LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 July 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

iho Xew Plymouth Citizens' Band is busy with arrangements for the carmva to be held at New Plymouth on October -28, Labor Day. The programme will consist of unusually attractive and entirely new events. The proceeds of the carnival will be devoted to liquidate i.ie debt on (he new bandroom. At the monthly meeting of the Land Hoard yesterday a large amount of business was discussed in committee, most of it being with regard to advances to soldier settlers, rental arrears and rental remissions to Crown tenants still on active service. The Board dealt with sixteen applications for consent to transfer and snbleu.se, and the conditions having been complied with and the incoming tenants being landless in the eyes of the law, most of the applications were passed by the Board, Violet Hopkins, tho ■ sixteen-year-old daughter of a "\langamahoe 'settler, pleaded guilty at, the Masterton Magistrate's Court on Tuesday to having made a false deel la ration before the re" gislrar of births, deaths, and marriages to the effect that who was 21 years of age. Percy John Hopkins, a member of the Expeditionary Force, with whom sh<« went through the ceremony of marriage, also pleaded guilty to causing the false declaration to lie made. Both were com mttted to the Supreme Court for sentence. When you feel a cold coming on, don't wait until it has gripped you, hut take SA/.OL at once.

To give an idea of the scarcity of Bri-tish-made- pianos, at a (iis-borne sale a second-hand piano realised £IOO. This is considered a record price throughout Lin; Dominion.

The eoi-re.-poiiili'iifc of the London Times wiih tlm American army stoles thai a Chicago'soldier, Leuhart, brought in live German ofikers, and 7S men, representing a whole unit, who voluntarily surrendered.

A certain British soldier's letter, according to Punch, runs thus:—"l am sorry I cannot tell you where I am, because I. am not allowed to say. But 1 venture to state that I am not where I was, but where I was before I left here to go where I had just come from." Some impression of the effect of the war on business life in the city of London may he gained from the fact that there have been withdrawn from the active service of one great bank no fewer than ;i,7()0 men, and that, in addition to those wounded and missing, as many as U2O have been killed. This bank has now on its staff 3,000 women, "who are doing their work in a most excellent way." Some are acting as managers of small offices, otber women are cashiers, and "others are occupying very important positions in our different depart' ments."

At the Land Board meeting yesterday authorities for advances to discharged soldier settlers amounting to £OOS were passed, the chief items being for stock, buildings and other improvements. The board dealt with thirteen applications received from discharged soldiers for five sections comprising 1,121 acres opened on 22nd instant, for soldier settlement. The lands were offered under various tenures carrying the right to advances for stocking, building, etc., up to £750, for each selector.

Eight applications under the Discharged Soldiers Amendment Act, 1917, were dealt with by the Land Board yesterday. They comprised applications for both urban and rural land, generally of small areas. Under the amending act of last session, a discharged soldier may pick his own farm, whether freehold or leasehold, and the vendor and the applicant appear before the Land Board. If the report una valuation from the departmental officers are satisfactory, and the soldier applicant complbs with the requirements of the law, the Minister of Lands grants an advance to finance the soldier into I the holding, accepting a first mortgage over the holding as security. The payments extend over a period of'SGJ yeais, if country land, and 25£ years if township lands. This method of selection by soldiers is increasing in favor with the soldiers whoso bent is farming. Harold Lockwood's latest picture for Metro, "The- Avenging Trail." which commences a three night season at the Empire to-night has been adapted from Henry Oyen's novel "Gaston Olaf." It is a. red-blooded story of tho snowbound lumber lands about which Ovens has written so vividly in "The Snowburner'' and "The Man Trail," and the present story picturised as "The Avengino- Trail" is just as full of thrilling and exciting incident ns the previous novels by this popular writer. Yesterday being the last meeting of the Taranaki Education Board as at present constituted, the chairman (Mr. R., Masters) took the opportunity of thanking members for their loyalty and assistance during his two years' term of office. It had been a difficult time owing to the enlarged district necessitating a large amount of work and organisation. He also spoke appreciatively of the work rendered by the staff? -Mr. Dixon paid a high tribute to the capable work of Mr. | Masters as a chairman- It had been the speaker's privilege to be for many years under one of the best chairmen in the Dominion (Mr. Pirani), and he had thought this an education, but Mr. Masters "had filled the chair in a way that exceeded all expectations. He ofte> wondered how Mr- Masters was able to devote so much time in the interests of education. He thought it unfair that the Government should expect a man to oivo his time without some remuneration, and he expressed the hope that the time was not far distant when such representations would be made by the public as'would lead to this being overcome. Other members also paid a high tribute to the chairman's ability and valuable services in the cause of education, and Mr. Wilkinson agreed that the chairman' of an education board should receive an honorarium. He thought this had been omitted from the Act by an oversight, as the work of chairman of other local bodies had heen recognised, and their work was not as valuable to the State as that of the chairmen of education boards.

An inquest into the circumstances surrounding the death of a little five-year-old "irf'named Annie Eiordan, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. M. Eiordan, of Hurford Eoad, Omata, who died from the Tesult of burns, through her clothing catching fire, was opened Wore the district coroner (Mr. A. Crooke, S3f.) at the courthouse yesterday. The father gave evidence to the effect that he was engaged in ploughing near the house on tho day of the accident. His wife brought him out some lunch at about ?, 10 hi the o fternoon. She left the little Tirl and tho two younger children playin!: in the house. While his wife was with him, one of the little hoys came to them screaming, "Annie is on fire." When they lynched the house all the little girl's clothing except her hoots, were hurned off. She said' she went to get the baby a drink, and her clothes caught fire. ' He took her to the hospital immediately. In reply to the coroner, he said they had a fire that dny in an auxiliary wood'burner attached to the range in the kitchen. The front of the firo was open when he reached the house. The hearing was then adjourned. Xobility comes to roost in some strange places. In the remarkably human picture play "Stranded," which is now being screened at Everybody's with Bessie Love as the charming little heroine, an old out of date actor figures as a curiously noble character. The part is taken by De Wolf Hopper. The Melbourne, Ltd., advertise the following prices for children's pure wool cashmere three-quarter socks with double ribbed tops and famous ''Jason" make: Size ■">, Is lid; size 4, 2s Id; size 5. 2s 3d; size. 0, 2s sd; size 7. 2s 7d;.size s', 2s ilrt; size !), 2s lid. These socks aro guaranteed to be pure wool and will keep their color. On sale at all Melbourne, Ltd. stores. Despite of all that cynics say, There sometimes is a perfect day; Cloudless and dnstless, calm and bright, The day that gives us all delight; The day that comes to compensate For cold, grey winter days we hate; Those drizzling days we'd ne'er endure Had we no Woods' Gresf; Peppermint Cure.

"Travelling about the country," said Captain -Pettit at a public meeting at Christ-church, "I am amazed at the evidences of insubordination and disobedience even in ehildreji of tender years." The speaker was remarking Hint, a train-' ing in the uurbing oi temper, appetite, ncd desire in early childhood was invaluable as a help toward* withstand'hwr the volcanic manifestations of the paeaions of young manhood and woman-,' liood. It was a cruel iniustice to a child to deny it that early training, by allowing it too much of its own way.

Writes a Palmersiton soldier:-—"lf you ever thanked God for anything, thank him for living where you are, and keeping you well out of the clutches of these devils of iniquity—the Huns. They are these French: nothing too great or glorious can 'be said of them, and their patient, never-complaining old women are tilie heroines of the heroic. For theirs has been the greatest burden of> sorrow; it i 9 their sons who have been killed, their children and daughters who. have been maltreated, their homes that have been wrecked, and,yet they toilttndS work on—patient, enduring, and tni&' True to France, true to their honor and" their word, and to the high ideals of love and faith which have ever inspired them onward through their darkest hour—true as steel, the backbone of the most glorious, most tried, and most 'suffering*' country on God's earth," , "»

"It is not generally known that lightning with its attendant torrential rain, partly acta at a natural replenisher of the nitrogen lost by cropping and Are," said Mr J. Orchiston, in the course of an address to the Council of Agriculture in Wellington on the subject of "Ndtrogen From Air." Practically every flash of lightning burns (some air, and this coming in contact with the hydrogen in the drops of rain, combines to form dilute nitric acid. It has been calculated that in the countries wliore lightning is more prevalent than in the temperate zone, no les s than eleven pounds of nitrogen are deposited per acre per annum, and this is claimed to be one of the causes for the tropical lands being invariably richer than those of the colder regions.

As showing the high prices ruling for stcck and produce in the Old Country, the Hon. D. Buddo, member for Kaiapoi, has received a letter from a friend in Ayrshire, a dairy farmer, stating milk and cheese are in great demand. Milk off the fartn i s quoted at Is Od a gallon, cheese ICBs per cwt. for spring make, 10 weeks' old pigs £5 He, good milk cows up to £7O, and good draught horses fit for town work from £SO to £2OO. The scarcity in horses is due to extra ploughing and tree carting, many of the best animals having gone to France, where their life was very short. Local tribunals are very numerous, such as food production committees, food control committees, old age pensions committees, and so on. The authorities are calling up 30,000 more young men from the farms from 19 to 23, and if they do not relieve some low,er grade men from the army they will he left very shorthanded for the harvest.

Speaking recently at the National Press Club at Washington, ex-President Taft paid the highest tribute to Groat Britain's efforts in the last four years'! "The work Great Britain has done in the war," he said, "is something we cannot appreciate or estimate. We are living in comfort and luxury, and have lost comparatively few men. We have not been in the Valley of the Shadow of Death as Great Britain has been, and to us, who owe our liberty to Britain —I mean liberty in the sense of understanding what real constitutional liberty is—we who has inherited that liberty which has been hammered by a thousand years of struggle, n-ay well have that filial admination to stand up for civilisation and now been carrying on for four years, giving her life-blood and treasure on our (behalf as well a3 on the behalf of the rest of the world of the greatest military conqueror the world ever saw, and did it by sacrifice and holding on. The spirit of the British lion and the British bulldog remained in those who were left, and in the end St. Helena told the story ol British pertinacity and British determination to stand up for eivilisaton and against the tyranny of world domination and her functions in this war is the same. We in this country owe it to her to have her know that we are at the back of her and our Allies in this fight to the end and those who, by insinuation against Britain—the Irish or others —seek to divide this country in backing up Britain, whatever they intend, are traitors in effect. When we are fighting together with one another we stand by them. If we don't, we don't know what fighting is, we have not the same_ spirit, and we don't understand the object." The Empire theatre management are making a feature of the Saturday afternoon matinee for children by_ arranging a special programme of subjects' that Will please, interest and amuse the children and also prove attractive to adults. Next Saturday afternoon the feature of the matinee programme will be a fivereel Triangle comedy, entitled' "The Submarine Pirate," in which Syd. Chaplin brother of the famous Charlie, takes the leading part. This comedy is a long sucession of excruciatingly funny happenings. The N.Z. Loan and Mercantile draw attention to the cleaving sale they are holding on aecoxmt of Jas. Baker, Esq., on his°farm, Mountain Road, Midhirst. Full particulars on page 8.

A MONEY-MAKING SCHEME. While farmers are considering the prospect of 3s 6d and upwards ,per pound for butter-fats in the dried milk industry as a money-making scheme, a much safer project is offered students of economy elsewhere in this issue hy the announcement of Rennie'a Winter Sale at the Big Store, Waitara, which starts on Saturday next- Ronnie's sales are not just a few oatch lines at the door marked at low figures while the balance of the stock is sold at' full prices, for, with the exception of a .few reserved lines, every article is honestly reduced in price The least you can save is 2s, and in many cases' up to 5s in the pound. Owing to the generous reductions, many lines which cannot ha repeated will be snapped up the first two or three days, so don't procrastinate. If you hav&# enough money to buy some item you want, pay a sai&M deposit, and we will reserve it for you till the end of the sale. Our final advice: Visit the sale early and often.—Advt. Mr. N. E. Cleland, of Hurimoana, who has been reappointed member of the Taranaki Land Board for » further term, was congratulated at yesterday's meeting of the Board by tho chairman and members. If yott get a ohlll take; NA2OL immediately. It will prevent sore ttaoat c* WhtaeM- of thf-obeii