LOCAL AND GENERAL.

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

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mr J. S. Barton, S.M., has accepted appointment a.s umpire in the arbitration proceedings between the flawera County Electric Company and the South Taranaki Power Board. The board of directors of the Royal Humane. Society has made the following awards: Leonard Gordon Hatch, aged 13, Wanganui, for rescuing a man from drowning on September 1, bronze modal. Frederick Manning Langdon, aged 22, Auckland, for rescuing a child from drowning at Onehunga on January 30, bronze medal. Sir Joseph Carruthers, official representative of the Australian Government at the Captain Cook celebartions at Hawaii, is a passenger on the Niagara at Auckland. Concerning Samoa, he said everything was very quiet. When he was there in June lie met Colonel Allen, the Administrator, and had a talk with him. He seemed to be just the type of man now required "to bring about the peaceful settlement of affairs. Regarded by exhibitors and the public as the most, successful exhibition in the history of the 'association, the Wellington Winter' Show came to a close on Saturday night. The takings for the day amounted to well over £SOO, and the aggregate takings for the exhibition since its opening on Seplember- 19 are in the vicinity of £4500.

Last* evening members pf the Ha worn Male Choir paid a visit to the Old People's Home, where the inmates were treated to a most enjoyable concert. The assisting soloists were Mi.ss Doris Gilmore, and Messrs Smith, Morris, Fade, Green and Ray Downey (violin). At the conclusion of the concert several of the old people expressed their gratitude and appreciation to the partv foi their splendid entertainment. The Hawern .Motor Cycle Club, will hold another of its popular runs tomorrow, when mem hers will leave the Rost Office at 1 p.m. on a trip to New Plymouth, via Stratford, and return via Bell Block. Given line weather this run should prove most enjoyable, and a large number are expected to participate. A meeting is to be held in the K.iponga. Town Hall on Wednesday, October 14, at 7.30 p.m., in connection with the brass band. Already the ladies in Ivaponga have held several functions to raise funds, and it is the intention of the committee to run a carnival.

Something of a bombshell has been flung at the New Zealand Law Society by the announcement that the Bill’ introduced by the council of tne society to provide a scheme of insurance for the general public against defaulting solicitors has been dropped. Under the Bill the Law Society sought power to tax members of the profession an amount which was estimated to yield between £6OOO and £BOOO per year. Anxious to return to their electorates, the members of the House find that they must jettison a certain amount of legislation, and the Bill lias been crowded out. the committee of the House to which it was referred being unable to devote time to it. Sir Thornes Glasgow, Minister of Defence for Australia, is a passenger on the Niagara, (states an Auckland message). Referring to the report by Sir John Salmon d that the Australian Air Force was useless for war owing to obsolete machines, absence of reserve equipment, and the low standard of training, he said the Australian Government had already given instructions for the ■replacement of the machines in use. "Wo fully recognise the importance of aviation as far as Australia is concerned,” he said, “ and Australia’s intention is to have her air force thorI oughly efficient in every respect. ’ ’ Replying to Mr P. Fraser in the House 'of Representatives yesterday, the Hon. R. A. Wright said it was not intended to re-enact the Rent Restriction Act this session. Cabinet had carefully considered the matter and had come ito the conclusion that if a Bill passed the House it would not pass the Legislative Council. Therefore the introduction of re-enacting legislation would be only a .waste of time. Moreover, it -was felt that the need for legislation had passed away, but if necessary the matter would be further considered.

From the Niger to the Nile is a crude description of the Sudan, with its hundreds of tribes of pagan people. Britain has assumed responsibility for the government of the major portion of this vast region and is again urging the Sudan United Mission to f urther extend its operations in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. New Zealand has sent seventeen workers into- that land of romance and story, and others are preparing to go. Taranaki sent the first two New Zealanders into this area, and the story of this pioneer effort of all the great Protestant churches to. take Christianity to the Sudanese will be told in the Presbyterian Hall to-morrow (Wednesday) night by Mr J. Priestley, Dominion secretary of the Sudan United Mission.

To Kooti, founder of the Ringatu religion, predicted in his time that some day gold would be found, and later ltatana and bis followers declared they would unearth untold wealth. Some weeks ago an official of the Katana Church visited the Coast to solicit funds for the exploration of the locality. where the gold was supposed ’:o be lying. The locality announced was near Te Whaiti, in the Urewera Country. A whole family from Hicks Bay journeyed to Te Whaiti to claim a share in the find. They have returned tq the Coast much poorer than they were before they left home.

Twenty British raisers of narcissi have subscribed £5 each for a challenge cup to be presented to 1 Hovers of the Flower in New Zealand for Narcissi raised in the British Isles and exhibited in New Zealand.” It is going to the National Daffodil Society of New Zealand, of which Sir Heaton Rhodes is president. The cup is silver-gilt, and is an exact -replica of one of three which were presented by the House qf Commons to the President of the French Republic when he visited London at the time of the inauguration of the Entente Cordiale in the reign of King Edward VI. It was at that time specially selected as being typical of the best British silversmith’s work. The cup is now being shipped to New Zealand by the. High Commissioner by an early steamer.

Says the Sydney “Bulietin’ - : The extensive deposits of iron sand on the beaches of Taranaki province have not beeni hitherto considered 1 a commercial source of for rows ore. They contain o, portion of titanium, which has rendered them very difficult to smelt. Samples have been sent to England at various) times, and the metallurgists of Sheffield, in their laboratories, have made excellent iron and steel out of some of the stuff, but have always reported that some entirely new method of smelting would have to be invented before the sands could be treated payably. Such a method host now been discovered, 'it is affirmed, and an Eng-iiis-h syndicate, headed by Sir Edward Zohra.b has asked the New Plymouth Harbour Board, which has the jurisdiction over the sands, to. estate the terms upon which it will allow the deposits to be exploited. It appears that a® the resu’t of experiment® with the samples sent to England a new kind of furnace has boon devised, combining the featnrais of the blast and electrical types, n ,nd the syndicate reckons it can smelt the sand into, better iron than that- produced in Sweden.