LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 September 1921, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

At Mangorei last week a miscreant set fire to a haystack containing, about seven or eight tons of hay belonging to Mr. John Hale. The stack was completely destroyed.

A swing bridge over the Te Henui stream above the main road bridge on the Junction Road was taken down last week-end and appropriated, steel cables and all. The police are investigating.

Customs duty collected through the port of New Plymouth during August amounted to £3544 13s Bd, compared with £'5543 18s 4d for August last year. The beer duty for last month wa« £B6 12s, compared with £225 9s Id for August last year.

No light has yet been thrown on the mystery surrounding the. disappearance of the well-known Auckland solicitor. Mr. A. E. Skelton, who has been missing from his home at Ladies’ Mile, Ellerslie, since early on Saturday, August 20.

The Mayor of Wellington announces that the City Council will be compelled to discontinue relief works for the unemployed owing to the exhaustion of the funds available for that purpose About 150 men will be affected.

The Stratford Post says that the Stratford mountain house, on the road to Dawson Falls, is unfortunately now a hostelry only in name. to the .scene state that vandalism has just about put the finishing touches on the place as an abode.

The number of building permits issued in New Plymouth for the past month shows an increase over the figures fo» several previous months, the value of< buildings being £20,000. This includes 23 houses and a butter factory. Plans for a gentlemen’s club have also been lodged, in addition to the permits already mentioned.

Reference to the agitation for the abolition of the principle of preference to unionists was made by Mr. O. Hawken, M.P., at a conference of farmers held in Wellington last week. Mr. Hawken said he was satisfied from the discussions which had taken place from time to time, that the Government would have to deal with this question because the public was demanding that it should do so

A football match that has been looked forward to with keen interest, the Moaecar Cup match between the Auckland Grammar School and the New Plymouth Boys’ High School, was played at Pukekura Park yesterday in good weather and before a large attendance. The Auckland boys won by 13 points to 5. after a keenly contested game. A full report appears on another page. The war trophies exhibition at New Plymouth continues to draw a large number of interested visitors daily. As Saturday is the last day 011 which the exhibitfl will be on view it is advisable to make an early visit to avoid the crush usual on the closing day. Yesterday the members of the Grammar School football team visited the hull and the various items of interest were explained by Sergt. Dawson. During the day a demonstration of bomb-d”opping from an aeroplane was given. Tomorrow evening at seven o’clock the local Scouts will be shown round the exhibition in charge of their officers. “A man who misconducts himself with a married woman can be sued for damages, whether the husband applies for a divorce or not,” remarked His Honor Mr. Justice Salmond in the Divorce Court at Wellington on Tuesday. Speaking at a later stage, after having consulted authorities on the point, His Honor said: “My observation relates to the English Divorce Act. A husband may sue for damages without any petition for any divorce proceedings. Our Act is somewhat different. You cannot sup alone for damages. You can sue for damages and judicial separation, however.”

“I don't wish to .appear facetious; I am perfectly serious in this,” said Mr. J. R. Cuningham at a meeting of women in Christchurch concerning social reforms, “but 1 must say that in these days of exceedingly abbreviated shirts, about to the knees, and the ‘buster Brown’ cut of the hair, I can’t for the life of me tell the age of a girl. She might 1)6 anything from 12 to 30.” Mr. Cuningham hinted that it might be a good thing if a girl should be compelled to wear her hair down until she was 17 or 18 years of agp. A painful accident occurred yesterday morning near the Smart Road Freezing Works to a la<l named John Donaldson, about 12 yehrrf of age. It appears that the lad had climbed a pine tree for the purpose of gathering cones, when a gust of wind caused him to lose his hold and fall to the ground. Mr. Ben Tippinfl, who happened to be passing by, observed the lad lying on the ground, and procured a motor car and took the sufferer to Dr. Fookes. After examination the lad was removed to the hospital. He appears to be suffering from severe shock and a badly bruised, shin. Towards the end of last week a young girl had a very narrow escape from death on the face of the Bluff Hill, Nax pier. 'While flhe was walking close to the edge the earth suddenly gave way, and what looked like certain death was only prevented by the girl falling on to a ledge about 20. feet from the top. Her brother, who was accompanying her, at once went for assistance, and secured the services of the signal station-keeper, who lowered a rope to the girl. This she tied round her waist, and was then pulled to the top. Her only injury was a slight abrasion on one hand. The Egmont-Wanganui Hunt Club held its 'steeplechase meeting at Hawera yesterday in line but cold weather. The attendance was not as large as usual, the threatening weather of the morning having probably deterred visitors from ti distance from making the trip. The totalisator investments were seriously affected, the machine handling £14,223, as compared with £22,990 for the last meeting, which was held in May, a decrease of £8767. The principal event, the Hunt Club Cup, was won by Mr. J. Brice’s Onipoto, the Ladies’ Bracelet going to Sunray, nominated by Mrs. A. E. Adams.

Spring flowers are juat now at their best, the favorable weather of the last few weeks bringing them along earlier than usual. St. Mary’s bulb show, which opens this afternoon at the. Parish Hall, promiflos to be amongst the best yet held. The prettiest show of the yea’’, as it is often called, gives promise of being even better than in former years. Beautiful narcissi, glorious anaemones and ranunculus, in combination with other beautiful spring flowers, will all go to make a most attractive display, to say nothing of decorated tables and baskets. A refreshment and produce stall will appeal to the thrifty housewife, and afternoon tea wi.l be dispensed during the afternoon.

A South Taranaki settler had occasion to visit New Plymouth a few days ago per motor car, but on attempting to leave the town for home on the Sunday his car refused to go and he was compelled to abandon it in a side street. Accepting a ride home with a friend, he rang up a New Plymouth garage the next day with instructions to have the automobile repaired, and a week later came up to New Plymouth with the intention of taking it home. However, the car was not at the garage, the message’ apparently having miscarried. Neither was it. where he had left it, but after making inquiries he discovered that, it had been impounded by the borough inspector during the past week, the latter having discovered it “straying on (lie roadside” on the Monday evening. “I have heard that we are trying to save wastrels,” said Dr. Truby King at Wellington’recently, after he had shown several of a series of lantern elides showing babies as they were before taken in hand, and as they were but a few weeks afterwards, “but these photographs speak volumes. Give the babies a chance, feed them as they should be fe<l, and save some of the finest stock of the country.” Many of the slides shown, happily prepared from photographs taken in other countries than New Zealand for the most part,'were dreadful indeed, so much so that the final slide of the series, of a very bonny kiddy (New Zealand), c«me as a positive relief. Certainly these , slides, however distressing for the time, drove home the lessons to be taught—the value of education' on all matterfl pertaining to mother craft.

At the annual dispersal sale of Jersey heifers on account of Messrs. A. and .1. O’Donnell, at Hawera on Tuesday, the name of R. 11. Cornwall was given in our report as a purchaser of some oi the stock. This should have been Mr. F. W. Cornwall, of Bell B'ock.

The N.Z. Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Ltd., will conduct a stock sale at Hawera to-day. Among the entries are lines of fat wethers and springing heifers which are well worth inspection. At a recent dairy factory meeting, factory managers were accused of showing “pointe” to suppliers. Be that as it may, no doubt managers are as often sinned against as sinning, but in regard to the supplying of unclean milk, suppliers can have no “kick” coming if milk ie rejected on that account. The. only remedy is to use plenty of ‘‘Sinus.” Sinus ensures clean milk, and pure milk means harmony at the factory