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Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 107, 6 April 1932, Page 6

A large groper caught on the fishing grounds oil: Colac Bay, Southland, when opened and cleaned was iounU to have swallowed a lull-sized shag. ldently the bird had dived for food on the feeding grounds and _ being mistaken for a fish of some kind had been snapped up by the voracious gioper. A good example of presence of mind was given bv Mr B. Haybittle, a pilot who arrived at the Mangere Aerodrome on Saturday, when his machine over-ran during landing. Seeing that the machine was likely to strike a fence on the boundary, ho immediately switched off the engine, undid his safety belt and jumped, and, while the machine was still rolling, caught hold of a wing strut, and so prevented the ’plane from colliding nose first with the fence.

A silent but amusing diversion occurred at the Essendon Police Court, Sydney, the other day, while a larceny case was being heard. There was a slight movement in the body of the court. A piece of paper was passed around among the public, leaving a trail of arched eyebrows behind it. The paper gradually found its way to the front seat. Then it went to the Clerk of the Court, who grinned, thought for a minute, and passed it up to the Bench. Mr H. B. Donald, PM. took the paper, and he, too, smiled. It was passed on to his six colleagues. They also in turn read it, ■uid smiled—and still the evidence was uninterrupted. On the piece of paper was written: “Phar Lap wins by oi lengths.” . . Some of the nrovisions of the proposed Poultry Begistration Bill were condemned by members of the Wellington provincial executive of tho Farmers’ Union at a meeting in Marton yesterday. Members expressed the vie.v that if poultry keepers desired to have their industry legislated for tho enactment should be limited and not made to embrace everyone who kept a dozen or so fowls. Members considered it absurd to ask for legislation requiring all those who kept over 12 liens to be registered and to pay a registration fee. Tins, it was submitted, would result in the creation of an array of inspectors to pry into the homes of private individuals to make certain that no more than a dozen hens were kept. The meeting had no hesitation in agreeing to a resolution emphatically protesting against the proposed legislation.

Three new buildings were commenced in the business area of Napier this week.

■While fishing about a quarter of a mile above the mouth of the Rangitata Mrs Douglas LeCren landed a quinnat salmon weighing 421 b.

Bankruptcy petitions filed in the Supremo Court at Gisborne during the first three months of this year totalled two only, compared with 10 in the corresponding period of last year. On Sunday evening a burglary was perpetrated at Mangamutu, the official office of the manager of the Pahiatua Dairy Company being entered. The lock on the door was easily, forced and the cash box, containing £lB, was stolen.

A statement submitted to the meeting of the West End School Committee hist night showed that the net receipts from the school baths during the season just ended had been £4l 13s Bd, compared with £3B 7s lid in the previous season. The statement was considered by the committee to be very satisfactory. There seems to bo a wave of vandalism in Nelson at present. The cutting of papers in the library has been causing considerable annoyance, trees in a plantation have been ringliarked, and a largo picture in the Suter Art Gallery, valued at £45, was ruined recently bv having acorns jiushed through the canvas. It was mentioned at the meeting of the We.st End School Committee last night that during the past year tire sum of £264 17s had been spent in relief employment in connection with the school. Also the sum of £lO2 11s lid had been spent on materials for ground improvements during the past 12 months.

Principally for reasons of economy, but also in order to take best advantage of the Imperial Conference at Ottawa in July, the Wellington Chamber of Commerce adopted a resolution at its meeting last evening expressing tlie opinion that the present session of Parliament should bo extended to allow ordinary, business to be taken in addition to the urgent business for which it was called.

“For ways that are dark .... the heathen Chinee is peculiar” (says the Sydney Sun of March 23). “This quotation must have come to the mind of Mr S. Hitchens, an English architect, who reached Sydney by the Tanda today. Mr Hitchens found himself in Shanghai during the recent fighting, and amid the scenes of destruction and misery, he saw Chinese coolies unloading Japanese ammunition I” The net public debt of Wellington city was £1,927,459 at March 31, 1922, and on March 31, 1932, the amount had risen to £4,843,987, states the report of the Civic Inquiry Commission. The total unproductive loans amount to £3,546,024, comprising the balance of “general” loans £2,336,561, and that proportion of the partially jiroductive loans, interest on which is chargeable against rates, £1,209,463.

'Whilst digging in his garden recently, Mr Dennison, of 169 Herbert Street, Invercargill, unearthed a small silver coin which has subsequently been identified as a Chinese penny, about 50 years old, having been minted in the reign of Kwang-Su who became Emperor of China in 1875. How the coin came to find a resting place in an Invercargill garden and how long it must have lain there remains a mystery. A flood of rapid occurrence in the Oliau river yesterday had the effect of impregnating Leyin’s high-pressure water supply with silt to such an extent that the water was of a dark brown colour. An investigation at the lieadworks bv the waterworks overseer discloseci such a turbid condition that any attempt to clean out the intake, settling tanks and mains would have been rendered useless. There had been such a fresh in the river that it had come over the flats near the settling tanks and several dozen goodsized trout were stranded.