LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 February 1920, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Customs revenue collected in Wellington on Mondny was £22,310, and constituted a record for an}' one day at any port in the Dominion, Mr. 0. L. Wilson, of Eltliam. has just had landed at Wellington n shipment of twenty-five Maxwell ears, tho majority of which have already been sold to their Taranaki client*.

A member of tho Board of Trade visited New Plymouth yesterday to enquire into several matters concerning trade. In the morning a conference was held with the merchants, the proceedings being private.

A full cargo of benzine will h.i brought to Now Plymouth at the end of the week by the H:;ia from Wellington. Tho steamer Lorain is now loadinrr at New York for Xc-w Plymouth tind other Xew Zealand ports, and she is bringing a cargo of benzine. The coal conference sat on Monday, but no finality was reached, and no statement me.de as to progress, but some delegates are confident that good work is being done. The conference sat again yesterday.

The Hon. D. H. Guthrie, Minister of Lands, left on Monday to pay a visit of inspect:?" to the Urewera country. His special noject is to view Hoskings' estate, which was to be set apart for Maori soldiers, and regarding which there lias been some trouble. The journey entails a couple of days in the saddle through bush country.

Mr. S. Loekhart. of Ha wen. is the successful contractor for Hannah's twostorey block of buildings which lire to be eroded in High Street at n cost in the vicinity of £4o<i(). Air. Lockhart also has several other contracts on hand, including the He,vera Electric Light Co.'s office. In order to cope with his large contracting business more efficiently, Mr, LocUharl has recently taken over the building recently known as the Tatersail's Stables, Resent .Street, which he has transformed into a fully equipped joinery plant. The machinery, which include? saw bench, band saw. planer, shaper. buzzer, morticer, etc., >s driven by electric power. The offices are on the first floor of the building. Messrs. Foley and Jago, two returned soldiers, notify that they have opened :i business partnership in Stratford as land and stock agents. The schooner Lucy, which has been in port for a few weeks unloading timber from British Columbia, lef' yesterday afternoon for Papeete. With full sail on the vessel presented s pretty bight as she slowly left the con^t

A social and dance is to be held in the Oaonni Hall on Friday night in aid of the Oaomii-Rahotu candidate at the Opunake Ouecn Carnival.

The N.Z. Loan and Mercantile draw attention to their Te Wera sale on Friday. 20th February, at 1 p.m. Full particulars of stock to he offered will be found on page S of this issue-

The schools in the Hawera district will remain closed until Monday next on account gf the ssh«™y.

The following foam will represent the New Plymouth''Fire Brigade at the demonstration of 'Parana ki firemen at Stratford to-morrow:—Lieut. A. Boon, Firemen H. Ford, J. Clarke, F. Doughty, and \V. Way: The Prime Minister stated yesterday that the censorship on news from Fiji, recently enforced in the Dominion, had been removed (says a telegram from Wellington). It appears that n censorship is still being maintained at Fiji, which is not within the jurisdicton of tlie New Zealand Government.

C'aptnin Evan Dickson, with two passengers, Mr. K. 11. Hewlett and Miss Hewlett', in the Canterbury Aviation Company!s aero passenger-currying machine, arrived at Ashburton early yesterday morning on the first stage 'of his exhibition tour to Invereargill. The journey from Sockburn occupied 30 minutes for fifty miles. The cement works at Warkworth are still closed down, as the result of the coal shortage, while the operations at Whangnroi are seriously hampered (states the Star), Some difficulty has also been experienced at the latter works because of the shortage of water, but the position in this respect has improved (somewhat since the recent rains. An sooti as coal Is available the works will start

The architects of the Hawera Hospital .Board (Messrs Duffill and Gibson) have (states the Star) been instructed to prepare plans for a new hospital as soon as convenient. The chairman said that supposing the . new building costs £OO,OOO, the Government would pay half. He advocated an auxiliary ward to accommodate 100 beds, stating thai nearly £3OOO was spent in connection with the epidemic last year, and if they had a new hospital they could deal with nearly all the bad cases. It had cost the Board about £IOOO ii year for repairs, etc., to the present building.

After a rough passage of ten days the steamer Glaucus (1303 tons) arrived at. New Plymouth yesterday from Surprise Island with 10.J0 tons of guano. The Glaucus was here in April of last year. Prior, to coming to New Plymouth on this" voyage the vessel loaded a cargo of flour and gypsum at Adelaide, and sailed for Surprise Island—a pinpoint in the Pacific, 320 miles north of Noumea, where she had loaded for New Plymouth The.Glaucus proceeds from here to load coal' at Newcastle for Auckland. Before,. undertaking this voyage the vessel mav possibly bunker coal at Wcstport-'or Grermout'li.

The scarcity of coal has occasioned some anxie'tv to (he management of the New Plymouth Gas Company .during the past day, or. two, and it is understood the works have been, kept .going or. supplies borrowed -from., less, needy consumers...-The arrival gf. Jiti trucks ye.iterday af'.ernooii relieved the situation somewhat and will carry the works on until th( arrival o f . a further 50 tons which are on the way. .''.riuce, has been received also that the Kohero is due here at the end of the week with about 250 tons of coal, so that there is no foar of a stoppage of the gas supply, provided those con sign men ts come to hand.

Discussing the. salaries paid tn members of the nursing staff of the Hawera Hospital, at a meeting of the board on Monday, the chairman (Mr- G. W. Tayler) stated that they were not paying probationers sufficient, and they should receive at least £1 per week. They wore paying their laundress £l5O per annum, and the matron, who had charge of the whole institution, was only receiving £lO more than this. The revision of salaries was to come up for discussion at a conference of boards later, and it was pointed out by Mr. Tavler that if the salaries of probationers were increased, there would have to be increases right through the nursing staff.

A nasty accident occurred on Friday to the mail coach which conveys mails and passengers to Ngamataponri from Waitotara (the "V.tea Press reports). As the vehicle, with seven passengers on board, was descending a steep hill about seven miles from. Ngamataponri, the horses became unmanageable and bolted at high speed down the incline Near the bottom one of the horses hr.V.-e loo«e from ihe others and the coach capsized, throwing the occupants heavily, the driver becoming entangled in the wheel. Among the occupants of the coach wns a bov about 14 year:, of age. named Samuel Nobel, of Hawera, who, together with Mr. Cowan, also of Hawera. was going to Ngamataponri for a holiday. This lad fnred worse than -he others, having the misfortune to dislocate-his shoulder and break his leg, Hcyond a few scratches :am! bruises nor.e of the other occupants of the vehicle were seriously hurt. The driver could'' give no reason for the stamnede of the horses, which are usually very easilv kept under control. The injured lad was conveyed to his home by the morning train on Saturdav.