LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 December 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The chairman of the Citizen's Band Committee lias received the following donations for the Baudmen's Christmas Fund:—M. 0. Butcher £1 Is, J. G. Russell £1 Is, J. Jenkinaon 10s, F. Richards and family, Avenue Koad. £1 ss, Messrs Burgess and Fraser £3 3s.

There will be a total eclipse of the moon on the evening of the 28th inst. Tho moon enters the earth's true shadow not the penumbra, at 7.:55. The moon will he central in the shadow at 11.10, and will leave the shadow a«ain at 10.57.

Between two and three tons' weight of frozen turkeys recently came into the Dominion from Australia, presumably for the Christmas trade, there belug a scarcity in New Zealand.

A letter received recently by a Gisborne firm from England' stated that freight to Gisborne by the next steamer leaving for New Zealand was being quoted at 2255, pins 10 per cent., as compared with from COs to 7os before the war.

"Seeing that tho majority of the members of Parliament are ,married men," paid a lady at the Hon. D. Buddo's meeting at Marshland (near Christchurch) on Saturday night, "why not let them take the same rate of pay as is being offered to our men going to the front' Why should not the Government take the lead? The boys in the trenches (ire doing quite as well as, if not better, than those in Parliament are supposed to be doing." The lady's sentiments were greeted with loud laughter and applause. The Wanganui Chronicle's Waitotara .correspondent, has forwarded a message from the sea, in the form of a postcard, which was found in . a bottle, on the beach between Waitotara and Nuk'umarn Inst Sunday. The war regulations preclude full details of the message, but it is written on a Red Triangle post-card, signed by three Australian soldiers, and addressed both to the Sydney Sun and the Sydney Daily Telegraph. Judging by tho reinforcement named, the bottle had been a long time in the water, and had evidently drifted across the Tasman Sea.

A gentleman whose business takes him over the whole of the North Island gives it as his opinion that the towns that the war has afTected least, outside Wellington, are Wanganui and New Plymouth. Many of the smaller towns are feeling the pinch severely, whereas in Wanganui and New Plymouth business is hotter than ever it was. Now Plymouth was quite different from what it was a few years ago. Then the townspeople were inclined to be pessimistic as to the future of the town; now. the reverse was the ease. The shops nnd businesses w(to ■doing well, and the fact that no' empty houses were availnble was an unmistakable indication of the growth of the town. He looked forward to New Plymouth, as soon as over, seas shipping was available, being the fourth city in the North Island. Tt is stated by the New' Zealand Herald that the prospects of Auckland orohardists obtaining largo fruit crops, which were exceedingly bright until tho last few weeks, have become somewhat dimmed in consequence of an epidemic which has attacked a number of orchards. The fruits affected are chiefly peaches ond nectarines, many .of the trees, afte: showing good growth and every indication of hearing heavy crops, suddenly wilting. In some cases the trees completely die out; in others the young shoots wither and the Truit drops off. Orchardists attribute the epidemic to the excessively wet season. The ground in many districts, it is stated, became water-logged and caused the roots of the trees to rot, and according to the extent to which the root system of a tree is affected the extent of damage is determined.

Roy Norton, author of the story of 'The Mediator," i George Walsh's new photoplay for William Fox, showing at Everybody's to-night, was also author of "The Plunderer," a former Fox picture. Mr. Norton IrimsiVlf lived the life of the wild West in its days of pristine glory, and he knows the characters he depicts. That was why he was able to put so much red blood and quaint good humor into the story. Norton was among the first of those restless spirits who were argonauts of the Klondike. But he was unlike many of those restless spirits ( who lcft; their bones among the snows y Alaska. Norton struck it right, and lie now ownsi Blue "Devil, one of the ricTiest mines in the Yukon district. It has an annual output of about $95,000. Consequently, Norton is able to take his time afoout writing books. It is usual at presentations of prizes to successful students for the gentleman who gives out the prizes to make some encouraging remarks to those boys who get nothing tangible as the result of the year's work. It runs in this way: "Not every boy whose name figures largely on the school's honors board achieves distinction in later life," and so on. The comfort may be somewhat cold in certain ambitious quarters, but. it 'satisfies a healthy holiday appetite, and in any case there is no more to be said. His Excellency the Governor went on the conventional lines at tho Wellington College break-up ceremony on Friday and instanced his own case. At Eton the head master told him he was the laziest boy he ever knew, and he suggested that perhaps even such an exalted personage as Brigadier-General Freyberg, V.C., D.5.0., had not been quite a model scholar. The college principal (Mr. J. P. Firth) ft|«jr|ted his jExcellency's_ confession with equanimity. "Freyberg didn't win many prizes at school," he said, "because he was in some respects very much like your Excellency. (Laughter.) In regard to school work he (was pretty hard to beat, but I often'did it." (Laughter and applause.) The quarterly meeting of the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce will be held in the Soldiers' Club rooms this (Friday) evening.

To-day the Melbourne announce a special 10-days' sale of goods recently purchased at job prices. The following proecs will convey some idea of the magnitude, of the bargains to be offered. Ladies' crepe kimono jackets, 2s lid: ladies' indigo print Dorothy overalls, ?s '.Ud; lovely voile blouses," 4s lid to 10s Bd; men's white tennis shirts, 3s fid; boys' white tennis shirts, 2s 9d; and men's winceyette working shirts, Cs (id. To-morrow at the Haymarket, Mr. .Vewton King will sell the right to cut a paddock of grass on Shaw's Estate at St. Aubyn street. This is a good opportunity for anyone in the vicinity to secure seed. ROT TO MOVE? MAKE THE BEST "MIKE'S A CAMROC." Call for a Cumros Dry fiinger Ale and ?<>t acquainted with the fine flavor of this drink, Hotels and stores uell "Cfimroc."

The 'Supreme Court adjourned at fi o'clock yesterday till 0.3(1 to-day, when the two divorce cases set down for hearing will be taken, A man in a state of helpless drunkenness, who was arrested by the police, appeared before Mr. A. Crooke, S.M., yesterday morning, and was remanded for medical treatment.

At the conclusion of the Nanghton blackmail case, at the Supreme Court, on Wednesday, Mr. Justice Kdwards complimented Mr. P. O'Dea, counsel for accused, upon his address to the jury, which he characterised as good and well delivered, but counsel's scope was always limited by the facts of the case. At the meeting of the local veterans, held yesterday afternoon, tho Ven. Archdeacon Evans, who proposed the toast of The Guests, said that the best welcome he received when lie returned from active service was that accorded him by his dear friend Lieut. Free, who yesterday celebrated his D3rd birthday. It was also stated at the same gathering that Lieut. Free was the only surviving member of tho famous iiSth regiment. Several times during the proceedings of the Supreme Court in New Plymouth this week much annoyance has been caused to those concerned in the conduct of the business by the noise of motorcycles being Btarted up outside the premises. Yesterday afternoon, just prior to the adjournment, a particularly glaring instance of the trouble distracted the. legal luminaries, and sundry comments by counsel from other centres were heard about by-laws against such practices. At yesterday's meeting of the Veterans' Association, attention was drawn to the fact that the first Sunday of the new year had been set apart by his Majesty the King as a day of special prayer for the nation, and a hope was expressed that wherever the special service should be held on that day, the members of the Veterans' Association should arrange to assemble and attend in a bodv.

Miss Christie, the theosophist, had a very successful ladies' meeting at Hawera on Wednesday afternoon, when she spoke on "Woman's Work and the .Vow Race." She used as the basis of, her lecture the first two chapters of Genesis, the misinterpretation of which, she said, hnd wrongly affected the position of womeii in Christendom for centuries and brought about the awful sex conditions of the present day. She urged the women to make, a study of legislation affecting women and children, so that they could vote intelligently, and told of the new type of body appearing in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, and said that the last two countries mentioned were to bo the chief cradle of that new sub-race.

The Borough Council's clean-up scheme was further prosecuted yesterday. Heterogeneous heaps of oddß and ends were set out for collection, and the display was one which spoke volumes for the hoarding proclivities of the occupiers of the premises. The particular area cleared yesterday was along Devon srteet, from Gover street to Dawson street. 4 good story gained currency that the inspector, with his penchant for picking up rubbish, had inadvertently gathered up some of the stock of a certain secondhand dealer, which had been displayed for view in thfe ordinary course of business. It was also stated that the disgorgement of rubbish had brought to light a, long lost borough tar pot.