LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 8 October 1924, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A contract for the manufacture and erection at Hastings of a. hot-mix bitumen-concrete roadmaking plant and for the supply of a concrete mixer has recently been granted by the Hastings Borough Council. The' plant will- be manufactured in the Dominion. It is interesting to note that the C. and D. liner Port Chalmers has been listed to load at New Plymouth in November for Italy direct. In the past freights and transhipping charges have been fairly high, but direct shipments mean a saving of 2id per lb. The other day a man and his w’ife and two children w’alked into Hunterville and said they had come from Porew’a that day and intended walking on to Taihape, where they had friends who would give the man a job. The man had only 4s in his pocket. Help w’as promptly provided. “The greatest service that you can give to the Empire is to look after boys >” declared Mr. Bransby ilhams at the Hastings Rotarian luncheon. “I tell you that anything you do for the boy to-day is going to come back to you in full recompense, because there never was a time in the history of the world w’hen there was greater need for steadying influences.” The New’ Zealand Automobile Union considers that the siren should be reserved for fire brigades only. In conference with South Island' delegates at Wellington, it w’as agreed, in the words of the superintendent of fire brigades in Dunedin, that “the siren should be recognised as the call for a clear road,” and the union decided that the suggestion was a good one. At the end of April, 1924, there w’ere 70,960 sheep in the Clifton county, 10,712 m Taranaki county, 16,835 in Inglewood county, 9887 in Egmont county, 53,406 in Stratford county, 7d97 in . Whangamomona county, 55,373 in Eltham county, 74,379 in Hawera county, 1453 in Waimate West county, and 248,597 in Patea county. Except in the case of Waimate West these figures all show an increase over the previous year. The Government has undertaken an extensive building scheme at Papatoetoe, which is likely to add to the attractions of that suburb (states the New Zealand Herald). Nearly 20 houses are to be erected on the Government reserves adjoining the .railway station, for the accommodation of the clerical staff of the Auckland railway office. The bungalows will be of artistic design, and the surrounding land will be laid cut as a model garden suburb.

It would appear (says an exchange) that boxing in New Zealand will shortly see a fight before which all the battles which have hitherto been staged within the square circle will pale their ineffectual fires. This sfruggle w’hich is about to take place will centre round whoi is to have control of amateur boxing in the Dominion. The recent resignation of the council or the New Zealand Boxing Association apparently was but the first shot in the impending battle.

To afford added convenience to the public and to cope with the increasing numbers of stock coming forw’ard for auction a special dairy shed, providing a commodious ring and seating accommodation for approximately 200 buyers, has been erected under the direction of Messrs Newton King, Ltd., at the Kaponga sale yards. This improvement will be of great benefit, especially for pedigree and clearing sales, and will be appreciated by all frequenters yards. The new shed is to be officially opened on the occasion of the Kaponga Jersey Club’s annual pedigree bull fair on the 13th inst.

Liability for window’s broken by concussion caused by quarry blasting w’as disclaimed by the Devonport Borough Council, w’hen a complaint from a suffering ratepayer was fonvarded through the Takapuna Tow’n Clerk. The explanation of the engineer, Mr. A. T. Griffiths, revealed that the house w’hose leadlights had been shattered w’as situated midway between two quarries, one of w’hich belonged to Takapuna and the other to Devonport, about a quarter of a mile distant from each other (states the Auckland Star). The broken panes were, moreover, on the Takapuna side. Pending scientific information on the possibility of backfiring reverberations, the council decided that the responsibility could at least he referred back to the Takapuna authorities, as the more likely offenders. “Just Jiow’ many bicycles are there in Christchurch?” asked a seeker after fact of the City Motor Inspector the other day, and he replied, after some pencilling: “I make it 40.000.” He explained that he had based his calculation on the fact that 25,000 red reflectors (a peculiar device, the function of which is rather obscure, but purchased by the City Council to be attached to the hind parts of the machine) were sold in three weeks, and that numbers of cyclists wore still running the gauntlet of the Council’s ire by not fitting them. He also estimated that there were three times as mam- push-bicycles in Christchurch as in the rest of New Zealand put together. Sir William Joyson-Hicks tried his band at brick-laving. Considering he is an amateur at the trade, his record of six bricks laid in a minute was good. At this rate he could lav 360 bricks an hour, or 2880 in an 'eighthours’ day—if he could keep up to it. Sir William made the experiment on a visit to Tonbridge, where be inspected Mr Brownlow’s new method of building houses by unskilled labour and a time-saving device. Having watched unskilled bricklayers laying bricks at an average of 3000 bricks”a day. Sir William took nn a trowel and personally tested the svstem. ‘‘l am completely satisfied with the utility of the invention,’’ he declared aftonvards. The following vessels will be w’ithin w’ireless range this evening: Auckland : Malcura, Niagara. Ngakuta, Rama, West Tslip, Kauri, Faxen, Eastern Sea, Canadian Challenger, Gambaddu. Maimoa, Kaitangaia. Ornana, Waipori, Port Caroline, Kniwarra, Chatham Islands: Arava, Trevithick. Wellington: Maori, Mararoa, Ngaio, Kaiapoi, Moeraki, Kaikorai, Tutanekai, Wanaka. Pinna. Araliura, Kaituna, Mamari, Kaikorai, Arawa.

The Mira no Bros., who open a tlneenight season at the Opera House Hawera, to-morrow evening, arrived in Hawera to-day. They carry eight tons ot effects. An'old resident who died in AuckJ aS n had been a member of the Grafton School Committee for 32 years. Several Mainnapa settlers informed the Age the other day that they had suffered losses among lambs owintf to an unknown cause. Wool-ball was at hrst suspected, but after examination of several carcases one farmer is convmced( that that is not the cause. The Southland Bugbv ‘Union has decided to cable its congratulations and those of all the clubs of Southland to the All Blacks on their fine record to date, and expressing wishes for the future success of the tour. At Essex Farm, near Tpres, a memorial to the 49th Division was recently unveiled by Major-General Sir E. M. Percival, K.C.8., D. 5.0., who conmanded this Division from June, 1.915, until October, 1917. A party consisting of representatives of all ranks in unit of the Division made the journey from Hull to Zeebrugge and Ypres to pay their homage to the comrades they lost. Some months ago Leo Harrop, a wellknown resident of Pihama, when stroll, mg along the beach in that vieinity picked up a piece of tallow-like substance. Closer examination led him to think it might be ambergris and he sent it Home to have it tested. It weighed 441 b. A private letter just received in Wanganui (says an exstates that Mr Harrop has been advised bv the Bank of New Zealand that it was ambergris and its sale netted £1759. Commander Frank Worsley, whose deed of heroism in saving the crew of the auxiliary motor schooner Katherine Annie at the Orkney Islands was recorded in the cables on Thursdav, was very well-known in Wellington. For some months he was chief officer of the steamer Hinemoa, and left that position to take command of the steamer Countess of Ranfurly, when she ran between New Zealand "and the Chathams. A Wanganui broker, in discussing wool matters with a Chronicle representative yesterday, remarked that the prospects for the coming season were particularly good. Growers, he pointed out, should make every effort to obtain the best results by classing their wool in a satisfactory manner. Prices were abnormally high at the present time, and it was hardly probable that they would continue to rise. There was, if anything, a tendency for prices to decline towards the end of the season, and growers would be well advised to take advantage of the early sales. The new deviation of the road on the Opunake-Te Roti line at Te Roti is, according to a correspondent, likely to prove a veritable deathtrap) for motorists. The road is exceedingly narrow, and there is a nasty bend with a fall of many feet for the unlucky motorist who attempts to pass another vehicle should drivers meeting each other not know of the danger, and if they do it is still a nastj* proceeding, particularly at night. The width of ,J the metalled portion is apparently inadequate, and when vehicles cross each other the offside wheels aie in soft ground, which after a heavy rainfall would constitute a decided menace.

A pretty little romance has been enacted in Dunedin, reports the Post’s correspondent. A young married woman, hearing that an elderly neighbour, apparently in poor circumstances, was finding life lonely, visited her regularly and took her little delicacies to tempt her appetite. These attentions were simply born of goodwill. Recently the old lady became helpless and had to enter a home for the aged._ She lived there but a short time, and "when her will was read it was found that she had bequeathed £SOOO to her surprised benefactress.

The London correspondent of the Wellington Post states that the impressions of the Russian Communist visitors at Wembley are summed up in the Pravda ■as follows: “Fine, wellbuilt pavilions filled with objects of luxury stolen by the British Imperialists from the colonists; all' sorts of amusements calculated to give the dulled senses of the overfed bourgeoisie a thrill for a few seconds—and you have the much-advertised British Empire Exhibition in one sentence.’ ’ _on the whole, the writer in the Pravda arrived at the conclusion that the Soviet Agricultural Exhibition held in Moscow last autumn, ‘‘although less pretentious, less calculated for effect, and not accompanied by the shrieking display of advertisements which characterises Wembley/' was much more satisfactory. One of the most important decisions of the Australian Statistical Conference (according to Major Giblin, Tasmjmian Statistician) was that relating to Census Day. “It wa s agreed,” Major Giblin told the “Hobart Mercury,” “to go back on the time-hon-oured principle of holding the Census on. Sunday, or the day next to it, and to resolve, in fact, that Census Day must not be at the week-end. Formerly Sunday was the day when the population might be expected to be most fully at home. In these days of week-end holiday-making, Sunday is probably the worst day in the week for this purpose. Further, it was resolved that the Census . should not be held during Easter or for a week after Easter The last Census Day was the Sunday following Easter, and the effect of this was to make considerable errors in the population of, for example, Hobart and Launceston, where the schools were in vacation, and many people were having holidays.” The suggestion that the horse is becoming extinct as the dodo induced an Auckland man to spend twenty-five minutes counting them one lunch hour. In two city blocks (says an exchange) he found 178 draught horses in single harness. 65 pairs of draught horses, two teams of three draught horses, and four teams of four draught horses. Resides these there were 3-1 light horses in single harness, and two pairs of half-draughts. There was one saddle horse, and a police trooper Was riding him. The return to the horse for haulage purposes in England is noted by Mr A. R. Charlton, secretary of the Shire Horse Society, who mentions as the reasons economy in working, adaptability to short journeys, with frequent stops, and pulling capacity. Economic considerations of longevity and exemption from tax are combining to restore the horse to his old position. The Eev. A. J. Seamer, in the course of an address at Wesley Hall, stated that it is 83 years since the Methodist Church was established in this locality, with a slight, break during the troublesome days of the Maori war. BUCKRELL’S, HAWEEA. In addition to our usual showing of costumes, frocks, etc., we have opened 20 dozen vests These are marked 2/6, 3/6. 3/9; full sizes. These are exceedingly cheap.—Advt.

Sir Ernest Rutherford, of the Cavendish laboratory at Cambridge University, and Mr. J. W. Joynt, M.A.,

agent in London, have been appointed to represent the University of New Zealand at the jubilee of the Yorkshire College of Science and the coming-of-age of the University of Leeds, which is to be celebrated from December 15 to December 20, inclusive. The invitation received by the University of New Zealand was signed by the Duke of Devonshire, as Chancellor of the University of Leeds. | There is a possibility of the Ohura coalfields being opened up in the near I future. Officials of the coal company j visited the locality recently with the object of making arrangements (states the Tainnarnimi correspondent of the New Zealand Herald). The coal is expected to be of goed household value, while its steaming qualities are reported to be excellent. The fields are situated about 12 miles out of Ohura township, and with the completion of the Ohahukura-Ohura railway should assist materially in the development of the district. There are .other deposits well as those already explored. When the line is built through to Stratford a mine will probably be opened up at.Tatu. A house party in aid of the Manaia sports queen was held at Mr. E. T. Burke’s residence on Friday evening. Fully 100 people were present and splendid business was dqjie. Several competitions were held during the evening. The euchre tournament was won by Mrs. Cosgrove atid Mrs. Landers. Other competitions were won by Mrs. Nicholson, Miss Schicker, Mr. Eaves, and Mr. C. Burke. The supper supplied by the committee was all that could he desired. Songs were contributed by Mrs. McCracken, Miss <Vine, Mr. Wills, and Mr Hannah. The evening ended with community singing, pinch fun and three cheers for the sports queen candidate. The committee wish to thank all who so liberally responded to a worthy cause.