LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 31 December 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Daily News wffi not foe published to-morrow, New Year's Day. To-morrow (New Year's Day) will be observed as a close holiday by the post office. There will be a counter delivery of correspondence at the chief post office to-night. The number of admissions to the Old People's Home for the past twelve months totalled 33, and the discharges 17. Nine deatha were recorded during the period. \ A number of soldiers who had been on special Christmas leave —mostly members of the 33rd Reinforcements —and who were due back in camp on Saturday night, left New Plymouth by the mail train on Saturday morning. Base Records advises tliai a transport with a draft of 130, consisting of troops returning to New Zealand, is now expected to reach Auckland on January 2 or 3 instead of the 4th, as notified to next-of-kin.

The sub-inspector, of police at New Plymouth received advice on Saturday afternoon to the effect that Elsie Isabel Corkill, wife of Thos. G. Corkill, of Pihama, had committed suicide earlier in the day by drowning herself in a bath inside the house, while her husband was engaged in milking. The coroner was notified and he ordered an inquest to be held at Pihama before a J.P. It was expected the inquest would be held yesterday. The mild epidemic of diphtheria experienced in the district during the past year has been responsible for an unusually high record of infectious diseases reported to the Taranalci Hospital Board. August and September were the worst months, when 25 and 27 cases respectively were notified. Last month the number had decreased greatly, only seven eases being reported. The total number pf cases for the year was 180. We have received from Mr. K. Day,, borough inspetcor, a copy of a leaflet dealing with the fly pest. It is strikingly got up, and, in addition to a general warning as to the danger of flies, contains full information as to the means of dealing with the pest. Th- remedies suggested are all easily applied, and can be procured at a moderate price in almost any shop in the town. The leaflet is being supplied by the borough gratis.

night-lieutenant Rudolph de Lisle, son of 'Dr. P. de Lisle, of Hastings, in the course of a letter to hi 3 parents, tells of his experience on the voyage home. "The first work of the doctors," he says, "was to cure sea-sickness amongst a few of the men who could not recover without help. The sufferers were dosed with bovril and brandy. The malady must have been infectious, because, tit next parade, eomo 90 men were dowii with mal de mer. Another doctor, an old bird at the game, administered black draught, and only four men were sick at the following parade—wonderful curing effect of some medicines." The New Plymouth hospital haa achieved a record of work during the past year of which any institution might well be proud. From the reports made by the medical superintendent it is apparent that the total number of admissions to the hospital for the twelve months has been 1062. and the number of patients discharged 1059. A total of 685 operations were performed, and the death rate for the year—63—must be considered low, representing slightly under 0 per cent, of the admissions. The daily average number of pationte in the hospital was about 55.37, so that the Btaff may be said to ihuve had » strenuous year. Mr. A. Ce Bavay, the eminent analy tical chemist of Melbourne, testified at the Supreme Court of Victoria, that SAWDER'S EUCALYPTI EXTRACT compares with o£ber eucalyptus products like well-refined rati matured brandy compares with raw spirit. By insisting on &e eENTTRTg SANDER EXTRACT you will get the advantage of qnaiitf and will be nfe £r«tn h*naSASBKEfi EXTRACT,

SCR MORE* "'

Ewsttba Ciders lHce tha*. Tfo pure apple juice from which it is made is good for the syetem —moat beneficial for Rheumatics and Gout. Try tW Ask

Oiders for the supply of khaki materill to tho value of nearly £IOO,OOO have been placed Keith the Cne?ini)ga Woollen Mills Co«pany, An eel caught in tho Ashburton River weighed 27 ! / 2 lb. The river is stated to be swarming with eels from 51b upwards.

The Ofcago Times states that on and after Wednesday ne.vt there will be an increased charge for admission to nearly all the picture theatres in DunediiL The Municipal Food Department of Straseburg has ordered that newiy-raar-ried couples shall receive food cards for double rations for a period of six weeks. A young lion, about nine months old, escaped from the Onehunga Zoo at about 4 p.m. on Tuesday. It entered an adjoining paddock, where two cows and a calf were grazing. One of the cows chased the lion, which took refuge in a hedge, where, it was found about two hours later by a search party. A returned soldier, who was with the party, lassoed the beast, which up to the moment of capture had been tame enougn, but when caught showed fight. The lion was taken back to its cage. We are in receipt of the 1917 issue of "Blue and White," the school magazine of St. Patrick's College, Wellington. It ifi a splendid publication, the compilers stating that .they are maintaining the policy that no pains and expense should be spared to make the magazine a fitting record of the splendid response of the College old boys to their country's call, and of their brave deeds on the field of battle. The roll of honor contains 454 names, which is a great record for a school with accommodation for only 100 scholars. The magazine is excellently printed and freely illustrated, and a credit to all concerned.

Aviation Day in Napier was a great success. The Thirty Thousand Club, which organised this Boxing Day event, had arranged with Messrs Walsh Bros., of Auckland, to bring one of their seaplanes from tho New Zealand Flying School at Kohimarama to give a flying exhibition at the Marine Parade. This proved a big attraction and drew a large number of visitors. The weather was beautifully fine, and a number of successful flights were made, the first passenger being Mr. Frank Moeller. About 25 other passengers, including several ladies, availed themselves of the opportunity to fly across the harbor, the fares ranging from £2O down to £5 each.

Commenting on the Motuihi escapees, the Dunedin Star says:—Let it be remembered that it was this same German aristocrat—Count Von Luckner—who, as the commander of the See Adler, before that raider came to the Pacific and ignominiously became embedded in sand and coral off Mopehaa, in the Society Wand, sank shipping, mostly defenceleas'merchantmen, to the value of eight millions sterling. In other days such a pirate would have dangled from the yardarm of a frigate. At Motuihi Island, in these days of atrocities on one side and chivalrous lunacy on the other, he is treated as a first-class prisoner, exempted from even answering a precautionary roll-call, is given the right to select as his orderly the leading seaman on his former pirate raider, and finally is allowed to leave captivity smilingly and to seize a scow within sight of a land of super-admin-istrators.

Private Fiferoy Lovell, of the New Zealand M.G. who enlisted at Tauranga, writes to Mr. Lloyd Mandeno from somewhere in France, under date November 1. He says: "Our pack, which we take with us everywhere, contains a complete change of winter underwear, set of toilet and eating gear, one blanket, one oilsheet, one great coat, one entrenching tool, two gas masks, rifle bayonet, and 150 rounds of ammunition. When I come back give me all your packing jobs, and I'll save you 50 per cent, shipping charges. I believe I could put a grand piano into a top hat easily. I could do wonders with a little water. One day I was issued a pannikin—lmperial pint—full of fresh water, and in it I had a bath, cleaned my teeth, washed a towel, and two pairs of socks, and gave the remainder to my mate."

The following paragraph appearing in the Daily Mirror shows that prisoners of war escape in other places besides New Zealand: "Lieutenant Otto Thelen made his fourth escape from internment camps recently but was recaptured. With 21 other Hun officers, including Captain von Muller (late commander of the Emden)—a pioneer of modern piracy—he disappeared through a tunnel at Keyworth, near the famous Donnington Hall. Of the 23 German officers who escaped, 12 have been recaptured. The German prisoners who escaped from Handforth Camp seven weeks ago are still at large. This means that 12 of the escaped prisoners have been caught and 11 officer prisoners are still at large, and liavo been lost for seven weeks."

An unusual incident happened recently in a New Plymouth poultry pen. From a pair, of bantams a nice clutch of chicks was hatched. When the chicks were a week old the hen commenced to lay, and in a few days a half-dozen eggs were in the nest. Biddy had plenty to do to rear and mother her brood of chicks, and of course could not undertake the hatching pf the new batch of eggs. The rooster decided to make a name for himself, and one morning he took charge of the eggs and began setting them out. For three long weeks the rooster sat closely, and was rewarded for his selfimposed task by proudly v-vlkirig out of the nest one day with a new clutch of chickens. During the period of incubation tho rooster became clucky as 'a broody hen, and every second day came off the eggs for food and water. The opening of the New Year will be marked by the holding of a short service at St. Andrew's Church, at half-past seven to-morrow (Tuesday) morning, to which service all are cordially invited.— Advt. DR. SHELDON'S DIGESTIVB TABULES. Is the remedy that everyone should tak» when there is anything wrong with tho stomach. Poor Appetite, Loss of Strength, Nervousness, Headache, Bad Bre'ath, Heartburn, Indigestion and Dyspepsia are quickly banished by the use of Dr. Sheldon's Digestive Tabules. These Tabules represent the natural juices of digestion, combined with the greatest known tonic and reconstructive agents. They simply do the work of the stomach, relieving that weakened organ, and permitting it to rest and recuperate. When yon take Dr. Sheldon's Digestive Tabules, everything you cat tastes good, and every bit of the nutriment that the food contains is assimilated and appropriated by the blood and tissues. They are the only safe, reliable, curtain remedy for all stomach troubles. Dr. Sheldon's Digestive Tabules, 1$ and 2*B. Obtainable everywhere. Ladies and invalids will fmfl Sharland's i Magnesia a valuable corrective |g. j+oc. '~7*»«he l && *. '"^Vtafpt**"^

A special meeting, of the .EjmonjWanganui Hunt Club* was held At W*Verley to dealde whether the club wore going to hunt next season or 'not The chairman, Mr. J. E. Palmer, explained fchut arrangements would have to be made to have the hounds taiket after oven if they did not hunt. As ih* outcome of considerable discussion, it was (says the Press) resolved to accopt Mr. B. 1». Syme's offer to look alter the hounds and give runs wh«n required, not more thau five in the'season, at a salary of £l5O per ansum. It was decided that there should be no fixtures, but the runs will be arranged in each district, the members in t!:i»t particular part to pay all expenses. The return showing the number of vessels that have entered the port of New Plymouth during ti:c past year makes an interesting record. A total of 269 vessels, or an average of over 22 per month, have entered the harbor, the registered tonnage of which in the aggregate totalled some 255,433 tons. The record is the more valuable, inasmuch as the past year has witnessed the opening of the port to Home liner traffic, the first of such vessels having been berthed on March 21. Since then several Homegoing boats have visited New Plymouth, but the restrictions placed upon the publication of the movements of such shijn has militated against the publicity w'hicti would otherwise have been given the opening of the port to overseas traffic. It is gratifying, however, to those who havo worked to purpose, and though the general public may not get to know so readily of "the arrival and departure of the big vessels, through conditions imposed by the war, it may be taken for granted that no occasion will be missed of shipping direct from its own port the' products of the province of Taranald

The advance in the price of cigarettes, due to the largely increased duty, is a matter of some moment to cigarettsmokers, and will assuredly result in a substantial falling-off in the demand for ready-made cigarettes. Smokers will naturally prefer to roll their own. A packet containing ten imported cigarettes of the ordinary kind now costs 7d —or 17 smokes for one shilling. But a shilling pouch of "Three Diamonds," an ideal cigarette tobacco, New Zealandgrown, will make 40 to 50 full-sized cigarettes of exquisite flavor and aroma. This product of New Zealand climate and soil differs from the imported article in as much as it contain* less nicotine, it is therefore decidedly a more healthful smoke and leaves absolutely no unpleasant or injurious after effects. Such virtues as these would naturally appeal to the smoker and convince even the man prejudiced against New Zealand-made goods. Indeed oiir two local brands, Oold Pouch and Three Diamonds, are at the present moment probably the most popular smoking tobaccos on the market and so enormous is the demand that the manufacturers can no longer cope with it. Surely that promises well for our young tobacco industry. ' 8B The attention of readers is directed to the seaside picnic (advertised on another page) to be held at Waitara tomorrow (New Year's Day). The Seaside Picnic Committee have drawn up a good programme, which, if the day is fine, should assure an enjoyable day's amusement to anyone attending the picnic, while the surf bathing a]one would amply repay anyone making the visit. Up-to-date facilities for surf-bathing have been provided in the wav of dress-ing-sheds.