LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 15977, 20 November 1919, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A general scarcity of fruit prevails in Gisborne. At present only locally-grown oranges are available,-

The poll on the tramway loan proposal for £140,000 is to be held on Friday, December 19th. . It is to provide for the extension of the service to St. John’s Hill, to the cemetery, the Opera House loop, and certain duplications, as well as provision of further plant and rolling stock.

Two diggers were sent out of a trench to capture a German for identification purposes.. They returned very shortly afterwards bringing with them a very small. Hun. The officer looked at the captive and asked where they got him; whereupon one of tho diggers replied: “To /tell you the truth, sir, we bought him from a Tommy for a shilling,”

The estimated population of New Zealand (exclusive of Maoris and residents ox Cook and other Pacific Islands) on September 30 last was 1,152,602, of whom 580,296 were males and 572,306 were females. Including the. Maoris and the others in the Pacific Islands, tho population at the close of the last quarter was placed at 1,215,175.

A Parisian, with a sense of humour, recently bequeathed 300 francs to each, relative who abstained from attending his funeral. Only one poor relative insisted on following the deceased to the grave, and her loyalty was richly rewarded, for by a codicil to his will the deceased left the residue of bis large fortune to those relatives who were prepared to sacrifice the 300 frarcs. *

One curious result of the excellence of air photography is that it has discovered the sites of lost Asiatic cities for which archaeologite have been vainly digging and searching for generations The slight difference of colour over a buried wall can make the outline of a town absolutely distinct from flip air, though quite invisible on the ground.

What the crew of a vessel thought to bo bits of rusty iron were hoisted from the sea-bed off Tobermory by a “grab,” and some of them were being thrown back into the water,, when the remaining pieces wore found to bo part of a large silver-gill ornament, probably a Roma Catholic Church salver. This is believed to be a’ relic, of an Armada galleon sunk at the spot in 1588. ,

A faceimil e of portion of the Peace Treaty,' which will probably be regarded as the greatest document in the history of civilisation, has been hung in the children’s department of the* Auckland Central Libary. ■ The facsimile, which reproduces the colour of the original document, shows the last lines of the treaty, followed by the signatures of the delegates who signed the treaty and their seals. In all there are 70 names. Thstseal which Mr Massey, Prime Minister of New Zealand, used is a neat monogram formed of the letters N.Z.

The biennial conference of the Federal council of (he Protestant Alliance baa opened at Hobart. New Zealand is represented.

Exports from Wanganui for tMweek ended 'llth November wore as follows: Cheese £942, lamb £22.611, mutton £70,840, other meats £5288, hides and skins £ll2B, tallow £4528. The burglary at 11. E. Handle’s jewellery shop, Timaru, between Saturday 'and Monday, is now found to have meant a loss of about a; 130, including cash from the safe.

On account of the’ shortage of instructors who arc at present attending a refresher camp at 'itemtham, it has been decided to suspend all training from Ist December to 10th January. The Wheat Pool officials estimate that the Australian wheat harvest for ]91920 will not exceed forty-four million bushels, which is seventy million bushels short of last. sc;ison’s yield. A London cable states that the Holton Heath cordite factory exploded early yesterday morning with a succession of terrific reports and leaping flames. Fortunately the workers were absent. One person was killed au'd ten* wounded. Authority has been given by the Borough Council to its Gas Committee to investigate the possibilities of the Council winidertaking the retailing o*f coal through the Gas Department.

As an acknowledgement of their services during the influenza epidemic of last year, the members of the military and civil of the Defence Department are to be allowed special leave of ten days at Christmas and New Year time.

The Canadian land lines hare nowbeen restored, and the Eastern Company notify that they will divert all fuli-rate telegrams to the United Kingdom via the Pacific until further advised. Deferred traffic via Eastern as usual.

For having in his possession uncustomed goods an Auckland dealer was yesterday fined £SO. The prosecution was tile sequel to a case in which several members of the crew Ayrshire were charged with embezzling ship's siteres.

A recommendation was received from the Works Committee by the Borough Council last night to the effect that the name of the street now known as Maria Place should be changed to changed to King’s Street. It was pointed out that there was a King’s Street already in Aram olio, so the recommendation was referred hack to tbe committee.

For Bank of Few Zealand £\ notes only 410 cents is given in the United States and American possessions, while 480 cents is given for Australian federal notes, a difference of 2s lid. Mr A. Moritzson, a Dunedin business man, in mentioning this fact, .said that, as the Bank of New Zealand was State guaranteed arrangements might be made to obtain as good terms as Australia.

Joseph Schmidt, the Sydney cave dweller, who was found in possession of material for making counterfeit bank* notes, pretended insanity and dumbness and attempted suicide. Doctors expressed the opinion that the accused is. a malingerer. The jury found be was not insane, and returned a verdict that ho was guilty of the charge of possessing materials for making banknotes. Schmidt was sentenced to two years' imprisonment.

There was a lively incident at aenoeting addressed by Mr L. M. hmt at Christchurch last night in St. Mauhew’a schoolroom. A woman who had been interjecting refused to keep silent, which drew a remark from Mr Isitt: "She has been put up to upset the meeting." An elderly man, after remonstrating with the woman, attempted to carry her out, and immediately all was uproar. For a period a free fight raged in the fifiddle of the hall, during which the woman got hack to her seat and the man who tried to carry her out was knocked down. Order was ultimately restored, and the candidate proceeded with his address.

Yesterday morning l the attention of Mr Wyvern Wilson, S.M., was occupied with a case in which L. McAllister (Mr Cnnninghame) sued M. Cavan nagh (Mr C. JI Mackay) for £154 10s 9d, the amount being made up for the erection of a shed, installing a septic tank, and supplying a number of other smaller building items. After hearing evidence, tho Magistrate non-snited the plaintiff with regard to the septic tank on the grounds that it had not been completed and with regard to tho pipes, on the ground that * there was no agreement in writing, and defendant had refused to take delivery. On the other items ho gave judgment for .£59 11s 6d. As the rofendant had paid more than that amount into court, no costs of hearing were allowed the plaintiff.

Mr G. B. Shaw, a Californian pa»toralist; arrived in Christchurch from America last week for the purpose of securing some of the best of the stud sheep in classes most favoured ill Canterbury. Ho will visit all tho big sheep stations of the province, and exchange views with breeders. Mr Shaw predicted that during the nest three years there would be most active business relations between American Breeders and New Zealand. Americans, bo said, are fully alive to tho necessity of increasing their sheep flocks considcrtibly, and they are setting about , the-business by securing the best stud sheep procurable. New Zealand a great name throughout the United States for mutton and wool, and Australia also in certain breeds. It is Mr Shaw’s intention to display his New Zealand purchases at the big show to be held in San Francisco next .June.

The Ohio State Library has offered three prizes for essays on “Why We Should Have an American Language.” This offer is rather astonishing in view of the fact that Mr H. L. Mencken has proved rather conclusively in' his essay on “The American Language’’ that the United States already has a dialect, and that the possession is not altogether a happy one. Tile talk in Ring Lardner’s stories is not overdone, as any person may prove by sitting in the bleachers of a profcss'onal baseball field and listening to the talk that i« going onSomewhat unfairly, perhaps, British players have gained an idea from at- - tending American plays that arc reproduced in London that all citizens of the United States express themselves in slang. This impression has been strengthened by the several London managers who have published glossaries \ of the peculiar American words and - ’ their British equivalents. In view of the huge number of words that have crept into the gcncial speech from the argot of followers of cheap sports, of lawlessness and of intemperance, the present would seem an appropriate time to offer prizes for essays on “Why Wc Sho<nld Civilise the American TuEaguago."—Christian Science Monitor.