LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 January 1921, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Enquiry at the New Plymouth hospital last night elicited that the young mate Rupert Grey, who sustained injuries i> the motor accident on Friday nightj is making favorable progress. One result of the dairy companies changing from cheese to butter-making has to considerably reduce the amount of employment in the factories. A good many men have been rendered idle by the change, says the Eltham Argus. Hot weather was experienced ajl over New Zealand yesterday. At nine o’clock yesterday morning the thermometer registered 70 degrees at Auckland, 58 at New Plymouth, 66 at Wellington, and 74 at Bluff. The temperature at Gisborne yesterday afternoon was 96 point 7, while at Ashburton 98 degrees were registered at mid-day. The dairy cows of New Zealand now number nearly 900,000. The contribution of the cow to the national wealth qf New Zealand in butter and cheese alone represented the respectable export value of £10,851,206 for the twelve months ended October 31 last; besides which the requirements of the local population of over 1,000,000 were satisfied. For the present season, the value should be near £14,000,000, the value of our total exports but a few years ago.

A fire on Saturday night destroyed the engine-room at the North Egm on t Mountain Hostel. The building housed the plant used for the generation of electricity for lighting the house, and the occurrence had the effect of cutting off the light. There is, however, a stand-by system which will do duty in the meantime. The fire originated through the benzine tank becoming ignited, while a young man was in the act of filling it, and he had a fortunate escape from injury. As the main building concrete no damage was done beyond the destruction of the shed.

The Bible Class Conference at Hatvera continued over the week-end, and during the proceedings it was announced that the registrations had reached 1061. An important meeting was that concerning Maori mission work, the difficulties of which were stressed. A very interesting address was given by Sister Jessie, who spoke of the neglect from which the Maori was suffering. She referred to the large gathering of from 12,000 to 15,000 •natives who had recently assembled so that they might benefit by the powers to cure physical diseases possessed by a native, hut not for spiritual purposes. Foreign mission work was the subject of another session qf the conference. An important notice in Regard to registration of masseurs und>r the new Act of 19’20 appears in our advertising columns to-day. SANDER’S EUCALYPTI EXTRACT, the unequalled remedy for colds, influenza, chest troubles. headache, indigestion. SANDER’S EXTRACT, the surest protection from infections, fever, diphtheria, meningitis. SANDER’S EXTRACT proved at the Supreme Court of Victoria to have healing powers not possessed by other eucalyptus preparations. Insist on the Genuine SANDER’S EXTRACT7her«

A caller at a house in Wanganui in quest of rooms was greeted by the woman in charge with, “You ’aven’t got any d kids, ’ave yer?”

! ?’rom thiPe cows last month, “siys the Farmers’ Union Advocate a resident of Feilding received £24 18s wo th of milk, an average of £2 Is 6d cow per week. One animal is a Freisian, and the other two Jerseys. During the past year the rainfall at Auckland was more than 20in in excess of the previous twelve months. The record rainfall for the province was that of 1917, when 73.15 inches fell. For the past year it was 57 inches.

At the roll call of delegates at the Presbyterian Conference at Hawera on Thursday night, 950 young men and women stood for a moment in silence in memory of the men who had been associated ;with their classes and liad fallen in the war.

Speaking of the Government’s immigration scheme while in Auckland the Prime Minister said that since the beginning of this year there had arrived in the Dominion between 8000 and 9000 people. They were, all of a very useful type and were doing well so far as he had been able to ascertain

The handling of New Zealand meat by the Imperial Government was characterised as “scandalous” by Mr. R. L. Levin, of Feilding. who returned by the Port Nicholson. He said that large quantities of this meat had. deteriorated, because it was not handled properly} He had seen large stocks of frozen mutton in the freezers, all of which had been sold to American buyers, and the Government was endeavoring to force the old meat on to the people in Britain. This, he considered, was anything but a good advertisement for New Zealand meat

The Maoris in the Taihape district are predicting a very dry summer and autumn on account of the profuse flowering of the cabbage palms. Some years ago, when the conditions were similar, the Maoris predicted a dry summer and long autumn, which proved to be the driest ever experienced there. If this theory proves correct, Southland may anticipate similar conditions, for cabbage trees have never shown such prolific heads of bloom before. Moreover, the flax bushes are flowering stems of quite exceptional size.

In the current number of the New Zealand Gazette agricultural and pas-’ t-oral statistics of the Dominion as at January 31, 1920, are published. Those show that Taranaki had 23,498 horses, 357,906 cattle, of which 148,146 were dairy cows in milk, 958,043 sheep, and 42,043 pigs. The average number of cattle per 1000 acres was 208.31 and of sheep 560.67. Hawke’s Bay had an average of 99.29. cattle and 1184.24 sheep. Auckland 142.85 and 1061.16 respectively. These figures show a distinctly superior carrying capacity in Taranaki. The whole of the frozen meat in store in New Zealand at the present time is likely to hr shipped to Britain be lore the end cf January. Referring to this matter the Prime Minister, Mr. W. F. Massey, said that if the stores were cleared in the time suggested it would solve the problem, so far as the coming season’s meat was concerned. “It will mean,” he said, “that we shall be able to get the new meat away as fast as ships come along to clear the works.” Asked by a Dunedin pressman if he was favorably impressed with New Zealand, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle said it was the most wonderful place in the world- Never had he been in any country where so much beauty was to 'be found in so small a space. “I am reminded at every turn,” he said, “of Scotland and England, with parts of Norway thrown in. I could wish to bring my wife and children out here and end my days in your beautiful country.” The plight of the New Zealand-bound immigrants, who are stranded in Sydney, was referred to by the Prime Minister. Mr. Massey said it was unfortunate that, through some mistake by shipping people in London, a small number of immigrants had booked passages by a steamer the destination of which was Australia, and as a result of the present shipping trouble was held up there. “Of course we cannot allow them to be stranded there,” he said. “If a mistake has been made it was unintentional so far as they are concerned, and the Government thinks that it ought to see them through. We have 'been doing this up to the present.” The Tokio War Office announces the discovery of a method of utilising volcanic iron sand for the manufacture of steel, which, if adopted, it claims would, make Japan independent of steel imports. It is added that recurrent antiJapanese movements in China since the signing of the Treaty of Versailles forced Japan to seek a means of obtaining an adequate home steel supply. Experiments were begun in September last, with iron sand, of which there are unlimited supplies in the country, and tolerably good results were obtained from practical experiments at the Penchihu blast furnace. Although, the discovery is successful from the military point of view, the statement concludes: “This doe& not necessarily mean that it ensures any economic advantage.” A testimony to the powers of Wi Ratana, the Maori miracle man, as a curative medium, is afforded by Mr. G. D. Robertson, taxi-driver, of Hastings, who took a Maori woman resident at Paki Paki over to Ratana’s camp, near Marton, recently, for the purpose of submitting her to the influences of the Maori eeer. Mr. Robertson says that the woman had been ailing for a long time with some internal disorder, and that she had to be carried to his car. Whilst on the journey the sick woman’s meals had to be brought to her, and on her arrival at her destination she had to be lifted out, she was so utterly helpless. After one day he saw her walking unassisted about the grounds, and she returned to Paki Paki on Wednesday apparently quite recovered.

Discussing the letter-writing proclivities of the world’s people, Australia with 130 letters per year per head of population was placed first. Thus a writer in the British Australasian, who asked where New Zealand came in: “New Zealand, 1 am told, by a correspondent, does not beat Australia at let-ter-writing, its average per head for 1918 being 112, as against Australia’s 130. My correspondent, a lady, and a New Zealander, is generous in giving me these figures to disabuse my mind of the idea I had .that her country beat Australia in the epistolary line, but she adds to her note, ‘if postcards, newspapers, and parcels be included, this 112 is brought up to 154 per head of mean population for that year (1918), and thia latter Total has been exceeded. As far back as 1912 New Zealand’s total in this regard was 107 per head, and in 1-914 and 1915 actually exceeded 160 per head.’ Perhaps the postcard explains it. Many New Zealanders are of Scotch descent, and ‘though on letterbent* the.X Lava * fxiwal aalnd,’