LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 August 1922, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Public Works Department has accepted the tender of Mr. C. Moore for building a police station at Inglewood. The contract price is £1948 17s 6d. The United Fire Brigades’ demonstration will be held at Dunedin from February 26 to March 6 next. It is stated that at least 100 brigades throughout the Dominion will participate.

During the winter months Greymouth is occasionally visited by a fog which is known as the “barber,” but last week Reefton experienced a fog which was so thick that it was impossible to distinguish persons across the road.

What was considered to be the most severe frost this year was experienced in the New Plymouth district yesterday morning. An Auckland telegram says the most severe frost this year was experienced yesterday morning. The minimum temperature was 30.5 degrees, and the night is believed to have been the coldest for the past four years. The work on Baine’s Terrace last Saturday was the planting of wattles and karaka on the Carrington Road slopes. There was but a small muster of workers. Mrs. Brash, of “Mawhera,” assisted by Miss Cant and Mrs. Maxwell, were good enough to supply afternoon tea. Messrs. Duncan and Davies kindly sent a fine selection of wattles, and Mr. Wallace, of the “Waratah,” upon seeing the president at work, generously handed him a donation of £1 Is. The handsome new premises built for the Taranaki club on the rise at the corner of Queen and St. Aubyn Streets are now practically completed, and the building will be formally taken out the contractors’ hands at five o’clock to-night, when the new premises will be declared open for occupation by the president (Mr. A. W. Webster). Afterwards an appropriate ceremony to mark the occasion will be held in the new buildings. There is said to be an exceptional number of cases of blood-poisoning in and about Dunedin just now. The cause of this outbreak is obscure (remarks the Otago Daily Times), and some medical men consider that it is attributable to the fact that the very cold weather of late has lowered the resistance powers of the people, the other theory being that the germ responsible is of an unusually virulent type. “That the Minister of Customs be communicated with, urging that bananas and citrus fruits be admitted to the country free of duty,” was the gist of a motion moved at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Stratford Chamber of Commerce by Mr. P. Thomson. Mr. Thomson said bananas particularly were a valuable food, and as they could not be grown in New Zealand they should be obtainable by the public as cheaply as possible. The motion was carried.

Suggestions for the establishment of woollen mills in Masterton were discussed by the Masterton Chamber of Com-' merce on Tuesday. The chairman stated that several business men had agreed to put as much as £5OO each into the venture and a total of from £6OOO to £7OOO had been promised. The Wellington Farmers’ Meat Company had imported the machinery for a woollen mill some time ago, and was prepared to sell it, and, if a local concern were started, was prepared to discuss taking up shares. Anything from £7-0,000 to £lOO,000 capital would :be required. After discussion, a committee consisting of Messrs. C. E. Daniell, J. Caselberg, H. P. Hugo, W. S. L. Dixon, H. F. Pither, and Dr. G. H. Scholefield, with power to add to their number, was appointed, to gather all possible information for a future meeting.

At the Hawera S,M. Court on Tuesdayj John Owen Jones, farmer, of Oeo, was eha'rged by the police with stealing a motor tyre valued at £4. The complainant said that he left his Ford motor-car in Mr. Kemp’s garage on July 15 last, with a new spare tyre lied on the side—the same tyre as produced in court. At about 3.45 p.m. on the 15th he returned to the garage and found that the tyre had been taken. On lhe 17th complainant, was shown the tyre -by the police, and he then identified it as his property. Constable fichau said that he went to defendant’s car and found the tyre lying on the floor of the car with another old tyre, a handbag and an overcoat on top of it. The coat completely covered the tyre. When questioned the defendant said: “It does not belong to me; you can take it if you like.” His Worship said that at the back of his mind there was some doubt as regards defendant’s actions. Tie believed the evidence of Constable Schau, tut he was not fully satisfied beyond all doubt that the defendant had acted dishonestly. The case would be dismissed. AfteT last year’s experience (states the Opunake Times) dairy factory directors in this district are shy about selling the coming season's output, the majority preferring to take their chance on (he open market. The Opunake Co.' have placed theirs on open consignment with Messrs Weddells (London), and the I Pihama and Oa-onui companies with Messrs. Lovell and Christmas on the same terms. The right to sell out at any time is, of course, retained.

Messrs. Clement and Sons, Te Kiri, advertise a special line of second-class timber at a specially reduced price.

Owing to a change in the method of collection of house refuse, it will be ne J cessary in future for hquseholdere to put their refuse out before 9 a.m.

See the comfortable and becoming scarves at Morey’s. A new shipment to hand, and the lowest prices prevail. Particulars of a dairy herd to be sold at Rahotu on the Sth inst., on account of Mr. Jack Barrett, appear in our auction columns.

Entries for the New Plymouth Jersey Cattle Club’s annual sale of pedigree Jersey bulls are now being taken. See