LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 April 1921, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A sum of £348,000 had been expended up to the end of last year on harbor improvements at Wanganui. The net loan indebtedness at the end of the year was £308,000, the other £40,000 having been paid off. A case indicative of the hardship which many stock owners are undergoing at present was mentioned to a Levin Chronicle representative. Tust before the slump this particular farmer held 10,000 fat wethers, for which he received an offer of 30s per head, but he refused to deal at less than £2. fie still has the sheep, the present value of which is about 7s 6d per head. ■‘Motoring front Ohura to Wbangamomona is somewhat difficult just now owing to the reqent heavy rains," remarked Mr. W. T. Jennings, M.P., who returned to New Plymouth yesterday, in conversation with a Daily News reporter. Mr. Jennings said good work is being done on the Stratford Main Trunk railway at the eastern end, and coal is being taken out of the seam at the eastern part of the Tangarakau Gorge. A communication was read at a recent meeting of the Board of Governors of the Palmerston North High School from the Nelson College, inquiring if a falling ofi in the number of boarders had been experienced there. Mr. Murray (rector) explained that in many places in Neto Zealand there had been' a falling! off in this respect, owing to a great number of farmers not sending their boys to school, due, no doubt, to hard times. Palmerston North, however, was an exception, and eight or nine refusals had to be made a.t the beginning of the year, owing to insufficient accommodation. “Tooth-brush drill is now part of the school curriculum, and the pleasing feature is that 99 per cent, of pupils have co-operated,” stated the annual report presented by the Central School Committee to last night’s meeting of householders. “The medical report, after twelve months’ operations of toothbrush drill, clfearly demonstrates the value of same, and this, together with the forward movement about to be initiated, the appointment o* duly qualified dental nurses, who will undertake the simple fillings and extractions of the children’s teeth, must in a very short period prove the value of the new departure, and will be a most promising contribution to the health and welfare of the woman and men of to-morrow. A small comet having considerable interest for astronomers will be in perihelion—that is, at its nearest to the sun—in June this year. It will prob* ably be followed by a shower of meteors on or about June 26. The comet is known as the Pons-Winnecke, after two observers chiefly responsible for the investigation of its movements, and was discovered in 1819. It makes its journey round the sun in about five years and eight months. * In 1916 the visitor passed fairly close to the earth, and a stream of meteors was observed and found to-be directly connected with the comet. This year the point of perihelion will fall very close to the earth’s orbit, and it is calculated that the earth will miss the comet by about a fortnight. For Influenza, take Woods’ Great Peppermint Cure. 2

Yesterday was the sixth anniversary of the landing of the New Zealand and Australian troops on Gallipoli, and Anzac Day was observed throughout the Dominion by a general holiday. In all centres commemoration services were held, and fitting tributes were paid to the memory of New Zealand’s seventeen thousand dead soldiers. Reports of Taranaki ceremonies and the happenings in the principal cities appear on page 6. A Wellington firm of butter exporters has received advice from London that all the Government stocks of cheese have been cleared up, and also free •shipments up to the Somerset have been practically all sold. This is regarded as a very satisfactory position. The Somerset left Wellington late in February, so that there is not a great deal of cheese afloat to be sold, and the indications are for continued steady, buoyant market conditions. Returns of actual threshings received to March 21 from threshing-mill owners show that, so far, 1,301,968 bushels of wheat and 733,347 bushels of oats have been threshed out. The average yields per acre in cases where particulars of areas were furnished (covering 99 per cent, of total threshings) work out at 33.33 bushels for wheat and 34.65 bushels for oats.

Nothing in the way of exceptionally good heads has been reported in the Wairarapa this season, although deer are understood to be fairly plentiful. One good twelve-pointer, however, is reported from the Rimutakas, where deer are more plentiful than for some years. Several Wairarapa sportsmen have recently returned from the Otago district, where several good heads were obtained.

Methodists everywhere will learn with regret that it has been found necessary to demolish the ancient Wesley Chapel at Kingswood, Bristol. It was built by Wesley in 1729, and was the oldest complete Methodist building in the world- In the grounds adjoining the chapel Wesley erected his famous school for boys. The site is required by the Home Office authorities for the erection of an engineering shop for youths. But it is intended to place an iron tablet on the new building, to tell of the famous one which stood there for a hundred and eighty years. Replying to a vote of thanks fbr his services as chairman of the Central School Committee, Mr.*. S. G. Smith, M.P., stated at last uight’s meeting of householders that continued efforts would have to be made to secure improvements for New Plymouth schools. On a recent occasion, when visiting the Fitzroy School in company with the chairman of the Education Board, it was found that in one room there were three children to every desk, and at West End the conditions were not much better. He would not be satisfied to call a halt till the whole of the schools in New Plymouth were in a much better position than they were at present. Mr. Smith stated that he had always received the hearty support of his present colleagues on the Education Board in various proposals, and as far as the Courtenay Street School was concerned, he had also received the assistance of the Minister of Education.

“New Plymouth appears to be sitting in the breeching to some degree,” stated Mr. T. McPhiiips, of Manaia, at the Progress League meeting last week, anent hydro electricity. Can Mr. McPhiiips point to ‘another town in New Zealand that is doing more than New Plymouth to develop hydro-electric resources? Evidently he is not aware of the fact that development work of great magnitude has been going on at the Waiwakaiho during the past eighteen months, and that in order to get over its financial difficulties in connection therewith—caused largely by the opposition of interested parties to the issue of an extended Government license—it proposes to go to London for further money. The New Plymouth Borough Council could dispel this misapprehension by inviting members of the Progress League to view the works in progress, and use the occasion to explain the whole position in regard to its hydro-electric scheme.

A scheme combining a railway and traffic bridge over the Waitema-ta (Auckland), was outlined to a meeting of representatives of North Shpre local bodies by Mr. A. Harris, M.P. He suggested that the waterfront railway approved ny Mr. E. H. Hiley, late General Manager of Railways, should be intersected ac the north-western wall in Freeman’s Bay, and the bridge constructed from this reclamation across the harbor to Northcote Point. The railway would then continue along the eastern foreshore of Northcote, to the vicinity of Barry's Point, Takapuna, thence northwards to Kaukapakapa, shortening the railway route from the city by 22 miles. The scheme allowed for consideration reclamations for recreation reserves, and for a boat harbor at Freeman’s Bay wall. The bridge itself, 30 feet wide, with provision on the lower deck for trains and trams, and on the upper storey for pedestrian and ordinary road traffic, would cost £600,000, the cost of which he suggested should be borne by the Government and the districts benefited.

The annual report of the Central School Committee, read at last night’s meeting, expressed confidence “that the long and persistent fight for improved facilities at the Courtenay Street Infant School is about to hear fruit. Already the adjoining half-acre has been acquired for the extension of the playing area, and intimation has been received by the board that the Minister of Education is agreeable to the suggestion made that this school should have attached a separate room for medical inspection of children, and which room could be used as a dental clinic. It is hoped withm a short time to receive word that a grant has been made to cover the cost. As soon as official intimation is received the Board of Education will be in a position to commence the erection of a most up-to-date school building, and with money now available the incoming committee will be in a position to make the surroundings in keeping with the school, and thus assist in developing a model infant school. The heartiest thanks of the community are due to the Minister of Education for his recognition of the need for improvements at this school.”

Members of the Taranaki Boxing Association are notified by advertisement that the annual general meeting of the Association will be held in the Soldiers’ Club to-night at 7.30 p.m.

Members of the Park Tennis and Croquet Club are requested to attend a meeting this evening at Mrs. Honnor’sresidence, Courtenay Street, when the question of additiona l courts will be discussed. The meeting will commence at 7.30 o’clock.