LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 March 1922, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

"Brooklands” and "Maranui” will be open to the public on Sunday next. A fall of 9/- per ton in the price of cement, to take effect immediately, was announced in New Plymouth yesterday.

Interviewed at Te Aroha, Sir William Herries said it Was almost certain that the general election would not take place until December. The Pakeha, which arrived at Wellington on Tuesday, brought 913 passengers, including 852 nominated immigrants. Of this number 35 were booked for New Plymouth.

The schools in the Eltham district will their annua) picnic at New Plymouth to-day. If the weather is too wet for outdoor amusements the children will attend a special matinee at Everybody’s Theatre.

A resident of the East Coast made a good bargain recently in the purchase of a horse and buggy from a Maori. The turn-out wins well worth £lOO, but he got it for £3O. The reason for the sacrifice was that the Maori had been persuaded the end of the world would come on a certain date.

Apparently in England efforts are being made to increase the revenue of the railways by means of concession fares. The Great Eastern Railway is now issuing season shopping tickets for women at reduced prices from 10.30 a.m. ‘o 4 p.m., thus avoiding the rush hours. Cheap Saturday to Monday tickets are issued at a fare and a third. The minimum fare is 5s thirdclass and. 10s first-class.

Mountaineering is now popular, and among the' trips taken to the summit of Mount Egmont was a midnight, journey from Dawson Falls last week. The party, headed by Mr. George Meuli, of Wanganui, consisted of Mrs. Philip Asioli, of Sydney, and Miss Dinning and -Miss Sara Dinning, of Melbourne. The most arduous part of the trip was undertaken by moonlight, the party arriving in the crater to see the sun rise. A glorious view, including the South Island, was obtained. So mild was the morning that they stayed in the crater until mid-day, returning to the house in time for afternoon tea. The mountain is in’ splendid order fbr climbing now, and there is little or no danger. Speaking at the opening of the Normanby show yesterday, Mr. A. Lees referred to the fact that we were now suffering from a slump as the aftermath of the land boom. During that boom land had soared up to very high values. Land was only worth what it would produce and with dairy produce at Is 4d per lb. it was not worth within £6O or £7O an acre, as compared with when prices for dairy produce were high. It would, however, take some time before they could get a readjustment of land values, and meanwhile it would be necessary to produce as much as possible out of the land by smaller holdings and more intensive cultivation. In this direction he considered horticultural shows did a lot of good, as the competitions brought farmers together, and by comparing notes in the exhibits they could gain a lot of information.

The month of February was the hottest and driest known for many years in the New Plymouth district. Half an inch of rain fell on the first day of the month, but from then till the 21st only .Ilin, of rain fell. On the 22nd and 23rd there were slight showers, but not heavy enough to be measured in the gauge. Since then rain has fallen each day, and the total for the month has been 2.24 in. The temperatures have been persistently high, the maximum in the shade being generally in the neighborhood of 80 degrees. The bright sunshine recorded was very large, especially in the. first three weeks, the total being 217 hours 45 minutes.

The rainfall in Auckland for the 24 hours ended 9 a.m. on Monday was the highest for the past five years, being no less than 4.30 inches. This daily fall has been exceeded on only four occasions in the period of nearly 70 years during which records have been taken in Auckland (says the Herald). The highest fall registered in Auckland was that of 6.3’ inches for the 24 hours ended February ’l, 1869. the second being that of 5.54 inches for the 24 hours ended February 4, 1917. One daily register takn in March, 1860, was 4.57 inches, and for the 24 hours ended December 21, 1916, the fall was 4.51 inches.

The "Living London” matinee this afternoon will be at Everybody’s, and the night screening at the Empire. Webster Bros, announce that the picture sale advertised for to-day at the Soldiers’ Club has been cancelled.

Men in need of knock about suits should not miss the line of Kaiapoi ailwool tweed suits reduced to 72/6 at the Melbourne, Ltd.’s, great stocktaking sale now on. These suits are splendidly made and are guaranteed to give good wear. They have been reduced from S9/6 for the sale period only. Residents of Okato and district are reminded of the concert and dance to be held, in the Hempton Hall, Okato, tonight; An excellent programme has been arranged, and an enjoyable evening is assured.

Some facts about the payment of sharemilkers were heard in the course of a case which occupied the attention of the Supreme Court, New Plymouth, yesterday. A witness contradicted the assertion that sharemilkers could be obtained for “thirds,” and in his experience of this class of worker, ranging over 18 to 20 years, he said he had never paid less than 40 per cent. It was an unsatisfactory class of labor, however, for in every six there was only one good one, and the rest were "duds.” The really efficient sharemilker could do well, and the witness quoted his own case, in which the employee's share of the milk cheques for a recent year was £750. Often the good sharemilker was able to buy a property of his own within a very few years. It was true that he had to call on his family to work, but the witness thought it 'would only be bringing up the children to be good citizens. If they are not taught to work when they are young they will never •learn,” he concluded. A distinctly new application to industry of the war-time tank tractor is the crawling crane. It is the ordinary yard or locomotive crane, used so extensively in- large industrial plants, and made more useful by applying to it the mechanical locomotion used by war tanks. The new device is put on the market by a Chicago company. A feature is that it can turn around in any one spot or in the circle of a radius about equal to its own length. The steering is done from the cab by brakes on the differential shaft which is said to enable this unusual radius of action. Its superiority to the older cranes operated on wide and narrow gauge tracks is readily understood. 'Hie crane is made in two sizes, 7-ton with 30ft boom and 12-ton with 35ft boom. Besides the crawling tread, it can be arranged to operate on broad-faced road-wheels or on standard or special-gauge tracks. Newton King, Ltd., invite entries for a sale at Uruti on the 13th inst.

To-morrow (Friday), L. A. Nolan and Co. will submit to auction at their mart, a large assortment of unredeemed pledges, under instructions from Mr. B. Kissin, of the Waitemata Ix>an Co., Auckland.

The Uruti Beach Picnic Club advertises in this issue the programme of the hack race meeting on March 11.

Any grocer, as to which wasting powder on the market sells best, will promptly .reply “Fairy Wonder.” He will tell you that in nine cases out of ten customers ask for “Fairy,” and will not take substitutes. This speaks volumes for tlje way in which “Fairy” has come to the front. It has practically ousted all competitors. There nn.st be a reason.

Messrs. Howell and Howell announce that they have secured fine, commodious premises next to McNeill’s grocery, Devon Street East. The firm have opened up a splendid stock of new goods in all lines needed for men’s clothing. It is the intention of Howell and Howell to offer special values to all shoppers and invite the public to inspect their comprehensive stocks.