LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 August 1922, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The retail price of butter will be inereaaed one penny in New Plymouth froA> to-day. This will make the price of pats 2s and bulk is lid.

Building activity continues in Nep Plymouth. During July building per "mits to the value of £11,400 wen issued, the fees being £55. In addi tion other, fees amounting to £67 wen collected.

-A- suggestion that an open-air boxing tournament should foe staged in Pukekura Park was made by a speaker at last night’s gathering of referees. The speaker stressed the splendid facilities for seating and gaining a good view of the contests, besides which more people could be accommodated at a lesser cost.

The visit of the Director of Education (Mr. John Caughley) to New Plymouth, which was fixed for to-day. hae been postponed till next week. Mr. Caughley will arrive here on Saturday night. He will spend Monday afternoon with the High School Board, address a meeting of education authorities in the evening, and return to Wellington on Tuesday morning.

Two overseas vessels are due at New Plymouth to-day—the liner Kaikoura, with United Kingdom cargo to discharge [and Homeward cargo to load; and the j Kaituna with 1500 tons of coal from New j'York. The Eastern Sea, with case oil *from New York, is due on Thursday.

The board of governors of the New Plymouth High Schools could no't commence their meeting last night till a late hour owing to the absence of the necessary- quorum. The chairman (Mr. J. >B. Fox) commented strongly upon the apathy shown by town members of the board, when all the country members, at some discomfort to themselves, were present. He warned those present that he would not tolerate this state of affairs much longer.

The New Plymouth electrio ’bus service carried 11,289 passengers during July, and earned £llO 19s 8d in revenue. The tramways engineer reports that, like the tramways, the ’bus traffic shows a small decrease as compared with the corresponding month of last year. The decrease amounts to £7 16s sd. The passengers carried, however, have increased by 568. The passengers were: Westown 6254, Frankley Road 723, Vogeltown 4312, total 11,289.

Twenty-four applications for lighting were received by the New Plymouth Borough Council during July; also 11 applications for additions and 18 new connections were made to the mains. The engineer reports: The Waiwakaiho river was very low during the whole of the month, and on several occasions it appeared as though we would have some difficulty in carrying the whole of the loading. Temporary adjustments were made with some of our larger consumers, and we were thus able to carry on without interruption. The plant at the power-house and distribution stations is operating satisfactorily.

A report concerning the health of New Plymouth was before the Borough Council last night. The inspector of health (Mr. F. Swindells) advised that for the quarter ending June 30 19 cases of infectious disease were notified within the borough, which were 41.3 per cent of the total cases in the hospital district during that period. The cases were: 4 scarlet fever, 9 diphtheria, 3 tuberculosis, 1 chicken-pox, 1 erysipelas and 1 pneumonic influenza. - Fifteen of the cases were removed to the hospital for treatment. The number of cases was an increase by two over the preceding quarter, but the position was very satisfactory, as taken on a population basis the rate was only 1.66 per 1000 population, the increase being only 0.17 per 1000 over the first quarter of the year.

A dwelling-house was struck by lightning in New Plymouth on Sunday afternoon. About 4 o’clock in the afternoon Mr. S. Guscott’s residence at Glenavon was struck but fortunately none of the inmates was injured. The house was filled with blue smoke and the report heard some distance away. A doublechimney suffered most damage, the portion projecting from the roof being completely shattered, bricks being hurled 30 yards away. The mantel-piece was wrenched entirely from the wall and thrown into the centre of the room, whilst the iron grate was smashed into several pieces. The lightning split one of the cover boards on a lean-to at the rear, stove in a vent-pipe and diving to earth sent up a shower of mud which lies ‘bespattered on the walls of the house. A stout wire extending across the yard was severed as though by a machine and one portion, about six feet in length, cannot be found. A concrete water tank also received attention, the iron roof being lifted, whilst at tlie spot where the outlet pipe pierces the concrete the flash has burrowed in about 1 three inches and has left a burnt mark upon the pipe.

1 Replying to a question at the annual meeting of the Eltham Dairy Company, ;he chairman said that they were paying Is 9d for July and a further penny over the whole season.

The hearing of the evidence for the defence in the claim by Mrs. E. M. Crofts against Herbert H. Johnston, motor proprietor, Waitara, for £lOBO 4s as general and specific damages arising out of a motor collision, occupied the Supreme Court at New Plymouth for the third day yesterday. This morning the jury will leave the courthouse at nine o’clock to view the scene of the accident, and at ten Mr. Justice Chapman will hear the appeal of Frederick Locke v. Hugh McCrorie, from a decision of Mr. A. M. Mowlem, S.M., at Waitara. This heard, and on the return of the jury, counsel will give their addresses and His Honor will sum up in the Crofts-Johnston case. For tomorrow the claim of Frank Ewart Besley v. Stanley C. Rea, for £5OB 4s lOd balance of account stated, has been mentioned. The hearing will be before His Honor and a jury of twelve.

There will foe a meeting of the ratepayers of the Egmont County, Rahotu riding, at Rahotu hall on Thursday next, at 2.15 p.m. sharp, to discuss the question of merging into Taranaki County. Further particular# will be advertised tarasesH. ' ~