LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 May 1919, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

At Waitotara last week the ladies held a shop, the proceeds being in aid of the Soldiers' Memorial Fund, and succeeded in raising £SO for that object. This year the King's Birthday will be celebrated on June 3, and Empire Day, which used to be on May 24, will be observed on the same day. This announcement was made by' the Hon. G. W. Russell on Thursday." The Wanganui Agricultural Association decided to hold a show next February, in conjunction with the racing and trotting meetings, a big regatta, athletic sports, musical and elocution competitions, making it a carnival week. The Salvation Army Band will be giving Pvte. Smith, who is a bandsman, a welcome home on Saturday night. Commissioner and Mrs. Hodder will welcome him at the hall, after the train arrives.

The ladies of Patea intend specialising in the children during the peace celebrations. At a meeting held on Wednseday a strong committee was elected to look after the sehplars, who will be entertained in five marquees. The entertaining of,the soldiers is to be left to a caterer, and the town and country people will'look after the children.

At the adjourned inquest concerning the death of Mrs. J. N. Milne, her husband, the Rev. Milne, said his wife had suffered from nervous depression, and had fought a plucky fight against tremendous odds of temperament and constitution. A verdict was returned of suicide while temporarily of unsound mind.

An alarm of fire was sounded at the Central Station yesterday morning at 11.15. but fortunately there was no occasion for fire-fighting, although the bripadesmeß smartly had the small engine to Brougham Street, where Borne rubbish was burning The alarm was sounded through th« electric installation by someone who evidently thought the premises were in danger. The 400 tons of coal which was discharged at New Plymouth by the Ngakuta on Thursday was consigned to Messrs Stoetyr and Humphries, who have divided it proportionately among the town dealers and dally companies and others in the district requiring steam coal. The steamer Orisso, which has been discharging coal at Wellington, is due at New Plymouth on Sunday, with 100 tons of Newcastle coal.

A man named C. Kcarn was fined 40s, costs Us, and witnesses' expenses £2 2s by the S.M., Mr. W. Wilson, at the Patea Court sittings on Thursday. Defendant was charged with boarding a train whilst in motion. Guard Ernest Inch, New Plymouth, stated that Kearn. in attempting to get on the train, fell, Lineman Madgwick preventing him from being cut to pieces. Kearn made a second attempt, witness pulling him into the guard's van by the neck. There was no appearance of defendant.

It is understood that the Japanese Training Squadron will not visit New Zealand- The squadron, which recently left Fremantle for Colombo, was expected to arrive in New Zealand in June, but the visij; has since been cancelled.

The Wanganui County Council "has decided to apply for permission from the Government to erect a toll-gate on the main road from Wellington' to Wanganui, or, as an alternative, that the Government grant £IO,OOO for the reconstruction of the road. At n meeting of the Patea Borough Council the Mayor brought forward the question of going in for a loan of £SOOO to improve the electric light, water, and drainage systems. He believed' the scheme outlined by the engineer would be self-supporting in twelve months. Councillors generally were favorable to the proposal. Cr. Davies, however, thought they might make the loan £6OOO, the rates to be on the amount expended only. A motion in this direction was carried, and the clerk was instructed to take the necessary steps to raise the loan. GERSTENA fur BREAKFAST.

A bonfire a hundred feet high on the summit of Mt. Eden is to be one of the features of the peace celebratiosn. The building of the bonfire is in the hands of Mr. X Rogers, engineer to Mt. Eden Borough, and he has received a grant of £H)O wherewith to obtain the material for the conflagration. Major Kenneth MacCormick, D.S.O, of Auckland, has taken his discharge from the New Zealand Medical Corps in London, where he proposes to remain for some time, having been appointed resident, medical officer at the Bolingbroke Hospital, Wandsworth Common. He was recently elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Public Health.

The inmates of the Old People's Home were visited by a concert party organised by the staff of the Sash and Door Factory on Thursday evening. A fine programme of vocal and instrumental items was contributed by Mrs. Northam, Misses Murphy, Medway, and Hodgson, and Messrs W. G. Reid, Gilbert, Northam, and Gadd. All the items were appreciated by the inmates, and, in thanking the performers for their assistance, the matron expressed the hope that the visitors would repeat the programme at a future date.

A War Office announcement that Lieu-tenant-Colonel Edward Parker England, having completed service ini tl<» *mnk, is placed on the half-pay list, V i val Artillery, recalls a romantic «*"•<* of the war. Colonel England got life lirat commission 33 ,years ago, anu ri n Wd his present rank in 1913. Berne?**!' &odi the service after the retreat from Monsjn 1014, at the age of 50 he enlisted as a private in the South African Horse, and served twelve months in East Africa. He was afterwards transferred to France, and it was announced in the London Gazette of January 24, 1918, that the King had approved of his reinstatement in the rank of lieutenant-colonel with his previous seniority in consequence of his devotion to duty and gallantry in the field while in the ranks of the Devonshire Regiment. The following illuminating passage occurs in a letter from an ex-member of the Dannevirke Evening News staff, who accompanied the British forces to Cologne, relative to an order issued to the "Diggers" to go easy on coal, gas, and electric light, as the Huns wantcf it for manufacturing purposes. '1 can give you an instance of what he wants it for," says the writer. "The other day I gained the confidence of a little Hun and got admitted to the printing dept. of Friedr, Bayer and Co. of Luverkusen, just outside Cologne. This firm manufactures everything, from a pencil to a railway engine, and the little 'wily' tells me it was the first place in Germany to make poison gas. In the printing department they were making and printing boxes in English for medicinesand cough tablets, besides having four stitching machines on children's picture books and fairy yarns, also printed in English. T fail to see how they are going to keep out German goods when this sort of thing goes on under their eyes."

The Salvation Army are having special meetings on Saturday and Sunday. Commissioner and Mrs. Hodder will be conducting these, assisted by Brigadier Toomer. Saturday night, at 7.30, there will be an open air demonstration. Sunday afternoon Commissioner Hodder speaks on "Broken Earthenware," and at. night Mrs. Hodder will take part. The public are invited to attend these meetings. There's a piece of good news for New Plymouth ladies: There is now showing at Morey's a display of winter costumes out of the ordinary. In fact their like have not been seen in New Plymouth for many a day. Read more about them in Morey's advertisement in this issue.

Seventy-five acres of Waimate plain 9 land is advertised in this issue by Grant and Campbell, Hawera. £SOO cash secures land, stock, implements, etc. This should be a great chance for anyone wanting to make a start on the best dairying land in New Zealand. The Melbourne, Ltd., announce that their famous lines of women's all-wool cashmere -stockings and men's socks will soon be advanced according to invoices just to hand. When the new goods arrive plain cashmere hose now 3s lid will be 4s Gd; ribbed cashmere hose now 4s -Cd will -be 6s Gd; and men's cashmere socks now 3s lid will be 4s Od a pair.