LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 June 1922, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The wind on Saturday somewhat disorganized the telephone service, putling several telephones out of action. , With her arrival at Southampton on Thursday, the 'Shaw, Savill liner Tainui, which left Wellington on May 10, completed a record voyage, covering the distance in 36 days—the fastest time yet recorded by a mail steamer on that run. The third korero of the season in connection with the New Plymouth Savage Club was held in the Workers’ Social Hall on Saturday evening. Savage A. L. Moore was in the chair. There was a good attendance and a vert’ enjoyable evening was spent. Sixty-three liners have entered the port of New Plymouth since the inception of the overseas service in 1017. The Tredenham, which sails for Sydney this morning, is the 13th liner to be berthed here this year. \ At Saturdays meeting of the Stratford County Council the general rate, struck for the ensuing year in the various ridings was as follows, the previous years rates being given in parentheses: North Riding, 2d in the £1 (l§d); South Riding, lid (1 %d); East Riding, 2%d (2%d), West Riding, l%d (l"/ 8 d), Mangaeliu Riding, 3d (3d). Messrs. Geo. Sangster, ,W. IT. Were, and T. R. .Anderson have been nominated for election to the Taranaki Electric Power Board, to represent that portion of the Stratford county which comes within the board’s area. Nominations close on June 26 and the election will be held on about July 4. The unemployment in New Plymouth had an influence on the tramway figures last week, which were less by 4998 in passengers carried and £55 10s 7d in revenue earned as compared with the corresponding week of last year. With the closing down of the freezing works and the fewer number of men carried on the breakwater sections the tramway figures suffer. The telescope at the New Plymouth observatory was focussed on Ma,rs last night, the planet being a subject of absorbing interest to astronomers at the present time. On June 10 Mara passed through the point of her orbit directly opposite the sun from the earth, whilst last night the planet was Closer to earth by several million miles than it has been at any time since 1909.

The members of the N’ew Plymouth band visited the Rangiatea Home yesterday, and under the baton of Mr. Lowe gave a very enjoyable programme, which was much, appreciated by the old people and by the residents of Westown, who attended in fair numbers. The.

visit had been arranged by Mr. W. G. Reid. At the conclusion Mrs. Bayly (the matron) thanked the members of the band for the fine’programme, and also intended thanks to the owner of the lorry and to the driver (Mr. Stewart) for enabling the band to make the trip. Conduct of Sunday football matches and collection of voluntary contributions from the spectators were held to be legal by Mr. Meldrum, S-M., who dismissed an information against the Inangahua Rugby Football Sub-union at Reefton on the grounds that the case did not come under Section 17 of the Police Offences Act, owing to there being no private profit derived. The charge against the sub-union was that on May 21, in view of a public place, to wit, Crampton Road, it did keep open a racecourse for the purpose of transacting business therein, contrary to Section 17 of the Police Offences Act. Interviewed last week, the Hon. W. Downie Stewart, Minister of Internal Affairs, said that he had no further statement to make on the proposed tariff .reciprocity agreement betwceen Australia and New Zealand. Asked if it was intended to bring down a Tariff Bill this session, Mr. Stewart said some legislation would be required if Parliament adopted the treaty. Ho was not prepared to say what form the legislation would take. That depended on developments. The infliction of the first ‘‘cut” aroused strong opposition from the Public- Service (says the Dannevirke News editorially), but on the whole the reductions were accepted in good spirit, j and the various branches of the Govern- j went service have shown no resentment ; in the discharge of their duties. Mr. ' Massey, however, must expect strong ; opposition if ho decides to impose a , second “cut,” and we may look forward i to the organisation that has been initi- > a ted at New Plymouth becoming general ' throughout the Dominion. Mr. Massey j will not be anxious to create further i ,rouble if ho can avoid it. . . . The, Government, however, is in a difficult position, because the last bonus or its equivalent increased the wages paid on the railways by over £1,000,000 a year, and railway revenue, as Mr. Massey said the other day. has sunk to zeroMembers of the Equitable Building Society of New Plymouth (Third Group) are notified that subscriptions will be due and payable today, Monday, June 19, at the Secretary’s Office, Currie Street from 10 a.in. to 12.30 p.m., from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and r p.m. to 8 p.m.—Advt. Flannels, blankets, rugs, winter weight inderwear and warm tweed overcoats ire in full supply at the Melbourne, Ltd- This firm’s prices will Compare ’avorably with others chiefly on account if the firm’s “spot” cash method of , loing business. Prices at the Melbourne ; ire not “loaded” to compensate for bad ; lebts. (

“He’s summoned for debt and if he doesn’t pay —what happens?—he goes to gaol,” remarked a witness at the Magistrate’s Court at Wellington. “Nothing of the kind. The court never yet sent a man to gaol for debt if he couldn’t pay,” replied Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M. “He comes to the court and the debtor loses his money, that’s all.” “The Pacific is going to be the greatest centre of interest in the years to come,” said the Minister of Education, the Hon. O’. J. Parr, at the University degree ceremony at Auckland. He commended to the undergraduates the study of Polynesian history and ethnology, and suggested that the University College authorities might well consider in their future activities the making of provision for the study of these subjectsHere, he said, was a new field of study, which the people of the north might pursue.

Judging by reports to hand by the last English mail, conditions in Britain are still in a very bad way. Writing to a friend i|ii Auckland, a business man residing in a well-known town in Suffolk States: “We are cutting expenses all we can, but income tax at 6s in the £ will kill anything. There is no life in business over here, and we are getting ‘fed up.’” He adds: “We are having awful weather this spring, wet and cold all the time. I suppose, after the glorious time we had last year, we must expect it.” Where the marine excursionist proposes, cruel Neptune often disposes! The passengers from Auckland by the steamer Manaia, which on Sunday ran an excursion to the wreck of the Wiltshire, all looked forward to viewing the wreck. The majority of them saw that which they went to see, but a small minority saw little or nothing of the wreck or of the scenic adornments of the Great Barrier coastline. Seasickness was very prevalent on board before. Rosalie Bay was reached, and the cry “There’s the Wiltshire!” possessed but meagre interest for the unfortunate victims. Referring to possible causes of diphtheria infection among school children, the acting-medical officer of health at Auckland. Dr. R. H. Makgill, said there was no suggestion of an epidemic. He believed that the practice of distributing pencils among school children was a contributory cause to the spreading of diphtheria. The children in the course of their work placed the pencils in their mouths. Next morning the pencils were again distributed among the pupils, and other scholars received them, who likewise placed them in their mouths. It was reasonable to think that there were carriers among the children. He understood that this practice was more prevalent among country schools, and commented on the fact of the number of cases of diphtheria that had been reported from the country districts.

An instance was supplied to a Levin Chronicle representative, showing that stress of circumstances often brings out qualities that arc not suspected in some individuals. A farmer was the lucky, or unlucky, owner of three farms, two or which he disposed of, but over which he held mortgages. Then the farming outlook changed, and since then the owner and the two farmers on the other properties got into a very bad way. It looked as if the owner would soon have three farms on his hands again, when he met his tenants, made a reduction of £lO an acre in the valuation of the farms, and made them a present of 12 months’ interest on the mortgages. He thus gave these men a fighting chance, and success is now possible where hopelessness and despair reigned before.

A recent arrival from Sydney states that things generally are not too bright in the New South Wales capital. A feature of the times is the number of cadging brass bands, which are to be found on almost every corner, composed of men well able to work for the most part, but who' find the band business more luctrative, whilst being a free and easy way of earning a livelihood. One of these bands is composed of blind men, who should be cared for in some institution. The others are all returned soldiers’ bands, whose existence is not justified. There are occasions when there are more collectors than there were members of the band. These bands, said the visitor, were able to afflict Sydney by the late Labor Government, but the growing tide of criticism at the shame of it all would probably move the new Government to take some steps to lift this stigma from Sydney-

One of the most urgent needs of the time from a social and humanitarian viewpoint is a pension for invalids, urged Mr. D. G. Sullivan, M.P.. at Christchurch. He quoted the case of a man, married, with a family—a splendid fellow—stricken with a most painful and incurable disease, whose misery had been terribly intensified by the stress and anxiety of scraping together sufficient income to keep his wife and children from starvation- To-day the man’s case was hopeless, and there was no doubt his condition had been made infinitely worse by his financial worries. The care of these helpless people, said Mr. Sullivan, should, be the first concern of a Christian community, for it was most inhumane to leave these unfortunate people to struggle for a living while weighed down with a paralysing physical infirmity. He hoped that very soon Parliament would enact this most urgently needed social reform.

We arc reminded that seed time (or sowing time) will be here again shortly by the receipt of the garden calendar and seed catalogue of Messrs. F. Cooper, Ltd., Wellington. This is a well illustrated book, containing much useful information upon the best varieties, and complete cultural directions for sowing. Messrs. F. Cooper, Ltd., advertise that they have been selling “Seeds of Success” since “sixty” (1860), and that their business

has been growing all the time. All experts agree that there is no finer climate in the world for producing seeds than our own New Zealand climate. Cooper’s seeds arc very largely grown in N.Z. The firm is the largest grower and seller of vegetables and farm seeds (exclusive of

! grass seed) not only in N.Z., but in the ' Southern Hemisphere. To produce their i requirements they need over 4000 acres each season exclusively foi‘ seed purposes. Every bag pf seed they receive is immediately tested for growth by the Department of Agriculture, and also by themselves, and no seeds that are not of the highest germination are paeketed or sent, out. Open-ground trials are also made upon the principal Government farms, and by other experts. These prove conclusively the superiority of Cooper’s seeds. Altogether, Messrs. F. Cooper, Ltd. have the finest staff, plant, machinery and equipment in Australasia, and are. deserving of the fullest support of all New Zealand farmers and planters of seeds. Copies of the Guide may be •had from any of their or direct from Wellington.

Years of wear and warmth in a “Unique” Hot Water Bottle. Guaranteed not to crack, burst or leak. Made by North British Rubber Co. Sold by all chemists.