LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 8 July 1920, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Repaira to the Boylan Road, between Eltham and Hawera, are now almojfc completed, the work having been vigorously carried out under the supervision of Mr FitzGerald, Eltham county engineer, says the Argus.

A proposal of the South Invercargill Borough Council to raise a special loan of £70,000 to erect a hall as a war memorial was rejected by the ratepayers yesterday, the voting being:—For the proposal, 164; against, 342.—Press Association.

France is suffering from a peculiar affliction, and the authorities, as well as medical men and social economists, are much concerned about it. "An epideme of girl babies is sweeping over the country," as a certain magistrate put it. Naturally, France, whose man-power was so greatly reduced by the war, desires that many more boy babies than girls should come into the world. An elderly man was convicted and discharged at the New Plymouth Court yesterday morning on a charge of being an idle and disorderly person. It was decided that the police and hospital authorities confer with a view .to having the defendant placed in the Wellington Old People's Home. Messrs H. R. Cattley and John Avery were the presiding Justices.

Returns of business transacted at the New Plymouth Magistrate's Court during the quarter ended June 30th show that 33 sittings were held, being 22 for criminal and 11 for civil lists- In the civil disputes the total sued for was £1287, of which £497 was recovered. Persons arrested or summoned on criminal counts numbered 115 males (including three juveniles) and two females. Fines inflicted totalled £IOO ss.

Our Parliamentary correspondent telegraphs .that Mr. 0. Hawken, M.P., is to move in the House that there be laid before the House a return showing the amount of money loaned in each year under the Advances to Settlers Act and the Advances to Workers Act, and the amount of repayments under each Act in every year; also the amount of the loans under the Advances to Settlers A;t granted to settlers in boroughs and town board districts as distinct from rural areas.

Our Parliamentary correspondent telegraphs that Mr. S. G. Smith, M.P. (Taranaki) is asking the Minister of Railways whether he will consider the question of making a refund of a portion of the amount debited against the Taranaki Farmers' Meat Co., Ltd., towards the cost of constructing permanent railway sidings at Smart Road, New Plymouth."

A good-natured Taranaki farmer' is smiling (says the Patea Presß). A little while ago he was approached for assistance by a benzine-stranded motorist, and promptly from his small stock supplied a tin to tide the traveller over. A week or two later the farmer found that a tin had been stolen, and he suspected the man whom he had befriended. Then a third tin disappeared, and he was quite pleased. That tin was full of water, and a car held up near by proved his Suspicions to be correct.

There is considerable diversity of opinion regarding' the merits and demerits of the proposed marketing scheme of dairy produce that was put forward at the Palmerston Show, and a meeting lias been called by the Hawera Dairy Company at the Opera House to-morrow, when the matter will be further discussed. Invitations to be present have been sent to the executive of the N.D.A. arid the marketing scheme committee, and all dairy factory directors.

An Australian aboriginal native who was before the Napier Court the other morning, was born in 1870. He was convicted in Wellington in 1902 for using obscene language Since then he has beea convicted twenty times of offences ranging in seriousness from drunkenness to theft. He,is now 41 years old, and has spent nearly 17 years in gaols, his longest sentence being two years and eight years' reformative detention. « "The Board of Trade is nothing but. a tin-can for the Government to, hide in," declared Mr. W. E. Parry (Auckland), in the House of Representatives. "A pretty big can," interjected a Reform member. Mr. Parry: Yes, and it would require a Very big can to hide the mistakes of the present Government. While the Government had been inquiring, he added, the profiteer.had been acquiring. (Laughter). While the Government had been doing, the people had been done. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) There could be no mistake about that. (Hear, hear.)

In the Wellington Magistrate's Court on Monday, in the course of his crossexamination of a man who was charged with leaving a horse and cart unttended. in the street for a longer period than five minutes, the defendant denied the charge, and said: "You see, another man, ivho is employed by me, was in charge of the horse and cart." "Then why did you not bring him along to the court to-day to give his evidence?" asked the sergeant, "How could W came the quiek response; "he's in gaol!"

The North Egmont Hostel is now closed until the end of September. The old house will, however, remain open as usual, but visitors will require to make fheir own arrangoments about meals. If they wish to stay longer than a day, arrangements can bo made with Mr. Haldane, the custodian, who -will give them full information as to what to do. Blankets to a limited number can be hired from Mr. Haldane at the old house, and crockery and cooking utensils are provided by the committee as has been the custom in the past. Persons interested should ring up "Tahurangi" in the evening, the office being open till 8 o'clock.

In reply to the resolution , recently passed by the Miramar Borough Council, Wellington, urging the Government to consider forthwith the advisability of making the Saturday half-holiday general throughout the Dominion, the Hon. W. H. Herries, Minister for Labor, staled in a letter to the council that under the existing law the day of the halfholiday was fixed either by the local authority or by a poll of the municipal electors in each district, according to the wishes of the particular locality. The institution of a compulsory Saturday half-holiday might prove inconvenient for certain parts of the Dominion; .for example, where the shipping or railway traffic necessitated the carrying on of business on Saturday afternoon. If, how■ever, a general desire throughout the Dominion is expressed for the legislation, the question would be carefully considered by the Government.

The New Plymouth Sash and Door Company are booking orders for tho next shipment of Wilson's cement. Board of Trade forms can be obtained on application to the offices, Gill Street, New Plymouth.* For Bronchial Coughs, take

.Wood*' Great Penfierniint Cure, 1/9, 2/9.

Under the will of the late Mr. Thomas Fitzpatrick, an Australian grazier, a Normanby (Taranaki) nurse has been, bequeathed £IOO "in recognition of the way she nursed him through a serious illness at a hospital in Auckland."

It is not often that the chairman of a county council is so incompetent that a meeting of the council cannot be conducted in the absence of the county clerk. A newspaper in the north recently devoted a whole leading article to such a case in its district.

Belgian glass is once more finding its way to New Zealand merchants, one. of whom expressed the opinion to a Wellington Post reporter that prices of all glass may reasonably be expected to fall shortly. A syndicate of motor car owners is reported to have landed a consignment of motor ear tyres from Europe (state's the New Zealand Times;. The landed coßt is stated to be'less than half that asked by local dealers, and inquiry is being made as to where the tyres were manufactured.

"Let not him who is hopeless pull down the house of another, but let him work diligently and'build one for himself, thus by example securing that his own shall be safe from violence when built."—Abraham Lincoln.

"Are you aware," asked counsel during a cross-examination in the Wellington, Magistrate's Court, ',' that you have the, Teputation.of being a, champion liar?" 'fProbably I am—in the same maimer in which lawyers have the reputation of being champion thieves," retorted the man.

_ An immigrant who had worked in iron ami steel works at Glasgow .was recently landed on the Gjsborno wharf with his wife and six children without previous notice, to the town authorities. The father and eldest son prospected the town unsuccessfully in search of lodgings and eventually the Mayor brought relief. Writing to his brother in Eketahuna, an ei'-resident of that township, who is resident in. America, states that things are very hard there at present. Thousands of people are out of employment and walking the streets. The exchange rate has had the effect of a 60 to 70 per cent, reduction in exports, and manufactories are consequently very alack.