LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 66, 15 September 1921, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

As the Evening Post will go to press earlier than usual on Saturday afternoon, advertisers are notified that matter intended for publication in that day's issue cannot be guaranteed insertion, unless the copy is received by W. 30 a.m. Buyers from Vestys and are at present in the Wajrarapa 'says tlie Age). One of these is said within the last few days to .have purchased 400 head of cattle at about £4 12s a head. "Judging by the good feeling that has been evident since our arrival here," said Mr. H. C. Bennett, manager of the Springboks, when, replying to a welcome at the Tepid Baths last evening. I know you all want the Springboks to win on Saturday. (Laughter.) I^incerely hope you will notbe disappointed." Mr. T. M. Wilford, M.P., number for the Hutt district, when, speaking at the All Black reception at Eastbourne last flight, welcomed the Hon. J. G. Coates, "(Minister of Public Works) to the eastern side of the harbour, which -is part af his (Mr. Wilford's) constituency. The Min^ ister was a stranger to 'Eastbourne, said' the speaker, but strangers sopn become friends after a visit to the "sun-kissed suburb." Once again the rather soive question of fishing in the City .Corpo.rat.ipn reservoirs was referred to at last .evening's meeting of the Wellington iicclimatisation Society, following the r.eseipt of a letter from' the Town Clerk_, Mr. J. BPalmer, stating that the permission asked. for could not be granted. "Do you wish to discuss this question?" ajsked the/ chairman, Mr.'E. J. C. Wiffjn. "It is ai ■waste of time, anyhow." Members took the hint and "received" the letter. The final meeting of the Petone Technical School Board as at present constituted was held last evening. It was presided over by Mr. D, M'Kenzie. fliers were also present: Messrs. G. T. London, R, JJ- Jones, and W. E. Nicholson. Thg business was of » formal nature. A payment of £177 was received from the Education Board nad accounts to the ampjjnt of £13 were passed for payment. 9» the motbr. of Mi London, a vote of thanks was recorded to Mr. p. M'Kenzie for his services as chairman. The question of obtaining a lecturer for a popular lecture was left in the hands of Mr. Nicholson. "Last year," said Mr. T. M. Wilford-, M.P., at the Eastbourne reception to the All Blacks, "I saw Dempsey in his training quarters, and had my photograph taken with him, a photograph whiph I have not yet had published " (Laughter.) Continuing., Mr. Wilford said that Dempsey was not popular in America, the favourite being the' French* man, Carpentier. When the fight actually occurred he was 4000 miles away from the Stadium. Outside the Examiner office at Sail Francisco, between 10 and 11.o'clock, in the morning, he listened to the result of a. fight at 3 o'clock in the afte.rn.pon pf the same day, this being possible owing to,the distance. A huge crowd was told how the fight was progressing by means of a magra box, a wonderful little instrument, which magnifies the human voice so that it can be heard 300 or 400 yards away from the speaker, who merely arises his natural voice." The same afternoon as the fight took place, a. photograph of the actual knock-out was published in the newspapers. Though separated by over four thousand miles. Yankee hustle overcame the difficulty by means of thf telegraph service. A sheet war drawn out with an infinitesimal numbei'-.of mijiute squares, each numbered, and a duplicate was retained in the 'distant newspaper office —San Francisco., When the actual ltnock-out occurred, it was photographed and developed, the squared paper being laid over it, and the two figures, Carpenter lying down and Dempsey looking on, were pricked out. Then the ijumben- of the squares pricked were telegraphed im» mediately, and the pin-pvicks reproduced ■on the duplicate squared paper, the two boxers' faces being cut. from photograph? and affixed, the whole being re- ! produced as an jliustrption in the Ex- j airliner the same afternoon as the fight, i "It v/as a wonderful exhibition of American alertness and ' ingenuity," concluded Mr. Wilford. ' ! Mr. 11. A. Morris, a member of the ' Pelone West School ComniiM.ee, was last ! evening ejected a, member of the Petone Technical. School Board by delegates ffpm the school committees within live I miles radius of Petone. '

A very fine »ambur deer has been presented to the Wellington Zoo by the Acclimatisation Society. Seven other deer have been sent on to Botorua. -| "What wages do you get" asked Sir John Salmond of a boy witness in the Masterton Supreme Court on Tuesday. "I get 13b a day!" "How old are you?" "Seventeen." He was employed at a sawmill at Taumarunui. "Old Identities' Day" was observed yesterday in connection with the Invercargill borough jubilee. A large number of early residents took part 'in a lengthy procession of motor-cars, trade and historical displays. Aeroplanes from the West Plains aerodrome circled overhead. Yesterday there died at the Trentham Military Hospital No. 23/1932 Richard Baghdikian, and No. 43415 S. H. Glading, both of Wellington. The latter's relatives reside a-t Berhampore, and the nominated next-of-kin of Baghdikian reside in Tasman-street, according to the, files in Base Records. At a largely-attended meeting of the South • Canterbury Executive of the Fanners' Union in Timaru yesterday, it was decided to emphatically protest against the suggestion that the Postal Department should levy £2 on all rural mail-boxes., It was further agreed that only those who contribute should be served wit}? mails. The election of members of the Weir lington Technical College Board of Governors will take place pji 23rd September, Messrs. T. Ballinger, C. A. Lawrence, and L. R. Partridge have been nominatr ed as representatives of the employers, and the foljowipg h»ve been nominated as repreaen<tatives of the employees: Messrs. J. Barras, C, H. Chapman, T. Graham, W. R. Kennedy, J. Read, and H. Thompson. "One of our Magistrates fines cyclists a larger amount for being without lights in the city than for being without lights outside the city,".said a member of the Canterbury Automobile Association on Wednesday. "In my humble opinion, it should be the other way about. The real danger is in-the outskirts where you suddenly come acrosjs unlighted vehicles." The Chairman said that no distinction should be made at all. The Superintendent of Police wrote stating that every effort was Jbeing made to detect offenders driving unlighted vehicles, and to' bring J them before the Court for punishment. Circus proprietors (says the Mataura Ensign) are not great respecters of pri* vate property. A house in Fairfieldstreet bore the notice "To Let" on Saturday, and the owner when passing by late at night called in to see that everything was,in order. To his surprise he found a .qupta of "perfciming" sheep tethered in the washhousp. When speech returned to him he addressed the uninvited guests in language not generally heard in the pulpit, "effectively cut the ropes anchoring the animals, and sped them to fresh fields and pastures new with a, few well-directed kicks (the owner of the house is an ex^-Rugby-ite). Next day work was performed on the seventh day of the week by tired but. wiser circus hands, who scoured the country for their dumb assistants. { Persons who are thinking about building residences may be interested in learning the prices at which sample con- ! I tracts were recently signed in Dunedin. The Dunedin Star reports that for a plain fourrroomed cottage,,, with all necessaries but no fancy equipment, the figure was £900 s an undertaking to erect a five-roomed residence was at the price of about £1000; and a five-roomed residence with a brick shell was con-: tracted for at £12i5: ■ These prices are for iron roofs, and do not include expensive elaboration of any sort, but all ordinary conveniences are provided. It is 'said that within the past fortnight there are signs of a distinct Tevivalin residence building in and about Dunedin, the idea gaining ground that it is i unprofitable to postpone building in the | hope of wages coming Sown. i Comment on the increase jn crimes j against property was made by Mr, Wyvern Wilson, S.M., at Christchurch yes- : terday, when a young nian was charged i with the theft of harness. The Magis- j trate said, that a deplorable state of '■ affairs existed. On looking over recent : statistics he found that one crime had ; increased more than ajry other, and .that' was' tha crime relating (to property. Offences against persons had not increas- i ed, but 'crimes against property had in- i creased 50 p« cent., and he wag. sorry to say that by far the greater number of Qiienees had been committed by men between the ages of 21 and 25. It lopked as jf a great many young thieves were growing mp in the Dominion. There was only one way to deal with crime of this kind, and that was to impose severe sentences in cases which came before the Court. Aimonth ago the Wellington Acclimatisation Society decided to import two red deer stags and two hinds from the Old Country with a view of introducing new blood to the New Zealand herds. A cablegram hag now, however, been received from London stating that owing to frequent outbreaks of foot and mouth disease it, would be unwise to ship the beasts from London just now. A suggestion was made that the animals should be shipped from Liverpool, though that course would entail an extra expenditure, of £40. The matter was discussed by the society last evening, and it was decided that the projected purchase should be cancelled this year, for the proposed arrangement would mean that the cost per head alongside the Wellington wharf would be £51. Bad luck seems the lot of the society as far as imported deer are concerned, for after the animals had been penned up at Home last year ready for shipment a wag (?) opened the pen gates and sent the deer about their business. Returning to the subject of Ratana's healing, the Church Gazette says there appears to be a goad deal of haziness abroad as regards the meaning of faithhealing. What do we mean by it? Do ■we mean healing by suggestion—that is, by the suggestive power of the prayer of faith acting on the mind of the patient—or do we mean healing by the direct action of God in answer to prayer? There is no doubt that some functional disorders can be healed by suggestion, but not organic diseases or physical deformities. Has there been one scientifically authenticated cure of an absolutely blind person by Ratana's agency? Can one scientifically authenticated case of the cure of cancer or of some physical deformity be produced? But whether the cures are the result of suggestion or other forms of medical skill, they are all ultimately due to the Divine activity, It is a, serious mistake to imagine that God's agency is more real in extraordinary events such as miraculous cures, than in ordinary happenings, such as cures by suggestion or by medicine or surgery. In order that no one may mistake our attitude to the \yprk of IJatana, we want to make it quite clear that we do not deny that remarkable cures may have taken place. We think Ratana's work is worthy of thorough scientific ' investigation : that all the evidence should oe carefully sifted and examined by experts; that the actual facts should I>ft isprted put from the indefinite mass of rumours and report. Until the facts have been collected and classified, the task of explaining and interpreting them cannot be rationally undertaken.