Local and General.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XI, Issue 242, 17 October 1921, Page 4

Local and General.

The Hastings Chamber of Commerce will meet in the H.B.J.C. rooms tomorrow evening.

Several grocers in Palmerston North are now selling factory butter at Is 9d per lb.

The Niagara, arriving at Auckland today, brings an Australian mail. She sails for Vancouver at 4 p.m. to-morrow T .

The density of population in Japan is 1980 per square mile, which indicates a serious condition of congestion. The two leading cities, Tokio and Osaka, contain a population of 2,173,000 and 1,253,000 respectively.

An infant, who was left in its high chair, on the lawn of a Hastings residence •yesterday, rocked itself until the chair overturned and sent the poor baby, face downwards, on to the concrete edge of the footpath, breaking its nose and badly bruising its face. The Hawke’s Bay County Council has selected a site on a section at Tongoio, fronting the Napier-Wairoa road and near to the Tongoio Post Office, as a place for a public pound, in lieu of the section fronting the county stock paddock, on the Tongoio settlement road.

A special feature of the Labour Day sports will be the Baby Show. Thirty valuable prizes including a special for the champion baby will be allotted. The committee arc determined to make the sports a success for the kiddies. No entrance fees will be charged for any events and the prizes are well worth competing for.

Miss Shallis, bathing in the Frensham ponds, Surrey, had a narrow escape from death. A 30-pound pike seized her leg. The more the terrified girl struggled the tighter the pike’s jaws closed. Exhausted with pain the girl sank, but fortunately other bathers, attracted by her cries, eflme to the rescue and forced the pike to relinquish* its hold. The leg was badly lacerated.

Mrs E. Simpson, who was in charge of the Plunket Day organisation in Hastings on Saturday, reports that there is a sum of £2OO in hand with some collection boxes still to come in. as the result of the “shop” and the activities of the young ladies who collected subscriptions in the streets. The total, together with a list of individual cheques contributed, will be published to-morrow.

Mr. J". Scott, on behalf of the Internal Affairs Department, was in Havelock North last week, relative to the military graves in the cemetery. Only two returned soldiers have been buried here and both graves are in good order. Mr. Scott generally expressed approval of the way the cemetery is kept. He said it compared most favourably with any of the cemeteries he had visited in the district.

“We are losing touch of all that is fine in the land, by the lowering of our ideals,” said Mr Horace Stebbing, when addressing a public meeting on Friday on the subject of the formation of a Young Citizens’ Lcagub in Wellington. The speaker said that more could be done, and more should bo done for the young people of the country. The environment of the young person should be paid close attention to, and the refining influences of good should be instilled into their souls through the medium of such an institution as the Young Citizens’ League.

Strong comment was made by Mr. Poynton in the Auckland Police Court on the evidence given at the rehearing of the case in which Cornelius McDevitt was sentenced to fourteen days’ imprisonment for using a departmental concession in order to obtain a railway ticket to which he was not entitled. The rehearing was granted on the ground that fresh evidence was available. The Magistrate said he was certain the story was a concoction, giving several reasons. The accused was sentenced to fourteen dkys. The Magistrate refused leave to appeal, saying that the man who commits such an offence and then tells lies about it is not deserving of any consideration. Later the Magistrate remarked: “It’s the worst perjury I’ve heard in this Court.”

The following is the number of votes recorded at the Havelock North Bowling, Croquet and Tennis Clubs’ queen carnival which terminated on Saturday afternoon last: —Croquet candidate. 2196; tennis and howling both tied with 2,473 each. This effort brought in the sum of £93 10s 6d and for this splendid result the following ladies and gentlemen deserve every credit: Messrs J. Heenan, J. Steele and J. McCarthy for the Bowling Club; Mrs Heenan. Mrs Harvey and Miss Miller, for the Croquet Club; and Misses Black and McPhee and Mr J. Niinon for the Tennis Club. Mr. W. H. Complin was tho lion', treasurer. Mr. J. Falconer deserves special mention for the large number of tickets ho sold and for the great interest he displayed.

All interested in the wool classing competition and the shearing competitions (open and maiden) at the forthcoming Spring Show arc reminded that those events take place on the second day (Thursday, 20th Oct.). Entries for these competitions may «bc made with the secretary or steward in charge up to the time of competition. The wool classing competition, which is held in tho produce shed, commences at 10.30 a.m., and continues until noon, whilst the open shearing . competition commences at noon ,and is immediately followed by the maiden shearing competition. In the latter, in addition to the winner holding the challenge cup for one year, receives a gold medal. Attention is also called to the leaping match for children, which takes place on the first day, for which post entries may also bo made up to the time of competition.

A number of people have wondered, on seeing the new cut through the Taradale road, at present being made by the two Napier Harbour Board dredges, why the river channel was not made straight, as it has been shown on the plans. The position is that Nanier has to reconcile itself to having the river shifted from its present course at a no very distant date. The channel at present being cut is only regarded as a makeshift and will he someday closed again. It is realised that to keep the river in its present position would mean that a dredge must always be in the river as the wash is not sufficient to keen it clear. Napier will not lose tho river altogether, as it will ultimately flow through what it is hoped will be a model suburb on the land being slowly reclaimed by the Harbour Board.

William John Harper, of Duchess Crescent, Hastings, who has been reported as missing from his homo since Wednesday last, is still unaccounted for, and his relatives are undergoing .<n anxious period trying to locate him. There is no indication whatever as to his whereabouts, and grave fears are entertained for his safety. The miss-ing-man. who is 61 years of age, is very well known all over the district, and for over twenty years had been employed at Tomoana. As far as is known his health was very good, and he had not been troubled with worries of any description. His mind was quite normal, and no reason can be given for his strange disappearance. Yesterday search parties, numbering about 120, scoured the district and also dragged the lake at Tomoana. but last evening, when all had returned, no sign had been found of the missing man.

Tho offices and stores of members of the Hawke’s Bay Wool Brokers’ Assn., at Napier and Port Ahuriri, will be closed on Thursday next, People’s Bay Hawke’s Bay Spring Show.

A man named Allan Steele Ramsay, aged 45 years, dropped dead at the To Aro baths, Wellington, yesterday morning.

,“I can cite Sir Francis Bell on the point,” said counsel, in the Wellington Magistrate’s Court, on Friday. “No you can’t,” said tho magistrate..”lf we had to go to “Hansard,’ for the meaning of our statutes, we don’t know v r here we’d be.”

The R.AI.S. Makura, which sailed from Vancouver on the Bth instant for Auckland, has on board 1505 bags of mail for New r Zealand. The Waiotapu, which sailed from San Francisco on the 9th instant for Auckland, has on board 382 bags of mail for New Zealand, including 368 parcel receptacles. William Allan Hopkins, formerly land and estate agent, now a bankrupt, appeared on remand at the Magistrate’s Court in Christchurch on Saturday on four charges of theft of moneys entrusted to him. Counsel for accused stated that Hopkins was broken in health, body and spirit and it was not intended to offer any defence to the charges. 2k further remand was granted until Friday. The following resolution was carried by the Nelson Diocesan Synod:—“This meeting desires to express gratitude to God for the great favour conferred upon the people of New Zealand and the mighty works done through Ratana and prays that God’s blessing be continued on him and his work.” The president called upon members to stand in fervent prayer for Ratana and his work.

An anomaly in the income tax interpretation clause was mentioned by Mr G. Witty (Riccarton), in the House of Representatives on Friday. The hon, member explained that a business man, who had a farm and was losing on it, was taxed only on his total income; whereas a man who had a salary and owned a farm, even though he might be losing on it, had to pay the full amount on his salary. The anomaly arose through tho double meaning attached to the word “business.” The Prime Minister said that he was not aware of the anomaly, but it seemed to constitute a hardship. He would have the Department inquire into it, with the object of remedying it. A principle laid down by Sir John Salmond at the Supreme Court in Wellington in connection with the granting of divorces under Section 4 of tho amended Act is of particular interest. A few days ago His Honour, in a judgment in regard to a petition for a dissolution of marriage under the section, held that the allowance of £l2O proposed for the woman was inadequate, and therefore deferred the granting of a decree until arrangements had been made between the parties. Counsel announced that such an arrangement had been made, and His Honour granted the decree nisi upon the usual terms, making it a stipulation that the maintenance should be not only for the joint lives of the parties, but that after the death of the husband provision should be made for the respondent.