LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 January 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Queen Alexandra lias cabled to the Ooveriior-Ceneral, thanking his Kxcelleney and the people of New Zealand for their kind message on the occasion of her Majesty's birthday. The cable concludes: "I have watched, with the greatest admiration, the splendid services of the New Zealand troops during'this great war."—Press Association.

A Press .Association telegram from Wariganui states that the fourth Government valuation of wool there for this season eoiieludett yesterday, some 0000 bales being dealt with. Or, the whole, tJie wool was well grown and faii-ly clear ol" seed, and in belter condition as compared with last year. At the Hawera Police Court yesterday, Mr. W. I!. Haselden, S.M., said his attention had been drawn to the excessive speed in which motor cars had been driven through Hawera during the past week, particularly by drivers from outside districts The sergeant of police assured the'magistrate that the matter would receive his attention. Mr. H. R. Cattley, secretary of the New Plymouth Citizens' Hand Committee, received a cabin from Queensland on Thursday stating that the Ipswich Band, of which Mr. F. W. (1 McUcod was formerly bandmaster, had won both shields tin the New Year contest, it was in connection with this contest that the Ipswich Band desired Mr. McLeod to go to Australia to again act as its conductor. Not a pound of bacon can he purchased in any shop in Eltham "for love nor money," savs the Eltham Argus. Yet there is a bacon factory in the town. Whether there is a "hold-up" to keep up prices, or whether it is merely a case of supply being unequal to demifnd, cannot be said, but in these days of exploitation the public are suspicious. Lockjaw was the cause of the death of Mr. James Chriehton 'fait, of Oamaru. He had been working at Station Peak, and in stepping oil' a trestle stood upon a nail, which penetrated his foot. The wound apparently healed well, and he paid little attention to it until stillness and pains at the side of his jaw warned him that he was unwell, and he decided to proceed to Oamara for attention. When he reached home it was discovered that ho had been attacked by,tetanus, to which, after a short illness, he succumbed. The new process of dealing with carcases of mutton at the Waitara Freezing Works, in order to conserve storage space, is proving most advantageous. Before being bugged, the hind quarters are cut off and inserted into the upper portion of the carcase. The process takes a little longer than the old method, but the saving of as much as 47 per cent of space makes the adoption of the system well worth while. The gain is also an advantage in respect to shipping space, though the .saving is said to be only about 25 per cent. Recently, says the Star, the Hawera police received complaints of children having been interfered with in the King Edward Park, as the result of which last week a foreigner, of Portuguese and Indian blood, was arrested upon a serious charge. The accused appeared before Mr. W. R. Haselden, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court, yesterday, when two informations were preferred against him. The accused pleaded guilty to one charge and not guilty to the other. He was committed to the Supreme Court at New Plymouth for sentence on the charge to which he pleaded guilty, ftnd for trial on the second charge. Accused was not represented by counsel.

The New Zealand Loan-and Mercantile draw attention to their Stratford sale on Tuesday next. Full particulars will be found on page <S of this issue.

The usual matinee will be held at the Empire Uhis afternoon, when the programme will include the Chaplin eomedy, "Clmriie by the Sea,'' which was delayed in transit duriue the early part of this week.

A jrcntlemau Jut - vuhiuiiirily nlTcmf to M'.jici'vi:-! the liot-uii' >' .hi ltuili: l.csu-I. 10-mnrruu, so n* I" cmib:.' picnickers to obtain lint walef" free. Tltose in loiii'ii willi i!m» wromevfi.il life ill' 1 Jim;m.l iis ;i!"■ must, optimistic and cheerful concern in,e - the future. The In.sines-: ] v<-oj>l(! tiro endtiuus Imt not anxious: the people as a '.'.'hole seem to lie neither cautious iiov an.rioiis. Vioney in 11o\."i11L' 'rum their w.'ll-liUeil pockets us it never ttoW'-d before, While the city people are bsiyinii' freely. orders (Yum (tie country. wholesale aii'l retail, are on a unite that is most ifrnlil'.ving to merchants, and every where it i» reported that payments are prompt am! that bad debts aie few. An illustration of the tleiman disregard lor the laws of war and humanity can be found in an incident, which occurred the other nip lit near Huuthulsl forest. The Kritish heard cries of "ritrctflier bearers" from ... o Man's hand, it naturally was assumed that a wounded man was calling for help, and Med bearers rushed out, through the darkness to render assistance. They were shot down by Merman snipers, who used this ruse to entice them into the open. There have been many oilier eases recently in which snipers lujve. shot down l!ecl Cross workers deliberately, notwithstanding the fact Hint Oerniiui Red Cress workers have been permitted to work unmolested.

Following are (.lie returns! of business transacted at the New Plymouth post otl'ee for the four days in ■•ledial.ely preceding Christmas: Mail bags despatched, 17ot (!t 7>i last year!: .stamp sales, .CKHlli trCTIK!); t i'le;Ti;s nis. forwarded ■Mm (±>oo/. received 2100 (2(yiil, transmitted front other stations lor places beyond Now Plymouth, :H7~> (.'ll!(2). The telegraphic figures are not really a failcriterion of the work done. ».s owing to a block on the line Wellington io Auel<liiml, the bulk of the Xew I'lymoutli work did not reach here till Christmas morning, mid tlie ! ignros for the ki.sr day show n 10 per cent, increase, and thus bring the total figures to n level with those of k.-.t year. The two wet days. (Saturday and Monday, would prevent n certain amount, of telegraphing being done by the public.

The riuesiion of the collection of the dox-tax concerned the members of the Clifton County Council at yesterday's meeting. ]t was stated that last year the tax had not been collected uniformly over the eoanly, and members thought that an effort should l»>s made to have the tax properly collected. A proposal that the county surfacemen should be allowed tiino in which to collect the tax did not meet with general approval, and the eng'neer pointed out that all the sin-free-men had more work than they could accomplish, and the scarcity of labor made it inadvisable that the men should be given extra work to do. ft ivas eventually decided to strike a tax oil the same basis as last year—2/fi for working dogs and ."is for sporting dogs—and that an effort be made to secure the services of a collector in each riding.

That the season has been an abnormal .one, so far as bird life is concerned, would appear to be an indisputed fact (says the <" nstehurch Sun), and a particular!, unwelcome one, at a time when e\erv ounce of food that can be produced from tin,' hind is urgently needed. Already the ravages of the pest have resulted in considerable mischief being done, and v.ith the ripening of the ,'jrain a far greater toll than ever will be taken. One gentleman of some experience, wii'o has just motored from Tiinani to Ohristchureh, states that he lias never previously seen so much damage done by the birds. One instance recorded of bird ravages occurred at Lincoln, where the pest absolutely disposed of .three acres of Cape barley. A heavy toll has also been exacted from the'f it it and berries.

At a meeting of the New Plymouth Eiiicicncy Board trustees, yesterday, Mr. 'l'. Furlong Jr. presiding, a considerable amount of correspondence was dealt with from the Minister of Defence, Messrs Moss and Ferguson (Efficiency Board), and the secretary of the Labor Department, the latter being in connection with labor organisation. A list of boys willing to help in farm work during the holidays was forwarded by the secretary of the Taranaki A. and P. Association. An application was received from a farmer at Puniho for a man to assist with milking, offering good wages and a comfortable home. Another farmer at Sentry Hill applied for a boy's help during the holidays at stated wages. A letter of thanks was received from the secretary of the llruti Dairy Co., for assistance rendered during the manager's illness. Four soldiers applied for finaneii.l assistance, and the necessary forms were supplied, and after being rilled in are to be sent to the secretary of the Financial Assistance Board.

An inquest was opened yesterday afternoon, before Mr. A. Crooke, S.M., district coroner, concerning the circumstances surrounding the death of Francis Anstis, which took place in the New Plymouth Hospital shortly after mid-day on Saturday. Deceased was a flax worker, and lived at South road, New Plymouth, He had been to the Stratford races on Wedno ;day last, and was returning home W'tli others in a motor car driven by L. Jury. Whilst travelling along the Tariki road one of the tyres burst and the car overturned, causing injuries to deceased which necessitated medical treatment. This was rendered at Inglcwood, where the injured man remained until yesterday morning, when he was brought in to his home. Upon examination by Dr. J.ilaekiey, he was ordered into the hospital immediately, and died within a iew hours of the time of admission. Will. John Anstis, laborer, of Westown, brother of deceased, gave evidence of identification. 'fhe coroner ordered a post mortem examination to be hell, a.'ld the inquest was adjourned sine die.

3 he first Sunday of this year happens to tall of the litli of January, which is observed throughout Christendom as the Feast of the Kpiphamy. Special intercessions will be oll'ered for'our nation, and empire and for our soldiers and sailors. at tile services in St. Mary's Parish Church, chielly at the Holy Eucharist at S a.m. and again at midday.

The Melbourne, Ltd.'*, stock of bovs' tiveVd sports suits has been considerably augmented by the addition of several new designs from the Kaiapoi, Eoslyn and Pet.one, woollen mills. New shades of grey aml brown mixtures predoniinaie. j Trices for best qualities range from 23s lid to 33s (id.

A notice appears in to-day's issue regarding the opening of "Aotea" to the general public.

It was proved at the Supreme Court of Victoria, at Melbourne, that (1) EXTRACT is much more powerfully healing and antiseptic than ordinary eucalyptus preparations; (2) >AXI>JOfi'S EXTKACT docs not dcthe heart like the so-eallcd ''extract;*" and crude oils; (.'J) SA-N'DEK'S KXTIiACT is highly commended l)v many authorities a-: a safe, reliable anil j effective household remedy. Get the .genuine-- iusist if you liave to—and be

i ''Tin* hcf;l iutimnieiii is tlinf. of ; tlie .New Zetland i!oy(Tm;i: -iii. Aijutii; . fltin v. rov t : r»- **i#■ * i on t;ii 1 i.-:liiiifl ill ilk.i inning i,f tlic \v:u'. T!i" j-M'ii; i'inui'l fin- ;nv .inning V.'iLh ;iu<! ;is the ;'iilv v:iy \\w [,\ri;.(>r]('!'s c;ui :• is !,y Mviininin;--

well, they're >ti>p|>inu; lie-re (ill the war i; .So sayflic iiinimiL'ham JJaiiy Post. Kvidcntly the censor conceals many iwiiarkab'e tliiii:;; from the people of New Zcalo-nd. A rein ii'icd Aolilicr (resiili-nt in Pakiici'ston, I old Times i't']n-o-.c;;t ativtrecently that "me Napier men who returned worn.': from I In; front and who landed at. V. -IliieM-ii a day or two agft wore left to nwi fir way as bed they could from tliii buai, to the railway station. .Many of lln'in wrc on crutches and sticks, and had io holA',' along. At the rail'-nr -Jation tfj .\v were .hold np at the harrier n'nd kepi i\.' a. con-

sidi>)'j!d.' ! inn' nm.il all the 'Ueketholders were l-aLi ~J:! 1 *l. They were then allowed on hoard and had to shift fot themselves, some having to stand on the platform.

Canada is making haste to repair the ravages of the Mbmarines. British Columbia's .Jiipfrtiil.linx programme to (!al» provides for the construction of some 117,0:« l gross tons of commercial shipping, to have a total carrying capacity of nearly value of these ships, some 50 in all, is about five millions sterling. While this is but an approximate estimate, it includes practically every ship of importance ill freight earning. There are, however, a mimoer of small ships being built, such as fishing boats, which have not; been included. Rome of the ships arc already in the water, some are hardly commenced. The amount, of tonnn>;e given represents definite (--utracts only, and others are being booked daily.

On the occasion of a recent recruiting demonstration in Brisbane there were three capes in the procession v/hieli attracted particular attention. The first bore the notice, "Fragments from Franco," "ml all the p:i?sengers were men who had lost limbs fighting at the front. The next car was labelled "Fragments l»,"or <\'ennany." .and was crowded with recruits ready to go forward and help the '■men in the tiring line. Lastly came ["Fragments in Australia"—a sorry spectacle, depicting, in dummies, the tired cigarette sun kers, who support the verandah posts in every city, totally oblivious, or seemingly so, of the fact that there is ,1 war on at all. It was n pointed lesson, quickly grasped by the people, and the "boos'' that followed (he dummies were evidence of the opinion in which the shirker is !he!d by the great majority of the people of the Commonwealth.

Little is heard nowadays (says Land and Water) about Germany's plans for reconstruction after the war, but the work goes on. The Russo-British News Bureau recently mentioned that "the German is making elaborate plans to conduct his trade in Russia as if nothing has happened. From reliable sources ive learn that be has established classes for discharged soldiers to train them as commercial travellers. They are taught the Russian language, Russian history, and Russian methods of business. Moreover numbers of women, some 40,00(1, it is said, arc being taught Russian so that they may be able to conduct correspon- | donee and replace the greatly depleted ranks of men. Yet another idea that is being worked out is providing Russian agricultural prisoners with sample machine:! to take back with (hem to their villages, wifh the, promise of a commission on iiny they can sell. It is a clever idea in its way. but it will be futile if the Allies make an effort to counter it. There will be enormous trade with Russia after the war. and now is the time to take the necessary steps to secure it."

SpealtiiiEr at the annual meeting in Christchurch of the general council of .the agricultural, pastoral, and dairying industries, Mr. W. Ferguson, chairman of the National Efficiency Bo"rd, said .that New Zealand should he congratulated on the fact that all her people were workers. That was the secret' of the great success of New Zealand, but harder ■'work still must he done in the future. Our .national and local bodies' debts had doubled in the last ten years while our .produce and exports had not kept up ■with such increase. \Ye must not. only think of the war, but of after the war, and it behoved all to do everything they could in the way of pushing ahead our industries. Particularly was it necessary that scientific knowledge should play a greater part in our industrial life. It was to be hoped that the Government .would speml more and more for industrial and scientific research, and enable it to be applied as it should be to industrial and agricultural life. A; Ferguson proceeded to enlarge 011 the for bringing up children in the healthiest way possible, and said there was no more healthy place than the country. He hoped that the day of village settlements was not far distant --settlements with the life of the counry and the comforts of the city—thus helping (o luild up a healthy and sturdy race to take the place of those who would never come back.