Local and General.

Gisborne Times, Volume LVI, Issue 6373, 2 May 1922, Page 4

Local and General.

The final result of “Poppy Day” in 'Wellington amounted to £1746. The expenses were ten shillings.—Press Assn.

The Arbitration Court’s decision on the bonus case will be delivered at Auckland at the beginning of next week.—P.A.

The special meeting of the Harbor Board, which was to have been held yesterday, to elect a chairman for the ensuing year, lapsed for want of a quorum.

On account of many matters of great importance waiting to he dealt with in New Zealand at present,” Mr. Massey is reluctantly compelled to postpone his visit-to Samoa.—Press Assn.

Two prisoners, in charge of a- police constable, arrived at Gisborne by train last night from Opotiki. The prisoners, appeared before the last sitting of the Magistrate’s Court at Opotiki, and were committed for trial at Gisborne. On the eve of her wedding Princess Mary accepted a cake, the gift of GOOO unemployed women who are being trained by the Central Committee on Women’s Training and Employment in Homecrafts in various centres established throughout the country. At the Tuparoa Court yesterday Edward llobin son, formerly manager of the Tuparoa Trading Co., appeared before Justices of the Peace on a charge of alleged embezzlement. He was remanded to appear before the Magistrate at Waipiro Bay.

j The commission which was set up by ‘Parliament to inquire into the boundaries of the Wairoa Harbor District will probably sit in Gisborne next week to take evidence in connection with the enquiry. It is possible that, prior to the sitting of the commission, a special meeting of the Harbor Board will he held to discuss the matter.

“We have heard a great deal about the peasants of Russia,” said a member of tlio audience at Professor Goode’s lecture last evening. “As one of the peasants of New Zealand, I should like to ask the Profossor what lie would advise us to do? (Laughter.) The Professor rophccl that the question was one winch ho would answer in a private room. As was expected,, tliero was an unusually large number-of marriages during last month, particularly in the week following Easter. The vital statistics for the month of April, as re-'; I corded by the Registrar, Mr 11. E. ! Hill, were as follows, the figures for ! the corresponding month of Inst year ; being shown in parenthesis: —Births 46 (5.1), marriages 26_ (19), deaths 13 (8).. _

“You Hliy tllll t llil! !'«■ Union j'h Juh polilioH, Boon Unit roJigion roeognino Godf M wiih a addressed to Professor Goode at Ins mooting lust ovoning. “I can only say J. have not heard God montionod,”, wiih tho reply. About (J.ltO lust o von lug a rosidMit of Kuhutiu Street. • while nittink at tea with Jiis I'umijy. heard a scuffling out in his fowlliouse. Going to the back door. Jio was just in time to see a dark shape, presumably the figure of a man, scale tho l'eiico and decamp, uml, upon entering the fowlliouse, he discovered four of his fowls with their necks wrung. That such a thing us the “freedom of tlio press” does not; exist in llussia is evident from a statement made by Professor Goode in reply to a question at his meeting last night, when he stated tho news was supplied or censored by the Government officials. The newspapers, or bulletins, contained no advertisements, as th.iro was nothing to sell, tho shops supplying goods on tlio co-operative basis. In tlio three cases against the Northern Steamship Co. on Aiiril 7, claiming damages for failure to receive fruit oil board the 11 a raw a at Onehunga, the Appeal Court afc-WeJiington, yesterday, by three to one, Sir Robert Stout dissenting, allowed the appeal, and tlio caso was remitted to tho Supremo Court for the assessment of damages. 'Tho plaintiffs were allowed one set of costs on table scale ns on a case from a distance. —Press Assn.

“If the Soviet Government is looking after its children to tlio extent you describe;” asked a questioner of Professor Goode last evening, “why is it that we are being repeatedly appealed to to help the starving millions of that country?” Professor Goode stated that the plight-of Iltlssia was caused through two successive droughts, which had been followed by famine and an epidemic of disease. ■

In response to numerous requests from business and professional- men, Messrs. Gil Hawkins and Lin Robinson have decided to open a physical culture institute on the latest scientific lines in a large room above Miss Barnes, florist, Peel Street. The principals are well-known in athletic circles in this town, and already several applications for membership have been received. For the first term classes will, bo run on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings. The institute will open in about a fortnight.

An outbreak of fire occurred in a ! cottage .owned by Mr. T. Hibhert, and ■ situated on Kaiti Beaeli, at about 5.20 jon Sunday night. It is stated that a | child was carrying a candle and aceij dentally sol fire to the curtains in one of the rooms. A hand-pump was put j into operation and the tire was confined jto one room and extinguished after about £75 worth of damage was done to I the building and £25 to the contents, j The building was insured for £3OO in j the South British Insurance Co., and I the contents for £ioo in the Eagle, Star and British Dominions ollico.

| The usual quiet of some parts of De- | vonport was rudely disturbed by a : baud of marauders on a recent Thursj day night (says the Auckland Star), j Much singing was.indulged in, and a ! score or two of gates were taken from - their hinges. In many cases gates were carried long distances- away. The silly nonsense caused a good deal of distress in homes where the owner of' the place | was away on holiday for the week-end, i and had left only the womenfolk at j home. In one case a front garden was , stocked with gates taken from other i properties, and a lot of annoyance i caused.

j At the Auckland Police Court yes- ; terday Frank Jocelyn Johnstone Flet- : cher, a commercial traveller, 21 years • of age. admitted a series of charges of j obtaining goods or cash by false pre- : fences, and two charges of theft, the | total amount involved being £S3G 11s j lOd. The thefts included four diamond j rings valued at £IOG. The accused had ; made various representations as tc his i business and standing to several people. i The rings were given to him by a woj man to wear and she also advanced him money, which he promised to return. Accused was committed for sen-

| fence. —Press Assn. | There is said to be a prospect of the j price of coal being reduced as a result ' of the Arbitration Court having filed ! an order reducing the wages of work--1 ers in coal mines. The order of the 1 Court, has been made in pursuance of i a clause in the coal mines’ award

! which contains a provision for the rates |of wages being* reviewed every six ! months and adjusted in accordance | with the. movement in the cost of living I figures for the foed groups. The only ! effect of the order, which operates from j to-day. is to reduce the wages of minimum time rate men from 16s to 14s 3d ! per day. Corresponding decreases are ! also to be made in the rates for piecej workers. —Press Assn. I The quarterly meeting of the Hawke's I Bay Land Board was held yesterday afi ternoon, there being present Messrs. ! W. F. Marsh (Crown Lands Commis-

sioner), E. B. Ross, and A. J. Cameron. There was very little work to occupy the attention of the Bourd. An application was received from S. S. Spence,

for Opoiti 2, ii., a portion of the Te Eeinga subdivision, for which no applications were received when the block was balloUed at Napier on April 6th. The application -was approved. The Board dealt also with forfeitures of miscellaneous leases in the AY aipiro block, the lessees being Natives. A sublease of the Crown lease of Patutahi 63, iv., from R. H. D. Warner to J. B. Foster was approved. It is the intention of local amateur operatic enthusiasts to produce an opera in Gisborne this year, and with a view to furthering their object, a meeting is to be held to-night at 7.30 at -Chrisp’s showrooms. A similar proposal was mooted last year, and a meeting was convened in July, when the Society was formed and an executive elected, but in view of the lateness of the season and the difficulty in obtaining scores and properties for the production, the scheme was not then gone on with. There is said to be much talent in Gisborne, both vocal and instrumental, uud numerous offers of support have already been received. It will be decided at the meeting when a start will be made, but the practice in the past has been to commence rehearsals about June or July and to put on the production at carnival time in October.

The widespread objection to the aroma of fried fish was referred to during the hearing of-a case before the Court of Appeal., yesterday at "Wellington. Counsel, in referring to f a tenant who had been objected to by his landlord on the ground that he was a Greek who fried fish, said: “I maintain, your Honors, that a«man can he a Greek and fry fish, and still bo respectable and solvent.” Referring further to the subject, counsel said that the landlord had stated that lie could distinguish -the smell down the street. “He does not say what smell he could distinguish, counsel added. “I suppose,” . remarked the Chief Justice, “that it was the usual smell of ancient fish.” Another counsel pointed out that it was no breach if a tenant were to sublet a shop for the storage of lucifer matches, the sale of alcoholic liquors, or even the accessary if inconveniencing calling of j purveying fried fish and oysters to i the public. Judgment on the vexed j question was reserved hv the Court.— Press Assn. .

Miss Reader, Williams and Sherratt’s Buildings (upstairs), 74 Lowe Street, is prepared to do typewriting of all descriptions. Strictly confidential. Orders by mail have prompt and personal attention. ’Phone No. 8. P.O. Box 310.***

Bale deposit lockers oro to To installed in the strongroom of the nm public Trust Ollico bTljldmgs at Mast'erto/i.

At one of the large public schools at Auckland a free distribution of milk and cocoa was made to tho children during the winter months. The was defrayed by subscription, and donations of material.

i The reduction in the price of Wanganui manufactured bricks is resulting in inquiries from various parts or the North Island for supplies. Quite a number are going into UieKingCmm- . try, one-recent order totalling 50,000. The sale of poppies in the Wairara--1 rapa last week is expected to realise a ; total of £250. The Mastcrtoii supply was sold out at an early hour and oW oxtra, poppies were obtained from local business houses. These also were disposed of.

Repairs are still being effected to the WheHuakura railway bridge, on the New Plymouth line, which was washed away when the Whenuakura Rivc-r was in flood recently, and the trains to and from New Plymouth have to proceed at a slow pace when traversing it.

It has been remarked that the Palmerston North Deputy Public Trustee s Department, which probably controls properties exceeding a million of money with its widely-extended operations, requires the use of one telephone connection, while the supposedly comatose defence operations demand a monopoly of five telephones -distributed among ten controlling officers there. The memorial gates erected at the entrance to the Remuera Public School were unveiled by the Governor-General, Viscount Jellicoe, recently. r lhe gates, which, are of brick and Oainaru stone, inset with memorial tablets bearing the names of over 200 ex-pupils who served in the war, were erected at a cost oi £loo,’ this sum being collected iu the district mainly by the scholars.

A rock weighing about four tons fell upon the railway line midway between Wallsend and Dobson, West Coast, recently. The train from Groymouth to Blackball, leaving Greymouth at 6 a.m ran into the obstruction in the darkness, the locomotive being damaged to such an extent that it was unable to proceed. The van also was somewhat damaged. The accident caused delay to all other trains using this line.

Near Brownville, Texas, U.S.A., Mr W. A. King conducts one of the largest snake’ farms in the world, with 100 hatchers constantly employed. The farm supplies .'specimens to museums and poison to chemists and medical men. Each rattler yields about a fourth of a tumblerful of the deadly green liquid. Snake oil, as a remedy for rheumatism, brings a good price, and hides and rattles are used in the manufacture of novelties.

A Southern resident, who JS on -a visit to Wanganui, in conversation with a press reporter stated that barley of good quality is very cheap in the South, with the result that he knew of several poultry enthusiasts who had turned their attention to it as a fowl feed. Personally, he rarely used other grain except barley, with satisfactory results. He would guarantee that his fouls would produce as many eggs on good barley as could be produced by any other means of feeding.

The question of the continuance and extension of the fight against the spread of fire blight was referred to at a meeting of the Huapai Fruitgrowers' Society. It was decided to ask the Government to pass an Act in the coming session providing that orchard areas may be defined by regulation. The secretary reported that the work by the Department of Agriculture, in co-oper-ation with the Fire Blight Committee, had been atteniVed with satisfactory results in those areas in which hawthorn had been eradicated. This -is the time of the year when the myriads of seagulls for which the Wai-te-mat a is famous cluster most thickly and scream most loudly about tho waterfront (says the Auckland Star). They smother the sheds with their white and grey and wheel noisily about the wharves and vessels, swooping in scores whenever a scrap of flotsam on the water gives promise of food, and daringly brushing their wings against the hats of humans. It is a sight- which intensely impresses the visitor, the number and audacity of these screaming scavengers of the waterfront.

This season, Mr James Butler, of Winton, sewed 300 acres in wheat. The yield exceeded expectations. One paddock averaged 73 bushels to the acre of first-grade quality throughout. Off 140 acres 2400 bags were obtained, and Mr Butler has yet to thresh fully 2000 bags. The grain in stack has not at all been marred by the weather. Other district wheat crops, more particularly in the Benmore and Dipton districts, have also yielded a high percentage. Southland has long since gained fame as an oat-producing centre, and it appears (says the Winton Record) that the time is at hand when it would come to be regarded as a wheat-growing province.

- A Greenfield farmer, anxious to engage hands for harvest work (leading-in and stacking) tried to get men in Balclutha on a recent Tuesday without success (says the Clutha Free Press), and, proceeding to Milton, had little better luck there, although he did manage to engage one “tourist” after interviewing tln-ee of the fraternity of the swag. In desperation he telephoned the Repatriation (Department, Dunedin, for three men, and they managed to send out one by the evening train to Milton, where the farmer picked him up, and, together with his other new employee, went off by motor-car to Greenfield, well pleased on the whole with the result of his strenuous efforts to get help.

Two months have elapsed since the terrible drowning fatality at Greymouth beach (says the Christchurch Sun), but the heroism displayed on that occasion is fresh in the minds of the public. It has been proposed that a. simple cairn should be erected on the beach to the memory of the six victims, and although not yet definitely adopted, it is receiving consideration. A suggestion has been made that the school children of the Grey and Inangaluia districts be asked to contribute, either one penny or three pence each. If the appeal proved at all successful, the cost of the memorial would be assured, independent, of adult subscriptions, and would at the same time afford a practical lesson to the younger generation on the heroism of self-sacri-fice.

The matter of unemployment in j Christchurch during the coming winter I was mentioned at the Christchurch j City Council meeting.—Cr. Hunter said that considerable unemployment already existed, and the position was | likely to become worse. He moved:— j “That the Government be asked to state at once what steps it intends (o fake to deal with unemployment."’— Cr. McKellar said the Council should endeavor to manage its own affairs, and not rush to the Government for help. The electricity department had work in hand, which could bo started very shortly now, and which would employ a considerable number of men during the winter months. —Cr. Andrews said the Reserves Committee was about to start on the planting of another 90 acres at Hot tie Lake.' —The Mayor said the new municipal, buildings and the memorial bridge also would provide work.—Cr. Hunter said tlie Government should be urged to put in hand its works in the country, so that men without dependents might; go out to the country, and so relieve the position in the city .for the benefit of married men with families.—Cr. Mosher suggested that the Government be asked to subsidise what was. raised locally for the benefit of unemployed.—The Mayor said an application on these lines would bo made—Cr. Hunter's motion was car- j ried.

i - In Taranaki 71 teams will take part ' in the Rugby competition this year, ! and about fifty in Hawke’s Bay.

Over forty charges were preferred against motorists at Cambridge ono morning recently.

The Health has advised the Tauranga Hospital Board that the minimum cost of the new maternity hospital at Te Puke will be £BOOO. Tho Board has agreed to the proposal. During the last voyage of the Manuka from Sydney to Wellington tho wireless telephone working at Melbourne was heard on board every night. The Sydney wireless telephone «-as heard on one occasion.

A peculiar accident occurred at. Ashburton recently. A motor-car ran over a round pebble which broke in two, and the larger piece, flying like a shot irem a catapult, crashed into a plate-glass shot) window, and cracked the glass in half-a-dozen directions.

An enormous marrow, on view at an Invercargill shop, has been attracting considerable attention during the pa.-,t, few days. The vegetable, which was grown by Mr T. Haining, of Elies Road, weighs 38.11 b, is 29in. long and 82in. in circumference. It was grown in tho ordinary way in Mr Haining’s go idea and received no special treatment.

At wayside stations between Palmerston North and Paikakariki have been dumped numerous hardwood poles, presumably for the transmission lines tor the Mangahao Power station (say- tne Wanganui Herald). Evidently some of the iioles have been there a considerable time, judging by the length of the grass growing between them. The work of distribution is to lx; undertaken shortly.

Yet another requirement in political candidates has been discovered. Several farmers in Te Awamutu were discussing the various candidates for tne Waikato seat at the next election. Alter a review of policies none of the iaimers concerned seemed to find any particular fancy for any one of the fandidates. Finally one of the -peak-rs made a decisive discovery. “S ;-;nd-so is a Jersey supporter—he will do me i" And they were all eviden’ly m the same opinion. The value of green oats for finishing fat lambs is not generally recognised, but this was the final touch in tne diet of 311 fat lambs sold by Mr W. T. Lowe (Hinds) at Tinwald sale '.says the Ashburton Guardian). The une made 27s 9d, easily a record price mr the last two months for a long line. The lambs were by Border Leicester rams out of big half-bred ewes, and were dropped in ,August last. Alter they were weaned they were put on z'ape, and for the last. few weeks v.eie finished off on green cats. The we.gnts would average about 121 b.

“Wondah/ 5 in the Bulletin ays- At a recent Victorian north-country meeting a wire-whiskered son oi the soil asked deferentially of a smart city fielder what odds he was giving about Y\ n.rowings. “Fifteens," was the reply. Hayseed laboriously dug up a fiver in -import _of the horse, and. later, put a another on top of it. .Whitewirgs v,._n, after a painfully slow race. While paying over, the visitor asked irritably: “What made you back the dam brute.He belongs to me." “Well,” __drawled the simple creature, “I own the other four starters.”

This is assuredly the winter c: farmer’s discontent, especially t. with beef cattle on their hands, depressing spectacle was seen at a cent Levin sale of big prime bull being passed in a long way benefit modest reserve, and it moved cm the spectators to talk of the days w —Well, everyone knows what they v. but one of this man’s experiences : be worth noting. Before the war had a team ci working bullocks, those patient animals, purchased apiece, worked early and late ici long years. Then came the war the piping days- of high prices.

owner received £ls each for hr leeks, and they, loyal to the end to the front, encased in the arm preserved meat tins.