LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 11 July 1924, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The first prize of £350 in gold nuggets in the W ellington Citizen-Soldiers’ Pageant Art. Union has been won bv Lady Stout. A party of young girls were making their way home from school at Frankton when a tall tree attracted their notice, and a climbing contest was decided on. One of the party, Edna Marsh, had reached a height‘of about 15 f<jet when the branch snapped, and she came crashing to the ground. ' The sufferer sustained internal injuries a sprained right arm and a severe shock. “What is your occupation?” s aid the magistrate to a witness at the court (says an exchange). As the witness displayed some hesitancy, the magistrate said: “You must tell the XJourt what your trade is—what you fonow.” “Well, sir,” replied the witness, “I don’t know whether it is a trade or a calling; I’m a bullock piincher.” (Laughter.) At the Magistrate’s Court, Christchurch, Elizabeth Affleck, % country school teacher, claimed £4O damages from Edward Lessen, chairman of the Kirikiri School Committee, for defamatory statements regarding her character.. The plaintiff was awarded the full amount claimed with costs. The Manawatu Standard’s Shannon correspondent states that a number of pay envelopes, containing a large sum of money, were; found to he missing on the arrival of the empolyees’ wages at Mangahao on Saturday. It is believed that, they disappeared while in. transit from Mangaore to the river camp. The. local police and detectives are investigating the matter. A euchre party and dance will he held at the Savoy this evening in aid of the Catholic building fund. Provision has been made to enable all who attend to enjoy the evening thoroughly, and from reports of the rapid sale of tickets there should be a large gathering. Euchre will be olaved in the lounge from 8 o’clock till* 0.30. The dancing will commence at 8.30. Mr. Rcnwiek’s professional orchestra will provide the music. The recently reported, find on the beach at Oeo of a quantity of ambergris, the estimated value of which is said to he in the vicinity of £3OOO, lias resulted in the visit to’ the Imaohes along the coast of large numbers of fortune hunters seeking a quick road to riches. It is reported that several residents of Manaia succeeded, during the past week, in finding quantities in varying weights of what was fondly thought to be the precious substance which, they carefully conveyed to their homes, only to discover, after much inconvenience to themselves and neighbours from the offensive odour emanated, that their valuable treasure was nothing more than whale blubber. ”

Some people fall in for all the luck! (remarks the Manawatu Daily Times). A school committee was considering the installation of electric light in the school, and the question of cost naturally arose., “It will not cost much if the meter reads as mine does,” remarked a member . “WTiy haven’t you bad your meter fixed yet?’’ inquired another committeeman. ‘T haven’t one at all, so far,” was the .satisfied response. OUTRED’S. Last few days of Outrod’s Sale. Coat frocks from 35/6. splendid value; velour «oats from 49/6, latest styles; Burberry coats, half price; marvellous reductions in all millinery; woollen jumpers from 7/11. —Advt. Progandra cures corps quickly j 1/6. — Advt,

Not many i-itizens are so- widely popular that testimonials come to them from the Chinese section of a. business community, but a Napier resident, who lelt to-day on a. trip to America, will carry witli him a letter of introduction, in Chinese, from the celestial population of Napier. it is guaranteed to win him the respect, and assistance, if necessary, of Chinese citizens in any town he may visit.

A super-heater for locomotives and other steam engines, invented by Air Pearson, formerly of the New Zealand railways, has been thoroughly tested iu New Zealand, and is now undergoing tests on Australian railways. Air. aT R. Hislop, of Wellington, and Air. Pearson are leaving for England immediately to place the invention before enginers and capitalists there.

During 1923 the births of 27,967 children were registered in New' Zealand representing a. birth-rate of 21.94 per 1000 of mean population. The births are 1039, or 3.59 per cent, lower than that for the previous year, while the rate is exceedingly low—lower, indeed, than m any previous year with the exception of 1919, the rate for which, was, of course, very seriously affected by the absence of men at the war, as well as to a certain extent by the disastrous influenza epidemic of 1918-19. The birth-rate of Australia, at latest computation, is 24.7 ner 1000 The marriage-rate in New Zealand last year was eonsiderably below the average of the 15 years immediately preceding the war. ‘ “

‘•'Some aspects of the -Money Promem’ T was the subject of a very able .ecture by Air Sheat at the Borough Council Chambers last evening. A number of people who do not usually attend the WYE.A. Class were present, and it was evident that all were deeply interested. The lecture was most instructive and a great deal of light was thrown on the situation of a "depreciated currency. He quoted extensively from the best authorities, and illuminated his points with happy and wellselected illustrations. In this way he gave attractiveness to a subject usually considered dry and wearisome. An amazing amount of information was brought within the compass of a lecture which lasted a little* over an hour and a half, but it- was presented in a form that enabled the hearers to appreciate every point made. What Mr Sheat had to say about the so-called profiteer no doubt caused some surprise. W hen prices rose unduly, he said, people blamed the business people for profiteering, hut the profiteer was an effect, not a, cause, and was only one of the many evils which inevitabLy resulted from a depreciated currency. For the quarter ended June 30 149 criminal cases (146 males and three females) were dealt with at the Hawera Magistrate’s Court a.s compared with 116 (108 males and eight females) during the June quarter of last year, ihe criminal and civil fees and fines amounted to' £479 17s 4d as compared with £415 18s. Two hundred and forty plaints were entered as compared with 205 for the June quarter of last year, and of the £3744 11s 4.d sued for in the cases tried £3519 was recovered In the 1923 quarter, £3755 2s 8d was sued for, and of the £2191 4s 8d claimed in cases actually tried, £1951 10s 3d was recovered. Sixty-five judgment summonses were issued as compared with 66, three distress warrants aTl d. ei £ht warrants ‘of committal (1). Nine new pension claims and 36 renewals were granted, one new' claim and one renewal were refused, and two new claims and 23 renewals were pendmg.

The handsomely-appointed Cabinet room in the new Parliamentary Buildings was used for a sitting of the Cabinet for the first time the other morning. As a rule the Cabinet sits in the Prime Minister’s room, which has served the purpose for many years past, but the change was made then. As a matter of convenience the new room lias been used several times by the Executive Council during the Parliamentary recess, but now that the session is under way the council has resorted to its customary meeting place in the Government buildings. The new Cabinet room is situated on the first floor of the new building to the right of the main entrance vestibule, and is elaborately decorated with Canadian woods presented by the Canadian Government in reciprocation for selected samples of kauri forwarded to Ottawa for use in the decoration of the new Parliament Buildings in the Canadian capital. “I want to say at the very outset,” remarked Mr W. J. Poison, president of the Neiv Zealand Farmers’ Union, in an address to the Dairy Farmers’ Union at Palmerston North, “that, naturally, I am strongly in favour of a federation of all primary producers. I always have been, and at no time have ,1 thought that any solitary body can get along without the others. Every section of the community is organised, except the producers, and we are only spasmodically organised. Take the professional classes; they are all properly organised, and they rill see through the same window. When they speak, they do so with one voice. The farmer is a difficult man to organise. He is unable to see the problems ahead of him. He is so intent on getting an extra farthing per pound on his butter-fat that he loses sight of the extra sixpence that may be got. on the other side of the world by proper organisation.” A resolution was passed urging the executive to immediately take up the matter of the establishment of a federation of all agricultural and pastoral jiroducers.

“1 have nothing to say about the political situation,” remarked Mr L. M. Isitt, of Christchurch, to a Standard reporter on his arrival in Palmerston North on Saturday last. Mr. Isitt, it was recently announced, has definitely decided not to again seek re-election to Parliament. His decision, Mr. Isitt stated, was due to private reasons. Pressed for a statement about the political situation Mr. Isitt declined to discuss the matter. ‘‘All I have to say on that subject,” he said, ‘‘is that T have never wavered from the position l took up six years ago at the 1918 elections when I thought there was a chance of the Liberal Party getting into power under the dominance of the Labour Party. I considered that that would he a very serious thmk to happen, and it was then T resolved not to associate myself with any such position. Tam just as strong a [•literal as ever hut so long as there is a chance of the Liberal Party gaining oflire under Labout domination T determined that I would not vote for the party hut with the Government I have nothing further to add. They have tried to make me talk in Lyttelton but I am not dismissing the subject publieiy.” WARM UNDERWEAR. Have yon tried our warm, strong, fleece lined pants and singlets for men, fi/11. pair? Then our warm woollen pants and singlets, 8/Ll. Wo have the Mosgiel, Roslvn and Canterbury makes in all-wool garments. See our medium weight singlet or pant at 4/6. We have boys’ underwear in all sizes at the New Zealand Clothing Factory, Hawera.—Advt. Vivific Ointment will cure the ansightly sores on children.—Advt.

A dairy instructor, reporting on the Waikato district, says that a striking feature of this season is that while the fly has played havoc with the turnip crops and the excessive moisture has caused these and other root crops to rot to a. certain extent, nature has provided such a bountiful supply of pasture that the loss of crops has not been seriously felt, and the factorv returns have shown the supply of milk given during the last few months to be a record for the time of the year. Tn discussing the question of marketing of New Zealand meat with a Chronicle representative, a gentleman from the Old Country described the method by which the Argentine disposed of their own grown produce as that from the Dominions. He said that the South Americans had their own shops throughout the country, and in selling their mutton and lamb they traded on the word “Canterbury,” and as there were a number of Canterburys the majority of consumers did not know from which country the produce came. They bought it because they knew T that Canterbury lamb wms good. I ‘l do want New Zealand to realise that the British market is the best market that we can get, and that it must not be played with,” stated the Prime Alinister in Wellington on Saturday evening. “Every inch that the other fellow’ gains—and I think of South. America —he will hold. It is an extraordinary thing that we have done nothing to export bacon and its products to England.- America sends over a huge quantity, and Denmark sends annually about 16 or 17 million pounds’ worth. I believe we could make this a very important industry, and I do not see why we should not do it.” There was no reason, he continued, why the dairying industry facilities for growing hard food should not be put to good use and an industry as big as Denmark’s built up.

Legislation is desired by Air E. A. Ransom (Pahiatua) making it obligatory upon banks doing business in New Zealand to make a set-off of credits of loan accounts of public bodies against their overdraft •accounts, so that, local bodies will only be called upon to pay interest on their overdraft after ail credit accounts are taken into consideration. In asking the ATinister of Finance in the House of Representatives last week whether he will introduce the necessary legislation, Mr Ransom explained that members of a certain local body have recently had twelve writs issued against them of £IOO each for transferring loan moneys to their general account., by which action a considerable amount, of interest charges was saved to the ratepayers. W hen the matter of the discovery of a specific for the purpose of killing noxious weeds came before yesterday’s meeting of the Wanganui provincial eyecutiv© of the Farmers’ Union, the secretary reported upon the result of Mr. Poingdestre’s efforts to kill blackberry on Air. Claud Smith’s property at Brunswick. He stated that in two places the tops of the plants were cut down and the roots sprayed. An inspection of the plants last Saturday revealed that where the spray actually touched the leaves it had killed the growth. The roots sprayed were still alive, although the growth was retarded.

One of the best legal anecdotes on record is told by Sir Ernest Wild, K.C. A civil action was being heard in a certain court, and counsel, hiving opened the case, called the plaintiff, where-, upon a member of the jury rose, left the jury box and made liis way to the witness box. Asked what he ivas doing, he stated that he was the plaintiff. “Then what are you doing on the jury?” askedxthe Judge. “I was summoned to sit on the jury,” said tne man, producing. the summons. “But surely,” said the Judge, “you know that you cannot help to try your own case!” “Well,” said the baffled one, ruefully, “I did think it was a bit of luck.” *

Phases in the daily life of the Auckland taxi-man were discussed in the Supreme Court in that city, in the course of legal argument, before Air. Justice Stringer, in regard to ‘the licensing fees charged by the City Council. It was stated that the men had to be on their cars for long hours to earn a .living, Reports the New Zealand Herald. His Honour said the men’s lives appeared to be punctuated by intervals of rest and sleep, which drew from Mr. Leary, representing the Taxi Owners’ Association, the observation that the taxi-driver was tied by the leg to the wheel of his car, and could not leave his vehicle unattended for fear of penalty.