LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 July 1921, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

No less than 18 degrees of frost were registered in the neighborhood of Masterton on Thursday morning.

Two motor-cars were stolen from Napier the other evening. One was recovered next day, but the other is still “missing.” A second-hand dealer at Hamilton was fined this week for purchasing a reI volver whilst not being a licensed dealer. A man was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment at Wellington on Wednesday on a charge of using indecent language towards a young girl. The Citizens’ Band concert, which was to be held at Kawaroa Park yesterday, was postponed owing to the unfavorable weather conditions. Further names are added daily to the unemployment registers in Auckland. Some who were enrolled on Monday were in a serious plight, stating they had been forced to sleep in the open and had had to beg for food. During May 62 men were employed on the east end of the Stratford-Main Trunk railway and 54 were on the west end. Forty men were working on the Opunake line. The number of men employed in roads in Taranaki by the Public Works Department was 210. A representative meeting of Moturoa householders was held on Saturday night for the purpose of determining what action could be taken in regard to the erection of a school at Moturoa. A deputation, consisting of Messrs. W. W. Thompson and W. A. Morton, was appointed to wait upon the Minister of Education and place the urgency of the case before him. Lieut.-Colonel C. E. Andrews (president) and N. W. B. B. Thoms, Major G. A. Gibbs, Captains W. I. K. Jennings, and A. E. Conway, and Lieutenant H. J. Mulholland have been appointed a committee to revise the official army books and books in use by the New Zealand military forces. A return for the week ended June 25 shows that there were 5257 men employed on public works in New Zealand, against 5028 employed during the previous week, an increase of 229. Of the total of 5257 men employed 820 were men on unemployment relief works, leaving a total of 4435 permanent employees. —Press Association. Figures relating to the exports from Taranaki during May and the twelve months ending May, 1921, are given in the June abstract of statistics. For the month of May the figures are: New Plymouth £271,200, Patea £202,338, Waitara £2237. For the twelve months the totals are: New Plymouth £2,477,270, Patea £2,298,315, Waitara £382,589.

In the Martinborough Magistrate's Court last week, George W. Cobb, until lately clerk to the Featherston County Council, pleaded guilty to a number of charges of misappropriating the council’s money. The charges related to the period from January 6, 1914, to June I'l, 1921, and involved a sum of £707. Accused was committed for sentence to the Supreme Court sitting in Wellington on July 5. “The Wellington Regiment, when it left for Gallipoli, was one of the very best I have ever seen,” said MajorGeneral Sir Edward Chaytor, at Masterton. “That is no disparagement to other regiments, because Wellington had a much larger population than the other districts and could pick and choose a aood deal more. That regiment when Ft left for Gallipoli was something to marvel at.” 4t Waiwakaiho sale on Thursday next will be sold two herds of very good cows. Members of the Equitable Building •Society of New Plymouth (Second and Third Groups) are notified that subscriptions will be due and payable today (Monday, July 4), at the Secretary’s Office, Currie Street, from 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m., from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.—Advt. Owing to the high cost of new suits, costumes, dresses, etc., thousands of people are now having their garments renovated. thereby saving the cost of new ones. The firm of J. K. Hawkins and Co., d*y cleaners and steam, dyers, have one of the most up-to-date plants in New Zealand for doing this class of work, and they receive ‘goo .s to renovate from ah parts of the country. At the cost of r, few shilli igs soiled and faded o-arments can be made equal to new. Now is the time to economise—su have a. Jpok rdrobfL —Advt*

Thus the Mercantile Gazette:—“How sensitive the market is may be judged from the fact that the announcement of a censorship on cable messages purporting to transmit the utterances of New Zealand Ministers luid a very disturbing effect. Mr. Massey’s instructions for the I withdrawal of the censorship are alleged to have been a peremptory character. The censorship, as we all know, has been cancelled with many apologies and explanations.” Building has taken a spurt about Wellington. A number of important contracts have been let, amongst them, one for the erection, at a cost of £lO,700. of a five-storey business block in Manners Street, Wellington. The Fletcher ■Construction Company lias this contract. It is fully believed by the men in the trade that building will be briskly undertaken during the coming spring.

The Wanganui Harbor Board as at present constituted, and on its present plans, cannot be expected to achieve anything like the success which looms ahead of New Plymouth (says the Wanganui Chronicle). No price is too great to pay for a real harbor for Wanganui. Wanganui is sadly behind in the race with New Plymouth. It may be a easel of a race between a tortoise and a hare, but we do not think New Plymouth will emulate that fleet animal and go to sleep. In any case, a tortoise will never win a race so long as he is headed in the wrong direction. Mr. Goodfellow, in replying to a sendoff at Hamilton last week, said the secret of success in industry was high prices for products, and it was a matter of moment that they should get good prices for their products in the future. They were “up against” a serious problem in England at the present time. Britain had the ablest commercial men in the world, and these were what the producers were “up against.” The policy in England seemed to be to try and force down the cost of foodstuffs eo as to reduce the cost of living and the cost of manufacturing. His main object in going Home was to stabilise prices so that they got fair and reasonable prices for New Zealand products.

The needs of the backblocks are to receive first consideration from the Government, said the Hon. J. G. Coates at a banquet tendered to him by the Raglan County Council. The time had come when the richer portions of New Zealand had to be satisfied with their present means of transit. The energies of his department were to be concentrated in Auckland, Westland, and Southland, where development was most needed. He hoped to complete the construction work of the North Auckland Main Trunk line this year. TIT show progress it was imperative that local bodies and the Public Works Department should work automatically together, and ho was reorganising to that end.

The complete returns of the butter and cheese received at the Auckland Farmers’ Freezing Company’s grading stores for the 1920-21 season reveal a remarkable increase in butter production in the Auckland district. .During the year ended June 31, approximately 770,000 boxes were received. Compared with 491,770 boxes received during the vear ended June 30, 1920, this is an increase of 27-8,230 boxes. During the months of May and June this year 24,736 boxes were received, 19,221 coming to’ hand in May, and 5515 last month. This total shows a decrease of 272 boxes compared with the quantity received during May and June, 1920, namely, 25,008 boxes.

Great interest was taken in the struggle for the world’s heavy-weight boxing championship between Dempsey and Cc rpentier. By our time the match took place in America about seven o’clock yesterday morning, and a special message announcing Dempsey’s victory was received by the Daily News at 11 am while a full account of the light was received at 5 p.m. Many inquiries throughout yesterday and last mgnt showed the widespread interest in the encounter, which was watched in America by 91,000 people. The fight was over in the fourth round, when Dempsey knocked out Carpentier. Mil details appear on page 5.