LOCAL & GENERAL.

Western Star, 1 April 1920, Page 2

LOCAL & GENERAL.

A seventeen months old infant died in Dunedin through swallowing kapok out of a bed.

The death, is announced of Mr George Allport, late secretary of the Marine Department. A new anaesthetic has been developed which eliminates pain without loss of consciousness.

■ There 'being few patients, it is proposed to close the Soldiers’ Convalescent Homo at. Invercargill.

The 'Advocate reports that Mr H. Mason, of Tuatapere, has sold out to Messrs Laurie and Watson.

Mr A J. Henry, of the relieving staff, Invercargill, has been promoted to statioiimaster at Orepuki. There are many warnings in the advertising columns of the papers to, the Easter dbg and gnu man. Tests made of wireless telephony under the most difficult circumstances have proved highly successful. Owing to l the enforced! closing of schools during February, there: arc to he no term holidays in May this year. Foxton, North Island, has had another disastrous fire, seven shops being destroyed. The origin is a mystery.

With an engine of 140 horse power, a now type of motor boat cut out seventy-nye miles an hour on the Seine,

A Tennis Club has been formed at Tuatapere, and a permanent court in asphalt is to be laid down in part of the Domain.

It is an. offence under the Rabbit Act for a landowner to charge a rabbiter for the right to> destroy rabbits on his land.

The Tun taper© District Nurse Oommjittee is bestirring itself to raise the annual funds required to (maintain a nurse in, the district.

The price of New Zealand made soaps has advanced by £4 .per ton, which will mean a rise in the retail price of one penny per bar.

Two sections in the Stalker Settlement, thirty-five acres each, situated in' the Oteramika district, fire now open for selection by soldiers.

While reports of potato blight have been received from the North, it is gratifying to know that the crops in this district arc practically free from it.

The cement position is becoming easier, owing to more coal being available.

Mr H. Baldwin, a well-known Wellington. flour and grain merchant predicts a famine in flour! in six months’ time.

Sub-Inspector Mathieson, df Dunedin, and Sub-Inspector Wohlraau, of Auckland, both of the Police' Department, are on a visit to their relatives in this district.

The birthrate shows a splendid increase in Great Britain, while in France it is decreasing, to such an extent as to 1 occasion French statesmen grave concern. An Auckland gardener states that a sure means of keeping snails, away frolm any tender growth is to encircle the plants with a barrier of titree (manuka) close to the ground.

A reward is offered for information that will lead to the arrest of Harry Deeley, who is wanted in connection with the murder df Mrs Bthelin Webby at Palmerston North on March 18th. The Commercial Travellers of the Dominion are good sorts, and have helped many a deserving cause. The Canterbury Association raised) £12,000 towards paying off the debt on Lancaster Park.

Between December 12 last and March 5 there were no (fewer than 24 strikes on minor matters among the workers in the coal mines of the Maitland and Newcastle districts, New South Wales.

The output of the Port Craig sawmill is six thousand feet per day. A new mill is to be erected on the American system, and, when in operation, the output will be forty thousand feet per day. ■ What is considered to be- an Australasian record price for a, bullock’s hide was obtained; at the Dunedin sale on Friday, when 304 d per lb was paid for a single hide. The weight of the hide was 931bs and the value £ll 16/4.

The latest superdreadnought, the Hood, cost sis millions, and the annual expenses of keeping it in commission will be over half-armillion,- It costs more for a nation to maintain the right to national* existence than to live.

Time after time attention is directed to the dianger of the pea rifle in ■closely settled areas, and as boys seem to have no idea of the danger of these firearms, the Plice would do well to keep an eye open for youngsters whom the lav/ prohibits from carrying weapons. A number of application for small coal leases on the High Schools endowment at Wairio have been received by the Board of Governors, who have' been advised that si mall coal areas mean wa'ste. A special meeting is to be. held on Tuesday, April 13th, when expert evidence on the point will be given by Mr Gillanders, an expert. “I’ll meet, you at the Riverton Races at Easter.” Those ate the parting words one hears all over the district throughout the year, am, given fine weather, ctf which there is every prospect at time of writing,, the popular' Club should have a\ record -fathering, Easter at Riverton being the annual holiday of many hundreds who have not the spare time to go further afield.

It- is proclaimed by notice in the Ghetto that an area of land approximately U million acres has been set apart for forest reserves. All the lands mentioned are Crown lands Auckland, Taranaki, Hawke s Bay, Nelson, Marlborough, Westland, and Southland, and are under bush at present. One Southland block is estimated at 91,000-acres, and th ® *® T son areas include blocks of 100,000 acres, 66,000 acres, and 53,000 acres. “ Ilf yon will take the Railway Sbate- , c ioia stated Air M. J- Alack meat for 1910, stated .ui i (general' secretary of the A.S.it.S.) to •v New Zealand Times reporter), yon will find that 14,968 men in all were employed on the New Zealand iailways That number was reduced to i 9, ‘391 in 1918. The 1918 report shows the withdrawals from all causes as 1268, land the engagements oM; leaain* a deficit for the year of 745 men. Then the 1919 report shows 1146 withsSaL « ■wgrTi being a, further deficit olf 018, or a total loss for the two years of 1263 skilled men,” “ Bible House,” permanent ISew Zealand headquarters of the British and Foreign, Bible Society, was dedicated last week. The building is situated inßallance street, Wellington, and the success of the movement is mainly due to the efforts of the »©& F. H. Spencer, who was worked hard for many years to bring, it about. Fa tea holds, the record for being the ohidf cheese export port of Hie Dominion, the value of the: chees exported for the 11 months! ended November 30th last being £1,004,400. New Plymouth was next with cheese valued at £1,340.063, whilst Auckland was third with £1,326,898 north of cheese. \ notice in the Gazette of March 25 sets aside 91,848 acres for provisional State forests in the Southland land district. The land covered by the notice is part of Clintonside, Swintou, Te Anau, Snowdon, Black Hill and Mavora, survey districts. The most magnificent .Christmas gift on record is that of Mr John D. Rockefeller, who (writes the New York correspondent of the Daily Chronicle) gave „ away the sulrai of £20,000,000 —fialf of it to the Rockefeller Foundation for the purpose of “ promoting the well-being of mankind throughout the ivorld.”

One. of the latest in fancy drinks lias been evolved in Auckland. An elderly man who was smitten with a craving for strong liquor a few days ago evidently had his aesthetic senses stirred at the same time. He did not want an ordinary looking drink. Green was the colour that appealed to him; perhaps he wanted the devils that he would see afterwards to be green. So he mixed methylated spirits and green paint. Having quaffed that art drink deeply, he saw so many green devils that he had to be removed to the hospital, and the. cost of his treatment there was £5 Gs Bd, which lie was subsequently ordered to pay when he appeared in the Police Court on a cha/ge of helpless efrunkonno'to.

Mr Geo. Sullivan, ■a. well-known farmer cf Mataura, was killed on Tuesday evening near Rakahouka as the result of a motor car capsizing. • The construction of concrete ships has been abandoned. The makers say they are a complete failure., and cost twice as much to build as steel vessels, •and take double-the time. ...

Numerous outrages are daily per petrated in Ireland. Thomas Dwyer', aged 25, a resident of Thurles, was shot by a number of armed men on Wednesday. Richard Small, a poor law guardian, had the front portion df his shop blown out by a bomb. The subsidy of £IOO,OOO paid by New Zealand to' the British Navy is henceforward to be used for the maintenance of the cruiser Canterbury and a training sloop of some 3000 tons, both of which have been promised 1 y the Admiralty. Further, it is practically decided that, several light cruisers shall be .stationed near New Zealand as a sub-division to the China Squadron, probably with the Dominion as their headquarters. What the ultimate cost of footwear will be is hard to state. An Auckland Star reporter was shown on Tuesday morning a pair of boots made in Auckland from leather tanned in New Zealand. These boots are of sold for youths. In consequence cf the rise in price following upon the increase in leather since the' prohibition of the export of hides was lifted, these boots have advanced 11s par pair wholesale, which makes the cost to the retailer 32s landed in the shop.. Girls’ college shoes have also been raised 4s 9d per pair. With youths’ boots at about 40s per pair retail, and girls’ shoes 28s, the funnily man is likely to have a hard time this winter. For Eiderdown and Kapok Quilts visit the Progressive Stores. Over 300 to choose from iu all the smartest colourings and designs. This is undoubtedly one of the finest selections we have offered for years and the low prices and excellent qualities of these goods we feel sure -will appeal to the most careful buyers. Wo recommend your earliest inspection. Kapok quilts iu nice floral designs with, panels to match for single and three-quarter beds 27si 6d. In plain and floral Resign 25s 6d. Pull double bed kapok quilts from 37a 6d to 455. With panels to match 455, 47s 6d, 52s 6d. Real eiderdowns, full double bed size, double stitched and ventilated;, from, 62s 6d, 59s 6d, 655, 70s, 80s. Best quality with satin panels, 105 s and 107 s 6d. Kiddies’ padded pram quilts 3 lid, os lldi, 8s 6d, 9s (id. Silk-wadded pram quilts 7s lid, 10s 6d, 13s Gd, 15s lid, 22s Gd. Real eiderdown pram quilts J,2s Gdi, 15s Gd, 19s 6d. Satisfaction assured by shopping at H. & J. SMITH, Ltd., Tay street, Is in the £ discount for cash. —(Advt.)