LOCAL & GENERAL

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXI, Issue 304, 8 December 1931, Page 6

LOCAL & GENERAL

A meeting of carpenters and joiners will be held in the Hastings Trades Hall at 7.45 o’clock to-night. We acknowledge with thanks the receipt of 1932 calendars from Mr O. S. W. Abbott, proprietor of “The Unique,” Heretaunga street, Hastings. Mr A. D. M'Leod was carried shoulder high through the main street of Greytown by a cheering crowd when it learned of his success at Wednesday’s election. He was also greeted with enthusiasm at Carterton and Featherston,, where he thanked the electors for tlie confidence they had shown in him. Tho first of the Mayflower peaches, as grown at Greenmeadows Fruit Farm, were sold last week by McGlashan’s Ltd. in Napier for lOd per lb., while this week a very choice sample from Mr. Herbert Webb, of Havelock North, brought lid per lb. These prices are said to be a record for peaches for New Zealand this season. “The only crime that can be perpetrated against the school child is allowing him to leave school not knowing really how clever he is.” remarked Dr. J, W. M'llraith, senior inspector, Wellington, when speaking to teachers uii Friday evening. “Wo left with a sense of inferiority,” ho said, “but I think that is passing away. The main aim should bo to allow our pupils to leave school knowing their real capacity.” It was stated at a meeting of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce last night that the recent heavy frost in the Roxburgh and Ettrick fruitgrowing districts in Central Otago, would involve the country in a loss of £lOO,OOO and that the growers in the districts affected would lose £50.000 or £60,000 It was decided to support the growers in their efforts to obtain Government assistance.

The adjourned inquest concerning the death of Oswald Laurence Coulton, who was shot by a bank official at Remucra, will be resumed on Friday next before the coroner, Mr F. K. Hunt, S.M. It is expected that the police will call about a dozen witnesses at the inquiry. Tenders are now being called for the new Post Office which is to be built in Dunedin, and the plans and specifications, which are now in circulation, indicate clearly that Dunedin is to have a Post Office that it will be proud of. It is estimated that the cost of the building itself will exceed £200,000, while the value of the site and foundations will be over £lOO,OOO. A protest against lax observance of the Sabbath was recorded at a meeting of the Wellington Ministers’ Association yesterday. Members spoke against the recent decisions of some public bodies regarding Sunday amusements, and it was considered that cer tain activities amounted to Sabbath desecration. A strongly-worded motion of protest against the decisions of several public bodies was carried. “It is not commonly known that it is an offence under the traffic regulations to be found in possession of a bicycle not equipped with a light after dark, even if it is not being ridden,” stated Senior-Sergeant J. Fox, in the Christchurch Magistrate’s Court, when a defendant charged with riding without a light pleaded that when accosted by a constable he had not been riding the bicycle, but had been crossing the road. “Because you feel it your duty to watch your own interests and your own money, you will find that you will be criticised for dabbling in municipal politics,” said Mr H. H. Miller, president, in an address to the quarterly meeting of the Wellington Ratepayers’ Association last evening. “This is very strange, and yet you will find that those who criticise the men who are trying to do their fair share of public work, are the very men who, when their own pockets are affected, almost cry when they talk to you of the waste that goes on in public affairs. Take no interest and the newspapers deplore the apathy of the public. Try to do your share and you will be accused of neglecting your own concerns, and of being a busybody.” Homing pigeons are still used in some of the outlying parts of the Dominion, especially at election time. During the 1928 Maori elections the returns from Motiti Island, in the Bay of Plenty, were sent to the returning officer at Gisborne by a pair of “homers,” and last week the returns were again received on the mainland by pigeon post. Motiti Island has a launch service in good weather, but the results were sent by carrier pigeons in case the weather might cause delay in the ordinary communications. A round sum of £366.275 was payable on Saturday in dividends by the Bank of New Zealand—£9B,697 to the Government and £267,578 to private shareholders. The Government holds three classes of preference shares in the bank. On class A a dividend of £50,000 was payable on Saturday for the whole year, on class B there is an interim dividend of £41,666, and on class O (long-term mortgage department) one of £7031. Private holders of D preference shares in this department receive £17,578, and holders of ordinary shares £250,000 in interim dividends.

Owners of dwellings in the Hastings Borough and Havelock North Town Board district who have applied before August 15, 1931, to be reimbursed for moneys expended by them in repairing earthquake damage to their buildings should make application at Public Trust office, Hastings, for the amounts appioved by the Hastings Earthquake Relief Committee, when payment will be made. As it is desired to have all payments made at the earliest possible date, applicants are urged to uplift amounts due to them on or before Monday, December 14. A sale of work in aid of church funds will be opened in the Hastings Baptist Schoolroom on Thursday, December 10, at 2 p.m. The stalls will be replete with goods marked at prices to ensure a quick clearance. The produce stall will include supplies of lamb and dressed poultry, and the jumble stall will be laden with articles for bargain buyers. A Christmas tree wil] cater for the children, afternoon tea will be provided. Musical items and competitions will take place in the evening. Contributions of all kinds gladly received, and will be called for by ringing ’phone 2167. How Chinese he had known had been able to make a profit by selling goods at cost in Manchuria was told to the members of tho Wanganui Rotary Club by the Rev. L. H. Ker He said that Japanese had been buying the goods and had sold them at very little profit, but enough for their purposes. The Japanese had found that their competitors, Chinese, had been selling the same goods at cost. Investigations showed that the Chinese had been obtaining three months’ credit, and in doing a quick trade had been loaning the money out in the three months at interest. Besides that they had the use of the packing cases in which the goods were forwarded. That was their profit. “Tho kauri is the rangatira, tho ariki of the tree world. There is a forest fairy, and that is the nikau palm. In the warm forest-fenced valleys of the Hikinnga and Waipoua and Mangakahia Hills (writes Mr James Cowan in tho “Now Zealand Railways Magazine”) you may see the nikau in its unspoiled tropic-like glory. To soe a perfect chimp of nikau you must go into the forest, past its sheltering seividge of tairaire trees, where the basking cicada clacks and shrills ceaselessly in the sunshine, and where tho pigeon and the till feast on tho fruit, into the untouched kauri groves, deeper still into the hollow dells whore little streams murmur over their mossy stones, there is the home of the nikau, where the winds never penetrate its protective wildwood screen.” A nest of eight kapilo spiders with a dozen eggs, each containing Hirer or four dozen katipos in embryo, was dis covered in the garden ot a private house at North Beach, New Brighton, Christchurch. Two of tho spiders were captured alive and taken to a chain ist’s shop, where they wore placed in a bottle of spirit. The katinos me line female specimens, of a brilliant black with the characteristic red stripe down the back. Two of the spiders were caught alive by placing over them a bottle, into which they eventually climbed. A woman who witnessed the destruction of the nest, said that she had seen, a katipo on the beach a few days ago, and had tried to catch it to show her children and warn Ihmn, lint had been unable to do so. The discovery is of interest because the katipo is New Zealand’s only poisonous creature.

The Maunganui, from Auckland, arrived at Sydney at 7 o’clock this morning.—Press Assn. The Napier Frivolity Minstrels gave one of their popular entertainments in aid of .the public school funds, at. the Havelock Village Hall last evening. It was by far the brightest and most original performance of any they have yet staged. There were 27 items, each full of pep and humour. The company consisted of 32 performers, including 12 of an orchestra. The hall was packed to the doors A recital that has always been looked forward to with groat and pleasurable anticipation is that of the Max Studio School of Dancing and Physical Culture. This year the Hastings recital will take place in the Assembly Hall on Tuesday next, when “Tip Toes’’ will be presented. The school has a large following of clever pupils, who will provide operatic, classical, character, and tap and national dancing,, in the solos, duos, ballets, etc. Tickets are now on sale, and bookings may be mad e at Sutcliffe’s . Melbourne will be 100 years old in 1935, and already celebrations are being prepared for the centenary. Designs have been submitted by several city architects for an exhibition that bids fair to rival the recent Wembley Exhibition in magnificence. Gardens, palaces, artificial kikes and pavilions of art, music, forestry, architecture and agriculture arc contemplated An exhibition of all the famous exhibitions of the past will be constructed, including the Crystal Palace of 1851, the Wembley, the Persian Art, the Buenos Aires display last year, and the hundreds of Russian, German and English “wakes” that are performed regularly by country folk. Many personages will attend, and the aim of the promoters is to attract 1,000,000 visitors.