NEWS NOTES.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XL, Issue 5776, 1 March 1912, Page 6

NEWS NOTES.

Emmanuel Frankfurter, a wellknown East End of London character, 82 years old, who was fuppoaed to have led a pre^ariom existence by peddling and begging, dropped dead in the street one morning 1 a"t month;. An examination of hi> clothing a:'ording to the newspaper-, revenlcd valuable M-curities worth £7500 in his po-'ket.

A. fanner showing, a prospective buyer over fomy : potato,.;fields in-' formed him that-lJi.?/ iievsr^lroubled to water his ground.: (;llo\v h it " queried the visitor VfUhit^the ground is fo fiamp?" "Wei!;*' replied the farmer. "I plant one row of potatoe and then one of onion , the onion? c.au-inj: the eye.; oflh.1 potatoes to watrr." Captain Hassell, of the New Zealand Whaling,Conipany. tells an Invorcaiyill reporter that th ir throe whaling steamers -renamed V/han.r^arei, Hawk and Eagle, nnd Whangaroa respe - tively--together with the four-masted barque. Prince George, would leave Norway for the Bluff on February 2T)th, arriving at the Southern port about the middlle of May. Operation? would then be commenced immediately. The Minister for Railways has acreiied to representations mack by Mr J. V. Brown. M.P.. that, Napier and llactingi should at once be brought under the operations of the extended areas system, which covers a distance of 20 miles. This means (^ays the Herald), not only reduced fares, but also concessions relating to the period for which return tickets are available, and remores a long-standing grievance concerning suburban fare". The new system will come into force on March hi.

Sir William P. Hartley, jam manufactur'T, speaking last month at the twenty-seventh annual prjfit-sharing at his works, at Aintree, Liverpool, said that although he did not claim that profit-sharing was a cure for all labor troubles, the spirit of it was an ebsolute cure. The amount distributed was £5015, the total from the begin»:ng being £66.505. Sir William announced that he had 'added another £1000 to the pension fund, to which he haa contributed over £7000 in three .years.

The big- \vork3 of the Golden Bay Cement Works, Ltd., at Tarakohe, near Nelson, are now turning out over 400 tons of cement every week. There is an inexhaustible supply of the finest material within ea«y reach, and the plant is of the most up-to-date description. The motive power is electricity, generated at a steampower station of 1000 h.p. The company has built its own wharf, and load 3 direct from the store into the steamer. About eighty men are kept constantly employed. The company's output has proved to be of the highest quality, and is meeting with unqualified approval from architects and engineers.

Drug habits sometimes manifest themselves in very pecuilar forms, says a Manawatu paper. At one of the fiaxmills in the Foxton district there is a Maori workman who is a "painkiller" fiend. His daily consumption " amounts to three bottles —one before each meal. While thi9 supply is maintained he is an expert in his pai*ticular branch of the trade. The other day. however, his stock ran out unexpectedly, and for a while the, habitue wa9 in a bad way. He was practically "laid up," and it was not until a fresh supply was available that he was able to-resume work. Palmer3ton North is applying to the Government for land upon which to erect a High School for girls. Mr Vernon, rector of the present school. Contends that the building is too small for the number of pupils, and further, is emphatic that Palmerston is big enough to support High Schools for girl* and boys. The farm horses at the Moumahaki State farm are only given one feed of oats a day, but are nevertheless in first-class condition. When questioned on the matter, the manager explained j that the animals are each evening allotted a certain amount of lucerne, which constitutes an almost perfectly balanced ration, and enables them to retain their condition while in ful[ work upon one feed of oats at midday.

The Paris Gaulois quotes from an advertisement offering bombs for sale, which it declares appears in Se Khe Bao. a German journal published in Chinese at Shanghai. "The best portable bombs are on sale in Shanghai/ snys the advertisement, "in bulk and retailon the most advantageous terms. A large choice is offered to the purchaser, with facilities for payment. With each ten bombs the purchase]* receives a bonus. Free' lessons nre given to novices who are unused to handling bombs. You will find in our catalogue the list of deaths caused by the products of our house. The best bombs are German bomb?."

A farmer -who had the misfortune to lose his cook just at the time when his services were most neeicd made all speed to Ashburton (says the Mail) and enpa^cd another, who was taken homo and formally introduced to his job the same evening. The farmer retired for the night quite pleaded to think that he had got over what appeared to be a serious difficulty fo easily, and assured in his own mind that breakfast would be on the board at the appointed hour the following morning. But the hour for the first meal of the day arrived without the least sign of the grilled chop or fried potatoes, and an investigation of the kitchen showed that the fire had not even been lit. The wrathful farmer next proceeded to the room allotted to the cook, and found that it had not been slept in. 'The master of the culi nary art, after taking a hasty view of his surroundings, had npparentlly lost no time in putting as much distau'e between himself and his job as possible.