LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 September 1920, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The coal shortage is still acute in New Plymouth. A3 a temporary relief Mr. S. G. Smith, M.P., has arranged for fifty tons to be sent from Wellington, and it is flioped this eoal will arrive to-day. ' Two dozen bicycle pumps made in Japan were received by a Palmerston North dealer recently, and when it was discovered that the barrels were made of paper covered with tinsel to represent metal, and that they blew offt under pressure, they were promptly returned. —Times. The Patea Domain Board on Monday decided to'ask the Mayor to convene a public meeting to consider the best way of raising money for a gateway to the Domain, to be erected as a war memorial.—Press. Tenders for supplies were accepted by the Taranaki Hospital and Charitable Aid Board yesterday as follows; Groceries, Jas. McNeill; meat, City Meat Co.; bread, J. Somerton; and vegetables, Leong Tina,

Counsel engaged in the hearing of a I ease at the Supreme Court, New Plymouth, yesterday, mentioned that a special clause is inserted in the Native Land Act stipulating that a deceased Maori's land cannot bo reckoned as an asset for the payment of his debts unless he specially directs so in his will. This was designed to safeguard the property of the natives.

The C. and D. liner Port Alma left New Plymouth for Wellington yesterday morning, owing to her bunkers being over-heated. The vessel's future movements are indefinite, but it is reported that she will not return to New Plymouth, and that the produce allotted to her will be lifted by the Port Pirie. No offieial information, however, is available.

A party of 33 Chinese arrived at Auckland from Sydney on Monday by the Maheno. Only 10 applied fof admission into the Dominion, and of these 13 passed the education 'test, two failed, and one will undergo his test later. The remaining 17 were through passengers for Tahiti. The total number of Chinese who have been allowed to land at Auckland since the beginning of the year is 006. '

At the quarterly meeting of the Hawera Fire Board yesterday, the superintendent reported there had been one ■ll during the quarter, the outbreak j.'ing extinguished before much damage was done. The brigade is now 24 strong, The water pressure only varied from 70 to 05 lbs.;

Enquiries yesterday elicited the information that the Hawera coal merchants have exhausted their stocks of household coal, though there is a small quantity of Westport coal on hand. No hope is held out that further supplies will arrive shortly. Tho Gas. Co. has sufficient eoal in stock to last about poven days, and some additional coal is in sight.

At a meeting recently held at Eltham it was decided to wind up the New Zealand Axemen's Association, which some years ago attracted the leading axemen and sawyers to compete at the annual gatherings, the last meeting being held in l.!) 13. A committee was appointed to wind lip the Association, and it was decided to delegate the control of chopping and sawing in the Dominion to the Raotihi Sports Club,

At the Trinity Collego examinations held in Taranaki on the 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th of September, Wallance ,J. Sim won tho gold medal presented by Mr. Grubb for the highest marks in the junior grade for violin playing, and Nora Sheehy won the gold medal for highest marks in the preparatory grade for piano playing. Both medals were open for competition to all instrumentalists. Both candidates are pupils at the Eltham Convent.—Argus.

At the annual meeting of the Patea Chamber of Commerce the following officers were elected: President,-Mr. J. R, Johnson; vice-presidents, Messrs. J. D. G. Thomson and Harrison;' lion, secretary, Mr. E. F. Hemingway; executive committee, president, vice-presidents, and secretary. The question of a rural mail service between Patea and Hurleyville, and Patea and Opaku was considered, and it.was decided that peti- 1 tions he prepared with regard to these services, and forwarded to the Post-master-General after signature.—Press.

Application was made before tile Supreme Court, New Plymouth, yesterday for a re-hearing of the claim by the Egmont Racing Club against Martin Ilendrickson for £lO4 Bs, money had and received, on the ground that the verdict was against the weight of evidence. It will bo recalled that Hendrickson was an official at a race meeting run by the Club, and that a certain sum of money was unaccounted for.. At the original hearing of the ease about three weeks ago the jury found in favor of Hendrickson. After hearing argument His Honor decided, at the evening session last night, to grant a re-trial.

The excessive number of children that make use of the Now Plymouth hospital, as compared with similar institutions elsewhere, is exercising the minds of members of the Taranaki Hospital Board, as it has an important bearing on the milk supply. There are, it is stated, as many as 35 children in the children's ward. Tile impression that children cost less than adults is incorrect, for, owing to the extra milk, they cost more. Mr. J. Andrews expressed the view that the hospital was • being turned into a nursery, children being sent there because people found it cheaper than to'iare for them in their own homes. It was resolved that the finance committee go into the question as to why there are so many children jn the hospital.

The method of disposal of pedigree stock raised on the Government farms is the subject of a letter from the Minister for Agriculture to the provincial secretary to the Auckland Farmers' Union, Recently the Waikato sub-provincial executive of the union protested against the pedigree .stock from Ruakura being offered for auction in competition with that of private breeders, and suggested that the Government-raised stock should "be disposed of by ballot at a price sufficient to cover the cost of production. It was emphasised that this method would give farmers of small means the opportunity of acquiring the best class of breeding stock.- The Minister states that the method of balloting for the stock lias been tried by the department, and has been found to be less .satisfactory than offering the animals by auction.

In the course of a discussion on the payment of hospital fees, at the meeting of the Taranaki Hospital Board yesterday, members made it clear that there was 110 intention to inflict hardship in the ease of those who made use of the institution and were unable to pay, as they quite recognised the disabilities that a person earning a small weekly wage labored under owing to the high cost of living. But it was considered that those in a position to pay, who made use of the institution, should not be allowed to shirk their responsibilities. The Board was elected by ratepayers to look after the interests of the ratepayers, and it was their duty to do so, though, as the chairman remarked, that ratepayers in blaming the Board for not collecting more fees were apt to forget that the Hospital Board was essentially a charitable, and not a commercial institution, and he felt sure that many of the ratepayers who complained would be the first to remit fees in many cases that members of the Board had to deal with. Catalogues are now to be had for the great sale of pedigree, Jerseys, being conducted by Newton King, Ltd., at Waiwakaiho s.aloyards in October. The date of the returned soldiers' reunion at New Plymouth is Thursday, the ,23rd

The closing down of the Progress and. Energetic mines, (says the Greymouth Star) have been decided upon by the management. This lias been found necessary owing to the scarcity of miners on the field, coupled with the high cost of mining materials. The action of the Inglewood Borough Council in forwarding a case of books, through Mr. G. Young, for the use of the inmates of Rarigitea Home, has been greatly appreciated by the Hospital Board, who yesterday passed a vote of thanks to the Council.

'•f wish you would stand in a position so that I can hear what you say," remarked his Honor Sir W B. Edwards, to a solicitor in the Supreme Court at Masterton the other morning. "[ want to hear what you say—not that it matters very much, I suppose!" continued his Honor.

A Wanganui retailer states that this is the first season during his experience in business that such an extensive demand has been made for packets of vegetable seeds. He considers this is an indication of the pinch of the high cost of living being felt, particularly in regard to the retail prices of vegetables during the winter mouths, and a desire to counteract it liy householders cultivating their own garden patches."

Great numbers of cattle have died during the winter in Hawke's Bay from starvation, according to a statement made to a Napier reporter this week. The most deaths, several thousands, occurred in the back country, and they were due to the absence of cattle feed. On the flats the percentage of deaths has been less, but even then the losses have been heavy.

A noiseless machine-gun, operated by centrifugal force, is being subjected to secret tests by American army expert?. The weapon has a rotating barrel attached to shafts driven by a motor, the speed of which, is under instant and absolute control. While its muzzle velocity is only 1210 feet per second, the gun is said to be able to fire 11,000 shots a minute, as compared with tho record of iiOO to 000 by the present known types of explosive machine-

'J'iie adjourned session of the Supreme Court was resumed at New Plymouth yesterday, and the day sitting was occupied by the hearing of a dispute over a lease* of native land. The Court sat again in the evening, when His Honor Sir .John Salmond was occupied with an application for a re-trial, and au appeal against the decision of the Magistrate in a motor-ear collision case. At 10.15 an adjournment was made till 10 o'clock this morning. A member of the Bar last night intimated that one of tho case? amongst the list yet for hearing was fairiv longthv. Tn reply to a question, His Honor said he would remain in New Plymouth over the week-end if necessary.

What has become of the women's campaign against the high cost of clothing? asks a correspondent of the Dunedin Star. So far as we can see, there been no appreciable slump in the price of fur coats, dress shoes, or oven blouses and skirts, Nov have we noticed any of our citizenesses going about in sackcloth and ashes. We fear that the lure of the drapers' shop, windows Has proved too strong, and that the daughters of Eve are still too intensely feminine to resist tho old tag: "Sale price £4 19s lid: marked down from ;C5." The overalls protest lingers in America, but costumes and spring hats at H.C.L. prices continue to find "plenty of buyers in New Zealand.

Struggling to keep a wife and three children on .C 3 17s Gd a week, out of which lie hud for a period to pay £2 per week for house rent, led a Hamilton young man into financial difficulties, and in his effort to get out of his tangle, lie yielded to temptation, and converted £2O of his employer's money to his own use. When he appeared before Mr. HA. Young, S.M., at the Hamilton Court, charged with failing to account for the money, Mr. S. H, Northcroft, who appeared for him, pleaded guilty, and said defendant had had a particularly hard struggle. The ease was one in which justice should be tempered with mercy. His. Worship put defendant on probation for two years, ordered him to pay evpenses of the prosecution, and to return the stolen money.

Writing in a Wellington paper, a country correspondent says: "Has it ever struck you that about 99 per cent,, of these 'wealthy producers' happen to be poor struggling cookies? Until a year ago I was in the labor ranks, and finding, that T was making no headway, bought a piece of land. In common with thousands of others, a payable price for my butter-fat is essential, otherwise I must go under. Now that there is a hope of receiving a payable price, you squeal. If you wish to help the hundredth man—who may be wealthy—just keep hounding us poor beggars down, and put us out of action. No, sir, you are on the wrong track. I have been in the King Country twelve years, and assure you that nine-tenths of the but-ter-fat here is produced by the ex-lab-orer, who took up land with little capital and hopes by dint of toil and hardship to make a home. These are the mien you hit hardest. Hit us hard enough and you put us back to compete with the men you profess to help."

Another strong point about "TIT' Calfmeal is its solubility; it mixes instantly with water or skim milk, and in such a thorough manner that there is no sediment 'in the : bottom of *the mixing vessel. It 13 owing to the careful grinding and mixing by improved machinery, tha.t "TUI" Calfmeal emulsifies so freely. Obtainable fr6in all stores and merchants. No sickening unhealthy sud-ateam pervades the house when "Fairy Wonder" Dry Soap is used. Only luke warm water of water from the tap need be used, depending on your own comfort, l'or perfectly washing clothes without 'injury in half the usual time with half the usual labour, no known means compare, with the result of using ''Fairy"—All grocers, Now is the time to buy new headgear. The 'Melbourne Ltd., have a splendid range of felts, pure felts and real velours at extremely moderate prices. All latest shapes and shades just opened from 'Home. Black felts 13s fid, fur felts 21s 2fls (5d to 37s fid. Fur felts in all popular shades 27s (id, and 29s fid. Real velours grand value 47s (id.