LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 December 1919, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Sir James Allen says that the Cabinet ivits likely to meet early in Jauuarv, |)ut the date was not fixed,

A valuable Jersey cow, the property of Mr. R. D. Harkness, of Otaki, died on Thursday. The beast was valued at £3OO.

-the iesult of the Mardi Gras band contest at Napier was: lltli Hawke's Bay Regimental 1, Masterton Silver Band 2, Xapier City 3.

The pantomimes produced in London on Boxing Day at the theatres were carried through without any strikes. The differences will be discussed during the coming week.*

The Waiwakaiho river has yielded several good fish to anglers during the past few weeks. On Christmas morning a local angler landed a line bag of 171bs. The best fish was a brown trout weighing over 91bs.

The bell at the Central Fire Station sounded an alarm at about 10.45 last night in response to a call from a box near the hospital gates. The alarm, however, proved a false one.

The Prime Minister has received advice from the Imperial Board of .Trade that, during the present export season, space in outward vessels will be found for 60,000 cases of apples and for 4000 tons of frozen rabbits.

Regarding graves on Gallipoli, Sir James Allen has received a message stating that the preliminary work on the Anzae area is fairly completed and fair progress has been made on the Helles and Suvla areas.

The complete figures of the tramway traffic for last week were not available yesterday. The revenue for the six days (tl"». service was not run on Christmas Day) amounted to £303 18s Id. The Christmas Eve revenue was £72 ISs Id, the number of passengers carried on that day being 10,013. Sundav was also an unusually good, dav, the revenue being £4O 12s 3d.

With a view to popularising tli'j beaches in the district a public meeting at Hawera formed a seaside society. In explaining the objects of the society the Mayor said that it was quite essential that many improvements should be carried out'so as to encourage more townspeople to go down to the beaches, and that this could be done ,only by having a society with an executive committee to push matters forward and see that what was done or proposed should be in the best interests of all. He mentioned tlmt an Education reserve of 20 bordering on the river, was now available to be cut up into small sections and leaseijjor a long term. He hoped that all would take a keen interest in the beach and do all they could to assist.

A well-known Wanganui astronomer I has received the following query anent a very prominent question: "is it a fact, Mr. W , that most astronomers are total abstainers?" to which he lias sent the following witty reply; "Well, yea, most of them are more nv less immersed in the Milky Way. Yet it ifi a notorioug fact that most astronomers are fond of their glass, and f ac '\ olle tries to use the largest within his reach. Moreover, they have hefore them the evil example of the sun. Who. apparently always has a 'spot' when so disposed. Then there is the moon which is 'full' at least once a •nonth; while, as for the planets, their erratic movements at these times when ! they appear near the meridian, at midRight. are very suggestive of a departure from that state of gravity which is considered to be the universal condition of all . celestial, and some terrestrial bodies." '

Givmg a verdict at C'ootamundra last week on this death of Irene Faulkner, aged 10. who was found drowned on December 0, the coroner said: "I 'have no doubt that the accusations are the direct cause of her death, but in the absence of direct evidence my duty is to return a verdict of found drowned in the dam, but there is no evidence as to how she got there." The evidence given at the inquest showed that the local priest, iather Costello, complained to the relatives of the deceased's conduct, accusing her of carrying on with young men, and not going to Mass. The relatives denied the charges, but the priest insisted that he had seen her himself hanging over the fence talking to a man tUid had a letter supporting his chargeß, He lefused to give any particulars. Shortly after the interview the girl was missing, and her body was recovered frdm a nearby dam about 10 hours later.

Nearly a thousand people visited the "gaere Gardens on Sunday. Thero were over 400 present the previous day while on Boxing Day—despite the wet weather—over 000 people paid for admission. Special attractions are beinoarranged fo: New Year's Day, when visitors to the number of three or four thousand are _ expected. The gardens are now looking very, prettv and are well worth a visit. Light refreshments, soft drinks, fruit, sweets, etc., can be obtained 011 the grounds, while various lorins of amusement are provided, including the water chute, croquet, swings for the children, boating on the lakes and some later novelties. The orchestrala provides a great variety of jnusical selections, which are appreciated by many visitors, and the animals and bird's are always a great source of entertainment for both old and .\fcung folic. The gai dens are also freely patronised by picmc parties for which every convenience is provided.

Praiseworthy initiative and self-reli-ance are being shown by the men who returned to Australia sightless from the war. They number all told exactly 100 of whom 32 are Victorians. The majority of tliem have been to Sir Arthur I earson s hostel m London, and at this p ace, St. Dmistan's, they began to realise that blindness, though a handicap, need not debar them from living happy and useful lives. Of the 3-2 Victorians who lost their sight during the war service, 20 are now back in their own State and, with one or two exceptions are enpasted in some occupation. Thev have formed an association of their own, called the Victorian Blind Soldiers' Association ft was mainly through the cflnrts of this organisation (says a Mfiliounie paper) that the men succeeded in inducing the Government to raits the pensions of blind soldiers from 30s to £4 a week. The blinded soldiers iiave now started a fund under then direct control for the purpose of helping any members who may require special fhiancial assistance.

The Ngamotu Seaside Picnic on New lears Day will eclipse all previous efforts at seaside merriment. In addition to the regular seaside frivolity, the second shot in the new harbor scheme will be fired on this day. One thousand five hundred lbs. of gelignite will be used to further reduce the statelv Moturoa and incidentally forge a further link in the harbor scheme