The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1897.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 11022, 13 September 1897, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1897.

The ordinary meeting of the Borough Council wiil be held to-night.

According to Professor Mulhall th« trade of th« British Empire ia now 37 par cent of that of the world, as compared with 36 per cent 20 years ago, while that of the United Kingdom has advanced 20 per cent since 1876.

At a meeting of the Royal Society at Adelaide complete gigantic fore and hind feet of a diprotodon were exhibited for the first time in Australia, and probably in the world. The bones were found lately at Lake Callabonna.

According to the returns of the Board of Trade, the imports to the United Kingdom during tha month of August show an increase in value of £890,912, and the exports a decrease in value of £1,552,799, as compared with tho corresponding period of last year.

News has roached Sydney from Samoa that the German Government has established a coaling station at Apia. A shipload all the way from Germany has alaeady been discharged, and the Government will keep up a constant supply for the use of the Imperial German cruisers.

A curiows effect of the Jubilee celebration! iv London was the fact that during the month of June the number of books applied for at Mudie's well-known library was the smallest in any similar period in the annals of the famous library. People were apparently too much engaged in jubilating and preparing to jubilate to read.

A local business firm placed an adver tising board in the Farmers' Club rooms on Saturday, setting forth in seven clauses the objects, otc, of the firm. Clause seven created some hubbub amongst some members as being too socialistic iv tendency, and finally the offending words were blacked over.

Noah Webster, the great dictionary maker, is best remembered in his native New England town by a joke. It seems bia wife one day caught Webster kissing the cook. " Noah," she exclaimed, " I'm surprised." " Madam," he replied, " you have not studied carefully our glorious language. It is I who am surprised. You are astounded." The New York Herald, in a splenetic outburst, says that undoubtedly England has a large fleet, " but the weak point is that England cannot man it. .... The great demonstration at Spithead seems very like fireworks — sparks go up, but sticks also come down. England has ships, but with all respect to the press representing tho civilised and barbarian world, how many men has she to man these ships with I" An International Monetary Conference between Great Britain and other nations is to be held in New York in tin winter Great Britain's representatives received the propositions of the United States Envoys more favorably than had been expected. Reports received from ifeo special Envojrs also state that Francs has practically accepted the proposition to join in the Conference and abide by the results, provided Great Britain will do likewise. Another bashfelling accident has occurred in the Whangamomona Improved Farm Settlement. On Friday last a settler, Mr E. M. Sergeant, was baJly injured through the bough of a tree falling and striking him on the head. Dr. Paget, of Stratford, attended the sufferer, and ordered his removal to the Hospital. The injured man was brought in by train this (Monday) morning and accommodated at the Hospital. On enquiry at the Hospital we learned that Sergeant bad no external wounds on the head, but was suffering from the effects of severe concussion. According to the Oamaru Mail, lome of the stock owners in that district are cutting the throats of some of their lambs where the ewes are at all prolific, on the principle that half a loaf is better than no bread. Owing to the lack of feed the ewes are very weak and poor in milk, and many of them refuse to suckle their progeny. As a consequence the lambing is expected to be attended with an exceptional degreo of mortality. So weak are the sheep in some portions of the district that they can only be moved from place to place in short stages. A peculiar easo of poisoning took place i in the west «nd the other day. Mr. Fred Newell, » resident of Morley-street, becams violently ill during the night, suffering from diarrhoea, vomiting, and cramps in the legs, and pains in the side. Dr Leatham was called in and pronounced the case to be one of arsenical poisoning. The patient was in a very weak state for a couple of days. The only way that Mr Newell can account for the attack is through eating an apple, which must, in some way, have come in contact with the poison. The Melbourne Argus says the false and interested advocates of Protection and monopoly promised to make Victoria " a fine country for the working man," and they have made it a country where the working man can with difficulty earn 10s a week. A Northcoto bootmaker tells a pitiful tale. A married man with four children. He had for the spaea of three weeks wearily tramped about to every factory in the trade, and the best offer ho could get was that of a job of channel closing at 10s a week. Ten shillings as a reward for a week's hard work, and in compensation fo.r giving to the monopolist! 25 years of protection. A story comes to hand from a country dance that took place in Taranaki, At one of the many hops, where social dis^ctiona are not observed with any degree of strictness, a young lady and a son of toil, after whirling in a graceful waltz, sat down to rest and talk. The young lady was communicative, and told the young man she was about to be married to a gentleman of some standing, and that in fact matters had progressed so far that the order for the trousseau had been placed. The young man did not exactly understand, but he knew ho was expected to say something, so he snid i " I am bo pleased Miss ; but will it be made of wood or iron ?" History has it that the conversation here ended abruptly. , >