LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 September 1921, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The value of building permits in Napier for August, was £29,61H, the largest since pre-war timgs.

Judgment was given for plaintiff by default in the following undefended cases at the New Plymouth Magistrate’s Court yesterday’: Newton King, Ltd. v. J). G. Hill, £43 Os 6d (costs £4 Is 6d); <l. H. Damon v. Heremaia Kita, £l2 (costs £2 19s).

Two charges of drunkenness were dealt with by Mr. A. M. Mowlem, S.M., in the New Plymouth Magistrate’s Court yesterday. A first offender who who was found drunk in Ro'be Street was convicted and discharged, and Peter Jacob was convicted and fined £2, in default three days’ imprisonment. Fortyeight hours were allowed in which to pay the fine. Anything precious is always a temptation to the thoughtless to indulge in wanton damage, and the war trophies exhibition at New Plymouth has not es-

caped the attention of vandals, A striking feature of the exhibition is the collection of war medals and service decorations, which are enclosed in glass cases, and the cases show evidence of cutting.

Photos of crowds often bring many curious experiences, and the thrill o-f the recognition of someone known in a distant land is often present. This has been illustrated at the war trophies exhibition now showing at New Plymouth, where, amongst other remarkable photo, graphs, are some views of munition workers in England, and last night some visitors to the exhibition identified in one of these photos relatives in England. “You don’t want to be like a man I knew,” said Air. R. Masters, M.P., in urging those present at the Wharehuia bazaar yesterday to support the efforts of those who had filled the stalls. “This man had a lot of trouble with his wife. ‘I don't know what to do with her,' he used to say. ‘She’s always asking me for money. First she wants a shilling, then five shillings, then a pound.’ ‘What does she do with it?’ he was asked, and he replied, ‘I don’t know, 1 don’t give her any.’ ”

A claim for work done and. a counterclaim on the grounds that the work was not satisfactory, occupied the magistrate (Mr. A. Al. Mowlem) at the New Plymouth .Magistrate’s Court yesterday afternoon. The claim was made by Magnusson and Milne, plumbers and electricians (Mr. R.H. Quilliamf, against William Robert Leighton (Mr. H. R. Billing), and plaintiffs sought to recover £l2 16s 9d for work on the roof of defendant’s factory. Leighton contended that the work had not been done properly, and that the roof leaked during wet weather, and on these grounds he counter-claimed for £3 2s Od a* special damages. After hearing evidence, the magistrate gave judgment for plaintiffs for the amount claimed and costs and disallowed the counter-claim.

A truancy case was heard in the Magistrate’s Court at New Plymouth yesterday, when Richard Simpson, who was recently fined for failing to send a child to school, applied to Mr. A. M. Mowlem, S.M., for a re-hearing, as he could not attend when the ease was originally heard. The magistrate granted the rehearing, and defendant pleaded guilty, stating that the child’s absence from school was due to illness. No medical certificate to the effect had been produced. Mr. Mowlem said there was a proper course to -follow in such causes, and people must conform with the requirements of the Act. The fine inflicted on the previous occasion was remitted and a new penalty of 10s and costs imposed. Following the loss of a sum of money and a quantity of jewellery from a house in Argyle Street, Hawera, on May

3 last, a man named Warrick B. Daniell was arrested in Hawera on Wednesday and was brought before the Police Court yesterday charged with having stolen six £5 notes, £lO in money, one gold chain valued at £lO, .a lady’s gold watch valued at £lO, a gold pendant valued at 30s, and gold rings valued at £(>, £5, £3, and £l. The total value of the articles was £76. Accused was remanded till Monday, bail being refused.

The returned soldiers’ ball held at the Hawera Winter Show building on Wednesday night and opened by Mr. E. Dixon. M.P., who delivered a short address, was a pronounced success. The function was conducted on a lavish scale. The playing of the Reveille by .SergeantMajor Alahoney was a prelude to the grand march, after which over 300 couples took part in the dancing. The hall decorations were carried out in a scheme of yellow, green and brown. The M.C.’s were Messrs. C. Gomer, H. B. Burdekin, J. Nairn, C. Tobeck, and A. Bell, and the music was supplied by a special orchestra consisting of Alessrs. Lovedav, Rennick and Taylor.

A splendid insight into the many wonderful and mysterious weapons which were used to make war during the great struggle in Europe is provided at the war trophies exhibition at the Coronation Hall, New Plymouth. To those who were not on service the exhibition provides a revelation, for ex--soldiers it kindles memories, while to the children it offers a vision at once interesting and instructive. To-day and to-morrow are the last days, and those who have not seen the collection should not miss the opportunity of a unique experience. Up to last nigh I, 1800 persons had visited the exhibition, and the takings amount to £l2O.

Breaches of the liquor laws in the Mo- . Ran district are likely to be curbed by j severe penalties from the new Taranaki magistrate (Mr. A. M. Alowlem, S.M.) I In fining a young man £25 yesterday ■on two charges, Air. Mowlem remarked: j“lt is plain that this sort of thing must 'stop, and if the lines inflicted do not i have the effect of stopping it, then there i is a different method which the court . may adopt, and I shall not hesitate to .make use of that method.”

The Gisborne railway station was broken Into on \\ ednesday night aud several pounds in cash abstracted. “This is not a court of morality,” remarked counsel in a case in the Supreme Court at Wellington. “It is merely a court of justice!” A kauri gum company in the North of Auckland is advertising for Jugo-Slavs for draining and digging. The wages offered are £1 per day, with free house and tools.

The Auckland Grammar School footballers were entertained by Mr. and Mrs. C. 11. Burgess yesterday. The boys were taken for a motor drive round the district, and on return to town they were entertained at afternoon tea at the Victotria League rooms. “There is no better husband in the world than a sailor, and 1 apeak from experience.” said His Excellency Viscount. Jelllcoe, at the anniversary meeting of the Sailors’ Friend Society recently. “Some people say a sailor has a wife in every port, but that is a libel.” (Laugher.)

“This is an anonymous letter,” remarked the chairman of the Wellington Red Cross executive, as he unfolded a sheet of writing-paper. “I move that it be not received. We should not receive anonymous letters,” saJd one of the members in decisive tones. The chairman smiled. “It encloses a donation of £5,” he said.

The position with regard to the local land market remains unchanged (says the Wanganui Herald). Some demand exists for small dairy farms, and even though prices of produce are uncertain inquiries are still being made for larger farms. It is reported that a farm of approximately 900 acres in the Fordell district has recently changed hands.

“Six' calves died, through eating Mrs. ’s washing,” said a witness in a

share-milking case in the Supreme Court at Auckland. “Did they die because Airs. 's washing was particularly virulent,” the judge asked, amid laughter, “or was it merely a natural consequence of eating clothing?” The witness said the latter was the correct reason, and added that the calves were particularly fond of handkerchiefs and articles of underclothing.

The total revenue of the New Zealand railways for that part of the current financial year ended July 23 was

£2,124,741, against £1,975,959 for the corresponding period of last year. Expenditure for the two periods was £2,119.840 and £1,473,281 respectively. Receipts on the North Island lines so far this year have totalled £1,258,279, and expenditure £1,186,403. The corresponding figures for the South Island are: Receipts £860,462, and expenditure £933,436.

The lightning on Tuesday night struck a. shed on Mr. H. AV. Ijewis’ farm (says the Hawera Star). There were four cows in the building and two men, Messrs. Bott and Greenbanks. A flash of lightning struck the electric light wires and passed through the shed, knocking the cows down and the men, too, and rendering them insensible. Both men suffered a severe shock, and two of the cows were killed. Several houses round about had the fuses blown by the lightning. Both the men have »?- covered from their unique and terrifying experience.

Speaking at the opening of the bazaar at the now Wharehuia hall yesterday, Mr. R. Alasters, ALP., congratulated the residents on talcing a step in the right direction. He deplored the tendency at the present time which was dominating all parts of the world—the tendency for drift oi population to the towns. In New Zealand they found the population was drifting to the towns in a very large proportion. Forty years ago there was a majority in the country, but they had now changed to a majority in the city. In building the hall they were helping to stop the aggregating of the population in the cities by making the country more attractive and building up the social life of Wharehuia.

Unless people are buying expensive kauri, rimu and Oregon to chop up for firewood, reports about “slackness in the houae-biuikling trade” are all moonshine. The sawmillers laugh at the idea of a falling-off in building activity, and tell you that to-day they are selling more timber for cottages, workers’ homes, and other small residences than they have ever sold before. “We are getting in all the timber we can from north and south, from the Waikato, and even from Greyrnouth, and still we can’t keep up with the demand,” said one manager to an Auckland Star reporter. “We have never dealt in more timber than we are selling to-day, and all the mills are in the same position.” One big mill which can supply enough material for three cottages a day is going full speed the whole week, and if you go down to the order office you will have your name put on the waiting list; but beyond that no guarantee can be given of delivery.” How very grave is the position in India may be gauged from the following remarks of a well-known missioner in that country in the course of a letter written to friends in this country and published in the New Zealand Baptist With reference to the arch-agitator, Gandhi, he says:—“He is an idealist, with a lofty conception of the freedom of man’s soul, and as such 1 admire him. But he is also an iconoclast to whom all external authority is anathema and all knowledge mere trash: as such I dislike him. His hold on the Indian imagination is immense. It is popularly, believed that the Government has resigned its powers to Mr. Gandhi. At his word, work stops over large areas and crops are not sown. Government officers suddenly refuse duty. Non-co-operation is the cry. Gandhi himself has fallen under the spell of two discredited Mahomedans, who are exploiting his saintly claims in their, own interests. All India is seething. The elements that made the Alutiny in ’57 are again at work.”

The Oamaru* Mail says:—The sowing of wheat has now been nearly, if not entirely, completed in North Otago, and we are enabled to say that the total area under this cereal is greatly in advance of that of last year. By precisely how much the area has been increased it is impossible to say and the estimates of those who are entitled to speak with authority vary a good deal. The ascertained facts enable us to say that the aggregate increase in the area under wheat this year is about 60 per cent, over that of last year’s total. The total area under wheat last year was between 18,000 and 20,000 acres. If we add 60 per cent, to the averages of those figures we get in round numbers 30,000 acres as approximately the urea now under wheat. Wo are satisfied that that estimate is not far wide of the mark. It is, we may say in conclusion, a groat many years since wheat was so largely cultivated

For Influenza, take Wood*’ Great Peppermint Cure. 2