A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13358, 24 December 1906, Page 4

A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS.

The Borough F-trgincer has unden consideration tlio matter lof _ the drainage of Courtenay-street east, but all the particulars necessary have not yet been collected. '

Tho Raglan correspondent of the New Zealand Herald, says, it is report-; ed that the Government has prac-' tically purchased 1 3,000 acres of the Te Akau Block from the native; owners.

Advice has been received that grants for additions to the Oaonui School (£200), and for school residences at Egmont Village (£400), W'aiongona (£160), Toko (£125), have -been authorised.

The Reserves Committee on Thursday evening i that tbs New Plymouih Stock Exchange be allowed to , use the Town Hall for -half a» hour per diem for the sum of 10/ per month.

At an •examination held recently unV d?r the auspices of the St. John- Am-f bulanco' Association, Mcsdames, Sin-^ clair and Martin and Miss Douglas' pasaed their final examination intho; thiid year course. Bt. Fookeswas th^ lecturer, and Dr. •Home the exanxin-ar. ',

A letter from Mr James Grant to th& Borough Council on Thursday evening: P"t forth the . claims of Gover-st. to. some expenditure on; drainage works. All the pipes were' down, for connection' with -the sewer.—' The matter was referred to the Drain-,, age Committee-.

The Foreman's report read on Friday at the Harbour Board 1 stated that two sections, l each of 12 feet,; had been added to the breakwater; Intension, making 133 feet' for the !j'ea)\ arid a total length of new work of 233 feet. The ' iqtiantrty ,of stone^ tipped during- the month was 2032 tons. Four ; piles were retqtiired to, complete the necessary repairs at <tibej wharf V and! if these could be dtitairad"' at once the whole of tit© Wharf re-j pairs coiuW be completed bef ore commencing- on the work of widening.

There is a gentieinan y^Ko has meed to use the Wai^iakiaih'o rifle range while driving- cattle who is ratlter a tax on thy :ne*ves .of people twißo. shoot at.t he raisg^V The Ca^tle^riving gentleman itas « habit of Briving his- cattle at . top pace across the rang* wlvile shooting Is in parogress; and while: the danger flags tire 'flying.? The otiher day a shootist Kaid his barrel ported at the bull's-eye, arid was on the point of firing, when, the Jboad of the ©atile driver obliter- 5 ated the mark. For the sake of "the tender -hearted soldiers * "wHo use the pang© the. cattle-driving gentleman should exercise* more care*

The Harbourmaster reported- to the Harboair Board on Friday, that for th^ five weeks ended . Decemiber 19th 55 steamers -and one vessel oerthed at the wharf the aggregate s>ross fotinage amounting to 54,345 tons. Imports amounted to 4928 tonS ttduding 90 tons of railway coal and 661 tons of i^riv-ate coal. Exoorts : 1935 tons making- a total of '>963 tons of cargo handled. During the five weeks they had experienced fine weather a nd fresh) •soutih wester T Iv wiinda and moderate seas. The rlredjje. worked 22 days malcSaig 245 trips 1 , l'emoving cubip yardsi o^ from off the'Uairb between the breakwater and wbajrf. , On- Deoem-bier 15 he, "berthed the schooner- Keraru at thte.new berth ; this (berth will be of cfreat convenience to vessels o-f this reiq!uirin>2f use of the cranes' for Hsdiargirfg.. He . Would ' respectfully request for the removal of all nocks and tfouldera to allow vessels o* larger dra-ugnt to tuse ttais berth. The peport was received and the reooimrraendation agreed ip. The 1907 issue of the Star {Almanack and W-est Coa&t Directory, |(W. A. Parkinson), a copy, of which" is to h'ancl, is," as usual, a cneiclit' io tihe cojnjpiler and printer.. It contains 464 "pages— alii inteneeting. In addition to the directory, which Uas been brought 1 right up to date-, tJiero are the annual calendar and jfcide tables, together wLth a diary for the coming yea^i and pages for rougfi account keej'tog- Dlates-ol Court sitting® arid af the meetings of various Boards, the different holidays; 'and' Sam 'Francisco niajl, servioa dates are given. Bes\tfts of tihe last census are tabulated, aihiowiasg the population in P r °" vdncial distritets^ counties, foad districts, boroughs and 1 town, districts. The latest figures in respect oi land- valuations in the several local government areas', electoral return^ lioengitfg poll, list of "fehe Acts of las*' session of P«rliament all find > a place in its pages'For. faiamexs and otKer general anfoirmaition and! tables end sfatafffcicis flaye all been revised, the garden Baleno'ar is «S complete as usual, and a itnisjsfl of mM^eri ol i every Stay imiportaJHoe and interest 5s to 'be found . within the book\ • .., .

The agony of «ri aching head drives away «very thought of pleasure and causes «axiety to the sufferer's friends. Steams' Headachy Cur*© brings quick -elief and makes life 7

( The- StratSord District Hospital Board invites applications for the'positions of matron, nurse, prcbat ionor, cook and wardsman. Wo reciprocate the kindly greetings, of the proprietor) and staff of the Opuraake Times, conveyed to us by medftiMn 1 of a neat card. „ , Telephone Exchange subscribers ex&. advised to note that on -\ Christmas, Day the Exchange will only be opened from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. On „ thej other hol'idayy the usual liowrs' will be observed. ' " ' \ ' ■ The Government has decided to take Te Arai station, of 10)750 acres, eight miles from Gisborne, under the Land for Settlement Act. The estate is the property of the Hon. Randall Jiohnstom, and is an ideal one for, closer ; settlement purposes. • ; .Warder Downes,/o!f the New Plymouth i gaol, is engaged on a model oi St. Mary's Church, which he hopes ' to ' have Complete to be on view during the I last month o f the Exhibition. 1 The model will be worked in plaster of 1 Paris, and' will be about four • feet square. • ' 1 Mr Justice Cooper gaVo judgment " in the ; Wairau licensing oa«c. The committee had ordered' tftirtecri' houses to be rebuilt,, and/ this was tfoal- ■ longed. Th© questions Were :■ — Had 'the committee power to order- rebuilding? Had ' they power to refuse a license if . the plans were not submitted ? Can , the Committee refuse , a license if none of the objections specified in the Act 1 are proved ? To each of, these Judge I Cooper answered "No." j At Ditnediri. on Saturday, Mr Jusi tice Chapman gave his decision in the '' Invercargill beer depot ease, upsetting- ; the new regulations. A m'ajndiamus 1 was ordered to issue . a s asked 1 by Mr \ Roope, a- brewer, compelling the Col- ; lector of Custoims at Invexcargill to ,' issue permits to plaimtiff to remove •! certain beer from his brewery to a [. depot less than a mile from the t boundaries of the Invcrcargill Licens- ., ing- District. The show windows of Messrs Okey; . Son ami i Arnold, Ijtd., at the pre? • sent time form a 'bright and pleasing picture. A special display has. been - made of wares suitable to the fesl live season. Conspicuous amongst .; these are some beautiful Japanese •[ vases and flower pots. 0£ course a j large assortment , of ' olectro-tpJated : goods is also very much in evidence. i- Altogether the display wi&Il bo a * pleasant attraction >to / promenaders > this evening.

The New. Zealand Times, apropos of tfee» elections, says i-hai Hwe have held sudbl difficulty ourselves in iiuterpijeting the results thai ihe 'average man amongst our readers need MxytJ feel dismayed ai his- friability to oomprehiemd %tlie srfcuatnian." Then our caaibeinporary kroceedts to elucidate it /bKr aho-wifte tßa,t*in .1903 A^ereuwore 26 Beraftes, 23 Labour members, "and 26 DeakitoHes elected, While now there are 33, 26, and 16 respectively, show^ ing 1 a g»in to Mr Reid tand Mr Watson of sSx: and three adherents, and a loss of. ten to Mr DeaHn. /The arithmetic may seem a little faulty to tih<e average man who is uaaible to ccenprohtod. ■ The Postmaster-General (Sir J. G. Ward) tel-egtr-aphs to Mr "W. T. Joinings, M.Hi.R., that authority for the extension of ttbe telephone service from' Te iKuiti to Aria has been given, that the ■work will be caTried out with as little delay a^pOssible.- Over 1500 miles of telephone lines have been 1 authorised during the past few months. The Minister for Railways (Hon. Mr Hall-Jonea), writing to Mr J-ewnin'gs in referenoc to better accommodation at Qngarue for stock, states "that asi the Ongarue settlcimeivL indicates being an important one, consideration- -will be given by the Departm-ent 'to the requirements of the settlers. The Post-master-General also informs the member that post ' offices dealing 'with mail services between Te Kuiti,. Mairoa and Mangaohoe have beeu< provided ioT at the 'beginning of the New Year. Mr Devlin, member of the House oi Common**, spent a few hours in. New Plymouth on Saturday evening. He proceeded to Rotorua, where he will recuperate for a few days. Mi* Devlin, who delivers an address' 'here on Honm Rule, is ackncAvl edged by competent judges to toe the' finest orator that has come to Australasia. He is quite a young man, and is very sjmall in stature so far as mche9 are concerned ; 'but from all accounts ho bears out the saying of a Scotch poet, "The mind is the standard of the man." Mr Jenradngs, who had a conversation cm tiro mail train with Mir Devlin,* teatned that his visit to this colony has been most successful. .A* one of the meetings, a Presbyterian clergyman! proposed the cc»mim'einda.tory motion to tire speaker . Mr Devlin was pleased! sbj hear of the success .of small Jl * settlement, which was pointed out to him as the. train went through the Moa district, and asked what was the sf.ae of holdings. When informed, he laughed,* and said tenant farmers in Ireland would be ' considered -well-off with ten acres, and if they held 100 acres they would be. coai^ider-ed gentry. He said the,, lrish Question. was bound i up. in the land iquestion, and that 'brighter days were in store for Iceland now thai peasant proprietary was being re-estaiblished. Rheumatism can' he cured— then why will you continue to suffer. -RHEUMO has effected wonderful cures for others after all else had failed. It will cure you. Try it.— Advt. " 24

The Herald will 1 not' be published r,n Christmas or Boxing, DayV • - - . '

Tho fence in front of the- new Post OfHce was taken down to-day, and the place generally 'cleaned up.

The mail steamer arrived at San Francisco at 3 p.m. on the :21st inst:

•Over 480 - passengers went North on Saturday, 'aud an equal number - arrived from All trains to-day were well patronised.

The "date of the Taranaki Ajinual Regatta has been fixed for "Wednesday, February 6th. The Committee are unfortumate in not, being able to get a tide to suit on a Thursday.

It was thought that the first mail train on Saturday was the lortgest seen at the station. It 1 left Aramoho with eighteen carriages. The second express was als o well filled. The loan of £3000 recently issued by the New Plymouth Gas Company, v^a* ovei'-su'bseribecl, and the debentures were allotted at a premium of ' one per cent. 1 "On Saturday Messrs G. E. Bannister, .JT. A. Neanie, and J. S. Lomas, of Wanganui Coiio*?^ reached. .the summit of Mount %mont under the liirection of Mr Morriy. This is the first occasion on which - the top of the mountain has tfeen reached this season. ' ..;•;!• ■Messrs B. F. Russell a»d D.= Berry, J.P.'s'," presided ' at the Police Court this morning .whern a ' man was charged with! Saving JBe^a*" ISu&^druii:^ on Saturday nig^t, r yviith having resisted a constable^ " in duty, and with having '-assaulted ''John Olliver, a night-watchman*.*- Accused was fined 40a < an 3 costs. To-day the.^town looked* as if Christinas had really come. A large number of premises were decorated with tree-ferns and a considerable amount of buntiag was displayed, • This decoration, ComibSned: Swdth %Ke largq crowds on the streets and the clear sty overhead, made the 1 town look ten years younger, So f o speat.

Mr Remington, M.H.R., .wh"b has be^n Visiting the 'North Island Trunk line, says th<o lm-e will -be completed to Wai'ouru in Jamiarj^. EVEij F. W. Furkart,. engineer in djvarge at the southorn end, is a trnqrouß-hiy goahead 'and progressive , official. He is contmuid'ly on the .work from- daylight to dark, and the men have, the fullest confidence in him. The Minister for Native Affairs (the Hon. Mr Carroll), replying to Mr'w. T. Jenmißgrs, M.H.R., wh o had presorrtcd. petitions on bohal£ of settlers at Baemako, Taufcnarunui, and Matiere (Ohura), asking that Native blocks of Jand in those districts bo secured for closer suttlemont purposes, slat-os that Mr Grace,. had been instructed to purchase" the interests of the Native owii<ai& if Vfahj&y ate prepared to sell reasonable price. '

Special ser\ r ices of song 1 were rendered at the M^morjal Church .• on Sunday, six v or x seveni choruses from ''The Messiah being given} .partly at the morning! service and partly at tlhe evening* servaoe. The choir acquitted '} itself admirably, the difficult "His Yoke is Easy" and !t Glory" befog especially trell done. The "GJory" chor-us' was sung at bbthj services. In the eVen-in-g "Oh Rest in the Lord" was sumgj as a solo by -Mr Harry Brooke, of Duaiedin. Mr 'N. Okey conducted the choir and, 'Mr G. H. "White pi'esi'd^d at the organ.

i The Ladies' First FAid Class o! the ' S>fr J^iJQ JAmbplaace - Society ha^ » memberstep v ©l abopt' so but fjf these only half went up foe examination. The successful candidates were Misses OJjve K^- Baker, Laura F. Brown:, Ruby M. Clarke, Nina G\ Gray, Annie AT. Mountford, Mary C. LPapp*^ Agnea Ovenden ? H. ,Vl Ryley, Inez BAB A Smith', 11. .Williams, JA'gnes Wilson; Dorcrthy H, Oovett, Mary HaddreJl, 'Ethel Standish, Mrs F. Wflsan., 'Dr Fookes was the lecturer. The examining doctors (Drs. Wylie and 1 Blackley)' reported that the standard bf iEa work of the SiUCcessful teandidatesi''waaf oit the whole Batisfaetol-y^ jand- tKatix.iHe four named last in the listi .passed twitE distinction. Al_ men's nr^t' aid class was also started 1 itf connection 'iwitH the 'tAfesociaiion, but' for Sur&at oi interest («t3£e total m^bergffipi iwa»foxir){-it' was atftmdoiied. v

There is hardly- a body of met; in the colony which Jms not some grievance. The grievanceo of railway men got £om<e at^erttaon- -at •. the meeting or. Saturday eveniiiiff. Mr Simmonds, said the mfen* aPwaysS fought " Xoo'y many trivial thir.'ga before the Minister. They should meet together, thresh out every question, and put v a few solid requests before the Minister. Later Mr O'lLougihlin said" he had attended a» conference of the -Railway. Officers' Society, at which it was proposed to draw the attention of the Minister to the 'question whether sfcationmastcrs shovild have "vegetable" 'buttons on their coats or som^.jothsr.sojt., Happily the item did not reach the Minister. On behalf of the mien. Mr S. .G. Smith poinrtad out that the large 'number of requests made was due to 1 the large number of different duties cafriod out by memberns o£ the Society.

Members of the Building, Society of New Plymouth (First andi Second Groups) are notified that' sub-,1 scriptions will be due and payable on Monday at the Secretary's Office, j Currie-street, from 9 a.m. to 12.30, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. to ■9- p.m.— Advt.

The Rarafwa, which arrived from Onehxmga on Sunday . night, carried about 450 passengers. The New Plvmo'uth Courthouse clos-

Ed on Saturday- for the holidays and wfll re-opeti on January 4th.

& party of gentlemen, wont out fishing on Sunday and oaujght about forty . schn-apper. Another party bad. a catch of about 1 seventy.

The Eltba'm-Qpunatfe coach . service has been so altered that r-esi dents of Opunake can raakc the journey to Neva Plymouth and back in one day.

There will be a great work of art on: free exhibition- in the small paddock near the racecourse gate, during the two r a ce days'. Those attending the races should not ' miss the opportunity of seeing th!:s famous painting, i

Speaking at t^e meeting of railway men on Saturday evening, Mr C. Siminands said he was very pleased to j see the stationmaster in the chair. ll© proposed that Mr O'Loughlin showld . become honorary^ presideiat o£ iih© Railway , Social (and il^ibrary.Club, and the stationm'aJster said I»e would •Be very pleased to accept the office. He said his aibsence in tlie past was (mot caused by want of sympathy. Tho late president ('Mr Popperell) had done every thJii.g ncrcssary for; the\ Clufb, * .' . . •,';■ \j 1; • All the ,membWs were • present at the jneeting of the Frankley Road Board on Saturday. The Treasury notified tliat interest "on was due on .'January, 31st. - A! -^copy of the/ '-'Looal Government Bill, 1906,". which, it is proposed to consider,,. -next session, was received. Five tenders were received for carting 250 yards of stone and that of ' Richardson and Looney -of luglewo(od^ was -accepted. It. was ■decided that a payment 'be jm ade to the contractor on Frankley Road. , A small account for 'breaking* stone was passed for payment, and the Board adjourned.

In this issue tenders are invited by Mr John" D. H^aly, Stratford, for additions to Branch' Hotel, Eltham.

{Metesrs Webster Bros., auotionoers, forward a pocket calendar, which, -also gives dates of their stock sales.

Morey an€ Son "thank their patrons I one arid all for the liberal support \ ' accorded. , to f heni " 'for the' Hast 34 years, and vosh. t^hem all ,a Happy Xmas and pr'osperotfs New "> Year.' • . BauigaHn piicbs' ht6 h'O"v\ r ' ranging at the furniture fair being conducted at S. Clark and Cq./s late shop, De 1 "Van-street- Hast. Gurtains, caxlpet sqjuares, u'an amd , brass bedsteads are ■ among the s[>ccial bargains just now.

, We wish to give. a final reminder of the Grand Carnival in aid of the Recreation Sports Ground opening on Boxing night at 7 o'clock. The en- > ' tevtairinient ' progxamme has : been draVji nip; <to suit the" tastes of everybody, r and there is no doubt .that, the different perfoitaance's will' be greatly a!ppr,eciate4 by _the large 1 audience expected. The following is I the prograian^^r first. raghtr^Ama---; ! zon niar^i^ S o'clock', fancy dancing '** I by Miss Cameron's pu.pils""B.3C(, poiouot 9.30, deecri|jtivo reciijation- by Mr Cameron. There will be a change of "programtno each of the three follow- , , ing nights.'