NEWS AND NOTES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 10 February 1923, Page 9

NEWS AND NOTES.

» Goods can be brought from Euig land to Australia and transhipped t( -New Zealand much, more cheaply thai if they are consigned direct to tin: country. This was a statement mad< |uy Mr W. Gilberd at' the Wanganu j Chamber of Commerce meeting lasevening. He had made the discoven when lie had imported a consignment o; resin from Bordeaux (France). The ex j plamition for the cheaper freight lies ii the iiiet that the Messageries Maritime ; lime is subsidised by the French Government. It would therefore pay importers to have their goods brought from . London to Bordeaux (for which th* I freight is 12s 6*d to 15s a ton) thence I carried by the French steamers to Aus'traiia and transhipped again to Sew Zealand. The price which is being offered today for both lambs and ewes constitutes a great temptation tv sheepowners to snatch an immediate profit rather than to build up their flocks jugam (says the Wairarapa Daily j Aews). The slump coming after the ; not of high prices did a great deal to reduce the numbers of the New Zealand flocks to what they aye to-day some millions below the level of 19u' farmers who found themselves hard -put to it to scrape together the money to pay necessary outgoings could not be blamed for selling off their Jambs and ewe hoggets., when their interests m the long run were to hold. It was a. matter of self-preservation, and they did the obvious thing. But the steady , rise in the price of wool and of other products has so improved the outlook or many farmers that they are really m & position to take the lono- view and keep what they require for their own flocks. The great demand for stud and flock rams, which is evidenced by the fact that nearly 9000 oi these animal? went out of the Wairjirana for sale in Hawke's Bay recently, shows what sort of demand there is likely to be during next year It is to be hoped, therefore, that too many ewes which we still fit for breed- ! ing will not be fattened off for the' butcher while the New Zealand' flocks are so far below their standard' numbers. r i The ordeal of clinging for two hours ' to an upturned boat in shark-infested waters befel Mr. E. N. Heycock, manager of one of the Crown estates in hamoa, and a Rotuma Islander named Peter, off Aleiiata,, recently ' The launch on which they were travelling experienced engine trouble, and when darkness fell the two went off in the chngliy to find the passage and guide the launch, when her engine should start. A sea swamped the boat and for an hour the men held on to it Ihen Mr. Heyeock's strength failed : and Peter who could have swum ashore' i had he chosen to do so, went to his assistance and held him up for half an hour, meantime giving an. occasional shout. The launch was eventually : started and its skipper cruised about i)i tiie darkness, until he found the m-n ■: who were dragged aboard iii an exhausted state ■- ' i j ! "Ts it necessary for a uutcher to wrap up every string o f sausages and each pound of steak, or may he just cast a. few joints m the basket and ' leave it to the. car© of the delivery lad " That is a problem which will be thought out for a day or two by Mr. Wyvern Wilsqh, S.M., of Christ- , church (says an exchange). The problem was brought about in this way: The inspector of public health (Rich- ' ard James McKenzie) proceeded against J^F.Jgobinson for unlawfully sending ior "carriage for sale portion of a dressed ••carcass of an animal from which the natural covering had been removed without having the same enclosed in a clean receptacle, or cover, so that ,it would be maintained in a clean and j vlioleeome condition. The informant ! said that on December J he saw an ! employee .of defendant with somt. joints of meat in a basket without any cover- i ing over them. The Magistrate remarked that while he'appreciated the fact that meat delivered by b.isket_v;as open to the dust, he did not think the | regulation was intended to rover .such deliveries,, but rather the canine of carcasses from, say. the abattoirs to the butchers before it was sold to the public. He would therefore reserve his decision. There was a pathetic incident in con-} nection with the wonderful discoveries J in the Valley of the Kings, where Lord Carnarvon's party is excavating, states the Daily Mail. A crowd of native women near the tomb saw various boxes containing wadding 'and so forth for ; packing objects when removed from the tnmVi. Curiosity led them to ask what was in the boxes. When told, they , wailed most mournfully, because the ancient treasures of the Egyptian kings of old would be tako* away. To these women Tutankhamen is one of their royal ancestors, and archaeological r»- ; search is but descration. i i A very remarkable incident in which the number 13 was predominant, ocenrred this month to the Eketahuna Freemasons (states the Express). They were paying a fraternal visit to the Ponearoa Lodge. It was 13 years since the previous visit, 13 comprised the party, who went in three motor cars on the 13th January, 1923. When the lodge was being tyled an alarm of fire was reported in the garage in which the three oars were stored, and all three were burnt, none being insured. Speaking to a Greymouth. Argus reporter in reference to the timber industry on the West Coast. Mr. Mclntosh Ellis, Director of State Forestry, said his Department is well satisfied with its operations. He pointed out that the Department is now selfsupporting. Last year its revenue was about £20,000 better than in the preceding year, while its expenditure was ! £10,000 lowest In addition, the fire protection service had saved many thousands of pounds worth oj timber for the State. Captain John Snodgrass, eldest son of Mrs Snodgrass, of Otumoetui, Tauranga. and the late Mr John Snod- j grass.. at one time manager of the Bank of New Zealand, Napier, died at Shanghai on December 5. Death was due to pneumonia, resulting from a chill caught while supervising, at the request of the French Municipal Council, the demonstrations of their new armoured cars. Captain Snodgrass was officer commanding the Shanghai raaobnie-ctunners. He also held a position in the Shanghai Municipal council. Ca'ntain Snodgrass was accorded a military funeral. He v?n? m;irr'ed a year ago to Miss Vera Dona Evton. Captain Snodgvass was a Napier High School old boy, and news of bis death will come as a great shock to many Napier people.

Speaking at Rotorua in reply to tl welcome given him there, Admiral Gili said that the hearts of New Zealan were very near the hearts of Franc< . The New Zealanders had proved the ■' affection for France by sending 100,0 C of their sons to tight by the side ( the French. They would never forg< what New Zealand had done for then ° and he brought to them the thanks < 1 the great French Republic. (Applause. J Many of New Zealand's sons now slee y m the soil of France, by the .side o France's sons. Their last resting-place received equal attention by his country * men and countrywomen, for those wh - died by their side for .b ranee were real ly their own sons too. The admira then addressed the assembled Maori j especially, Mr. Tai Mitchell interpret ; ing. He thanked the Maoris for thei ' welcome and expressed appreciation o r the good looks of the ladies and of thei] dancing. He did not forget, he said that in the war a Maori battalion, hat also fought 6y their side. He broughi to them, too, the salute of France. Splendid sport in trout fishing: i ;• bcmg enjoyed by the men engaged oi . ! the clearing of the site for the" Ara ' pimi dam, on the upper reaches of th< riyer. It has been suggestec ( that when the dam has been construct ed and the lake is in existence th< latter should be stocked with rainbow i trout, as Mr. L. F. Ayson, chief in- , spector of fisheries, states it would U an ideal Jake fish. In the opinion oi a local resident a good move on th« part of the Auckland Acclimatisation Society would be the importation oi fresh ova from abroad, to introduce a new strain, among the trout, thu< counteracting the influence of too much in- breeding. A PaJmerston North resident, Mr. C *. Russell who has just returned from a trip to Britain, informed a Standard representative that "Money in England is absolutely cheap. Bo you know/ iVni n, tU- U- cd ' "that blg bu'iness finis are obtaining money at two per cent" Ihis is hard to credit, 1 know, but it U told me that they could get money for itett S ''PUrPO&eS thiS T°W rate of "Why do the public ignore the 'Look out lor the engine' signal?" axks the JNew Zealand Locomotive Engineers' Journal. "Why do they i S nor" the wig-wag signals or any other si<Ti erected to draw their attention to°a train approaching We do hope that tie newspapers of New Zealand will take the matter up and plead with the public to have some consideration for the locomotive engineer. Perhaps in no other country in the world are there so many level crossings per mile of railway as exists in New Zealand; therefore there is all the more need for consideration ot the engineer. The keen alertness demanded of N a locomotive eno-ineer m .New Zealand on account of so many level crossings is sufficient to wear out his_ nerves, without the additional result ot careless, reckless people in charge of vehicles." "One can identify handwriting quite" well, even if one has never seen it being penned," declared Mr. E Pa^e S.M., at Wellington. "For instance' -4.W1 Col?Paratively well acquainted with the signatures of Mr. Massey and bir Irancis Bell, yet 1 have never seen either ot them actually write a letter 1 certainly think the- recognition of handwriting is admissible." A lady visiting Sydney recently lost her handbag, containing money and valuables valued at over £100. She reported the matter to the police, and, through the publicity afforded, a woman who 'had found the property in a c-aie returned it. In her distress at her loss, the visitor sent a telegram to her husband. When he received it it read: "Lost my hand." He caught the first train to the city, but when he reached his wife's boarding-house lie had satisfaction of finding that it was his wife's message, and net "her hand, that had been mutilated, and that her bag and valuables were safe. "Before the 'bookies'/ went out eoursinjr Avas a success, but ever since it ah sdropped away m public patron- > age. was a remark passed by a mem-! oer of the Hamilton Coursino- Club at [ its annual meeting the other night (says '. the TVnikato Times). Other members1 agreed that unless the facilities to in-1 dulse in a "little gamble" were available, coursing would continue to depend marnlv for its existence on a lew enthusiasts. .