LOCAL & GENERAL

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXX, Issue 12200, 12 March 1934, Page 4

LOCAL & GENERAL

The price -of gold m London is £6 16s lOfd P.A.

The Wanganela sailed from Sydney for Wellington yesterday.— P.A.

The Bell-Hooper-Cromwell Gold, Ltd., return for the. week ended March 9 was 51oz. 7dwt. 12 grains. —P.A..

Oxford’s, third boat for the boat race was built in the record time of 77 working hours andi the trial was satisfactory.—P.A.

At the Spit Club swimming gala in'Sydney, Noel -Ryan established what is. stated to' be a record for 500 yards, viz., 5.56 2t-5.

R.W Fleming’s wool store, RmH, is open all day Wednes%yTtJf'ridayj»Sjiind half day Satu r d ayi* * '*’ ' w '

• A London P.A. cable states that the Bridge congress has decided to hold the banned competition on the pier at St, Leonards.

: Following the Indian Government’s promise of financial assistance for tlie Bihar earthquake sufferers, the Viceroy’s tour of the stricken areas created a profound impression.—P.A.

Oxford Jias at last won a bpat race, although it was not men but women who rowed the half mile course in a heavy thunderstorm in 3 minutes, beating, Cambridge by three seconds.

The Mayor of Napier (Mr Morse) received the following communication by; the latest Canadiap mail: “Dear Sir, I iwouji like very much to gain a correspondent in your ci|y I am 28. years old, have four children, and my husband is locomotive engineer. I am kept pretty busy, but not too much so to wonder how things-go' ‘down under.’ I like choking, playing bridge and writing letters, so please,: Mr Mayor, will' you locate some lady who tyould be interested in such a „ venture- Thanking you* I remain, truly., . ”

A MoscdvfH.A. cabi states tfcat-t&s; Remainder-.of the marooned: Caspian fishermen have been rescued.

According ,tq*a, Moscow PA, cable, eleveh foreigners, arrested for espionage and sabotage, have been ordered to 'ho deported.

Says a Paris P.A. cable: Eyston Bertdcnly, driving a Hotchkiss, made a world’s record of 4578 miles in 48 hours at Mont L’Hery; and of 5000 miles irt 52 hours 46 minutes.

Interviewed at Colombo. Mr. Bruce stated that an early reyisjon of t}ie Ottawa treaty yras improbable. He was visiting Canada op his return journey. The Australian colonisation scheme was not nebulous.—P.A.

An old woman named Mrs. Barlow who had lived .alone in : a hut at a metal quarry near Pahiatua for 40 years, was discovered .by the police to haye been in a helpless state since the ’quake. She has been taken charge of by a relative in another part of the district.—P.A.

The International Sugar conference in London terminated without reaching a conclusion on the subject of the future limitation of sugar crops to prevent gluts and ruinously low prices, these matters being left to a future conference.—P.A-

Seven thousand perished of plague in the United Provinces of India in two months, but medical aid is being rushed to the affected areas, hue epidemic is expected to decline by the middle of the month.—P.A.

The measles epidemic in Christchurch is now beginning seriously to affect city schools, and Opawa School has now been closed. Already nine country schools are closed. The medical officer of health says the epidemic is increasing, hut it must be allowed to run its course.

Despite four years of drought, the Awatere County Council reports that in the current year it collected £6886 out of £7292 struck in rates, almost 95 per cent. In addition, £1943 out of £3886 of outstanding rates came in. The figures are regarded as a satisfactory indication of the improvement in farmers’ conditions, as the district is purely a farming one.

Boys of the Masterton district have been very busily engaged during the month or two in catching white butterflies. Recently tbe boys entered their catches in the competition conducted by the Masterton Horticultural Society, in conjunction iwith its annual autumn show. Altogether there were 52,000 entered in the competition, which gives some indication of the prevalence of the pest this season. The contest was won by Eric Wilson, who captured' 7980 butterflies. Maurice Graham secured second prize with a catcli of 7112, Lionel Blake third with 5925, and J. E Rayner fourth with 3587.

Tuatara lizards of large size and in great numbers gave the members of the expedition that returned to Auckland on the Will Watch the opportunity, of making cinematograph records of this New Zealand l survivor ot a prehistoric race of reptiles. This chance came during two days of hard scientific work on the seldom-visited Poor Knights Islands. The lizardsthere, unhindered by pests introduced by man, were reported to be in a most thriving condition, and, encountered during a cruise .full of scientific interest, alone made the trip worth while.

Recently the Mayor (Mr. John Jackwn) received a circula'r letter from the Mayors of Hawera Eltliam setting out that the rates of unemployment relief pay in th. ir districts are considerably lover than those of the main centres, and even lover than Gisborne. The letter urges that a deputation should be formed to approach the Minister of Employment with a 'request that the boroughs should be placed on the same footing as the- chief centres,' and requests Mr. Jackson to join the deputation. Th c Mayor has replied however, pointing out that such a deputation would merely be toying with the situation, and suggesting that the Municipal Conference should r<e,t aside half a day to deal with unemployment issues. The confe'r- ■ once, .Mr. Jackson, considers* shouTTT he able to evolve a concrete scheme of a constructive character for submission to the Government. In his. opinion, the present system of unemployment relief is demoralising the men, and he believes that it should; be possible for the Government to place them hack in normal occupations.

Heavy rains were experienced in the North Island during . February, and were of enormous benefit to pastures. Over much the greater part of the Dominion herbage is in tender' and' succulent condition usually associated 'with spring, and an abundance of winter feed is assured. •Stock are generally, in gqpdl condition and dairy yields have "recovered to beyond the average for the time of the year. Tobacco crops have been adversely affected in Nelson by drought and in other parts by~excessive'moisture. There has also been some datnage to small crops and; fruits. (The only parts of the North Island which had less the average rainfall in February were in central and northern Taranaki, the southern) Waikato, and portions of the Auckland Peninsula, Much of the remainder had twice the average and many places considerably more than twice. The week from the 7th t 6 thfe 13th was a particularly wet one, especially- -in . the South • Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Poverty Bay, Hawke’s Bay and central districts. In Hawke's Bay the. Tutaekuri burst its banks and severe flooding occurred in the vicinity of. Meeanee. Taradale, gnd Pakotwliai. .There .was some flooding, also, in; North- Auckland, «*»?' 'the Bay of Plepty, (Where Wiiakatano had -a, record raurfaU'-. fgp February. (In the Sppth.ls]apd some parts of .southern Marlborough, most of (Itaigo, and( the-interior of South Canterjjuij recorded. more than ; the avenge fall, the excesses Jbeing. large in places- In Central Otago.-The of the Island; had- considerably less than normal. On the West ••Coast, it was a particularly'<3ry month:

The maximum temperature Cisccme ysoterdsy- was 35 the stack* registered'' : at''4H.'-sMifskr The temperature at ’ncorpwat' 8& ••degrees./ ‘ • . '•' '• *'

It is estimated that the proceeds from tjip Invercargill wool sale. -on Friday night will bo £250,000. The average price was about 9Jd per lb.,' and from £l3 to £l3 10s per bale. •

An unusual request was made to the Geraldine County Council by- a farmer-who waited, on the meeting of the council and asked thflt a line of ;trees on th'e boundary be tween his property and that 'of another farmer be felled, as they affectedqbout twelve acres of his'best land. The council agreed to write to the applicant's neighbour, and endeavour- ; tp make arrangements for the felling of the trees, so that the winter crops; might not he affected.

“If money is the root of all evil, it is certainly the cure of so me/’ remarked His Honor. Mr. Justice Frazer, at a sitting of the Arbitration Court at- Greymoutk, when counsel for plaintiff in a compensation claim said the authorities W° r o agreed that in casc-s of neurasthenia the. patient recovered comparatively quickly, once his claims for compensation were settled and paid up, and he had no longer to worry over them.

“It’s the rooster that crows hut after all it s the lien that produces the goods,’’ remarked Rev. A. Mead, of Dunedin, Moderator of the Congregational Union of New Zealand, when ■speaking at the welcome meeting ot the assembly in the Palmerston North Congregational Church. Significance is added to his.' remark when it is explained that he was speaking in commendation of the wo-rk of the womenfolk of the church, who he said were doing splendidly in thenown spheres of activity. The Borough Commissioner of Thames, Air. C, L. Grange, has fixed the rate for 1934-35 at 3s on 75 per cent, of the present valuations, except where advantage has been taken of sections 45 and 50 of the Valuation of Land Act. This represents a 13 1-3 per cent, reduction compared with 1933-34, and includes a 5 per cent, discount on payments of monthly instalments within 30 days of the due date. The estimates provide for a total levy of £18,392, the estimate of the collection being' £ll,967, or 67 per cent., the same percentage as in 1933-34. Provision is made for the payment of 77\ per cent, of the interest due to debenture holders after the reduction of 20 per cent. The estimates also provide for an increased hospital levy. Aiming at better marketing of tlheir produce, interested Hawke's Bay ryegrass growers have formed a new organisation,' the Hawke’s Bay Co-operative Grass-seed ' Growers’ Society, which replaces the now defunct Hawke’s Bay Grass-seed Growers’ Association. A very successful inaugural meeting to wkiem all growers were invited, was held in Hastings, and although details of the meeting wer e not given to the press; some convincing arguments in favor of co-operation in the marketing of grass-seed were put forward, and at- the conclusion of tfie meeting the assembled growers elected a directorate, under the chairmanship of Mr. J. D. Ormond, junr., to go further into the question of markets.