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Manawatu Standard, Volume L, Issue 116, 12 April 1930, Page 8

The Ulimaroa left Sydney yesterday for Auckland. Tire Tahiti arrived at Sydney this morning from Wellington. Owing to the funeral of the Queen of Sweden, who died, in Rome tire other day, the flag at the Post Office waq flown half-mast to-day. The two youths who escaped from tjie Weraroa training farm on Thursday afternoon have since been returned to the institution, from which they had only wandered a short distance. Maintenance estimates for. this year, which are to be submitted to the annual meeting of the Palmerston North Hospital Board next week, were discussed by that body in committee yesterday. ' •' , A relic of the'early days of Wellington is on view in a shop window m Willis Street. It is an old iron sewing machine. Its age is about 90 years and it is claimed to be the first sewing machine used in New. Zealand. Good progress is’being made with work on the Tawa Flat railway tunnels,* according to a statement made by the Minister of Public Works, Hon. E. A. Ransom, yesterday, following an inspection of the undertaking.

“This union can give great assistance to the cities in occasionally bringing to book some of those motor cyclists who disregard the laws of God and man/' said Mr M. F. Luckie, Deputy-Mayor, in welcoming the delegates at the half-yearly meeting of the North Island Motor Union at Wellington yesterday. The question of the best method cf destroying ragwort .arose at the annual meeting of the Feilding branch of the. Farmers’ Union, yesterday, when, in reply to" one member who advocated the pulling" up of the plant, another member held that this Was useless. Every root'left in the ground grew and where one plant".had been many sprang up. There, was only one satisfactory wav and that ,was to dig it out completely and burn the whole plant, he said. • At a meeting of the- "Manawatu Rugby Referees’ Association; last evening, attention was drawn to "the intention of the New Zealand Association to alter the kick-into-touch rule,. in view of the English team’s visjt. As yet, it. was explained, no notification had been received, but this would; probably be forwarded after the meeting on Tuesday next. Meanwhile,’ be obliged to await’ the decision in order to know which should obtain when the competitions started. An ingenious device consisting of two loops of copper wire attached, to. a willow stick was produced in the Masterton Court yesterday when (two juveniles were charged with unlawfully snaring trout. Inspector Russell said that the boys had been caught snaring trout in the Waipoua River, and "ft was not the first time they had done so b~ unlawful methods. Mr J. Miller, S.M., said that to 6on)e boys it was no deterrent to come before the .Juvenile Court and be admonished and discharged. The elder of the two boys would be fined £2, and the younger would be convicted and discharged. A meeting of Te Awamutu business men and ministers of the churches decided to establish a “community chest” from which to assist needy wayfarers, instead of following the old methods of individuals handing out cash or meal orders to applicants. The position had become almost intolerable for some residents, who had had as many as six and eight applicants in one day. The new method will be instituted by an appeal to the churches and business men to contribute, to the “community chest,” and the fund will be administered by one individual in close touch with the police, to prevent imposition, “It is ' pleasing to note that the Minister of Internal Affairs has ■ decided to take the only satisfactory course and institute a more comprehensive survey on the food habits of opossums in New Zealand before permitting further distribution-,” writes Captain E. V. Sanderson in the latestbulletin issued by the New Zealand Native Bird Protection Society. “An examination of some 266 stomachs from Kapiti Island has already been made. These showed little indications of animal matter, but that considerable bird food was consumed. It was stated by the scientist who made the examination that there was food for -both bird and opossum present on Kapiti. This latter contention is, however, not quite wide enough, as the opossums are now very limited in number on Kapiti, and further, any lessening of bird food supply must axiomaticafly bo at the expense "of the birds, especially in the winter months.”