LOCAL & GENERAL.

Franklin Times, Volume XVII, Issue 75, 4 July 1927, Page 4

LOCAL & GENERAL.

Mauku Croquet Club. A The report of the annual meeting of the Mauku Croquet- Club, which was crowded out of last Friday's issue owing to pressure on our space.'will'be found on page 2... '",,.. • League Player., Injured..' , A fracture' of the right ankle was sustained by Mr. R. Carter, of Piini, while playing for the Kingsland team in :the Kingsland-Parnell League match ■at Victoria Park on Saturday. Mi". Garter was admitted to hospital. "Five Hundred" at Paparata. \.\ In spite, of the : inctemon)t weather, tliere was. quite a good: gathering at the P'ap'arata school on-Friday evening l'O'r'.a "five hundred" tournament. Miss 1 Raines and Mr. Gleeson were successful in. carrying off the first prize, while the consolation prize was awarded to Mrs. Wilson and Mr. Johns, ,f.. • Rainfall at Pukekohe; " •The headmaster o f t h ft* Pukekohe primary sdh&pj-.:-. Mr,. Er, Pv Snell.! has kindly supplied information regarding the rainfall at Pukekohe Tor : June-: The total rainfall was s.o:l'inches, the heaviest fall being experienced on June 30- when 1.6 inches fell. Rain fell on 16 days during the month; The school recorders were Masters A. Pearsall and V. Wilson. :v ,

A Unique Record. For a father to captain and to have his three sons in a junior football team is rather unique, but existed: in the Drury club last. year. Mr. A. Cossey captained the team which won the Manukau Sub-Union's junior competition, in 1926, and had with him as associate players his three sons, Messrs. 8., T., and H. Cossey.',-At the club's annual ball on Friday evening (the caps were presented to the '.junior champions, and in the course; of his speech the president (Mr. \V. .!. Brooks) humorously suggested that Mr. Cossey, senr., had retired from football to allow his grandsons to don the jerseys. Although standing on the line this season, the veteran captain still maintained his interest in the game, and acted as coach and selector. Level Crossings.

In spite of the gradual elimination of level crossings, the number of accidents from collisions between motorvehicles and trains is increasing instead of diminshing, according to data "furnished by the N.Z. Railways Magazine. An increase of these collisions to It fV during the past year, as against .87 for the previous one, "shows that motorists are not learning by experience', to observe even the most elementary precautions while crossing railways on the level. The strenuous efforts of the Department in its "Safety First" campaign, by which it endeavoured to teach motorists by posters and literature to make sure the track was .clear before crossing, appears to have borne singularly little fruit. The careless' and reckless motorist is still as much to the fore as ever. Unfortunately, if is not only his own life and limb he hazards, but those of the passengers he is conveying. Friday's Rain.

In spite of the excessive rainfall lha! occurred on Thursday night and Friday morning, no damage of any importance lias been reported to (he Franklin County Council. A number of culverts were wholly unable to carry off the water, with the result dial .the roads were over (lowed in many places, bui the waiter went down as rapidly as il had risen before doing any. material damage. Some of the streams .rose to flood level with extraordinary; rapidity At Maungatawhiri on Friday morning' the water was standing higher over the Hals than it has been at any time for the past three or four years, but as the Waikato was not running high most of it. soon got away. At Drury and Opaheke alt the low-lying lands were, under water, and at Fast Pukekohe, op Mr. s. Hamilton's farm, a number of tents occupied by Maoris were hooded to the depth, of three to four feet, much fo the discomfort of 'heir occupiers.

Forecasting Football Results. Last week's football result forecasting competition was won by Master Ken Reynolds, who forecasted correctly the result of the Power BoardRamblers match. Silent Policemen. Members of the borough council staff were engaged to-day re-arranging the silent policemen at the Post Office corner. Four "policemen" are being installed, two in King Street and one each in Roulston and Hall Streets at this intersection', in. place of the one formerly in the middle of the intersection. This re-arrangement should be. greatly appreciated by drivers of vehicles. Additional Day's Racing. It ; is stated that the. Minister of Internal Affairs, the Hon. R. F. Bollard, has decided to loan the Franklin Racing Club one of the ''floating" totalisator permits.-This will mean that next March there will be. two days' racing in Franklin, instead of one. Up-to, the present the secretary of the Franklin Racing Club, Mr. A. P. Daysh, has had no official advice as to the Minister's intention. : . Pukekohe's Temperature. , Details of the temperature of Pukekohe, as registered at the Pukekohc primary school, have been, supplied by Mr. E. F, Snell, the headmaster. The .average maximum temperature was 61 :degrees; and the average minimum '[ temperature 44 degrees. These are . .gained from indoor readings. The Highest temperature was G 7 degrees, on J line'4;,'and the lowest temperature was 3 4 degrees, on June 15. On June 1,6, the* minimum outside temperature was 21\ degrees, thus registering 11 , .degrees of frost, . Judgment in Libel Case.

A Press Association message informs us that the Chief Justice gave judgment for. £2O for Mr. Timpany in the. case he brought against the Dairy Exporter newspaper on account of published accusations that he. (Mr. Timpany) had misled, the people, of Southland and had committed a breach, of confidence, in disclosing, the" contents of cablegrams to .the Dah;y Board from the Prime Minister and Mr. Stronach Patterson. The Chief Justice found for the plaintiff in regard to the, first article, but held that the second one was fair-, comment. Unity is Strength. : "We' must ' stick together," said Lieutenant-Colonel Gambrill, addressing members'of the Gisbornc Returned Soldiers' Association (says 'the Gisboriie Times): ; ; "The membership of the Returned Soldiers'' Association throughout the Dominion," lie said, "lias dwindled, but there are signs of a revival of interest. .TheMre-forma-tio.n of the association here is one of the cheerful prospects of the.organisation. and only to-night I received a request to go: to Tokomaru Bay to address a meeting Io form an. association there": where there is a prospect of 100 niembers." (Applause.) What was he After?

A man prowling round a restaurant in Gisborne late the other' night considerably alarmed the proprietress of .the establishment (reports the Poverty Bay Herald). Before closing the place for the .night at about II o'clock, the lady was counting the day's takings into a handbag, when, on looking out of a window at-the rear of the premises, she was alarmed to see a man watching her from the yard. A short lime afterwards she left for;lnn- home, carrying a : sum of money with her, and on reaching her house was further startled to. see a man dash out from an adjoining doorway and make off hurriedly, down the. street. A constable was summoned, and in his search about -the place he discovered a length of lead-piping in an adjoining doorway. The matter is receiving a thorough investigation by the police.