LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 January 1921, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Australasia has already decided to hallenge America for the Davis Cup icxt season.

Newsprint paper hats gone up about 800 per cent above pre-war price, indeed, in some cases, some newspaper proprietors who were caught with short supplies were faced with 1000 per cent increase. ft is absurd to suppose that an 800 or 1000 per cent rise is due to increased wages and freights. The plain truth is that dealers in Canadian paper are killing t{ie‘ goose that lays the golden eggs. —Wanganui Herald. To provide temporary housing accommodation for the number of intending settlers now Arriving fti\New Zealand, the Church of England Men’s Society has purchased a large boardinghouse in Alfred Street, .Auckland, and turned it into a private hotel, in future to be known as the “Selwyn Private Hotel.” “The building was acquired for £5OOO, the debentures for which were taken up within a single week. A mortgage of £3OOO was taken over.—Auckland Star. Many shelter belts have been planted this season by dairy farmers in the Pahiatua and Eketahuna districts. A farmer at Hukanui ‘ has planted 500

:rees with the idea of having good shelter trees, when his pedigree Jersey herd, the foundation of which he has juist darted, is well forward. It is stated that fiairy farmers cannot afford to iieglect shelter e for stock in that district jecause the spring usually comes in svith cpjd winds and consequently cows suffer considerably.

The new Act governing the hours to be worked in shops came into force this week, and it provides for a 48 hour week as against 49 hours. To comply with the amended, law shopkeepers have the alternative of making the opening hour, later or closing at eight o'clock on Saturday nights. There is some doubt amongst New Plymouth 'shopkeepers as to their action to -keep within the law, and they recognise that 8 o’clock closing on Saturday nights would be very inconvenient to the public, especially in the summer. This coming

will be the first Saturday on which the Act has operated, and it is understood a meeting of shopkeepers will be called immediately? to consider the position.

Two overseas steamers are duo at New Plymouth shortly, but the exact date of their arrival is uncertain. One is the New Zealand Shipping Co.’s liner VVangaratta, which arrived in Wellington on Tuesday from Brisbane, and which will load meat for England at New Plymouth and Wanganui, saiing finally from Wellington. Meat from Waitara is to be railed to New Plymouth for the Wangaratta. The other expected arrival from overseas is the West Mahwah, with case oil from America, which will be the fourth steamer to bring direct shipments from America to New Plymouth. The West Mahwah |is due at Wellington at the end of the week, and New Plymouth will .be her next port. An open-air speaker had a rather hostile reception in Quay Street, Auckland, the other evening (states the Herald). Part of his audience hustled him over the road until he tool? refuge in a fruit shop in the Ferry Building. Emerging from that retreat at the firm request of owner, he ran into the Ferry Company’s private office, where he bought a ticket for Devonport. The crowd gathered round the dopr and commenced to “count out” the official who sold the ticket. That individual came to the door, and, in a peremptory voice, invited any member who was counting to “come inside.” Meanwhile the soapbox orator ran through the gates and on to the boat.

The amount of money invested on the totalisator at the Auckland Racing Club’s four days’ meeting furnishes another record, not only for the Ellerslie course, but for the Dominion. The aggregate of the investments for the four

days was over half-a-million sterling, the exact sum being £511,455. Thi? shows an increase over the previous summer meeting of £75,674, while the increase, as compared with the meeting of 1(118-19, is no less than £248,285. It should be borne in mind, of course, that this total is largely made up of the same money put through the machine on several successive races. The State receive?. £24,295 in taxes.

Dr. Rollin, of Hamburg, the noted •specialist in internal diseases, announcing the result oi the attempt to find a successful treatment of cancer of the stomach, says he has achieved a certain measure of success. In two cases, in each of which the disease- was in an advanced stage, the patients have been so far relieved that they have been able to return to their normal occupations. Observing that cancer attacks only persons over 30, he transferred into his patients blood of their own children. Professor Kemr>d, of the Eppendor Hospital, recently discharged as “cured” a patient who had been treated by this method, after all previous treatments had failed

According to Mr. T. C. Brash, who recently returned from a visit to the Old Country, the primary producers of New Zealand have no special reason to be delighted with the way in which their produce has been handled by the Imperial authorities. “The price of apples,” he told a Dominion reporter, “was controlled in England, and fixed at a rate which allowed the. fruitgrower in New Zealand about per lb net for his fruit, after paying all charges. Under the controlled price, the grower in the British Isles and adjacent countries had no difficulty in getting 6d per lb for his apples. Immediately all the apples from New Zealand and Australia had been sold the control was lifted, and apples grown in the British Isles and in the -Northern Hemisphere generally were retailed up to Is 3d per lb. But the Ministry of Food decided that the control should go on again in November last, so as to control once more the price of New Zealand and Australian apples. it is true that a rise of a penny a pound in the controlled retail price was agreed to, but only a portion of this went on to the wholesale price. Further, the Tonnage Committee agreed to a rise of 10 per cent in the ocean freight for apples, and this disposed of the greater part of any increase in price to New Zealand. If apples could be sold at Is 3d per lb during the English summer, the price was certainly not too high during the winter and the spring, when New zlealand apples would arrive. The apples which were selling at Is 3d per lb would not have sold at all if placed alongside New Zealand apples, such was the difference in quality.”

Massaging with oils, and heat applications, drive Rheumatism further into the system. The certain way to secure relief is to expel the excess -uric acid from the system. Rheumo will do this—it has relieved thousands. 2/6 and 4/6 bottle. 104 Progandra cures Corns quicklf. 1/6. Barraelough’s Nervine stops Toothache quickly—ls 6d. >

The half-holiday will be. observed as usual by the shops in New Plymouth to-day.* Though there was some doubt about the matter yesterday on the part of the public it is generally understood among business people that when a holiday falls on a Monday the weekly half-hoiday is not affected.

There were 158 births in Eltham and district last year, an increase of 35 compared with'l9l9. Marriages showed an increase of 13, the figures for 1920 being 40, and for 1919 they were 27. Deaths last year numbered 20, the total, for 1919 being 27. The New Plymouth to Wellington train on Monday was heavily loaded, and was nearly two hours late in reaching Wellington. The train failed to negotiate Tawa Flat bend, and had to be taken to Johnsonville in two parts. It carried 550 passengers. With this one. exception the train service, so far as arrivals in Wellington are concerned, were carried out with remarkable punctuality all through the holidays.

An important cricket event is the approaching .visit of an Australian team to Now Zealand, a six weeks’ tour commencing towards the end of this month. Representations have been made by the North Taranaki Cricket Association to the New Zealand Council asking that New Plymouth be included in the tour of the Australian team. No reply has yet been received as to whether successful arrangements can be made, the itinerary for the Dominion being at present under consideration by the coun-

r According to the official report of the meteorological office at 4i p.m. on Tuesday there was quite a decided drop in temperatures registered all over the Dominion; some of the very high records of previous days being conspicuous by their absence. Russell and Tauranga—each with 77—topped the list, closely followed by Wanganui (75) and Napier (74). New Plymouth, with 72, was one degree warmer than Cape Maria and Auckland, the next in order being Gisborne, Cape Egmont and Farewell Spit each with 68. In Wellington the registration at the hour named was 65. Nuggets with 53 was the coldest place in the country, and other low temperatures were recorded at Kaikoura (55), Stephen Island, Akaroa, and Castlepoint (56j. There has been a considerable amount of through motor traffic on thq Main North Road between New Plymouth, and Te Kuiti and places further north in the last few weeks. The road over Mount Messenger is no longer in its winter condition of muddiness, and the trip to Ta Kuiti presents no great difficulties, though the road surface is described as being rather rough for a few miles on the northern side of the big Taumatamaire hill, near Awakino. This section will not be on the main route when the Awakino Valley Road is completed.

The steamer Makura. due to arrive at Auckland this morning, is bringing three famous swimmers from America—Miss Ethelda Bleibtrey. the world’s lady champion, Paoa Kealoba, and Ludy namokti, Paoa Kealoha, and Ludy Langer They are en route to Australia, but Mis? Bleibtrey will break the journey at Auckland, swim there on Friday and Saturday next, tour the Dominion until February 2, and then depart for Sydney. Langer and Kealoha will go on to Australia by the Makura, and after touring Australia will return to New Zealand some time in March. Prince Kahanamoku was to be a member of the party, but a received from Sydney last night says he was unable to makq the trip.

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For January and February hot weather, every lady should have an extra one or two cool voile blouses The lovely Irish hand-embroidered blouses showing' at the Melbourne are meeting with a steady sale, as the prices, considering the lovely styles and quality, are extremely moderate.