LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 December 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

It is expected that the branch rail* way to Raetihi will be officially taken over from the Public Works Department early this month. The competition among the scholars of the Fitzroy school for the correct solution of the meaning of the four L's was won by a Standard V. pupil, Miss Marjorie 'Dickey. The return ■of the number of births, deaths and marriages for the district of New Plymouth (Mr. J. S. S. Medley, Registrar) for the month of November is tts follows:—Births, 33 (1016, 30); deaths 17 (16); marriages, 6 "(4), Cabinet has appointed a Commission to investigate war expenditure by the Defence Department. The name? of the members are not available as the Government has not yet received replies from them as to their acceptance of the position.—Press Association. A lad named Beckett, of Levin, had the misfortune, while cracking a stockwhip, to strike himself across the eves, With the result,that he f has lost the sight of one eye and damaged the, sight of the other.

It is questionable, says an exchange, if the country in Otago Central ever looked better than it does at the present time. This is the opinion of.men who have known the district for ifearly half a century. The rains which have prevailed last few monies followed by tlie recent hot weather, have resulted in a rapid growth of thq grass with the result that, feed is unusually plentiful. Melbourne, Ltd., /working shirts are the best value on the market. Read these prices: Flax and grandrill sihirts, 3s 6d; Oxford and Harvard shirts, 4s 8d and 4s lid;.best quality blue grandrill shirts, : 4s lid and ss, 6d; advance drill shirts plain navy,. 5s fld; S.S..S, drill shirts plain navy and striped 5s lid ; black satteen shirts; 4s lid; white tennis shirts, 4s fid.

, Triangle producers already liave a reputation to be envied, but in ."Wolf Lowry," the main attraction at the Empire. to-night, they. win. fresh , Apart from the virile acting of W., 'S; Hart and Margery Wilson, the picture is remarkable for the fine photographic effects. The supporting films have been well chosen and include a laughable comedy

In the course of his sermon at- St. Mary's Church last night, Bishop Averill, who had been speaking of the necessity for Christians making sacrifices for the pake of tho advancement of God's cause, issued a strong challenge to greater self-denial by eulogising the sacrifices made at the battle front by the manhood of the nation for the sake of tht Empire, and urging Christian* to emulate in their daily life the spirit that prompted such sacrifices. A large quantity of ammunition was stolen from the pavilion of the Auckland Gun Club, Campbell Road, Ellerslie, at some time between Saturday and Monday last. There is practically no clue, hut it is considered most probable that the thief was well acquainted with the office, and that he was aware of the large quantity of ammunition stored The export from 'England of ballistite" ammunition has been prohibited, and it is not procurable on the local jjurkets; The war has affected the value of gold to a considerable extent • Before the war nin§ carat gold could, it is stated, bp purchased at Home l>y manufacturing jewellers for 35s per ounce, hut that price has been raised to 45s in London, and landed in tins country it runs up to about 77s per onnce. Fifteen or eighteen carat gold is much scarcer, and very little jewellery jnade of the pwe metal is now coming in-to the country Jft all. The price of electroplate has also advanced considerably. Particularly is this the case in connection with the. best, plate, which has a foundation usually of copper.

An advertisement appears in this" issiie calling attention to tho Citizens' Band's special Christmas recital, the proceeds of which are to be devoted to the individual members of the. New Plymouth Citizens' Band, this procedure laving been adopted last year on the suggestion of the bandmaster in lieu of "house to house" carolling. The recital will be held next Thursday evening, in Pukekura Park, and will be on similar lines to that of last year. A novelty' is to be added in the shape of a competition to the general public only, particulars of which will be given in a future issue. I have met quite a number of flying men on short leave from France during the last few days (says a correspondent in a London paper of a recent date). They tell me the whole front is discussing the remarkable air achievements of a young lad of nineteen, who belongs to Glasgow, and only joined tho service about a year ago. He has already been overwhelmed with honors both by the British and the French Governments, and I am told that some of his daring exploits altogether exceed anything that has yet been accomplished during the war. He was given an extra bar to his D.S.O. the other day for coolly landing in the grounds of one of the enemy's aerodromes and accounting by gunfire for the occupants as they left their berths. Having completed his \york, |ie returned unharmed to our own lines, and celebrated the occasion by looping the loop several times before he finally touched the ground. Tho War Office, with their usual red tape, make it impossible for his name to be mentioned; but sooner or later the world will be told. Screams of pain, mingled with shrieks of laughter, were heard in Karaka Bay a few days ago (says the Dominion). S'ome Maori® 'had motored luxuriously round to that picturesque harbor-side spot to .hunt for the succulent paua, which clings to the rocks below lowwater mark, and is at times plentiful,™ the locality mentioned. The Maori feels for them with hands and feet, using the latter as a guide when the water is too deep to dip down with the hands. One Maori was engaged in feeling along the rocks with his toes when he suddenly screamed with agony not too deep for words. What he said could not be understood, as he resorted to his native tongue to adequately express 1113 feelings. His toe had been caught bv a paua—which closes like a vice on anything that is inserted between the two sides of his glittering home. The Maori who had retained his place in the ear roared wth laughter, and told the sufferer to get hold of his submarine enemy. At last he did so, and in his fury smashed the paua against the rocks. Later he exhibited the toe, which tho paua had nipped until the blood came. The paua is probably the largest shell-fish In these waters, and is eaten with relish, both raw and cooked, by the Natives.

j A meeting of ladies will be held in the I Soldiers' Club this afternoon for the i purpose of appointing a ladies' committee in eonneetion with the forthcoming Sand Uaroiv*l, : *

A prominent Hastings orcliardist says the outlook for the coming fruit crop in Hawke's Bay is very bright, The iudications are that it will be the heaviest crop experienced for several years. The recent exceptional rains have had a detrimental effect on stone fruits, but this is more tlian compensated for by the prolific crop of pip fruits. Keas are becoming much more numerous in the Oulverden district, North Canterbury. 'Many have been seen in the vicinity of Maiau ferry, and have done a considerable amount of damage amongst sheep. The birds usually keep well up amongst the mountains, but from some cause they>are coming down into fairly low country. The Citizens' Band, under the baton of Mr. F., W. G. McLeod, L.T.S., gave another of their enjoyable recitals at the East End Reserve yesterday afternoon, when a varied programme, embracing a number of favorite selections, was rendered, including, the difficult "Majenta," of, which the band gave a brilliant interpretation, and a pleasing and popular item wa3 the fine cornet solo effectively given by bandsman E. H. Taylor. A Hastings resident purchased a pet lamb about 18 months ago, and has reared it until it has grown into a fullsized sheep. It developed propensities, and 'he. consulted several farmers as to the nature of the disease it was suffering from. On examination, a leather collar, which had 'been placed round the sheep's neck when a lamb, was found to be embedded in the flesh, and was causing it to choke, hence the "barking." The collar was extracted and the sheep is now thriving. Preaching at. St. Mary's Church tet night, Bishop Averill referred with lceen interest to the history of Jerusalem, which, ho said, was all the more interesting to New Zealanders because of the fact that so many of "our boys" were in such close proximity to the ancient city. Its history had been strange, but flight yet, be stranger. It !had been a series of triumphs and tragedies. But the city f was dear to the. heart of God and would bfe dearer in the future. It was more loved than any other, and had aroused mor& pjfctripti9m;tl\an any other city, ■ e ;recirit spell of fine weather las nad the effect c/f drying up the road over Mount Messenger, with the result that Mr. C. H. Johnstone, of Waitara, lias since the middle of last week bem enabled to make the journey through to Awakino by motor-car, an event that Will be welcomed both bj the travelling piffiic and Mr. Johnstone, who has certainly had a strenuous time throughout the wihter in maintaining the service, despite the shocking roads. The district i? most fortunate in having a man of his grit in charge of the mail service. 'More than ever are the settlers of Ta, ranaki puzzled at file ways of the Railway Department. There are, at this time, great demands for trucks to remove wool, timber and produce, especially from stations and sidings on the branch lines. Local officials, seem powerless to provide settlers with trucks as asked—and yet strings of empty wagons arc being taken south every day. In one instance an order came through to actually unload some loaded trucks by casual labor, at the Department's expense, so that these. trucks might be hurried empty to the Main Trunk! What the explanation is, if an explanation is possible, settlers have a right to know.— Stratford Post.

Hon. W. D. S. Macdonald mentioned at Gisborne recently that nearly 100,000 of New Zealand's sons had joined the Expeditionary Force. The actual number was 98,500, and there were 11,000 in camp in New Zealand. There had returned to New Zealand 11,700, and it was to him a most pleasing sign that the Government had to find work for only 2000. There were 7127 who had signified that they did not desire Government assistance, and there were nearly 2000 under treatment throughout the Dominion. It appeared to him that when the remainder of the men came back the majority would not be content to be hangers-on to the Government, but would fight out their destinies in this country the same as they fought at the front.

Word has been received of the death srt Parnham House, Beaumenesti, Eng., on Tuesday last, of Mr. -Edward Moorhouse" . who was a well-known identity some yws ago. The deceased had reached Jiie 82nd year, and arrived in New Zealand- during the early days of the CanterlAiry settlement. Later he settled in the" North Island, where he was part owner 'and manager of Owhaoko and Murimuto' sheep stations, in the centre of the island. In 1883 he married the only daughter of* s le lite Hon. W. B. Rhodes, of Wellington*. - an( l soon afterwards returned to England, where he wasi a prominent member C*. the Pytchley, Quorn, and Badsworth His eldest son, who did grand fls an aviator in. France, and was awaited the Victoria Cross, died of wounds. His other children are a son, who is in the Boyal Artillery, and two daughters, i^ e of whom is married to the only son Bishop Ryle; Dean of Westminster. Mrs. Moorfiouse survives him. Colonel W. H. S. Moorhouse, of Wellington, is a nephew . of the deceased '

The inauguration of early closing of hotel 'pars, which took place on Saturday evening, was marked by no apparent rnanifstation of resentment try- those who had to quite the premises when six o'clock chimed, though some fow disgruntled individuals were heard murmuring anathemas /on those thought to be responsible for this further infringement of the "liberty of the subject." Quite a number of people watched with interest the unusual sight of publicans drawing the (blinds and closing the doors of, their bars «t six o'clock. The subinspector and senior-sergeant of police, who visited all the hotels between 6 and 0.30 p.m., report that all the licensees had strictly complied with the law

The additional tramway service for the Bummer months, for the purpose of more adequately coping with the holiday traffic, was put into operation in New Plymouth on Saturday. Though perhaps to the casual observer there was nothing in the new time-table arrangements to attract attention, the increased number of,, trips will doubtless be more fully appreciated as the holiday season advances, and visitors to Xcw Plymouth become more numerous than they are a.t present. There is ft defect in the tramway system, however, which Is at once apparent to visitors, and that is the inability to distinguish the various sections along the routes traversed, No information is given in the published time-table,, and no signs are erected along the route by which, an outsider can get to know where the section boundaries are. The means adopted in some other places where tramway systems are in operation .of showing Where each section ends is that of painting the word "Section" conspicuously on the poles carrying the overhead wites at the point where sections conjoin, and in tb'at way it is made clear to everyone where the, section endings arc. The same ideviee could be adopted with advantage j to JJ«* PtauwiV