LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 November 1919, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The installation of Mr. James Clarke as Mayor of New Plymouth will tak'e place at the Borough Council chamber at 10.30 on Monday morning ne_xt. The transport Arawa is due at Auckland this morning. She has on board Cll troops, 47 women, 14 children, and 15 Imperial Army and Navy details. In future the newspaper room at the Carnegie Library, New Plymouth, will be open from 2 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. on Sundays. The meeting of the members and friends of the Reform Party in New Plymouth last night is understood to have beeu a large and representative oiiu, ana though no announcement was available to the press it is believed further developments are imminent. A meeting of the newly-formed Drivers' Union was held in New Plymouth last night, there being a largo attendance. It was decided to go on with a dispute with a view to getting an award governing working conditions. It is anticipated that the matter will amicably be settled in conference. The Rimu, which is temporarily replacing the Rarawa on the New Ply-mouth-Onehunga service, arrived in New Plymouth yesterday. The Earaiva left Onehunga on Wednesday afternoon for Auckland to go into dock for the annual overhaul, and she was due there yesterday. The Rimu will remain in the service until December S. On Tuesday evening while driving down the Mountain Road towards Eltham, Mrs. J. Murray, and her daughter, Mrs. F. Robertson, and the hitter's little son, were thrown out of a, gig through the horse stumbling. The ladies escaped with a severe shaking, and the child with a few bruises and slight cuts on the face, and they were all able to be about on Thursday. In consequence of there being no provision made in the Supplementary Estimates for a sum of money to assist iu the upkeep of the road to the mountain from Egmont Village, Mr. S. G. Smith. M.P., made some representations ia the matter, with the result that the Governor has decided to vote the sum of £IOO towards tho upkeep of the road. Mr. Smith has been advised of this vote since returning from Wellington. The reports of Mrs E. Craven Wheeler's meetings speak in the highest terms of her elocutionary ability. The women's meeting at 3 o'clock tomorrow afternoon is creating considerable interest and will no doubt be largely attended. The subject of the evening, which commences at 5.30, will be "Our Flags." The afternoon gathering will be held in the Good Templar Hall, and tho evening meeting in Everybodv's Theatn;

Out of 9989 operations at Auckland Hospital during 1916-19 only seven deaths occurred under anaesthetics. The senior medical inspector of schools at Auckland describes the state 01 children's teeth as "deplorable."

At an extraordinary meeting of St. Matthew's Church choir (Auckland), and which was fully representative, after a lengthy discussion, the following resolution was unanimously carried:— "That the choir resume their places in the chancel on Sunday next, as usual, and that a protest be made to the Board of Nominators against the method of selection so utterly opposed to the democratic spirit of the age." The choir went on strike last Sunday as a protest against the non-appointment of the Rev. i. Calder as vicar. On Thursday evening, the Kaponga Town Hall was crowded by people of the district desirous of giving the returned soldiers a cordial welcome. Among the spealters were Messrs. C. A. Wilkinson, M.P., and Mr. D. L. A. Astbury, a caudidato for the Egmonx Seat. The former urged the returned boys so remember the burden of Empire was partly on their shoulders, and they wero bound to do their share, while the latter paid a tribute to the women's work- & called on averyooe to emulate the conduct of the men and do their bestin the work that lay ahead. The function, which had been well organised by a large committee under Mr. A. H. Guy, was a pronounced success. There was a large gathering at the Rolland Hall last night at the al&dreu's plain and fancy dress ball, which was held in the interests of Miss Elsie Whittle's candidate in the competition in connection with, thd forthcoming Catholic bazaar. There were many fancy and character costumes, and the Grand March was a very pretty spectacle, as wore also the dances which succeeded it. The prizes for the best costumes wero awarded to Mtss Ida George (Belgian Girl) and Master Raymond Whitehead (Cowboy). Mrs. Caliaghan was the judge. Sweets were provided for the children and supper wa« arranged and dispensed by a committee of ladies. Mr. J. Parker provided the music, and Mr. E. Whittle was MC. Dancing was continued for the children up till about 10 p.m., when the floor was given over to the adults.

The French Minister of Public Works, who lias returned from a visit to the devastated regions, states that at the time of the armistice 33,000 kilometres of main lines, 1200 bridges, great depots, and workshops were destroyed. To-day the main lines, the majority of the de-pots and workshops have been restored. Of 45.000 kilometres of roads destroyed, 12,000 have been re-made and the majority of 3137 road bridges which were wrecked have been re-made. An exciting occurrence took place in Timani on Tuesday night last. A yonng man about 19 years arrived home in a state of intoxication, and as a result of a quarrel'with his sister he lost control of himself. Picking up a carvinsr knife he chased the girl along the "street, threatening to "do for her." The pursued managed to elude the pursuer, but when she reached home the youth drew a revolver, again causing the'girl to run for her life. Whether the young desperado would have shot her is not known, but at any rate he cleared the house of its occupants. It is understood that the matter lias been reported to the police so that further developmenas may be expected later. How the Germans made a bold bid during the latter part of the war to bottle up the Grand Fleet in the Firth of Forth may now be told (says an exchange) . The scheme was to 'block the entrance to the Firth with a big mine field. After three months hard work, U-boats had laid mines in the shape of a half-moon, but mine-sweepers had discovered the plan, and as fast as the mines were laid cleared them away This was the largest tactical operat : on carried out by the U-boats. Other attemps to catch- the fleet were made in 1013, in the Moray Firth, when over 400 mines were laid, and in 191G tithe Orkneys. In round numbers on these occasions the Germans laid 1100 mines at a cost of £2OO each. The only fighting ship which fell a victim to the trap was the King Edward. During the war enormous numbers of mines were laid by the Germans off Harwich. Sweepers were constantly clearing them, and it was found that fresh mines were laid by the U-boats at regular intervals of 10 days. We used to leave certain parts of the field unswept, so that when the. next .batch of U-boats .-ame nlong they ran into their own mines. The task of clearing mines from British waters is now almost completed.

It would be difficult to find a more convincing illustration of our argument (of maintaining the right of free speech) than the experience of LieutenantColonel Mitchell when he opened his campaign for the Wellington South electorate (says the Wellington Times). He was entitled to exceptionally sympathetic consideration, because he had fought with distinction on the battlefields of Gallipoli, France, and Belgium, and had been maimed in the service of Ins country. Moreover, he had a mosage for the people full of solemn significance, and made more weighty by the terrible experiences through which he had passed. Above and bevond this, he stood for the rights of the soldier, which rights the Red Fed. gentlemen profess to be eager to champion. But Lieut.-Colonel Mitchell not onlv received no fair consideration from the disorderly section of his audience who style thenieolves Labor, but he was not" even accorded decent treatment. The interruptions wore an insult alike to the candidate, to the memory of our glorious dead, and to every soldier who fought and suffered in the cause of his country. There were cheers, but thev were for the hero Paddy Webb, who 'preferred the safe security of prison to the dangers of the battlefield. It was a squalid exhibition of disloyalty and want of patriotism, as well as an unhappy example of intolerance, but nevertheless it has found its defenders amongst the leaders of this Bed Fed. movement which is now masquerading as Labor. It may happen that these disorderly disloyalists will secure a majority at thr polls, but if they do, Cod help thi« country and the cause of peace, order, and good Government. The formula of the already famous Fairy Wonder Cleanser for/ washing clothes is a closely guarded secret, and was the discovery of an eminent chemist only after years of research for a soluble and active deterrent injurious to neither skin nor fabric. In addition it has the wonderful properties of quickly bleaching snow-white any clothes that have become a bad color. Every housewife should use it. The salvage sale of drapery, etc., from Roberts (N.Z.), Ltd., Auckland warehouse, is being prepared by the Melbourne, Ltd., whose cash tender for many lots was accepted. Salvage bargains of a sensational character will be presented in [all department*.

Owing to the unfavorable weather conditiona the receipts at the New Plymouth baths last month were only £7 Is lOd. The tramways' receipts last month amounted to £1073, an advance of £2Ol Is 2d over those of the same month of last year. The electric 'bus earnings were £BO.

Eighteen permits were issued for new buildings in New Plymouth last month, the total estimated cost being £9785. There were slaughtered for local consumption in New Plymouth last month 202 cattle, 13 calves, 721 sheep, 15 lambs, 87 pigs and 183 tripes, and two sets of calves' heads and feet were cleaned. Compared with last October they show an increase of 21 cattle, five calves, 92 sheep, six pigs, eleven tripes and a decrease of nineteen lambs. One bullock, two sheep and one pig were condemned. Pees for the month were £142 17s 6d, an increase of £9 7s 9d. "New Zealand is in the midst of a tremendous land .gamble," said Mr. Forbes at Cheviot recently. "I want laud administration that will mean prosperous settlements- Speculators are making all the money and piling up the burdens for the farmer to carry. Take Brookdale. If that had been acquired straight from the owners we could have put soldiers on it at a reasonable price, but it was sold to. a party of speculators, and they made fourteen or fifteen thousand on it, and a portion was sold to another man who made a' few pounds, •and so it goes on, until the burden is too heavy for the fanner. My concern is not for the speculator or the big farmer, but for the man who is actually going to carry on the work of the country, because the greatest asset New Zealand can have is men who will farm the land. If the Government woulo only face the situation and bring in a tax on the difference between pre-war values and selling values, it would go a long way to stop the land gamble. We do not want men sitting on the gate waiting for a land agent to give them a few pounds more than they gave for their land."

Dockrill's quality shoe house has shipments of new goofy now coming to hand which were bought before the rise in prices of many of the lines, therefore they are able to give the people of New Plymouth the very best value for their money. Messrs. F. G. Treweek and B. L. Joll advertise they have commenced in a business partnership at Hawera. Previous to the war Mr. Treweek was in business on his own account in Hawera for some six or seven years. Both partners have recently returned from active service and being well known in the district they will, no doubt, meet with every success. Lista silk is one of the most beautiful materials obtainable for summer wear. Good stocks of it are held by Morey and Son, and the range of patterns' and colors is most varied. The Public Service Commissioner invites applications for the position of assistant accountant in the Public Trust Department. Details on page one.