LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 June 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Mayoress would be grateful for the loan of two electric heaters to warm the social roam at the Soldiers' Club during the winter months. There were 3158 signatures to the petition in favor of six o'clock closing of hotels which was handed to Mr. H. Okey, M.P., at the public meeting in the Good Temj>lar Hall on Tuesday night. Miss Vivian Martin, one of the leading Fox photoplay stars, believeß that virtue and wickedness receive their rewards here on earth. This diminutive little lady is seen at her best in the fine Fox film, "Merely Mary Ann," showing tonight only at Everybody's. The euchre party held in Kawaroa Park bungalow on Tuesday evening was largely attended, and a most enjoyable evening was spent. The prize-winners were as follow: Ladies, Mrs. A. Bullot 1, Mrs. G. Waters 2; men, Mr. Sharlaud 1, Mr. Lawrence 2. Yesterday morning there -were great crowds at the railway stations, the occasion being the farewclling of troops. Besides those entraining at New Plymouth, 11 joined at Inglewood, 29 at Stratford, 6 at Eltham, about 40 sit .Hawera, and 7 at Waitara. The No. 1 Medical Board will sit in Now Plymouth on Monday and Tuesday next for the purpose of examining men who have been notified to attend. Recruits of the Second Division, nlso youths who are just over 20 years of age, may also be examined 5f they 'wish, trnt are notified that a volunteer will not be accepted unless ho has with him his National Registration Certificate. "For him I have only love —for her nothing but hatred and contempt." These strong words fall like vitrol upon the sore heart of the heroine of "The Courage of Silence." She is posing as the trusted friend of the very woman whose husband left all for her sake. The part with its difficult scenes, and terrific stress of emotion is supremely portrayed by beautiful Alice Joyce. "The Courage of Silence" will ho shown at the Empire to-night and at both sessions oil Saturday, The N.Z. iLoan and Mercantile Agency Co., Ltd., draw attention to their Tarata sale on Friday, June 29, at 1 p.m. Full particulars will be found on -page 8. Lovely new pink, sky and white crepe de chine blouses have opened out at the Melbourne, Ltd. These will be sold at reduced sale prices until Saturday, 30th inst., the last day of the firm's great reduction sale, after which date regular prices will be charged-

The Club Hotel, Stratford, lias changed hands, the new proprietor being Mr. T. A. Sullivan.

Mr. Greville, editor of The Dairyman, staled at a Palmerston meeting 1 last week that he had been informed that butter was being sold in Auckland at thirteen pence per pound. There were over two hundred thounands boxes of butter in store that could not be shipped. This fact accounted evidently for the price he had quoted. In answer to a question by a member of the deputation that waited on him in connection with the six o'clock closing petition on Monday, Mr. C. A. Wilkinson, M.P., declared that he was not in favor of the extension of the life of Parliament, and would probably always vote against any such proposal.— Argus. On Monday afternoon Mr W. J. Lopdell, Stratford County Engineer, and Mr. H. H. Sharp, Resident Engineer, paid a visit to the Mangatuki bridge at Tututawa, where it is proposed to erect a new ferro-concrete structure of three spans. The new bridge, if erected, will be 30ft. above water level. In the flood of 1915 the water ,rose five feet above the decking of ■the present bridge, and it was owing to the backing up of the flood waters that it was saved from being swept away.—Argus. In the course of his speech at Palmerston the other night Mr. D. Cudtlie, Dairy Commissioner, made an appeal for the exemption from military service of specialists of the dairy industry. "If for instance, too many factory managers go to the front it will be a eeriouß thing for the industry. We must make a special effort to keep the really essential men to carry on the business of the country in order that we may maintain our financial position to meet the expenses the great war had incurred."

A movement has teen commenced (sava the English Ironmonger) for promoting the emigration to Taranaki, in New Zealand, of persons acquainted with the iron manufacture. A process has heen discovered by which the Taranaki ironsand, that lies in unlimited quantities on the sea-shore, may ho turned to profitable use, and the New Zealand Iron and Steel Co. are preparing to erect smelting works. An association has been formed at Birmingham to effect for ironworkers cheap and comfortable passages and the formation of special settlements.

A story of a most despicable theft comes from Spreydcn, a suburb of Christchurcli. An old lady who has three sons at the front (one a prisoner of war in Germany) had, out of the allowances left by her sons, saved up a sum of £3O, which she kept in a box in her room, having an old-fashioned prejudice against baiiKs and safe deposits. On May 18 this money was stolen. By June 18 she had managed to save another £l3, and, failing to benefit by experience, kept the money in the house, and the mean thief, evidently aware of the date on which she drew the money, again purloined t.h> lot. The matter has been placed in the hands of the police.

In nearly nil parts of the wheat producing area of North Otago farmers were busy "last week with field operationsploughing, harrowing and wheat-sowing. .Merchants also report that an unusual amount of seed wheat has already gone .out, and that orders are still being received or filled. As a general rulo Velvet .constitutes the main sowings in autumn .and winter, red wheats being generally reserved for spring sowing. This year, however, all varieties are now being sown, farmers probably being guided by the experience of a series of dry years that autumn and winter sowing suffer least from a long dry spell. They arc generally .sowing more largely than usual, and the probability is that the acreage under ;wheat will show an increase of fully 20 per cent, as compared with last year's total area. Much of the earlier sown wheat is already well above the ground, and looking remarkably: well. A comparison between the losses due to war and to mortality among the infant life of the nation was made by Prof. D. A. Welsh, in an address to the recent conference in Sydney on infant and child welfare. "Throughout the two and a-half years of war, to the end of 1910, Australia has been losing her best men at the' rate of 20 lives each day," he said. "During the same period she has been losing her infants, under one year, at the rate of 25 a day. If we extend the figures to include children under five years of age we find that we are losing these little lives at the rate of 35 a day. When we include the unborn that might have been, the grim total rises to some unknown figure, .which cannot be less than 40, which may be more than 50, representing the children lost to our small population every day. Such is Australia's present effort to make good the losses of her finest men."

"The sinking of British and neutral tonnage in the new submarine campaign has been phenomenal, say Sir 'Joseph Ward. "At the same time despite the new difficulties of combating them, quite ft lot of submarines have been sent to the bottom. I have, of course, a good deal of information that cannot be disclosed, but I am warranted in saying definitely that the Germans have been building a greater number of new submarines weekly than they have lost. Undoubtedly, the real peril at the moment lies in that direction, and this knowledge has accentuated the great, efforts that are being made in the British Isles to increase and preserve the food supply, more especially wheat, so aB to protect the people from starvation during the next few months. ®y that time they will be reaping the harvest, not only from their normal acreage, buti from the vast new cultivation. I feel confident tlmt the people of Great Britain will not reach the point of starving, but nevertheless, within a few weeks there is bound to be a further limitation in the consumption of certain articles, until the point of safety has been reached." The X.Z. Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Ltd., wish to draw clients' attention to the clearing sale they are holding on account of Mrs. L. Holland at her homestead, Pukengahu Road, Xgaere. on Monday, July "2, #t 12 noon. Full particulars will be founcf on .page eight of this issue.

The concert and (knee in celebration of the opening of the new school at Wingrove Road, Pukengnhu, originally fixed for this evening, has been .postponed till next Thursday, July 5. DRINK AXD NATIONAL EFFICIENCY. It is npw quite easy to quit the drink habit. With "Drinko," a harmless powder which is given secretly if desired, hundreds of patients have been cured. Treatment is inexpensive and" can be given at home. Write for free particulars. Sent in plain sealed letter. Address in confidence, Lady Manager, Drinko Proprietary, G.P.'O. Box 655, Wellington.