LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 23 December 1924, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

• The Druids remember the children again, and.have arranged for a visit of h ather Christmas to St. Maryls Hall +^ 8 V^ ck - " The secretary notifies that tickets, will: be given to members’ children at the door. v ha^6 children for five hours 5 y^ u have them for the rest of _ the day; .said Air J. C. Webb; the retiring heamastedr of the Thorndon (Normal) School, on Thursday, in addressing a word to the parents. “You them the whole of the week-And and it is for you to help in their development.” ■ ; _ Bad weather prevented the Hawera Croquet Club holding the big day they had planned,: and reluctantly the committee have nffw resolved to postpone P ro i e ct until Jariuary. - W© are auuouuce that the winner of the Christmas cake, offered as' a prise tor the nearest guess of the length of ribbon, was Mr C. Paterson, of Kapum.. / The correct measurement was o yaicls ,22£ inches, arid 1 Mr Paterson’s guess was 8J yards.

. A trophy now in the Manawatu limes window shows what fearsome voamed the • bush Ini-.the Ariiti district 40 years ago. A wild hoar’s fcail > .} ‘ inches long, the root being ovei 12 inches, and a piece of skin from the shoulder, known as the shield, ope and a quarter inches thick and as hard : as a piece of oak. This,’ four niches by two, weighs half a pound, ine tail would do credit to an ordinary COW. ■ •• J ;

“I have great , faith in the girl of w qv y, ’l Rtat<3tl Mrs - E. W. Kane,; of Wellington, at the annual prize-civ in oceremony of the Girls’ High School (says : the Manawatu Standard) She continued that, in this age of wireless, express trains, and the cinematography it w'as unreasonable, for anvone, to expect the: present-dav girls tfo be like their -sisters of the stage coach period, who lived and died in 'the one spot; . “The girl of to-day is just as hue in every respect as the girl of yesterday, and she will, make just as fine a mother,” concluded - Kano. On Thursday afternoon, states the iVlanawatu Times, an insulator test was made of the, Mangahao lines at Bunnythorpe, and w r hen completed the lines were sw itched on to the lightning arrestors, as a thunderstorm Was approaching from the south. Within GO seconds of this operation, and. the conclusion of, the test,. the line received a very heavy stroke of lightning, and the lightning arrestor gaps fairly roared as the sheets of blue flames jumped across, to be safely conducted to earth. Those e ngaged on the test had a narrow escape, as the voltage of the lightning was ascertained to be at least 25,000 volts. The gaps of the arrestors will not start under 12,000 volts.

It . seems (says the Sydney Sun) that Australia can lead the world in the manufactiire of electrical equipment.: The Public Works Department has given to the English Electric Co., of Australia, Ltd., a contract to make in Australia eight 66,000-volt power transformers for use in transmitting electrical energy over long distances in country districts. These transformers will, it is stated, constitute a record in Australia design and manufacture, handling electrical pressures far higher than' any that have been made there before. The order was secured in competition with manufacfrom all parts of the world. The transformers will be used on the Burren Jack scheme.

Many new acquaintances are made and old ones renewed when ,the complements of immigration ships arrive. There'was rather an exceptional one on the arrival of the Pakeha- on Tuesday (reports the Auckland Star) Among the faces on the wharf, Vas a local resident who was awaiting a brother, whom he had not seen for 20' years. Then the waiting one was in his teens and his brother a child in arms;.consequently such a remembrance was very little help towards, identification. One of the immigration officers, however, shepherded the youth ashore, and there was instant recognition by both brothers, the strong family likeness leaving no room for doubt as to idem' tity. SCHOOL OUTFITS. We cater for your son. We can supply him with anything he requires for any school or college in the Dominion. Suits, shirts, boots, slippers, singlets, braces, pyjamas, rugs, trunks, overcoats, shorts, handkerchiefs, ties, caps, stockings, jerseys, bathing costumes. Bring us your boy with his school prospectus; we do the 'rest at the New Zealand Clothing Factory, HaweraJ—Advt. t Rheumo is the enemy of the cause of rheumatism; 4/6. —Advt.

The aggregate ages of the -. eight; members at the meeting of the New Zealand Association of His Majesty’s Veterans in Palmerston North was 653, and the average-81 years. Fireworks will not be permitted in any public place in the district during the. festive season, and the. Hawera police have issued . a wai'ning to this effect. It is considered that in view of the danger of fire the practice has to be stopped. The police intend to prosecute, and the maximum penalty is in the region of £5. A turtle which was captured at Niue Island, and is to be presented to the Auckland Zoo, was brought ub by Mr E. B. Vaile, of Auckland. The turtle 'is a well-grown specimen, and should be a; marked attraction At the zoo, which at present has nothing, of the turtle kind, among its residents.

Owing to the adverse weather and the present low temperature of the water, at the baths the committee of the Swimmings Club' have wisely postponed the carnival which was to be held to-night until early in the New Year. : ; . ’ ■ :

.“Christchurch people are exceedingly gullible,” remarked a creditor at a bankruptcy meeting in Auckland recent iy ' (says the .New. Zealand Herald), when the sale of chattels was being discussed. '-.“The town, seems to be full of cranks and .quacks.” ( A profitable industry', has developed in Hawke’s Bay from the high price of wool, (states the- Man aw at u Daily Times). A Palmerston visitor to Napier reports that buyers .are. visiting the- heaps of daggings near the principal sheds, and subjecting them to a process of “sluicing” for wool.

A very unusual occurrence for this season of the year—-a late frost—was experienced in Dunedin and in some of the country, districts la6t week; In portions of the Clutha and Taieri districts the potato crops suffered,.numerous residents in these localities being surprised to find that the haulms were quite-'black. Y v.rt-/rt;

The Mayor of a borough not many miles from 'Auckland informed his council one night last week,’ when replying to wishes for A Happy, New Year, that he did.not know whether the Mayoral duties were solely responsible for the fact, but he was 301 b lighter in weight since he assumed the chair three years ago, - Ninety seems a fair limit of age at which to give up mounting ladders to fix window blinds. Mr Cornelius Deverall, ef Auckland, was, however, a year older when He recently: undertook this job, but had the misfortune to. sustain at heavy fall, fracturing his thigh and necessitating his removal to the hospital. Some folks refuse to acknowledge they are growing old, even when approaching the century. Y

A further reference :to the nomenclature of Palmerston North was. made at the annual meeting of the Chamber of Commerce by Mr; J. M. Johnston (reports the' Standard), “The town is. the centre of the Manawatu —the finest district in New Zealand—and should-' be called Man awatu,” lie declared, alluding to the number of letters and postal packets ( which went by mistake to Palmerston South. His recommendation that the'- . incoming council of the chamber be- asked to further consider. the; matter of changing the name of the town was approved. ( V ■■((.((■(.,' ~ A ratepayer, ;ih the Carterton borough lias paid ( rates on a nonexistent section for the past 17 years, and finding this out at last he applied to the Carterton Borough Council, for a- refund (says the. Wairarapa. News). Councillors -all agreed that a 'refund should be' niade of the total amount paid in, £4O 3s 4d.. -Before doing this, however, the council : obtained the opinion of the municipal ( bodies’ .solicitor, who stated , that ' legally the council, could -refund only , the rates for ; the. immediate . preceding six years; - the' Statute of( Limitations 1 then coming into operation. The council decided to. refund six years’, rates* amounting to About; £l3* and to endeavour to obtainthe consent of the Audit Department for a. full' refund.:

Thousands of cattle are coming down from 'the north badly infested with tick, accordiiig to a statement made by the chairman of the provincial executive of the Auckland Farmers’ Union (reports the Auckland Star). The speaker (Mr G. C. Munro) stated that the administration., of the regulations seemed lax, although he did not want to > east reflections unori anv particular inspectors. These infested’cattle from the north were certificated as haying been dipped, yet they arrived in a bad condition, j It seemed to the speaker that either they had not been dipped a t all or the solution used' : was below the proper standard and ineffective. There were beef cattle at Westfield with their; ears full of ticks. It was quite feasible that dipped cattle , jiieked up. the tick sis they were being driven along the road.; Mr J. Gar ton pointed out that undipped cattle were bought in the paddocks and added to herds (dipped ■ in the north) as they were being driven down to Auckland. Mr J. Trewin favoured thedipping of cattle, horses and dogs at We'stfield. It was resolved to write to the department pointing out that there was apparent laxity in the administration of - the tick regulations, A idea for. the future, men and women of New Zealand was made on Thursday evening by Mr J. C. Webb; who/ has retired from the position of headmaster of the'Thorndon (Normal) School, after service ■ extending over nearly t thirty years. “Who are the heroes* of today?” said Mr Webb. “Why the All Blacks, of course. Even the writing pads used by the youngsters in this school have the protograph of the All Blacks on the cover. Sport is a good thing, but excessive sport is damaging. Too much pleasure is also a damaging thing, and we must try and persuade our youngsters to take thir. pleasures with a. certain amount of seriousness and in moderation. If I had my own way I would close 995 per cent, of the picture shows in Wellington. J have told that to several picture people. I mention that as-only one phase of the lust for pleasure which is making the souls of these little people’ absolutely barren. I am onlv sneaking of what I hay? seen in this district. I think the children of to-day are becoming more and more selfish in their work. It is harder to get work done in the school to-day than it was ten years ago.” BUCKRELL-'S, EAWEEA. Ladies requiring something really up to modern requirements in frocks, costumes and ladles’ wear generally will find an exceedingly nice selection, at Buckrell's, Hawera. There is also a wide range of handkerchiefs, singly or in boxes, suitable for inexpensive Christmas gifts.—Advt.

i Here are acceptable inexpensive gifts for men and boys at the Melbourne Ltd.: Pretty silk ties, 1/9 to 5/6; handkerchiefs, initial, Irish lawn, 9d, 1/- and 1/6; mercerised, with large silk initial, 1/3; pure linen, 1/11 and 2/6; plain white silk handkerchiefs, 3/11; silk, with large initial. 5/6; coloured bordered handkerchiefs, 1/- each, are wonderful value; fancy socks in great variety, 3/6 to 6/6. —