LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 March 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Tho Australian Federal Government has granted £50,000 to the Halifax disaster fund.—Press Association. The Minister of Finance states that the prospectus of the new war loan will be published on March 10. The amount asked for will be £9,500,000. At a meeting of the Egmont Racing Club on Friday it was decided to mako a donation of £20(1 to (lie Returned Soldiers "Big Push" Fund. At the Waverley Court on Thursday A. W. C. Mountford, described as an incorrigible rogue, was sentenced to three months' imprisonment for breaking into the offertory box of the local Church of England. \ The Dunedin Plunket Society has received the following cable from New York from Dr. Truby King: Intense interest and generous recognition exhibited in the Society's work and methods in the States and Canada.

To-morrow (Sunday) afternoon, commencing at 3 o'clock, the Citizens' Band will give another of their popular recitals at the Breakwater. An excellent programme has been arranged, and included in the selections are some request numbers that the band were unable to play at the last recital owing to not having the music with them. Special trams will bo put on if necessary to cope with the traffic. A collection will be taken up by the band in aid of the band room building fund. As a convenience to patrons the management of Everybody's theatre has arranged for day sales of either stalls or dress circle tickets for to-night's entertainment, at Collier's, any timo during the day. This will enable regular patrons to purchase their tickets any time to-day and thereby avoid the inevitable Saturday night rush at the ticket box. The rich and poor alike in America havo contributed very generously to the various organisations—and there are over 150 of them—for war aid and war relief. Of all the multi-millionaires who have —subscribed liberally, Mr. John D. Rockfeller, the "Oil King." is the chief in munificence. Since America has come into the war he has given in various forms of war aid the sum of £14,000,000. The son of another multi-millionaire-young Kingdon Gould —has just been promoted at Camp Dix, New York,,to be a sergeant interpreter, an advance that has been merited by his conduct and ability. New York City has led the way in introducing women workers on the street cars. Many others are in training, and as men are called up for military duty women will take their places. While American soldiers are righting in France they will be relieved of any medical expense for their families in this country, for doctors in many places—New York again leading in this respect—volunteer to treat without fees the families of all Army men. , The following detrained at Hawera on Thursday: Second-Lieutenant J. Murphy (Meremere), Lance-Corporal F. J. Murphy (Opunake), Private C. A. Collins (Manaia), Private R. Joyce (Okaiawa), Corporal J. McCook and Private K. McCook (Opunake). The Deputy-Mayor (Mr. L. A. Bone) briefly extended a warm welcome to the returned soldiers, who were accorded three hearty cheers as the train came in. Mr. Bono said he was sure they were all pleased to see the soldiers back once more. These men had borne the burden of the battle, and some of them had been away since the beginning of the war. Socond-Lieutenant Murphy left with the Main .Body in the 4th Otago Mounteds, had gone through Gallipoli and Messines. He had lost three brothers on active service. This family had done magnificently. (Cheers.) Captain Murray Urquhart, who was also on the train, had been away with the Main Body and had won the Military Cross. (Renewed cheers.) The people of Hawera and district were indeed proud of their soldier sons. The Rev. H. B. Gray also extended a hearty welcome to the returned heroes., Captain Urquhart has returned on furlough. Further cheers were given for the men and for their comrades who went north.—Star.

The general secretary of the Federated Society of Boilermakers, Newcastle (Mr. J. O'Toole), has received a letter from Mr. J. Casey, of 'Kansas, U.S.A., in which he refers to tho industrial position in that country (reports the Sydney Morning Herald). The letter reads:— "ive have been making great strides in organising the shipbuilders in this country. As their ranks have greatly multiplied we have made muoh progress in the past year. Our membership is about 50,000. We have a large corps of organisers in the field and new members are constantly being taken in. A lot of new blood will be required to keep pace with the great shipbuilding programme in this country, and it will, too, in many cases have to bo supplied by a dilution of mechanics from other lines. Quite a number of new yards with large capacity have been built, and the pace during the next few months will be much faster. I am sorry to know that your shipbuilding programme has t>eon held up, for, if it were inaugurated, it would not be long before they would be furnishing ships to transport grain that has accuminulated to points where it is more urgently needed. I have no doubt the buying of ships in a foreign country at the present time produced considerablo adverse comment in Australia."

DURAND'S "APIOLETTS" Are the best. Prescribed by worldfamous specialists. Gs 6d post free by return mail. To ensure getting the genuine, order direct from sole N.Z. Agents— Bridge Drug Stores, Great Mail Order Chemists, 7 Bridge Buildings, Newton, Auckland. All medicines, etc,.sent post free.

Tli<! price of bread was raised in Dunediu last week from to lOd. A waggon load of benzine was burnt whilst being conveyed on n borse-dravvn lorry mi the Ilntt Koad, Wellington, tin; other day. The. consignment, consisting of 120 cases, was completely destroyed, though Hie waggon was only charred. The horsoß were removed without injury. The origiji of the fire is not stated.

"I'eople in Wellington now look for increases in prices of various articles just as the mariner looks for the weather reports," stated Air. ;\1- .]. Reardon at the Arbitration Court the otlier day. '"They have become quite accustomed to increases, and they are never surprised when they see another announcement"

"In future all these profiteering cases are going to prison. There will be no fines. Everybody—butchers, grocers, and butter-sellers—will go to prison after this week." This was the warning given' by Mr. Chester Jones, magistrate iit fjunbeth (London) Police Court, in fining grocers £BS for selling margarine above the maximum price. A very unenviable experience befel a Westport resident, 'Mrs. Athol Tomkies. last week, on the N'gakawau bridge. At about 8 p.m. she was about midway over the bridge, with two children in a perambulator, when a train appeared. Mrs Tomkies made a hurried run, pushing the perambulator, for the end of the bridge, but, finding she could not escape the oncoming train, she caught up the children, and thus saved them from what appeared to be certain death. The perambulator was caught by the engine and damaged.

Parents should not miss spurting the kiddies to the Empire theatre matinee this afternoon where a specially attractive programme is being shown, including "Adventures of Peg o' the Ring" (the big circus drama), "Flirting With .Danger' (two-reel Vogue comedy), and a Keystone comedy, "The Messenger Boy," which is guaranteed to have a laugh to every foot. The kiddies will bt admitted for threepence. At a meeting of the Kawaroa Park Committee held on Thursday evening, matters in connection with the Easter Holiday picnic were reported to be progressing favorably. Tt was decided to add cooking competitions for technical school girls for the best sponge cake. Mr. If. Okey offered to give a sheep for a weight-guessing competition. A donation of tl was also received from Mrs. C. H. Burgess. It was decided to hold the annual schools tug-of-war and relay race for which entries will clone on March 27. Handsome medalions will be presented to the winners. The winners of the tug-of-war will hold the challenge cup for the year, the present holders of which are the boys of the Wailii School. A sub-committee was set up to draw up the programme. A number of moa bones, concerning which a controversy raged years ago between the late Captain F. W llutton and I>r. 11. 0. Forbes, a one-time curator of Canterbury Museum, have been presented to the Canterbury Museum, by Mr F. YV- Stubbs. of- Ger'aldinc. The fossils, which are t'lie remains of leg bones, 'belong to an earlier date than that of any other moa bones found, and it was upon them that Captain llutton established one of the many species of the moa. which ke named Anomalopteryx Antiquus. Menrbers of the species belonged to a group of small, thick-act, clumsy moas standing 3ft or 4ft high, allied to a species whose remains are found near Tnkakti, Nelson. Captain llutton placed the bones as belonging to the Upper Miocene or the old Pliocene period, Mr. ft. Speight, curator of the museum, agreeing with him, but Sir Julius von Haast assigned them as far back as the early part of the Tertiary Era. The bones were discovered beneath a lava flow at Timaru by Mr. Stubbs many years ago.

"Sly inclination is to refuse this application," said Mr. Justice Hosking at Auckland recently, when a counsel submitted a motion for leave to serve citation outside New Zealand upon a soldier a3 the respondent in a divorce suit. It was stated that the soldier was at present in the firing-line in France. His Honor added that he believed the War IRegulations prevented a service of the kind proposed while a man was with I tile forces. "A man at the front," he said, "has no time to defend.divorce proceedings, and I do not think he sli'jiAi !be worried with them." Counsel stated that the soldier had deserted his wife in 1912, and the period required by the law had expired. His Honor replied that he was not disposed to consider the time the man had spent with the forces as desertion. At the request of counsel the matter was held over in the meantime to enable it to be ascertained whether the soldier had lived away from his wife for at least five years prior to his enlistment.

The first meeting of the newly-elected Taraimki Licensing Committee was held at tlie Courthouse, New Plymouth, at noon yesterday, Mr. A. Crooke, S.M., presided and the other members present were Messrs J. B. Connett, R. Cock, F. P. Corkill, and W. H. Mac Donald. An application on behalf of James Hawkins, for the transfer of the license of the Railway Hotel, Tnglewood, to Ernest Clias. Heel, was granted. Mr. F. E. Wilson, for ilr. Geo. Grey, appeared for the applicant.

To-night will be positively the last screening of the delightful Metro drama, "The Girl Without a Soul," featuring Viola Dana, and the popular circus drama "Peg o' the King," at the Empire Theatre.

The cost of women's hose is still soaring and stocks in the Dominion are becoming depleted to an alarming extent. The wise ones are buying all they possibly can at the Melbourne's sale while the following prices obtain: Plain cashmere hose, 2s 3d; ribbed ditto. 2s lid; yellow label llama hose, 3s lid.

The N.Z. Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Ltd., Stratford, notify clients that they are holding a clearing sale on account of Mr. A. W. Blennerhassett, Tarata. The land, furniture, and effects will be offered at Mr. Blennerhassett's residence, Junction road, Tarata. and 11 a.m. on Friday ne.vt, 15th inst., and the stock will be offered immediately after the sale of the land and furniture, at the Loan and Mercantile's yards at 1 p.m. Full particulars will be found on page eight of this issue.

RELIEF FROM BAGGAGE TROUBLE. MINIMUM EXPENSE Don't be bothered with baggage. Why should you be when all that is necessary to escape trouble is to check through us ? We collect, check, deliver on arrival. Most helpful. See us, producing your ticket or getting us issue it. The New 1 Zealand Express Co., Ltd.