LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 March 1922, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mt. Geo. Speck, who was assaulted and injured at Midhirst last week, is reported to be progressing favorably. Hie injuries are not as serious as at first anticipated.

As the result of the resignation of Mr. K. B. Bain on the Eltham Borough Council, an election was held on Friday, the result being as follows: Edwin H. Thomas 85, Wm. H. Newson 55. Some splendid trophies will be competed for at the swimming carnival to be held next Saturday evening at the baths. They will be on in Mr. Dalgleish’s window early this week. “If we plant trees now they will be large enough for electric power poles by the time the Government power scheme comes along,” said Cr. T. R. Anderson at Saturday’s meeting of the: Stratford County Council when discussing a circular froni the State Forestry Service. The ‘two men, Stanley Roy Montgomerie and Henry Hampton, who were recently arrested on charges of the theft of a motor car from an Epsom garage, and with breaking and entering at Te Awamutu, are to be escorted to Te Awamutu to-day, where, they appear on remind to-morrow.

The committee of the Stratford County Council set up to consider the wages question recommended that the wages of foremen and casuals be reduced by 1/- per day and lorry drivers by 6d. per day. to take effect as from April 15. At Saturday’s, meeting it was decided to carry the recommendations into effect.

Another bank will soon commence operations in New Plymouth, the Commercial Bank of Australia, the only bank now not represented here, having acquired a site for an office. The section near the Empire Theatre, formerly occupied by Mr. Tunbridge, has been taken up by the bank anil preparation* for the erection of offices have been put in hand.

Following the recent visit of a delegation from the Taranaki Qhamber of Commerce to the backblocks, a public meeting is called for next Thursday evening, to consider what steps shall be taken to assist settlers of the backblocks in securing communications with the rest of the province. The meeting is open to all, whether members of the or not, the desire being to secure a large and representative attendance. Definite proposals to help the backblocks will be submitted to the meeting by the Chamber.

The liner Leitrim (9540 tons), the largest vessel to visit the port of New Plymouth, sailed for .Wellington at 1.15 p.m. yesterday. During her four days’ stay the liner was safely accommodated in port, though it is evident that, until more shelter is provided the Leitrim is about the limit boat than can be berthed. Captain Robertson, of the Leitrim, said he had heard bad reports of the New Plymouth harbor before coming here and was naturally anxious, but as a lesult of this visit he expressed himself as very pleaded, wf.tji the port. Commenting on the harbor Smprovement scheme, he said, “You mqst push on with the harbor extensions.”

The West End school picnic at Ngaere on Saturday proved most enjoyable. Some seven hundred made the trip by special train, leaving New Plymouth at a quarter to nine. Although the unfavorable weather here prevented a considerable number from making the trip the weather at Ngaere proved fine, there being only one shower just as the people were about tc, leave. Lester Bros., the proprietors of the gardens, are experts at handling picnics, and in addition to the odinary shelter shed they bad provided a big marquee with tables, etc., and had erected a wind protection, so that whatever weather prevailed there would have been a minimum of discomfort. The children were well looked after on the train journey each way, being regaled by the members of the committee and the teachers with sweets and fruit, while at the gardens they were treated to tea, soft drinks, etc., galore, The children during the morning found much to amuse them in inspecting the monkeys, birds and other attractions of the gardens, the magic mirrors providing an endless source of amusement. In the afternoon there were races and sports galore, and the orchestrala proved a great attraction, whilst throughout the day the motor boat was available at a modest fee. Shortly after 4 p.m. a start was made for the station, and New Plymouth , was reached at 6.25. The children voted the day a red b.ttor one, and Messrs. Lester Bros, received the thanks of those responsible for the picnic for their courtesy and consideration, which makes the task of running a picnic an easy one.

Special lines of timber for sale at reasonable prices are announced by the Egmont Box Co., Eltham. This should appeal particularly to farmers as the timber is very suitable for the building of cowsheds, pig-styes, sheep-yards and farm buildings generally. All classes of timber are kept in stock, as a perusal of the advertisement on the front page will show. Inspection and enquiries are invited.

I ■ As showing the effect of the land tax in New Zealand, a Palmerston North resident told a Manawatu Times representative that he knew of- a property of 1800 acres of pastoral country near Feilding on which the rates, and taxes amounted to £692 per annum.

An inspector for the Health Department discovered at Petone this week a father, a mother, and six chUdren inhabiting one room, “with utW'of kitchen.” “The children’s ages ranged downwards from eight and a half years. The living room was twelve feet by twelve, and the inspector declares that it contained three double beds.

w The thirty young women who are being trained to attend to the teeth of school children are reported to be making excellent progress at the departmental dental clinic in Wellington. They began their training last year, and they are now in their second year’s course. They will be ready next year to take up their work in the schools of •the Dominion, where they will give simple treatment to the children who need it.

“This is another of these cases we have had recently in which young mothers have developed, the bad habit of taking their children to bed with them,” said Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., at an inquest at Wellington concerning the death of a child, five weeks old, who slept with its mother and was found dead one morning. The Magistrate also said that he understood that matrons of maternity hospitals always told young mothers to have a cot at the side of the bed, and on no account to take the child to bed with them. In this instance the mother, in reply to a question, stated that she had received no such instruction.

An Aucklander who was present during the 1907 strike at Johannesburg commented to a Star reporter on the callous attitude of the citizens at that time of bloodshed, which was not without its touch of Gilbertian humor. The crowd consistently followed the contestants, watching each pitched fight between the military and armed police with the sniping miners, who were secreted part of the time among the high buildings. Occasionally a bullet killed or wounded, according to. its good fortune. There would immediately be a scattering, but in a few moments the crowd would re-form with apparent indifference and discuss the advantages of the contestants. The New Zealander believed this indifference to warfare has been brought about by the continual state of upheaval in the country for years past.

A homing pigeon, which had evidently lost its bearing, fluttered on to the top of the charthouse of the liner Leitrim just before that vessel sailed from New Plymouth for Wellington yesterday. The bird appeared to be exhausted, whilst it was noticed t'hat it was also lame. By means of water and crumbs the pigeon was enticed on to the bridge and later was persuaded to enter the chart-room, where the captain captured it. It was then foumj, that the bird had a mietallicTing on each leg, that on the right bearing the letters N.R.P.G. and the figures 144, 20 bar 21, whilst the ring on the left bore the letters AFG and the number 722. The bird was later liberated, but showed a. disinclination to leave its new home and settled on the avvning spars above. When the Leitrim sailed at 1.15 p.m. the pigeon was still on board.

Business people will tak,e heed of an unscrupulous effort which was made last week to secure money from a city firm by false pretences (states the Auckland Star). The person concerned struck upon rather a novel idea, but it failed to get past a clerk employed at the office, and the stranger can be said to have been lucky in not being handed over to the police. He conveyed a message by telephone “from Whangarei,” that one of his employees was stranded in the city, and that he would be pleased if, on his calling at the office they would hand him the price of a return fare to Whangarei. The person duly called, but the clerk in the meantime, suspecting that it was a ruse, communicated with the telephone exchange, and ascertained that the message received had come from the city and not from the northern township, with the result that the individual was, instead of being handed the easy money, confronted with the knowledge thus gained, but unfortunately was not detained.

Many practical carpenters are out of work just now (reports the Auckland Star). One carpenter from Home, who was told before he came here that there was a dearth of carpenters in the Dominion, says that for six weeks he has tramped around the city, interviewing those likely to be able to give him work, with no result. A painter from Home, who tried in vain for a week to get work at his trade, took on gardening work at 15s a day. He says he can get more work than he can <io, and is so satisfied with his new kind of work/that he says he will not return to his more unhealthy trade of painting. He thinks there is good scope in this country for men who will turn their hand to anything, and he is going to write and tell some of his mates to come out here.

The following letter, published in the Morning Post, was sent to a banker in England, in explanation why the writer could not reduce his overdraft:

“I have been, held up, held down, and bagged, sat on, walked on, flattened out and squeezed. First by our income tax, the super-tax, the excess profits tax, war loans, war bonds, war savings certificates, the automobile tax, and by every society and organisation that the inventive mind of man has conceived to extract what I may or may not have in my possession. Next by the Red Cross, St. Dunstan’s, the Children's Homes, Y.M.C.A., Y.W.C.A., the Salvation Army, the Belgian Relief, the Austrian Relief, the Black Cross and the Double Cross, and every hospital in the town and country. The Government has governed my business, so that I don’t .know who owns it. 1 am inspected, suspected, examined, and re-examined, informed, required, and commanded. All that I am aware of is that I am supposed to be an inexhaustible source of money for every known need, desire or hope of the human race, and because I will not sell all that I have and go out and beg, borrow or steal money to give I am cursed, discussed, boycotted, talked to, talked about, lied to, lied about, held up, hung up, robbed, an nearly ruined, and the only reason why I am clinging to life now is to see what the happens next.” Borthwick’s are receiving pigs at Midhirst on Wednesday. The new prices are advertised. Attention is directed to Brady’s confectionery sale, which commences today. Particulars of same will be found on page one of this issue. Members of the ‘Employers’ Association and the public generally should not miss the opportunity of hearing 1 the lecture on “Fire Insurance,” to be delivered to-night at the Soldiers’ Club rooms. Particulars are advertised in this issue.