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Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 16448, 31 May 1919, Page 2

A schoolboy wrote home thus; — “Mother, I cinched the prize in/English compo. andi had the rest o'f the bunch skinned a mile.” Needless to add that the boy was an American.

Motorists, cyclists, and other users of the roads should take care to light up at sunset. The inspector is on the war path. The proper time to light up is at sunset, or at 4.43 to-day.

There was another fall of snow at the Mountain House last night, and as the weather has cleared again, this should prove an. excellent chance for those wishing to have an outing amongst the snow without having to climb too far to reach it.

It is often charged against the farmers that they have been guilty of profiteering during the war by demanding excessively high prices for the produpe. Facts prove the reverse in some instances. In Victoria there has been Government regulation of the price of hides. Recently the restrictions wore removed and at the first free sales all the offerings were eagerly absorbed at prices up to 50 per cent, above the hitherto scheduled rates.

Performing dogs, performing eats, and even performing fleas are not unknown in New Zealand. But a performing rooster is a rara avis. One of these was unearthed by the Parliamentary Industries Committee at the Reliable Poultry Farm, near Masterton, on Monday. The manager of the farm (Mr. Robbins) beckoned a prize Leghorn, which immediately jumped upon his arm. Then he asked it to crow to the visitors. The bird stretched its neck and responded vigorously—Age.

Anyone wanting a good day’s snowballing should avail themselves of the special trip to Mt. Egmont on Tuesday (King’s Birthday). Advertisement in this issue.

In this issue we insert particulars of a clearing sale on account of Mr. W. A. Officer, of Norfolk Road. The cattle to ho sold are a high-grade line of Jerseys, that possibly many Taranaki breeders will bo glad to pick from. The herd is possibly better known as being the herd that Mr. W. H. Tippens has milked, the present owner having purchased the line from Mr. Tippens as a going concern with the farm. Catalogues are available from the auctioneer.

Ladies! Do not wear out your beautiful summer clothes on the old-fashion-ed washboard. Let “No Rubbing” Laundry Help and the pure “Golden Rule” Soap do the work. All stores.

We have received £3 2s from Mr. Henry King, Mangorei, for the Nurses’ Memorial Hall Fund.

The Citizens’ Band is asked to parade at the railway station this evening to join in the reception to a number of returning soldiers. Whilst digging on their property at South Road, Messrs. Iloskin Bros, a day or two ago unearthed a number of old military biittons of the 57th, the 40th, 18th Royal Irish and the 65ths.

As evidence of the shortage of lignite coal in Wellington, a New Plymouth firm of coal merchants received a few days ago an order for two sacks of coal from a Wellington lady. The coal was dispatched by rad, freight running into something „ over 6s, and in addition there would be several shillings for cartage at the other end.

Bandsmen and others received a considerable shock when it was announced that bandsman Cyril (Sid.) Hodge had died suddenly at an early hour this morning from spinal meningitis. The deceased was a returned soldier and resumed his former place in the New Plymouth Citizens’ Band in September last, having been invalided home after serving in the great Somme engagements in France. He was very popular, and was looked upon by the conductor as one of our most faithful and reliable bandsmen. A full attendance of the band is requested at the railway station to-night to make arrangements in connection with the funeral, • which takes place to-morrow (Sunday). Bandsman Hodge leave a young wife and child, and had recently acquired a new home in addition to opening up iii business for himself as a cabinetmaker, having been associated -with Mr. C. N. Johnson for a. considerable period.

Tho following is from the Melbourne Argus: •' ‘Most business firms have provided honour rolls of some kind or another to perpetuate the memory of those among their employees who answered the country’s call during the war. From the office of a well-known firm of Melbourne architects a young man, full of promise in the profession, wont to the war, and made the supreme sacrifice in France. The firm has done a graceful thing in memory of their soldier apprentice. They wrote to the officer in charge of vocational training of the Repatriation Department to say : ‘We have lost our apprentice, and we want to set up a memorial to him in our office. We will take in his place a young man who followed the same call of duty and who has returned with honour from the field of battle.’ As a result of this step the firm has now articled a.young returned soldier, and is teaching him his profession as an architect free of any charge or premium.” Referring to the soldiers’ settlement at Awakino, a few miles from Dargaville, a special reporter of the Auckland Star says; “Thanks largely to the sympathetic attitude of the Lands Departmentj the settlers have done uncommonly well, and during the whole period only one man lias given up his section. The capital values were low—somewhere in the vicinity of £3 an acre —and after the first half-year’s rent had been paid as a guarantee of good faith, the Department forthwith remitted rent for two years. Some of the men started with a little capital—£loo or so—and during their two and a-half year’s occupation they have each bor- . rowed about £SOO from the Government under the financial provisions of the Discharged Soldiers’ Settlement Act. In one or two cases it has been a little more; in others it is under the regulation amount. Generally speaking, the men settled down to their work with a will, and to-day they probably average easily 100 acres cleared and in grass One man, who has cleared and grassed 160 acres, got £7OO worth of timber out of his bush in a year, and, after deducting expenses, was able to put £SOO into his farm. Most' of the men hare built small houses, and several of them are married. Naturally, this period has been practically unproductive, and some of the soldiers have had to take on outside work, but the fact remains that last season quite a lot of dairying could have been done had the access to the town permitted, and next summer, when it is hoped to commence dairying operations in earnest, the settlers will have reached the period when they can cease borrowing, and commence the repayment of loans. With a comparatively low capital value to overcome, the acquirement of the freehold will be within reach of achievement.

A daring vet simple course of action enabled a prisoner named Charles Duffy to make his escape from the Lithgow (N.S.W.) lock-up last week. Not only did he regain lus liberty, but in doing so he managed to lock the lock-up keeper in the cells. Duffy was arrested in Sydney on a charge of stealing £3O, and came before the court at Lithgow. The case, however, was not proceeded with and Duffy was remanded. Ho was taken to the lock-up from the courthouse, and was lodged in his coll. At about 5.30 Constable Biddle, the lock-up keeper - , left Duffy in his cell and: went out to get him a cup of tea. Tho outer door of Duffy’s cell was open, and so were the doors of all the other cells. Still, as one end of the lock-up finished in a dead end, and the other has a heavy door that opens on to a yard and holts on the outside, there was no risk in so doing. During the absence of the lock-up keeper, however, Duffy left his own cell - and walked into the cell nearest to tho outside door of tho lock-up. He hid behind the door of tTife cell. ' When the lock-up keeper returned with tho cup of tea for his prisonor'lie went straight to tho cell that Duffy had formerly occupied. Ho had barely crossed the threshold when ho ilealisod that something was amiss, and turned round quickly, only to see Duffy disappearing through tlie outer door of tho lock-up. Onco outside, Duffy pulled tho door to and bolted it from the outside, thus confining the lock-up keeper within the lock-up. There the lock-up keeper had to remain until his shouts were heard, and he was set at liberty. The Melbourne, Ltd., are still able to supply a limited number of men’s flannel undershirts at 6s lid, navy flannels at 8s Hd, Mosgiel fine natural underwear, shirts and pants 13s 6d and 14b 6d, winter-weight neglige shirts, in Union and Horrockses’ Ideal cloth, 9s 6d each.*

This is Overcoat Week at the New Zealand Clothing Factory. We have been fortunate in securing a splendid assortment of all classes of Overcoats and Rain Coats for men and boys, which we offer at very keen prices. These goods arc becoming increasingly scarce and expensive, and wo recommend you to select your requirements from our present stock.”

Returned soldiers 1 Now is your opportunity to buy tan footwear at reasouaWo prices. The Regal Shoo Store have landed a now shipment of gents.’ tan boots in several different styles, at prices from 35s to 50s. By dealing at our store you save' 2s in the £, so don’t hesitate.* A special service will be held in the Assembly Hall, Robe Street, to-morrow evening, conducted by Mr, T. R. Cameron, from Auckland, and a hearty welcome is extended to all. The attention of all ladies is drawn to a notice appearing in this issue from St. Andrew’s Ladies’ Guild.

A Press Association message from Wellington states tlmt a summary is to bo cabled shortly of tho peace terms offered to Austria./ This will be franked over the cable and in New Zealand, but it cannot be published till released. An extraordinary general meeting of shareholders of the Equitable Builmug Society of Now Plymouth (second group) was held on Friday night to dispose of two appropriations of £l5O each by ballot and two similar appropriations by tender. The successful shareholder in the ballot was Air. W. P. Nicoll, and the tender accepted for the other two appropriations was £2l 10s each.

A representative gathering of rail-' way servants in AVcllington, with the district officers of the Department from all over the Dominion, met at the railw>ay bead office on Friday night to farewell Mr. Hiley 7 , lately general manager. Air. AFVilly, the new general manager, presided. The Hon. W.' H. Herries presented Air. Hiley with three albums of New Zealand views, and mentioned that a writing cabinet of New Zealand woods and the albums were the farewell gift from the whole of the railway service.

The following statement regarding the embargo on the Australian passenger service was made by the Alinister of Health (Hon. G. W. Russell) on Friday: “In view of the arrival of the Manuka as a clean ship, which is regarded as a fair test, it is intended to cable immediately to Australia that a restricted passenger service may 7 be resumed, to cover not more than 50 passengers for each ship, for the present. The first to he allowed to come will ho the soldiers and munition workers who are on their way back to tho Dominion and have been prevented from coming because of _ the embargo, and also specially 7 necessitous eases. This will apply to steamers leaving both Sydney and Alelbourne. Tho acute position which has prevailed for some weeks past in reference to the shortage of milk supplies in Auckland' has been accentuated by the cold nights sotting in quickly after the drought and completely checking the growth of grass, with the result that there has been a further serious decrease in the quantity of milk available. _ Already condensed milk has been substituted for fresh milk in several of Die restaurants of the city, while as much as sixpence per glass has been charged for it. Milk vendors are now seriously considering the advisahilitv of instituting a system of rationing. This, they believe, is certain to come if something in the way of rigid economy is not practised by householders. Tho Baptist Church Literary and Debating Society- held its fortnightly meeting on Thursday last. Tho society were very fortunate in getting the Rev, O. Blundell to give his popular lecture on “The Heavens declare tho Glory of God.” Interest was greatly enhanced by the use of a lantern which Air. N. T. Alaunder very kindly brought and manipulated. Air. Blundell has a delightful style and his lecture held the audience right from the start to the finish. He possesses some very fine and valuable photographs, which when thrown on to the sheet revealed wonders in the heavens which were truly marvellous and awe-inspiring. Hearty- votes of thanks were accorded to the lecturer and Air 7 . Alaunder.

The Wanganui Chronicle reports that there was a large attendance at the Fire Brigade Hall on Wednesday afternoon, when Mr. Guy Copper, acting for the Now Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Ltd., submitted the subdivided blocks of the well-known Featherston Estate, a few miles from Wanganui, to auction. The homestead block of 140 acres was the first submitted, and after brisk bidding the right of ownership passed to Mr. W. A. Bason at £B3 per acre. Tho other five farms, ranging in area from 51 to 62 "acres, failed to roach the reserves, and were passed in respectively at £45, £47 10s, £4B, £64, and £p7. The Chronicle understands that after the auction considerably .increased prices were offered for several of the sections.

A little comedy Ims occurred over tho overcoat which Premier Clemency a u was wearing when shot at. Being much attached to this thick, warm garment (says the Paris correspondent of the Daily Mail), M. Clemenceau demanded its return as soon as Cottin’s trial was ended). ‘‘lmpossible,’’ replied red-tape in the shape of a court-martial official; “Cottin has appealed.” M. Clemenceau is not a patient man. “Quick and thorough” is his motto, and he telephoned quickly iaud thoroughly to his yt'pr Undersecretary. Half an hour late a Republican Guard with a large official fetter arrived at the court-martial. In a' few minutes he returned carrying a large brown paper parcel. And M. tailor to have five bullet-holes repaired. Australian bankers believe that it will bo a very long time before gold will be put into circulation again. As regards Great Britain, British bankers hold the same view. A high banking authority in ’London stated recently that it would probably be several years before gold coins are handled by the general public of Great Britain. The Currency Committee went into the matter in January, and the decision then arrived at was that it was not practicable to put gold into circulation. It is pointed out that Great Britain has first to get a gold reserve for foreign trade, and until this reserve has been placed upon a proper basis the internal circulation of gold is out of the question. The amount of gold now received by banks is exceedingly small, and cashiers at the largest branches do not handle the coin for several weeks at a stretch. Mr. D. N. MacDiannid, 8.A., many of whose letters have from time to time appeared in this paper, is expected to arrive in New Plymouth tonight to take the services at St. AndrcwVPresbyterian Church to-morrow. During the last few years Mr. MacDiarmicl has seen a great deal of NorthEast Africa .and it is hoped that it will be possible for him to deliver a public lecture during his stay in New Plymouth. His first trip through Africa took him up the Nile and through the Sudan to far away Uganda, then across Victoria Nyanza, through British East Africa to Mombasa. During the war Mr. Mac Diarmid, as a Y.M.C.A. field secretary with tho Australian forces, was sent to the Oasis region of the Libyan Desert, and there saw most of the campaign against the Senussi, while more recently, because of his knowledge of that country, ho was transferred to the Sudan to initiate Y.M.C.A. work for the British troops at Khartoum, Atbara, and elsewhere on tho Red Sea Coast. After 18 months of such work ih the Sudan, during which time he covered 17,000 miles by rail, he had to leave the country on account of ill health, and after a short time spent at Jaffa and Jerusalem, he returned to New Zealand. At the request of the Sudan Education Department, he is now hoping soon to return to AiVica to supervise a scheme of Government and mission work for the uplift of the pagan tribes of the Sudan, and the checking of the increase of Mohammedanism. For the subjects on which Mr. Mac Diarmid will speak to-morrow we refer our leaders to our advertising columns.

A Wairoa telegram states that Harry Rosa, whose name appears in the defaulters’ list, was killed in action last July. He was formerly employed at Marumaru, and left with the 31st contingent.

Tho mail train was forty minutes behind schedule time in arriving at New Plymouth on Friday night. Twenty minutes of the lost time was occasioned through the express being held up at Eltham awaiting the' southern train from New Plymouth. There is a serious shortage of school teachers in the Auckland province at present, the Education. Board experiencing great difficulty in securing capable teachers, especially for the rural district®. This dearth is attributed to many causes, principally to increases in the number of schools and in attendances. The number of relieving teachers employed is unprecedented, a position largely due to post-influenza effects temporarily incapacitating many teachers. No fewer than 1100 appointments and resignations have been dealt with' by the board during tho present year. The mission so ably' conducted by the Redemptorist Fathers, during the past fortnight in St. Joseph’s Ciiurch has been so far a phenomenal success, densely crowded congregations at all the exercises being the invariable feature. Doubtless the main attraction has been, the eloquent sermons delivered by the earnest, zealous and learned preachers whose spirit of devotedness and selfsacrifice communicated itself to all assembled in the sacred edifice. The mission, to the regret of all, will be solemnly closed at 7 o’clock service on Sunday night by the imparting of the Papal blessing, followed by Benediction of the A lost Blessed Eucharist. The outstanding few who have not already availed themselves of the graces of the mission are earnestly exhorted' to do so hy the Alissionary Fathers before they take their departure from New Plymouth by Monday’s express. '