LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 December 1921, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Christmas number of 'the Tafafiaki -Daily News will be published next Friday. At A infreting of the Masterton Da>iry Company it was decided to pay oUt Is ‘lfd per it. for butter-fat.

T-he 4th Battalion Wellington Regdifißht Band has been engaged to play at both days of the Stratford races and also at the N*ew Plymouth facea. It is the intention ol the band to carol at the Christmas season in aid of the contest funds*

Five members df th 6 'Vanghnui Borough Council recently resigned as a protest against the policy of the installation of a big steam plant for elec- • trie Light • anti po-wdr. An election was held on Thursday, when the following were Wtuffifed': C. P. Brown, Oakley ' jJrowrie, BiirgeSS, Silk, and Reardon. The present system Under which rorUihittees afte given no range of selection of teachers was condemned at a meeting of the Canterbury Education Board, which passed a resolution advocating that school committees should be given the choice of all applicants graded within five points of one another.— Press Association.

The Legislative Council held a brief J’dfetih'dhy afternoon. Sb? Frftncis Bell gave notice of* the Crimes Amendment Bill. The Forests Bill, the Maintenance Orders (facilities for enforcement) Bill, the .Education Amendment BiHl, the Native Trustee Amendment Bill, and the Customs Bill were received from the Hoitfeo and read a first I,lm a

George. Watts, alias J. Thomas, was arrainged before Mr. A. M. Mowlem, S.M., at the Magistrate’s Court at New Plymouth yesterday on four charges of theft, involving two bicycles stolen at New Plymouth on November 18, ana 2 rugs, one stolen at New Plymouth and one at Ashhurst. Accused pleaded guilty ami was sentenced to ono month’s imprisonment on each charge, the sentences to be cumulative and to commence at the expiration of the term of eighteen months at present being served by Watts. Air. W. T. Jennings presented a petition to Parliament on behalf of Mr. S. G. Smith from the ratepayers and electors of New Plymouth Borough, stating that the adoption of the Saturday half-holi-day has not been in trie interests of the town and that after seven months' : experience the petitioners find that the change of the holiday from Thursday to Saturday lias proved most inconvenient to the farming community and detrimental to business generally The petitioners desire to revert to Thursday and ask for legislation enabling another poll to be taken on the last Wednesday in April over the ..djoining country as well as the borough. The petition contains 1799 signatures, and it was referred direct to the Labor Bills Committee for report. An inquest into the circumstances surrounding the death of Claude Jeffries, of Bell Block, who died in the New Plymouth Hospital on Thursday as the result of a gunshot wound, was held yesterday before Air. A. Al. Mowlem, S.AI., coroner. In a statement taken by the police in the Hospital prior to his death, deceased stated that he took a loaded gun out into a paddock late on the night of November 26, intending to shoot hares. On returning to the house he slipped and fell while crossing a stile, and remembered nothing more till he was being conveyed to the hospital. Evidence was given by several of deceased’s companions on the night of the accident, and medical evidence as to deceased’s condition in hospital was given by Dr. Fookes. The coroner returned a verdict of death from heart failure, resulting from shock caused by a gunshot wound in the left shoulder ' eleven days previously.

The question o-f pure seeds was before yesterday’s meeting of the Taranaki Farmers’ Union. Mr. O. J. Hawken, M.P., wrote stating that he regretted that owing to the opposition to the Pure Seeds Bill it appeared to have' been dropped. The -writer was disappointed, as there was no doubt that some persons were making use of there being no legislation to protect the farmer in the use of impure seed, and the consequence was that the country was being oVer-run with weeds. He enclosed a letter from the Alinister of Agriculture (Hou. W. Nosworthy) stating that owing to the extreme difficulty of framing a Bill further discussion would lie necessary between departmental officers and • representatives of the various interests concerned. Until the Bill had been further gone into it was -not proposed to place any proposals on thesubjeci before Parliament. The views of the Taranakii executive would be given careful consideration -when the Bill svftS again under eeview.

Reference to the deputation of farmers' representatives to Air. Massey, and the letter from Mr. Nicholson, of fhfe Sheep-owners’ Association, wdiich was after Wards published, was referred to by Mi. Dunn, president of the Taranaki executive of the Farmers’ Union, at yesterday’s meeting or tne executive. Mi Dunn said he was very surprised to ce. the lettei which Air. Alassey had published from Mr. Nicholson, of ' the Sheep-owners’ Association. He felt surprised, if Air Nicholson were present at the meeting with the 'Council of Agriculture. how lie could say that he was. misled. There was ho hole and corner business at all; everything was above board. Aloreover, it was not merely a Farmers’ Union deputation, as the Prime Alin-ister had said, but a fully representative deputation. The PrimeMinister, however much he had protested. had since carried but what the depletion had requested.

A meeting of the New Plymouth District Repatriation Committee was held yesterday. Present: Alessrs. W. J. Chaney (chairman), H. R. C’attley, T. Furlong, F. L. Hartnell, and the secretary (Air. A. S. Allen). An apology for n.hsence was received from . Air. C\ H. Weston. The secretary reported that': since the last meeting six loans total-' ling .C2 : 90 Tiad bfehh fepfiid, Abd that thi’ee trainfefeg li'ad satisfactorily completed theif training, one of whbhi was hoW eai-hih'g £4 per Week and ahdtlifer 16s per day. The executive committee’s action hi granting three fuffiitufe loans of £5O ekch, and in t'ecdmmeha'ing for Approval the following busffiess loads was cbfifii-mAd: Biiildihg motor dar £2OO, ffidtot lorry £2OO. T\Vo loans for plant Were fetused'. Four applanations fdr indulgence wfere Approved, and a reduction in amourit of instalment due iff respect of repaymfent of a loan for a milking plAnt was' granted. A tiaihee under the department’s schenie gfafited a further thirtefe'h freaks’ training. A sihAll sum df mdrie'y received front the Australian Cahteefls TruSt Fuhd was left in the hands df Mr. W. J. Chaney to disburse td the best advantage for fife benefit of a disabled soldier’s dependents. Speaking at, Haw.era Thursday evening, the Rev. Howard Eljiott described the type of man that has,been appointed to the Legislative Coupcil in Queensland. They werfe .men without any qualifications for public life, and were appointed because they would do the bidding of 'the Government. It was interesting to see the lordly airs and swagger of these men. They came into , the railway carriages as if. they owned them. Nothing was truer than the old saying: “Put a beggar on horseback and he will tide somewher?.” He wanted them to grasp the situation because of the immediate interest to New Zealand. .These things came to pass in Australia because a certain set; of men had arrived at a place where they held supreme political power, with disastrous results. There were people in this country who held the same principles ( and ideals as the Labor leaders in Australia, and if they had the opportunity would put them into operation here.. He had seen the. Labor Governments of Queensland and New South, Wales, and it he could have marched the whole of them through the streets of Hawera they would have taken them for a lot of “wharfies.” As legislators they were the roughest speciments he had seen, and by contrast the Nfe'w Zealand Parliament, in dignity and ability, stood head and shoulders above them. The. trouble was . that in trusting the departments of the State to such men everything was bound td smash up.

The authorities are to be congratulated on their efforts in endeavoring to • keep Bubonic Plague out of New iand. It is up to everyone, to assist. theflß by giving their yards and rubbish heap® a general clean-up. Use Jeyes’ Fluid fof the purpose. Nothing better. 'Rheuffio Rapidly Relieves RhetitnatiA'ih. bv removing the cause. 2/6 afid 4/6.