LOCAL AND GENERAL.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXIII, Issue 3075, 5 November 1929, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mr. Herbert Hoover, President of the United States, will have been in office one year to-morrow.

A first offender for drunkenness, who appeared before Mr. J. Tammadge, J.P., yesterday morning, was convicted and discharged.

The old garage premises recently occupied by Messrs. Holah and Hedley are at present being turned into an up-to-date island petrol service station.

The monthly meeting of the Te Kuiti Borough Council will be neld on Monday next. Applications for the position of engineer will be considered by the Works Commitee to-night and will be dealt with finally by the full meeting of the Council.

The six nights' season of the Hamilton Operatic Society's "Gypsy Love" concluded on Saturday night. The season was a very successful one, and a number of local residents, who witnessed the performance, state that it "was an excellent one, and reflects every credit on the Hamilton amateurs.

Te Kuiti's first plane, the Baby Vamp, owned by Flight-Lieutenant Hart, of the staff of Messrs. Holah and Hedley, made its appearance on the main street on Sunday afternoon last, when doing a ground test.

A local builder who visited Kawhia during the week-end, remarked to a Chronicle reporter yesterday, that he was surprised at the amount of building that was going on at present there. In all directions, he said, there were timber stacks for cottages and residences, which were in the course of erection and which testified to the growing iDopularity of the King Country's seaside resort.

There are between 30 and 40 Wanganui shareholders in a company formed for the production of an ambitious Maori film (says the Herald), preparations for which have been going on now for several months. The film when completed will be of such a high standard of excellence, it is hoped, that it will be exhibited in the United States and Great Britain. The cast of players will consist entirely of Maoris, the story dealing with the earliest days in New Zealand before the advent of the pakeha.

A young man named Ray Choate, residing in Office Road, St. Albans, Christchurch, met with an accident ten years ago, when in company with another boy who had a revolver he received a wound in the head through the careless handling of the weapon causing it to go off. A doctor who examined Choate at the time told him he was very lucky as the bullet had just grazed the skull. However, Choate in recent years has been troubled with his nerves, and recently visited the hospital for an examination. As the result of an X-ra\ examination an operation was preformed and the revolver bullet was removed from under his scalp, where it had lain unknown to the youth for the intervening ten years.

A broken steering-gear is attributed to all sorts of things, but to have it attributed to heavenly intervention is surely a new one on the motoring community. In the Supreme Court at Wellington on Friday last counsel was asking a witness if he did not think it dangerous to follow close behind another car at a high speed. Counsel suggested various things might happen, and then said, "Now, what would have happened if the steering-gear of the front car had broken?" To which witness replied "Oh, that would be an Act of God!" (Laughter.)

"Do not ask me for an opinion on how the wool market is going to go," smilingly remarked Sir Alexander Roberts, head of the firm of Murray, Roberts and Co., Ltd., in the course of a chat with a Poverty. Bay Herald reporter "If I could tell with confidence what is likely to happen in that market, my firm would clean up in a couple of years, and we could afford to go out of business and leave things to our competitors. As it is, we are hoping for the best, as everyone else in the business is.' Sir Alexander mentioned that the past three or four years had been mo"st serious in their effect upon some of the oldest and most stable businesses in the Homeland wool trade, and the firms could not go on losing money for an indefinite period.

A rather amusing incident happened in a Courtney Place shop last Saturday morning (says the Dominion). A young woman had been served with the article she required, making a parcel of moderate weight which she placed in her basket on the counter. The assistant forgot to cut off the string aften tying the parcel up, and blissfully unconscious of the fact the customer walked off with the basket on her arm and the string unwinding itself from the inside of the large ball which stood on the counter. She was a few yards outside the shop before it was noticed, when the assistant put his foot on the string and brought the customer up with a jerk. The superfluous string was soon, recovered, much to the amusement of those near by.

Humour and excitement were provided recently when a heifer being placed on the Mako at Port Ahuriri forced its way out of the canvas sling and landed on the upper deck. The beast quickly demonstrated that it was unharmed by dashing into a corridor leading below into the saloon. Within a few seconds quarters that had been spick and span were turned upside down. After paying hurried calls to a number of cabins, the heifer made into the saloon, where afternoon tea was neatly laid on the tables. In a few minutes almost everything movable was smashed. Eventually the heifer was secured with a rope, and by the aid of a winch was hauled from the saloon, up the stairs, and on to the deck, and from there was lowered into the hold to join the rest of the herd that was being sent to Lyttelton. Shipwrights had to be engaged to make the cabins and saloon in order again, and so complete was the work of the heifer that the officers and engineers, who usually dine in the saloon, had to forsake it for their evening meal, and have it at one of the adjoining hotels. After a delay of several hours the Mako eventually got away for Lyttelton at 8.20 p.m.

A good story, illustrating the versatility of an eminent K.C., who had to appear before the Court ot Appeal, was told by Mr. C. G. White, president ef the Wellington Law Society, at the annual dinner of the Real Estate Institute. The K.C. had been so busy that he had not had an opportunity of perusing the brief. Relying on his memory of his original opinion, he commenced to address the Court with great emphasis, and quoted numerous authorities with remarkable facility. It took his unfortunate junior 15 minutes before he could attract the K.C.'s attention sufficiently to let him know that he was arguing for the opposite side. Without a moment's hesitation, the K.C. recommenced: "Your Honours, I have been quoting you the authorities upon which the respondents must necessarily rely. I propose to show you the fallacious nature of relying upon these authorities." With such success did the K.C. argue the case from his own side that the good pression he had made at the start was taken away sufficiently to obtain a verdict for bis client.

The new pavilion on the railway recreation ground is now nearing completion, and it is hoped that it will be opened by Christmas. The structure, which is in brick, contains two rooms, 19ft. x 15ft. each, with a veranda fronting three sides of the building. All work has, been in the nature of voluntary labour, while material for the pavilion has been purchased from funds raised by the RailSocial Club, the efforts of the ladies by way of shops, etc., having materially assisted. The joinery work only has been provided by the Department.

The following extract is from a leading New York newspaper: "An unusual specimen of a dog, called an Australian goose hound, has been received from that country by Dr. Hearle, of Minneapolis. This strange creature was ordered in January last, and has been held in quarantine thirty days. It has a bill like a duck's, webbed feet, and a flat, beaver-like tail. Instead of barking, it honks like a goose. It is very friendly, and the doctor thinks it will make a nice pet for children. Strange to say, the hound sleeps under water, and is very fond of craw daddies." In other words, a platypus has arrived in Minneapolis. .

The joint conference of Hawke's Bay counties in Napier the other day passed a new by-law making it necessary for persons who travel from place to place soliciting orders by samples, to take out a hawker Is license. One delegate remarked, amidst laughter, that such people should be under the Noxious Weeds Act. One delegate asked if the by-law covered the seller of a motor-car, as he took his sample with him. Another speaker commented that the car salesmen were a higgler nuisance than anyone. It was remarked, however, that the by-law was not meant to cover car salesmen.

The opinion was expressed ib a Wanganui Chronicle reporter the other day by Mr W. Ritchie, of Westmere, that top-dressing with fertilisers had been the salvation of farmers along that coast. He held that the land had reached its maximum of productivity under normal conditions, and fertilisers were needed to stimulate it. Asked whether application of fertilisers would aid in overcoming; deteriorated lands, Mr Ritchie said that it was hard to give an answer. He did not want to be pessimistic, but thought that steep hillsides and the unsuitable means of access would militate agtiinst success..

Discussing mules.at the New Zealand Mounted Rifles reunion, MajorGeneral Young told of the bewildered New Zealander endeavouring to embark a mule on a train. Both the mule and the man looked sour. Along came an official who apparently knew as little of New Zealanders as he did of mules. "Can I give you any assistance, my man?" fie asked. "Yes," replied the New Zealander, "I wish you would tell me how Noah got these on the Ark."

A Maori who was sued for debt at the AVanganui Magistrate's Court the other day for goods owing to the storekeeper at Ratana, found that he was not to be let off without being ordered to- meet his liabilities (says the Chronicle). Mr J. H. Salmon, S.M., said that he proposed to make him pay o» the instalment system and made an order accordingly. His Worship, in seeking information about Ratana, supposed that there was a white storekeeper there. "There was," said Mr Carrie, who appeared for the creditor, "but he has given up business." "I am not surprised at that," remarked His Worship.

"By these figures the cows never seem to die," said the judge in a northern 'Compensation Court the other day, during the hearing of a claim. "We used to be told," he added, "that donkeys never died." Finally the witness said the normal milking life of a cow was 12 years.