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Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13664, 31 March 1908, Page 5

I frtis stated that Lionel Terry is t&king k}.* incarceration in Lytteltan gaol yory philosophically, and fcas'oaused tuy. iCustoqiajas no trouble! Mr W. H. Koobel has written a story of a New Zealand shoep farm in a novel entitled "The Anchorage," which has - just been published in London. The Times describes it as a ploasant and viiolesc-mo narrative. The Wellington Council of Churches has decided to protest against nontatalisator racing clubs being, allowed to hold as many race' meetings as they choso, and to urge that race days for each district bo fixed on a population basis. The opening of '■ several blocks of national endowment land in Taranaki is announced in last week's Government Gazette. The land is to be dispoeod of in accordance with the provisions of the National Endowment Act of last session. Lord Ranfurly, lecturing on, "A Governor's Life in New Zealand," for the benefit of the Church Lads' Brigade at Dungannon, paid a tribute to the memory of the late Mr Seddon as *thiß 'greatest 'Imperialist the Empire had over prdfluced." The importance of the growth of a city to dairy farmers in the surrounding country is shown by th* manner in which the/ milk of many \Vairarapa > and Manawatu towns is being sent to Wellington instead of to the factories. Til is week the shareholders of the OtakijManrtkau company, who are at a distance of fifty miles from the city are to reconsider the question of disposing of their business to the Wellington Freeh Food and Ice Company. "Sir Joseph Ward is evidently, waiting to see how public opinion declares itself before he commits himself upon the question of universal training, which has been so whole-heartedly championed by Mr Deakin iir Austra-lia.-Yet it k> evident that the question cannot much, longer be left unanswered. In the meanwhile valuable time is being wasted which might be saved if the Prime Minister had the courage of his convictions upon tins profoundly vital question." — New Zealand Herald. •! An interesting wager between two prominent townsmen was decided at Qisborne the other day. One had purchased a new bicycle, and ntever having seen his friend astride "a pair of jmuematic tyres, he bet .him the machine that he could not ride around Lowe Street and along Gladstone Road. fie was fortified in his judgment \ty the fact that the cycle was fitted with a free wheel. It seemed, as the Americans pat it, like "easy money," but his surprise was to come; as amidst the - Kiughter of a few onlookers the other party to the wager mounted the cycle With the utmost nonchalance, and despite somewhat erratic steering safely travelled tne journey, and rode off with his newly' acquired property. Many people are under the impression that the only cause of the pipi not being so popular in New Zealand as the clam w in America is that no one has been enterprising enough to place it on the mraket. The Star states that a- Dunedin lady was successful recently in producing from prpis an "oyster soup which delighted the diners at her hotel, but she had to give up further experiments for the lack or a supply. Pipis exist in almost unlimited quaa* titles around the entrance of Otago harbour. When Dredge ,222 was re- , centk opening, the new channel steal " cut through a practically solid bank of them, removing hundreds _of tons daily. Apart from their ediblo - vajue, pipis are said to be worth £6 a ton deljyered at chemical works in Dunedin. A young man in Dunedin received a post-card last week purporting to come from his brother in Sydnejj, stai;ingiihat ne had met with an accident resulting in'- a broken arm, and asking ' that a couple of be forwarded, as his funds wer"e getting low. The absent one is a sailor, .and on the postcard was a picture of the vessel he was in when heard from a short time previously.' A doubt as to the gennine- ' ness -of * the message was occasioned when it was noticed that the surname was mis-spelt in the address and in a signed "P.S." After consideration by the family, it was decided to wait a few days before responding to the appeal, and tins week brought another post-card, this time from the genuine brother, saying that he. was hale and ,- hearty, and was leaving Clarence River for New Zealand as second mate of the vessel whose picture also appeared on , this card. An amusing appeal for an extra horse was received from the curator of the Tapapa Hatcheries at the last meeting of the Council of the Auckland Acclimatisation Society. He wrote: "What we want is a thoroughly reliable horse, witfc plenty of constitution: a low-set, - active draught one, with plenty of substance ; cari work Easily, and is easily kept in condition. There is not much wear and tear about a washy-coloured one or one witn a white face and a lot of white legs, I don't beKeve in tbem, and hate to see them about. A kindly-temper-ed horse is worth a lot. Some that are all right if they are kept at hard work every day get very nasty if they have » slack time and are making a start on a cold wet morning. ; This dabs of horse is scarce, but can occasionally be 'picked up for about £12 or £15, after same of the bloom has been taken off them/ The contest for the Mayoralty of the Dominion's capital, between the Hon. T, W. Hfelop and Mr J. G. W. Aitken, M.P., is likely to be strenuous. Mr. Hislop has attacked Mr Aitken for his management; of the city's finances during a former period of Mayoralty. The latest development is a statement made by Mr F. M. B. Fisher, City Councillor and M.P., that Mr Hislop, while Mayor, made an arrangement to loan the Karori Borough Council £37,000 worth of city sinking funds at £4 78 6d per cent., and that Mr Brandon, Mr Hislop's senior partner, was the agent for arranging the loan, and received £180 for his services. To this Mr Hislop replies — (1) That tlio transaction was advantageous to the city, being calculated to return £100,000 in thirty years. (2) That Mr J. G. W. Aitken, hi« opponent, was a commisson<?r for the loan, and saw no impropriety in the course adopted. • (3) That Hislop, Brandon, and Hislop were solir citors in ordinary to Karori borough. (4) That he had specifically deprived himself of any interest in the firm's transaction. (5) That a large percentage of the agents* commission for arranging the loan was swallowed up in expenses. (6) That Mr Fisher bad known of tho circumstances for a whole year, and had' never previously made any suggestion that tho Mayor's action taken conscientiously, in the interests of the city and with the tinani* mous approval of hrn colleagues, bad any complexion of impropriety. Mr Fisher* iiMci move will be awaited with interest.

The New Plymouth schools, banks, Government offices and law- court arc closed "to-day, the occasion "being the anniversary of the province. , -, ' • The grazing reserve for travelling stock on the Rawhitiroa Road has been set aside by the Government as a site for a, public cemetery. Assisted immigrants from England to Gisborne district have not been very numerous, but one s who arrived a couple of weeks ago was possessed of £2,000. The *'Webb" craze has broken : out afresh. At a meeting to form a new ladies' hockey club in Wellington the other night, Win. Webb, the champion sculler,, was elected a vice-president of the club. It is also reported that a baby girl, born on the. day of the r»«e, has been christened "Webbine." The Government printers haVe been kept busy since the Hon. Mr McNab took Ministerial charge of tho Agricultural Department. It has had printed for distribution to farmers and others : no fewer than 379,000 copies of reports, bulletins, and leaflets. This is in addition to 120,000 copies now being printed. When these 1 are out the total number will be just short of half a million. The two Christchurch evening papers I (says the Wellington Post)- announced J the death of a well-known Christchurch i citizen, and published appreciative obir ! tuary notices. , The report, u^ the I words of Mark Twain, has been "gross-, ; ly exaggerated,*' for the .gentleman s. most intimately concerned is not dead ; in fact, he is stated to be making. good ! progress towards recovery from his. illness. The weekly session of the Egriiont Lodge, No. 12, 1.0. G.T., was held last night at St. Mary's Hall, Bro. G. W. Hartnell presiding. During the evening a visit was received from the Juvenile Temple. After the juveniles had retired the usual business was proc,eed- [ ed with and a report was read on the I late bazaar. After paying all Expenses a clear profit of £41 8s 8d was shown. The session closed with the usual Ode at 9.45. Says the New Zealand Bulletin: — "Oamaru is a fine sample of, a prohibition town. Grog can be got off one end of a train but would be seissed by the police if it was at the otherJ Its prosperity under no-license is so great that there being nothing to carry, tho harbour has silted up and the harbour* bqard cannot raise enough money to replace their antiquated dredge. The towing rates are about 4s in the. £. At Timaru, the next own^ only' a few miles off, where the blight of cold tea has not reached, everything is booming and the harbour is ono of the sights of the. Dominion."" A gentleman who is greatly interested in the flax industry, and who, when visiting the Old Country and. the United States, studied the hemp market, has expressed the opinion that manufacturers abroad could no more do without the New Zealand product tthan they could do without Manila, A great quantity of so-called Manila rope contains 20 per cent of phormium tenax in its composition, as the presence of our fibre gives the rope greater pliability. A larger percentage would be employed were the colour of New Zealand hemp better. Several' manufacturers in the United States informed this gentleman that Manila Was so hard • that it very soon wore out chaffHnitting machines, and, when cut up! among the chaff, the fragments being very, jbrittle, very frequently injured the' throats of horses.