TOWN AND COUNTRY

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 169, 5 April 1923, Page 3

TOWN AND COUNTRY

NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE PROVINCES

“The lolly shop is the children’s hotel.” —Dr. Clark, school medical officer, to the Hawke’s Bay Education Board.

That Britons are a hardy race is illustrated at a certain country place some miles from Gisborne (states an exchange); Here, high up on a hill, certainly in more bracing air than prevails in town, is situated a tent. This is the residence of a family of which eight children are at home.

Referring at a Farmers’ Union meeting at Marton to the subject of agricultural banks, Mr. K. IV. Dalrymple said there was ■ organised opposition through the Press, and that the local paper was also against it, apparently without sound reasons.

Ashburton seems to have become addicted to a singular epidemic— to wit, frequent destruction of its garden hedges by fire (states the “Guardian”). Six of such fires have occur red since the year began, the lastbreaking out in the small hours of Friday morning.

There is a general protest throughou the Taranaki district against the new valuations in the county, remarks an exchange. They aro considered to be much higher than the productive value of the land, and meetings are being held in the different centres with the object of forming associations to take further action in the matter.

A very sweet-toned but- small bell was a part of the equipment of the now brick central school opened at Gisborne in 1907. Tlio bell (states an exchange), soon cracked, and another ■was obtained. It was larger, but was of a very discordant note, and became a source of .annoyance tto many people, so £27 was collected for the purchase of another, which has given every satisfaction, and is good for many years to come.

A party of Wanganui residents, including 1 ladies, who motored to I 1 eliding races, spent a. most enjoyable time. For the return journey (relates the Wanganui “Herald”), the. ladies changed their befit coats and placed these in the back of the car. Arriving at Wanganui, they adjourned for supper, and on coming out were greatly perturbed to find that all the,coats had been stolen, together with rugs, etc.'

Across the bridge at Whakarewarewa, Rbtorua, live two Hindus who have peacefully invaded the Maori area in search of a livelihood. It is to be regretted (says an exchange) that they were ever permitted to do so, because of the danger of a fusion of Maori and Mahoniniedan blood, which would bo most detrimental to the former. It is' to be hoped that the authorities will take steps to remove the Hindus from the Maori village.

During the 24 years’ work in sluicing on the beach at Charleston, Powell raij Sons, mining parties lifted £BO,OOO (states the “Westport News”). Mr. G. M. Powell is making arrangements for sluicing at Brown’s Terrace, where a considerable amount of gold was won by Parsons and others in various drives they put into the terrace. Mr. Powell estimates that he has 20 years’ work ahead of him.

Two stowaways were found on the Makura on arrival at Auckland from Sydney (states the ’’Herald”): They were discovered secreted in the firemen’s quarters, after the vessel’s departure from Sydney, and were ■ locked up- Upop the steamer approaching Auckland one of them bioke a window of tho cabin in which they were confined, and, escaping, had a short burst of liberty before he was again discovered. The men are Australians.

Last year was recognised as one of tho wefrst years financially that this district has experienced for some time (states the “Hawse’s Bay Herald”). Judging from the number of bankruptcies filed during the first three months of this, year, times aro still hard with some peopfe. In March of this year seven persons sought the protection of the bankruptcy court against ten for the same month of last year, but for the first three months of each year the filings total exactly the same, 19.

A thrashing mill owner in the Raknia district was anxious to get through with his thrashing operations while the good weather lasted, stateo a southern exchange. _ He therefore decided to work during the Easter holidays. This evidently did not suit the men emplo.yed. They had good "Vieques to draw, and the prospects of increasing them at the races were too much for them, so they decided to quit the job. Within an hour or co of leaving, the vacancies were filled bv others less independent.

Tlie world it is often claimed is full of opposites (states the Timaru “Herald”).- We live in a. whirl of paradoxes. While-there is such a slogan as “Feed the starving children,” in the other hemisphere, people find difficulty in procuring sufficient of their fellowmen to clear the festive board. At least, such was tho case the other day in one boardinghouse of Timaru, and a business man in town who perforce had to work while,others played, canvassed hard to get some of his friends to help to demolish the remains of the Easter poultry whidli burdened the almost deserted tables. Only one assistant was found.

The final''stages of the work on tho Huarau-Whangarei railway, urenaratorv to handing over the completed lino <to the Railway Department, aro lining energetically prosecuted by the I’uhlic Works Department (states the .Auckland “Herald”). At Paparcwa 'there is still ono small bridge to bn built. At Mareretu excavation for th» station yards is going on, and within the last two weeks ono steapr shovel 'end locomotive have been dismantled end shipped to Tauranga. Others are to bn dismantled later. The bridge «t tho gap has still to bo steel-girded-At Kikowhiti, Managawai, Mason’s Quarry, and Waikiekie, tho bridges are all completed. At the Taipiiha station sitq a lot of work is going on, chiefly in the nature of excavating for the station yard.

An impudent theft was committed at the Grand Motel, Invercargill, about 8 o’clock on a recent evening, when a boarder, on going up to his room, found the light burning and a stranger standing outside the door wearing his overcoat (says the “Southland News’’). Ito accosted the man and got the coat from him. The intruder continued further along the corridor and unconcernedly changed his worn shoes for a. goodlooking pair left outside another mom door. Ho then went downstairs and Ixiok a valuable coat from a cloakroom., leaving the hotel by the main entrance comfortably muffled up. The man whoso coat ho appropriated in the first place, and who watched tho shoechanging process, stood passively bv while the thief strolled leisurely out into the street. Tho impudence of the thing must have been too much for him. At any rate, tho police are non looking for tho coat and shoes—and their wearer.

“You’d hardly believe it but do- you know that the valuation of our land in New Zealand is greater than the valuation of tlio whole of Australia? exclaimed Mr. J. D. Hall at a meeting of the North Canterbury executive ot the Farmers’ Union (states an exchange).

Last Saturday evening a tobacconist’s shop in Queen Street, Auckland, was entered by a burglar, who crawled through a back window and stole Lo. Had the intruder looked further afield (says an exchange) he would have found a cash register and a safe easily acsessible,- both containing money, but these were left untouched.

A resident of "Wanganui, Mrs. _ B. Burns, and lier three-year-old child, had a narrow escape from serious accident there hist Friday (states an exchange). Mrs. Burns was cycling with her child in front of her on a carrier, when she was knocked over by a motorcar. Both Mrs. Burns and the child disanpeared beneath the car, but beyond a shaking uiey were unhurt.

A good story was told by Colonel McKenzie, when addressing an audience at Palmerston North (states an exchange): When the troops were passing through a French village he noticed an " inscription:—“Washing done here. English spoken. Australian understood.” The sign, the Colonel said, explained for itself the opinion of the French people of the vocabulary of the Australian soldier.

An Auckland gentleman, 70 years of age, whilst staying at the Dawson Falls House, succeded in climbing to the summit of Mount Egmont (states tho Stratford “Post”). Starting at 10 a.m., he returned io the House viaFantham’s Peak, at 5 o’clock, and despite his advancing years appeared quite fit. Such a feat, when there was a good deal of ice on the Mountain, is regarded as a marvellous one, considering the age of the climber.

At a meeting of the Southland executive of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union (states an exchange) a strong protest was made against the protection of deer in the fiord country. A member who occupied a farm in that district stated that recently he had three horses destroyed by stags, and it was not an uncommon sight to see 13 or 14 deer in the crops in the early morning. On one morning recently his brother had found 15 deer in his crops, and Tfacl shot five. Young hinds also came down and caused a terrible death-rate' among lambs, and if the position became much worse it would not pav farmers to rear lambs at all. Since the meeting was held the Minister has given authority to cull out the herds of deer in Southland. Immigrants, or at least some of them, do not appear to bo particularly partial to ranging positions (states an exchange). Ih his monthly report to the Otago Acclimatisation Society, the curator at Clinton states that one immigrant applied for the position of assistant ranger. He stayed one day, and took the outgoing trail. Another immigrant came on March 15. He staved ono day and also took another trail. This man had big ideas. He informed the curator-that he was under the impression that he was to be tho under-manager, “but found out that, he was under water.” “He cleared out,” wrote the curator, “and I did not know he was away for some time. These men, it appears to me. are looking for a bank manager’s job. or something of the sort.” The curator concluded by stating that he had since engaged a returned soldier., who had i been working on a dredge in Central Otago, and later “doing Some gardening work in Dunedin.”

Recently there has been more th'an the usual proportion of children at the New Plymouth Hospital, and tihe fact is causing. food for thought (states the Hawera “Star”). At a meeting of tho Taranaki Education Board, special attention was drawn to the matter by Mr. S. G. Smith, M.P. for Taranaki. 'He referred to the' remarks made by the chairman of the Hospital Board, that sometimes more than half tho patients in the hospital during tho month were children of school age. Mr. Smith thought that the board should endeavour to ascertain the names of the children in hospital, and the districts from which they came. It was a matter which concerned the board, and if it could do anything to remedy the position it was its duty to do so. He suggested, a conference with the Hgspital Board to investigate the number of children at hospital and their complaints'. This was agreed to.

In the course of an interview with an “Otago Daily Times” representative Mr. 'W. S/Brannum, an American lumber proprietor who is at present touring the Dominion, said that New Zealand was but little known in. America, and Americans considered it “right off the face of the globe.” When ho told his friends that he was corning to New Zealand thev had asked, him what had put that “tom-fool” notion into >his head, and he had replied that, he wanted to see the country. Americans got no encouragement to visit New Zealand. Wealthy Americans often chartered vessels to tour the East,- tho Mediterranean, South America, etc., Hiit very few came to New Zealand. If thev realised what a wonderful country New Zealand was and the grand scenerv it possessed they would ignore it no longer. The New Zealand scenery was some of the finest he had seen Anywhere .in his travels. The American shipping' companies and tourist assSeiations could ™ly detailed information as to freight charges to New Zealand, but could supply no particu lars of the tourist resorts and means of travel in this country.

University students, at functions m which they should be interested, invariably assume a license of behaviour that would bo resented in any other body of young men. A sample of this was given the other night, at the interunivorsity debate (states the Otago Daily Tinios”), whei the chairman had to make more than one appeal to tho students to bphave as gentlemen and not as hoodlums. He remarked that no exception would be. taken to witty interjections, but this hint brought forth no result, as the so-called wit was of a very milk and watery description. Ono of the speakers (Mr. J B Batchelor, of the Canterbury College) met his fellow-students on their own ground. An inane interjection propounded a query about socks, and tho response was prompt:. “My «ocks are where you should bo —in tho wash.” Another student asked what the speaker had on his hair. “The same as you have on your brains—•water,” was tho quick retort. They left him alone after that. A permissible piece of fooling, because it was enacted when nothing else was being done, was when two of the students matched up oil to the platform. Ono took the chair, and the other .made a fictitious announcement regarding the result of the debate. The “chairman.” punctuating his rpmarks with many hems and hahs,, announced that after lionring the arguments that night, ho bail resolved to resign tho numerous degrees that he had not won at the university.