LOCAL AND GENERAL

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVI, Issue 3451, 29 November 1932, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

At last night's meeting of the Te Kuiti Golf Club, a member rose to move that the esteem of the club be recorded in the action of Messrs. Tate, Bathgate and Saunders in waiting for something good—he emphasised the "good" in a way which left no doubt as to his feelings on the matter—to turn up. The motion was carried by acclamation.

A large sale of beet sugar made by the representative of a German manufacture at £2 per ton, c.i.f., London, came under the notice of Sir Harold Beauchamp when he was in London recently. On his return to Wellington this week he told an interviewer that Fiji sugar prices were depressed by the inordinately low prices ruling in various parts of the world. The particular sale to which he referred would, of course, entail an enormously heavy loss to the producer, for the transit charges alone from Germany to Londo'n would amount to something like 18s a ton.

At the meeting of the Te Kuiti Golf Club held last evening to discuss the new course, Mr. Saunders asked what provision was being made for junior members. They had in most cases expended a fair amount of money on equipment for the game, with the bright prospect allowed for them by the rules on the old links. "And if we do not provide for the younger players we will fail to keep the game alive," he said. It was pointed out by the chairman that this would be a matter to be discussed at the general meeting yet to come.

The farmer is often charged with looking on the worst side of things, says the Taranaki News, but Taranaki dairymen appear to see a better future for their product in spite of the fact that prices for butter have been steadily falling for weeks. Butter is at present selling in London, on a falling market which is becoming more and more flooded, at 85s a cwt, a price which it is considered will warrant an advance of only something between 7d and 8d next month. Offers of 9 l-8d per lb f.0.b., equivalent to about 90s a cwt. in London, which would ensure a certain "pay-out" of nearly 9d for next month and longer, were, however, refused by several factories this week.

Reservations of Urenui beach camp sites for the Christmas and New Year holidays have reached the total of HDB. Applications are mostly from people who were there last year and have come from as far afield as Blenheim, Wellington, and Wanganui.

"Nature is certainly doing her best to help man to overcome his troubles. This has been the best season I have experienced in my 27 years residence in the district. My wool and lambs are splendid, both in quality and quantity, whilst my farm has never looked better, and yet, lool< at prices! Surely it is man who has made a mess of things," said a well-known sheep-farmer at Papanui on Saturday, when speaking to a reporter of the Taihape Times.

"When a man goes to New York he is asked how many dollars he has. When he goes to Boston he is asked what degrees he has. When he goes to Philadelphia he is asl<ed what family he belonged to. When he goes to Chicago he is asked what has he done. But when a man comes to Invercargill he is asked 'Do you play bowls'?" said the llev. E. T. Cox, at a Methodist Synod conversazione, at Invercargill recently. A contractor called at a Hamilton auctioneer's office on Wednesday and stated that he had two draught horses outside to be entered for sale at the horse sale at Claudelands the following day. The man, who lived in the Urewera country, about 140 miles away, left his home on Saturday morning with the two horses and a dray, reached Hamilton after a four days' journey. The horses were fit on arrival, and the feat must be something in the way of a record journey. "We are again at the cross roads," said the chairman (Mr. Tate), at iast night's meeting of golfers to discuss the proposed new links. "This is the third, and perhaps, we hope, the last lucky turning." There was something more tangible in this project, and though members would probably find it strange to have to go seven miles for a game, they might soon get used to that. There were difficulties to surmount, but then there always were in anything worth doing.

"Unless boys are particularly smart they should be put to something else," observed Mr. Justice Reed in the Supreme Court at New Plymouth on Saturday when it was mentioned that a boy was being trained for the legal profession. There were far tec many alwyers now, said His Honour, and it was foolish to train a boy for the law if he were not specially smart. It was better to put him to something else. The best man at a wedding not a hundred miles from Dargaville, in responding to the toast of the bridesmaids, made an unconscious slip of the tongue which created roars of laughter (says the North Auckland Times). He had made the usual preliminary gestures and the guests settled down to hear a good speech, but were startled when he commenced his short address by stating that he was replying on behalf of the "barmaids." A large drainage district is being formed by the Waikato County Council at Meremere, near Mercer, with a view to draining a large area of swamp land on the western side of the Rangiriri deviation. The scheme involves the stop-banking of the Waikato River and the installing of a battery of powerful pumps to lift the water out of the di*ains. The classification of the land is being done. It depends on the settlers themselves whether the scheme is proceeded with. A ripple of laughter went round the Napier Magistrate's Court recently (says the Hawke's Bay Herald), the cause being a remark made by the defendant in a negligent driving prosecution. The senior sergeant asked him: "Is it not a fact that you are considered a reckless driver?" The defendant replied: "You shouldn't allow yourself to get your leg pulled like that, you know."

"New Zealand produce at Home is synonymous with the best, whether it is lamb, butter or apples," remarked Miss Nellie Scanlan at Wellington on Friday, in the course of an interview. "Hence it would be a mistake to market New Zealand produce at Home in various grades. One grade only should be sent, and that should be the best, otherwise Dominion produce will lose its good name."

A Hawke's Bay sheep-farmer who is impressed with the vital necessity of finding fresh markets for New Zealand produce, made a very liberal offer tO' the meat exporters handling his business. His offer stated that he was prepared to supply 500 of his fat lambs for any market which the exporter might consider capable of being exploited with a view to permanent shipments from the Dominion. This public spirited action should be much appreciated by other producers who are not sufficiently financial to make the same offer. All producers in the Dominion are seized with the absolute importance of finding new markets for their produce.

Some two or three weeks ago we quoted the instance of a district settler being reminded by the postal authorities that a savings bank account opened about twenty years ago (states the Waipa Post) had not since been operated upon. The credit balance then was between £7O and £IOO, and it had increased very substantially in the interim. Now comes information that a well-known Te Awamutu business man has come into a "legacy." The explanation is that as a youth—in the year 1889, to be precise—he had some money in the savings bank, and withdrew all but one shilling, never afterwards using the account. In fact, he had completely forgotten about it. Last week he was able to convince the postal authorities that he is identical with the depositor of 43 years ago, and has now been informed that he is shortly to receive 4s 6d! This money may not be compound interest on the original Is, for the savings bank does not, we understand, pay interest accruing from a larger sum in the bank just prior to the depositor's withdrawal of all but the shilling. '

To suit the convenience of the buyers, the wool sale in Auckland will open on Thursday evening at 7.30 instead of on Friday, as was originally fixed. The sale will be held in the Town Hall concert chamber and will proceed until 10.30, the balance then unsold being submitted the following morning.

"In the Russian schools the children to-day are being taught to speak English as well as their native language. But it was not called English — it is called American! Who would believe that? But that is a fact. The idea is being instilled in the minds of these children that there is only one country in the world; that is Russia. If there is a second-best country, it is the U.S.A. Of course, this is mainly due to the presence of so many Americans in the Soviet." This statement was made by Mr. G. Ashton, speaking on the subject of Soviet Russia, reports the Christchurch Press.

"It is, I believe, a perfectly legal method of settling a case," said Mr. Hodgson in the Opotiki Court one day last week, when the case of Kidd v. Kelly was called. Mr. Hodgson, for the defence, suggested that he and his brother solicitor toss a coin for the decision of a claim for 7s. Gd. "Yes," remarked the magistrate, Mr. S. L. Paterson, S.M., "I was thinking of suggesting some such method. It's no good your two clients spending £3 to £4 each scrapping like two prize roosters over 7s. Gd." Mr. Bunkall, for the plaintiff, at first agreed to this method of settling the argument, and the case was adjourned by the court till the afternoon, each counsel departbalancing a coin on his finger. However, the advice was later disregarded, and after hearing the evidence the magistrate stated that he could not decide which of the conflicting statements of the two parties to believe, and he nonsuited the plaintiff.