LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 February 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A London cable states that the King 'has granted Polar Medals or extra clasps to members of Shackleton's expedition aboard the Endurance and Aurora. Two young ladies,, visitors to the West Egmont Mountain House, at Kahui road, put up a good performance the other day, walking to the North Egmont house and back in the day, a distance of 27 miles, by a track that is certainly not the best for feats of pedestrianism. In the Hawera Magistrate's Court, on Saturday morning, before Mr. W. R. Haselden, S.M., a young man named Arthur Vivian Wells, of respectable appearance, was charged that at Manaia, on or about February 8, 1918, he forged the name of J. W. Patterson, Kapuni, to a cheque for £8 18s Od, and uttered the same to Ohing Sheen Chong. The accused, who had nothing to say, pleaded guilty, and was committed to the Supreme Court, Wellington, for sentence. The takings at the Red Cross mart on Saturday last amounted to about £l9. There waß a generous contribution of gifts for sale, and the public patronage was well maintained. Next Saturday the mart will be conducted wholly in the interests of the appeal on behalf of the Scottish Women's Hospitals. The mart will be in the charge of the Scottish women of the district on that day. The other street stalls which are to be set up on that day to assist the appeal will be under the control of the Women's Patriotic Committee. Contributions for any of the stalls will be gratefully accepted by any members of the committees. A meeting of the West Egmont Committee was held last week, when there were present: Messrs W. A. Tylee (chairman), A. Cassie and H. Stonex. It was resolved to recommend that H. Kitchingman be appointed to fill the vacancy on the committee, and he was authorised to hold the keys and collect the fees. It was decided to erect a gate at the radius line. The chairman was authorised to expend the £2O granted by the National Park Board on work on the track and on the house. The chairman reported that there had been a number of visitors to the house, all of whom had expressed themselves as delighted with the scenery. and there was no doubt that if the attractions of the Rahotu side of the Mountain better known the number of visitors would be very large. The New Plymouth branch of the Women's National Reserve entertained a number of mothers and wives of soldiers to afternoon tea at Whiteley Hall, on Saturday afternoon. There was a large gathering, and a very enjoyable hour was spent. The purpose of the meeting was for the pinning on of badges to the mothers of soldiers, who had expressed a I desire to have them, and who had made I the necessary arrangements for their purchase. About 90 ladies received badges, which were distributed by the Ven. Archdeacon Evans. He gave a short address, which was full of sympathy for, l and appreciation of, the mothers in the sacrifices they had made. His Worship the Mayor (Mr. C. H. Burgess) was also present. A short programme of musical items was contributed during the afternoon. There was a large attendance at the grounds of Mr. Newton King ("Brooklands") and Mr. T. C. List ("Maranui") yesterday afternoon, when the two beautiful residential properties were thrown open for public inspection. Mr. King also placed his grounds at the disposal of the New Plymouth Citizens' Band, for the purpose of giving a recital in aid of the band funds. The attendance was probably the largest that has ever been seen when "Brooklands" has been thrown open to the public, and that notwithstanding the threatening appearance of the weather in the early afternoon. The people wandered through the grounds of both properties, and many expressions of admiration were heard of the beautiful bloom? in the flower beds and hot houses, as well ( as of the native beauty which is to be seen on botb places. The band's programme included the suite "Queen of the Night" (Picquard); selections, "Gems of Sullivan," "When the Leaves Begin to Fall" (R. H. McAnnally); quicksteps, '|Queen of the North" and "Yeomen of England"; the cornet solo, "A Perfect Day," (Bond) by Bandsman H. Voight; and a number of hymn tunes. The collection taken at the gates amounted to over £ll. The band committee appreciates very much the thoughtfulness of the owners of the two properties in throwing their grounds open to the public for the purpose of a band recital, and desires to express its gratitude for the privilege. Webster Bros, draw attention to a sale of house furniture and effects on account of Mrs. A. R. Ben bow, at her residence, opposite the store, Vogeltown. Members of the Equitable Building Society of New ipiy mouth. (Second Group) are notified that subscriptions will be due and payable !o-day (Monday, February 18), at the Secretary's Office, Currie street, from 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m., from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.—Advt. Ask distinctly for SANDER'S EUCALYPTI EXTRACT, or else you may receive one of the many substitutes. The GENUINE SANDER EXTRACT cures colds, fevers, indigestion ; prevents infectious diseases and | heals ulcers, poisoned wounds, skin diseases, burns, sprains, ete. It is much more powerfully antiseptic than the i common eucalyptus and does not depress I or irritate like tits latter.

''You say you are keeping compan, with tiie cook u< the hotel?' vas a question put by Sergeant Bird to a defendant in a case heard at Lower Hutt on Wednesday. "Yes, sir," replied the witiH.is. "Do you know a Miss , and do you keep company with her also?" "I know her and speak to her sometimes," said the defendant. Mr. J. J. McGrutb, counsel for the defence, humorously observed that if the defendant kept company with two girls nt the same time he ought to join the police force. It is stated, says the Otago Daily Times, that some of the local hotel* :ire experiencing a difficulty in making ends meet as a result of the introduction of six. o'clock closing, and that there is a likelihood of two, if not three, throwing up their leases. It would not appear, however, that this state of affairs goes to prove that there has been any great decrease in the consumption of'liquor, but rather that the demand has been diverted to other channels. The demand, in fact, for two and fivegallon jars of beer is said to have largely increased, and the Otago breweries are consequently paying greater attention to this feature of their businesses. A story of the recent trapping of a Oimun plotter in India reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes is told in a letter which reached the London Daily Express recently from Calcutta. An officer of the political secret service of India (which, as readers of Kudyard Kipling's "Kim" will not need to be reminded, is one of the finest in the world), had long su.'pected that a missionary who professed to be a Swede was in fact other than he seemed. The officer, wiio speaks perfectly the vernacular of the district, disguised himself as a native servant, schemed successfully to lure one of the padre's "boys" elsewhere, presented himi'elf as a "hudli," or temporary snestitute. and' in three days caught the "Swede" red-handed. He proved to be a German, and the centre of a little hotbed of Hun intrigue. In a will dispute before Mr. Justice Hnrridge at London in November, some remarkable particulars were given of the late Mr. Davidson Parkinson Garbutt, of Hull, described as a builder, farmer, and philanthropist. It was .stated that Mr. Garbutt was a self-made man, and could not read or write till he reached the age of 50, when he taught himself in order to study the Bible. He was a keen business man, and settled about ,€IO,OOO on bis wife in 1879. In 18S3 he had to compound with his creditors for 5s in the £, but soon amassed money again. .After a serious illness in 1891 he paid in full all his old creditors, this costing about £IO,OOO Then he organised and financed the Hull City Mission to the extent of £BOO a year. It was on the ground that he suffered from religious mania that the son disputed the will. The value of the estate was stated to be , .£25,000. The defence in a case heard in the Wellington Supreme Court on Wednesday painted the accused in rather startling colors (says the Times). The prosecution had shown the same person to be somewhat peculiar in that he was given to following girls about and was known as "Peeping Tom" from a little failing alleged against him of peeping at night through bedroom windows- The defence, however, went much further. Accused was a vegetarian, given to eatign nuts, suffered from insomnia and indigestion, was known on several occasions to go to sleep while lie was standing up, went for long midnight walks, wrote poetry, drama, and opera, had not 'been known to go to bed for years; also many other interesting things. Add to this the verdict of guilty supplied by the jury to the "Peeping Tom" charge against accused, and one can see that the prisoner in question is indeed a very, very extraordinary personi A Palmerston gentleman, who is deeply interested in economic botany, has been instrumental in introducing to that district a plant which has already proved itself a valuable aid in reclaiming sand and other waste areas. The discovery of the plant in these latitudes is rather interesting, and was supplied tt a Standard representative by the gentleman referred to. "Between Tasmania and Victoria," he stated, "there is a fair-sized island, called King's Island. Years ago it was a waste of white sand. A wreck occurred, and from it a bed mattress floated ashore. Where it rotted a green patch appeared, and the growth ultimately spread over the sands of the island, converting the barren areas into excellent pastures. The Victorian Agricultural Department, introduced the plant to the coastal areas of .that State with great success. For a long time its nature was not determined, but now it is officially classified as 'melilotus parviftorus.' It is a legume, and related to the clovers and lucerne. It grows luxuriantly, and the dying leaves add humus to the sands and being a legume, with abundant root nodules, it quickly nitrates the soil. In America it has been used on poor clay lands for reclamation, with good / suits," The gentleman further stated that he believes that the sand areas of the west coast of the North Island could be turned to good use if this plant were extensively introduced. He has hceii successful in producing a quantity of the seed, and has supplied the Standard office with a parcel for distribution over such areas. It would be useless sowing it on good land, as its value is to reclaim poor soils. Correspondence from King's Island shows that the effect of this plant has not been exaggerated- The time to sow is in the month of February, and the seed should be soaked in water for several hours before sowing. Alice B&dy appears for the last time to-night at Everybody's in the nine World film, "The Self-made Widow." The management advise the crowds unable to gain admission on daiturday night to come early to-night. The change of programme for to-morrow will be headed by a Fox feature. "A Modern Cinderella," with June Caprice in her latest and most charming picturisation of rollicking youth. "The Destroying Angels" were a band of iron-willed fanatics who guarded the entrances and exist from the Mormon settlement in its early days. They wore fantastic costumes of white with a heavy veil, and showing the "All-seeing Eye" of the Mormon ritual. From these robes were drawn the costumes of the KuKlux Klan. Every road and every pass was guarded by members of tthe "Destroying Angels," and no one could go in or out, of the Utah settlement without their knowledge. These are utilised in one of the most dramatic incidents in "The Mormon Maid," the powerful picture drama which is commencing a three-night season at the Empire Theatre to-night,