LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 March 1919, Page 3

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

At the Bell Block Hall on Thursday evening, din-hig a welcome-home to some of the district boys, three overcoats were found to be missing. One of the coats belonged to a soldier lad who was being entertained. At yesterday's meeting of the New Plymouth Harbor Board matters in connection with the poll to be taken for the purpose of securing the ratepayers' eonsent to the raising of a loan for the harbor development scheme were considered, and it was resolved, on the motion of Messrs. Bellringer and Wilkinson, that, with a view to expediting the taking of the poll, as provided for in the Empowering Bill of 1918, meetings be arranged for ■in the different areas, and advertised immediately. W.C.T.U.—Please note that the monthly meeting of the W.C.T.TJ. will be held on Thursday next, 27th instant, at 3 p.ni., in the Good Templar lodge room.

Tha rain which fell yesterday 'would prove of great benefit to the farmers throughout Taranaki, as the pastures In some localities were begkming to be dried up. It proved a disappointment, however to the children of Tariki, Ngaere and other schools, whose picnic however, to the children of Tariki, set down for yesterday had to be postponed.

A positive organ was recently purchased by tlie Vestry of All Saint:)' Church, Eltham, and installed in the church, being formally opened on Thursday evening.. There was a very large congregation. The opening service was in the form of a recital of sacral musrc, comprising solos on the organ by Mr K. Page, and vocal solos by member's of the choir. Special prayers of dedication wore read by the vicar, Rev. R. 11. Hobday.

The case of a hoy who was living on his wits was mentioned in a recent Issue of the News- Yesterday's EitTiam Argus, referring to the same boy, stated: —The lad arrived in Eltham by' the last train last evening and commenced to try the tactics which had. proved successful at New Plymouth. A local resident, however, informed the police, witn the result that Constable Townsend took charge of the lad and also of a bicyeto in his possession. Enquiry showed that the boy ran away from' his home at Vvanganui on Monday last, and also that tie had stolen the bicycle while m New Plymouth. He was' brought T> e . fore Mr E. Parrott, J.P., at the courthouse on Friday morning, on Mio charge of the theft of the bicycle, ana was remanded to appear at New Ply. mouth next week.

A meeting of the West End .School Committee was held last night. Mr A. K. Smart presiding over a full' attendance. Mrs Dowling reported that the average attendance for the current quarter is 400-1. and the roll 505. On February 13th and itth Mr Morton, chief inspector, paid an inspection vistt! She was pleased to report that Misses •Tomison, I. O'Brien, Evar-s, Hawkes, Dive-hall and Heal,, pupil teachers, lia« passed all or some groups towards their teachers' certificates. The school team had not .been good enough to win the swimming cup again this rear. Congratulations had heen sent'to the Centra! School on their success The report was received. Mrs Dowling forwarded a. copy of her resignation, and as the Board had granted her three months' leave, she would bb leaving the school on April 30th. It was resolved to forward letters of congratulation to the pupil teachers on their success at the examinations.

An example of departmental incompetency is afforded in Taranaki by the Mount Egmont railway in which close on £IOO,OOO of the taxpayers' money lias' been sunk for something like ten vears without the line being "ended or mended" as suggested by the Hon. R. luteKonzie, when he visited it. 'Further departmental inefficiency and incompetency— 3iich as would not be tolerated in a fifth-rate South American Eepublia —is shown in the method of constructin» the Stratford-Ongarue line, where the rails in place of being laid as the formation progressed, were carted through mud in bullock drays, two raits at a time and dumped alongside the half-finished formation some miles ahead of the railhend. As a consequence the line is taking more years to complete than it should have taken months under proper management, due to the laeT< of a proper system of construction on modern lines, thanks to the antagonism of the heads of the department towards anything approaching up-to-date methods.— Patea Press.

Speaking at a meeting at flawera on Thursday, called to discuss the question of providing a peace memorial, Mr J. K. Corrigan said that the memorial shouM he something that would be an acqutsttiort to the town and district for all time, something of architectural beauty, and a memorial that would be useful to the returned soldiers. He favored tlie erection of a Guild Hall, which would contain a roil of honor of all the soldiers of Tarauaki who had fallen in the war. The hall could also form a museurr. with curios and trophies secured from the field of battle. The SoldiersClub covnd be erected adjacent to the hall, and in this connection he wourd say that it was a disgrace that the fund for this purpose had not. been wholly subscribed. He understood that therewas about £3OOO in hand, and £SOOO was required. Probably the Borougs Council might allow the memorial ana club to be erected on one of their reserves, charging the returned soldiers a peppercorn rental so as to give them n legal tenancy. The suggestion was warmly approved, and it was decided to aim at raising £15.000 for the purpose, a strong committee being appointed to arrange for raising the money.

Mr G. V. Pearce thus concludes a letter in the Hawera Star to one written over the nom de plume of Efficiency: "If it will ease 'Efficiency's' mind any, may I assure him that I did not obtam any of my land through land speculation, or forcing up prices on ihe small dairy farmer, nor did I purchase iny stoclc by getting a huge salary from n company and paying no dividend to the poor shareholders. Then 'Efficiency' says, 'he (Mr Pearce) stands for self first, we nil know.' I have acted as member and chairman of the Petea Hospital Board for some years, member and ehairman of the Patea Harbor Poard, member continuously for 2!) voars and chairman for 14 years of the Patea County Council, without one pennv of remuneration; also member for the district for ten years, for which I receive £3OO per annum to pay all expenses, including living in Wellington, election expenses, etc. It has certainly been a financial loss to myself, but I am pleased and proud to work for my fellow citizens, and if 'EmYicnev' ran'show as good a record T don't think the public will accuse him of working for himself."

At the Whiteley Church on Sunday evening Miss Young and Mr. Cooper will be the soloists, and the choir will sing the anthem, "The Radiant Sun." THE PROHIBITION POLL. The greatest curse of the small trader is the credit system. People get on the hooks and stay there. The "Trade" knows a trick worth two of that. If you want six pen'orth of stagger-juice it's cash on the nail, and if you want just another glass of trip-me-"quiek its cash on the nail again. That is where the honest trader falls down in his contest with the dope-dispenser. That chap always "gets his blow in fust!" If we were a small trader our first move would be to put Booze out. He is right in the track of legitimate business. In Masterton the traders always remark to investigators: "The first thing we noticed about no-licence was that people paid their accounts quick on time." Tha is never a boast in the licensed districts! Never! Strike out the top line on Thursday, April 10. 17,

During the time the repatriation office has been open in Christchurch 212 applications have been received from returned soldiers for employment. Work has been found for ninety-seven, leaving 115 unemployed. Contrary to expectations goods from the various Dominion woollen mills are not coming forward at all well since the Armistice whilst prices still show an upward trend. With regard to men's flannels the Melbourne, Ltd., fortunately have a small stock on hand, Petone make, at G/(i each. Buyers should note this fact and secure their winter supplies without delay. "In the Federal House of Representatives on Thursday, last week, Mr. Poynton anouneed that the profits of the Commonwealth Government line of steamers during the first year were nearly £1,000,000 (which is equal to £OO,OOO per steamer per annum), and that the total cost of the steamers has now been paid out of prolits, showing that 1' e second year's profits were'greater than the first.

The sum of £40,000 was made in England during the war by the collection of old silver thimbles in the beginning, but this broadened out into old silver goods of all classes, and the result was the above-mentioned large sum of money. By means o™ this money 13 motor ambulances were sent to the"front; five motor hospital boats were procured for Mesopotamia; £2OOO was given for naval purposes; £2OOO to the Emplovment Agency for Disabled Soldiers, and £lO,000 to disabled soldiers and sailors' institutions, as well as other considerable sums distributed in different directions. "Will you please decide for me how long an egg will keep?" was a question asked in all seriousness in a communication received at a sitting of the conference of the New Zealand Poultry Association in Christcliurch. The writer Btated that he had kept an egg for nine months once, and a certain gentleman had then eaten it. The testimony of this particular person as to the quality of the egg was not available, as "he had since died." Hearty laughs from the delegates present interrupted any further reading of the communication. An Australian politician, who has returned from a visit to San Francisco, says.—"An interesting institution that is very popular in San Francisco, and that ought to work equally well in Sydney and other large centres in the colonies, is the Cafeteria, a restaurant' where the waiter is almost entirely abolished. The customers enter and pass along or around a huge counter, upon which is arranged in great abundance, but in regular order, everything necessary f6r a meal, cither steaming hot or ice cold as the case may require, He is first supplied with a tray, cutlery, and table napkin. Then he selects as he goes soup fish, poultry, meats, pies, fruit—almost anything he can possibly want to eat or dnnk, each tiling selected being deposited on his tray, which he carries along until his selection is complete, when a smart Woman clerk runs an eye over his booty and >.sseßses the price on a card after which he is free to sit down at a table and have his meal. The food in the Cafeteria is in the main abundant, good, and reasonably cheap. An economic person can lunch or dine quite well on from 50 to 75 cents, while a dollar will procure quite a good meal. An Italian soldier, who was blinded and lost his speech in the battle of the Carso Plateau, two years ago, now sees and hears again as'a result of having accidentally met his sweetheart in a Btreet of the Italian section of New Fork last month. This soldier is Antonio Spinelli, who was struck bv an Austrian grenade. The effect produced by the shock greatly puzzled the phvBicians of the Italian Military Hospital. Surgeons in Rome, Milan, and Florence examined him, but, for reasons which it was impossible to determine, he could neither see nor speak. Mustered out of the Service, Antonio was Bent back to the United States, and his sweetheart and her mother came to New York to find him. While the two women were on their way to church, they met Antonio tapping his way along with a stick. "Antonio!" cried Margherita; "Margherita!" cried the soldier. He raised his head, and, looking into the dark eyes which confronted him, in a trembling voice he said, "I see! I see!!" Sight and speech had returned to Antonio.

A correspondent writes to the Auckland Star.—"During the hearing of the Anconia sheep-dip trial it was st i in evidence that the father of the gjgJ eused was a first-class judge of horses though blind. This recalled to me an incident lhat occurred to me in Melbourne (Vic.) about Augußt, 1894. i had advertised a pony for sale, and among the people who came to inspect it was a father and son. The father who "inspected" the pony, was totally blind. He went over every inch of the animal, from nose to tail, with his hands, Except for an occasional grunt, he never opened his mouth till he had finished his "inspection." He then growled out Stubborn little beast/' got into his trap, and drove away. How he arrived at the temperament of the animal II don't know, but he was quite right." An important land Bale will take place at Mr. Newton King's mart to-day, when the properties in the estate of the late Mr. H. J. H. Okey will be submitted to the hammer. The farms, which are situated on the Prankley and Hurford Roads are all of suitable size for dairying several being of and 'nearly all are ploughable, and within easy distance of a dairy factory. The lands situated on the lower Frankley and Eliot Roads are practically suburban areas, being close to the borough boundary. The ate Mr. Okey's homestead, which is in this area, is well known, and comprises nice, clean, level paddocl-s, which, if cut into five or ten-acre lots, would make excellent holdings for town workers. The property at Westown adjoining Messrs Duncan and Davies' nursery is not shown on the lithographed plan, but ia also included in the sale.

. Mr. S. G. Smith, M.P., who has been in communication with tho Acting-Prime Minister (Sir James Allen) and the Minister of Education, asking them to be present at the official opening of the new Boys' High School, has just received the following replies.—Sir James Allen telegraphs: "Your telegram received. I have informed Mr. Moves, principal of the Boys' H,gh School, that it will give me much pleasure to accept the invitation to be present at the official opening ceremony on April 3, but am afraid I cannot spare the necessary time to remain over for the sports on the following day" The Hon Mr. Hanan telegraphs: "Your tele! graph received. Owing to work here and engagements previously entered into I am sorry that it will not be possible for 7t£v EWi" the official of the High School on April 3." b Fashions come and go but navy ser<*e goes on for ever. A wise woman wrote when in doubt wear navy serge." You should read about the new serges the Big Store, Waitara, is offering so economically this season on page four and send for pattern*.

At the Hamilton Swimming CLvtVi sports last week a new plunge record for New Zealand was established, by W. Wilkinson, of Cambridge, who covered* 65ft 2in. The record previously was 58ft Sin.

Tiie Public Works Department is evidently recommending work on tha T« Koti-Opunake railway line. The Uanaia Witness records that a bridge construction overseer and sixteen men aro at present engaged on work on the bridge over the Waingongoro river. JUr. Ingram Colson, of Fitzroy, met with a nasty accident on the Waiwakaiho bridge on Wednesday night last. As he was riding into town a motor oar coming in the opposite direction, at a fast pace, collided with him and injured bis legs somewhat seriously. The car did not stop, and-Mr. Colson remained on tie bridge until his calls attracted attention and assistance was secured. He was examined on Thursday, but yesterday it was still impossible to state the extent of liis injuries, or what the result might be.

Mr. S. G. Smith, M.P., is in communication with the authorities in Wellington with reference to the dissatisfaction which exists in this district as the result of the delay in respect to the conversion of West Coast leases into freehold, and has received a reply to the effect that the matter is being inquired into, and that he will be communicated with further later. Mr. Smith is also in communication with the Minister concerning tha administration of Native affairs in Twanaki district, and stressing the necessity for the appointment of a temporary commissioner, at any rate, in order that the accumulation of work might be attended to with as little delay as possible. The public are notified that on and after to-day, 22nd instant, th* price of the shilling concession tickets on the New Plymouth trams will be one shilling and twopence. No alteration has been made in tiie price of any other concession tickets.