GENERAL NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 February 1918, Page 5

GENERAL NEWS.

A ° n ° ° f his recent VotM Mr H. 0. Wells forecasts the decline and final extinction of that faithful frjend of man—the horse. lie prophesisea that •" in about half a century from now the visitor to the museums of that time will mid among extinct species the skeleton of a largo animal, with a card'indieatinff that "This is the frame of a horse, at one time much in uso by men for all kinds of transportation 'work." It seems as if Mr Wells* prophecy is likffly to come true, but from all indications sooner than the time ho indicates, for horse-drawn vehicles of all kinds «r»; rapidly giving place to petrol-propelled motors and machines. One of the latest uses for a tractor to bo put to is harvesting, for the other day one of these handy machines (states'a Christchurch paper) eould bo seen at work in a field at Rpringsidc, North Canterbury, haußng a reaper r.nd binder. During the cold weather at the front last year some of the Colonial troops (so writes a Coast boy), were nt iimt« hard pressed for "bed clothes." This state of affairs, he continues, led to the adoption of the policy that "Heaven helps those who help themselves." And the New Zealander boys did help themselves with a vengeance! He declares that, if required, sand-bags, tarpaulins, etc., were ''lifted" if anyways handy. On one occasion 1000 sand-bags disappeared from their proper quartern, but solved the problem of sleep for a larga number of men. "I 'pinched' half a tent one night," he added "and it served to cover nine of us nicely. W : o had to cuddle in like pigs but we managed to keep warm—and warmth was the only thing that mattered."

A.r attempt was made some time be« tween four o'clock m Friday afternoon and Rove:' '.'clock on Saturday moraine; ,'siaya the. Christchiireh Star) to hive;, upon the safe at the Linwood railway station. When the, el?rk in ' cinirye arrived at the station he found that the lock of the door of the bookinii '!i'i,<:' \mis jammed, and it was only after ,r;.;\.- dillienlty that he <.;ot it to respond to tin key. On entorino; ihe otflce flu' clerk soon discovered ihe reason for tlie door's obstinacy. as fl>e safe, which ir-ually o'Tiipied a pla--e under a small tabic- ret in a corner of tlie otliw, we.,; lyini> face upwardi m the middle'of the room, a clear indi—ii ion o: 'er<ii- burclarions intruder or intruders during th* nighf. Whoever the intruders were, thev were evidentlv not of the professional crack-man tvpe. im tlie implement used in the endeavor to i-MVet an entrance into the sai> was tee of)lco nw. The door of the fiife- wa■< still intact, and showed little eO'ect of tee ..t-,.>-,rif* to prize it open with an a.\v ■''<ivri-tliev.it a eluulaj• attempt at burglary,