Local and General

Gisborne Times, Volume LIX, Issue 9576, 30 July 1923, Page 4

Local and General

In reference to the Port of. London Authority’s extension, Lord Devonport states that the Government has granted a loan of £1,500,000 for thirty years at 3$ per cent. —A. and N.Z.C.A. The taking of evidence in the Patntahi compensation ease was concluded, on Saturday before the Native Land Court, and Ilis Honor Judge Browne is now engaged in hearing the addresses of various claimants’ representatives. The addresses, on account of the large number of Natives interested in the ease, will probably a considerable time.

Thus the Wairoa Sfar: Sergeant Wade has stamped 2298 opossum skins to date, but there are'still a large number to come in for stamping. The total number of entries received by the secretary of the Competitions Society up to Saturday night amounted to well over 300. Entries now close tonight. The-secretary expects that toe number of entries will approximate COO.

Under the baton of Mr. 11. Langtry, the City Band gave a most enjoyable concert in. Everybody’s Theatre last evening. The programme was similar to that given last Sunday, and songs were contributed by Miss Cox and Mr. W. Bignell. There was a fairly good attendance. , Miss Selene Oppenheimer, from London, national lecturer for the Theosophical Society, N.Z. section, is expected in Gisborne next Friday and will give several lectures on "Brotherhood," ‘‘Reincarnation,'’’ etc., which will be announced later.

At the Magistrate’s Court on Saturday John Ryan, whose previous convictions were numerous, was fined £l, in default 48 hours’ imprisonment, for drunkenness. This conviction was the second for the same offence within six months. Judging by the figures of the Labor Department, the unemployment situation seems to be improving. Over CO men’s names were on the books last week, but only 25 remained yesterday, comprised as follows: —1 clerk, 2 3.or.se drivers, 1 engine-driver, 1 farm laborer, a gardener, a painter, and 17 laborers. It is said that since the recent Chinese enrolment cases were heard, anyone who wishes to get a Chinaman to sign a paper, of any description is promptly told to go away, the general answer being ”no savee.” It is astonishing how many of the local Celestials have suddenly forgotten how to write.—Wairoa Star. Following on a dispute between two men over a ‘dote’-' ticket on the racecourse on Friday, in the course of which one of the men was knocked down, the alleged aggressor, John Gray Marchbank, appeared before Mr. Jl. L. Jlill, J.P., on Saturday. Accused was remanded until to-day. bail being allowed in his own recognisance of £5. The East Coast shot-gun championship was held last Wednesday by the Gisborne Gun Club, and was won by W. 11. Simmons, of Whakatane, who scored ID out of a possible 20 points. J. Robertson, of Opotiki, was runnerup with 18. and E. Glennie, Blank, and J. Runner dead-heated for third place, with 17 each.

A deputation of the Wellington W orkers’ Educational Association asked the Minister of Education to increase the grant from £2OOO to £4OOO per annum; also that the special grant of £SOO for organisation be increased. Mr. Parr offered some criticism of the present system upon which the Associ ation is run. He stated be would lay the request before the Cabinet. —P.A. The school attendance around Mr.tawai and Motuhora is being affected to some extent by the prevalence of influenza. The cold weather of the past few days will also have anything but a beneficial effect upon the position. 8o far. a 1 oral medical man stated yesterday, the pneumonic type, which is taking a heavy toll in the South Island and in parts of the North Lslaqd. lias not made its appearance here. That the recent floods have improved the river channel, and improved it to a considerable extent, was shown yesterday morning, when the Putiki, which arrived at 7.20 from Napier, grounded «.pposit* the signal station. The vessel, which was drawing 9it him was refloated without assistance about an hour later. 24 hours after high title. For a vessel drawing as much as the Putiki was to have berthed at the wharf a fortnight ago, befc:e tiie flood, would Imre been impossible.

Heavy snow fell on Friday on vhe ranges surrounding Gisborne, and passengers overland from Opotiki complerS eel the last 10 miles of read into Motu j in the evening amidst the enow flakes. Tiie fall was, of course, heavier on the uplands than on the low areas, which were also covered. Yesterday a white mantle was visible on the high tops on both sides of the line down as far as Ot'oko and also on the high country at Mangatu and on Mangabamia. There was a very heavy hail storm at Tatapcuri on Saturday morning, vhe road being covered with a layer of hail six inches deep. % During a sitting of the English Retting Commission. Mr CV. ut ley. K.id., chairman of the Betting Commit, toe, said: "There is a member of the House of Commons who is staying at a rather big hotel, who toils n:e that eveiv morning a bookmaker's agent calks at the- hotel to receive bets horn the waiters.” Mr Bingham: "1 have heard of that sort of thing. ' Recent I had a case where the agent of a bookmaker was calling at a lunatic asylum for bets.” (Laughter). The ! chairman: "From the patients or the : attendants?” Air Bingham: "That; did not 'annoar.”

1 A deputation from the Hairy FarmI ers’ l nion waited on the management ■ : of tiie banking institution at Weil- ; | ington on Saturday in reference to 1:0 j affairs of the New Zealand Bacon and I Meat Packing Company, the oyeiaiioiis ! of which are now being conducted an- . dor the direction of the debenture hoi- j j ders. If was desired fo arrive at a li- I i nancial re-arrangement, which would : ! enable the company to revert to the 1 > system of co-operative control. The de- ! benture-holders, it was stated, were I striving to so conduct the. business as ' J to .show a return or eight per cent, on J j the capital invented, and when this ob- • i j ret was attained, an endeavor would , he made to sell the concern to farm- ! ; ers, or any other purchaser as an or- j : dinary commercial enterprise.—F.A. * Quito recently, Professor Sir John McPherson, of Sydney University, told a Millions Club dinner audience time ' if we continued to permit the drift fiom the farms to the factories tliepeople would eventually be something • akin to a mass of gibbering idiots. I Having endea.vored to assimilate that, i a. similar gathering has been asked - by another professor Sydney Univer- J s:ty to swallow its antipathy to yet- ' low and brown people, and realise that it- is quite a fair thing to eon- , template inter-marriage with them, j Tin’s knock to “’White Australia” pro- j judieos was administered by Proi’es- ' sor Giiflitli Taylor, whose chair is that of geography. Though the result of a union, said lie. would be a half-caste race, it would he in no way inferior to '.lie parent races, seeing that these Asiatic peoples are practically the same races as oursolvfcs. j Some of Ids auditors permitted their 1 cigars to go out when the lecturer submitted a photograph of R. L. Stevenson standing side bv side with his ! ( Samoan rook, and declared that eth- j i nologically tb.-o native was the higher j , type. ' | )

A warm controversy is still going on l in Wellington over the site of the girls’ college. The present college, being too small, it was decided to build a. .second one in another part of the city. After much, disputing, a part of the ground attached to (be boys' college was taken for the purpose.. Though the site, which is on a steep hillside, is held by many from the first to be far from satisfactory, however, a considerable sum has been spent on levelling and making approaches. and work was then stopped by the Government. Lately it was determined to proceed, but once again strong objection has been raised. A deputation of old boys for the college governors Announced the project! bitterly, and demanded some other site to he found.

One speaker regarded it as almost ;» scandal, and robbing men \>iio hau found thousands privately to make the boys’ college grounds what they were. It was also objected that it overlooks the baths. The chairman practically said it was too late now to do anything, and the governors could not alter matters.—P. A.