LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 December 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Minister of Defence has received ' advjee of the arrival at a port of call of . the first section of the 31st Reinforce- , ments; also of the arrival at destination of a New Zealand hospital ship. Someone evidently had an idea of the appropriateness of things in selecting the ! prizes to be presented to the girls of :he , New Plymouth High School. At last 1 night's distribution the winner of the » animal race was the recipient of a , bundle of dog biscuits, given evidently with the idea of helping to keep the com- - petitor fit for next year's event. Mr D. Robertson, in his reference last t night, at the Girls' High School break- . up, as to the work women were doing in connection with the war, said he lao 1 seen women sweeping the streets of ' Glasgow, and he thought! when they were ■ prepared to do„,that, they were equal to . anything. Speaking at the Girls' High School , break-up concert, last night, Mr. H. Okey, M.P., reminded the audience that ' on the occasion of Sir James Allen's visit 1 to the school the. Minister had said he 1 had never seen a finer lot of girls than , those of the New Plymouth High School. Mr. Okey said that it must not be supposed that Sir James Allen was the only ' person who held such an opinion. Ha ! himself—in that respect, at any rate—- , entirely agreed with Sir James. , CORNS! CORNS! CORNS! ) Why endure them? Barraclough's iProgandra has been curing Corns for twenty years. Try it—l/- all chemists, i Barraclough's Nervine stops Toothache. [ Gout (and its kindred disease Rheumatism), is caused by excess Uric Acid. 1 RHEUMO seldom fails to cure,

Germany has so far wrung about £320,000,000 in cash from stricken Belgium,- quite exclusive of what she has gained by occupation of the countr; and systematic exploitation of ilis resources and people. The deportations of Belgians to work in Germany and the looting of Belgian industry continues. A big Maori gathering is expected at Pariuaka this week end, when a visit is to be paid to the well-known kainga by the Maori Queen and a big contingent of Maoris from the Waikato. Some of the visitors will arrive by steamer this morning, and the remainder by train this evening. They will remain at New Plymouth during the night, encamping at Moturon, and will proceed to Pnriliaka by motor-cars to-morrow. It is expected they will remain at Parihaka until after, Tuesday. An enormous stone-crusher has been invented in America. This colossai crusher will reduce stones 5 feet across to eight-inch pieces at a rate of. 12501b an hour, while the hopper or bin surmounting it is capable of holding 05 tons. The crushing mechanism is driven by a 300 horse-power electric motor, through the medium of eighteen cotton ropes, which grip into grooved pulleys upon the motor and the crusher respectively. On leaving the machine the broken stone is delivered to revolving screens by belt conveyers, where the smaller material is separated out for further - reduction in less pewcrful crushers. Seekers after entertainment to-night tannot do better than visit the splendidly ventilated and comfortable Everybody's theatre. At this popular picture house a big double programme is being screened, and at the usual prices of admission. Not only is the double programme an attraction, there is another big attraction in the happy laughing personality of bonni<? June Caprice who stars with Harry Hilliard in the Fox film, "The Ragged Princess." The other big star ii a Greater Vitagraph feature, "A Son of the Hills," in which* the leading role is played by Antonio Moreno. The scarcity of labor on the waterfront at most of the large New Z. ■ land ports is becoming a serious problem. There has been an exceptionally big rush of shipping lately at the ports of Wellington and Lyttelton, and consequently many vessels have been sonsiderably delayed, owing to there not being sufficient labor to work the ships. Matters have shown a marked improvement at Dunedin during the past few days. There were five vessels in port to-day loading and discharging, ind all labor was fully employed. As showing the scarcity of waterfront übor, it may ,be pointed out that there was no labor available at Invercargill last Saturday, and in order to despatch the Kotare for Stewart Island the Invercargill Borough Council's permanent staff had to be engaged to discharge the vessel's cargo from Dunedin. Reports from the country (says the Onmaru Mail) indicate that rain is badly wanted, not so much to : cvive "■■■; rops and pastures as to soften the hardbaked ground, so that the later-sown crops can push through and those that, are through can make name progress. The heavy rain and following winds have put an adamantine crust on the ploughed paddocks, and only a good supply of moisture will modify the conditions under which the later-sown crops are struggling for existence. The earlysown are coming along splendidly, but those sown just before the last heavy rain arc having a hard time of it! Grass has also a luxuriant growth, and generally the farmers' prospects are good, but he would be better pleased if a fair shower of rain fell, Only one part of the district has had anything over 70 points of rain during last month. In Canterbury the conditions are even worse.

A couple of motor accidents occurred down the coast during the past few days, fortunately unattended with very serious consequences, though in both instances the escapes were narrow. On Saturday while Mr. Hale, of Warca, was nearing Oakura on his way to New Plymputh, the car skidded and capsized on to the unmetalled road alongside, throwing out the occupants, Mesdames Wells and Halo and the driver, who all escaped without injury. The car sustained considerable damage. Of a basket of egga among the contents of the car only one was broken. On Monday afternoon, as Mr. A. Lawn was driving up the Te Namu hill frtfm Opunake on his return to Oaonui, the car suddenly backed down the hill and crashed through tho fence, capsizing down a bank. The hood, which was up, saved it from falling another lour feet into the river. The occupants, Mr. and Mrs. Lawn and three children, escaped unhurt, with the exception of Mrs. Lawn, who had to be removed to a house in Opunake, where she ig under medical attention.

The Official Navy League super-feature, "It Is For England," will be presented at everybody's next Tuesday and Wednesday. The British Government and the Admiralty granted unprecedented facilities for the production of the film, -with Hie result that the story contains scenes in which the Grand Fleet is seen in active service conditions. The plot is aimed at exposing enemy intrigue in Britain. The villain of the story, a naturalised German who stands high in the esteem of Rritain's parliamentarians and lords of commerce, is the Kaiser's secret spy and agent. The love theme is an outstanding featuro of the drama. The box plan will be opened at Collier's on Saturday. Dress circle patrons can book their seats without any extra charge. The men's silk shirts at the Melbourne are the best value in the trade. Nothin" beter for Christmas gifts. Fine tussore silk shirts, lis Od; splendid quality white silk shirts, Ms 6dj fine Fuji silk shirts, 15s Od. With or without collars; all «zes, all one price. MEN'S SHIRTS, MELBOURNE COMPANY, LTD. The Melbourne, Ltd., and their various branches have opened out a beautiful new lot of men's ready-to-wear suits in all wool fabrics for the forthcoming' Christmas trade. Every suit is faultlessly tailored and will' compare favorably with to-measure goods at double the price. Here are a few examples of what we are offering: Men's all-wool Roslyn tweed suits, boxed, good fitting and well cut, 455; indigo serge suits, fine weave, good dye, (Ms fid; fine grey llama suits, very popular and distinctly dressy, 755; real Bannockburn suits, splendid for farmers and others who handle cattle, 70s fid; fine navy striped suits, very smart, 69s 6d : brown worsted suits, medium weight, 79s Od. Drop in and examine the above lines and scores of other suits. No one asked to buy. FLI-KEELO KILLS FLTES. Awarded first and special gold medal at the Auckland Exhibition. ■ Successfully used throughout the Dominion. Have you tried it? IT IS STOCKED BY ALL CHEMISTS AND STOREKEEPERS, and is MADE BY BRITISHERS IN THIS DOMINION. 6

A meeting of the Ngamotu Seaside Committee was held on Wednesday evening, there iiofhjj a got.d attendance of members 'I lis swristiuv repinol hi.ving received nine applications for sections, which leaves only three more available Virions committee- were unpointed fur sptfji.il ilnties on 1 New Year'* Day. Mr. Dears report :d in cotneelion with the aerial glide that Messrs, J. I). Sole and 7. S. Nixon had donated \fi,e rope, and Mr. J. Wcf.t (wo tela of step*. Some good priiss have been proini-'i.d for the h ; Jdon M.\ nnydeu reported, that s-choals bad f.o far entered for the ;hiee-miY, race which is being run on New Year's Day in c.imn.ition with the schools chnmpion'Mp, which is to be d.'cikd in March A pold medal and three athers «n''.»bly inscribed will be given to the first four boys, wiio all receive pointe for the shield The barrel ond ''ces are well fcrwavd, and also other novelties which will be a surprise packet. Miss Emmy Weblen is known as the beat exponent, of fashions appearing for the screen. Not only can she act, but she knows bow to design and wear gowns that are seized upon by fashion experts. Tn "The Duchess of Doubt'' she has her best opportunity for splemfid acting and for wearing gorgeous gowns. This fine Metro feature attracted a. good attendance to the Empire last evening and will again be screened to-night; at the matinee tomorrow and for the last time to-mor-row night.' Members of all Friendly Societies are requested to attend a meeting this evening to consider the formation of a Friendly Societies' Dispensary in New Plymouth.