LOCAL AND GENERAL

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVIII, Issue 4605, 4 October 1934, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A stamp 329 years old is in the possession of Mr. Martin Gerken, Maitland Street, Invercargill (states the Southland Daily News). Issued by Barbados in 1605 and printed in black and white, measuring about one inch and a half by one inch and a quarter, it shows in the centre a ship in full sail, bordered by a floral pattern. The lower corner is missing, but otherwise the stamp is in perfect order.

A Christchurch man, Mr. R. P. Hampton, who has just come home after a trip to the Old Country, told a Sun reporter that though he had covered practically the whole of London, east and west, during a lengthy stay there, he never once heard the word "depression." The West End was as gay as ever, and industrial concerns were once more paying dividends, while most of the large railway companies had restored most of the salary cuts.

Two New Plymouth youngsters were being interviewed by a policeman recently concerning the breaking of many insulators in the district, but the man of the law was findm"' the going hard and the youngsters could not be induced to make a statement. Finally he said to one of the boys, "If I gave you two stones do you think you could hit an insulator" In a shot the surprising answer came back, "Gimme three and I might." The cross-examining ended there. (Taranaki Herald.)

It is stated on good authority that the very u'nromantic precincts of a large Government office in Wellington were on a recent morning the scene of a proposal of marriage. The young man, who was not connected with the office, suddenly finding that his prospects had improved to such an extent that he could afford to marry, lost no time in hurrying to the office and putting the all-important question to one of the girls on the staff. On obtaining the desired answer he lost no time, for the happy pair were married the same afternoon, and the next day took their departure for their future home in Sydney.

Remarking that bellbirds and tuis were undoubtedly increasing, Mr. L. O. H. Tripp, chairman of the conference of acclimatisation societies held last week in Wellington, said he was satisfied that if local bodies and private individuals continued the policy of planting flowering and berryproducing trees for native bird food, which he and other members of societies had advocated for nearly a quarter of a century, and which many other societies were now advocating, bellbirds and tuis were going to increase much more, in spite of the stoats and weasels. Much good work had been done in the planting of trees. Bellbirds and tuis were now to be heard in many plantations in New Zealand, particularly in districts where eucalyptus and tree lucerne and other suitable trees had been planted.

A hungry artist, the village butcher and the village blacksmith were the chief characters in a case presented to the Stratford Police Court last week, when the artist was charged with conducting an unauthorised lottery. The case arose from the activities of the artist at Midhirst, where he found himself hungry and unable to sell any of his artistic endeayours (says the Stratford Efening- Post). He decided that while the residents of Midhirst might not be keen to pay cash for his drawings they would probably contribute a small sum towards a raffle with a drawing of a full-rigged sailin"- yessel as the first prize. He organised the raffle well and arranged, for the drawing to take place in the butcher's shop. This was carried out, with the addition (according to the police statement) of the village blacksmith acting as master of ceremonies. The man was convicted and ordered to come up for sentence within 12 months if called upon to do so. As a warning to those who participated in the raffle the prizes were confiscated by the court.

Not many years ago every family possessed at least one dress basket, an oblong straw box which was often strapped up and used for travelling, but were also indispensable for carrying the baby when any long journeys or even short one-day trips were to be faced. Whatever the modern baby travels in, the dress basket has gone out of fashion. Oue New Plymouth mother complains (says the Taranaki Daily News) that she searched in vain for one in all the likely shops in the town. The baskets are manufactured only in China and are not stocked at New Plymouth.

The work of filming the first talking picture production to be made in New Zealand was commenced this week at Mr. B. S. Irwin's property at Woodside. The strong wind experienced in the morning and the poor light in the afternoon added somewhat to the difficulties of the technicians, but in spite of this, several scenes were "shot," and the producers were completely satisfied with the day's work. The cast was finally chosen during the past week and the Work of production of a newsreel, a scenic picture, a variety film and a feature length picture entitled "Down at the Farm," will now be proceeded with as expeditiously as possible.

No signs of unemployment were noticeable in Melbourne and the city was being spring-cleaned, said Mr. R. P. Hampton, of Christchurch, who has just returned from a trip to Enrland. Mr. Hampton made the return trip via Suez and Sydney, so he visited Melbourne to see how preparations for the centenary celebrations were progressing. Everyone was busy and optimistic and the work of preparing for the huge crowd of visitors expected was going on apace, he said. Despite the fact that rumours had been current here that all available accommodation had been booked, many rooms and houses were still available. A large booking bureau had been opened at the Flinders Street Station.

Relevant to a paragraph on bee stings being used as a cure for rheumatism in an article (says the Dunedin Star), a Dunedin beekeeper supplies the following incident, which happened some years ago: A doctor, after reading of this cure for rheumatism, became a believer, and managed to imbue one of his patients with the same belief. Together they approached the local beekeeper and asked for a few stings, to which the owner assented. The bees, after being stirred up came out in swarms, but although the patient walked in their midst he was left unmolested. Not so the doctor, who, sheltering behind a hedge some distance away, was severely stung.

"The Bank of England seems to have come into existence essentially for the purpose of expanding itself by the growth of a national debt. Prior to 1694, when the Bank of England was established, Britain had very little national debt. Within three years its debt amounted to over £3,000,000. The wars of William 111 added £15,000,000; Queen Anne's wars £37,000,000; the American war £121,000,000; the French was of 1793-1815 £604,000,000; the total in 1817 being £848,000,000. But after the Great War it had reached the staggering total of £7,830,000,000. What sort of a money system is that?" asked Mr. Penniket at the Douglas meeting in Kohua on Saturday night.

The changed role of the magistrate in the community was referred to by Bishop West-Watson, in supporting a motion of thanks to Mr. H. P. La wry, S.M., at the annual meeting of St. Anne's Guild recently, when Mr. Lawry gave an address on "Legal Aids for Rescue Work" (says the Christchurch Times). Formerly, said the bishop, magistrates were required to vindicate the law and protect society. Nowadays, however, they had to exercise a kind of paternal function. They had to consider the wjelfare of the offenders and protect their interests as well as the interests of society, and, where possible, restore them to their proper place in society. Rather a wonderful change had taken place, he said. They could see wonderful progress of what they believed to be the proper Christian spirit in dealing with offenders. Not only had there been a change in the attitude of the law, but a change of attitude of the people towards the offenders.

That the Americans were unfortunate in speaking the same language as the English was maintained by Mr. L. C. Webb in an address on American foreign relations to members of the Workers' Educational Association in Christchurch on Thursday evening. The Englishman meeting a foreigner who spoke a different language from himself was prepared to make allowances, said Mr. Webb. If the poor fellow] did not place knife and fork together on his plate after finishing a course at dinner, or tied his table napkin round his neck, he was forgiven, because his language made it plain that he had had a different bringing up. But the little things an American did differently—his manner of dress and his vowel sounds—were not forgiven, because the fact of his speaking the same language made it plain that he ought j to know better. So at Geneva Englishmen appeared to be more friendly with Europeans than with Americans."

Referring to the recent improvement in the earnings of the Railway Department, the General Manager, Mi'. G. H. Mackley, paid a tribute to the staff generally in a letter read at the annual reunion of the Wellington branch of the Railway Officers' Institute held on Saturday evening. "I mention these figures just to let those present known what the efforts of the staff mean not only to themselves but to the taxpayer generally," he. wrote. "Although so far this financial year we are able to show a pleasing improvement in the net revenue position, we will require to press forward with much energy and diligence if we are to hold our own on the gross revenue side. ... I know beyond any shadow of doubt that when the leader of the team asks for 'more weight in the scrum and a little more ball,' he can certainly rely on it that his backs (the executive officers) will gel all the ball they ask for and that they will make good use of it."