LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 September 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The writ for the Taranaki by-election will be issued before the end of the present week. Napier won the Copper Trail contest with Hastings, collecting £421-2 Is, as against £3IOO 10a Bd. The adjourned public meeting of the New Plymouth Patriotic Committee will be held in the Soldiers' Cluo at 8 p.m. on Friday next. It ia to be 'hoped there will be a good attendance of the public and thus show that they are interested in patriotic ..ork. On Monday afternoon, a meeting of gentlemen interested in the Red Cross Copper Trail Fund was held at the office 'of Mr A. B. Gibson, when it was decided to appoint a citizens' committee, with a view to making a personal canvass of the whole district, Messrs W. C. Weston and R. W. D. Robertson were appointed joint secretaries to formulate a plan of action. A Cabinet Minister's lot .; not always a happy one; especially if ins duties embrace the issuing of passports. The Hon. G. \VRussell gave some of bis experience's to "a meeting at Nelson. All the worrit's caused-by the administration of the Government policy with regard to tfr'e patriotic'funds was as nothing cc-itipared i with"' the granting of passports to, women under present conditions. Many women had implored hrm to allow them In visit'their sick and dying husbands in Fngland, but they had to be refused, and this was'a most difficult and irymg matter. The policy laid down by the Imperial Government was that no women were to pass over the danger zone except in cases of extreme urgency. The reason was that thousands of brave men in the mercantile murine had lost their lives by saving the women and children, first," . wliereas,. if they iiad not been aboard, the brave sailors would have lieen able to save themselves. ... 8 The chassis for the Now Plymouth Through Council's electric motor-bus, which arrived in town recently, was given i preliminary run over the bus route yesterday. The machine gave every satisfaction, and it 13 hoped to have tho body completed and the Ims rcedv for commission in about two months. The machine is capable of doiiitj about 40 miles on one charge of the batten*, and as the council have purchased an extra hatterv there will be no difficulty about keeping the bus Tunning as lons as required any day. All the latest improvements in the matter of electric motor vehicles are embraced in the machine, the strongest feature of which is the absence of gefcr parts, which renders .the -machine less liable to get out of order, and reduces the wear and tear charges to a minimum. The body of the bus has been designed to accommodate 22 persons, and is being built locally. Lb Roys famous oily canvas coats are stocked by all the Ltd. branch stores at the following ririces: Wionlder-lined riding coats 68s, threeiiini'lcr lined riding coats 50s 6d. hoys' i-oats 33s 3d to 49a Od.

The British Post Office, cable companies, and Pacific Cable Board notify that they have discontinued advices of non-delivery or redirection 'of soldiers' Expeditionary Force messages. In our report of the workers' social held at the Coronation Hall on Monday evening we inadvertently stated that Mrs Kelleher was convenor of the supper arrangements. This should have read Mrs. L. Callaghari. The manual and technical committee of the Taranaki Education Board proposes visiting Mangatoki, Matapu, Okaiawa, Normanby, Hawera and Stratford Schools on Thursday next, for the purpose of inspecting the present systems of manual and technical education, and, if possible, introducing further improvements.

A witness in evidence at the last Opunake Court stated something uncomplimentary to the other fellow about branding stock. The solicitor for the other side immediately challenged the witness to say those things out of court, where there was no privilege. Witness: "Do you mean in a quiet place—in a backyard?"— Tunes.

As an instance of the increase in prices which New Zealand manufacturers of soft drinks have had to meet, the Post mentions that lemon-juice has risen from Is 9d to 7s Cd per gallon, limejuice from Is Od to Bs, fruit flavoring from 70s to 140s, and baking soda from £6 to £47 per ton. On Monday evening there was a good attendance at the weekly meeting of the Whiteloy Club. Mr. Percy White gave a very entertaining and instructive address, entitled "Literature and Life." Mr. White dealt chiefly with the early New Zealand life and the literature the settlers brought with them to New Zealand. He showed how this literature influenced the life of the community. A unique collection of old and rare books gave added interest to the lecture.

Very little champagne is now being sent out of France, the necessities cl military transport rendering it almost impossible to send supplies to England or anywhere else. Some of the largest firms occasionally have forwarded to them a consignment of three or four hundred cases, by canal, via Paris and Havre. According to calculated estimates of the firms engaged in the trade, there are 60,<t00,000 bottles of champagne in the cellars of Rheims, the total value of which is anything up to £30,000,000.

At the Magistrate's Court yesterday, before Mr A. Crooke, S.M., judgment was given for plaintiff by default in case of White and Sons (Mr A. A. Bennett) v. Henry Feek, for £6 18s 9d (costs £1 3s 6d). In the judgment summons cases Laurence and -Hanson (Mr A. H. Johnstone) and Alexander Ross and Co (Mr Johnstone) v. Norman G. Winklemann, the debtor, who was outside the court building, declined to come in when the cases were called, and orders were made in the first case for the amount of the judgment—£32 3s 7d, and in-the second ease for £2O 7s 6d. the default in each case Being 3 weeks' imprisonment at New Plymouth. In the case of Hugh A. McClelland (Mr D. Hutchen) v. F. H. Washbourne, an order was made for payment of £8 16s 3d, in default 8 days' imprisonment.

Lord Morris, formerly Prime Minister of Newfoundland, speaking at a meeting at Brighton (England) with the object of starting a local branch of the Royal Colonial Institute, said that over ten nvillion men 'had been killed and some thirty millions wounded in the present war. The responsibility for these awful consequences would have to be brought home. There were still people who believed that the lion and the lamb could lie down together, The only way was when the lamb was inside the lion. There was no use having property, liberties, and privileges unless they were prepared to protect them- In this war %ve were going to win out; but they must recognise that jfc had been a very close shave. If it had not been for the Navy, all would have been over years ago. In urging the importance of trade, he said the balance had been against us, although our ships were on every sea. Before the war broke out we had a thousand Consuls, and of these nine hundred were Germans. That was a fact, and he challenged anyone to disprove it. If the German Emperor had done nothing else, he had proved, as no number of confer2£ces or anything else could prove, the complete unity of the British Empire.

The troubles of travelling musicians were ventilated at the Magistrate's Court yesterday, when Frederick W. Carlson and his wife (Mavis Carlson), described as musicians, and now residing at New Plymouth, proceeded against Alice and William Baker (proprietors of a circus and vaudeville show) for wages amounting to £l4 10s. The evidence was that plaintiffs joined the circus in January, 1918, and played continuously up to June 21,1918, for the sum of £3 10s per week. At Palinerston North on the latter date plaintiffs were paid up to date, and the circus part of the show was discontinued and the vaudeville only-carried on. From June 21 to July 27 plaintiffs had continued to play with the vaudeville, and had received 10s per performance. At Kahotu the plaintiffs left the Bakeiv. and claimed wages l at the rate of;. J" lii.\ per week up to July 27. Tlie-.tWeniv was that after leaving Pplinpy*l.i'! ; ;i now arrangement had been -w> .iroyiding for the payment of 10s ];..•■• .w-1,. rim- each performance given. Mr*. . ! :>!,,.r, in her evidence, said that no nm\ii;si:mi>i|l had been made respecting plaintiff's wife, She was only a beginner, and could not be called an artist. Her husband was teaching her to perform. During the time the show was travelling plaintiffs were kept, but received payment only for each performance; There had only been verbal agreements as to payments. The plaintiffs left without giving any notice, and greatly inconvenienced defendants. The court held that there was no proof of a new arrangement having been entered into after June 21, and gave judgment for £l4 10s, less one week's pay (£3 10s), in lieu of notice, with costs £2 9s.