GENERAL NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 November 1918, Page 5

GENERAL NEWS.

A Ckristchureh correspondent wires: A garage proprietor mentioned a rather melancholy circumstance connected with the prevailing epidemic. Some visitors to town for the races who left their cars at 'his garage have not yet claimed them and now and then someone drops into tho garage and informs him that the owner of such and such car has died.

Mr D. Rodgers, of Timafu, proprietor of the fishing launch Pilot, secured a monster fish last week. It was captured by the atatf of tJhe Pilot when the'boat was aboutdiine miles off the coast from Pareora. The fish is between 9 feet and 10 feet long, and it took its captors 2% hours to get it on to the deck. As soon as the boat reached port the sea monster was put into the cool store, so that it may be preserved for exhibition purposes. The existence of alum conditions in Wellington has been forcibly brought to notice by the epidemic. In view of the fact that many householders have not complied with the request to clean up their premises, attention has been drawn to the power of the City Council to put any premises in a sanitary condition at he cost jointly of the landlord and tentnt. In some parts of Wellington

North district it is said that a shocking state of affairs has been found to exist. Drastic steps are to be taken there, and possibly also in other quarters of the city. It is reported from Dunedin that the collision of the warships New Zealand and Australia took place some time bofore the Jutland naval battle. Tho vessels met almost "end on," a ram to ram collision being averted by a very few yards. Although actual dates are not recallable, the approximate time i» estimated by the fact that the naval officer who told of the occurrence also described an abnormal haul of netted German submarines being brought into an English seaport one day, and how some of t)he submarines, rcmarined with British seamen, afterwards fretted the German fleet in the Jutland battle.

An interesting discovery was made recently at Mataiwaka, a few miles Routli of Tangoteroria, on the Northern Wairoa river, by Mr E. Wilson, who found that a large landslip had occurred which had somewhat scouTed a blind creek near the river bank, revealing in it an exceptionally large Maori canoe. As near as can be judged the depth of the craft is 6ft, the width a similar measurement, and the length some 50 feet. It will take some considerable time before the canoe can be freed from its earthly covering, and its true dimensions estimated. The creek in question is adjacent to what was the chief residence of the deceased chieftain Tirarau, who; during las' life, was overlord of that portion of tflie Northern Wairoa district.

In a recent supplement to Mve London Gazette, in which Admiralty awards of the D.5.0., D.S.G., and D.S.M. are announced, particulars are given of a plucky feat performed by Leading Mechanic Sydney Francis Anderson, D.S.M., who is awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal. "After repairing while in flight the petrol system of his machine, wMch had.been damaged in action with enemy aircraft, he noticed trouble in the right engine. Asking the pilot to slow down as much as possible, he climbed out on to the lower plane and made extensive repairs. The work, w'iiieh was done entirely in the open and in a wind force of 90 miles an hour, took over If hours and saved the machine."