LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue XLVIII, 12 January 1924, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Tiiera was an increase of .8 n«r cent, fci butfcorfat production in tho Dominion for tliQ four months ending December lust compared with tli» corresponding p&riod last year.

Tho world's tallest "beauty chorus," every member of wlucfe was over 6ft. high, was provided by raembors of the Ist and 2nd Life (JuurcLs, who, all ivou/ring jumpers and some with bobbed hair, contributed to an entertainment ut Windsor Theatro Itoyal in aid of the Garrison Church organ fund. Tfco Eketahuna Express says a local carrier lias put on the road a lorry, with attachment for carrying fat lambs. Tkere are two pens, one above tho otker, and tne floor of the top dedk is watertight. There is also a race (Sferried in sections) for loading the lambs, ♦£ which 100 can bo carried at a trip.

Mr Walter (Jrufeb, of Stratford, met with ft painful accident at the Eby iScoui camp at Kaimiro on Thursday. Ho was butbing in Uio river and was climbing up the bridge for a high dive when ho slipped and fell on a atone in the riverbed. Ho slipped into deep water, but was q.uick;y puJled out. He was attended by Dr. Steven, and luckily appears to have suffered nothing further than severe lacerations of th* scalp.

A Wellington indent agent Was offered some razors that could be landed there at 8s 6d a dozen. The sample was good, and he promptly made enquiries as to the duty he would be charged. A Customs official informed him that the customary prooedure was to impose a tariff that would bring the goods up to the price of the similar article from other countries than Germany, Upon reflection that be would gain nothing by such a venture, save the pleasure of selling, an BJd razor for 7s 6d, the agent decided not to indent.

The maritime trade of Auckland is now worth about £25,000,000 a year. This sum is almost equal to three times the total value of imports and exports in the last pre-war year. Hie latest records of Auckland's shipping show a steady expansion of trade, hutib year's tonnage represented a 20 per cent, increase on the total for tike preceding' twelve months. A feature of that in- i crease was the additional volume of' oversea shipping and cargo tonnage. It' has been a case of bigger shins and bigger «orgoe«. An old coaster says the toheroas are extraordinarily plentiful this year, although they are very small. This has evidently been a good spawning season {says the Dargaville, Times), and judging from appearances the fear for the extinction of this succulent bivalve is entirely unnecessary. This genfcleman, who has visited the coast regularly for m»y years, has noticed this year something which he considers unique in the habits of the" toheroa. The sandy beach may be quite smooth, with no sign of a dhelifish in sight, when all of a sudden the sandy waste is swarming with toheroas, which have popped up literally in millions. The transition from a bare beack to a bed teeming with fish may occupy less than a minute, and it would be interesting to discover the reason for this, especially as it seems to be quite unusual.

A hundred years ago last August the Rev. Henry Williams arrived in New Zealand and began his work among the Maoris. His worjc was carried en by hia brother, the R«v. William Williams, and by his>gjr'andson, the Bey. A. O. Williams, who died last October, after superintending for nearly 40 years the work of the Maori mission in the diotoese o? WellingtqnV He was succeeded by his eldest/soil, the Rev. W. G. Williams. For a missionary to be engaged in the same work with hit family and has carried on for a hundred" years without interruption, said the Bishop of Wellington, at Otaki, on Monday, ;is probably a unique event in human history.

The eong of the shining cuckoo, or pjpiwhararau, has been heard in the Wellington Botanical Gardens * during the past week (says the Post). In March and April the bird is supposed to leave New Zealand and fly to New Caledonia and New Guinea, although this point has not been definitely determined by ornithologists. A cuckoo of an allied species exists at New Caledonia in considerable numbers, but comparatively few of the. New Zealand species have been seen there or at New Guinea. During the next three months thekbird is more plentiful in New Zealand than anywhere else. Although specimens have been noticed in New Zealand throughout the year, the numbers decrease most., markedly after April. So a mystery is still connected with this bird.

Salvage operations on the sunken Wairarapa at the Great Barrier Island are reported to be pr«ceedipg successfully (says the Auckland Star). Mr W. E. V«n»r, who has the work in hand, has recovered about fifty tons of metal, and other materials that have resisted the. corrosive action of ' the sea water during the 29 years since the vessel was wrecked. Two divers have been engaged in the work, and have so far spent 80 hours in. actual under-water operations. Besides this work Mr Year has been engaged in recovering anchors and cables from the sunken hull of the four-masted American schooner Cecelia Sudden, at Tryphena Bay. There still remains one anchor ana some 240 fathoms of cable to salvage. Weather conditions have been very favourable to salvage' work, and the men have not been endangered by the presence of sharks. Only two small ones have been seen. A marine engineer in the Auckland province got badly mixed up the other day, says a country paper. He had been spending a jolly day with some friends, and about three o'clock in the afternoon wa« taken home to where he was baching and helped to bed. A little after five he weke suddenly, got up and cooked his breakfast (?) also cut his lunch and went ddfrn to his boat. To his annoyance the fireisan had not arrived, so he lighted the fire and got steam up. A»t ten to seven the fireman was still missing, so he asked another fireman, who happened to le on the wharf, to do the trip. It was only after a lot of proof was produced that the engineer could be persuaded that he was a night ahead of himself, and that his services on the boat would not be required till next morning. He thought he had slept all night instead of a couple of hours. The Church of Christ services at the Wilson Street Chapel for to-morrow's services will be the usual morninp- and evening. Mr W^ Voyce, from "VVanganui, will be the speaker at both services.

Two resident* of Levin went tot & bathe at Lake Horowheuua during tfat week-end, secreting their clothes safely, a« they thought, in the undergrowth cm the bank. On returning they found that their pockets had been thoroughly overhauled and their money missing. , J

Whence came the fashionable spat! According to an article on "Old Survivals in Attire," published some years ago in Chambers' Journal, apats have been in vogue only since 1858. When the news roached England of the gallant deeds of the ftighland soldiers at Liueknow, people were anxious to imitate them ia some manner which would V?™J?M flatter > and iv a scrutiny of tho'Highland dress there was nothing so suitable for adoption—so it seemed —as the spat, aad so the spat was taken and became the rage. '

At the last meeting of the Waverley iown Board a letter was received from the Hawera Borough Council in refer»oe to the proposed South Taraimki J^ower Board and advising that a meeting will lie held at Patea, at which members <rf the Patea County CoHincii. 1 atea. Borough Council and th© Waverley 1 own Board ar© invited to be pftsent. The chairman was appointed to ■represent the Board.

A racing enthusiast recently pur-i chnsed a motor-car at a bargain sale,! and, after a few short runs, each of which involved a breakdown and a more or les9 heavy bill for repairs, he turned up at a local gathering in his bargain purchase (relates the G^bome Times). The gatekeeper, who had been observing his approach for a long time, asked the usual charge for parking the vehicle. "Half-a-crown for your car, sir," he said. "Sold!" exclaimed the sport promptly. "It's yours." Patrons to the Ohawo Beach, ar© reminded that ori Wednesday evening next, 16th inst., a grand moonlight concert and dance on the green at Mrs Sunderland's will be held. A fir^t-ciass programme is arranged, and an orchestra will be in attendance. Light refreshments will also be obtainable. The committee desire a large attendance, as aH proceeds go to beach and road improvements.

A representative of a very large English house, who travels New Zealand periodically, is now on one of his ordinary visits. In conversation with a Star representative he said he noticed a distinctly optimistic tone in the leading business firms with whom he does business, and alsoy-which is very gratifvmg to him, as it must be to everyone^a strong inclination to buy British goods wherever possible

A British beauty chorus is going to New York to challenge comparison with me famous American beauties. A systematic search for ideal girii has lasted for months, and twelve vacancies remain unfilled. M. Andre Chariot, the well-known manager, has barred girls with thick ankles, or bad teeth, who show untidiness or lack of facial expression, who sing out of tune, or who are stiff in their movements and dancing. Summing up the ideal British chorug girl, he swyg she ia made by her pretty figure and attractive face. She is not expected to possess a first-class voice, but she must have persoi>.iity. She .should be from sft 3in to sft sin "» height. 'Fair girls are the most difficult to find.

Good work is being done in Taranaki by the hatcheries of the local Acclimatisation Society, a New Zealand Times reporter learnt on Tuesday. The annual output of trout fry now exceeds half » million per annum, while in adWi'T^r P^'ye^ngfish are calculated to be despatched to Taranaki «» £*• society aims at stocking all Taranaki rivers with trout, both brown • and rainbow. AH the breams are snow fed and radiate from the mountain.. They are easy of access by good tar-sealed roads, and Taranaki aims at providing: some of v the best .fishing m the Dominion. The work or raising trout, whicht was quite .recently, i 8 progressing apace. Questioned as to higpolitical intentions by a representative of the Do-' mmion on Thursday, Dr T. H. Thaeker, | formerly a member of the Liberal re- ; gime in Parliament; who has just returned from an extended tour abroad said he intended to "take a spell now for a bit." It was not improbable that he wouia move-from the Dominion later possibly to Torquay or some of the central plaoea-of England. "Whether I get mixed up in politics there or not I To*£ ot t know>'* naid Dr Thaeker: "but I think I thall find New Zealand too

It is stated ihat at the Wanganui wool sale one German buyer alone took approximately 50jOO bales, of wooL This is an indication (says the Chronicle) of the remarkable change that has come ill\ a* m-etho£ of marketing the New Zealand clip. Prior to the war it was the custom for growers to send their wool to London for sale, and it is estimated thatbetween 60 and 70 per cent, of the total was there disposed of_ To- ■ 7*. 2t»ll eßt"nated that only 10 per cent orthe Dominion's fleece is shipped to the Homeland for Bale. The reason for. the new state of affairs is that ttome and Continental buyers find it more profitable to buy in New Zealand (and Australia). Storage and railage charges in England are avoided, and the expense of double handling is" removed. Shipment can be made direct "omtfew Zealand to the Continent i and Bradford (through Hull), and this is the reason why Dominion values have been better than London by practically one penay per Ib. Australia and New Zealand are now the main wool selling centres of the world, and Home wool brokers have been forced to consider whether it would be advisable for them to amalgamate and abandon their huge accommodation stores. One of the largest Wa«ganui wool-brokiog firms state that this season they have not received instructions to consign a single bale to the London market. Vessels should be ; within wireless communication as follows:—Auckland • Australind and Port JMliott- for Saturday and Sunday, Arahura, Canadian Challenger, Canadian Oruiser, Essex, Laburnum, Mamari, Marama, Niagara, Port Sydney, Royal City, Tofua, Veronica, Waihora, and Wingatm. Chatham Islands: For Saturday and Sunday, Middlesex. Wellington : For Saturday only, Maori,. Uainine, Mararoa, Wairuna, Lingnam, ftuapehu, Omana, and Ngaio. For Saturday and Sunday : Maunganui Uliniaroa, Mahia, Quebec City, Whang-ape," Port Hacking, Waimana, Waipori, Kaikoura,. Athenic, Trefusis, Port Victor, and Tutanekai. For Sunday only ~ Port Elliott and Ausfcralind.