LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 May 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The paper shortage is causing anxiety to boot and shoe repairers, who may be compelled to use leather. —London Punch. Pa/tea Borough Council has agreed to a scheme for tarring the main street from the bridge to the borough boundary. _ Mr. Corry met with a startling experience the other day while coming into Hawera from Mokoiii in a idqtor-car. It appeared that something went wrong with the car as it was descending the Tongahoe Hill, with the result that it overturned, throwing Mr. Corrv heavily to the ground. Mr. Muggeridge, county foreman, afterward? came aloiiq* and took Mr. Corry, who wa£ badly shaken and bruised, and suffering from shock, to his home—Star.

Mr. W. E. Spencer, M.A, of the Education Department, and formerly chief inspector of the Taranaki Education District, has been visiting the various centres during the past few days. He .is much impresssed with the progress that has taken place I*ll Taranaki in the last few years, and with the splcndkl roads. South Taranaki, particularly, ha s been a revelation, the farms and buildings, and, indeed, tiho whole aspect of the countryside being va-stly, improved. Whilst stationed in Taranaki. Mr. Spence took a <rreat interest in ttio science of farming, and it was mainly dw to his efforts that the teaching of the Bi)l>jeet was taken up in the bigger schools.

He eame from Wafrarapa, and had made good in his particular line. "Say," ho said, "I can't quite understand you Taranoiki people. You are supposed' to know on what side the bread is buttered, hut I reckon your fanners are losing hundreds of thousands of pounds every year" He explained. "AH your land would be better for running, say. a ewe to the acre, together with your milph cows. Sheep eat what, the cows don't, and rice versa, and thev sweeten the pastures. Now, if a farmer with r couple of hundred acres had 200 ewes as well, see what a profit he would he making! But the shee/p should be good ones, not the serubMiers that are only too plentiful about Tarauaki to-day. Clot, standard breeds. Like standard breeds <if milch cows, tbev pay, and pay handsomely. Shake up the farmer about this." And ho left the News chronicler. Shareholders in the New Zealand Fanner Fertiliser Company are reminded of the meeting which is to be held at the Soldiers' Olub "Rooms at 1 p.m. today, to discuss various matters of interest, and to decide what action shall bp taken'in connection with the forthcoming annual meeting. The chairman of the company will be present n) the meetinff, as well as Messrs .T. S. Oouneht and E. Mnx-woll, who fl.re lieing nominated for the directorate. If you would like to see some smart now house dresses, call at Morey's. They are showing some attractive models, and tlieir advertisement in this paper refers to tK

Corporal S. C. Jordan, reported killed in action on October 12, 11)17, was the oldest son of Mr. James Jordan, cleric of the court at New Plymouth. Corporal Jordan, prior to his enlistment, was employed in the Napier office of the New Zealand Insurance Co. He left with the 7th reinforcements in August, 1!I15, being in the machine-gun section of the second battalion of the N.Z.R.D. He saw service in Egypt at the Suex Canal and against the Scnussi, and went to France with the first section of the New Zealand force. He has been in a great deal of the fighting during the time the New Zealanders have been in France, and was reported wounded and missing at Bellevcue in October last. The Court of Inquiry has now declared him to have been killed in action. Three boys of about 10 years of age appeared before the Magistrate at New Plymouth yesterday on a charge of throwing missiles at and annoying visitors to Pukeku'-a Park. The boardV solicitor (Mr. J. 11. Quilliam) acked permission to withdraw the charge, as the board was satisfied that the boys, who had been privately punished, had learned their lesson and were not likely to repeat the offence. Mr Crooko, i.n concurrring in the withdrawal of the charge, reminded the boys that their conduct would have the effect of keeping people from frequently the park, and that was not at all desiraMe. He advised them to behave themselves in the future, as, i! they, or any other offenders, came before him on a similar charge, the punishment would he severe.

Marriage is not always a tiling of bridal veils, confetti, and a formal ceremony to the music of tlie Wedding March. Just a few days ago, when the rain was coming down with unsympathetic violence, a quiet looking woman walked up to the Peathcrston Camp with a friend. There tliev were met by "a corporal, and the three turned to entpv the camp. The military police—ever watchful and attentive to duty—accosted the party and pointed out that people eould not wander at will past the pates but the corporal gently volunteered the fact that he wanted to be married. "Within quite a short while the wedding party entered one of the institutes where the padro made them "one;' and« without any superfluous .ceremony they walked out of the camp well wrapped in raincoats, etc., and looked very unlike the happy participators in a marriage. A taxi was hailed, and tliev travelled away along the country road with a kerosene tin rattling along behind them. Some "wag'' had added at least one true wedding touch to the event.

Grazing in long paddock" waa again the subject of some comment at the New* Plymouth Magistrate's Court yesterday. Several cases were dealt with on the information of the inspector for tile Taranaki County Council, and the solicitor for the council (Mr. J. H. ,Quilliam) stated that complaints were received by the council at every meeting regard'ng wandering stock. There was a good deal of danger to traffic on the roads at night through straying cattle, and though the council did all it could to bring the offenders to book it was impossible for the inspector to locate eveiy owner. Tho Magistrate said he fully appreciated the danger caused by straying catle. Tho oases which came before liim, however, were mostly those of first offenders, and there were many instances in wlritfh tattle got out on the roads through no fault cr neglect 011 the part of the owners. He liked to trust to the good feeling and good sense of owners to protect the general public from danger. In eases, however, in which cattle wera on tho roa<fs through carelessness or by actual design", it could be understood that the offence will be visited with a substantial penalty. Speaking personally, lie said he could not understand people who were prepared to put their own selfishness in that rospect before the convenience and safety of the public. He hoped tho warning would act as a deterrent to tho nuisance.

"It has been my privilege to watch man after man die, and I say to you sincerely, without running any risks at all of being contradicted, that never in my life have I knelt by the side of a dying man who murmured at dying/' said Padre T. F. Taylor at Wellington on Anzae Day. "Death is nothing. Dishonour is worse than death. We are not brave people. There are no mock heroics about us. We don't pretend that we like shell fire or the horrid sound of machine-gun bullets, we don't like to have 'to meet the Germans with the bayonet. But we are going to be in at the finish, and if some of us have to die we will not grumble. We will die because we must. . . . The British people will be unbeaten just so long as their hearts are Bound, and no longer. The dead call on us to carry on. I don't think there is any danger of New Zealand not doing' her part, but I say to you very solemnly that love of life, love* of rank, must not prevent us from accepting the heritage the dead have passed on to us. I can see nothing in the world to prevent us New Zealanders as a people saying, 'We are going to carry 011 to the end, even if we have to raise the .age limit to seventy-five!'' (Laughter and applause.) "There are some people foolish enough to point out others who are not doing their duty. What care I? Because some people choose to fail, must I fail? If others care to leave their duly undone it is 110 business of mine. Let them live, let them flourish 011 their ill-gotten sains if they will! I prefer death to dishonour. (Applause.) I ask not the equality of sacrifice —not at all. I cave not what my neighbour does; that is his business. The dead call 011 every niau and woman here, 'Do you duty!' That is the only thing material, and do it regardless of what other people do. Let it not be said that the dead died in vain, that they were nobler than we, that we refused to carry on. All that matters is that we must win." Chaplain Taylor wears on his right arm three blue chevrons • and a red one, which means that he has been 011 service from the beginning. Ho has, seen the New Zealanders in every action of importance in which they have been engaged, with the exception of these last battles, and it was very evident from the reception given him by the soldiers in the audience that they thought much of him. Amid the press for place and wealth, Be wise, don't juggle with your health, All you may gain will be in vain, If you are racked by care and pain. And more than all, whate'er you're told, Don't juggle with a cough or cold; All crude experiments abjure— Rely on Woods' Great Peppermint Cure. The open-air baby gets on best. Leave yours out of doors all the time, but put a North British Hot Water Bottle at his feet. Watch him grow.

A lady recently died at Sydney aged 105 years. Mrs Elizabeth Moore was lioru at the town of Birr, i\ing S County, Ireland, in 3813, and when 27 years old went to Sydney, where she married Mr James Moore. They had seven children, four sons and three daughters. A lady who travelled' to Australia on the ship bringing out two hundred and forty wives to our returned soldiers, tells this dramatic incident, says the Western Mail. There were two'women on board, who, at first, were not at all sympathetic. But as they began to know each other they realised each had the qualities which make for admiration and became friends. One day, chatting intimately upon the deck, each showed the other the photograph of lier husband. It was the same man. An Ashhurst resident who visited Ballance last week warmly commends the women of that district for their patriotism. Two ladies, whose brothers are away at the front, have during the past season ploughed and sown a 25-acre paddock and harvested the crop. In addition to this they milked all the cows on (lie farm, cut the firewood, besides doing the ordinary farm work. Another lady in the same locality is at present engaged in ploughing a 12-acre paddockStandard.

Tho Judge of the Assessment Court (Mr. A. Crooke, S.M.), gave his decision yesterday morning in .the objection of the Standish Estate to the valuation of part sections 20 and 21 in the Fitzroy Survey District. The borough valuation. of tlio 41-acre section was £6,300, the previous valuation in 1914 being £4OOO. After reviewing the evidence the judge fixed the assessment at £5,740. Tho borough valuation of the 11-acre section was sustained. From siren gowns of peacock splendours to gauntlets and buckskin leggings, is a sharp change, but this Is what has happened to Louise Glaum, as the heroine of "Golden Rule Kate," the Triangle drama now screening at Everybody's. ''ls it a fact," asked the chairman of the Defence Expenditure Commission of Colonel Tate ''that a man with a salary up to £3OO a year in the Public Service can draw any overtime he can earn, up to nearly £350? Is there any limit to tho overtime he can draw?" Colonel Tate said that the man up to £3OO could draw whatever overtime he earned. The chairman: "But a man getting £315, the next step after £3OO, cannot draw overtime? Is that so?" "Yes.'' The chairman: "Therefore, the man getting £3OO a year, sedulously avoids a rise—unless he can get £350 or more, I suppose." It was most unfair and absurd, he added.

Considerable additions are being made ! to King George V. Hospital at Rotorua, with a view to facilitating the orthopaedic treatment of disabled New Zealand soldiers and restoring . them to spheres of usefulness. The present ac- 1 coinmodation for 200 patients is being enlarged to take another 100, and still further extensions are contemplated. Orthopaedic treatment has now been in vogue at Rotorua for some twelve months, and has been productive of good results. The treatment being given there has lately been inspected by a medical officer who has had considerable experience at Home. He expressed himself as extremely pleased with the work being done at the New Zealand sanatorium, which, ho said, in some points had anticipated work now being done at Shepherd's Bush, London. The following good story is told by a visitor to Hawaii: "I had an amusing experience with my Hawaiian servant. Now, these servants insist on calling you by your first name. Ours was always saying to my husband, 'Yes, Jolm,' and to me, 'Very well, Mary.' So when we got a new cook \ told my husband to avoid calling me 'Mary,' as tlien, not knowing my name, he would have to say 'missus' to me. So John always called me 'Sweetheart' or 'Dearie,' never 'Mary'; but the watchful fellow gave me no title at all. One day we had some officers to dinner, and while awaiting the repast I told them of the ruse I had adopted, and added: 'By this servant, at least, you won't liear me called Mary.' Just then the new cook entered the room. He bowed and said to me: 'Sweetheart, dinner is served.' 'What?' I stammered, aghast at his familiarity. 'Dinner is served, dearie,' answered the new cook. An unreported incident that occurred during the late Sir Henry Blake's Governorship of Hongkong is worth putting on record. Prince Henry of Prussia (popularly referred to as "the mailed fist") was fequently in Hongkong harbour, when he paid a visit to China which resulted in the creation of the German colony at Tsingtau, and Princess Henry occupied a house on the hillside belonging to a prominent local Teutonic merchant. The German community gave a ball in the City Hall in lion'our of the Prince and Princess. It was attended by His Excellency Sir Henry Blake and Lady Blake, and such British residents as were considered fit to meet a German prince. When the hour came for supper, it was intimated to the Governor that tlie Prince, with Lady Blake, would lead the way from the ballroom to the supper-room, and that Sir Henry would follow with the Princess. To this His Excellency objected. As the Queen's representative in the colony, he insisted that he should lead and the Prince follow. Much perturbed, the committee argued. Sir Henry stood firm, and refused to temporise; either lie went in first or he and Lady Blake returned to Government House. He had his way. One disabled soldier, repatriated from Germany, given a curious sidelight upon the present mental attitude of the German all-highest circles. He describes the inner history of seemingly loyal receptions of repatriated Britishers before they left Germany, when the Crown Prince was reported as telling the Canadians lie intended shortly to visit Canada, and hoped they would not throw stones at him. The informant says before the reception he and others to be repatriated were taken into a separate room and told the Crown Prince intended to bid them farewell. They were warned tha,t if by the slightest word or sound or sign, tliev showed contempt or disrespect, they would be sent instantly back to prison. His Highness arrived, I'looking miserable and frightened. He shook hands with each and then made a feeble attempt at pleasantry. Only then did the informant hear the click of tlio machine of a cine, operator, whose film is being widely used in neutral countries to prove the genial bonhomie of the heir to the German throne. When chided for shaking hands with the royal murderer the informant replied angrily: "If you had been through what I have suffered in Germany, you would have done more than that to get awnv." There will be a special matinee n..- : afternoon at Everybody's, commencin;' at 3.15. The star attraction will be the popular poem production of Barrie ■Marschel, "The Kid from Timaru."

It looks as if there will he a record number of clearing sates in Taranaki this yen-. This is caused by the scarcity of labor, necessitating farmer® going in :or dry stock instead of dairying, and th> calling up of the Second Division, the fit members of Which arc making their dispositions in good time.

Cabinet has decided to create a new land district in the North of Auckland, to be called Northland. The new district will have an area of 0248 square miles, and a population of 61,110, including 2500 Crown tenants. The amended Auckland district will consist of 14,885 square miles and will have a population of 222,"20, including 5500 Crown tenants. The appointment of a Commissioner for the district of Northland lias hot been decided yet. Big movements are eminent regarding the establishment of new industries in Australia (saj's the Sydney Sun's special correspondent in London). Arrangements in connection with certain textiles have been almost completed, and British manufactures in metal, chemical, and other important industries are discussing practical schemes. It is claimed that no better use could be made of the huge sums received from Britain for raw material than to assist in the creation of industries of national importance. Iron, steel, engineering, electrical, Woollen, paper production, and chemical trades are mentioned as attracting British capital and manufacturers if encouragement is offered.

To live is to serve. A certain wealthy young American simply lived to get all the so-called pleasure he could out of life. His ample wealth enabled him to gratify hia every desire. Whatever ' money could buy was his for the asking. I His was, the rose-Btrewn pathway of the | gilded youth. Then came the war, and Ihe heeded the call of his country. He I enlisted and entered the trenches as a private. The War God treated him cruelly. He came out of the ordeal a physical wreck, minus two legs, two arms, and two eyes. People shuddered when they heard of it. "Horrible!'* they said. "Worse than death! A living corpse! What a shame that the murdercius shell did not complete its pitiless work! 'Twaa no kindness to keep life in that poor remnant of a man. VPhy did they not give him something to end his tortured existence?" But what of the man himelf? How did he take it? Bemem'ber, only a few short months before, in the full enjoyment of his young and vigorous manhood, he knew no suffering, knew only luxury ahd ease and pleasure. How did he take it? Ho bought himself an invalid's chair. He hired an attendant to wheel him about. He learned the art of storytelling. He liad himself wheeled to tlie hospitals, and he went about the wards cheering war-wrecked sufferers with his happy tales. He brought smiles to wan faces, laughter to lips that were drawn with pain. Maimed and sightless, ho revelled in the joy of service, declaring that in his years of idle, selfish pleasure lie had never been truly happy, and that lie had never known what it was to really live until his great affliction had opened 1.0 him tho way to serve his fellows. "This," said Mr Wilson Wilson, in the crfurse of a war lecture at Wangamti, "is not a fiction. It is a story which of my own knowledge I know to be true." The artistic work of Emily Stevens in the new Metro production "Outwitted," now showing at the Empire, .carries her well into the front rank of moving picture favorites, with a brilliant future well in sight. Unusual activity in the flannelette and sheeting department is being displayed at the Melbourne, Ltd. - This is entirely due to the extraordinary values offered the firm being fortunately placed in regard to holding fairly large stocks some of which were bought as far back as December, 1916.