LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXV, Issue LXV, 20 December 1913, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A strange incident happened on a farm in the Kohi /district a short time ago (says the Patea Press). While some horses were being caught one tried to break away from the rest when one of the boys who were trying to catch it threw a stick at the animal as it drew near, striking it on the head and killing it instantaneously.

It is reported that an endeavor was made to influerce the members of the Christchurch Painters' Union to agree t& the affiliation of the union to the United Federation of Labor (says the Press). A plebiscite taken recently on the proposal resulted in its rejection, 40 voting for affiliation and 90 against.

The Rev. T. G. Hammond, in the morning and the Rev. E. O. Blamires in the evening, will conduct the Christmas services in the Hawera Methodist Church to-morrow. The evening subject will be "If God Became Incarnate." A programme of special Christmas music, rendered by the choir, will follow the evening service.

At the Stratford Court on Friday a Chinaman named Sing Lee, who pleaded guilty to having opium in his possession and having smoked opium;, was fined £25 with costs £1 12s 6d. At the same sitting T. A. W. Nicholson, chemist, was charged on nine informations for breaches of the Opium Act, the offences consisting of two pharges of failing to balance the •'retail record book" and seven charges of purchasing tincture of opium and failing to account for its disposal. Defendant pleaded guilty, and a fine of £10 was imposed on each of three informations, ■counsel's fee of two guineas being allowed in each case: Court costs totalled £1 5s and expenses £1 3s.—Post. Mr Henry Moffatt, evangelist, has returned to this district for a short time and is announced to. give a Gospel address at Gospel Hal! at 7 p.m. to-mor- j row (Sunday). A cordial invitation is extended to all.

Better than the best .of others — TAN-OL is THE floor polish. On sale everywhere.. In tins —liquid,'ls; paste, 6d.—Advt.

Owing mainly to the bad weather, Wairarapa shearers complain that the present season in respect of earnings has been the worst for 28 yeai*s. The Meremere Dairy Factory Company pays out £2646 7s for November butter-fat, individual suppliers receiving £297, £174, £159, : £139, £128. £115, £108, £104, etc. TBis is the largest month's pay-out yet disbursed by this company. Mr S. E. Fraser, mining engineer, of Waikino, has . written to the New Plymquth, Harbor Board that the experiments on the one-ton' lot of ironsand forwarded had turned out very satisfactorily, and he confidently anticipated that he would be able to make a commercial success of the process.

A passenger from New Zealand by the' Union Company's steamer Maunganui, stated in Sydney last week that the crew presented an unusual appearance on the voyage, owing to the fact that some of seamen were clad in riding breeches and gaiters. There were lawyers, doctors, and merchants in the stokehold. When seasickness overtook certain members of the crew, volunteers were called for, and among the passengers who offered their services in the stokehold were Messrs Kenherly Rumi'ord and W. Murdoch, of the Clara Butt concert party.

On Friday afternoon Crs. Borrie (chairman) Glenn and Craig, on behalf of the Manaia Town Board, presented .the Town Clerk (Mr Hobday) with a handsome entree dish on the occasion of his approaching marriage. Mr Borrie, in making the presentation, eulogised Mr Hobday's courteous and obliging manner and unremitting attention to his numerous duties, and conveyed the Board's best wishes for the future welfare and happiness of himself and his prospective bride. Mr Hobday suitably responded.

The Waikato Independent says: A number of cows in and around the Cambridge district have been affected by the wet weather we have been experiencing of late, the trouble being in the hoofs of the animals. Discussing this trouble a settler informs us he has found a splendid remedy to be equal parts of castor oil and Jeyes' fluid, applied between the toes of the animals' feet. Almost any "of the or-, diriary sheep dips could lie substituted for the Jeyes' tluid with equally satisfactory results. Our informant says he tijied it, on the advice of an old cattle man, and found it "just the thing;"

During an interesting address on events which happened in the Maori war, delivered at the Officers' Club, at Palmerston North, Captain Preece gave an apt illustration of how the Maori was affected by superstition. .In an engagement on the East Coast a native, entrenched in a rifle pit, was causing much damage to the English force. A friendly native crawled to close quarters and engaged in a. duel with. him. eventually killing' his man. Later Captain Preece had occasion to ask this native to accompany him on an expedition, but tjje latter, who was sitting in the pa in a dejected condition, replied, "No; I cannot fight torday as 1 dreamt last night my thigh twitched, and that's a bad,omen, if I fight to-day I will get killed. I will fight when the omen goes." "This, man:" said Captain Preece, f'distin-' guished himself on many occasions in the field, but that illustrates their fear of the supernatural." The Aitutaki Council (Cook Islands) has decided that a. tax of £50 shall be

imposed on motor-cars and on picture shows (says the Auckland Herald s cor-

respondent). In October two motorcars arrived by the Talune, and plied

for hire for four weeks, and the-result

was that £1000 was taken away by the owners (half-castes) from Tahiti. The picture show, after three months' operations, took away £500 in cash from the Islands. The natives, being in funds after the copra and fruit season, simply threw their money away on these luxuries, not thinking of the dull months to come, and now they are almost penniless. It was also resolved at the same meeting that an import duty of £5 should be imposed on each horse brought into the island, and that each should be taxed £1 an-

nually in addition. ' ' It was very evident from some remarks passed at the,public meeting on Friday night that the chairman of the Wanganui Education Board and the Chief Inspector have very little respect for the methods of the Education Department in Wellington. In mentioning the groundless objections raised by that Department to the establishment of a Junior Agricultural Collegiate School in Hawera, Mr Pirani said that it was now a generally accepted fact that no suggestion would meet with favor which did not emanate from the officials themselves.^ The safest way to have a suggestion favorably received was to insinuate it in through the hack door and then allow it to emerge as the recommendation of the Department. / But, went on Mr Pirani, some people prefer more straightforward methods than that, and hence they invariably arouse departmental opposition. Mr Braik, in referring to Mr Pirani's many and not altogether agreeable interviews with the Department, said that he was often reminded of the Old Testament prophet who went to the King to warn him that the country was going to rack and ruin, and the King's reply, "Who is this that troubleth Israel?" Also of the familiar quotation, "A little more sleep, a little more slumber,' 5 etc. Those little quotations just about express the general attitude and tone of the Department of Education in Wellington. At Friday's meeting of the New Plymouth Harbor Board (the News reports) Mr C. A. Wilkinson, fIT;P., referred to the failure to get the Rimutaka sent to New Plymouth There had been, he said, a great deal of dissatisfaction abroad at the non-arrival of the vessel, and for this certain gentlemen had been blamed but wrongly so. Every ef-.

fort had been made by the deputation to have the vessel sent here, and every argument had been used in their endeavor to get the Rimutaka 6ent to New Plymouth. Their effort® were unsuccessful, as the shipping company was very emphatic in its refusal, simply saying that they would not bring the vessel here. J±e did not know who was responsible for the statement in the first place that the vessel was coming here, but he could assure them that nothing more oould Have been done than was done by the deputation, and he was amazed, that any one' could take such an unreasonable attitude as to blame any one gentleman for the non-arrival of the steamer. He was certain, too. that no influence had been used by South Taranaki, either, against the proposal. In fact, both Messrs J. Marx, D. J. Hughes and himself, had used all their endeavors in the other direction. He would like the public generally to know this, and thought that they should 1)p more generous in their judgment of public men. No man had ever worked

I harder in the interests of the harlx>r than had Mr King and himself. Further discussion indicated that no promise had ever been made +o send the vessel to New Plymouth. Mr Newton King said Captain Bone did not guarantee anyone that tKe Rimutaka would come to New Plymouth. Remarks had been made to the effect that South Taranaki; members had not pulled strongly wi+Jvi the Board, but he could assert that this vas not so. There had been no contra influence exerted from Patea. If you're - married, look in Hislop's window.— Ad vt. /