LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 18 December 1925, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

•*- A Southland News reporter was in formed by an Invercargill business man that a big goldmining company is to be floated shortly with a capital of £IOO,000. The claims are in the Lower Shotover River, being promoted by an Invercargill firm.

The Hawera Municipal Band has received an invitation to attend a church parade which is to be held in Patea on Sunday morning. The band will give a programme in the Domain in the afternoon. The application to place Archibald Gray under observation in a mental institution, while awaiting his trial on a charge of murdering his son at Eltham, has met with the approval of the Minister of Justice (Sir James Parr). Gray will be sent to the Porirua Mental Hospital for this purpose. Oregon pine is increasing in favour in Nc\v Zealand, and, along with other woods, such as niatai and totara, particularly for dwelling houses (says i forestry journal). Exotic soft woods have come into their own, and their rapid growth in the North Island of New Zealand is an effective means of checking the threatened timber famine.

“If reverence for the glorious deeds of the past and reverence for the wonderful things of the present obtained mo-re at the present time, there would not Ibe so much of the Bolshevik feeling in our midst,” stated Miss V; M. Greig, principal of the Napier Girls’ High School' at the breaking-up ceremony of the school.

To most settlers gorse is looked upon as mo-re or less of a curse; but according to an application made by a ratepayer to the NVaimea County Council for permission to pliant the noxious weeds on certain third-class land (states the Nelson Mail), three sheep to the acre can be grown off this class of feed. Subscriptions for the Massey Mem or. Fund in the Eltham 'County amounted to £8 Bs. This l sum has been forwarded to the treasurer of the New Zealand fund at Wellington. At the Magistrate’s Court at Christchurch yesterday, before Mr H. A. Young, S.M., William Robertson, a widower, aged 63, was fined £5 for kissing a girl without her permission. Passes in the pharmacy examinations for the Wellington Centre are:—Section B: Prank F. Eddie, Harold Gardner, Edna L. Hussey, Maurice A. Kitchen, Kenneth E. Robinson, Arthur Spaekman, Seymour Vine, Edwin P. Wilson, Noel R. C. Wilson. Section C: Clarence W. Baker, Edward Saunders, Frederick H. Seber, William H. Snowsill, Vernon F. Winter. A census of the stocks of flour, wheat and oats in the Dominion taken as at November 30 showed that the total flour was 7819 tons; wheat in grain, milling 1,174,181 bushels (including 351,899 Australian), other than milling 211,750, in stack 8651; oats, in grain 1,381,710 bushels, in stack for threshing 59,228 bushels; and for ehaffind 59,158 tons. According to reports received, says the Rotorua Chronicle, people who think of walking on the Waikaremoana track are warned to be careful and to keep a- wary lookout- for wild, bulls, which are plentiful in that district and truculent. The Maoris have counted no fewer than 14 in the- neighbourhood within the last fortnight. A Press Association message from Wanganui stated that after heaving evidence at length in a series of charges of fraudulently omitting to account for moneys paid in rates for the PateaWaitotara Rabbit Board against David G. Strachan, late secretary to the hoard, the accused pleaded guilty, and was committed to the Supreme Conit for sentence.

Wireless has proved of marvellous assistance to the astronomer in checking his observations of the correct time. Observations of the sun are subject to an error of l-sth of <tv second, the stars, as more than, one may be used for observations, give more accurate results ; but by "wireless clocks may be checked to a maximum of l-50th of a second of error, and a much smaller percentage of error is frequently attained.

Mr. H. G. Dickie, M.P., is to present the school prizes at Mokoia. Hall to-night.. Mr. F. W. Sutton and some of the members of the Dixon Banner sports’ committee will also be in attendance to hand over the Bennett and Sutton Cup, won at Wednesday's sports. Ait the same time Santa Claus is distributing presents to all rile good Children of the district from liis wellladen Christmas tree.

Dunedin retailers generally report that business during the past few weeks has been quiet for this time of the year. One prominent trader in a main street attributes this condition to the fact that the novelty of the Exhibition, as far as the local populaticn is concerned, has not yet worn off, and that money which would ordinarily be spent in the shops is being spent there. With the advent of Christmas, however, it is anticipated the shops will do good buiness, late though it may be in coming.

Mrs. Daisy Harwood was killed by electricity while ironing clothes at her home in Essendon, Melbourne, recently'. The electric iron which Mrs. Harwood was using fused, and she removed the plug of the attachment to find what had caused the fusing without first switching off the current. A few minutes later Mrs. Harwood’s motlier and sister heard a scream from the kitchen. They hurried to the room and found Mrs. Harwood lying on the floor dead. She had touched the “live” wire, and had been killed by the electric current. A rather amusing incident in respect to the spelling of his name was related by ihis Excellency the Governor-General (Sir Charles F&rgusfeon) at the reception tendered to him by the St. Andrew’s Scottish Society at Invercargill. His Excellency said tihat during his visit to Dunedin he had met the headmaster of a school, who was an ardent Scotsman. This gentleman told his Excellency that when he heard of his appointment as the Governor-General ol New Zealand he asked - the children to •spell .liis Excellency’s name. They had spelt it 27 different ways, and not one of them was correct. “I did not know that my name could be s.pe!t in so many ways,” added hi* Excellency, “until lie'.showed me the paper with the various spellings on it.”

The opening of the Kawatiri Rowing Club’s season at Westport yesterday was marred by a drowning accident, •James Gilbert Finlay, a chemist, 33 years of age, a married man, losing his life. Finlay stroked the crew that won a race and when the. boat was returning it shipped a sea and swamped., The crew hung on to the boat as .it drifted down the river in a rapid curvent. but nearing the crane wharf Finlav attempted to swim ashore* with the coxswain. Albert McLean. Becoming exhausted, he told McLean to carry on himself, and shortly afterwards disappeared. McLean reached the propel er of the Ngaku.ta and hung there anti] rescued. Finnerty, in a dinghy, rescued the other three members of the crew—Grogan, ILav-Mackenie and Caldwell.