LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 24 November 1925, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Some members of the Amateur Operatic Society will go down to Wanganui on "Wednesday, December 2, to be present at the production of the _ opera “Veronique.” Arrangements will be made during the next few days and seats reserved for them.

Some words of farewell to the Anglican Church congregations of Taranaki were spoken by Archbishop Aver id, who is relinquishing the office of Bishop as far as Taranaki is concerned, in his sermon at the St. Mary’s Church annual dedication festival at New Plymouth on Sunday night. Several severe shakes were experienced here on Wednesday night and early on Thursday morning (wrote the Whangumomona correspondent of the Stratford Post). The chimney of the local bakery fared badly, the bricks being dislodged to the level of the roof, aiid scattering in all directions. Some fell down the chimney, and wid be difficult to recover. Other chimneys in the neighbourhood were slightly damaged. and losses of crockery have been reported.

“Palmerston North appeal’s to be the hone of contention as regards the "Wel-dngton-Nelson Court of the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition,” said Mr Natusch at a Wellington committee meeting on Thursday. “After giving Palmerston and the Manawatu district an excellent advertisement in the newspapers, and especially in the court at Dunedin, Palmerston showed its gratitude in a unique wn> —it sent the committee a debit note of £10.”

Arrangements have been made to hold a New Zealand Anglican Men’s Bible Class conference and camp at Claudelands show grounds, Hamilton, between December 26, 1925, and January 2, 1926. The first three days in camp will he occupied by the annual conference, at which the Archbishop of New Zealand will preside. Other attractions will include the annual debate. Blackburn Banner snorts competition. Selwyn Swimming Cup, tennis, Rugby, soccer, and Marathon championships. As the camp is very close to_ the Waikato river, plenty of swimming will be available. Arrangements have, been made for southern delegates to visit Auckland for several days at the close of the camp, and this will bring to a close a verv enjovahle holiday.

Active support for a scheme of licensing reform in Oliinemuri is promised by Mr. A.. S. Bankart, chairman of the provincial council of the licensed trade. Mr Bankart is with the Licensing Reform League in its efforts toward reform, and has already devised a scheme which will go as far in the desired direction as the existing licensing legislation will permit. Briefly, the effect of the scheme would be to limit the number of licenses granted in Ohinemuri to seven or eight, to administer or control these licensed houses by one company, which .shall acquire the existing houses and rights, to limit the company’s profit to 10 per cent, per annum. and, 'after making the necessary provision for depreciation, renewals, etc., to devote the profits in excess of 10 per cent to making proportionate grants to local bodies in whose areas the net profits are earned. An instance in Beninark. South Australia, where amenities have been provided out of the profits of the municipal control of the licensed trade, was quoted by Mr. Bankart, says a Press Association message from Auckland. “You have at your very doors one of the greatest assets New Zealand possesses, ” stated! the Prime Minister (the Hon. J. G. Coates) when speaking at the luncheon tendered; to him by the Dunedin Rotary -Club on Wednesday. Much of the laud in Central Otago, he added, was of no value to look at, except perhaps from a grazing point of view. Some of it would' not carry a rabbit to ten acres. It was only growing scab weed and so on. But the land of Central Otago, when irrigated, would be of extraordinary value to the Dominion, (reports the ■Star). A very famous irrigation engineer, travelling through New Zealand, had been asked by him to go through that area and report, and had said that, in. his honest opinion, the area that was being irrigated was composed of land of a quality and nature second, to none that was being irrigated in other countries, such as America, India and Egypt, with all of which he was in close contact. Indeed, that engineer had wanted at once to form a syndicate to bring irrigation in very quickly.

The attention of buyers is drawn to the advertisement of the Farmers’ Co-op., concerning the entries for the Hawera sale of dairy cows in milk. Farmers wishing to complete, their herds should take advantage of this opportunity.

A Dunedin Press Association message reports that Mervin Douglas, a boy aged 4 years, died in the hospital under an anaesthetic yesterday afternoon.

On account of the death of Queen Alexandra the installation at Dunedin of the Governor-General (Sir Charles Fergusson) as Grand Master of New Zealand Masons has been postponed till Saturday evening. The business meeting, however, takes place on Wednesday as arranged. At the inquest concerning the death of Peter Prancom Percival, whose body was found in the Domain at Auckland, evidence was given that a post-mor-tem disclosed that death was due to heart failure, and a verdict was returned accordingly.— Press Assn.

Ada Baylis, wife of William Thomas Baylis, who was injured in a shooting affray at Slater Street, Richmond, on Friday morning, was operated on yesterday at the Christchurch hospital, and her condition is satisfactory (says a Christchurch Press Association message).

Family bonuses are to be paid by the Christchurch City Council to employees who have five or more dependents. The position will be veviewe_d at the end of March. A loan of £lo,ooo is to be raised by the City Council for housing purposes. Preference in the way of loans is to be given to applicants with families.

The Very Reverend D'r George Starr, Dean of St. George’s Cathedral, Kingston, Ontario, Governor of Trinity University and one of the foremost Anglican clergymen in Canada, has committed suicide. He- was in hospital suffering from Bright’s disease, says a Press Association message from Ottawa.

The members of the Wanganui Rotary Club have been invited to visit the Hawera Club on the evening of Wednesday, December 3 (says the Chronicle). The whole party, probably numbering nearly 50, will make the journey to Hawera by car, returning the same night.

How a simple injury can be attended by fatal consequences was illustrated in the death of a. five-year-oM boy in Hamilton last week (the Times records). The child, a son of Mr and Mrs F. J. Ellis, sustained i». bruised heel a short time ago, evidently from striking a stone. Little was thought of the matter at the time, especially as the injury apparently healed completely. The heel, however, began to fester, and tetanus set in. > The Taranaki Education Board has received notification that the department has approved of a grant for an increase of accommodation at the Manaia school. When the question was first broached the department did not consider that the necessity was so urgent that it should take precedence over other applications. The hoard, however, pressed the matter, and the department has at last agreed to grant its request. Following are the selections which will constitute the test pieeesi at the exhibition band contest, to be held at Dunedin in February: A grade selections: “Faust” (Berloiz), “Der Preischetz” (Weber). A grade march: “London Pride” (Moorhouse). B grade selections: “Rigoletto” (Verdi), “Border Songs and Ballads” (Old Scottish). B grade march: ‘/King Peg” (Giovanni). There are now in circulation in Wellington quite a number of 1925 coins. The silver ones, especially the sixpenny pieces, seem to have a different amount of alloy in them from those of former years. The sixpenny pieces do not appear to have the true ring that one expects from a silver coin. The ring is much duller than is usually the case. The coin also seem 6 to be lighter. An interesting scheme is about to be tried in Hastings. This is the erection in two or three important centres of the town of what are termed pictorial guides. They consist of wooden pillars some 20ft high, with projecting representation of the particular attractions and their designation. Attached to each arm is a board containing details of the different things to be seen and their location. The jiosts are so arranged that the arms can be detached from time to time and new pictures added. A witness, during the proceedings at the Napier Supreme Court, was asked by, counsel for plaintiff if he was a relative of a Justice of the Peace at Porangahau, and received the answer: “Whop Never heard of him before!” His Honor: “I notice that counsel never loses an opportunity of asking a witness if he is a J.P. or a remote descendant of one. Are you a cousin to a J.P.P” “No!” “Then you are scarcely respectable, and will have to he taken on your merits.”

While the details of a raid on premises in Wellington’s Chinatown were being related to the Magistrate yesterday, Joe „ Ying, the defendant, through his solicitor, endeavoured to prove that liis premises were not being used for gambling purposes, but as a social club. Ying, however, pleaded guilty. He admitted he had been previously -warned by the police. He said the only games played’ were, fan tan and dominoes.—Press Assn.

At the inquest on Maude Beatrice Ci-owle yesterday it was revealed that recently her. marriage engagement was broken off and she wasi heartbroken and frequently wept violently. On November 11 she asked a chemist for a dose of strychnine “to poison a pussy.” The chemist demurred, but finally sold her five garins, carefully labelled 1 “poison.” The following morning the woman, who was aged 25, was found dead by her host in a bedroom. The coroner found/ that she poisoned herself while depressed mentally (says a Press Association message from Wellington). During the month of October 69 bankruptcies were registered in the Dominion, compared with 38 in October last year, and 50 in October, 1923. Last month’s figures were the highest for any month since July last, when there were 81 bankruptcies. The number of bankruptcies for the 10 months totalled 571, compared with 557 in the 10 months of last year, and 556 in the 10 months of 1923. Farmers maintained the lead last month with 17 bankruptcies, labourers coming next with six. The records for the 10 months show that there were 119 bankruptcies of farmers. Labourers accounted fox--81, builders for 26. storekeepers for 18, and butchers for 13.

Representatives of the mid-Canter-bury executive of the Farmers’ Union met the Ministir for Agriculture. (Hon. W. Noswortliy) at Ashburton yesterday to discuss the question of the selling prices of superpliosphate manufactured from Nauru Island rock phosphate. Strong complaint was made of the fact that the Farmers’ Union was unable to deal direct with manufacturers on the same terms 1 as merchants, even though they were prepared to pay cash. Another grievance was that Canterbury farmers obtained no benefit from their proximity to the Hornby works, as manufacturers would quote only a railage paid price, which applied irrespective of the distance. Mr Nosworthy said lie would go into the matter personally as early as possible. —Press Association.

Thirty tons of oil-boring plant for the Murchison Oil Company was landed at Nelson last week, and it is expected that a start to test the oilfields m that district will he made shortly. The occurrence of late frosts in various parts of the Dominion .has been very hard on nurserymen. In one place in Wanganui a firm which' has a retail branch in the town lost so many 'seedling plants that it had to purchase some elsewhere in order to keep the shop supplied. Reference to the matter of pilfering of cargo en route to importers elicited from a local business man a very unusual occurrence. He said he had, not had a great deal of loss by pilfering, but on one occasion he found in the centre of tinned tongues an empty tin. The presumption was that one of the employees in the canning factory had been responsible.

The New Plymouth High Schools Board of Governors has approved of olans for a. new two-storey building of four room s to provide extra class-room Accommodation at the Boys’ - High School The new block will he the first portion of a large building which it is proposed to erect on the south side of the old hoarding-house. ■ When the block is completed it will include 12 classrooms and a large cloak-room. Advice has also boon received that the Department ha R approved of a grant for extra dormitory accommodation. A new wing will be erected at right angles to the last, addition. Accommodation will be provided for twenty beds and cubicles for a master and a prefect in addition to lockers, bathroom and lavatory accommodation. The hall of the Tourist Department at the Dunedin Exhibition is without two huge “moas” which were in evidence on the opening day. They were interesting, but the space they occupied; required something not so extinct. Anyway, they were not the real things, and were not built of real skeletons. These “moas” had legs of clay, and a close examination revealed that their knees were simply sockets into which wooden pegs fitted. The plumage was of emu feathers, and on the first two days when the birds were on view they had the appearance of undergoing a moulting season. Trophy-hunters had started to pluck feathers wholesale. The trials of the lighting men! Recently an inspector, after estimating the cost of work necessary to a house under the change-over scheme at Wellington, called foil tenders in the usual way. These tenders are obtained from private firms, when the resident desires them, and are tabulated in order of price.. The .lady householder, presented, with the sheet was determined. “What?” she said, after counting the number of firms who. had quoted. “Thirteen firms! I won’t have anything to do ..with it! Go and get another.” “And what’s more,” she added, turning on the quailing inspector, “don’t you dare, come to my house again on Friday!” Later she telephoned to say that she had accepted the price of a fourteenth firm for the work.