LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 April 1921, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Two women were granted land agents’ licenses at Auckland yesterday, (says a Press telegram).

The search for the escaped prisoner, George Keys, still continues without success (says a Press telegram from Auckland).

A Wellington telegram says the Gov-ernor-General has approved the celebration of St. George’s Day on April 25 this year instead of on April 23.

The profits of the electric power and lighting department of the Dunedin City Corporation for the past year amounted to about £20,000, an increase of £2OOO on the previous year’s returns.

There will be a total eclipse of the moon to-night. The moon will rise after it lias begun to enter the earth's shadow. Totality begins at 6.53 p.m., the middle of the eclipse will be at 7.14 p.m., and the end of totality at 7.35 p.m. The mon emerges from the shadow at 8.55 p.m A lunar rainbow, a somewhat rare phenomenon, was observed at about 3 o’clock yesterday morning in New Plymouth during a sharp shower of rain. It is not often that such a rainbow is seen, and the effect yesterday morning, in the bright moonlight, was most striking. The plaintiff in a compensation case heard by the Arbitration Court a Christchurch was, according to the evidence, a veritable Samson. He was of amazing physique according to one doctor, and had actually lifted a draught horse. He had also lifted a railway truck back on the rails when it ran off. He weighed 18s|. 81b. At the last stock sale held at Wairoa, Hawke’s Bay, sheep were sold at the following prices: 30 f.m. ewes, low condition, Is 9d; 44 f.m. ewes 6s, 51 ewes 2s 'M, 3*2 ewes 5 S 9d, 50 eWes 2s 3d, 25 ewes in lamb to b.f. rams Bs, 1 b.f. ram 3%gns., 50 f.m. ewes 2s 4d, 5 wethers 12s 6d, 50 ewes 3s, 77 forward ewes 7s, UAO Lto. ewef

A small boy travelling with his parents on the. Wellington-New Plymouth train the other day. rather tickled a carriage full of people when climbing the Paekakariki hill by asking: “Mother, is this the mail train?” “Yes, my son,” was the reply. After a further study of the landscape the child then asked: •‘And does the slow train go much faster than this!”

Information was received last night that the Rarawa was again bar-bound at Onehunga, being unable to cross the AJanukau bar on account of the rough weather. An attempt will be made to cross the bar early this morning, and if successful the steamer should reach New” Plymouth this evening. The time of her sailing on the return trip to Onehunga is now uncertain. The liner Port Pirie, which will be remembered as a visitor to New Plymouth during last September, is again due here this morning, having left Wellington at 12.15 p.m. yesterday with 1960 tons of cargo from the United Kingdom and Europe to discharge. From New Plymouth the Port Pirie will proceed to Port Chalmers, where she will be drydocked and painted, subsequently loading at New Zealand ports for Great Britain.

The largest country in which a proper census is made is India, which has about one-fifth of the world’s population. Here, although only one-fifth of the heads of families can read or write a very careful count is made, more than 1,000,000 enumerators being engaged for the purpose. At least 100,000 other officials instruct the enumerators and analyse the census papers. It is a gigantic task to record 300,000 000 people’s names in a single night. An excellent article on the latest water power of the Dominion is contained in the 1920 Official Year Book, a copy of which is just to hand. It is shown that already there are hydroelectric systems which give a total of 47,983 horse power. The Government’s policy in regard to the development of hydro-electrical supplies is set out with full details of each scheme, and the estimate is given that when the full Dominion scheme is in operation the cost, with interest, and working expenses, sfibuld be about £5.9 per horse power per annum of maximum load. The paper shortage has necessitated a drastic reduction thia year in the size of the New Zealand Official Year Book, a copy of which is just to hand. This fact is referred to in the preface by the editdr, Mr. Malcolm Fraser (Government Statistician) with obvious disappointment, for it was hoped this year to return to pre-war standards. It has not been possible to include any new features, and everything that is not of current importance has been eliminated. The reduction in size, and in the quantity of material, has been so cleverly contrived, ■however, that as an informative medium on affairs of the Dominion the volume seems to lose very little of its value, if any.

Mr. John W. Davis, the American Ambassador, at a dinner in his honor to bid him farewell, made a striking speech, in which he said: “The last two years have brought familial’ ideas strongly to the front. Certain truths have taken the opportunity to repeat themselves, and perhaps the world needed nothing more than just such a bath of the obvious; that militarism is a danger and not a safeguard; that there are no gains to match the losses in modem warfare; that a sick neighbor may be quite as dangerous as a wicked one; that neither nations nor men can live in air-tight compartments; that men cannot live without eating nor eat without working; that men work bust when working to help themselves; that Communism will be, an. ignoble fraud; that one cannot spend what he has not got.”

The Official Year Book for 1920 gives its usual interesting review and analysis of the industries of the Dominion. In most of the industries a numerical advance is shown for 1918-19 over 191516, though engineering, publishing and printing, and tailoring establishments are slightly fewer in number. The clothing manufacturing establishments have mounted from 83 in 1915-16 to 156 in .1918-19. Butter, ’ cheese, and dried milk establishments also show a substantial increase. The total number of male and female employees in manufactories is. given as 66,910. The total horse power in use in all establishments was 158,996 in 1918-19, a considerable increase on the previous period. The most remarkable development, states the Year Book was in the large increase of electric motors in 4ise. The value of the outputs and much more information of an interesting nature is given.

A meeting of the Taranaki Provincial Saturday Half-holiday Association was held at Eltham last evening for the purpose of discussing with the various midweek half-holiday associations the question of deciding on a provincial halfholiday, iu the terms of the resolution carried at Tuesday night’s meeting of the association at Stratford. Delegates from Stratford, Hawera and Eltham were present and reported that the officials of the mM-week associations, in their respective towns, had stated that they could not attend the meeting on account of the short notice given. After a general discussion the following resolution, moved by Mr. W. J. Tristram and seconded by Mr. H. H. Jupp, was carried unanimously: “That this representative meeting of the Taranaki Provincial Saturday Half-holiday Association regrets that the mid-week halfholiday associations have failed to meet this association in conference for the purpose of discussing the provincial half-holiday question.” Sir Ernest Shackleton has for some time turned his atttention northwards, and is planning a Polar expedition likely to leave England about June. He has bought the Norwegian whaling boat Foca L. in Christiania. The boat, at present in Tromso, will likely be brought to England in March. Sir Ernest is to be accompanied by a dozen men, all tried explorers, most of them having in fact been with him on the Antarctic trail. The Foca is said to be one of the best boats in the Norwegian whaling fleet. Its deck is spacious, so that there will be ample room for the dogs—of which there will be about 150—and sledges. The itinerary includes a start from Hudson’s Bay in’time for the expedition to reach Baffin’s Bay by the end of July, if conditions are favorable. Thence the explorer will make for the islands eastward to Parry Island, a region already explored by Scandinavians, but still wanting, in the opinion of Sir Ernest, more scientific exploration. It will be remembered that the explorer was employed by the British Government in the North of Russia, and he has been able to obtain for his expedition some of the necesaries for Arctic work from the stores accumulated at Archangel. Sir Ernest will probably be absent for two years. He said that he is going to devote himself now to North Pole discovery, and, so he said, is off with his old love, the Antarctic.

Woods’ Great Peppermint Cure For Couiflw axul Colds, never fails. 3

Is Charlie Chaplin worth more than Mr. Lloyd George? The Prime Minister of England, as a cinema actor, might not be worth a couple of pounds a week; Charlie as Prime Minister would almost plunge the country into a hopeless muddle in a week. For controlling the destinies of the British Empire, with its four hundred and fifty million people, the Premier is paid only £5OOO a year. Charlie Chaplin gets fifty times that amount for making people laugh! Mary P-iekford and Douglas Fairbanks have each earned £lOO,000 a year, Mary’s income being worth as much as the combined wages of one thousand women workers in industry. Details of New Zealand’s war effort in men and money will be found authoritatively stated, for the first time, in the 1920 Official Year Book. The total number who attested in the Expeditionary Force, and who left for service overseas, was 3085 officers, 96,809. other ranks, and 550 nurses. A total of 9924 troops were in training at the date of the Armistice, so that the complete number of nurses and troops provided for service overseas at the cessation of hostilities was 110,368, or more than ten per cent, of the Dominion’s mean population in 1914. A further total of 3370 are known to have left New Zealand to serve in British and Australian forces. Of the total of 124.211 men provided from the commencement of the war, 91,941 were volunteers. Wastage while undergoing training accounted for a loss to the force of 11,333. The total number of deaths from the war and its consequences in the Expeditionary Force was 16,781. At May, 1920 some 3957 service patients were still undergoing treatment in New Zealand. The total war expenditure up to March 31, 1920, is given as £76,953,07.6. At the Victoria League rooms on Monday evening, Mrs. T. A. B. Bailey gave a most interesting talk to the members on many most attractive articles of her collection of china, plate, pictures, and other subjects dear to the heart of the collector. Many of these articles were shown in the room, and were of much interest to the members. Airs, Bailey showed a good knowledge of the various points connected with old china and silver, pictures and other things rare, beautiful and artistic. The talk was much enjoyed, and not least by those who had no previous .aiowledge of the lore of the collector. The next meeting of the League’s “Afonday pops” on May 2 will be a book evening, when members are asked to represent the titles of wellknown books. This should provide a good deal of amusement and possibly some literary information. A prize will be given for the most ingenious representation, and also for the person guessing most of the titles represented. The meeting of the Reading Club -will be held on Thursday, when the second act of “AAfidsummer Night’s Dream” will be read.

Owing to an outbreak of scarlet fever in the children’s ward of the New Plymouth hospital, visiting to that ward is prohibited for the ensuing three weeks. To-night at the Foresters’ Hall. Eltham, Mr. Lewis Mcllvride will deliver a public adress bn “The Case for Labor.” The ehair will be taken at 8 p.m.