LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 October 1922, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The sum of £15,070 has been raised in Whakatane to enable the Farmers’ Freezing Works there, which went into liquidation last year, to resume operations. It is intended to start killing in January.

The private gardens, “Brooklands” and “Maranui,” will be thrown open to the public on Sunday next, the 29th inst.

“During the whole 21 years of our existence the society has not lost a single penny,” said Mr. Stanley Shaw (chairman of directors) in reviewing the operations of the Equitable Build-* ing 'Society at New Plymouth, at the annual meeting last night. Although the recent crisis in the Near East was reported to have affected the land market in the South Island for a. few days, the consensus of opinion among New Plymouth agents, as collected by a Daily News reporter yesterday, was that it had had no effect on the local market. A mob of 300 old bulls left Hamilton for Taranaki last Sunday week, and is expected to reach the freezing works shortly. A local farmer, who saw them in the Waikato, regards their driving through to Taranaki as a source of considerable risk on account of the tick that is prevalent in certain parts of the north. If they were subjected to thorough dipping before they crossed the Mokau, the risk would be eliminated. Once the tick is introduced into Taranaki it would flourish as the green bay tree, as the conditions here, our informant stated, are ideal for their development. Although only one case of cruelty to animals was brought before the Magistrate during the past twelve months, the .Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals does a lot of work quietly. Mr. C. J. Wickham, the inspector of the New Plymouth branch, reported to the annual meeting last night that during the year he had warned nine persons for working lame horses with sore shoulders, two for underfeeding horses, and six for working horses without shoes. “I have generally found that a warning is sufficient,” said Mr. Wickham, “and it is only an exceptional case, which comes before the Court.”

At the last meeting of the New Plymouth Tourist League, enquiry was made as to whether the beautiful scenery surrounding the falls near the Tangarakau Gorge were preserved. In response to an enquiry, the Commissioner of Crown Lands (Mr. Lowe) stated that a block of forest land surrounding the falls, and running into 19,000 acres, had been set aside for scenic purpose, and had now been taken over by the Forestry Department, thus ensuring the retention of the bush for scenic purposes.

“If butter prices become stabilised there will be an absolute flood of people coming to New Plymouth to settle,” said a land agent dealing largely in town properties to a Daily News reporter yesterday.

“We don’t want court cases and we don’t want convictions,’’ said Mr. E. L. Humphries at the annual meeting of the New Plymouth branch of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to animals last night. “The aim of the society is to keep down cruelty,” he added, “and I think that we can claim that we have done so.” “So he wants the Court to work on Saturday, so that he will not be deprived of any of his annual leave,” said the Magistrate at New Plymouth yesterday, when it was asked that a case laid under the Weights and Measures Act should be heard on Saturday instead of being postponed for a week, as the inspector was leaving on three weeks’ holiday early next week. The Magistrate agreed to take the case on Saturday morning as requested. The Salvation Army festival in New Plymouth was brought to a successful close last night, when an enjoyable programme was submitted to a good attendance by the Whiteley Choir, who rendered part-songs, anthems, etc., undsr the baton of Mr. R. L. Cooper. A sale of work was also conducted at the barracks yesterday. The whole proceeds of the festival are in aid of the SelfDenial Appeal. The new woman in a new role was seen at the musical and elocutionary competitions at New Plymouth last night, when the duties appertaining to the office of chairman were carried out by a young lady well on the sunny side of twenty. At the conclusion of the nights programme, one of the judges complimented the young lady on the able manner in which she had performed her duties. He thought the management she had displayed should serve as an inspiration to the young men present. “Since we commenced producing Shakespeare a little over two years ago, we have produced his plays in every town of any size in Australia from Perth to Townsville and, in New Zealand, from Auckland to Invercargill.” said Mr. Allan Wilkie at the complimentary luncheon which was tendered to him by the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce yesterday. “We have produced 14 of the plays, and now we are actively engaged on the fifteenth,” he continued. Last night’s performance would be the 576th and that number of performances, with a purely Shakespearian repertoire, was not only a record for Australia, but as far as he could gather, for the whole world. “If I could arrange for exchanges of house properties I could bring a hundred families from Wanganui alone, as well as from other places down the line,” said a New Plymouth land agent to a Daily News reporter yesterday, apropos of the amount of business being transacted on the local land market. “Values are still firm,” he added, “and there is little tendency for them to go back.” He put this down to a realisation on the part of residents in other parts of the Dominion of the natural advantages which New Plymouth enjoyed with relation to the resources of the country behind. Business during the past three months, the agent continued, had been better than it had for twelve months previously, and he pointed out that four months ago he had literally hawked Devon Street , property at £5O per foot without being able to effect sales. Now, however, transactions were being recorded at £75 per foot.

“There are a lot of unregistered firearms about,” said Senior-Sergeant McCrorie in the New Plymouth Magistrate’s Court yesterday. “In fact, people appear to treat the Act as a joke.” In commenting upon the case brought by the police the Magistrate said that it appeared to him that the Arms Act, and especially Section 9, was not receiving the consideration which it demanded. In the past he had treated the matter as one of pure oversight or "negligence on the part of those owning firearms, but in the light of the many informations laid for possessing unregistered revolvers it seemed that it was not altogether a matter of neglect. He hoped that people who were in possession of firearms would perform their duty. In imposing a fine of £1 in connection with the case before the Court, the Magistrate intimated that he intended to increase the fine until the people realised that they had either to register the firearms in their possession or else get rid of them. Mr. F. Colbeck, of the Country Party, when speaking at Paeroa recently, grew rather vehement, and attacked the farmer for lack of loyalty to his party. He said he would never have consented to stand if he thought that the farmers would have “gone back” on him. His own dairy company had elected a committee to support and work for his opponent, and Colonel R. C. Allen, who was really the godfather of his party, was against him. He stated he was sick to death of the farmers, who had no sense of loyalty. He felt that he would not. walk across the stage to help them, but would let them “wallow in their mud.” “I don’t want anything to do with politics,” he continued, “they are the dirtiest things I know of. I have never been in gaol, never been divorced, and have not been an annoyance to my neighbors, but my own friends have said things about me since I entered politics in this campaign that make me blush in my sleep. lam (me of those candid men who speak the truth, and we don’t get too much of that in politics.” When asked if he really meant to go to the poll, the candidate stated: “I really cannot say; but I am going to have that agricultural bank or go to the poll, and I hope to the Lord that I won’t go to the poll.”

Several of America’s old mon have been advising their countrymen Ihow to live long. Mr. John A. Stewart, who was financial adviser to President Lincoln, and is still chairman of the trustees of the United States Trust Company of New York at one hundred years of age, says his great rule is moderation in all things, and he avoids smoking. Mi. Barr Spangler, another centenarian financier, gives similar advice, and he has attained his great age on two meals a day. Dr. Stephen Smith, “the father of American public health,” who died in New York a few weeks ago within a few months of hie hundredth birthday, went so far as to declare that everyone who failed to reach the century killed himself with his knife and fork. He had ten maxims for long life: Eat hardly any meat; drink lots of milk; take a nap after luncheon ami dinner: sleep ten hours; sleep outdoors; don’t smoke; don’t eat sweets: take no stimulants; avoid v.he easy chair; quit all foolishness.

The band, followed by the fire brigade, will march through Devon Street to-night, leaving the Post Office corner at ima o’aloefe

A lengthy list of judgment summons cases was set down for yesterday’s sitting of the New Plymouth Magistrate’s Court, but these were reduced to two, mainly owing to members of the Bar applying for adjournments for periods ranging from a week to sine die.

A pretty girl entered a crowded tram car and an old man in the corner began to rise from his seat. “No, please don’t,” she protested. I don’t mind standing a bit.” “But I —” began the old man. “No really,” she insisted, and pushed him gently back into his seat. “No, but —” he protested again, attempting to rise. “Please don’t,” she repeated, and once more gently pushed him back. “But really —he exclaimed, trying to rise again. “I insist,” she declared sweetly. “Confound it, madam,” thundered the old man, “I want to get out. I’ve been carried thirty yards past my street already.” The magnitude of the enterprise of Mr. Henry Ford, the motor-car manufacturer, is shown by the return submitted by the company for Corporation Tax purposes. Its total assets are nearly £90,000,000. Cash on hand and in bank amounts to more than £25,000,000. Significant advertisement in an Auckland journal—apparently a case of off with the old love: —“Jean.—Getting married October 7. Shall never forget you. Farewell. Don’t write.—Gordon.” The next advertisement in the column appeared to 'be more promising, viz.:— “Topsy.—Meet me at G.P.0., Thursday, 8 p.m. —Boy.” It is to be hoped that Topsy read Her paper that day and did not miss the appointment. A South Taranaki settler, when in a facetious mood, remarked some time ago that he knew of farms in the province that carried no fewer than 1.3 mortgages. Now, this number nas increased, for one 'called Mr. G. McGregor, speaking in Palmerston North the other day, said that in the South Island five was the largest number he had come across, but in the North Island notably Taranaki, some properties caitried as many as twenty mortgages. The News would like to have particulars, for it certainly jenowe no such case.