LOCAL & GENERAL.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 23 January 1917, Page 2

LOCAL & GENERAL.

Ratepayer* who have not paid iheir nates for 191(5-17 are warned by ndvt in to-day's Chronicle that a penalty of 10 per cent will be put on all rates not p-iid on or before 12th February next. Court proceedings will be taken after that date in respect of all rate-demands remaining unpaid.

An -excellent return of potatoes has been seemed from "Maori Chief' seed by Mr. .F. C. Retter, of Ivawiu Road, Levin. At the end of August he sowed a small plot of ground with six pounds of the tubers. He dug the crop this week, and it yielded as follows:—Table potatoes, GBlbs; good need potatoes, 241b*; small potatoes. 121bs; trtal, ]041bs. A result such as vouches for the excellent quality of Levin lands.

To have seen a. real live jrl'ost and to have surmvived the ordeal was the experience of a party of motori-ts r - turn fi'om the i ifl? competitions at \\ anganui last night. Coming down the Vi angaehu Hill in the pitch dark I'c.'s they 'aw an apparition clad in v. h;te m l apparently walking in space. Pulling up with a .jerk they saw that it was a human figure clad in a sheet

end standing on a black post. Bound, ing from the inoto, the Pa-lmerston-ians surrounded the post and called up n the apparition to come-to earth. Wluvn it did s'ol a shame-faced yokel issued forth from the disguise. The party told him what it thought about bis conduct and then moved on into the stilly lmvht.—Mnnnwatii Times.

The following story comes, almost needless, to say. from the United State.--Joseph Riggs. of Bicliifield, ] cultry rawer, has begun a campaign in silence the rooster, and he has obtained from an Eastern inventor a crow muffler that is guaranteed to do the wo,rk. <0n the theory that a. rooster must flap his wings and stretch his neck before lie can crow, the inventor has made a muffler that binds down the wings and prevents the neck from stretching. The result is a crowless, somewhat dejected bird, but a happy ciimrnunity. The bird can eat and scratch as usual.

A public school inspector who had occasion to visit a school not far from Napier relates a little incident which happened to him (says the Telegraph). The day previous to his inspection he was accosted by a small bay who did not roeoginise* him as the inspector, with the request for a match, and 011 being refused'the boy replied. "Gam. uou ser. wowser!" The feelings of this fiame small boy may be better iniiaginecl than described when next morning he found that his inspector and the man whom he had called '"wowser" were one and the same per-

It is reported that one of the large explosive concerns in the United States lias paid extra dividends of 4 per cent, in cash and 19j per cent, in bonds of the Anglo-French American Loan, which ■n ere valued for the purpose of the declaration at 97} per cent. The Only wonder is that the divident wa-s not larger. Jhe chairman at a recent company meeting declared that lie knew of one American company which made out of explosives 110 less than £11,500,000 profit in 1915—he could not say how they would fare in 1916.

Captain Pirimi Talifwi arriveid! homo at Otaki, 011 duty, by the train. As we go to pi-ess. lie is being accorded a hearty welcome at Otaki railway station. Oapt. Taliiwi left Otaki with t'hci main body of the main forces. Ho n.T' wounded at Gallipcli, and alt-erwards sent to Malta. and then on to England. Recently lie smv much fighting 011 the Sommc.—Mail.

The Hon. A. Bonar Law, Cabinet Minister of Great Britain, seems to be in accord with the spirit of Petone Borough Council's motion in favour of compulsory attachment of war profits. Speaking at the Glasgow 011 10th January-, and refering to his statement at the London Guild (Hall that there were other ways of obtaining money if tho loan were not fully successful, Mr Bonar Law said tint it was evident that if the were prepared to call upon citizens to ri-:k their lives it would not hesitate to make other calls if such steps were necessary. Tho amount of the levy niado upon individuals and institutions would be based 011 contributions already made Voluntarily.

At the inquest 011 the .body of Peter Cormvallis 'held at Auckland yeste.rdtv, a witness stated tliat he saw deceased jumped off the wharf. Otho'r evidence was to the effect that deceased was suffering from cancer of the tongue and had been given a month to lire. He left a letter saying he was dying too slowly and thought he would bring it on a little quicker.

A disastrous explosion took place in a munition works at London last weekcud. The death roll is estimated at 250 to* 300*

Wellington Koces were begun on Saturday and continued yesterday. The Wellington Cup fell to Bunting and the sprint (<i furlongs) to Multiplication. Yesterday's principal events were won l)v Adjutant and Nystad respectively..

At the sitting of the Military Service Hoard at liinaru George Christian Arras, son of an unnatura'.ised German said lie could speak a little German and had corresponded regularly with relatives in Germany. He had as much sympathy with Germany' as with (Britain, Ho could not serve under suspicion, as if anything went wrong lie would be blamed. The appeal was dismissed, and the chairman said ho would bring the 'remark about sympathy to the notice of the Defence authorities.

.Sydney reports that the inter state .shipping companies are continuing to eliminate -return tickets and a<rc maintaining the 20 per cent, increase in fares enforced during the coad strike.

To-day's stock sales -at Levin were of a satisfactory! nature, though cattlesold on the low basis. Sheep prices iii.-j)t up wonderfully, and 'results all round betokened a general belief that rain is much closer than Easter.

Tlio erection of additional accommodation at Levin Presbyterian Church •Atxs oil c'X|)odit:oii.-ly, and a very few weeks' time should see the new build.ng:«i leady for use.

"The Americans aire -learning with .11 ceres t- the number of men wo are •sending to the front, 1 said Mr H. A.

■•ox, who has just 'returned from a visit to America, to the Wellington

"L'ci:t. ' "That we filial! have raised 10 per cent of the whole population ■:f New Zealand by January next they think a marvellous performance. The Americans are great readers and they

. re v:,ry interested 'in this country 1 , i'liey ;-.;nsidcr that the largo number of exports frtom Xew Zealand is simply wonderful."

Dalgety and Company Limited ad- \ iso having received the following der date of the 17th instant.—"The cablegram from their London Office unwool sales, as compared with the December series, closed firm at opening i ates. Good greasy and combing 111111'inios pa.r to 5 per cent higher, all other sOl Us- sto 10 per e, lit lower. Inferior wool very irregular."

A local builder informed a "Standard"' representative that since the com men cement of the war the cost ot' building material had doubled and treblt din price. On being asked for details he mentioned that galvanised ircn, which before the war was quoted at £18 to £20, was now £41, and slates have gone up from £17 to £30 per ihi.usaiiJ. Uricks ef couuse are made lot ally, iand they have only gone up a few shillings a thousand. Kails, however, have gone up to three times their value. What was loriginajlly 12s (id cwt keg, now costs 38s, Screws have gone up from 10s to 20s, but, in 1 egard to they practically don't count.

Tlie sight of a few rusty springs, pieces of twisted iron and the remains of a motor wind screen a few hundred yards from tlie Ashliurst end of the Manawatii Gorge are all that remain of a motorists' misfortune a short time ago. lie was convoying a Pahiatua holiday party to Feilding, but the motor went wrong, and it was left at Ashliurst, and the owner decided to tow it back.. When the machines entered the Gorge an attempt- was mad© to put the "laino duck" under power, but by some means the petrol became ignited, and in a few moments the machine was completely destroyed.

A farm labourer who appealed for exemption owing to the fact that his employer could not obtain labour to work tlie farm, told the Military Service Board in Masterton that he knew for a fact that two men engaged to assist in harvesting work had not turned lip, while ia third man engaged had staged to tea, but had loft the next morning. Captain Walker remarked that the time had arrived! when a largo number of these men should be sworn in as soldiers and drafted 011 to fauns to do work. There was evidence every day that men, who should be assisting the farmers and tho country, were loitering about doing nothing, and would not take work offered to them.

The Wanganui Herald .reports that with tragic suddenness tho death occurred recently of Duncan Mundell, a waterside worker residing in Bignellist.reet, West Goirville. The deceased and his wife and little daughter had intended visiting Hawke's Bay, and had prepared to catch the 7 a.m. train from Wangaiiui to Palmerston. In order to do this they had to make arlangements to travel to "Wanganui from Gonvillo, by t he Castlecliff Railnay Go's train. Mr Mnndel] appealed to be in his usual health when he hurried to the siding where tho train was waiting. He had just entered tho carriage when he collapsed. Medical aid was obtained immediately, but life was extinct. The sadness of the affair was intensified by tho iact that it was only Last Saturday that Mr and Mrs Mundell's little son died suddenly. Deceased who was well-known on the water front was very popular with his fellows, who were naturally shocked to hear of his death.