LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 9 March 1928, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

“If lie will give a warranty to pay rent for the whoi? term of the lease — 999 years—he will ho given the land on lease,” ehaffinglv suggested a councillor at a local body meeting yesterday, when a requpst was made to buy a sma'l section or to take it for a lease of that term.

A member of a local county council ’-'wterdav was subjected to considerable banter when hie turned up late after being telephoned for from the office. He reached there over an. hour late, having, .explained that be had cnite forgotten, and he added that these four weeks seemed to have flown. “Perhaps it was the effect of Sidey fine,’’ it was suggested.

An amusing incident occurred at a railway station not a hundred miles from Hawera this morning. As the mail train pulled up at the station, a be-whiskered old man, whose garb betokened the toiler from outback, thrust his head in the carriage containing the Australian bowlers, and exclaimed: “How do. boys?” Here’s a quid; have a spot! I belong to South Australia, but I’m not. going back. T. know- the Chief Justice too well.” “We have never s een bowling greens before,” said Mr E. W. Castine, man ager of the Australian Bowding team, at - present touring Now Zealand. “When we refer to bowling greens in Australia, we refer to the places where wc play bowls, but in New Zealand the Avord ‘green’ must be taken literally, everything is green —except the players. ’ ’ A tribute to the value of the “silent policeman” was paid by Cr. Stevenson at. the Wainmte West County meeting vesterday, when urging that one should be installed at a corner like that at the Kapuni store, the junction of the Sheet and Mianaia Roads. He said there was no doubt people got the habit of care when such a precaution was made at a corner. The engineer and ho would look into the matter.

The total amount of rates outstanding, reported .the clerk of the Waimate West County Council yesterday, was about £BOO, and to this would be added the penalty of 10 per cent. During a compensation Avith a. prominent Wanganui business man this morning, a “Hawera Star” reporter was informed l that there were at present 57 empty shops in the river city. Unemployment Avas rife, and the building trade Avas at a standstill; in fact, said the speaker, building operations at. present AA'ere the lowest for 20 years. A very pertinent question in the matter of road traffic Avas referred to by Cr. Gamlin at the Waimate West Council meeting yesterday. He said the need of more frequent cutting of hedges at road corners A\ r as imperative. Cr. McKay said that boxthorn greAv so quickly at some times of the year that “after the month’s notice to cut Avas given, it Avas almost time to give notice again.” The engineer s aid he Avas glad the question had been brought up because Avhile some did the Avork many Avere very slow to move, and it Avas a question AA’hether in some cases the council should not. insist on haA ring the liA'e hedge replaced by a Avire fence.

The monthly meeting of the HaAA’era Astronomical Society was held at the Observatory, 15 Argyle Street, last evening. Mr A- H. Larlcman presided over a 1 arize attendance of members. The director. Mr G. M. Townsend, delivered a lecture on “Ancient and Modern Astronomy,” illustrated by means of a. large number of lantern pictures. The lecturer described the methods used by astronomers for the observation of stars from the time of Hepparcus, 160 8.C., to the present time. The pictures of the early astronomers and the instruments used by them AA'ere described and folloAved Avith great interest as the lecturer gave anecdotes from the life of each astronomer in turn. The lecture aa’us folloAved hv a general discussion among members and the meeting: concluded with a hearty vote of thanks proposed hv Mr Larkman, and carried by acclamation.

A paragraph appearing in this column yesterday made reference to the unusual behaviour of a horse in Hawera just prior to the occurrence of Wednesday’s shock of earthquake. Many interesting storieLS 1 can be told which give colour to the belief that animals can “sense” the approach of earthquakes. One of the trainers of the chimpanzees which appeared .at the Opera House this week stated that in 1908 he took a troupe of performing seals to Italy. One night he was puzzled—and doubless more than a. little angered—when he found, the seals would not respond to his commands. They wej-e in an excited state, and the results of years of training suddenly disappeared. Ho understood the reason next clay for the unusual behaviour of the previous night. There had been an earthquake which had devastated 1 Messina.

Mr, E. R. S. Dale, manager of the Commercial Bank of Australia in Hawera, has received advice that his head office lias called tenders for a new fourteen-storey building in George Street, Sydney. He is also advised that a new issue of ordinary shares has been largely ober*-sub s cribe d. These two facts give evidence of the prosperity now being experienced in New South Wales.

The wholesale price of elephant tusks in London is about £2OOO a ton.