LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 December 1919, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A prisoner, named Wm, Nicolls Clausen, vrho escaped last Saturday from Paparua, was re-captured at Dunsandel yesterday morning. A telegraph linesman, Alexander Anderson, while at work on a ladder at Eden Terrace '(Auckland), came into contact with a high: tension wire and was killed instantly. A companion ou whom he fell, was slightly injured. In the Supreme Court, at Auckland, Henry Curry was convicted of bigamy, having gone through the form of marriage with a woman at Christchurch while his wife was living in Australia. Ho was sentenced to three months' hard labor. A middle-aged married couple named Lane died at Feilding within a few hours of each other from acute alcoholism. Lane was manager of a cordial factory. Both he and his wife had been drinking heavily. They obtained some highly alcoholised spirit from the factory, which hastened their end. They had no children. Katherine Emily Martin, who was arrested by Detective Fitzgibbon in connection with the theft of postal notes, etc., from Kaimata, appeared before Mr T. A. B. Bailey, S.M., yesterday morning, and on the application of the police was remanded till Tuesday next. Bail was allowed. A Press Association message from Auckland states that a three-story brick building, including the Globe Picture Theatre, with 33ft frontage to Queen street, was offered by auction on Monday. The property was passed in at £33,000 or £IOOO per foot. "What is the matter with the world to-day?" Mr. J. P. Firth asked when reading his report at the Wellington Boys' College this week. "What is at the bottom of the general unrest? Simply selfishness and want of sympathy." A new dißeaße has appeared amongst the apple and pear trees in Tauranga district. It kills the young fruit and leaves surrounding the fruit, Mr. Paynter, orchard instructor, says during his twenty-five years' experience, he has neVer seen anything resembling this disease. He is having the matter investigated by the bacteriological division of the Agricultural Department. At the annual meeting of the New Plymouth Expansion and Tourist league last week a committee was set up to formulate a scheme for its future working, with particular referenco to the accommodation problem, and to bring the scheme before a public meeting, to be held to-morrow (Friday) evening. This date clashes with Mr. Murphy's lecture on economics, so it has been decided to postpone the Expansion and Tourist public meeting until after the holidays. The committee are meantime collecting data. A Rowan correspondent gives the following instance of a boy's pluck:—Last week whilst Mr. Gardiner and his son Roy, were coming back from the Mahoe factory, the horse took fright at a steam roller and bolted. The animal stumbled and pulled Mr. Gardiner out of his seat on to the waggon pair between the horses. His son, seeing his father being dragged, jumped into the waggon seat, applied the brakes, and after half a mile he managed to stop the horses with the help of Messrs Maindonald and Jessop. Mr. Gardiner was got out badly cut and bruised, and but for his son, he would probably have been killed. It is announced that Madame Clara Butt thinks of returning shortly to the operatic stage. "I am going to take to opera," aha said. "I think it is great." "The only thing is," slw added with a smile, "there are no tenors." Madame Butt explained that she hoped to reappear next year in Grluck's "Orpheus." This was the work in which she made her first appearance at the Lyceum Theatre in December, 1802, in a Royal College of Music performance.

At Monday's meeting of the Hawera Hospital Board the question of plans tor a new hospital was discussed.' It was decided, on the motion of Mr. Hawken, seconded by Mr. Linn, "That when the times comes to build the new hospital, the Board's architects, Messrs. Duffil and Gibson, be instructed to prepare the plans and specifications for the hospital." Several tenders were rewived for the farm buildings, but as these were considered to be too high, the architects were instructed to carry out the work by day labor. Two particularly shrill-voiced women were most prominent among the interrupters at Lieut.-Colonel Mitchell's meeting at Newtown. One who occupied a front seat in the #aJlery made her preseiice so much felt in the earlier part of the meeting that the candidate paused in hia address and asked: "Will all those stand who came to hear that lady speak?" No one stood. "Madam," said Colonel Mitchell, "you see no one came to hear you." The lady of the shrill voice was effectively silenced for a while, and was content to interrupt only half-a-dozen times during the remainder of the meeting. When the meeting was over one woman boldly rushed up on the platform 'and addressed herself in heated terms to the candidate. Another also fired a volley of verbal epithets at Colonel Mitchell's secretary, and went so far as to strike him on the head with her hand, nearly knocking him off the platform. The N.Z. Loan and Mercantile draw attention to their Tarata. tfale to-mor-row (Friday). Full particulars will be found on page 8 of this issue. | Ideal Xmas gifts for ladies at the Melbourne, Ltd. Voile and silk and crepe de chine blouses, newest styles and best value in the Dominion. Glorious range of ladies' Irish and Swiss embroidered lawn and cambric handkerchiefs in twelfths, quarter dozen and half-dozen boxes. Silk and crepe de chine handkerchiefs in wide variety of patterns. ! Sensible gifts are much appreciated I by men these days, and the very fine display made by the New Zealand Clothing Factory makes the selection of a present for "Him" an easy matter. Ties, shirts, hats, faney sox, hankies, collars, braces, etc., suggest suitable presents for men, while ladies will always appreciate a silk wrap, a panama hat, or a j dinty pir of shoes. The New Zealand Clothing Factory for seasonable and senI gible gifta. .