LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LX, Issue 11046, 21 February 1933, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

There was a good attendance at the concert held by the Municipal Band in the Regent Theatre on Sunday night. Songs were rendered by Miss Alexander, Mr N. Coveil, and Mr Curtis. An instrumental trio—violin, piano and saxophone—and several selections by the Band, under Bandmaster Stuart, completed an excellent programme. The Band’s number, “H.M.S. Pinafore,” was very well received. The Band is Indebted to the artists who assisted with the entertainment.

Swimming should be a compulsory subject in all schools, declared the district coroner at Cambridge, when returning a verdict of accidental drowning of a lad named John Victory Bromwich, who was drowned in the Waikato River, near Cambridge, recently.

There is now on view in Messrs Simmonds Bros.’ window a working model of a large steam yacht—-hull, engine and fittings—made by Mr M. T, N. Bluck. The two cylinder high pressure engine is worked by 1001 b. super-heated steam, and all the fittings are complete to the smallest detail. The speed is about seven knots. The making of the model entail much thought and time and an excellent finish has been obtained. The model has been Inspected by many people and has attracted very favourable comment.

The Te Puke A. and P, show will be held on Friday next. Large entries have been received and it is expected that the show will be a great success.

Particulars of the N.Z. Loan and Mercantile Agency Co.’s Te Puke stock sale are advetrised to-day. The sale takes place on Tuesday, February 28th.

At the las't meeting of the Bay of Plenty Schools Association a letter was read from the Secretary of the Tauranga Electric Power Board regretting that it was unable to accede to the Association’s request for a reduction in the charge of lighting the schools. The meeting passed a resolution expressing regret at the stand taken by the Board. The matter was left with individual committees to deal with. It was pointed out that the schools are only occasionally used at night time and the minimum charge of £2 12s is therefore excessive.

A letter was read at the last meet'ing of the Whakatane Chamber of Commerce from the Hon. C. B. Macmillan, Acting-Minister for Public Works, in reply to the Chamber’s representations to reopen the old mill road running through State forest plantations from Murupara to the Taupo-Napier Main Highway, some distance from the Rangitaiki Hotel, stated that the road had never been dedicated, and could not therefore be used as a thoroughfare.—Mr Canning, emphasising the fact that the road had been used by settlers in Galatea for many years, pointed out that the use of this route effected; a saving of fifty miles on the road to Hawke’s Bay from the Bay of Plenty. As the new County boundaries have now embraced this road within the County Council’s administration, it wae resolved to approach that body to enlist their assistance.

There is a resident of New Plymouth who owns a black spaniel, and this story' concerning it is vouched for. The master is very proud of his dog and the many tricks it can do. One of its best and perhaps most useful is the bringing in of firewood from the shed in the mornings when the fire is being lighted. On a recent morning the dog was rather reluctant about going to the wood shed, but it was despatched by its master with the customary command. ’After an unusually long time there was a scraping on the verandah, and the master proceeded to Investigate. He found the dog laboriously dragging in by its handle the axe! There was no wood cut.*

In proposing the toast of "Governing Bodies” at a school jubilee gathering at Waianiwa, near Invercargill, Mr W. R. Donald referred to the passing of the old school slate, which had been replaced by exercise books, He said it had cost him nearly 18s for exercise booke for his boy. It was stated that the change had been made in the interest of hygiene, added Mr Ronald, but a slate could be boiled, whereas an exercise book could not. Another argument in favour of the books was that the work could be kept, but who wanted to keep mistakes, he asked.

The Matamata County Council has received advice that the Main Highways Board has set aside a sum of £ISOO for reading purposes. This subsidy is partly on a £3 for £1 and partly on a £4 for £1 basis, and is in addition to the £IOOO subsidy recently granted. The money is being spent principally on the road from Lichfield to Atiamuri, on which length thirty men were set to work within forty-eight hours of the receipt of. the advice. The Tauranga Co-operative Dairy Association, Ltd., is paying suppliers eight pence per lb. for butter-fat of finest quality, supplied during the month of January. The w T eather took a sudden change for the worse last night. Light rain commenced to fall about midnight and a total of a quarter of an inch was recorded by the gauge on The Camp up to nine o’clock this morning. Many hay paddocks were cut yesterday and the rain has delayed harvesting.