Local and General.

Gisborne Times, Volume LIII, Issue 5665, 20 December 1920, Page 4

Local and General.

It is aiiounced that the Axemen’s Carnival to be held on Boxing Day will be formally opened by the Mayor, Mr Geo. Wildish. After delivering a brief address, His Worship will start the half-mile cycle race, the first item on the programme. A set of fencing sticks has been presented to the Y.M.C.A. by Mr M. G. C. Pasco, for use in the gymnasium. The equipment of the proposed Boys’ Department has also been augmented by r the gift of a bagatelle table, tlie donors being the Misses Witty. A prominent dog fincier of Auckland who" was in Gisborne last week, states that he had had a number of' successes in the show ring with a Pomeranian dog bred by' Mr Don Miller of Gisborne. At both Auckland and Wellington this dog won the prize for the best. Pomeranian under 12 months. At Auckland the prizes in the junior Pomeranian dog class and for the best Pomeranian in the show were both awarded to him, while he also was successful in the limit class in the New Zealand Toy Dog Show. According to Mr F. H. Taylor of the Gisborne Sheepfarmers’ Frozen Meat Co. Ltd., it i.s anticipated trat the new freezing works at Hicks Bay' will be in a position to start killing operations towards the end of next month. ’The progress of the work in the new buildings has been greatly handicapped through the difficulty existing in obtaining the necessary' materials. Timber, in particular, had been hard to secure, but these obstacles were n'ow being surmounted and the work was proceeding satisfactorily.

t ' A large and reresentive gathering of Wairarapa farmers, held in Masterton, on Saturday under the auspices of the Farmers' Union, was addressed by Mr J. O. Cooper (managing'director' of.the Wellington Farmers’ Meat . Coy.) who has just, returned from England, on the question of the de-control of Ne\v Zealand meat on the. Home market. The following resolution was moved by the president (Mr Hugh Morrison) at the conclusion of the address: —"That this meeting emphatically protests against the price control in England of, New Zealand free meat; unless all other-’ meat in the Old Country is similarly controlled and that the executive of the Farmers’ Union be asked to take the matter up and bring the question before the Government.” This was seconded by Mr G. R. Sykes, M.P., and carried unanimously.—Press Assn. Qoast cricketers (says the East Coast Watch) think it strange that no mention was made in Gisborne reports of the tremendous hitting of Joe Oates in tlie.rmixtelf Coast v. Gisborne at Tolaga Bay. r on December 2. This player’s first six hit5—6,4,6,G,6,6,' (31)—made h’iin top score for the match and it. is perhaps a New Zealand record. Four G’s were hit in one over, three of them off. sue-' cessive balls. Coombe, who took six wickets for 59, bowled 21 overs, without a change. In view of the forthcoming Hawke Cup fixture, the form of these players (who were amongst the Coast players largely responsible for bringing the Hawke Cup to Poverty Bay in the first instance) should 'b'c favourably considered. They .'.are." both much inproved on their Wanganui form. The world’s record hitting, was made by" Johnson, a; Victorian, now, dead, with: six consecutive 6)s. w-; i

The Paleona; from Melbourne, ed at Blulf yesterday with an En o li mail. •. •/ ~ Several butter factories in the Manawsu Strict arc pa/to* ***»£» . with a prospective price fixed by the Government. The Gisborne Sheepfarmeis ‘ i oy Meat; 6 Co’s steamer Tiroa, arrived on Saturday morning Bom time St Wanol with a.oad of STsili*** 8 mViipSa the to SHwS at vessel v f 90 hours White island, where a stay of 20 flours y Pont ahi Fowlfii* was made uapia-m * * far ,he had not witnessed such seab to many years. Air James Nisbett, who for the last fifteen months has Dcen on the clerical i sss&Twy ! ss * t & fifUf-rfc •'and testified to his. popularity both m i the office and in private Me. Mr-B.il. ! Faram, on behalf of the staff presentled Mr Nisbett with a leather suit ! case* as a token of their respect and ! appreciation of his services. I A most enjoyable programme oU a i varied and interesting mature was pijh j vided by the Gisborne City Band m Everybody’s Theatre last evening, the j theatre was well filled, the large audience showing keen appreciation oi : the well-rendered items. the co | certed band selections were mtersperS ced with various vocal and mstrumeni tal numbers, all of which were piej seated in a capable and pleasing mani ner A number of classic works were ! contributed by the band and the skilful interpretation of these gives som ■ indications of the work of which the band is capable. 1 “In this country a man can become anything,” said Mr \\. iVI- - Hughes, Prime Minister of Austra- | Jia in an address to the National : Association at Sydney a lew days ago. “The door of opportunity' is wide ; open. In this fair city I have elepu ! in the Domain for three nights running, and during that lean time I had practically nothing to eat. (Pause.) Well, here I am. (Laughter and cheers.) “This country opens its gates to all. There can be no talk ; of class in such a community'. A man of ’ any grade to-day may be in any other grade to-morrow. All honest Ia- ! bour is equally honourable, j A large crowd of pakelias and natives collected at the lower end of ■ the Strand the other evening 1 (says the Whakatane Press), when a 1 few pugilistic exhibitions by _ some •' Maoris were witnessed. According to • reports a little money' was to change hands on the results, but owing to the arrival of Sergeant Cummings on the spot, the handing over of the stake money was deferred. From what can be gathered from eye-witnesses, the affair was prcperly arranged. A ring-keeper bad been appointed, but j owing to an unfortunate intervention | in the main issue, he received a blow \ and was knocked senseless. The affair* may' have its sequel at the Police Court at no very distant date.

An Auckland lady who has returned from a visit to Sydney' speaks highly of the courtesy' displayed by the directors of tlie Art Gallery in that city, in going through the collection she admired a picture, “Faust’s First Meeting with Marguerite,” by Cowper, and upon leaving asked the custodian if she could procure a photo or picture postcard to take back to New Zealand. He said there were no postcards, but he would tell the directors. and he asked the number of her room at tlie hotel. Next morning she received a photo that had evidently been specially taken, with the compliments of the directors of the National Art Gallery of New South Wales. Such courtesy, she says, could not be excelled even by a Parisian.