LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 31 March 1920, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A merchant has received advice by j cable from Colombo that the rate of exchange has recovered some of the recent decline, and now stands at 2s 6 3/Bd. Thirty-two acres of land in the Tauranga district on winch 500 lemon trees are growing, recently changed hands at £IS7 10s per acre, a price which is believed to bo a record for the' Bay of Plenty. A shipment of some twenty thousand cases of bananas which arrived at Auckland by the Navua from Fiji on Thursday, is now being unloaded. The fruit is in a shocking condition, and it. is estimated that probably only a quarter of the shipment will be saleable. As the consignment was intended to cope with tlie Easter rush, the loss to the importers is particularly heavy. The orchard instructor in charge of the Auckland district, Mr. J. W. Collard, has been actively engaged in investigating the spread of fireblight through the orchards of the province since early in January. He states that the seriousness of this newly introduced disease cannot be exaggerated, and that the fruitgrowers must rouse themselves to assist the Itov' icy.ltural Department in fighting it, otherwise there is a probability of many commercial orchards being utterly destroyed, and the disease so firmly established that the. pip fruit industry of the province will be threatened with disaster i

The -Shaw, Savill liner Mamari leaves Wellington this afternoon for Kew Plymouth to load produce. The Mainari will also load at Waitara.

There is again a shortage of benzine in Kew Plymouth, and the demand is twice the supply. The small shipments that are" received from Wellington from time to time only afford temporary relief. The Lorain, which is due 'here from New York towards the end of April, has 15,000 cases of benzine for this district, but applications made for supplies from this, shipment are already considerably in excess of the amount available.

Inquiries were made at Auckland from ■the Minister for Defence, Sir James Allen, as to the Government's intentions in connection with naval anc. home defence. He stated that he intended to draw up proposals covering both matters before his departure for England. The proposals would be submitted to the Government. Those relating to 'the naval policy would no doubt be considered at the same time as-Admiral Jeliicoe's proposals.

An alarm of fire was received at the Central Station, New Plymouth, at about a quarter to ten yesterday morning, and as the brigade was leaving the Station a second message stated their services were not required. A rubbish fire in Young Street somewhat threatened a boundary fence and the neighbour became alarmed for the safety of her fence and shed. The fire was extinguished, however, without having done any damage. Rarely is a maintenance order increased by ISO per cent., but that was the effect of a decision by Mr. 13. Page, S.M., at the Wellington Police Court on Monday, when he directed that, in future, John Gordon, of Hamilton, auctioneer, must pay 15s per week towards the support of each of his two children. It was pointed out by counsel for complainant that the original order for the payment of 6s per week was made in 1012, but defendant rarely complied with its provisions unless he was brought to court. Mrs. Gordon deposed that she was paying 15s per week for the boarding of eaeli child, and supplied them with clothing.

The Australian Minister of Defence stated in Melbourne last week that the Imperial Government had decided to issue a Gallipot: Clasp with the. War Service Medal. No exact information is yet available on this point. The Imperial Government intends to issue certain clasps, nnd lias indicated that the number will be as small as possible. H would he impracticable to have a clasp for every battle, or even for every important movement of the recent war. But it appears that the Gallipoli campaign, at any rate, is to have a clasp of its own, which will be claimed by many thousands of New Zealand soldiers. The linal meeting of the committee o; citizens in connection witii the re-build-ing of the New Plymouth JJoys' High School .took plate on Monday afternoon, Mr. P. .1. H. White presiding. The chairman .thanked those who had I=o willingly come to the assistance of the school at a critical period in its history, and said they would he pleased to know that, the Department had "ranted a £ for £ subsdy on ail the moneys rir-.ed and paid over to the Board. • ' Of the £2!)3() l;ls (id promised, £2900 !)s 3d had been received. Special mention was made of the services of Messrs J. MeLeo.l, E. P. Webster, K. H. Gcor«ei and I!. W. D. Robertson, and also "of tlie help rendered by the Press. Jt wa< decided fo pay over to the Board of Governors the money remaining in the hands of iiie committee for the purpose of impyovinr the grounds. A vote* of thanks to the chair, and a resolution dissolving the committee, concluded the business.

The annual mooting of tlie Tavanaki Women Teachers' Association took place in _ New Plymouth last Saturday, Miss Uird (president) occupying the chair. The report stated that the membership had increased from 90 to 160, but there were received from the delegates who did not belong to the Association. Suitable reference was made to the retirement of lira Bowling. Reports were received from the delegates who attended the annual meeting of the N.Z.W.T.A. and also the N.Z.E.I. Tlie finance-! of the Association showed a credit balance of £4 9s. The following otticers were elected: President, Miss Uird; vice-presidents, Misses Mvnott, fupps end Pen roe j committee, Mrs Harrison, Misses M'Kay. Eiordan, Slatterv I'mnerton and Weston; secretarv, Miss E. Andrews. After the nleetilig the local teachers were hostesses at a verv enjoyable nftpr:ir,on tea. _The Loan and Mercantile draw attention to their Matau sale to-morrow Thursday), a, Friday is fi„od Fridav. Mill particulars of entries for the sale will be found on page S of this issue. Mr. A. J. Smith, having received his new super bus, advertises special trips and times for the Easter holiday in tins issue.

Quite a number of Taranaki farne-s are finding their way jforth, and those m search of either a big run or dairy farm will !ind in our advertising columns a replace advertisement of Mr Robert Hood, of Customs Street \uckInnd, at prices that should appeal. With places at from £7 to £l2 per acre as advertised, those seeking f rc sli fields anil a larger scope may lind it to their advantage to got into touch with the advertiser.

Great as are inventions like electricity and the telephone, it is doubtful if either of these have proved such a boon and a blessing to the busy housewife as J.-airy Wonder" dry soap, the magic cleanser. Clothes become white as snow where "Fairy" waves her wand. At all stores.

The Melbourne Ltd. are prepared for the cold weather with complete stocks of men's Unified underwear from the leading Dominion mills at the followiii" prices:—Knitted all wool shirts fl, 10s. fid, Us (id; pants to match, fis fid to Us fid. Customers are advised to make an early call.

I J hat good ok! game, which always takes on with young and <ld. will i, e in full swill- r.i\ Kaster Monday r t the Kawaroa picnic, the "coooamit sliv," only mi a much' larger scale than ever. Dont forget to be (here. The 4.20 ~„, (ram is delayed to W,vo New Plymouth at ;>,:)() p.m. in connection with the picnic. Tt was proved at the Supreme Court of Victoria, at Melbourne, that (1) 'SANDER'S EXTRACT is much more powerfully healing and antiseptic than ordinary eucalyptus preparations- [•>) SANDER'S EXTRACT does not depress the heart like the so-called "extracts" and crude oils; (3) SANDER'S EXTRACT is highly commended by many authorities as a safe, reliable and efleetive household remedy. Get th» genuine—insist if you have to—and b» eafa.

At the saia of hides held at Stratford yesterday 4s lud a pound was realised for si calf skin, this being the record price for Taranaki. Calf-skim; showed an advance ~f from 5,1 to fid a pound on pre,'ions pneos. ux hides Id to ljd, yearling-: about 2d a pound, while eo-.v hides irnia.ned at pur. There was a fe'r attendance ".if ontsido buyers, out the offering win ccjiuarhiUrtP small. "

An accident occurred at the chain bridge on the Junction Road yesterday owing to the car driven by jtfr. of lnglewood, coining in eon'.aet with tlustructure. The bull'er on the car bore the brunt of the impact and saved the radiatoi, but the vehicb buffered considerably, though the occupant* escaped injury. Passing motorists he'ped to «et the car clear of the road. °

The Victoria Leagues of New Zealand have decided to present an address to he Prmce of Wales on his visit to the Dominion. It is to be of a unique character, and the one address is to be made to represent the whole organisation of New Zealand. The address is being prepared by a soldier, who is lying j„ bed in hospital, and will be presented in Wellington by another soldier. The Prince was made a vice-president of the League shortly before leaving England on las voyage to the Antipodes.

An explanation of the scarcity of rice and consequent higher prices is given in the Oriental Trade Journal when referring to the export of Korea. This states that in Jinsen and Gunsan districts the export of rice for twelve months to come will see a decrease of »0 per cent. It is, however, stated that there will be plenty of rice in Southern Korea to supply the other districts, but owing to the recent drought much apprehension is felt as to the provisions which are to be had in the future, and an all attendant fear as to the fluctuation »i the quotations for rice and other cereals.

At the recent Dominion conference of the New Zealand brandies of the * ictoria League a very interesting discussion took place on the question of immigration 01 women workers to New touand from the Old Country, Misses VVatkms and Uirdler, who have been inthis question in the Donimiun on behalf of the Imperial Government, attended a session of the conference and explained to the delegate* the definite plans made by the Home Government, and just how they had progieased with their inquiries here. a number of questions were asked and a very profitable time spent considering tins important matter. °

A general meeting of the New Plymouth branel, of the Women's National KcKcrve was hold on Monday afternoon, Mrs. C. H. Burgess prowling. It was agreed to continue the work of entertaining the wives and mothers of soldiers, and to have a general gathering of that character on the anniversary" of Armistice Bay. The care of soldiers' graves and the juvenile work was alsi .wcussed and suggestion* made for carrying o„ both these brandies of activity, tins organisation will also be i n readi"ess to take up ,„dl , vn ,,|. fls apppa] , "> its patriotic spirit and sense of community responsibility, as well as to its instincts of womanhood. Members are reminded that subscriptions (2 3 Cd) are now due. '

Mrs C. H. Burgess, who recently returned toNew l'h mouth after attending .e \ .coria League's conference i„ Auckland, speaking to a Daily New representative about her visit north, re'-' ierred with very great appreciation and enthusiasm to the Women's Club which has been siablished there. A number of the women, who had been actively associated i„ various branches of work *u . was desirable, and eventuMly , was established. The rooms arc adnm-ably situated and nicely furnished ami when it is stated that the whole of the delegates to the conference were Auckland the utility cf the plnee w o appreciated. M «. Bur ; rc, s also men tioiw the recent establishment of a bus mess men's roof club and luncheon room where «,e delegate., to the conferee «ou entertained one day. A special Portion of the large dining roon P a ■eon set apart for the convenience of those who may on occasion desire to entertain ladies. The service, Mrs Bm at both these piaces'is eX .