LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 August 1920, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

"The reason they don't want to go out," said counsel at Wellington in a claim for possession, "is that they pay 30a a week rent for the house, and make £7 10s by sub-letting it." Tho Taranaki Education Board received word yesterday-that a grant had been made by the Education Department for the enlargement of the Mimi School, at Waitoitoi. It is expected that the work will be put in hand at once. From April 1 to July 24 288,073 single and 458,736 return, first-class passengers were l carried on the New Zealand railways, and 1,200,05>9 single and 2,708,929 return second-class passengers. The total increase was 887,StiO compared with the same period last year. The Legislative Council met at 2.30 p.m. yesterday, but sat for only a few minutes, during which they passed the Imprest Supply Bill through all its stages. Tliis was the only business taken, and the Council then adjourned. With the exception of a little formal business, the sitting of the House of Representatives was entirely devoted to a discussion on the defence policy and ether Estimates.

Among prevailing epidemics with children whooping cough is. prominent. A New Plymouth medico yesterday informed a Daily News representative that few.people realise the serious nature of this complaint, especially with regard to'possible after effects, yet children having. whooping cough are sent to school and allowed to travel on public conveyances when the; complaint is in a highly infectious, staga It is suggested that the ■ health • authorities should take action' in this matter by classing whooping cough as a notifiable and infectious disease.

After a particularly busy week the port of New Plymouth will be quiet over the week-end. The only vessel now in port is the Homo liner Otarama, and as rain has delayed loading operations the day of her departure for VVaitara is doubtful. The Flora, which is taking up the Mapourika'a running on the New Plymouth-Wellington-Lyttelton service, is due here on Monday, and the Rirau, which, abandoned her trip yesterday, will arrive on Tuesday.

"I wouldn't live with you'if you wrote a. letter like that," said Mr. S. E. McCarthy, S.M., iu the Magistrate's Court at Christchurch, after reading a letter sent by a woman to her husband, whom she very volubly alleged had deserted her. "I don't want to live with you," retorted the wife. "If you talk as you write, I should not be surprised if he went to the top of the highest mountain to get away from you," the magistrate continued. "However, you are entitled to a maintenance order."

Several enterprising Manawatu farmers, after satisfying themselves that as a top-dressing on certain lauds, crushed papa, or blue clay, was highly beneficial, subscribed a Bum of £25 and obtained a report from an eminent agricultural analyst in England, who pronounced the six samples from various localities to be of very little value in improving the growing qualities of land. The practical man are etill of opinion that their pound of practice is worth more than the £25 of scientific opinion.

According to Mr. R. Dunn, the president of the Provincial Executive of the Farmers' Union, the Wellington newspapers did not spread themselves in reporting, the Dominion Conference, excepting when dealing with meat and one or two other important Matters. He did not know whether they could hear or not, but there were plenty of reporters present, who appeared to bo talking among themselves most of the time. Mr. Buokeridge said it was the first time the conference had been reported so briefly. The cause was probably the acute shortage of paper.—Star. The Wanganui Chronicle is very upset over the revenue lost to Wanganui by the diversion from that port of tho Gfaucus with 1600 tons of phosphates, to New Plymouth) thence to be railed to the river port. It cost, states the Chronicle, from 20s to 25s a ton for railage, the Wanganui Harbor Board lost the ship's dues, estimated at £3OO, and the workers the wages that would have come to them for handling the cargo. "Surely," the Chronicle concludes. its lament, "something can be done to pre? vent such serious financial loss to the town and expense and inconvenience to the business people." The Irish question is the chief topic of the day, and very little is really known as to the cause of the troiible, and an opportunity will be given to residents of New Plymouth of hearing an address on the subject entitled "Litj.it on the Irish question." Mr Leo Sim, who will give the address, has made a deep study of the subject, and the information that he will give should be very interesting. Housewives are guaranteed snowwhite clothes with the use of "Fairy Wonder" Dry Soap, the queen of washing powders. "Fairy" will not redden or chap the tendorost skin nor will it injure the finest washing compound in this wide wide world. All grocers stock it

At a meeting of dairy farmers at Te Kuiti, Mr A. J. Sinclair said that now that the New Zealand Dairy Co. mid the Thames Valley Co. had amalgamated the output under the single management would be in the neighbourhood of 10,000 tons of butter for the season, or, approximately; one-third of the quantity manufactured in the Dominion. Some time ago Otago set itself out to raise £IO,OOO in a Week of Pity Fund on behalf of the starving children of Central Europe, npt including Germany. To date £11,357 has been raised, and it jg confidently expected that before the fund closes £15,000 will bo forthcoming, independent of Southland, which is expected to swell the total to £20,000. Two hundred cases of the experimental consignment of pears from New Zealand, brought by the Athenic, were landed Jn good condition, nnd as there is no control on pears in England, the fruit realised the satisfactory price of 45s per 401b case. Tfnfortunately, the remaining 300 eases arrived in bad condition, and the prices obtained on the London market were not satisfactory to producers. , A story has reached Adelaide of a remarkable change of fortune iwlhich has befallen Miss Maud Armstrong, IB years of age, employed as a maid at a Jamestown hotel. She was visited by a lawyer recently, who informed her that her uncle had died, leaving her considerable property and money. It is asserted that the property comprise* the* Laurels, at Toorak (Vic), Wirriada Station (in Gippsland), and the sum of £30,000. The destruction catosed by opossums in the Wangaui district was referred to at a meeting of the sub-centre of the Farmers' Union there. Mr Collins, of Kai Iwi, said a few wiseacres considered the animals were not destructive. Farmers were not supposed to shoot them', but they did so. It was regarded as something like breaking the anti-shoot-ing law. Not only did the opossums eat fruit from the trees at night-time, but they also roobed. fruit that was stored away. Last week he found that ah opossum had taken 24 large apples out of a box. It was decided to communicate \yith the Minister of Internal Affairs in order to get the present, legal protection removed as far rte opossums are concerned.

In regard to the paragraph appearing in our yesterday's issue, taken from the Wanganui Chronicle, referring to the action, P. B. Fitzherbert v. F. 0. V. Acheson, plaintiff in tile action informs ns that the paragraph refers to matters on which he is asking for a decision of the Supreme Court, and therefore are sub judice; also that no representations have beea made to the New Zealand Law Society in connection with the matter, and even if they had been, they would become merged in the pending Supreme Court action. We have no desire to prejudice Mr. Fitzhorbert's case in any way, and, if the reprinting of the paragraph from our Wanganui*contemporary had that effect, or can be construed as being prejudicial, we can only express regret at the publication of the paragraph. These values in men's raincoats, and tweed overcoats at the Melbourne Ltd. Le Roys oily canvas coats £4 19s 6d .'Gaberdine raincoats £H i)s Cd, £C 15s pnd £7 10s.' Tweed overcoats in good (quality Colonial all wool tweeds £0 7s|6d, £6 19s Cd and £7 6s.