LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 April 1919, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

In the course of his remarks on the policy of railway construction, Mr. J. A. Quin, speaking at Whangamomona on Tuesday night, said that he would take the administration of roads and railways out of the hands of Ministers altogether, and would ask Parliament to allocate the money for construction where it would prove remunerative first.

"The boys at the front are attending to the emigration question as far as the ladies are concerned, and it is up to the Government therefore to go in for an emigration policy not only to overcome the labor difficulty but also to find Husbands for the young ladies here." Remark by a speaker at Whangamomona on Wednesday evening.

Speaking at Whangamomona on Tues-' day evening, a settler on a three-foot track, in one place not more than six inches wide, stated that a returned soldier residing on a section near him was expecting his young English bride out in four or live months' time. He would probably take her back to what he called home. "God help the woman" the speaker added fervently. "God help the ones who . expect settlers to reside under such conditions."

When the manual and .technical committee's report was before the Education Board on Wednesday the matter of the facilities for secondary-education for children in the Opunake district came in for some comment. Mr. Smith pointed out that the question had been raised before and it had been shown that there were not sufficient pupils who had gained proficiency to warrant the establishment of a District High School. He thought that the district was in such an isolated position that it merited special consideration, and he urged that strong representations on the matter should be made to the Department. Support was accorded to Mr. Smith by Messrs White and Buchanan, the former pointing out that it was more tha.i likely that the lack of facilities for sending children to secondary schools resulted in a diminished incentive to secure proficiency certificates. The chairman (Mr. Masters) also supported the proposal, and urged further that children whose only means of reaching a centre at which they could obtain secondary education was by means of a coach service should not be penalised in favor of those fortunate enough to live in close proximity to a railway line. He said he considered the Government should pay coach as well as train fares.

At Whangamomona on Tuesday Mr. Jennings, M.P., said that the Government should reserve sites where homes for doctors could be built in the country. He believed it would be necessary to give State medical aid, as the health of the women and children was paramount. Mr, Geever said that it was scandalous that people living on a sixfoot track should be sixty miles from a doctor. The Act now provided that the Minister of Public Health should appoint a doctor and fix his salary, the local body to collect the fes and pay the salary. It was not satisfactory in a district like theirs for a doctor to have a fixed salary. He suggested that the local body should give a guarantee and let the doctor collect his own fees. Anything paid the doctor by the local body should be subject to Government subsidy, in the same way as hospital board contributions were. Settlers were prepared to assist but wanted the Government to help. The Hon. Sir William Fraser said that there was a great deal in what had been said, and he promised to place the matter before the Minister of Public Health.

To-day the motor conveyance has made a great alteration. Easter Monday will show this in a marked degree for on that day motor cars, buses, and lorries, laden with human freight will disgorge their respective loads <tt Kawaroa Park for the monster seaside fete and picnic.

In business, bold advertisement Is payable and wise, It benefits both those who read And those who advertise. Thus gasping mortals in distress Discover in the daily press That they relief and health assure By taking Woods' Great Peppermint Cur*.

Mr S. G. Smith, M.P., yesterday received a telegram from the Minister of Education stating tliat he had approved a grant of £250 for the purchase <jf a section adjoining FiUroy School to increase the size of the playground. There is no doubt but that the Board will find tile remaining £25 required for the land.

The Parliamentary Industries will arrive in New Plymouth on Saturday evening. On Tuesday the members will be takiVi to the mountain house for luncheon, and in the afternoon will visit some of the private gardens of the town. The chairman of the commission is Mr C!. A. Wilkinson, member for E'gmont, and the other members are Messrs < Forbes, Homsby, Hudson, Luke, Pcarce, Poland, Sidey, Veitch and Dr. Newman.

At Whangamomona on Tuesday Mr. Holly ashed that the maximum of £750 advanced to returned soldiers on the land should be increased in the case of soldiers on bush land. Seven hundred and fifty pounds was only sufficient to fall, grass and Btock 70 acres, which would not keep the soldier on his farm, with the result that it would deteriorate. Hon. 11. D. Guthrie stated that Cabinet, recognising that £7BO was not adequate, had agreed to raise the (amount to £1250. It was the policy of the Department to road the land before the soldiers were put on it.

A farmer near Levin was much puzzled by recurrent outbreaks of a violent skin irritation among the members of his household. The trouble has now been traced to a climbing plant that he was Carefully cultivating, under the delusion that it was a Virgihia creeper. The plant has now been identified as the Californian poison vine (Rhus toxicodendron). Contact With the leaves produces a form of irritation sometimes like eczema and sometimes like erysipelas. At Otorohonga on Saturday there was a large gathering of school children and settlers, the occasion being the unveiling of a roll of honor to the men who went away to the war and who had passed through the local school. The number on the roll of honor was 08, and it was a beautiful piece of artistic wood carving, done by a local resident. The Hon. Mr. W. McDonald and Mr. W. T. Jennings, M.P., delivered remarks suitable to the occasion. There was a large procession, and pipers and band headed the procession to the school grounds. The parliamentary party visited a coal seam at Taihia and the Waitomo Caves. The number of visitors to the caves this season total 4800.

Messrs Robertson and Wilkinson asked the Minister for Lands at Whangamomona on Tuesday that 36,000 acres of at land gazetted as a timber reserve at Rerehapa should be opened for settlement, as it blocked progress. Moreover it was becoming infested with blackberry, which would be a menace to the country. The Hon. Mr. Guthrie said that he could promise that it wou4d not be years before it was opened up. He understood the timber was valuable, amounting to six or eight million feet, and negotiations were now in progress for it. He intended to let the timber rights, subject to it being cut in a face, felled and grassed, and as soon as a sufficient area was cleared that would be settled. If covered with noxious weeds lie would say that these must be cleared. The monthly meeting of the Taranaki Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was held in the secretary's office, Egmont Street, on Wednesday, with Mr R. C. Hughes in the chair. The inspector reported that one case had been "tried before the Magistrate and a conviction registered. Two other cases were also reported, and the ownois have been cautioned. Several other matters were discussed, one of leaving fowls in pens overnight, after the sale, when it was decided to draw the auctioneer's attention to the fact. It was decided to appeal to the public for support, by way of anmtal subscriptions, Which may be paid to the secretary, Mr E. L. Humphries, Egmont Street.

At Whangamomona on Tuesday Mr. A. Meredith said that the railway carriage of metal was a serious item in their county where there was no metal, and added considerably to the cost of road making. The railway carted lime free for farmers for 100 miles, and he thought they might do the same in the case of metal for local bodies. Hon. Sir William Fraser, in promising to refer the matter to the Minister of Railways, said that the railways now carted metal for local bodies at half rates, thus treating fhein better than it did his Department, who were charged full rates. He believed every endeavor should be made to supply metal cheaply and his Department, when it had a large enough supply on any of its lines always supplied cheap metal to the local bodies. He always favored roads being metalled when formed, as otherwise in winter time for some months they became sloughs of despond.

The necessity for connecting Tahora and Tatu by telephone was stressed by Mr. J. B. Richards, president of the Stratford Chamber of Commerce at Whangamomona jn Tuesday. The last advice they received was that as labor adn wire were not available it could not lie completed. They now asked that the request should be placed before the Postmaster-General. Mr. W. J. Penn supported the application. Sir William Fraser said that he looked upon telephones, not as a luxury, but as a necessity. On account of their isolation it was necessary the people in the backblocks should have telephonic communication, so as to get in touch with the doctor or summon assistance in case of sickness. He knew that wire, which formerly was not procurable, could be provided now, and he would have pleasure in placing their request before the Postmaster-General. Hon. H. D. Guthrie announced that lie was interested in the matter of telephonic communication, and intimated that the Mangare road telephone connection would soon be constructed, as ho had agreed to contribute £3O for t,his purpose as asked by the Postmaster-General.

Tile Melbourne Ltd-'s ladies blouses are easily the best value on this coast. The reason is not far to seek, the bulk of the stock being practically manufactured by the firm, whilst the balance, such as Irish hand-embroidered voiles, were imported direct from the manufacturers in Belfast., Ireland The silk and crepe dc chine used in the blouses are imported direct from Japan.

It was proved at the Supreme Court of Victoria, at Melbourne, that (1) SANDER'S EXTRACT is much more powerfully healing and antiseptic than ordinary eucalvptus preparations; (2) SANDER'S EXTRACT does not depress the heart like the so-called "extracts" and crude oils; (31 SANDER'S EXTRACT is highly commended by many authorities as a safe, reliable and effective household remedy. Get th» genuine—insist if you have to—and be safe.