LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 September 1920, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A meeting of the New Plymouth Gun Club called for last evening was adjourned to a future date owing to the small attendance. According to the animal return of the Department of Agriculture, there were 10,412 less horses in the Dominion this year than last. In 1919 the number of horses in New Zealand totalled 373,600, and this vear the numbers have decreased to 303,188. The quarterly session of the Supreme Court at New Plymouth was brought to a conclusion yesterday His Honor Sir John Salmond proceeds- to Auckland by the mail train this morning to conduct the Supreme Court sessions there. The Shaw, Savill liner Mamari, which is coming to New Plymouth early next month with direct shipments for" Taranaki, is due at Port Chalmers to-morrow [ from London. The yessel has been delayed by westerly gales. She has 455 immigrants, 51 for Dunedin, 50 for Ly-ttelton, 40 for Greymouth, 152 for Wellington, and 156 for Auckland. A twopence minimum fare on the trams was suggested at the last meeting of the AVanganui Borough Council on the grounds that Hie fares had been increased in other centres. This aspect will be discussed later. It is believed that the service will be in full swing today. An aftermath of the recent Wanganui sensation, in which the late Mayor figured so unfortunately, will be heard at Wellington on Tuesday next, when the Full Court will be asked to consider an application to have Charles Ewing Mackay removed from the roll of barristers and solicitors of the Supreme Court of New Zealand. According to the Lake Wakatipu Mail a lady visitor from Invercargill had a rather unpleasant experience at Queenstown a few days ago. Taking an early morning dip, she had been in the water only a few minutes, when she felt something seize and cling to her left ear. She screamed loudly, and a passer-by hurried to her assistance. To his amazement, he found a large'trout clinging to the young woman's eRr. The fish, evidently frightened by the advent of the rescuer, released its hold, and the swimmer was carried to the shore in a fainting condition. Penfold Bros., Okaiawa, were fined £3 at the Hawera Magistrate's Court yesterday for selling under-weight bread. For Children's Hacking Cough, Woods' Great Peppermint Cure, 1/8, 2/9.

"I made about £3500 the first two years of my stock dealing, and then lost about £BOOO in the third year," said a bankrupt while applying for a discharge at the Supreme Court in Masterton. Bankrupt said he attributed his loss in the third year to a big drop in the price of sheep. The supply of both butter and cheese this season, so far as it has gone, is below normal. This is due to the paucity of grass and its innutritious character at present, the result of unusually prolonged and heavy frosts. Provision for winter feeding was made on a normal production of grass whiclrfailed to materialise. Prospects for plenty of butter are, however, now assured. The price for local consumption is the matter now awaiting settlement. A . case to which, a 10t.;.0f public interest is attached is listed to come before the Full Court shortly. It is in the form of a motion brought under the "Medical Practitioners Act, 1908," to have two members of the Wellington medical profession struck off the register, the allegation against them being that they have been guilty of professional misconduct (says the Wellington Times). The New Plymouth agent of the Cement Distribution Committee states there is no advice yet to hand of the reopening 'of the cement works. In the •meantime stocks in Taranaki are becoming bare. A lot of 600 tons of Canadian cement is to be landed at Wellington this week, out of which a New Plymoutii firm will receive a consignment. At a meeting of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, Mr. A. L. Stevenson, manager of the Waikato Shipping Company, mentioned that he had completed negotiations for the purchase of an up-to-date steamer to inaugurate a cooperative coastal service between Onehuiiga, Port WaikatOj Raglan and Kawhia, and that his efforts for the establishment of an efficient co-operative steamer service for both the coast and the Waikato river ports were now on the way to achieve the desired object. The Star understands that the proposal to hold Jersey Oaks by the South Taranaki Association is taking on well. Two subscriptions of £25 have been offered, and several smaller amounts. The prospects are very bright, and there is a possibility of tlje Oaks being raised from £3OO to £SOO, and it is clear that South Taranaki with its devotion to the Jersey is keen to -support the Oaks proposal. The Minister of Defence, replying to Mr. G. Mitchell, member for Wellington South, said that as cadets were not required to go into, camp it was not proposed to issue military greatcoats to them, as the initial cost to the taxpayer would be approximately £IOO,OOO, with an annual recurring expenditure of about £12,000. Cadets, when going to or re.turning from parades and when drilling in the open, were permitted to wear their own overcoats, and any boy who was not in possession of a private overcoat might he excused parade in inclement weather. Under these circumstances it was not considered justifiable to incur the expenditure involved.

An undefended divorce suit, was heard at the Auckland Supreme Court on Saturday. before Mr. Justice Stringer. Agnes May Barclay petitioned f.ir a dissolution of her marriage, with 'Nathan Stewart Barclay, of Auckland, builder, on the ground of adultery with an unknown woman in London. " The parties were married at New Plymouth, and subsequently resided in Auckland. They had not lived together since 1913. The petitioner h now at Bondi, New South Wales. Evidence was given by a returned soldier that the respondent had committed adultery with % woman at Hammersmith, London. A decree nisi was granted. H.M. sloop Veronica arrived at Auck_land from Britain via Torres Straits and Sydney early on Sunday morning. The Veronica was formerly used as a minesweeper and will in due course form a unit of the Dominion navy. She is at present under the Imperial Government and has been sent out to New Zealand to carry out naval duties on behalf of the Admiralty. Her commission .at present is for two years, but it is probable that it will be extended to three years. Since concluding her minesweeping duties the. Veronica has undergone a thorough overhaul and is in excellent condition. All her mine-sweep-ing gear has been removed and she has been re-armed with two 4.2 in guns. The attention of returned soldiers is drawn to our advertising column about the second annual re-union dinner, which takes place on Thursday next, at New Plymouth. The committee reports that this year's gathering will eclipse last year's function, an attendance of 400 being anticipated. Those who have not yet purchased tickets may do so on the night of the dinner at the door, and as this is an effort to bring old comrades together it is to be hoped that the committee will meet with the success it deserves. A rattling concert party has been .got together, and those who attend should have a good time.