LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 July 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The lion, secretary of the Tnglewood Ladies' Patriotic League wishes to ac•knowledge with thanks tell sum of £S lor the Y.M.C.A. fund from the Waiongona School Social, per Mr, L. Henwood. That interest in New Plymouth and Taranaki generally is taken by travellers and holiday-makers is shown % the demand by the Tourists' Bureaux, of Auckland, which write to the New Plymouth Expansion and Tourist League for more literature and booklets issued by the League. There is also an enquiry for more literature from the Melbourne iWrist Bureau. A man named George Hunt was brought before Mr. A. Crooke, S.M., at the New (Plymouth Magistrate's Court yesterday charged with stealing four white leghorn fowls, valued at £2, at ■Spotswood, Ne!w Plymouth. On the application of accused he was remanded till Thursday, bail being fixed at self in £lO and one surety in a similar amount.

Writes a correspondent:—There is to he seen on an arterial roadside at the Junction-Mangorei cross roads, a truly naive notice, .which, in mild and sweet simplicity, the idyllic in so far as a rural condition is depicted. "Newspapers for Subscribers Only," is its tenor; and thereby much is portrayed. Couched in this jjentle, considerate and confiding way, the tender aim of this notice is to check by shaming, crass | robbery on the highway. (0, blivA, ye shades of gallant Dick Turpin, and •brilliant cotevie, for such highway associations!) Though the price of news■papers haß risen one hundred per cent, the theft of a paper only makes a twopenny deliquency. In the paltriness, however, lies one's contempt for the | theft. It is conceivable that there might I be a measure of begrudged respect yield- ; ed to some "bounder" criminal, making I ventures "with skill and courage under great personal peril. But for the roadside -petty pilfering criminal, contempt only is possible. Though the offence is intrinsically .paltry, ret. from the subscriber's point of vie.., it would be difficult to put an adequate value on the loss. s The "Daily" is hard to beat for a fireside mental recreation that may be shared by a family circle; especially in these stirring and potent times. After walking a mile or so for a paper, only to find it has been (to use pilfering parlance) "pinched" gives keen disappointment accompanied ; bv lively and strident emotions, if not expressions. There are, it would seem, a comipreliensive variety of chattels and effects receiving gracious recognition by attentive possessors of "pinching" accomplishment, necessitating in greater or less degree acts of tres- ! pass, if not forcible entry; but of the various countryside delinquencies to be [ deplored and condemned, the' newspaper I wayside thief, for despicable meanness, f "gets the cake"—it should be the ! "birch."

Old friends, old books, old songs, old wine, Old-fashioned folks to these incline; But' as -i rule, apart from such Old-fashioned fads eon't count for much. The old-time chemist made and sold His worthless dopes for cough and cold; But sufferers now such trash abjure Preferring Great Peppermint ,

The Minister of Defence, has received a cable reporting that part of the 26th Reinforcements and the first part of the 27th have reached a certain port, all well. —Press Association.

All interested are reminded that a public meeting will be held at the Soldiers' Club at 3 o'clock this afternoon, to consider the advisability of forming a branch of the Plunket Society in New Plymouth.

A terrific fright is one of the closing incidents in the Triangle picture, "A Gamble in Souls," showing finally at the Empire to-night. In the fierce struggle William Desmond as the clergyman hero is victorious. This .popular actor is well known to local theatre ipatrons and adds to his long list of successes in this fine film.

At last night's meeting of the New 'Plymouth Borough Council Cr. G. W. Browne asked if anything had yet been done towards providing tram shelters for waiting passengers. The Mayor replied that the necessary money 1 had been provided for in the loan, but so far the engineer had been too busy to go into the matter, which would be attended to as early as possible. In a Gazette Extraordinary issued yesterday is published a regulation providing for the exclusion from ships not engaged solely on the coastal trade of persons not having a written permission from a military authority or the owner, master, or agent of the ship. Regulations also provide for the protection of mining privileges for any cause other than default of payment of royalty, rent or license fees.—Press Association.

In the list published yesterday morning of the votes recorded in the baby contest three mistakes occurred, probably owiug to the difficulty of receiving a long array of figures over the telephone. Baby Oliver was given the 17th place with 2841 votes, whereas the position should have been stated as 14th place, with 3190. A figure too many placed Baby Johnstone among the prizewinners as fifth, with 16,668 votes, the real position of the competitor being 28th, with 16C8. Baby Salt scored 2600 votes, not 080, as stated yesterday. "A charming girl for the leading role, soma exquisite settings, good acting and photoplay of the best make of "The Secret of the Swamp" a thoroughly satisfactory picture. Couplied with this Is a mystery that is not revealed until the last few feet of film—something that is essential to a good mystery story." So says the New York Sunday Herald of the splendid Blue-Bird feature allowing at Everybody's to-night and to-mor-row.

Other instances in connection with the Defence Department's black list scandal -are .still appearing in exchanges. The name of F. H. Williamson, cabinetmaker, New 'Plymouth, appeared in a recent Gazette as having failed to present himself for medical examination, whereas the lad enlisted the day after his twentieth birthday, and went away with the 25th Reinforcements. Another case is that of ex-Constable B. Smyth, who was also included in the list, and was at the time on final leave in Auckland.

At last night's meeting of the .High School Board, the principal (Mr. W. H. Moycs) reported that lie had received a notification from the Director of-Educa-tion suggesting that each morning the flag of the Empire should be unfurled and saluted by the boys. This Mr. Moyes considered desirable, but was sorry to say that all the flags were destroyed in •the fire, so the suggestion could not be carried out until a new flag was purchased. Members of the board did not altogether agree with the idea of saluting the flag daily. This, they considered, would tend to make the ceremony undervalued, and become a mere matter of routine, like the Chinese (praying wheel. All agreed that a flag should be provided, which should be saluted at intervals with some ceremonial, arid Jhe matter of providing a flag and staff was left to the chairman and principal. The Imperial Challenge Shield trophies, which were won by the New Plymouth Boys' High School senior and junior rifle teams in the Schools of the Empire competition, have arrived at Wellington, and are at present on exhibition in the Parliamentary buildings, and will be forwarded to New Plymouth at a later date. In communicating this to the principal of the High School, Mr. Okey, M.P., also stated that the question of the presentation of the medals was under consideration. Mr. R. W. D. Robertson stated that when in London he viewed the handsome silver shields and the replicas in bronze that were placed on exhibition in a window of the High Commissioner's office, where they made a great show, and attracted much attention. He had made enquiries at the office, and was informed that it was not considered advisable to forward the silver shields to New Zealand, owing to the risk involved. He then suggested that a photograph of the window, with the shields therein, should be obtained, and a copy forwarded to the school, but did not know whether this had been done. "I wish to mention a matter of some public importance," said Cr. E. Griffiths at last night's meeting of the New Plymouth Borough Council, "and that is the ouestion of Government meat shops in New Plymouth, but I don't know exactly what steps the council should or could take. The price of meat in New Plymouth is just about the highest in the whole of New Zealand, and there is no natural reason why it be so. The Government seems to be willing to come to the rescue of other places suffering in the same way. The quality of the beef and mutton here Is not so good as it might be, so that we are suffering a double hardship—high prices and poor quality. I believe the local butchers have been offered the opportunity of purchasing the commandeered meat. If Government meat shops were established the borough revenue might suffer through a loss of business at the abattoirs, but the citizens would probably be more than compensated by lower prices and higher quality." On the suggestion of the Mayor the matter was held over to enable inquiries to be made as to how the council could deal with the position. Ask distinctlv for SANDER'S EUCALYPTI EXTRACT, or else you may receive one of the manv substitutes. The GENUINE SANDER EXTRACT cures colds, fevers, indigestion; prevents infectious diseases and heals ulcers, poisoned wounds, skin diseases, burns, sprains, etc. It is much more powerfully antiseptic than the common eucalyptus and does not depress or irritate like the latter.

There was a well-attended meeting of Second Division reservists at Eltham last night, Mr. Gow presiding. The meeting, which was one of the most enthusiastic held in Taraniki, was addres6od by three delegates from the New Plymouth branch of the League, who wore accorded a very hearty reception. Messrs Crabtree and Stewart were appointed delegates to the Second Division convention, which meets at Wellington to-morrow, and ihey proceed thither to-day. .Yesterday, near the Riverdale factory, as Mr. Ernie Washer was travelling towards Hawera with a party of four in his Rover car, the wheels skidded 011 the slippery road, and a tyre bursting, he lost control of the car. It shot off the road and turned completely over, pinning all the occupants underneath. All the party except Mr.. Harry Washer escaped with nothing more than severe bruises. He, however, had the misfortune to have three ribs broken,,besides being bruised and shaken. Under the circumstances they must be considered lucky to escape without more serious results.—Star. "I think we have made a fetish of this matter of correct spelling," said a speaker at the conference of inspectors and teachers of schools at Auckland recently, during a discussion in regard to spelling. "There is a fearful lot of time wasted," he continued, "in demanding this mechanical accuracy in our schools, and a great deal, of unnecessary punishment : at least," he added, amid laughter, "there was when I was a boy."

"I think it one of the most ridiculous things imaginable to look down on the usefulness of Women as far as field labor is concerned," said Dr. Trufoy King in the course of his lecture on "'Babies and the War," at the King's Theatre recently. "We could not, as human beings, Dr. Trivby King went on, ignore the great work that women had already done and the very great resultant benefit the women themselves had experienced. "It is a sine qua non for the successful rearing of children," lie concluded, "that there Bhould 'be muscular and general fitness on the part of the mother."

There was considerable excitement on the New Plymouth to Wellington express on Wednesday afternoon (reports the Wanganui Chronicle), in consequence of the engine jumping the points at Bonny Glen and crashing into a string of trucks on a side-line. Although speedy application of the Westinghouse brake averted serious accident, the impact was severe, and the dead stop of the engine, and the momentum of the rear of the train, had the effect of buckling the middle portion, with the result that the platforms of one carriage were considerably damaged. .Several men standing there had a narrow escape from injury. After a wait of three-quarters of an hour, the tangle was sorted out, and the express resumed its journey. The "up" New Plymouth express was also delayed, being unable to pass the scene of the accident.

Fortunate indeed, says a Hawke's (Bay correspondent, are the soldiers who have secured land in the Returned Soldiers' Settlement at TakSipau. After the wear and tear of battle we find them making their homes on the sunny, hills of the north. The soldier farmers' have a splendid field for their labor, as the land is some of the best in Hawke's Bay, and well watered by streams. The eoldiers have fenced and ploughed their holdings. •Some have sheei> farms and some have dairy farms. No farm is of less area than 100 acres, and the value of each runs from £EOOO upwards. One can read the names of each farm o# the gates; all are gathered from Gallipoli, stern reminders of sacred »p<>ts on Turkish soil. Behind the settlement lie the snow-clad Ruabine ranges. Only soldiers are allowed to occupy the 'block, and well have they earned this peaceful, healthy home. It is a stock grievance with certain publie men that they are never correctly reported, states an exchange. Of course the men of long experience in public speaking and the work of reporters arc often very glad that the pressmen have managed to convey intelligently a meaning not very clearly expressed. Now and again a reporter indulges in a verbatim report of an odd sentence or two. and the publication of a couple of gems from a recent Ohristehurch borough council debate may prove that the best friend of the public speaker is the reporter who refuses to take liim seriously •enough to report his utterances word for word. Gem No. I: "I don't know this street, where it is, whether it is a road that cows go along or whether it may be inhabited by houses and tpeople; but I rather think it is a street that can lie held over." The council agreed with him. Gem No. 2: "Fere's a case of a ladies' Tiockey team, eleven girls, having to pay sixpence each —go without chocolates for a week —in order to pay this charge of 10s fid." The arithmetic was of the lightning variety. Messrs Gilmour arid Clarke have a replace advertisement on page one of this issue.

W. H, and A. McGarrv. land and financial agents, EltUam, specially direfct the attention of those on the look out for a dairy farm on easy terms to their fresh advertisement on page one.

Will any one who can get a Scotch costume please wears it on our Scotch Day on Saturday? We want lots of lassies and laddies to wear the tartan. The man or young man who requires a dressy well-made suit without paying a prohibitive price to some merchant tailor will naturally turn to the Melbourne Clothing Company where prices are reasonable for high grade ready-to-wear goods. These goods—made of i>est quality fabrics only—show a saving of at least 50 per cent, as against similar fabrics made to measure.