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Manawatu Standard, Volume LIV, Issue 120, 20 April 1934, Page 6

Sea captains, sailors, soldiers- —one decorated by the King of the Belgians .stewards, carpenters and electrical engineers were among the SO applicant* for the position of cleaner at- the Onehunga School. The opinion that a representative with a working knowledge of transport affairs should 'be on the Transport Coordination Board which was recently «.t up was expressed at the annual conference of the Now Zealand Master Carriers' and Customnouse Agents Federation. The Dannevirke Hospital Board closed the last vear witli a credit balance ot - i>«93 The balance was the result at rigid economy. The board expended £2039 14s 9d during the year on charitable aid. compared with £lt>Ss during the previous year. The total amountof patients’ fees charged was At-Coo 17s and the amount collected was £3611 12s sd. or 40.4-5 per cent. A ll ent the ceremony of “dipping -he church.” referred to in these columns recently, another English correspondent savs the practice was stopped in his parish, (Taunton Somerset) as roeentlv as the middle of the last centnrv. fill Revel Day the parishioners formed a great ring round the church, took hand's, summoned the Devil from the tower with a great shout, and chased him down to the river. His home was considered to be a marshy meadow sdioinrng. still called Bug or Bogie Hole, approached Py Hell Lane. ‘ Clipping” would seem to mean “calling upon" or “invoking, and by tne use o-f a hvmn modern usage wouia oe preserving the old tradition m a more worthy form.

A contract has been let for the reconstruction of tho Soldiers’ War Memorial at Pahiatua, which was damaged by the earthquake early last month. The top portion of tho monument was thrown out of position by tho earthquake, and sinco then has been held in position by supports. Mr J. B. Weil, a South African rancher on a visit, has learned to fly in four days at tho East Anglican Aero Club, Abridge, Essex (England). Tho club instructor for tho first three days gave two hours’ instruction each day; on the fourth Mr Woil took an aeroplane up for a solo flight.

Summer time in New Zealand will end at 2 a.m. on Sunday, April 29, and a proclamation notifying the return to standard time will shortly bo issuod. Tho Masterton branch of the Farmers’ Union yesterday passed a resolution advocating that summer time should bo standard time.

Tho oroction of strong fences on dangerous sections of the road over the 2720 ft high Turangakuma Hill, on tho Napier-Taupo main highway, which was commenced some time ago, is being extended considerably, with the result that tho possibility of vehicles meeting with serious mishaps on steep inclines or difficult curves is greatly lessened.

At a sitting of tho Magistrate’s Court at Te Kuiti a number of settlers of both races wore prosecuted for failuro to clear noxious weeds. One settler, in pleading guilty, advanced the theory that, if left alone, the weed would kill itself in time. “That is another to the list of novel defences I leave heard,” commented Mr F. H. Lovien, S.M. “I suppose it just dies with shame at the contempt displayed.”

About 8 o’clock on Friday evening last, in Cashel Street West, Christchurch, a woman had her bag snatched from hei arm by. a cyclist, who rode up behind her as slio was about to cross the road. The man made off before the woman had recovered from her surprise. Strangely enough, the woman had dreamt the night before that her bag had been stolen. In consequence the cyclist received little for his daring.

The Wanganui Education Board this week considered a request made by the Terrace End School Committee for a grant of £35 to meet tho cost, of an extension to the asphalt playing area. The architect (Mr E. It. Hodge) recommended that in view of the board’s liberal response to a similar request early in the year, and because of tho demands upon the board’s maintenance account, the comniittee bo asked to renew its application in the next financial year. The recommendation was adopted. A heavy gale which sprang up on Tuesday about midday was responsible for a scrub fire passing over several farms in the Rua Roa district, near Dannevirke, and threatening farm buildings. A scrub fire was started on Mr L. Retter's property several days ago, but the sudden wind drove the fire across Mr Better’s property and across the farms of several neighbours. Mr Retter lost a cowshed and a hay-stack, aud his homestead was only saved after a strenuous fight with the fire. His stock was driven to safety.

All the agitation to have the lninimum school age altered from six to fivo years came from people who evidently. did not understand that the alteration was made as an economy measure, and until salary cuts were restored it was useless to press the matter, said Mr J. S. Tingey at the meeting of the Wanganui Education Board, this week. The authorities consulted by the Government said that no harm came about through deferring school for a few months. The meeting decided that the letters received by the board on the subject be forwarded to the Department of Education to show the trend of feeling in the district upon the subject. According to a writer in the London Times a strange survival of the custom of wearing one’s hat in the house existed till recently among the Dorset fishermen. One old man, who had been a smuggler in his youth, was never seen without his bowler hat, indoors and out. He shared a cottage with his son-in-law and _ the latter s nephew. The local rector informed the writer that one day when he called he found them suffering from influenza. They were all three sitting up m one bed‘attired in jerseys and bowlers. The bowler hat is still, of course, the correct form of headgear worn with the jersev and blue reefer coat on special occasions, the peaked cloth cap being kept for work only. ••The worst fright of my life was on board a. ship anchored in the stream at Port Chalmers,” an old sailor told a Dunedin Star reporter. "It was in the old days, when the liners carried explosives from overseas. We were discharging the kegs and cases in canvas slings from a timber-lined space in the forehold. A sling was at the midship block ready to be swung over to the side by the yardarm, when a case of explosive dropped from the sling. It had a drop of 40ft. into the hold among about 20 tons of explosives not yet discharged. I saw lt leave the sling and said to inyseli, ‘This is good-bye.’ It struck with a tremendous smack, but did not explode. The reaction made us ill.” In the number of telegrams sent _annuallv per head of population New Zealand leads the world. This interesting fact was made clear to a meeting of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce by Mr J. P. P. Clotiston, chief postmaster in Dunedin. In his address Mr Houston quoted the following figures, showing the number of telegrams sent per head of population in various countries: —New Zealand 4.5. Australia 2.7, United States 1.9. Canada 1.6. Norway 1.2, Britain 1.2, France 1.1, South America .7, Sweden .(3 Germany .5. The speaker added that from 1905 to 1914 telegraphic traffic showed a steady increase, but from 1914 to 1922 it declined to the 1910 level, probably due to the introduction of the 9d rate instead of 6d. From. 1922 to 1926 it showed an appreciable increase year by year, reaching the highest point in its history in 1926. From 1926 to 1930 traffic remained steady, but with a downward tendency from 1930 to 1933. There was a sharp decline of traffic in 1933. actually going back to the 1903 level.