LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 2 June 1927, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Napier municipal tramways showed a loss of £329 on the year’s working. A notice' published in an Extraordinary Gazette at Wellington last night eon voices Parliament for June 23. It is announced that the GovernorGeneral and Lady Alice Fergusson will give an official dinner at. Government House on Friday in honour of His Majesty’s birthday. The constitution of the Dairy Produce Control Board was roundly condemned at the annual meeting of the South Island Dairy Association at Dunedin, and a motion was unanimously carried that, in the event of any alteration being made in the Dairy Produce Control Act, provision be made that the board shall be made up only of producer members. The official records of the railways for 1927, when compared with those of 1921, show a falling off in. ordinary' passengers of over five millions, while the increase in the number of season tickets issued over the same .period is only 119,479. In 1916 14,201,506 ordinary passengers were carried and 330,622 season tickets were issued. In 1927, 10,182,796 ordinary passengers were carried •and 584,170 season tickets were issued. The drop i.s attributable to motor -bus competition.

Some weeks ago a small child, while waiting along a load, in Napier had the misfortune to be shot in the eye ny a pellet lroni an air gun, which came from a nearby house. The boy, who is John W eaver, was removed ho the Napier Hospital, where he received attention. hie was able to proceed to his home His eye had been badly affected. It' is not known yet whether or not he will lose the sight of his eye. A new flour-mill to run on community lines, was opened at Waikari, North Canterbury, last week. It has a capacity of six sacks of flour per hour and it is proposed to work three shirts, thus running continuously. It is built on the most modern lines and the actualling milling time of the grain is three minutes instead of half an hour as is usual in older mills. June 3 is to be a special day for the Scouts of the district. A programme of scouting sports including games, competitions, etc., has been arranged. This will be held in the reserve at Turuturu-Mokai. The public is invited to attend. Hot water will be provided.

‘‘Looking up my diary for 1887,’’ writes the Stratford correspondent of the “Taranaki Herald,” “I came ucioss such entries as these: Sold 2£year heifers at £2„ Sold ' fungus to Mulree at 3d Sent potatoes to New Plymouth at ‘4s per cwt. Mulree took butter at 5-£d.” This last seems to have been a good sale, for a little later comes the entry: Butter down again to 4d. There would not have keen much sale for motor cars about here in those day had they been invented.”

The Attorney-General, Sir Douglas Hogg, has the distinction of being the first “canned” member of the Cabinet under the Conservative Party’s Phonofilm scheme for propaganda purposes (states a London cable). He gave a ten minutes’ address on the Trades Union Bill, the record of which was enclosed in a small tin and the film despatched wherever required. Meanwhile a. famous film, showing all the members of the Cnbient at work, is being installed in cinema vans, on behalf of the party, for free, open-air shows in villages throughout the country.

The Hon. It. A. Wright, Minister of Education, made an official visit to Feilding yesterday, on the invitation of the Chamber of Commerce. He received a civic welcome from tho Mayor (Mr E. Fair) and met a deputation from the local school committee requested an additional room. Subsequently the Minister was the guest of the Chamber of Commqrce at lunch, when, in replying to a toast, the Minister emphasised the need for attention to primary education. The Minister visited all the schools and had a wonderfully successful and cheering time with the children. Later he left for Marton.

A popular and useful organisation, the Egmont Sheep Dog Trial Club, will hold its annual meeting of members on Saturday next in the Egmont A. and P. Buildings at 8 p.m. The club does good work for the ‘farming community, and all members should make a point of being at the meeting. Begarding the carnival in aid of the park at Pahiatua, an effort is being made this season to have a clause inserted in the Reserves and Other Lands Empowering Act to enable the hoard to expend a portion of the accumulated funds in improving and installing roads and footpaths giving access to the park.

A traveller on the Main South Road saw a. motor-cyclist narrowly escape: a smash on the Tongahoe bridge. There were two travelling south and -one, the first, swinging on to the bridge, skidded and turned completely round, but, however, still maintaining his equilibrium. The gravity of the proceedings in the Gisborne Magistrate’s Court re T cently was considerably upset by the evidence of Jimmy, a bright little boy of twelve, who gave his evidence in a clear voice without any signs of nervousness. The case was in connection with a tussle between two women and counsel for 'the complainant addressed the boy: “Do you mean to say that you would not interfere if you saw that your mother was getting the worst of it ” “No,” replied Jimmy, brightly. “I would give ’em a fair go!” The Magistrate was convulsed with laughter. A Reuter dispatch from New York says that under plans just announced by Professor George Baker, of Yaje University, America, is to take o/omdl-Lion-dollar (£200,000) share in the international movement to rebuild and endow the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon. Professor Baker, who is chairman of the executive committee of the American Shakespeare Foundation., says local committees are now being formed in 21 major cities throughout the United States to raise 500,000 dollars of die sum during the remainder „of 1927. In all 2,500,000 will be raised throughout the world to complete the plans of the new theatre and its associated dramatic school, festival company, museum and library. The Farmers’ Union proposal, that the preference given to returned soldiers at land ballots should be removed, in order that the sons of farmers who had no opportunity of serving in the war should not be placed at a disadvantage, will be brought before the Dominion Conference of the New Zealand R.S.A. to be held next month in Wellington. The Gisborne branch of the Association has forwarded a remit urging the Government to maintain the preference so long as any returned soldier can be found who desires to go on the land. The Hon. G. J. Anderson, .. actingMinister of Industries ;and Commerce, states that Sir A. Boyd-Oarpenter (M.P. for Coventry), Mr Alan R. Fenn, technical advisor, and Lt. -Colonel A. Hacking (secretary to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) will arrive in Auckland on June 6, and will ’stay in New Zealand just under three weeks. It is .hoped that the original North Island itinerary will be kept. If so, they will stay three days in Auckland, motoring through to Wellington and visiting Rotorua and Napier en route. After a few days an Wellington they will spend two days each in Christchurch and Dunedin. The delegation is mainly on a trade mission in the hope of facilitating the sale in this country of Englih cars.

When returning to Thames from Paeroa last Friday night, Mr M. S. McLeod, District Health Inspector, met with an accident on the Thames road, just beyond the Paeroa boundary. Apparently no one saw the accident. Mr McLeod was knocked unconscious and remained in the wrecked car for some time. When he had sufficiently recovered, h©_ walked a distance of nearly three miles to Nurse Jarrett’s residence. On .arrival there he relapsed into unconsciousness. Medical aid was summoned, and it was found that Mr McLeod was suffering from concussion and bruises. Next morning he was out of danger. Mr McLeod has no recollection of making the remarkable walk in his dazed state.

Speaking at the luncheon tendered him by the Feilding Chamber of Commerce, the Hon. R. A. Wright, Minister of Education, referred to the Dairy Control Board as a subject on which the Government had been unjustly blamed. He was glad to notice that Mr Goodfellow had publicly exonerated tho Government from any blame for any mistakes made. Mr J. G. Elliot, M.P., upheld the Dairy Control Board, which he described as the “sheet anchor of the dairy industry.” The uproar was caused by vested interests, who desired to continue to get their rake-off, as agaanst co-operation. He urged dairy farmers, to stick to the board.