LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 4 July 1928, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Northern Steamship Company's auxiliary schooner tiautuaui crossed the Aianukau bar on Thursday evening, bound for Hokia-nga, and not having been .reported, caused some anxiety -until into yesterday, when information was received that the. vessel was safe in Spirits bay. At the Elthaiq 'Magistrate’s Court yesterday, before Mr. R. W. Tate, S.M., judgment for plaintiff by default was delivered in an undefended civil claim lor £l9 3s 9d, instituted by I. J. Bridger against W. A. Guthrie. The committee arranging the dance for to-morrow (Thursday) in the Oeo ball lias been obliged to postpone the function until Thursday, July 12. The arrangements will be the same as for the original date, and the 'Maori orchestra. will provide the music.

About- 11.35 o’clock last night a passerby .noticed what he thought was an outbreak of lire in an office in Princes Street. The brigade was informed, and on investigation it was discovered that the reflection came from a large fire which had been left burning in one of the grates.

The death occurred at the Stratford Hospital on Sunday night, of Mr Thomas Blair, one of the oldest and most respected residents of Glimie Ro>aitl, Ngaere. at the age of Gf ; The late Mr Bfiair was closely connected wiitli the history of the district, having kept a private school in Stratford in the very early days. ■

The sounding of the siren a few minutes after .eight o’clock this morning aroused the citizens of Hawera. Members of the fire brigade were out with their customary speed and proceeded to a residence in Wellington Street. The heat from a gas ring had ignited the wall behind, but beyond a slight charring no damage was done.

The small' coastal steamer G unbar was delayed- at Auckland last night owing to trouble with her crew. An able seaman who had been discharged because of alleged insubordination was, after a conference, re-engaged, but when ’told to sign the articles he refused to do so until nine o’clock next morning. As the captain was unable to obtain a substitute the vessel’s departure' was. postponed. Under the supervision of Mr. J. Garnett, custodian of the public cemetery, much good work has. been carried out at Naumai Park during the past month or so. The grounds have now assumed a very tidy appearance, nearly all the land having been turned over. A number of trees have also been planted. This resort now contains a fine collection, of valuable native trees, the majority of which are doing very well.

Mr Justice MacGregor delivered ins reserved judgment in the Supreme Court at Auckland in an action by John Burns and Company, Ltd., claiming £350 damages against the vessel and owners of the Canadian Explorer in respect to damage by rust to coils of wire ciannied by the vessel from Sydney, Nova Scotia, to Auckland.. The Judge gave judgment for the defendant company, holding that there whs no evidence before the court that, the damage was caused by negligence on the part of the master or owners of the ship, or by their servants. ,

Amonv the members of the HurlingYacht Club, on the Thames. a>w* a policeman, a caretaker, a ’bus driver. and a postman. Pure silk Full tv. a wealth of colouring akin to a lovely garden. Tho forty different shades include scarlet, amber, cyclamen, apple green, jade, saxe, kingfisher, tangerine, gold, grey, henna, lemon, flesh, apricot, sky, mauve, shell, salmon, fawn, etc. Prices: Natural 1/11 colours 2/4* yard. —Harrops Ltd —Advt. MeGruer, Bone and Co., Ltd., have just opened their new season’s Buttcrick Patterns. These include newest styles in costumes, coats, jumper suits, afternoon and evening frocks; new patterns for .school .blazers,-boys ’ suit’s and pyjamas, bays ’ shirts and trousers. Large asortment of new transfers. Buttcrick’s Qularterlv and Delineator are now’ reduced to 9d each. —Advti

Thieves broke into Mr. J. T. Cooper’s 1 tobacconist’s shop at Linwood, Christchurch, on Monday evening and stole a large quantity of cigarettes, tobacco and fancy goods. Last week thieves attempted to break into the shop by the front door, but on Monday night an entrance was forced through two doors at the roar. The intruders took two big packages of unopened new stock and ransacked the shop, taking ail the high priced cigarettes, cigars, pouches, and cigarette cases. The indications are that two- men were concerned in the robbery.

Apparently one Dunedin schoolboy is aware of the advantages that- follow the adoption o-f a policy of waste not-, want not, and unless- liig views undergo a decided change he should be ensured, of comfort in his old u-ge (says the “Otago Daily' Times”). . Decently he handed in his homework, consisting of four sums, written on a piece of paper no larger than two inches and a half by one inch. To find room for all that the paper contained, itwell imagined, was a work of art-. Evidently the lad’s ability as an arithmetician, however, i-s not, commensurate with liiis ability to make a little gca long way, for only one of the iour su-ms was correct.

At a meeting of unemployed held at Masterton yesterday morning, at which 58 were present, it was decided to accept wages of 12s per day for married and 9s per -day for single men if 14s was not obtainable, and also that strong representations be made to the Government to grant a £1 -for £1 subsidy' to local bodies and to fix relief wages at net less than 10s for single men and 14s for married men. A committee was appointed to wait on the Masterton Borough Council and County Council, both of which are contemplating relief works. No w trad ns- are running regularly i through the greater part of the Bay of j Plenty we should see -a, rapid dnereaise in the production- of fat stock, and particularly of lambs and pigs (says- a whiter in the “New Zealand Herald”). Fat cattle have always been sent away from this district generally on their own hoofs, ibut -even beef will be more largely raised now' that it- -cam be sent away to market so easily. On each side -of the East Coast railway, for a length of over a hundred miles, there is a veay large amount of country now lying idle which is exciallenitly (adapted for the raising of fat lambs. The soils atro friable and naturally well drained; they' carry grass well; they grow lucerne and other 'green- fodder crops to perfection.; they produce excellent root crops, and they -enjoy a. mild yet very bracing climate.

With a view to obtaining a. ruling as to the legality of ho (ding euchre parties under certain conditions, a letter was sent by Mr D. St. C. Maogregor, secretary of the combined Kindergarten and- Public Hall committees, to the Department of Justice (says the “Southland Dairy News.”) He wrote: “We have been conducting euchre parties for charitable purposes. The police have instructed u-s to discontinue same as we make a charge ,of Is 6d admission and give open orders as prizes. My committee fail te -see wherein lies the offence.’ To this the Minister of Justice replied that- it was impossible for him on the- facts stated in the -’fitter to say whether the parties committed a breach of the law. He suggested that tire best eoutsj? wa® to get a isolici tor’s opinion on the point -and a solicitor might at the same time advise whether it is possible to conduct the tournaments in such a way as to keep within the law.

Sale time in the drapery emporiums is marked by struggle and excitement on .too part of many women purchaseifo to secure “bargains,” but the fighting spirit is not- usually displayed as -it was at Nightcaps, a little township some distance, inland from Invercargi.nl (says an exchange). The big sale of the season took place, and in til© course of it two women omstoinjar-s saw the same bargain at the same moment. One woman got the bargain and the other a black eye. this being the result of a clash with the., successful purchaser. An explosion of a stove in a lonely farmhouse at Moeroa recently initiated serious cuts and bruises on the legs of two brothers, James and Allan Stuart, aged 17 and 14. The explosion also reduced the stove and chimney to a heap of ashes, says the “Elthani Argus.” The youths, the sons of Mr 11. Stuart, go out to the farm about once a month, the place being a few miles past Mangamingi. On this occasion the youth found .that the house had been burgled and it is believed that the explosion was deliberately placed in the stove. Usually the house is unoccupied. Allan, the less injured of the two, drove to the neighbouring .farm of Mr O. Elyger. The boys were taken to Dr. Crawford, Elthani, their legs having been badly cut bv the flying pieces of iron. Last autumn in England it rained almost, every day for about two months. One can readily imagine how bad- such a season must* be for saving of sound, mature seed. Tlie well-known firm of New Zealand seed merchants, Messrs F. Cooper, Ltd., Wellington, have for many years now been growing very large areas of seeds in New Zealand to supply the requirements of their customer's, not only in New Zealand, but in Australia, Africa, America, and Europe. A copy of their seed guide and catalogue has just reached us, and may be obtained from local sellers of Cooper’s seeds. This firm has been in business for sixty-seven years, and are naturally proud of such long fecord of service to sowers of seeds.*

A middle-aged man, named Helge Alllfr'ed Holm, was found. f atally shot on a rock garden at the hack door of ills residence in Rata Street, Inglewood, about noon yesterday, reports the Inglewood correspondent of the “Taranaki Herald. ’’ The evidence, he states, points to the fact of Mi* Holm having slipped on a rook, the butt ol hi,s single-barrel shot-gun striking the ground as lie fell, causing the charge to explode and enter liis head. Death was apparently instantaneous. Air Holmi had been in the habit of shooting birds with the shot-gun from his hack doorstep and about the time of the fatality neighbours heard other shots. He was a married man, lie and his wife having lived in Inglewood during the last ten months. It is understood that he came originally from Australia.

Of all the striking evidence of the abnormality of the seasons in Poverty Bay this year none can compare with the fact that, plums have actually come to maturity exactly six months out of season (says the “Herald”). It was mentioned' some time ago that Christmas alums were forming on the trees, and later that they had reached a comparatively large size for such a period of the year. Now it i;s reported that some Gisborne families are actually eating the matured fruit. The fruit generally is not quite as large as that of the ordinary summer crop, although there are some specimens equally full grown. While the quantity of fruit is not large, some trees have anything up to 201 bon them. The outstanding "difference between the summer and winter crons is that the latter are lacking the rich colour of those ripening during the hot weather, .although) many are quite pink.