SCHOOL ATTENDANCE CASES.

Feilding Star, Volume VI, Issue 1727, 22 February 1912, Page 2

SCHOOL ATTENDANCE CASES.

Mr C. J. D. Skinner, Truant Officer for the Wanganui Education Board, proceeded against several parents, at -the Kimbolton sitting of the S.M. Court yesterday, for -failing to send their children' to. school as required by the law. Small fines were imposed against those offenders in which the charges wero proved. J. Parsons and R. Davies, who wero charged in respect of their children, wero represented by' Mr IT Mclntyre. The facts were that" the children lived over five miles away irom the school by tho public road, buj; they sometimes used a track through private property which lessened tha distance to two miles T l"° I T -',' l ] al,t Inspector held that as the children rode horses, tho distance [unit did not apply, as it was meant ior cases where the children had to walk.. Mr Mclntyre argued against ■that point, and lie further pointed out that the track was a very steep one m places, and not safe in wet weather The Magistrate held that the children were exempt owing to distance, and dismissed the two in formations.

A prohibition order- was issued against a resident of Awahuri this morning.

A new hockey flub, to be called the Ihoenix, is being formed in Palmerston to compete in the senior competition during tlie-coming season. The Uub will be mainly composed of cricketers.

Dining the voyage of the Moana from Sydney to Wellington, the wireless operator on the steamer "heard" i*r. Mawson's station on Macquarie island receiving scores in the cricket match, England v. New South \V ales.

-M-^, Ue r, moi ' n '''S last week Messrs Mills Bros., of Temuka, had occasion to visit the Milford beach, and on arrival there discovered a" good-sized whale in the wash of the breakers. Ib has been ''tried" for its oil.

Mr Sam Begg, the well-known black and white artist of the Illustrated London News—a. New ZeaJauder who was the favourite artist of the late King Edward—is on a visit to his relatives in Napier, having come to New Zealand by way of India, where he attended the. Durbar ceremonies for- bis journal.

In connection .with the threatened strike of _a_ni_. hands in regard to the deadlock as to the working conditions of swamp hands in the Mauawatu district, matters are assuming a more favourable aspect. The workers ,at several mills have expressed themselves forcibly against resorting to a strike, and they decided- not to knock off work to attend to-day's mass meeting In Palmerston.

, Tho Postal Department has decided to grant the request of settlers oil the Feilding, Buiinythorpe and Watershed roads, aud a rural delivery, Ashurst and Hiwiuui, embracing the above: roads, will commence at once. The postman will do the round trip on a motor cycle. The settlers on the Pohangina -road, Ashhurst and Raumai, are also moving in the mat- : ter of. a rural delivery, and there is no reason why they sliould not meet with the same success. i

The flow of oil that set at No. o oil bore at Moturoa at an early hour on Sunday was maintained throughout Monday, aud already there is an ap-' preciable quantity of oil in the new* underground tank near by. " If the thirty-six barrels a day flow' keeps up ' the staff will have io excavate I other tanks. Tuesday's Taranaki News states that there is yet no sign of diminution in the supply; if any-, thing, the indications point" in an opliosite direction. I

During the hearing of a case, in tlie Auckland iUagstrate's Court before Mr Kettle, . S.M., tho magistrate handed to counsel the following letter which lie had received: "Mr Cattle. Dear Sir.—Would ■ you bee kind enought to let me know Jio\v I much it will cost to ge_ a divorce in the Supreme Court for .a working man bcause it is a clear case for a, ' devorce. ' She as lef me about six ' years, an 1 want to get a devorce as soon as you tell me the cheapes way ' to get ib on esy terms. Anyser an | oblige. Your turly,— A. li." \

About 1000 lots were offered at the auction of unclaimed luggage which took place in tho B goods shed, Dune.div, last week, and between £70 and £80 was taken. Towards the «©nd of the sale an apparently empty cask was knocked clown for ls, but the purchaser .resold it for Is, after opening it and discovering a tity of soft soap in it. Another lucky man paid 32s " on tho blind " for a portmanteau, and found that it contained 12 bottles of whisky. The -highest price (42s Gel) was obtained for a cycle.

Mr Bertram McKennal, whose' de- : coration as M.V.O. was included in the New Year's Honours List, concluded some time back his design for the New Zealand postage stamps, which are due to appear this June. They will bear an imprint of tho King's head, printed from steel engraved plates at the Government Printing Oiiice, Wellington. The existing surface printed designs of the' halfpenny, and penny will continnoin use, mid a single type" will be employed if or tho other values.

■As an indication of the rapid growth of tihe electrical supply undertaking in Wellington during the last e ycar, as compared with the gas supply, it is interesting to note from the published figures of the Wellington Gas Company's last report and bal-ance-sheet, the sale of gas, products, and goods increased by £2832, as compared withthe previous year an increase of 3. T( per cent., a.nd-717. new services were connected, whilst the electric lighting department's revenue for the last twelve months shows.an. increasa of £4707, or 10.36 per .cent., and 1236 new connections were made. '

Further news reached Auckland by the Navua' yesterday of the disastrous hurricane which swept Haapai Group and Fiji. Mr F. J. Watkin, collector of Customs in the Group (brother of Mr Leonard Watkin of Feilding), tells the following" story: "For thirteen years I have lived at Lifuka', and aiever before have I .known., such a storm. -~. The whole Haapai Group lias'been swept clear— houses demolished, plantations raised, boats smashed,' and the town of Lifuka practically swept out of existence. By a tidal .wave thousands of pounds worth of, damage has been done, and thousands of natives 'in the group :aro faced with starvation, the. result being that the-Government is sending-"-.big commissiohsOto; Auck-v for foody corii, and;seed; to.pre-; ;pare" for' a. serious. -ti--"e.;;Bdieady";,; > .T v