LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 30 November 1927, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

To r day is St. Andrew’s Day, patron saint of Scotland. The Union Jack was flown at the Poet Office tower in honour of the anniversary.

The reports .submitted to a meeting of thie school band and orchestra committee, iir conjunction with the Hawera Orchestral Society, in connection with the fete, to be held shortly, show that the work is proceeding satisfactorily. Mokeia, AVhareroa and Normanby school authorities are all looking forward to have tennis courts in the near future. The headteachers and committees ia<r© keenly enthusiastic and hope to have these works put in hand early next year. It is reported in Wanganui that Bradford intends to do its sorting of wool at this end instead of waiting until it reaches the mills. There is also a prospect of the scouring industry being increased in New Zealand. Experts for the sorting are to be sent out from the Old Country.

AVhile trawling off the AVairau bar on Saturday, a party of fishermen found in their net a boot with the remains of a human foot in it. The discovery it is believed will throw some light upon the disappearance from his launch some months ago of a young fisherman, Roy Eiyles. Tile boot was brought to Blenheim for identification.

A number of articles of personal property which, were found on the -Egmont A. and P. Association grounds during the show which opened a fortnight ago were restored to the owners through the medium of the show secretary (Mr M. C. Crighton), and a few articles, including purses, an umbrella and a child's shoe are still in the secretary's- possession awaiting application for recovery by the owners. Th|? jury awarded petitioner £3OO damages! when George Edmund Collett, it railway employee a,t Dunedin, petitioned at the Supreme Court at Christchurch for a divorce from Evelyn Collett, of Christchurch, and £SOO dam-ugek-i against his cousin, Alfred Frederick Walsh, an engineer at Christchurch. Hire- evidence was that respondent had left petitioner and lived in Christchurch with co-respondent as his wife. .The judge granted a divorce, and me jury assessed the damages as stated. —Press Assn. Riding pillion on a bicycle, two pupils of the Hawera Main School, Leslie Barnes, aiged 11, and his sister, aged seven, were turning in the Main South Road to enter the school gates on Monday, when they came l into collision with a motor car being driven by Mr E. L. Mulcock, of Hawera, in the same direction in which the bicyoe liad previously been! travelling. The impact threw tlie children to. the roadway Suffering tom shock and bruises, though fortunately not seriously injured, they were taken to their home in Camberwell Road by the motorist, who reported the accident to the police. „ ~ A philatelic rarity, a relic of the original 1555 issue of New Zealand penny stamps, has been brought to light by an Auckland collector, Mr A. Brodie, of Gillies Avenue, Epsom. Penny postage was not in vogue in the 'fifties, and the issue was intended for use only upon letters sent or received (by members of the naval and military forces. Only 12,000 of the stamps were printed, and it is stated that about 10 are known to be in existence. Mr Brodie obtained the pair of stamps at Tauranga. Single copies arc catalogued in London at £3O to £6O, and the value of the pair is probably £l5O. If the envelope had been preserved with the stamps upon it, the value would have been still greater. The Public Works Department has finally chosen the route for the uncompleted portion of the Auckland-Tara-naki railway between Ohura and Tahora. 'The line will go through Tokirima. The head works are at present about throe miles from Ohura and the route to be followed will be toward the Turoto Valley. A tunnel of about 2S chains will have to (be excavated at Mahorahora before Turoto is reached. Another small tunnel in Turoto Valley will bo necessary, but this- will be only about three chains in length. The line will then proceed through Mr E. Pearce's property, where a tunnel about 33 chains long will be necessary. From this point to the proposed Tokirima railway station the line will go through easy country. When the railway reaches Tokirima it will be within seven miles of the Wanganui river. A Te Kuiti chief who is a leader at the Ratana. Pa, when interviewed by a “Star” representative, states that extensive crops planted this season at the Ratana settlement were looking exceptionally well. The farm, which is directed and worked largely by King Country natives of the Maniapoto tribe, lias an area of 690 acres, 140 acres of which are planted in potatoes and a similar area in wheat. The planting of other crops such as bai ley'and maize is now in progress. The (appearance of the wheat crops does not bear out the- opinion of some farmers that the North Island is unsuitable for growing this cereal. These ex-King Country natives knew from experience how wheat crops developed in those days when, the Waija, Te Kami and Mokaxi valleys waved with the golden corn, It was: a common sight in those days to witness one huinTe 1 natives mounted on horseback riding over the hill front Piopio into the village of Te Kuiti, each man carrying before him a hundred weight of Hour for the assembled “hui.” When this live-ton supply of food was exhausted the meeting w-’.s declared over, and, the natives returned to their kaingas to prepare for further planting operations. This return to land cultivation by the natives is refreshing a*ter long sojourn inland.

An event of interest to farmers wi’l take place on Friday next at 1.30 p.m., at the farm of Messrs Starek and Laurent, KetemaraO' Load, near Norma nbv. This will lie a demonstration .of the John Deer,? hav sweep and Burke Hate sweep, and will lie con ducted under the control of Newton King, Ltd.,

of Hawera. All interested are invited to attend.

New designs in tile over-popular pure Fuji silk underwear, beautifully made and embroidered, are now being displayed at the Melbourne Ltd. Camibockers with straps, 12/(5; Princess slips, 30in to 48in and embroidered, 1 (5/(5; petti-bockors, 21/-; French knickers, 9/11; nightgowns in a large variety of new styles, from 17/0. All garments are made of our famous heavy weight pure Fuji silk. —Advt.

Australian treasury notes are not such a satisfactory means of currency in New Zealand as may be supposed. A ten shilling note issued by the Commonwealth was accepted by a Hamilton business man on Saturday at par. On depositing it in the Post Office Savings Bank he was charged 8d exchange. British treasury notes are accepted free of exchange by the post office. The happiest possible “atmosphere’ prevailed at the lecture which Mr. lyemasa Tokugawa, ConsulGeneral for Australia, and New Zealand delivered in the University Buildings at Auckland recently, Mr. 'Tokugawa took the opportunity of expressing the thanks of bis for the generous gifts of food, clothing and money sent from the Dominion in relief of the distress caused by the Tokio earthquake, says the “Star.” A long time had elapsed since the disaster he said-, but the kindness of New Zealand and Australian people would never be forgotten. Acts such as those helped to cement friendly relations between the nations of the Pacific—a state of affairs which was essential for the continuance of world peace and happiness. Tracing the growth of Japan from the earliest times till 1890, when the first democratic constitution was established, he said the Japanese were building up their civilisation with the help of Western influence, and there was a heartfelt desire to amity with the rest of the world. r The wars with China, and Russia were” of a defensive nature; Japan would not go out to another part of the world to fight.