LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Waipa Post, Volume IV, Issue 156, 22 October 1912, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Talk carnival. Owing to other fixtures occuring on that day it has been decided to alter the date for the next Oddfellows' Lodge from Monday, the 28th to Tuesday, the 29th inst.

In a letter to a, Te Awamutu friend Mrs Taylor gives an account of her visit to the Emerald Isle as follows : "Indeed, Ireland is just lovely, and no wonder Irish men and women are proud of .their country."

Included in the Estimates is an amount of £2BOO fo~ the new Post Office at Rotorua, £SOO was voted last year, and the amount required to be voted for 1912-13 is £2BOO. This makes provision for a tower for the Seddon Memorial Clock.

Dr Douglas, the medical superintendent* of the Waikato Hospital, has been granted three months' leave of absence, by the Hospital Board in consideration of the onerous duties he has been called upon to perform during the past year.

Mr E. St. L. Simpson severed his connectioivwith the Te Awamutu branch of the Bank of New Zealand yesterday morning, having decided to devote his energies in future to farming. His departure was made the occasion of the presentation to him of a very handsome case of Loewe pipes by the remainder of the staff accompanied by the good wishes for success in his new occupation.

We are notified of the following additions to the Te Awamutu telephone service:—7l, W. Jeffery, private residence; 72, C. O'Brien, hotel, Kihikihi; 74, A. J. Bray, Teasdale's Buildings; 75, C. F. Battson, plumber; 76, Bowling and Tennis Clubs, Victoria Park; 77, E. B. Walker (Dalgety and Go.); 78, police station, Kihikihi;- private wire, Saunders, Pukeatua. No. 39, G. Paul, private residence, has been removed.

Writing from New York .last month, an American statistician declares that never in the history of the United States has the aggregate of all crops been so large as the estimate just published by the Government. This statement give* out that the value of the crops will be at least a billion dollars greater than last year, and the tonnage to be handled by the railways was so inflated that an enormous increase in their business is anticipated, regardless of a possible increase in haulage rates.

The Xmas number of the weekly illustrated journals are now appearing and we have been much gratified by receiving a copy of the Weekly Press from Christchurch, New Zealand. It is certainly a magnificent production and well calculated to advertise "at home "New Zealand's many attractions. The coloured supplements " A Reach of the Wanganui River" and '" Kapai Te Koura "' are beautiful works of art. Among the many splendid engravings that on page 6 entitled " A road in the backblocks " is in our opinion the best illustration of the difficulties with which a backblock settler has to contend, that we have ever seen. Mr G. Gifford is "the local agent for the Weekly Press.

It is estimated that £00,000,000 feet of timber arecutannually by the saw-mills on the Main Trunk railway.

TheTe Awamutu Minstrel Con- '(/ cert and Comedy Club last night " presented Miss F. Mandeno, the club's pianist, with a handsome music portfolio, as a small recognition of her valuable services to the club.

An interesting event took place at the Onehunga Zoo on Wednesday last, when one of the lionesses gave birth to three cubs. It is unusual for lions to breed in captivity, but the proprietor of the Zoo believes that the cubs will live and thrive, as they are healthy and vigorous youngsters, -t

There is little need to remind our readers of the Trades Picnic to be held in Mr Pollard's paddock on Monday next (Labour Day). Those who were fortunate enough to be present at the previous very successful picnic will not be likely to miss the chance of another so enjoyable day, and given fine weather the public may look forward to a real good time.

Some idea of the wealth that is invested in motorcars in Hawkers si. Bay might have been gathered at the Napier Park races last Saturday afternoon. At one period of the meeting no fewer than 85 cars were counted in the paddock enclosure, while there were 15 on other parts of the course. Averaging these at £4OO each, which would be a very moderate estimate, the value of these cars might be set down at £40,000. This (the 'Telegraph' adds) is not even a quarter of the, motor cars i-n use in the district, but it" £ '■is seldom that so many cars, and m such considerable value, are seen together in one paddock.

It has been proved that the blueness of sea water is in constant ratio to its saltness. In the tropics the tremendous evapora- / tion induced by the blazing sun" causes the water to be much more salt than it is in higher latitudes.; '• For about 30deg. both' north and south of the equator the waters of the world's oceans are of an exquisite azure. Beyond these latitudes the blue fades and changes to green, and in the Arctic and. Antarctic Oceans the greens are almost as vivid as the tropical blues. China's Yellow Sea is us- * ually supposed to owe its origin * to the flood of muddy water which its great river pours into it. But here, again, modern science has proved that living organisms are responsible for its peculiar tint.

In the advertising columns ... will be found a notice that the handsome and highly-bred Clydesdale colt " Royal Marcellus" will stand _at Mr Geo. ". Paul's stables every Saturday between the hours of 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. ''Royal Marcellus" was bred by Mr J. Hodson of 7'e Rore, his sire being Marcellus (N.Z.5.8.) and has proved himself a very superior horse both as a show ring horse and%a sire of first-class stock, and has gained first and championship prizes at almost every representative show on the ,_, West Coast, from Palmerston J ~ North to New Plymouth. He has gained eight first and championships since landing in New Zealand. " Chiefess," winner -of four first prizes, dam of "Royal Marcellus" was got by "Chief Commander" (615), bred by . Hogan Bros., Victoria, and irii•ported to New Zealand by Mr Wm. Tavlor. of "Greenhill."*

Concerning Taranaki petroleum this month's 'Labour Journal' reports : The supply of oil continues about the same, and preparations are being made to put down extra bores in different localities-with a view to thoroughly testing the country. An effort is being made to secure five acres of the prison reserve from the Government for the purpose of erecting a refinery. The work in connection with the erection and equipment of the refinery would provide employment for a large' number of workers,' would cost, it is estimated, something like £30,000. No very pronounced advancement can be expected until a refinery is in operation. There is over 500,000 gallons, of crude oil in stock at the bores, now ready for treatment. A greatly increased supply at the present moment would prove an inconvenience, as the storage capacity is about fully taken up.

Writes a resident of Sydney to a friend in Auckland: "The--' number of immigrants arriving here weekly is amazing, and I fear a good many of them are not of the stamp that will makegood colonists. I see them disembark occasionally, and the "majority of : them did not strike, me a§ what might be termed altogether desirable immigrants. They dont seem to get out into the country,Kbuij&,; may be seen day after day antfv week after week perambulating', the streets of the city and suburbs v in an aimless soft of fashion that does not augur well for the future. \ The cost of living is still going ■."■' up. 'House rents are abnormally . high, and at present Sydney is a very good place to live out of. - Money is tight, and traders com-- V plain of the difficulty of meeting their engagements. Still, the '* State is prospering, and matters commercial in the capital will right themselves before long. But I fear the proportion of rural to city population, could it be a seer- ..> tained, would prove a rather dis- > quieting feature for statisticians." : '

'.Keen interest is being show 11 and some curiosity evinced in the entertainment to be given by the Girls' Club on Wednesday, the 30th inst. A large number of tickets have already been disDosed of, and the public may look forward to an interesting and instructive evening.

The concert to be given on Monday next (Labour Day) by the Te Awamutu Minstrel, Concert, and Comedy Club in aid of the fund for school children's prizes and Xmas treat promises to be a very enjoyable affair. Having regard to the popularity of the club and the very worthy object for" which it is appealing there is little doubt but that the performance will be greeted with, a packed house.

The special Sydney correspondent of the Auckland Herald casts further doubts on the bona fides of " Prince Gustavc Dikran," the alleged Albanian exile who visited Te Awamutu recently and collected on behalf ot an Albanian mission. The Victorian Moderator (the Rev. W. S. Rolland) wrote to Dr Blitz, head of the Beyreuth College where Dikran says he graduated, and asked him to cable " genuine or false." The cable reads " False — Blitz." The church leaders are now convinced that Dikran is not a prince.

At last night's meeting of the Council of the Chamber of Commerce the proposal brought before the last meeting of the Chamber by Mr F. D. Wood that swimming baths should be provided for the school children was further considered. The Council strongly approved the suggestion that for a certain distance the stream should be cleared, and that a dressing shed be erected, and expressed the hope that the matter would be taken up by the school committee and general public. Several of those present voluntarily offered to provide timber and other necessary material.

At the meeting of the Council of the Chamber of Commerce held last night, it was stated that according to the departmental list it only lequires four more subscribers to enable the TeAwamutu telephone exchange to be kept open until 10 p.m. There are now ninety-six subscribers, and when the number totals one . hundred and twenty-five the hours of the exchange will be from 8 a.m. until midnight or from 7 a.m. until II p.m. according to the wish of subscribers. Within the last twelve months the number of subscribers has increased from thirty-one to ninetysix, so at the same rate of progress it should not be many months before the hours are increased as indicated. That the Department anticipate that Te Awamutu will be a big centre for telephone connections is shown by the fact that its officers have just completed the work of running 510 wires Into the exchange, so that no delay will be occasioned in linking up new subscribers. -