LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 26 June 1928, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A .new departure in tiio visit of a choral society is the chartering of a special train to bring members qf Jhe Wanganui booietv to Hawera. They xvilll arrive about 7.40 o’clock .tills evening and will leave on the return journey after the concert. In the election of Taranaki representatives for the council of the New Zealand Jersey Cattle Breeders’ Association Mr. B. J. Bi nil, of New Plymouth, topped the list with 115 votes. The other representative chosen was Mr. Cl. H. Bell, of (Jakura, who defeated the sitting member, Mr. E. Griffiths, by 95 to 77 xotes. New Zealand’s biggest reflecting mirror is being carefully tested by Professor Florence at Victoria College, Wellington. This mirror, which is 20jin. in diameter, is used for astronomical purposes, and cost hundreds of pounds to construct. It was made by the late Mr J. T. Ward, of Wanganui, who ground it carefully to a special shape, accurate to a thousandth part of an i nch. If it passes the series of stringent .scientific teste now being made, it will be resilvered and erected for astronomical telescopic purposes in New Zealand.

An industry comparable in its magnitude to that carried on so' successful',v <at Portland is likely to be established at Ngawha Springs, situated between Kaikohe and Obaeawaii. It isi understood that some 800 acres of land in that vicinity have been purchased bv the Imperial Chemical Industries. Ltd., one of the largest organisations of its kind in the world. This company has had its eyes upon the North Auckland Peninsula for .some considerable time as a source of quicksilver supplies, and about three. months ago Mr R. H. Goodwin, one of its chief mining engineers, came to New Zealand to test the Ngawha property. The cinnabar-bearing country has been' riddled with bores, and it is confidently expected that a.s a result of those tests mercury treating works on a large scale will be commenced in the very near future..

“I think New Zealanders should know, that Mr Coates made a deep and very favourable impression in Great Britain and in Canada when he was at his first Imperial Conference and on his. way home,” said Sir James Guneon at Auckland, when speaking of New Zealand’s high standing in Great Britain (states the “New Zealand Herald”). “Mr Coates’s attitude everywhere was correct, and his reputation in financial and: . oommereia l circles i« a very high one. New Zealand should bo grateful to. him for the work he did, hccause not only liaw he helped the finance of the Government, but he ha.s been of .the greatest assistance to the. promotion of New Zealand business interests.”

“It is gratifying,” runs the annual report o,f the New Zealand Forestry League,' “to note that adequate steps are being taken to deal with the wild sheep on Kapiti Island. During the year over 80!) sheep have been dliot, and it is believed that very few now remain on the island. Tire question of opossum trapping on Kapiti Island has been under consideration, and the policy of the Department appears to be to have an arrangement with the caretaker to trap opossums, but it does not seem to be the policy of the _ Department to eliminate them. Tit is hoped the incoming council will make further representations to have Kapiti Island reserved as a bird .sanctuary only.” What, the letters “P.W.D.” stand for, or might .stand for, was elucidated at the dinner of electrical engineers at Wellington. When the .toast of the “Public Works Department” wats proposed, Air El. Hitchcock said that a visitor to Alangalhiaio had, been assured by one official that the letters stood for “Pretty Well Damned.” Mr F. W. Furkert, .in bis reply, suggested that a lietter interpretation was “Paid Wet or Dry” or “Pretty Well Done.” Mr F. T. M. Tviissell’s contribution was “Pay Well Deserved,” adding that just because the Public Works Department had spent nearly 41 millions in the past sixteen years there was nothing to be gained by claiming that it was responsible for three-quarters of our National Debt.

■Tit© past year has again demonstrated that the effect of war-service is making itself apparent, states the annual report of the Canterbury patriotic fund inasmuch as men who nave received very little assistance from the fund, or who have not called upon the fund for a number, of years are now breaking down and require assistance. The report ,state.s that since the inauguration of the fund in August, 1914. a, total sum of £320,23.1 8s 9d had bden received. Of this sum £281,644 16s 8d had been expended, leaving a balance of £38,590 12s- I<l. From this sum the value of the Ran nerdale property £5640 9si 7d, had to he deducted, leaving £32,530 17s 10d for distribution. A total of £6999 had been paid out this year to soldiers and dependants, an imoreaisei on the previous year’s expenditure of £ll3O. Leans were made to the extent of £326 3s 4d as compared with the previous year’s total of £767 lbs. The excess of expenditure over income during the vear was £2Bll , 4s lid and the accumulated fund was reduced by this amount. There are, at the very least, sixty bungalows for sale in and around Christchurch, at prices varying from £750 to £I3OO (states the Christchurch “Star.”). The houses', nearly all of which are described as being new or nearly new, and well equipped, are situated mostly in the Avonside, Linvvood, St. Albans,' and Spreyclon districts. This information was obtained as the result of an advertisement published on Saturday toy a person wishing to buy a lour or five-roomed bungalow. A good deposit was promised. The. advertiser states that over fifty replies have been received by him, and that in several cases two on* more bungalows are offered for sale, making a total of just over sixty. Several of the replies were from builders, while others stated that their reason for desiring to> sell was that they were being transferred to other towns.

The annual' winter sale of the Melbourne, Ltd.. .’ommeneed Monday morning. The huge all-round reductions in addition to the very many ‘ ‘ Extra Special ” bargain offerings drew a crowd of enthusiastic shoppers who showed their appreciation by buying freely.—Advt."

Mr. Norman Fuller, who has been engaged by the Hawera Golf Club ns resident professional, has arrived in Hawera, and had a look over the course to-day. Members of the men’s and women’s clubs may make arrangements at once with the’ hon. secretary (Mr. E. P. Cox) for coaching lessons, or direct with Mr. Fuller. A special meeting of the Thistle Association Football Club and supporters at Auckland last night decided, with two dissentients, to form a new. association. the name and constitution to bn resolved later. The decision is the outcome of a recent dispute between the club and the Auckland: Football Assent ion. The club resigned from the association as a protest against the suspension of two of its players. At an early hour on Wednesday morning, under cover of darkness, the big German howitzer in' Victoria Square, Christchurch, which has been tlii?. subject of keen, controversy, was limbered up to a motor tractor and moved over to its new site in front of the Supreme Court, building in accordance with the final decision of the City Council. The Labour members, who instigated the agitation for the removal of flip guns from the city’s open spaces, compromised on the pre•■•nvb site, as it was discovered to he Crown land. By 8 o’clock the whole, wcra.tion was competed and the gun, resting on the old tramway sleepers, find taken up its place between the two other captured German field pieces already on the "spot. The .small Boer ‘poni pom” .in front of the Qupen Victoria statue will, presumably follow suit shortly. The joke of the whole business is that the new site is only a. stone’s throw from the former sites.