LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 25 February 1929, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mr A.- Lees, of Okaiawa, left last evening, in company with other members of the Taranaki Education Board, on a tour of inspection of the Ohura district. The party will be occupied on the tour for several days. A Maori and his wife, statutory first offenders, were brought before Mr J. M. Townsend, J.P., this morning at the Ilawera Police Court, charged with being drunk in a public place on Saturday afternoon. A fine of £1 was inflicted in each ease.

Tiie Wangamii-Bangitikei Power Board is preparing' to close down its steam plant, owiiig to the Waikaremoana station taking up the whole load. The steam plant will he kept for standby purposes only. The weight of the sheep held for guessing at tha Manutahi farmers’ sports on Saturday was .and the winner was Mr. C. Wills, with an estimate of 1281 b.

The pupils of the Auroa School, with, a contingent of parents and friends, to the number of about a hundred and sixty, he'd the yc-hoo! picnic on Friday at the Ngaere Gardens. They had a most enjoyable day. games being played! by the young people and the parents were thoroughly enjoyed. Several Hawera residents who were spending the day at the Everett Reserve, Inglewood, yesterday, made a rather interesting discovers’ in an old rata tree. The tree had rotted with age, and imbedded in the trunk were hundreds of bullets evidently fired from rifles of the old Schneider type. ■ The rifling marks are on many of the bullets, hut how they came to. be where found is a matter for conjecture, as there isi no record of any fighting in this locality during the Maori wars. A maxim for motorists'was prescribed by Mr. Justice Blair in the Supreme Court at Auckland. He said there was a recognised formula that 15ft. a second was approximately equivalent to ten miles an hour. Motorists would be wise in habituating themselves to thinking in terms of speed to the second instead of miles to the hour. If that were done it would probably be found there would be fewer motoring accidents.

Owing to illness Mr H. J. Eaves, of Otakeho, has definitely decided not to seek re-election to the Taranaki Education Board. As the election takes place early in March, nominations are now being taken. Among the nominations already received are those of Messrs J? " Cocker (Rawhitiroa), F. Gawith, and J. W. Harding (Hawera), the latter being nominated by Hawera, Manaia, Otakeho, Okaiawa and Tawhiti Schools.

Midhirst people complain that although signs have been erected at each of the townships notifying that the speed for vehicles is limited to 20 miles per hour, the majority of motorists seem to be blind, as many continue to “scorch” through the township (says the “Stratford Post”). It is suggested that a visit from p constable or the county inspector would result in a few prosecutions, which Yould steady up the rest- of the motorists.

One hundred and forty-five applications were received for the position of cadet in the office of the Auckland Harbour Board. It was decided to reduce the number to six and depute a committee of three to make the final selection. The fear that the staff was being made too large was expressed by Mr. Campbell Johnstone. With the innovation of more efficient methods, he thought, it should be possible to do without further increases in the number. The secretary, Mr. H. B. Burnett, explained that the vacancy arose/ through a resignation. “Boys will not work to-day,” declared Mr. Johnstone. “I could place one hundred boys on the land this week, but they do not want to dirty their hands.”

Further economies are planned by the Education Department. Professor Thomas lead a letter from the Department s accountant at a meeting or the Auckland Grammar School Board instructing that the 2i per' cent, discount must he deducted when paying all accounts not marked net. Mr H. F. Vaile: ‘lgnore the whole silly business." Another member wanted to know why the deduction should not be 10 per cent., and a third suggested that to save trouble the board’s secretary should procure a rubber stamp and mark all accounts received “net." The secretary then remarked: “1 ain told that in the Wellington office it' the girl clerks do not get a discount when they settle accounts they haf’e to pay' it out of their own salaries. The letter was formally received.