LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LX, Issue LX, 29 December 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Star will not be published on Monday next (New Year's Day). The Hawera-Opunake coach will not run on Monday, 2nd prox. The dead-lock between the ships and the Patea wharf laborers continues. The Patea Press states that so far little difficulty has been experienced in discharging and loading the various vessels. J. C. Williamson's William Desmond and Katharine Grey Company will appear in Hawera in "The Lion and the Mouse" on Tuesday, February 7. The nearest approach to a "trek" that we have encountered was seen in Hamilton (says the Waikalo Argus), when an old trap containing a man, his wife, and son, a wheelbarrow, 40 fowls, and a misce^aneous assortment of househo'd goods, and drawn by a tired-look-ing horse, passed through. The settler had driven right through from the lower end of Taranaki, and was on his way to Mongonui, away in the north, at the rate of about a mile an hour. There is a great sTHsrtage of wool m the Hawke's Bay district this year, owing to the bad midwinter and spring — in fact, a bad year all round. Some pastoralists are short 30 Wes^some 50, and on one run there is a srrortage of 200 bales. The total shortage for Hawke's Bay will be 15,000 bales, the money value "of which is about £170,000. "Ho called me a 'shelferi,' " said a witness at the Magistrate's Court, Christchurch "A what?" enquired Mr T. A. B. Bailey, S.M., who was on the Bench. Mr Hunter (who appeared for complainant): "The word is not in the Oxford dictionary, your Worship; it is a slang term for a man who gives information to the police." The witness then went on to state that the defendant had' also called him a "swotzer." Exactly what a "swotzor" was no one else in Court seemed to know, but the evidence certainly went to show that it was not meant for a term of endearment. Ah Lop, a Masterton Chinaman, took his sons with him to China recently, but did not bring them baclc. They were natives of Masterton, and were educated in the local scnool. Being able to speak English fluently, they had no difficulty in obtaining responsible positions under the Chinese Government. While engaged ploughing at Te Puna nine years ago, reports the Bay of Plenty Times ,Mr B. Armstrong, jun., lost a silver watch that he was wearing at the time, and a'l efforts to then recover it failed. Last month, when ploughing in the same field. Mr Armstrong unexpectedly found the lost article, the case of which was in a splendid state of-preser-yation, although the "movement" was impaired. A huge hammer-headed shark, lift, long, was seen swimming about Arran Bay, Waiheke, for about two houia the other morning Evidently the shark was ill, for it swam up on the rocks, and there lay in twq feet of water for an hour. Two settlers from a neigUbouring bay came with their guns, and fired six shots into the monster before he succumbed Se/eral young sharks accompanied the mother. Messrs B. C. Bennett, A. Bavley (Hawera) and J. Burton (Opunake), three enthusiastic fishermen, are at present encamped in the Opunate district for the purpose of enjoying a couple of weeks angling One of the party informed a Star reporter over the 'phone this morning that the are teeming wntfh good healthy fish and that the party were having some real good sport. A series of accidents happened between Moturoa and Omata on Saturday night owing, the Herald understands, to the reckless driving of a party of young fellows. They collided with aMr Jury, who was driving, upsetting his gig an^ throwing him out heavily on to the road. Mr Jury's gig was smashed and the horse bolted with the shafts still fastened to the harness, and crashed into Mr and Mrs J. George, who were driving home. Their gig was capsised and Mr George received severe injuries, several ribs being fractured. Mrs George fortunately was not hurt. Then, we are further informed, Mr George's horse took fright and collided with another gig. Mr Jury's horse was so badly injured that it will probably have to be destroyed. Money for brains ! The proprietors of the Wioletta Company otter eight guinea* in prizes. Look up the advertisoment now appearing in the Star for particulars. Good dairying land, 130/ acres ; price £16 per' acre ; exceptional terms. Pull information will be found in A. W. Read and Co.'s advertisement, which appears in this issue. In order to encourage "buyers of copyright songs to pay cash and save expense attached to sending out accounts and postage, E. Dixon and Co. have decided to sell all copyright songs at I >n© shilling and ninepenca cash with order. •

. A compensation claim for a very considerable sum is shortly to be heard in the Auckland Courts. The claimant is a laborer, and ie alleges that when he was cleaning the inside of a ship's boiler, steam was accidentally let in, scalding him to seriously as to permanently disable him. The damages claimed are £5000. | The name of A. Carter was inadvertently omitted from the half-mile and mile events in the nominations for the Caledonian sports printed yesterday. This man, as also Ward and Minhinnick, will be handicapped later. The handicaps for the amateur events will appear in to-morrow's issue. So as to fully cater for the residents of Manaia and district, Mr J. Meuli has recently added two new vehicles to his hiring department in connection with the livery stable business. One is a nicely fitted and well designed four-wheeled cab, which should prove very serviceable in that locality; and the other is a large brake to seat about 24 persons. The latter has been appropriately named "The Waimate/' and was used during the holidays to carry people to and from Hawera. The Wairarapa- Wellington mail train on Friday night got stuck in one of the tunnels on the lino, owing to the engines being unable to cope with the load. The traiit included the vice-regal party's carnage. After repeated efforts to get ahead the train had to back down the incline, and then all steam was put on, and the engines managed to haul the train to the top. During $»c time that the train was delayed in A« tunnel some of the passengers had an unpleasant .experience owing to fumes. Speaking to a Southland Times representative, a bootmaker made a complaint regarding the importation of boots, while locally the industry is in a languishing condition. He mentioned that fast year 2,000,000 pairs of boots were imported into the Dominiqn^ and mainained that the bulk of them could have been manufactured in New Zealand, which would have greatly benefited the workers, and that they could have hem turned out quite a cheaply as the foreign boots which are landed here, when freight and other expenses are taken into consideration. Apropos of the. complaint In reference to the train which ran from New Plymouth to Stratford on Christmas eve, returning empty, the Stratford stationmaster, Mr J. B. Campbell, states that his instructions were to send 'the train back empty, so that he could not issue tickets to passengers by the train. The tram did not leave Stratford until about 1 a.m. on Christmas Day, and it is not certain that there would have been many people anxious to travel at that time of the day. If passengers had been taken it would have necessitated the stationmasters at all the intervening stations turning out to put the train through, and consideration for the officers no doubt prompted the conduct of the Railway Department in the matter. ' In conversation with a resident of Palmerston who is interested in the timber trade, a Standard representative was informed that the Main Trunk line constitutes thd almost" sole source of timber supply over the large area say from Taihape and including Wellington, Wairarapa, Hawke's Bay, Wa,nganui, and Taranaki. With the exception of a few small mills, where the big mills have "cut out," the timber producing industry within a radius of many miles of Palmerston has practically ceased to exist. The traveller by the direct route to Wellington (the Company's line as it used to be) would find some difficulty in believing that many sawmills were, a few years ago, in full swing thereabouts. The only visible and outward signs of the importance of the industry then being carried on are the heaps of sawdust which mark the sites which the sawmills once occupied. The sawmillers were the pioneers of the agricultural pursuits which^ have now taken the place of the timber industry, which, at one time, brought much wealth to Manawatu and adjacent districts. In briefly reviewing the operations of the Wellington Land Board during the present year, Mr James Mackenzie, Commissioner of Crown Lands, said that he had made several trip" to the Nortlv Island Main Trunk settlements, and, generally speaking, found the settlers in a prosperous condition. A pleasing thing was the confidence iri the administration of the Board that had been ex* pressed by the! Crown tenants he had come in contact with. Indeed, he could say that he had not heard a single grumble during the last eight or nine months. "But then," he added, "times are now prosperous." Mr Mackenzie also paid'a compliment, to the highly satisfactory manner in which the Crown tenants' representative- (Mr H. T. Ellmgham) had carried out his duties as a member of the Board The latter, in returning thanks, remarked that when he first took his seat on the Board he had labored under the mistaken idea that unjust treatment was being meted out to the Crown tenants. Now, however, he was in a position to say that the Board treated its tenants with every fairness and in a very creditable manner. Speaking at a school gathering in Christchurch, Mr G. W. Russell (M.P. for Avon) voiced a grievance in regard to education reserves. " •He said that during the recent session a very important amendment had been made in the Education Reserves Act. In the old days the provincial councils set aside endowments for primary schools, high schools, and universities. The lands had been administered by a body generally called schoo 1 commissioners. Now, however, primary and secondary education reserves would be handed over to the Lands Department. In that matter Canterbury had been treated unjustly. In the early days the people of Canterbury set aside land endowments for primary education "which brought in no less than £20,000 a year at the present time. If that sum was capitalised on a basis of 5 per cent, the estates wou'd be worth £400,000. Endowments in Otago and Southland yielded £13,000 a year, m Wellington £7000, in the whole of the Auckland province only £5000, and in Hawke's Bay only £4000. The endowments in other provinces were so small that they were not worth taking into account. The people of Canterbury got no benefit .from those lands. The Government gave grants under a system of subsidy, but it deducted from the payments made to the North Canterbury Board the amount of revenue received from the primary school reserves in the district. The system ought to be altered. The, revenue from reserves set aside for primary education in the early days should be available for technical education, and the people of Canterbury should have the revenue of their own endowments for tbeir own institutions. If Canterbury could secure the sum of £20,000 a year that was deducted from the Government subsidies for primary education, and if it could be handed over to the Education Board to be earmarked for technical education, there would be a marked improvement in that branch of education. Don't go home to-night all out of sorts — with a headache, brain in a whirl. Take Steams' Headache Cure, and go home care free. 9 Every home that values cheerfulness comfort and refinement will welcome the new Roslyn writing pad (copyrighted) 100 sheets fine ruled, tablet size paper. Obtainable from drapers and store-keepers at 6d each. * A good rubbing of the chest with ROCKE'S Eucalyptus Oil and a few irops on your pillow will relieve a cold. Ask for Australia's beat. "ROOKEIS."