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Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 2, 2 December 1931, Page 6

“Let’s see the picture,” called an interjector at Mr J. A. Nash s meeting last evening as the candidate stood in a position slightly obscuring a canvas. The Coalition cnndidate immediately stood aside to reveal a bold drawing of Britannia and the British lion, and stated that he was proud of it, a remark which was greeted with vociferous applause. At one of his meetings Mr W. E. Parry, Labour candidate for Auckland Central, took the unusual course of refusing to answer any written questions. The candidate alleged that a neighbouring Coalition candidate had made a reply to a written question, which was deliberately “manufactured” for the purpose of discrediting the opposition. He would not run the risk of being accused of such a practice. There were about six written questions on the candidate's table and these were handed to the writers to read out aloud.

TVliat is believed to be the biggest eel ever caught in the Aokautere district was gaffed recently by Mr G. Ward. Tne eel, which turned the scales at 29$lbs., measured sft. 3ins.

“It is of tremendous importance that the citizens of this country should face the fact of the present economic crisis, but the Labour-Socialist Party is refusing to do so,” said Mr A. J. Stallworthy, Coalition candidate for Eden.

“I have been long enough in Parliament to know that 99 times out of 100 representations properly made to the Government of the day, whatever that Government may be, are much more likely to be effective than floods of talk on the floor of the House.' Sir Charles Statham at Caversliam.

“I was nearly going to say ‘Sir George,’ ” said Dr. H. T. J. Thacker, as he addressed the Prime Minister (Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes) for the Port Christchurch League. “I don’t suppose you will ever have that opportunity,” was the Prime Minister s reply.

“I have been told at some of my meetings that I do not represent the industrialists in this constituency ; but I know, and you know, that I would never have been in Parliament for all these years if I had not had the loyal support of a large majority of the sane and honest working men and women of Dunedin Central,” said Sir Charles Statham at a meeting at Caversham.

In reply to a question at Birkdale, Mr H. G. R. Mason, Labour candidate for Auckland Suburbs, said he had heard men say they could remember the time when sheep could be bought for sixpence a head, only prospective buyers did not have the sixpence ! Falling prices and bad times usually went together, said Mr Mason, and- to have increased value of money was not the only consideration.

“Cabinet Ministers, many of them, are worked to death. M hen Mr Coates was Prime Minister I had the greatest difficulty in seeing him—in fact, I could not see him. The only communication I could have with him was in writing. There he was, working week-days and Sundays, and often up till two o’clock in the morning.” So said Mr H. Holland, Coalition candidate for Christchurch North, in a speech the other night. , Valuable legacies to the Presbyterian Church, and particularly to its orphanage and social service work, have been left by the will of the late Mrs Mary McLean, who died at Te Papapa on November 16. The will provides for the payment of £'2oo to the Presbvterian Church at Onehunga and of £3OO to the Auckland Presbyterian Orphanages and Social service Association for the general purposes of the boys’ homes. One hunga. The residue of the estate, estimated to be worth approximately £450. has been left- to the Auckland Presbyterian Orphanages and Social Service Association.

One method of eliminating examiners’ fads which might be used to advantage in the setting of matriculation papers and other examination papers in New Zealand, said Canon E. H. Strong, at the meeting of the Taranaki Archdeaconry Board in New Plymouth, was used by the Anglican theological examining board. Every examiner had to have his paper set by the middle of June and forward it to the secretary in AYellington. The secretary, then sent copies of all the papers to all the examiners, who criticised the papers at a meeting of the board of examiners in Auckland. The result was that the private fads of examiners were entirely eliminated. The cultivation of the Italian grape vine in North Auckland has brought Signor Francesco Seognamillo to the Dominion. He arrived recently in company with Mrs Seognamillo, who is a daughter of the late Mr William Clifton Mogg, of North Devon, and a sister of Captain W. P. Clifton Mogg, formerly master of the Tainui. Signor Seognamillo recently purchased a property at Kaeo, and in addition to growing lemons, grapefruit and passion fruit, he intends to import Italian grape vines, probably from Australia, to produce grapes for winemaking. Before acquiring the Kaeo property he occupied a post in the Italian Royal Police.

Although it had been proved that an Alsatian had bitten two people, the Magistrate, Mr J. H. Salmon, held in the Wanganui Police Court on Monday that no fine could be imposed, as the attacks had been made on enclosed property. The dog had been destroyed. The Magistrate said that there appeared to be an anomaly in the law, that in a disgraceful case such as that before the court there could be no conviction. The attack had been made on an enclosed space. “Although the law may appear to be defective,” said Mr Salmon, “it is not so, because there is a remedy in another section permitting the destruction of the dog, and that has already been done. The case must therefore be dismissed.”

A laugh was raised by Hon. A. D. McLeod, Independent Reform candidate for Wairarapa, in referring at a meeting at Te Wharau to the “extraordinary hundreds of thousands,” the expenditure of which his opponent, Mr T. W. McDonald, claimed to have secured in the Wairarapa. He could see little evidence of this in the Te Wharau district, he said, adding that he noticed Jackson’s Creek was still unbridged. This referred to an incident during the last election campaign when Mr McDonald’s car stuck in the creek and lie-, is said to have blamed Mr McLeod, then the sitting member, for the lack of a bridge, and to have declared that if he were elected he woujd see the creek was bridged within a few months.

“New Zealand has a great appeal to every American tourist who comes here,” said Mr Louis D. Stone, cruise director on the Malolo, on the arrival of the liner at Auckland from Svdney. “Not only are visitors charmed with the Dominion’s scenery, but the people are much liked and the general atmosphere of friendliness is appreciated.” Mr Stone said that on the last cruise of the Malolo in the Pacific New Zealand ranked high in the list of places which most impressed the sightseers. Although China was voted the most interesting country visited, possessing the most impressive city (Pekin), the most striking edifice (the Summer Palace, Pekin), and’the most impressive river (the Pearl River), New Zealand was voted the country possessing the finest native population. Leaping into space from a fastmoving ’plane at an altitude of 1400 feet, Pilot-Officer J. S. Fraser, a parachutist, thrilled 1000 people at Wigram aerodrome the other day. Mr Fraser, who landed safely a quarter of a mile west of the aerodrome, fell 600 feet before opening his parachute. Although out of sight to the crowd, the Rctual landing provided plenty of thrills for the airman. He calculated, when within 100 feet of the ground, that he would hit the top of a shed—an event, in a strong breeze, that would have probably caused serious injury. Controlling the parachute by the cords, he managed to side-slip past the shed. Immediately in front of him was a high fence and it seemed as if the parachute would land on one side and Mr Fraser on the other. To avoid damage to his apparatus, he spilled the wind out of it altogether and landed safely on the inside of the fence.

The tax of 5 per cent. on overseas passenger fares, imposed by the btamp Duties Amendment Act, came mt operation yesterday. For the eleven months of the cuyront year building permits issu Auckland cover a value_ totaiiu g £221,922 as against £709,(92 in the corresponding period of last year. The claim that he was one of two men who were responsible for framing tire land policy of the Labour Partv was made at Whangarei on Monday by Mr J. G. Barclay, Labour candidate for Marsden. The sedan motor car that was removed without authority from a parking area in Rangitikei Street on Monday afternoon was recovered in Marton yesterday, but the person who took the car has not been apprehended. 111-luck in the matter of weather has afflicted the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Society s summer show for seven years in succession. The last year when real summer weather was experienced on people's day was 1924. The gate receipts on that occasion came to £6Ol. In 1925 and 1928 the davs were very cold and windy, and in 1926, 192(, 1929, 1950 and this year rain spoiled the financial results.

No rolls are used at Maori elections, and recording a vote is a very different procedure to that in European constituencies. Maori electors enter the polling booth one at a time, and having given their full name, tribe, liapu and abode, they then state the name of the candidate for whom they wish to vote. All this is written on the voting paper by the deputy returning officer, signed by him and witnessed by his assistant. No ballot box is used, and at the conclusion of the poll the votes are counted in the usual way. • The 68th anniversary of the opening of the first railway station in. New Zealand fell yesterday. It was on December 1, 1863, that the line, about five and a-half miles in length, between Christchurch and Ferrymead, on the Heathcote River, was officially declared open by the Provincial Superintendent of Canterbury, Mr S. .Bealey. The opening of this section of line was the first step toward the completion of the Lyttelton tunnel, which gives access to the port of Lyttelton from Christchurch, and which was opened for traffic on December 9, 1868. The first sod of the Christ-church-Ferrymead railway at Heathcote Valley on July 17, xoul. A party of Southland sportsmen left Invercargill a week ago and journeyed into the hinterland of the province where deer abound and secured a head or two. While they were discussing the chase, or cleanipg their, rifles, or having a smoke, a local resident told a tale of a fine deer which frequented the fringes of the forest nearby. The hunters were immediately seized with enthusiasm, anxi set out to. investigate. A few minutes later the silence of the backblocks was shattered by the crackle of rifle fire —the hunters had espied a fine head amongst the trees. The “stag” crashed to earth, but the hunters did not hhve to investigate very closelv to discover that they had been duped. Their quarry was a nead, in an advanced stage of decay, which had been set up in readiness by the local resident.