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Manawatu Standard, Volume LV, Issue 68, 16 February 1935, Page 6

According to a resident of Ormondville the drought has definitely broken in that district. Rain has fallen on every day during the past week, lne grass has begun to grow again mushrooms are plentiful, and small creeks are commencing to flow. The attitude of the Hutt County Council toward the erection of hoardings was made clear at its meeting yesterday when the chairman (Mr 1). It. Hoggard) said that permission had been refused in some cases for aesthetic reasons “Wo want people to say ‘what a beautiful place the Hutt County is’ he said.

In view of the absence of reports from outlying islands in the C-ook Group, following the recent hurricane, the Government is contemplating dispatching the steamer Matai next week on a visit of investigation. Since the hurricane no communication lias been established with certain of the islands, among them Palmerston North, flhe dispatch of the Matai will enable a round of calls to he made and the hurricane damage fully assessed. “While I have been travelling about I have found the whole of New Zealand brown and dry, with the exception of sub-tropical North Auckland, where there is paspalum grass,” commented His Excellency the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, when speaking to members of the Manawatu and West Coast A. and P. Association yesterday. His Excellency added that the only green patches to be found in large areas of brown land were where lucerne, maize or other deep-rooted crops were growing. This experience had been positively enlightening, and everything possible should be done to encourage the growing of such crops.

A remarkable story arising out of a charge of obtaining money by alleged spiritual influence was revealed before Mr F. H. Levien, S.M., in the Taumarunui Court, when Martha Ormonsby a native woman, was charged with stealing £3B 6d from Palibu Govind, a Hindu tailor, of Otorohanga. Palibu Govind gave evidence of meetings which were held in liis home, attended by himself and his wife, the accused and another person. They all sat around a box, on which all placed their hands, and when the box moved a spirit “spoke” through accused. At a later meeting the spirit, speaking in Maori and English through the accused, asked each person to- produce £lO, which was placed in a suit case, to be returned later. The money never again materialised. The spirit declared that any attempt to open the box would result in a broken arm. On one occasion, witness said, the spirit declared that if witness did not produce £lO his child would die within three hours, and, further, that the spirit was tired of a woman, and would hereafter transfer to witness, as he was a man. In all, witness paid a total of £3B at these meetings. Accused was committed for trial.

-A gift valued at £300,000 lias been made by Mr Joseph llank, governing director of a Hull firm, to form a trust fund, from which pensions or allowances will bo paid to poor persons in Hull. A freak sparrow, light cinnamon in colour, was trapped by an Auckland resident. A bird fancier who say it said that it was a rare specimen, although some years ago in Auckland a wild white sparrow had been caught. Welcome rain fell at Levin yesterday and the previous night. In the night 26 points were recorded, while the fall continued until after mid-day. A total of 1.46 inches had been reached at noon. At mid-day the fall was so heavy that some of the streets were flooded. The Newspapers Proprietors’ Conference and the annual meeting of the Press Association are to be held at Rotorua next week, the proceedings commencing on Monday. A number of delegates from all parts of the Dominion proceeded to Rotorua by train last evening. During January the Wellington Fire Brigade received no fewer than 152 calls, a. record for Wellington city. This was due to the very dry season experienced for the last three months, and the consequent largo number of gorse, grass and rubbish fires. These numbered 108, equal to three calls a day. Following upon a long period of oppressive weather, conditions changed in Palmerston North yesterday afternoon, when the development of a keen fresh wind brought a marked drop in the temperature. There was quite a cold snap last evening compared with the recent heat. To-day a keen and strong south-easterly wind was blowing, while the weather outlook appeared to be somewhat unsettled. Mr H. Clouson, who just recently returned to Wanganui irom a walking tour round the world, intended to leave to-day for Auckland, which will be the starting point of a- cruise round the world. He has purchased a ketch and when this is fitted out, in about six weeks’ time, he will sail, making one of the Pacific Islands his first stopping place in a leisurely trip to England. Alter a short sojourn in the British Isles his intention is to sail down the west coast of Africa and later cross the Atlantic to South America.

“The present is a time of quiet for the stock exchanges in the world centres,” said Mr Edgar Lazenby, a. British Stock Exchange member, of Cornwall, who arrived at Wellington by the ltangitiki yesterday on a holiday visit to New Zealand. Apparently there was at the moment a period of waiting for future developments. There were s.'gns of returning prosperity in Great Britain, but things had been so good on the Stock Exchange that it could not be expected that they would keep going at this rate, he said. One enormous transaction was Australia’s interest reduction. In a letter written to a Palmerston North resident, a member of the “Five Whirlwind Cleveres,” who will be favourably remembered for their local appearance some eighteen months ago under J. C. Williamson management, writes: “In September we went to Paris and had a successful three weeks’ season showing at the Palais Theatre, which is the leading picture theatre in Paris, having the biggest picture screen in the world, the seating accommodation being over 6000. We also had to do three shows on Sundays in Paris, which is the first time we hail ever shown on a Sunday in our lives.” Twenty-one cases, the majority being school children, received attention from members of the St. John Ambulance Brigade during the tarewell function to Their Excellencies Lord and the Lady Bledisine, yesterday afternoon. One High School girl had to be conveyed by ambulance to her home at Linton. The brigade had two tents in the lakelet enclosure of the Square in which to deal with these cases of sudden sickness or collapse. Mrs Coles (lady superintendent) was in charge of the ladies’ division, and Mr L. H. Lewis (ambulance officer) in control of the men’s division. Members of the brigade were also on duty at the Hawke Cup cricket match, where they attended to two eases of minor injury. The Boy Employment Committee of Wellington has sent a circular to a. number of representative farmers <'L»king for assistance in their scheme of placing boys on farms. Each lad is to be given a month’s training in as many phases of farm work as possible, hand ( and machine milking, fencing, handling of horses, etc. There is some difficulty to-day in getting boys interested in farm work, and tlie committee are most anxious that by about the 11th of March, when the first hatch of 25 boys will be available, they will immediately be able to place them ijj able positions at wages of from 7s 6d per week up, depending upon age and experience. Some of the lads now at Penrose Camp are aged about 17 or 18, and have already ha.d some farm experience.