LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 23 August 1926, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Kavarau dam is now completed except for the decking of the bridge, says-an exchange, and it ca.n be closed at anytime. Some 126 claims below the dam have been marked out, about half of which have been united into one company.

A boy named Wallace Lacey, aged seven years, has been missing front his home, at Aramoho, Wanganui, since nine o’clock on Saturday morning. He was last iseen on the bank of the rive, and drowning is faaired. An elderly man named Thorpe, age-o 64 years, fell down the .steps of the members’ .stand at Ellerslie on Saturday, states an Auckland message, .sustaining .somewhat severe injuries to his head and body. He was taken to liis home at Epsom. What is claimed to be a New .Zealand record was performed last Thursday during the leaving of the- EllersliePa nm lire Load, Mount Wellington, says the New Zealand Herald (Auckland). A length of 7 chains 14 feet of road, 9ft. wide and 7in. deep, was laid by a party of 13 men in charge of Mr. R Tyndal, foreman. This length, represents 93 cubic yards of completed concrete, the weight being over 100 tons. In connection with the death, of Francis Sullivan, who was -found at. the rear of the Excelsior Hotel at Cirri stchurch oil Friday evening lying in ,ai pool of blood, it was stated that the licensee found Sullivan: ini a. dying, condition and beside him were splinters or broken glass. As a bathroom window directly .above wa.s broken, and as the broken glass beside Sullivan was similar in quality to that of the window, the assumption is that Sullivan fell out of the window and received injuries which caused Ills death. Present-day school children have “o-ot one on to” grandfather at last (remarks the Christchurch Press). No longer can he growl about them staying away from .school on petty grounds. No longer can he say with a .look of withering scorn: “Stay at. home because it wst. What .next ! When J went to school I never .stayed at home.” In the chairman’s report presented to the Education Board on W ednesday, was .a, table covering the years from 1880 to 1925, inclusive. It showed the percentage' of attendance. Tn 1880, one of those good old yeans when grandfather was a boy, average attendance expressed as a percentage of the average weekly roll number was 71.1. For forty-five years onward, as grandfather grew up and up, the attendances improved until in 1925 they reached 91.4 per cent.

The adjourned inquest regarding the death of Stewart James Eennie, aged live, was concluded at Christchurch on Saturday. The child became suddenly ill on July 25 and died under an anaesthetic. Hr. Sandston stated that he was called by Dr. Johnston to attend the child, which was almost unconscious when he arrived. Respiration was difficult and it Was clear that the child could not live more than a few hours without surgical aid. It was suffering from acute inflammation and obstruction. of the throat, and an operalion was necessary, although attended bj grave risk. After a few inhalations of chloroform the patient stopped breathing. His throat was opened immediately, but the child did not revive. Bacteriological examination showed that there was no diphtheria, death being due to acute inflammation \of the larynx. A verdict was returned accordingly. Two letters drawing attention to the tremendous increase of wliat was described as New Zealand’s national vice, gambling on the racecourse; were received at Monday night’s meeting of the Christchurch. Oity Council from Mr. E. Townsend, who asked if it was not time that the council, as a public body, initiated some movement to put an immediate stop to such a terrible menace in, the life and surroundings of the present.and coming' generations (states the Lyttelton Times). The letters also stated that it was impossible at any time to get •letters of protest inserted in any of the local papers, so completely were they under the control of the jockey clubs and the gamblers. Mr. Townsend asked if the council controlled, the street verandahs and corners which were now monopolised by the press for the exhibition and encouragement of gambling. The letters were “received.” In the early days of New Zealand, when the. saddle, horse, or the horse and trap, were the usual means of distance locomotion among the classes who today use the motor ear for that purpose', the footpath kerbs in every town and ’ city were jTecorated with numerous hitching posts for the .“parking” of the gallant steeds. The numerous recent “unlawful conversions” —as the law euphemistically terms them—of motor cars has led to a suggestion that the liitching post system, be reverted to. for the purpose, not of preventing cars from Tunning away, but of making it impossible for the joyriding fraternity to get away with them. It was suggested that stout posts, or a post ancli rail structure, might be provided at parking places, and that if each, ear owner provided himself with a good strong chain, it ought to he possible to secure motor cars that the intention of the joyrider would be defeated.

Seldom does a session pass without petitions coming before' Parliament for the payment of pensions to Maori, War veterans who did not apply for pensions when the list was closed finally in 1916. Recently, says an exchange, the Defence Com it tee of the House of Representatives reported on several such petitions and (recommended that they should’be referred to the Government for consideration. Tt was stated that there were only about 200. Maori War veterans left who were ineligible to receive a pension, because they failed to apply for it in time, but -it- was urged that* as these few men were- now verv old, 'the Government might very well re-open the matter and give them some recognition of' their services. Tt was also contended by members that uensions should be paid To all Maori Avar veterans whether they were under fire or not The Leader of the Opposition (Mr H. E. Holland) said that solders who had served in the Great W ar received ft gratuity and in some cases a pension, whether thov had been under fire or not. and the same thing, should be done for the Maori War soVliers. If Parliament bad attempted to withhold the gratuity from Great War soldiers who bad not been under lire through no fault of their own, there would have been a storm in no time. The Government should be generous to the Maori War veterans.

Work is steadily proceeding on the telephone service between the North Island and the South Island, .says the Lyttelton Times, The laying of the trench cables between the Seddon and the Wellington Exchanges and the extremities of the submarine cable is not yet completed, but the Lya.ll Buy-V\el-iington portion, about four miles, rs nearly complete, .and six miles between Blind' River and Seddon have yet to be laid. Laying the trench cable is not essential till the .installation or repeaters at Seddon and Wellington. These are due to arrive .about December. Extension of the service to Christchurch will follow after the repeater® are working. Till such time the service cannot- extend past Marlborough and Nelson. There is a “no man’s land ’ in Auckland, .says the New Zealand Herald. It is the hospital grounds. The area was at one time part of the Eden county, but with -the growth of the city, rand the creation of ■.self-governing suburbs, the county gradually disappeared. In the process of rearrangement, the hospital ground was .apparently forgotten, and now, none of the municipalities claim it. When the matter was mentioned at the hospital inquiry, Mr. A. II Johnstone observed that the inhabitants of the grounds, on the. face of it .would have no civic rights.

The unusual position of a magistrate dismissing a drunkenness charge occurred at Dunedin, on Saturday, in a case where defendant alleged that) the eomstable (assaulted him. Mr. J. S. Bartholomew, 3.M., commented that five police witnesses swore that- defendant was drunk, and; ail equial number of witnesses for the defence swore that he was .sober, and evidence for the defence was given by some very reliable and .reputable witnesses. Some .of the police evidence was very unsatisfactory, and he could not- have the confidence in the police evidence that he should be able to. have. A decision to establish a civic museum, in which to record the history of the city in the same way as the Old Colonists’ Museum gives an insight into the pioneer period, has been reached by the Auckland City Council. Mr. L. A. Bady had submitted a request that the library committee should consider the question of establishing a civic museum. He pointed out that in view of the Old Colonists’ Museum collection being limited to historical records up to the year 1870. and thereabouts, it was desirable that a c-ivic museum for the city should be established. In this could be illustrated among other things, the history of the town, .and the development of the municipal, .social and industrial life of the city. The library committee recommended that a civic museum .should be established, as .an adjunct to the Old Colonists’ Museum, the period to be from 1870 onward. The recommendation was adopted. —New Zealand Herald.