LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 December 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A total of 55 Victoria Crosses have been awarded to Canadians during the war. —Aus. and N.Z. Cable Assoc. An older-in-council prohibits the exportation of Russian rouble notes from the Dominion without the consent of the Minister of Customs.—Press Association. On the application of Mr. Austin Bewley, probate of the will of the late William Edwin Aisli, farmer, of Tataraimaka, has been granted by his Honor the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout), to the executrix named in the will. At yesterday's meeting of the Tara- ! naki Education Board, when the question of the state of a certain school residence was under discussion, and proposals were Iteing made for installation of a water service and a new bath, Mr. S. G. Smith, M.P., said the whole position with regard to school residences was most unsatisfactory. The Department should either provide suitable residences for teachers •or else give them a proper house allowance. A Greymouth message says: In connection with the influenza fatalities the Cobden Ratepayers' Association passed the following resolution: "That in cases of distress arising from the recent epidemic where a mortgage is held in private hands the Government should give facilities to assist the mortgagors to retain the homes, and if desired to transfer the mortgage to more favorable terms." Influenza has completely disappeared, and ideal weather conditions prevail. Next week 10,000 crates of cheese will be lifted from the Taranaki Producers' Freezing Works at Moturoa (New Plymouth), and taken to Wellington by the Coiinna for transhipment to the Devon, which is loading at Waitara, Wellington and Napier for Egypt The Corinna will then return to New Plymouth and load a further 12,000 crates of cheese, for which space has been allotted in the Port Sydney. It is announced in a cable message from Ottawa to Australian papers that Canada';* revenue for the fiscal year ending March next, as the result of the success of business profits taxation, income, and other taxes, will reach £62,500,000. This will be sufficient to meet the interest on Canada's national debt, her pensions account, and all domestic administration expenditure, and to pay off probably £20,833,000 of this year's war expenses. If the same revenue could continue, Canada would be able to pay off her pre-war debt at the rate of £20,833,000 annually, but it is certainthat some taxation must be dropped next year, while the expenditure that year will be on a war basis, as it will take fourteen months to, demobilise Canada's troops. Water your garden this summer or you won't have one. Invest in NORTH BRITISH RUBBER COMPANY'S GARDEN HOSE. Best fabric l —best rubber. "N4ZQ.L" f o r Influeou *ndO»larrii

Among the primary schools recently mentioned as leading in the allotment of marks for the Tisch Shield there were 'omitted Tokaora (87) and Motonui (86). The following are the Standard VI passes at Toko School.—Proficiency: Russell Julian, Ernest Milne, Gerald Reed, Duncan Smith, Claude 'fuck, Henry Were, Hazel Divehall, Molly Kilpatrick, Stella Lawrence, Linda Mclver. Com* petency: Sybil Parker. The half-yearly meeting of the Inglewood Druids' Lodge was held on Wednesday evening. IJ.P. Bro. Burnip installed the following officers for the next term: A.D., Bro. S. 0. Spurdle; V.A.D., Bro. C. Clark; A.D.8., Bros. 0. Boldt and H. Clark; V.A.D.C., Bros. F. Spurdle and D. Paulger; secretary, Bro. G Lamb (reelected); treasurer, T. Arthur (reelected) ,

Another very interesting development has occurred, in the Auckland mail room, says the Auckland Star. The mailmen still boar, in mind the recent Main Trunk slip, which caused the death of two men In the mail van, which was next the engine- It is understood that a petition has been signed by every man in the Auckland 'mail room, declining to take any mali through the Main Trunk after to-day unless the mail va n is given a permanent glgce at t':e tail of the express. "If this man wishes to be a road hog, he must pay for the privilege," said Mr F. V. IV&ser, S.M., at the Wellington Magistrate's Court, after hearing police evidence as to the excessive speed a motorist named R. Wiggins had driven along the Hutt road on a recent race day. "Forty to forty-flvo miles an hour is altogether too much of a good thing." The penalty was fixed at the payment of a line of £5, with 7s costs, or, aa an alternative, a month m gaol.

In connection with dress reforms, a well-known woman doctor in England announces that she is going to agitate for the banishment of the stocking. She says there is no way of keeping the stockings well pulled up which is not injurious to h&tltb. The round garter is a pernicious affair, the taut suspender, with its constant dragging, equally had T-Tor .-nigcrestian is "continuations" —that is, woollen or silk knickers, whieh continue down over the legs and into the shoes. ' - Which is iJie more difficult feat—to climb up tha outside of a New York city skyscraper or to climb down. The Human Fly has been thrilling New Yorkers with the' first named act; now come? Daredevil St&ve. and says that to climb down'is much harder, because'you can't see where you're going- He challenges the Human Fly to go up while lie himself goes down on any selected building, the loser to pay a forfeit of 10,000dol to any war oharity the winner may name. Incidentally, it may be mentioned that the Human Fly now makes his feat .more spectacular by climbing up a lofty building's outside walls at night, his precarious way being illuminated by searchlight. An Australian told a London pressman this story:—We were advancing, and had been going about a hour, and my platoon numbered about fifteen men. Goinj; over r„ ridge we saw a pill-box-We poured machine-gun fire at it, and threw grenades, too. No reply came, and we congratulated ourselves that we had no casualties. All the time we could see smoke coming from the opcrturej this Worried us, so we decided td charge it- We had our charge, with whoops, and yells. I got to the doorway, and was met with: "Say, digger, what the 13 all the noise aboutf The?e stood an Australian with a fry-ing-paa « his hand, cooking bully beef over a too which the Huns had left.

It is not often that a person convicted of bigamy secures a. divorce, but this happened in a case heard by Mr Justice Stringer at the Supreme Court at Auckland s('ay;s the Star). The petitioner iu the action, which was undefended, was A/thur Henry Burns (Mr Allan, Moody), and the respondent was Hine Whare Burns, a full-blooded Maori. William James IJoyd was cited a.-, co-respondent. The petitioner guv* evidence that he was married at t?ip Registrar's office, Auckland, in August, 1912. He afterwards lived for some time with his wifp at Eden-terrace. The respondeat before long; took to leaving her home to stay with Maori friends.' taking such money m she could lay hands on. TTsually she did not return until this money had been exhausted. Eventually she left him for good, and seme yeara after ho contracted n bigaraoa.s marriage. In February last he was tried, convicted, and ordered to come un for sentence when called upon, the Judge (Mi' Justice Strinsrer) makirs a stiwilatio.i that he should, taike steps' to obtain a divorce, and, if- sucsessful. should , marry ■, the other woman. A decree nisi was granted, to be made absolute in three months.

An Australian paper \7ritos: "Since the war, both ill England as well a 9 in Australia, .some, women have been indulging in .a. veritable debauch of dress. On every lmnd there arc sad stories told tliat men who have been away fighting for their ./women folk have come home to find all their allotment allowance gone in finery. And tilery are instances where women' have deliberately become engaged to several men in order to have a steady income to spend in decorating themselves." "Women are dress cSrunk,'' declares Mi' Eugene Walter, the dress dramatist. "It is a passion which •transcends in these days of civilisation i that of the mont barbaric belle of t'.io Congo, who stuffs lscr head full of ashes and smears it with cocoaniit oil. Good, sound linens that can be washed and kept clean," he continues, "have been thrown away for insanitary fineries. Women think dress, talk dress, live dress. With clothes, of course, go all the accessories of jewels, perfumes, motors, a*.ld what not." When the crepe de chirip fUmsihesses shown in our shops are considered the disease does not seem entirely confined to other lands. It is time that the searchlight of public opprobhim should 'be turned on the women who appear on the streets in velvet house shoes, silk stockings, and fur coat#. "A Modem Lorelei" exerted a fascinating influence c ve the audience at The Empire last evening. It is a unique picture with wonderful settings, One writer has said: "There are scenes in the picture Which, if transferred to canvas, would be worthy of lining the walls ot a king's palace." "Lot elei" appears again 'to-night, and at the matinee and night sessions to-morrow. The Public Health Department notifies that all restrictions imposed for the purpose of checking the spread of influenza are now removed as far as this district is concerned, save that no auction of •fieeond-hand clothing 'and bedding shall <be permitted, unless a certificate has been received from an inspector duly appointed unite the Public Health Act. I Webster Bros, are selling fruit to-day I at lO ajn, aiid 2 p.i»

The Wairarapa Age states that negotiations hava been completed for .be acquisition by the Govern meat of the Westmere estate, east of Masterton, for the purpose of soldier'settlement. Tbe estate, which consists of 3000 acres, will shortly be available for settlement. The property is adjacent. to the Poroporo settlement, and should' provide farms for eight or ten soldiers. A recent cable message from Vancouver to Australian. papers states: Paris is filled to overflowing, and prices for hotel rooms have - doubled, and eve* trebled. A simple hotel breakfast costs 6s, and it is impossible to dine for less than 16s Bd, Where the , hundreds of American newspaper correspondents who , are coming for the Peace Conference expect to find accommodation, nobody | knows.

Mr. S. G. Smith, M.P., made aa explanatory reference at the Education Board's meeting yesterday to the failure .of the Government to hand over "the fee simple of the Rotokare Domain and Ratapiliipi Reserve to the New Plymouth Borough Council in exchange for the 4| acres of reserve at Ctltfield Road as a site for the' West End School. He stated that right up to the afternoon of the day on which the Washing Up Bill *waa before the House he had beßta given an alsurance by the Minister of Latads- (Hon. D. H. Guthrie) that everything was in order, and the papers only awaited his signature. When the clause was omitted from the Bill the Minister gave as his explanation that it waß contrary to the considered policy of the Government to part with the title of such reserves to local bodies, and it could not be done. Mr. Smith saw the Prime Minister, from ■whom the,same reply was received. He said he could hot understand the attitude of tfie Minister, after what he had told the. deputation which had waited on him at New Plymouth, when he had practically promised to agree to the exchange. He did not know whether it would be possible to get an exchange of BO acres for. ilj acres, but the position seemed now to be that fresh advances would have to be made to the borough to see what'could be done. He pointed out that in some other districts, notably in Christchurch, local rbodies were ianding over to the Government for educational purposes considerable areas of reserves, but he did not know if New Plymouth could be persuaded to do the same. Picture- -theatres' throughout the Dominion have been hard hit during the past | two years biy the enormous -increase in 1 the cost of running'. So acute had the position become during the past twelve months that the vast majority of theatres have been running under a loss. In order to meet the altered conditions, and at the same time keep the standard of pictures up to the present state of excellence, the showmen, throughout. New Zealand have made a small increase in prices. The local theatres (which have been catering for New Plymouth second to nothing'in Australasia) have decided to fall into line with the other theatres, and, commencing to-night, the prices of admission will be: Dress circle, Is 3d; stalls, 9d. Both tickets will be free of tax to the public.