LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 August 1921, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

When Parliament meets the portfolio of Finance will be taken by Mr. Downie Stewart, until Mr. Massey’s return, as it is necessary for this portfolio to be in the hands of a member of the House of Representatives while Parliament is in session. Sir Francis Bell will take charge of Internal Affairs in the meantime.

Following the British precedent the Minister of Defence has decided that O.C. commands shall in future carry the temporary rank of colonel commandant. This is the rank recently introduced in the British army for officers holding appointments formerly held by temporary brigadier-generals. The officers to receive this rank will be the commandants of the three military districts, Colonel C. G. Melville (central), Colonel R- Young (southern), and Lieut.Colonel (temporary colonel) H. R. Potter (northern).

Writes our Pungareliu correspondent: A walk along the beach convinces the onlooker of the fury of the storm which raged on this coast last week. Huge logs, half-buried in the sand, which have apparently laid for years undisturbed, were carried out to sea by the huge breakers, as well as the immense boulders which were a feature of the beach, and where, before the storm, was an easy path for pedestrians to get down to the sea, a steep bank has now to be negotiated. Last Friday the breakers were mountainous in appearance, and as they btokb on the foreshore, presented a grand though awful spectacle.

A New Plymouth motor cyclist had a rather unusual experience the other morning. He was on a suburban road, 'travelling at a moderate speed, when lie met a settler driving. The latter made a move as of beckoning to the cyclist, who came alongside, whereupon the settler pulled out a whip handle, or long stick, and hit with all his might at the head of the cyclist, who “ducked” but got the smack on his breast. The cyclist was knocked off his machine, and, when he had recovered, ho followed the settler, who lived near by, arid asked him what his reason was for attacking him so savagely. The settler seemed to lose control of' himself, and then and there offered to fight the cyclist, declaring he had no time for motorists of any kind, and consigned him to the nether regions. The cyclist, a much younger man, curbed himself, and. proceeded to the police, and reported the episode. It subsequently transpired that the settler had had the misfortune some time ago to have a member of his family seriously injured by a motorist-

Potatoes are now selling at Christchurch at as low as ,5s per

The curtailed railway time-table is to operate in New Zealand from Monday next.

Monday, September 20, is Dominion Day, and will he observed as a holiday by Government offices throughout New Zealand. The Auditor-General has fixed Wednesday, August 24, at Wellington, as the date and place for the rehearing of discussion on the adjustment of accounts between the Inglewood and Taranaki County Councils.

About seventy Boy Scouts attended at Whiteley Church, New Plymouth, yesterday morning, when the first of the monthly series of church parades was held. The troops represented were: St. Mary’s, New Plymouth and the Girl Peace Scouts.

According to Mr. Hugh Morrison, of Masterton, the value of pastoral land in Hawke’s Bay and the Wairarapa has permanently receded to pre-war prices. Land with a capacity of two sheep to the acre was not now worth more than £lO per acre. The Red Post Furnishing Company, Ltd., were the successful tenderers for the contract for furnishing the new nurses' home. Mr. J. McNeill was successful in tendering for the supply of groceries for the hospital for the year. The first of the Sunday night recitals by the New Plymouth Citizens’ Band took place in Everybody’s Theatre last night, when there was a large attendance. The programme submitted by the band was of a high standard and was greatly appreciated. The items included the test hymn “Eternal Father,” a trombone trio, “A Summer’s Day,” a cornet duet, “Home Sweet Home.” Vocal solos by outside artists were in- ; terspersed with the band items and were heartily received. Songs were given by Mrs. Ferry, piano and violin solos by Messrs. Frederic and George respectively, and an elocutionary item by Mr. i Goldsworthy. The proceeds of the rei cital were about £l7, and will go to i the contest -fund.

During the hearing of a divorce case in Christchurch, in which the petitioner had been separated from his wife for three years on his wife’s application, Judge Herdman said: What makes me [hesitate about these cases is whether a wrongdoer, has a right to come into the court and ask for relief. A wife is helpless. She is a good and innocent woman, for instance, she does her duty, attending to the home and the children. Her husband wants to break off. She does not. He says: “I’m going to leave you.” He leaves, against her will. She is forced to take out a maintenance order against him. If the order is in force for three years he can petition for dissolution o-f the marriage. His Honor said he would consider his judgment in the case. ,

Great interest was aroused in New Plymouth in Saturday’s football test match between the Springboks and the AH Blacks, especially at Pukekura Park, where a large crowd had assembled to watch the Hawera-Tukapa match. After the half-time score was posted up, at which stage the Springboks were leading by 5 points to nil, the crowd’s anxiety to know the final score grew apace, and, when the announcement came to hand that the All Blacks had won by 13 points to 5, the news was greeted with a great outburst of cheering. The crowd, in their enthusiasm, seemed to forget the match being played before their eyes, and it was quite two or three minutes before their interest in the local match was re-kindled.

The rainbow trout hatched at the Taranaki Acclimatisation Society’s hatcheries at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, have now been liberated. Some 80,000 good strong fish were reared, and of these 40,000 were placed in the Stony River (Okato), 30,000 in the Okaihu River (Rahotn), and 10,000 in the Maketawa River (Inglewood). Messrs. W. Bell and F. Duckworth? members of the council, of the society, were responsible for the delivery of the fish to the coastal streams. Tn these districts local residents, including Natives, readily gave assistance, and with buckets, benzine tins, and other utensils, each helped in the distribution. The fry were in this way liberated in small batches over several miles of river. There are still 200,000 brown trout ova in the hatcheries, and these will be ready for distribution in about three weeks’ time.

“God Bless the Trees” is the title of a special feature in this month’s “Quick March” by Mr. Claude Jewell, who makes a stirring plea for commonsense kindness to man’s friend, the tree. “In New Zealand,” Mr. Jewell remarks, “there is not yet a real public opinion unfavorable to the devastation of incredibly magnificent forests. One might perhaps touch the heart of someone, with a picture of a procession of the millions who have passed under the famous English tree, ‘Maud’s Elm,’ out into the world and—out- of the worldeach inevitably at last clothed in wood and returning to the earth from whence he and the tree sprang. Someone, some day, with a voice and with a vision that calls more loudly and can see further than myself, may begin a noble religion in this beautiful land which will include a reverence for trees and the adherents of which shall include in their prayers this heartfelt cry: ‘God . bless the trees’!”

A large congregation attended at the Whiteley Church, New Plymouth, last night on the occasion of the monthly service. The musical numbers were a feature, the anthems being splendidly rendered by a choir of nearly fifty voices, while the supporting soloists, Miss V. Lambert, and Messrs. Ashley Macdonald and W. P. Okey, were heard to advantage. For the sermon, entitled, “Is the World Growing Better?” the preacher, Rev. W. J. Elliott, took for his text Isaiah 21, 11-12, “Watchman, what of the night; the Prophet answered: The morning cometh and also the night.” The speaker endeavored to show that all along light had gained on the darkness, and he dealt with conditions in social, industrial and religious spheres. Illustrating his remarks, he pointed out that while in England at the beginning of the 19th century there were 223 offences punishable by death, to-day the number was 2. The improvements which had been effected in various branches of industrial conditions were also outlined.

“Heads and Faces I Have Seen,” is the title of a lecture to bo given in the Whiteley Hall to-night by the Rev. W. J. Elliott. The. address, which is based on the study of those interesting subjects, physiognomy and phrenology, will be illustrated by lantern slides.

The day of Mr. H. C. Bishop** clearing sale at Bell Block has been altered from to-morrow (Tuesday 16th) to Wednesday 17th inst. Note advt.