LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Patea Mail, Volume XXXIX, 24 June 1914, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The first contract in connection with the Te Roti-Opunako railway is to be let within a fortnight, said Mr C. A, Wilkinson, M.P. for the district, at a meeting at Kaponga on Friday night. A Maori footballer referring to Saturday's game on the Waitotara ground whioh resembled a lake during the game declared that they did not play football at all. " We play the water pclo" he explained. " Fined £5, in default twenty-eight days' military detention, " was the penalty inflicted at Stratford last week on W. E. Porter and R E Parkes, charged with failing to attend the training camp at Takapau. " There are some men," said the S.M., " who have made up their minds not to do their military training and they must be compelled to do it.

The New Zaaland Loan and Mercantile Agonoy Company in this issue notify that a clearing Bale of Mr Michael Travers stock and implements will be held at the homestead Whenuakura, on Wednesday, July Ist next, at noon. The herd is in first class oondition and oomprises cows either bred by Mr Travers or seleoted as heifers from good dairying strains. The herd has been carefully culled leaving only good milk producing cows whioh can be thoroughly reoommended. The ordinary meeting of the Domain Board, whioh was to have been held on Monday night, was adjourned sine die owing to the report on the Domain Improvement scheme not being to hand. The meeting was being looked forward to by members as one of the most important in the history of the Board and no small amount of disappointment was felt at the report not being forthcoming. It was resolved to hold a special meetiDg of the Board immediately the report comes to hand.

The Taranaki Herald states that Mr Newton King is in receipt of a communication from a Home firm with referenoe to the iron sand deposits, and asking if it was possible to arrange for shipment of iron, sand up to 4000 or 5000 tons for development purposes. At the meeting of the Harbour Board on Friday members recognised the great importance of the matter, and said it would be of immense benefit to the port if the ironsand oould be sent. The matter was left with Mr King to deal with.

Speaking at the Harbour Board's meeting on Monday the Deputy-Chair-man stated that the engineer had prepared his report on the Harbour Im< provement Scheme with the exception of the portion dealing with the extension of the western wall, whiqh portion was naturally incomplete until the requisite information was to hand with regard to the depth that tbey would require to go before finding a solid bottom on which to lay the foundations of the wall. The Chairman meutionod that at Gisborne faulty information in this connection hid coat the harbour board on one occasion £2OOO, and the contractor £3OOO, We hare rocoived from the Clydesdalo Horse Society of New Zealand a copy of the first volume of the Clydesdale Stud Book for the Doiniaion. The book which is well printed and handsoradly bonne], consists of some 400 pages of interesting inatt'r relating to the Clydesdale horses of this country. We understand that the work of compilation is due in no small degree to the efforts of Mr Alex' Hunter of Hawora, the present President of the Society who is to ba congratulated on the thoroughness of his work. Basides the pedigrees of the chief Clydosdalo mares aud stallions foaled beforo August 1913 the l?ook contains a history of the breed, 3 appendices Hud a complete list of members of the Saciuty. Amungst the latter we uotise tli3 names of Mnssrs 11. B. and L. B. Ila.uiilt'Vi anif< S. C Tonics (ManntnhiJ, J'.n (riu'.r. C TTinger i'Vonnat.by), Moore Hun'or (K>=i Iwi), Hugh Midillctoi: fWawrloy), nnd thd Eight Hon. Vv\ F, Mas-sey, find \Y. W. of Otahuhu. The book is alike a credit to its compilers and to the Society.

We undersold that so fir no appoint" ment of an Engineer has boen made by the local Borough Council. Mr F W Furkert, Inspecting Engineer to the Publio Works Department who reoently made an extended visit to America and Europe spent some tirm in Belgnim inquiring into the working of the system ' of light railways in use in that country, Since returning to New' Zealand Mr Furkert has compiled a report on this subject which will, in due course, be presented to Parliament. The proceedings at the Ilarbour Board's special meeting on Monday savoured more of a supreme court than of an ordinary local authority. For 2§ hours the members read aud re-read leases, deeds of concession, surrenders of leases, aud other formidable documents, the Chairman at the end openly confessing that he did not know where he was. Several other members and the reporter were, ib must be admitted, in a like condition. We are in receipt of a copy of the special Walkure number of the Budget and Taranaki Weekly Herald, which contains a full report of the luncheon that was held at the Theatre Royal in honour of the vessel's visit. Included as a supplement are some excellent views of the Walkure lying alongside the wharf at Moturoa. Incidentally the photographs go to show what can be done by systematic dredging to make a port serviceable for large vessels. "The Budget's special issue is a credit to its publishers and to New Plymouth. Io the course of his address to the electors at Wellington, Dr- Newman made an interesting statement regarding a proposed amendment of the Pensions Act. The Hon. F. M. B. Fisher, he said, had informed him that it was proposed to still further liberalise widows' pensions. At present a widow received so much on account of each child, but if she died no provision was made to continue the payments to the children. It was proposed to remedy this state of affairs by enacting that if a widow pensioner, who was the mother of children, died some payment should be made for the benefit of the children. On his arrival at Sydney, Dr MoNab was interviewed on the subject of State Fire Insurance in New Zealand. He said it met with immense opposition from the companies, but the system was now fairly established- Ho does not think any Government would abolish it He considered that, in the Dominion it served its main purpose of preventing the public being exploited by a monopoly which would naturally exist when insurance was in the hands of a few companies. If opposition to the State office now exists, said Dr McNab, it is not prominent in the Dominion. —Sydney cable. The delay of six weeks in the return of exports from tho Dominion is to be remedied by a reversion to the former system, in which statistics were complied by customs officers at each port. The centralisation of work introduced at New Year has now been abandoned, according to a statement made by the Minster of Customs at Auckland, "A new scheme was attempted, and has been found to be unsatinfactory," said Mr Fisher. " For some weeks past

the Statistical Department has been busily engaged in getting back to the original baßis. lam very sorry that there has been a delay, but by August the original system will be restored, and the figures will be supplied with the usual promptness. The returns will not contain more information than in the past." That Sir lan Hamilton is not devoid of a sense of humour is shown by the following extraot from his report :—" As experienced fishers of men, the clergy of all denominations have been quick to realise the unrivalled opportunities for soul-catching afforded by a camp. There the devil, deprived of his favourite weapons of drink and flirtation, is

comparatively at a disconnt. So it happened that one night, intending to go to a boxing match. I fell into tbs midst of a prayer meeting. The boys were praying with a great deal of fervour, and yet, I dare say, at hoinn many of them rarely euter a church. Certainly the clergy in . camp are a security to pareuts that military training is a school of morality as well as of defence. As for the reverend gentlemen themselves, I hope I may be permitted to report that secularly speaking, they set a good example to everyone in treating everything that turned up with good humour and bonhomie."

Writing from Edinburgh on May Ist, Mr E. Newman, M.P. for Ran£>itikei, says that on all sides one hears that the success of the Massey party is popular iu Loudon, and he is sura that the credit of the Dominion in financial circles has been improved by the change. Business, men in London seem to look upon h>ir Joseph as a plunger, while they regard Allan aud Massey as just the reverse and this must be good for the reputation of the colony. He motored from London to Edinburgh, and returned by the same method, and visited all the Government agricultural colleges and farms on the way He also hoped to visit the Macdonald Institute at Ontario, and the Guelph College, also in Canada, on his way home to New Zealand, so that he should be able to form a good opiuion as to whether anything excels Hawkes- ( bury for us m New Zealand. So far he has seen nothing better than Hawkeabury. He was much impressed both in England aud Scotland by the high I quality of farming displayed. The methods of the farmers in England aud Scotland may be old fashioned, but they make a good job of the work before they are done.

If there is a matter upon which there is extreme diversity of opinion it is that of the cakiug over of the Northern Territory by the Commonwealth from the State of South Australia, which found this white elephant too expensive for her means (writes the Post's Sydney correspondent), If they dared, Federal Ministers would very likely be prepared to sell the Territory to the highest bidder. Apparently nobody wants to go there to carry into effoct the almost abandoned idea of so settling the place with whites as to establish effective Europeau occupation of Australia's nearest door to Asia. An illustration of the expense aud difficulties connected with the admiuis - tration of the Territory (at the expense of the people in the south) has just beeu given by the case of an aboriginal who was supposed to have oommitted the murder of anothor native five hundred miles in the interior. The accused aboriginal and all tho witnesses had to be taken to Darwin. The trial by jury resulted in tho acquittal of the scarcely comprehending native. It was a very expensive business, and cost more than the total revenue derived from the Territory during the same period. " What shall we do with the Territory ? '

Wo like the ' R. & G-' brand of hats and oaps very muoh they are so comfortable, light in weight, perfeot iu stylo aqd very durable. Ask your looal clothier for the 'P. & Q-' braud every time*, *