LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 April 1922, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The wholesale price of butter has been increased at Wellington to Is 7Ad, and the retail price to Is 9d.—Press Assn.

A poll of ratepayers at Foxtqn yesterday by 145 to 6 favored the constitution of a fire district and fire board for the borough. —Press Assn.

Cabled advice has been received in Wellington, stating that many standard lines of English confectionery have been reduced in price by about 15 per cent, in the wholesale trade. It is understood that chocolate is also to be brought into line with the falling prices in the near future, and these reductions will be reflected in the retail trade before long. It is satisfactory to note (states our Inglewood correspondent) that interest in the proposed soldiers’ memorial for Inglewood is not altogether dead, and it is to be hoped that the euchre party and dance to be held in aid of the funds for that purpose, in the Town Hall, on the 20th of this month, will answer the double purpose of augmenting those funds and reawakening interest in this worthy project. The Customs revenue for the year was £5,095,626, which exceeds the estimates by £195,026. This is the second, largest return on -record, having been only exceeded by the previous year's return of £8,401,191. The heaviest collection was in September when, in anticipation of the new duties, £735,658 was obtained. The beer duty for the year was £458,895, which fell below the estimate by £41,105.

“The business people of this town are not trying to assist us,” said Mr. W. B. Grant, president of the Taranaki Agricultural Society, speaking at, a function yesterday. “They are trying to run us off, not only with regard to the half-holiday, but also in the charges to exhibitors.” One man who attended. the recent show informed him mat he had. to pay 7s for a bed alone, and it was impossible for them to come to a show at prices like that.

A rumor that the Railway Department, intends to make Hawera the only stopping place for the express train in Taranaki has, according to a discussion at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Stratiord Chamber of Commerce, gained credence in Wanganui, New Plymouth and elsewhere. In consequence of the rumor having reached him “on sound authority”, the president of the chamber (Mr. J. B- Richards) wrote to the district traffic manager for information on the subject. A reply was received from this offi :cer denying knowledge of any such intention by the department. A communication, enclosing a cheque for £l2 Is, to form the nucleus of a hallbuilding fund, was before the Westown Progressive Association at last night s meeting. The offer was received from the WStiora Golf Club, with the understanding that the hall should be built within the boundaries of Belt Road, Barrett Street and Standish Hill. The association were of opinion -that a site in the vicinity of David Street would be the most central for the whole district, and it was decided to write thanking the club for, the offer, and asking their sanction for its acceptance without the condition attached as to the site.

Sir R. Heaton Rhodes (Minister in Charge of the War Pensions Department) informed a Press representative that it has been decided to suspend the sittings of the War Pensions Medical Appeal Board as from May 31 nefct. The board was .set. up in June, 1921, to hear appeals against the decisions of the Pensions Board in regard to the amount of pensions, and whether the disabilities from which the appellants were suffering were attributable to war service. The board at present consists of one permanent member, with whom sit two other medical appointees in the various centres. It has been found, however, that the number of appeals .to be dealt with does not justify the permanency of the board; hence the present decision to suspend its operations- No appeals will be received after May 15 next.

“Nowadays a borough council has to live within its income,” said the Mayor (Mr. F. E. Wilson), speaking at last night's meeting of the Westown Progressive Association. He explained that under the provisions of recent regulations a borough was not allowed to have an overdraft at the end of its financial year. They would have to go carefully, he said, because, unfortunately, they had to renew a big loan at from two to three per cent, more than they had been paying. It would be seen that the extra rates derived through the increased valuations were not going to give the council any money to play with-

The fact that the New Plymouth Borough Council’s work had been put back a month this season, owing to wet weather, was mentioned by the Mayor (Mr. F. E. Wilson), speaking at a meeting of the Westown Progressive Association last night. A member had urged that Standish Hill should have another coat of tar to save the roadway from breaking up, and after mentioning the above circumstances the Mayor said he could not say if the route referred to was included in the work yet to be done.

“Mr. Holland calls his party the Labor Party,” said the Prime Minister

at Auckland. “In Parliament we call it ‘the Reds/ (Laughter.)’ I am not prepared to admit that they do represent labor.” Mr. Holland had said the Liberals could not take office without the assistance of Labor, who could turn them out if so disposed. With no desire to refer to politics, he could not help placing that fact before his audience without further comment. “The interests of the country are far beyond those of the party,” concluded the Premier. “I would put them one thousand times before party interests.’ They do not matter to me. Let us get the country out of the present difficulties, and then, if someone else thinks he is more able to take my job, then he is welcome to it.”

Our Inglewood correspondent states that Mr. F. H. Brown, observer of rainfall for Inglewood, reports that during last month a greater rainfall was recorded than for any March since rain records have been systematically recorded there, a period of 13 years. The following digests of rainfall records for March, 1922, from Inglewood and Riverlea speak for themselves: —Inglewood (Mr. F. H. Brown observer): Total for month, 13.2 inches; average, 5.65 inches; for March 1921, 4.5 inches. Riverlea (Miss Trimble observer): Total for month, 15.92 inches; average, 7.14 Uiche<. A very cursory consideration of these figures will go far to explain the present lamentable condition of many of the roads, more especially where reconstruction, regrading, formation or deviation has been attempted. Old residents, when talking on this sore subject, try to buoy up their spirits by recalling past seasons of somewhat similar character, that were followed by open, favorable weather in April, May or June, and by drawing attention to the blessing it has been that with markets depressed and pay-outs from dairy factories so low, there has not been a dry season, but one of exceptionally luscious growth with abundance of feed.