remedy is all of this and is the mothers' favorite everywhere.

The soldiers at the Club are to he entertained to-morrow afternoon, Thursday, by Mrs. Woods' orchestra. All are invited. % :

During last year gas to the value of £2,900 wag lost by the NeUon municipality owing principally, it is believed, to defective meters, some of which have been continually in use since the year 1876.;

There were 08 entries for the baby contest when the list closed last night, including three Maoris and a fair number of war babies, in which vfere twins, No tickets will be available until Monday, when they can be obtained from members of the committee, and at Mr. T. Avery's, Hoffmann's, and Johnson Bros.' East End store.

Mr Pearco, M.P., told a 6 o'clock closing deputation in Hawera that he was surprised to hear from them that there was a good deal of drunkenness among the soldiers in Wellington. His experience was thai there was very little drun- 1 kenness amongst the soldiers, and he did not think they were any worse than the rest of ,the population. Sub-Lieut. H. Vivian Haszard, of Waihi, who left early in December last to join the motor patrol service in England, has, with ten other' New Zealanders, obtained, at the Royal National College, Greenwich, the highest pass in the service, gaining what is described as the "excellent" pass. No fewer than 000. candidates' ..took- part in- the- special patrol course, of whom only 40 obtained the "excellent" and, as already stated, 10 of these were New Zealanders.

The old Maori weather forecast—that when the flax and toirtoi were unusually luxuriant in bloom in the autumn a heavy winter followed—Reems to be verified this year (observes the Oamaru Mail). Along the Waitaki, and indeed everywhere, the flax bushes were heavily; crowned with flowers, and the height and thickness of the toi-toi plumes were the subject of general remark.

Some of the vagaries of the Military ballot are illustrated by tho case of a Christcbureh soldier, He was drawn in a recent ballot, but he showed that lie had served in Samoa, that he spent siv months in Camp with the Fourteenth Reinforcements, that he was employed at the Lyttleton forts <for three •months, that he, was examined recently by a Medical Board and was declared unfit, that he i 3 forty-si:.! years of age, and finally, that he has a wife and eight children. Two of his sons are serving at the front. A general exclamation of astonishment was evoked all over, the Dominion when tho item of news was read to the effect • that Premier Massey's private secretary's name had been drawn in the ballot. This information was wirelessed out of the void to catch the young man in mid-ocean. The man in the street rightly complains of it being a shame that Mr Massey should have taken on his trip to the Imperial Conference a fighting fit ntan who should have been in camp or at the front, instead of enjoying a tour. This complaint is justified. We know there are competent men who could have done the work for the Premier—men who are not eligible as fighters Our Ministers set a bad example by keeping eligibles out of camp.—Feilding Star. An informal but extremely animated debate on the question of racing in and out of war time was conducted in the editorial sanctum of the Palm erston "Times* 1 office the other night. One of the speakers put forward what was acknowledged on all sides to be an original proposition "What brought Germany into the war?" he asked. "She came into the war because her people were concerned about thrift and moneymaking and efficiency and because they didn't take enough time off to play games. If they had had plenty of sport, football and racing, and spent their money freely, it would have diverted their thoughts from Imperial notions and made them 'sports.' If they had been 'sports' they would have taken a wider and more generous view of life, and would not have become so truculent, overbearing, selfish and cruel. In other words, if the Germans had been a nation of sportsmen and sports-lovers like 1 the New Zealanders are, and like the Britishers are, they would have had something to divert their attention and they wouldn't ,have led the world into the present 'mess." Perhaps he is right!

Handkerchief bargains at the KTcl- ' bourne's great reduction sale: —Khaki handkerchiefs stamped with Allied flags, three for fine, quality bordered mercerised handkerchiefs, three for Is; gents' fine lawn handkerchiefs reduced to three for Is 3d; gents hemstitched Irish cambrie handkerchiefs, three for 2s; ladies' hemstitched handkerchiefs, eight for Is; menV and boys' white handkerchiefs, eight for Is.