LOCAL AND GENERAL

Taranaki Daily News, 7 January 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

'flip opening of a further section of the Stratford—Main Trunk railway is noticed to take place on Tuesday next, when the train will run through Whangaino'moiia on to Kohuratalii, and so continue each Tuesday and Saturday. The prosperity of the country in spite of the war is shown by the total amount to the credit of depositors in the P.O. livings bank. The total for last year was .C2.">.(i(>:l,2lJ'.i. This is more than double the amount standing to depositors' credit five years ago, the amount then being .t 12,159,21)4.

The Hon. A. jr. Myers states that the value of the orders placed by the Munitions and Supplies Department during I!)!? was ,11.150.000, distributed as follows: Wellington (including Kelson and Blenheim), .CIHUIOO; Otago and Southland, .C2C.r»,0()0; Auckland, £170,000; Canterbury, £IOO,OOO. —Press Association.

The customs revenue collected during 'December, according to a statement by" Hon. A. 31. Uyi-rn, was £278.68'.), as compared with C 278,2112 for December, l'Jlti. The beer duty was £23,004, as compared with .1i1(i,747, the increase in the latter being due to increased duty.—Press Association.

A southern paper speaks of a soldiers' wife and her six children who are living in a three-room cottage. The War h'iniuice Board, which paid the rent so far, has refused to do so any longer, as the man is coming home invalided. Tin inhumanity of accepting such a man as a soldier is intensified by allowing such a family to herd together in three rooms.

A slight accident occurred at the Smart Road freezing Works, o» Friday, by which an employee —Aubrey Taylor—suffered the loss of (he top joint of the thumb of his right, hand. The accident occurred in the I in-mr, king section of the works. Mr. Taylor was taken to the hospital, where he is progressing satisfactorily.

Tlio menace of tram lines to wheel irali'n—ami particularly to cyclists—when the rails are ally wed to stand up above the road level, is a very real one, and has been the cause of many accidents. On Saturday afternoon a wellknown local clergyman suffered a nasty fall from his bicycle, the wheel of which got caught by a tram'rail near the railway station. The gentleman himself sustained a sprained wrist and sundry abrasion.", aiid the bicycle was considerably damaged. The remedying of this 'danger should.be prompt, and effective.

Some of the 16 Holstein cattle that the New Zealand Government is exchanging for a similar number of Red Polls from the Victorian State herd have already left New Zealand. The basis of the exchange is to be milk production, and there may be a slight margin one way or the other. The Minister of Agriculture believes the introduction of a strain oflled Poll cattle from the Victorian Government's excellent herd will be of great value to New Zealand dairymen, and after a year or two the Government v.uold be able to -sell ten or twelve bulls yearly for the improvement of New Zealand milking herds.

At Normanby, on Friday, an old man named John Copeland, a luborer, residing on the Austin road with his step-daugh-ter, Mrs. Waslcy, committed suicide. ' It is alleged that Copeland had placed either gunpowder or some other material of an explosive nature under his body, and ignited it wit!, a match, as a box of matches was found beside the body. The occurrence took place at about 0.,'i0 in the evening. Dr. Sloan was sent for, and arrived shortly after S o'clock. The man was still alive when the doctor arrived, but expired about half an hour later. It is stated that Copeland, who was a cripple, having to move about with crutches, had frequently used the expression, "Life is not worth living." De- j ceased was lit) years of age and a widower.

The Feilding Bacon Company announce their opening dates at Okato and Moturoa in this issue, and have appointed Mr. •f. Wooldvidye, of Okato, as their agent for (In; district. For further dates see advertising columns.

Members of the Equitable Building Society of Xcw Plymouth (Second Croup)- are notified that subscriptions will he due and payable on Monday, December 10, at the Secretary's Office, Currie street, from i) a.m. to 12.30 p.m., from 1 p.in. to 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.—Advt.

For a number of years "The Spoilers" was noted as the most famous picture story of the great Alaskan "gold-mad" days, but the Triangle Company have now produced a seven-reel fiuperi'eature. ■—"The Flame of the Yukon"—that completely outclasses "The Spoilers" in every respect. All the fascinating phases of life in the "frozen North" are shown in this picture, and Dorothy Walton stars as "The Flame," a modepi Alaskan Carmen. "The Flame of the Yukon" is showing at the Empire to-night, Tuesday and Wednegctay.

The 1018 military boot will be an I improvement on the previous pattern, (though there were no complaints this j year (says the Post). U has been found jvluit. us the aoldier has to do a great deal | of kneeling the boot toe wears out, and [Jews its shape, especially in wet weaIther. Pad-, of leather were used to keep up the sbaps of the toe, but the wet softened them, and now the leather is being reinforced with a small piece of metal, so that the boot will remain in good shape under the worst conditions. Canvas shoes for rest time and ship wear have been discarded in favor of comfortable leather shoes, which keep their shape aml appearance longer, and are, therefore, better value, to the State, which has many thousands to keep in footwear. Private F. Sisley and other Taranaki soldiers who have recently returned were welcomed at Haworii on Friday. The station was decorated with bunting, and as the train drew alongside the platform' cheers were enthusiastically given for the returned heroes. The Mayor (Mr. K Dixon), on behalf of the citizens, extended a hearty welcome to Private Sisley and the other Taranaki boys, and said the country appreciated to the fullest extent the manner in which they had nobly done their duty. He mentioned that Private Sisley, who went away two and a-half years ago, was through the battle of the Homme, and the people sympathised with him in the loss of a limb, but he would have the satisfaction of looking hack in after years to the fact that he had done his duty in a righteous cause for King and Empire. Private Sisley had his two or three brothers still on active service, and the people appreciated the fine spirit which prompted the members of families to go forward to do their duty. He trusted all the Taranaki men who were either invalided or wounded would have a speedy reeov- :•>'. (Applause.) Cheers were again given for the retun, ' .soldiers.—Star.

The greatest steam locomotive in the world has been put into service by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, says the •Popular Science Monthly. It is so gigantic that its boilers had to be made flexible at three different points so that the locomotive could turn around a curve. It is more than 100 feet long, anil weighs some 450 tons. Twentyfour driving wheels, each standing as high as an average-size man, afford it traction. The driving wheels are distributed along the length of the locomotive in pets of four pairs, the wheels of each, set being coupled together and driven by two giant steam cylinders. Under full steam the locomotive can evert an 83-t.on pull on the cars behind it, which means it can easily haul a freight train 2 miles long and 23,000 tons in weight over an ordinarily good roadbed at an average rate of about 14 miles an hour, and possibly more. Bad roads will retard it only slightly.