LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 July 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Road Board .yesterday decided to strike a rate of 13-lfid for the ensuing year. The chief postmaster notifies that the Wf 1 v Vf Y nited Kin Sdom, which left New Zealand on May 19, arrived at their destination safely. The concert given by the High School Old (,irl s m the Good Templar Hall last week- resulted in a net profit of £3l uhich Amount is to be sent to Miss C. D. Grant to assist in her work amon« the New Zealand lads at Home. ° A mental patient, who was committed by the Court to the asylum, was escorted to Porirua yesterday by Constable Hadler. On account of the unfavorable state of the weather yesterday, the football matches between the Boys' High School and Technical Oolllege and between the two High School junior teams Were postponed. ' 'During the past year the Parihaka Road Board lias collected £3263 lis 7d in rates out of a. total of £3700 due. Only about £37 is due bv European settlers. There is still considerable difficulty ill collecting rates from Native owners. The clerk stated that out of about £420 of Native rates, lie had collected £122, this being about the proportion collected by other local bodies. The Government" subsidy for the year totalled £4lO.

The total earnings of the New Plymouth tramways last month .were £Bl7 —an increase of £57 over the same month of last year. There were slaughtered for local consumption in New Plymouth last month: Cows, 152; bullocks, l(i; calves, 9; sheep, iWO; lamba, 12; pigs, 87 and 1 sucker. Fees, etc., for the month amounted to £122 7s lid, an increase of £ls 8s lid. The wet \vea.thcr has shown the error of keeping fowls in an open run (states the New Plymouth inspector, in his monthly report). He advocates the closed run in and out of se.tson as being the only solution of a difficult problem.

At the Eltham Magistrate's Coart on July 1 three lads were charged with breaking and entering and theft at the store of Mr. A. E, Hune, of liiverlea, pn June 22. AH three lads—John Reginald Taylor (aged 16), John Dorraan O'Hagan (17) and Arthur Main (17)— pleaded guilty, and were committed to the Supreme Court for sentence. They were brought before the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) at Wellington on Tuesday, when Taylor and O'Hagan were committed to the Weraroa Industrial School, and Main was ordered toi come up for sentence in February next, and to report in the meantime to the probation officer in Wellington.—Argus.,-, I'he chairman of the Parihaka Road Board, at yesterday's meeting, took exception to a paragraph that appeared in the Daily News relative to the approaching arrival of the Egmont County Council's new stone-crusher and prognosticating that the stone would then be better, ■crushed, and s o mean lesser rates. He considered that this Collett crushed, provided it was properly fed, would dp as good work as any in the Dominion. It had put up a record that none of the council's crushers had done, and, had the council gone in for one like it, instead of waiting so long for their crusher to arrive, they would have had their roads completed. The road board's machinery was as up-to-date as any.

Some people are heard to say they can't "stand" Charlie Chaplin, They are the new morbid spirits who just drag out a painful existence in this world as a preparation for what they expect in the next. However, there is something in their remark, for it ia doubtful if any person could stfind up and view "The Adventurer," the latest Chaplin comedy. This picture must be taken sitting down, or as in some instances, rolling on the floor. After viewing the picture the management notify patrons that no one will ,be ejected if they find it necessary to roll on the floor when overcome by the mirth provoking situations of tho picture- "The Adventurer" shows for the last time at Everybody's tonightIn the Magistrate's Court yesterday morning, before Mr. A. Crooke, SM., three residents of New '.Plymouth were charged under the Education Board regulations with failing to send their children to continuation classes at the Technical College- These were the first cases that had been brought here, and were intended as a warning to people that the regulations requiring attendance of children at continuation classes, between the ages of 14 and W years, except in cases when they had taken a two-years' course at a secondary school, or where they live more than two miles from a technical school, must be observed. The defendants pleaded ignorance, and in two .cases stated that the shildren concerned were' in employment and were within a few weeks of the age limit. • The Magistrate convicted and inflicted the minimum penalty of 5s and costs.

When accepting the resignation of its poundkeeper yesterday, the Farihaka Road. Board discussed the question of closing its Rahotu .pound until the grass had an opportunity to grow, as it wis, impossible to procure hay to feed the cattle, and it was cruelty to keep animals standing in the mud without food. It was pointed'out that charges were made for the sustenance of the cattle impounded. Members considered there were horses in the pound now that should be destroyed, as no one would purchase them. By providing these horses with feed, the poundkeeper would be out of pocket. If they could ascertain the names of the owners, they could be held liable, but, of course, these horses had no owners. It was stated that the pound at Okato was also closed, and to drive cattle either to New Plymouth or Opunake would prove a hardship. It was finally resolved to call applications for the position of poundkeeper.

Those who were unable to be present at the very successful concert given by the High School Old Girls last week wiil bo glad to hear that arrangements have been made for the staging of their most amusing farce "Only a Hoax," at the Cafe Chantant this evening. There will be no additional charge at the door, but a small charge of threepence will be made For the seats near the stage . The competition "Are you the Elusive Pimpernel? 1 ' sliould be a great atraction ilt the 'Cafe Chantant- this evening. The Elusive- Pimpernel (who will be previlusly chosen) will be in the hall from '.30 to 8 p.m. and-tiie first person to accost him—or her—with the formula "Are you the Elusive' Pimpernel?" will bo handed an envelope Containing an order the Old Girls' Association for five shillings. There" is «o entrance fee for the competition which should prove very interesting and amusing. If you were a beautiful, good girl, the exact counterpart in appearance of four first cousin, a vicious vampire type of a woman, would you allow her to saddle you wit V.her misdeeds? If she vere arrested in a vicious gambling den and gave your name as the real culprit ; if a3 a result of , her .escapade you were turned out into the world, homeless and friendless; if the striking likeness "'between you and your shallow, frivolous, criminally inclined cousin caused you to be accused of every one of her misdeeds;' ; if you-knew that by defending yourself; and proving, her the vampire she really ie you would probaMy kill the man you most love^—what would you do? This is tile situation in "Alias Mrs Jessop." The picture tells the story at the Empire theatre to-night and to-morrrow. The success that attended the dance held in the Hempton Hall, Okato, has led the committee to hold tbe dances weekly. The proceeds will be devoted to thejiall fund, which has suffered verv considerably during the past four years owing to the numerous calls for patriotio purposes. Funds are urgently required for the upkeep of the ball and new lighting, and the committee confidently hope that the public will support this effort to raise funds. Music for the dance will be provided bv Mr. Pearson, whilst extras will be played by Mesdames Hart and W- Clark, who,' in the past, hav Wuntarily provided the I saw l -. I

The cow is becoming more valuable every day. A dairy herd sold in the Waikato a few days ago averaged £35 per head. ■

The growth of, the dairying industry iu 1 ahiatua of recent years is reflected in the fact that the establishment of another cheese factory at Ballance will make the twelfth of the kind in the district.

A significant indication regarding the rate in whio'h reinforcements are being forwarded is contained in this week's General Orders at Featherston Camp, states the Wellington correspondent of the Dunedin Star. It shows that several reinforcements of mounted men, numbering about 1000, are given eleven weeks' leave without pay. They are all First Division -men;

Some idea of modern artillery fire' can be formed 'from the statement of the Swiss officer that during the three hours' bombardment just before the attack on March 21, the Germans used one and a-half million shells. This is over 8300 a minute, or, taking the front at 50 miles, over 160 for each mile The total numbr of shells used by Germany in the war of 18fO-71 is usually given at 050,000. ' S

There was an indignant wail a little while since (says the Sydney Sun) when the press announced the arrival of a bunch of English brides who had captured good Australian .boMmmb. The Australian Miss i4ji't. letting rest at that. She's decided that it's time she went over to keep an eye on her "young man" and "marry him if the powers will permit. Quite a number of engaged girls are getting away to England, and though it's a long and troubled journey, still it's worth it, remembering who is at the other end.

Italian prisoners in Austria are subjected to horrible outrages, states a dispatch to the Italian Embassy in Washington. "Never in the history of the civilised world have such; outrages been registered," it says. "The whole thing seems to be a systematic effort on the part of Austria to destroy the manhood of Italy,. Austria is endeavoring in every possible way to surpass in cruelty and ferocity all of her accomplices." The dispatch sayß Italian prisoners hate been stripped and left without food >or care if wounded.

Two German residents of a district not unremotely connected with Palmerston North astonished the local Chamber of Commence by applying to be admitted as members. The astonishment of the members (writes a local correspondent at the centre referred to) was only excelled by that of the Germans themselves, when they heard that their applications had been promptly turned down —rejected with contumely and even indignation at the colossal impudence displayed by the applicants. A discovery which is of interest, and has every prospect of being of immense importance to the agriculturists of New Zealand, was announced by. Mr C. S. Howard, at the last meeting of the Canterbury Education Board. This is a means of overcoming the potato blight, a pest that has long been the bane of the agriculturist, and to which has been due the loss of many promising crops and much money for jpore than a decade. As chairman of the Agricultural Committee, Mr Howard has naturally had much to -do with the watching of t)he potato-growing competitions, which are held annually at the South Canterbury schools, and he stated that experience had led him to note that where the potato had been planted deeply there was less blight, while in cases where plantings had been made to a depth greater than five inches there was seldom any blight at all. He thought this information should be made public in order that further experiments should 6e made along the lines indicated with a view of utterly overcoming the blight. A paragraph from a soldier's letter who has been in hospital in France, and who is speaking' about those glorious Belf-sacrificisg women, • the nurses:— "Gratitude! Just go to a clearing station after a stunt if you want to know what the word means. God, I've seen it in the eyes of a stricken mate when a nurse has tenderly raised him up to her bosom, and held him while he was vomiting out his life's blood over her; gently soothing Ihim as if he were a child; bidding him go to sleep; then laying him down with a heavy, sad look in her eyes, yearning to cry out remonstrances to a God that 6nly answers with another and another and still another tragedy. Then she has picked up the next victim of a crime for which an eternity in Hell cannot , atone—and gone through it all again! Gratitude? You have never seen it, such as these noble women know!"

"Our growing Labor Army," is the description applied by the Huns to their prisoners of war. According to a communique in the Berlin papers, Germany Mid her vassals between them now hold 3,570,000 prisoners. For the first time the German military authorities lay stress on the supreme value of their prisoners .as man-power for industry and agriculture. They are so numerous, it is asserted, that they go far toward compensating Germany .for the men she has had to withdraw from peaceful pursuits for activte military service. "The longer the war lasts','" the communique adds, "the more adaptable these prisoners become to the work assigned to them, and the more useful to us." Huns have a majestic awe of big figures Thus it is explained for their edification that the . "labor Army" in prison camps is numerically greater than the whole male workinglclass population of Denmark, Norway, and {Sweden combined, ind is equivalent to one-fifth the total number of working men in Germany before the war. ,n- } The second of the remarkable Gold--I'irvn pictures to be screened in New Ply 1 . inouth will be "Baby Mine," at' the ginpire next Monday, Tuesday and'WediesdftV' is a film version tif'the. Ki&ous: musical comedy, and stars tinefamous leading ladies, J This big feature Will lie screened at the usual admission rates. WHERE'S THAT DR. SHELDON'S NEiW DISCOVERY? Don't hide the bottle: keep it in plain sight. When Dad's cough keeps him awake lie wants it handy. Keep Dr.. Sheldon's New Discovery where it is easy to find. Let the children have it when their colds begin- Keep awnv the big colds and serious illnesses. Dr Sheldon's New Discovery is a safe treatment for big people. Keep it in sight, and keep your family freo from coughs and colds Ri'd sore throats, all through the Winter months. Dr. Sheldon's New Discovery. Price, 1/6 and 3/-. Obtainable everywhere. For Toothache ■".urracloufh's Magic Nervine—aa instant cure.