LOCAL AND GENERAL

Northern Advocate, 9 February 1935, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Theatre Gutted. After apparently smouldering during most of the night, a disastrous fire was discovered at 6.40 this morning in ifhe Palace Theatre building, in George Street, Palmerston North. The seat of the outbreak is considered to have been in the vicinity of the stage. After a strenuous fight, the brigade managed to quell the outbreak,, but by that time the theatre was very badly gutted.

, j Swimming Carnival Postponed. ; The Whangarei Swimming Club, , owing to the inclement weather condi- | lions, decided to postpone for a fort- ' night their carnival which was to have 1 been held last night. - Wellington Drought. I Thursday night’s rain had no apt preciable effect on the Wellington city water shortage. It will take ' several inches of rain, repeated every few weeks, to place the city in a * secure position against dry weather. ) Probation Granted. John Emil Enoch Sass, aged 57, for common assault on his wife, was yesterday admitted to probation for two 5 years by the Chief Justice, Sir Michael * Myers, presiding at the Supreme Court, j ■ Palmerston North. j 1 Fewer Hours At School. I *• The question of closing Wellington t ’ secondary schools in the afternoon as [ > authorised by the Minister of Educai ■ tion, the Hon. S. G. Smith, has been - left to the discretion of the principals, 1 who will shorten working hours if 3 thought desirable. 5 Struck a Beacon. t‘ After calling at Portland on her trip 3 from Whangarei to Auckland on WedC nesday night, the steamer Claymore 3 struck a beacon. The vessel was not . seriously delayed and proceeded on to Auckland. The ship was not damaged and made the trip to. Whangarei yesC terday as usual. r . Pedestrian Badly Hurt. e Struck by a motor car while walking . in the Great South Road, Otahuhu, last night, Mr E. Bray, of East Tamaki Road, Papatoetoe, suffered severe head injuries. He was taken to the - Auckland Hospital in a St. John ambu--1 lance. His condition was reported td> - be fairly serious at a late hour. Boy’s Skull Fractured. ® A boy, David. Kempton, aged C ■ years, son of Mr. Leonard Kempton, f farmer, of Morrison’s Bush, was admitted to the Greytown hospital suf- [. fering from a fracture of the skull and S his ‘ condition is fairly serious. The child was riding a bicycle along the 5 road near Greytown when he collided ,* with a light truck and fell backward j on to the bitumen, striking his head ’ heavily. ) f Hay In The North. @ Although no more than usual has j been made in the Whangarei district this season, the importance of providing winter fodder ha? been fully ® realised in the Far North, and stacks * are scattered about everywhere, even 3 on the hillsides, where the paspalum Y has made high growth. A drive along f the Pukepoto Road offers a picturesque a view of rows upon rows of neatly a stacked golden hay reaped from the fertile flats. * 1 Found Guilty. e At the Supreme Court, Auckland, yesterday, two labourers, George j Edgar Pengelly and John Walker a Johnstone, pleaded not guilty to a u charge of breaking and entering the li dwelling of George Fleming, Remuera e Road, and stealing clothing and jewellery valued at £157, They were also charged with the theft of the X goods, and also with unlawfully ref ceiving them. After the hearing of i_ evidence, the jury found Pengelly guilty of breaking' and entering and s theft, and Johnstone of receiving. F Sentence .was deferred. " “Droll Stories.’’ . Referring to an Auckland magis'J trate’s decision classing Balzac’s “Droll Stories,” as an indecent document Professor G. E. Thomson, Professor of Modern Languages at Otago University, said the statement by the defence that the work was necessary for students was nonsense. Balzac c wrote nearly 100 novels, all of which * were really first-class, and students ; had plenty of scope without opening “Droll Stories,” which, he agreed, cat- ‘ ered for the lascivious mind. 1 Timely Rain. i Although further scattered showers t are promised over the week-end, this - morning dawned hot and fine* in 1 Whangarei. The rain, which has been I of great Value in maintaining the ■ strength and growth of pastures, < ceased towards midnight, the fall for 1 the 24 hours being .41 of an inch. ■ This brought the total for the past two * days to nearly three-quarters of an ■ inch. Owing to the phenomenal sea- ■ son, haymaking operations are still : under way on many farms, but crops 1 will be little affected by the rain ■ which has fallen. Returned Soldiers’ Picnic. In order to foster sociability among returned soldiers, their wives and children, the Empire ex-Servicemen’s Association has arranged a picnic which will be held at One Tree Point on Sunday. The occasion will be in the nature of a summer reunion, and porvided the weather keeps fine should . be most successful. Although a nominal charge will be made for transport, part of the cost of the outing is being borne by the association’s funds, and consequently it is necessary to restrict patronage to men and women who have served in the forces, and 1 their families. ( Noise Abatement. - 1 Following many public protests 1 against excessive noise in the streets, I especially in the vicinity of the hosT 2 pltal, a noise abatement society has ) been formed in Auckland. Reorganisa- s tion of the traffic department, the J appointment of motor cycle “speed * cops.” control of parking in Queen v Street and prohibition of jay-walking are questions receiving the attention of the legal and by-laws committee of n the Auckland City Council, which is y making a complete review of traffic b control in Auckland. It aims, inter I alia, to reduce noise from motor cycles, cars and trucks, and the pro- h hibition of the use of horns after 11 b o’clock at night. s e Towai will be en fete on Thursday s: next, the occasion of the 40th Annual a Show. A feature this year will be o the Women’s Division and Institute c Courts, while a competition instituted n •for Maori Hakas and Poi Dances will tc provide exciting fare for Native and a■ Pakeha alike. The Whangarei Muni- d cipal Silver Band will provide musi- p cal items—always an appreciated tl phase of outdoor events. 757 O

Eotorua Bowling Tournament. ' The Rotorua Bowling Club’s open ' tournament was concluded yesterday ’ afternoon, when the rink skipped by ! De Launay (Carlton) defeated that skipped by Robertson (Onehunga) by 22 to 19. It was one of the best finals seen in a Rotorua tourney for many ( years. ! Eliminating Bends. Good progress is being made with 1 the elimination of numerous bends in the section of highway between the old clay deviation and Maungatapere : in preparation for sealing. When . completed, the road will present a j reasonably ■ direct route . with easy 1 grades. ’ i Kensington Win Banner. I The final of the banner competition of the Whangarei Bowling Club was ! j played this morning. Hikurangi and 3 Kensington Club teams, which had . | both won their other matches by de--1 fault, engaged in the final. Horner, i ; McMath, Britland, J. Jones (Kensingf ton) 20, beat Ward, Robinson, McNay, Steel, 18. Waitemata Show. p The Waitemata Agricultural and Pas- , toral Association’s 31st annual show is 2 being held at Waiwera today in det lightful weather/ There is a large crowd at the seaside resort, which pre--3 sented an air of invigorating freshness . after a night’s heavy rain. The show entries reached a total of 630, excluding the horse section, which is subject to post entry. 9 ' Jury Disagrees. •j At the Supreme Court, Auckland, e yesterday, the jury empanneied for the Q trial of Frederick William Whitaker, , farmer, aged 29, on a charge of negligently driving a motor car in Customs Street East, Auckland, on September 18, and causing the death of Edmund Coppinger, was unable to agree. On C the application of the Crown Prose1, cutor, a new trial was. granted. i_ Guilty of Assault. At the Auckland Supreme Court yese terday afternoon, before Mr Justice Herdman, John Patrick Brogan, aged guilty of assaulting Hector Wilfred McLennan. Sentence was deferred. The jury acquitted accused on the charges of assault with intent to do bodily harm and assault so as to cause bodily [S harm, returning a verdict of guilty on :t the charge of common assault. Acclimatisation Societies. , The proposal has been under consideration of late that acclimatisan tion societies with community, of inn t terests should get together and cony sider amalgamation, says a Wanganui e message.. A meeting has been arranged y for February 16 at Palmerston North, e at which delegates from the Wellington, Hawke’s Bay, Wanganui, Waimarino and Feilding societies will be j, present to discuss proposals. - 1 e T Opotiki Theft. a An audacious theft was committed at e the residence of Mr Qrmandy, a high a school teacher, in Wellington Street, d Opotiki. He left some bank notes.in a e bed in a front. room. After haying e lunch with his Wife he found that 'j someone had entered the bedroom and y stolen notes to the value of £4 10/- in <3 ten-shilling denominations. The numl bers of the notes are known,, and .two have been traced. The police are investigating. • ' i- Grass Fire. The midday train to Fpxton started t a seriqus grass fire yesterday, involving hundreds of acres of land carry--0 ing a dairy herd, and in use as a e Chinese market garden. Dwellings y were threatened. Two further blocks, c including a young pihtis insignis 1 plantation, were destroyed. Settlers, s assisted by firemen and relief worki ers from Foxton, fighting all the - afternoon, . prevented the flames reaching the round bush reserve. Held By Bandits. 3 Information received in Auckland 3 today indicates that Mr Arnolis Hay--3 man, a member of the China. Inland’ x Mission, captured by bandits in Oc--3 tober in China, .is still a captive. The , British Government acting for the : New Zealand authorities, is making . every effort to secure his release, Mrs > Hayman and their six children are in i Shanghai. Two of the children were . among 70 children on a steamer ; which was taken by pirates last ; month, but abandoned, and later esi corted to Hong Kong by a warship. Abused His Chance. In spite of counsel’s plea for leniency to allow accused to get married and make a fresh start in the country, ; Victor John Peddie, aged 28, a motor driver, was sentenced in the Wellington Magistrate’s Court yesterday to three months’ imprisonment for stealing a wristlet watch and a cardigan. According to the police, accused, who was at present on came to Wellington last month and stole the articles. The magistrate said that Peddie had abused the chances given him on previous appearances in court. In Strange Garb. Wearing an old pair of serge trousers, with the legs torn off at the knees, and a coat several sizes too large, over a bathing suit, Herbert Harris Keith Maxwell, labourer, aged 25, who was arrested ’’near Raglan 1 yesterday after a long police search, ( appeared before Mr F. H. Clapham, 1 J.P., in the Police Court at Hamilton 1 this morning. Maxwell was charged with the theft of a motor cycle val- 1 ued at over £SO. On the application < of the police, a remand was grant- 1 ed. Maxwell is believed to be the 1 man who jumped from a train two s weeks ago while it was crossing a bridge over the Wairoa River near 1 Fauranga. s I The North Kaipara Show, to be f held on Wednesday next, promises to p be one of the most successful ever e staged by the association. The cattle , entries have been well up to the standard set in past years and with e ample feed available the stock should a come forward in good condition. The committee have spared no pains to v make the function attractive to visi- a tors, and with the brilliant weather a at present being experienced in the j, district, everything points to a re- ' petition of the successes achieved in the past by the only show In the Otamatea County. 408 ' b

Plunket Shield. At a conference last night between representatives of the management committee of the Wellington Cricket Association and delegates from minor associations, it was decided to continue the town and country, match in the Wellington Plunket Shield area. | Struck By Train. While crossing the railway at Waikanae yesterday moi’ning a cream lorry, driven by Mr Ralph Thomson, was struck by an' Auckland express. Mr Thomson was thrown out, sustaining head and hand injuries, and becoming unconscious. He is making good progress. Otranto Befogged. Unable to enter Wellington Harbour owing to the worst fog experienced in Cook Srait this summer, the tour is: liner Otranto failed to make port tlvs morning in time for a reception which was arranged to begin at 11 o’clock. The arrangements were accordingly cancelled. In answer to a radiogram, the Harbour Board despatched its pilots in a launch, but they were unable to locate the vessel. Popular Girl Contest. The voting for candidates in the Popular Girl Competition, in conjunction with the Catholic Bazaar op April 6, now stands: Miss Russell (Pink) 3600, Miss Everett (Blue) 1977, ; Miss Mountain (Green) 1128. 7SB The schedule of classes and list of prizes for the 1935 show of the Waioi tira Junction Show Association may be had on application to the secretary, Mr. H. N; Cliff, Waiotira. The event is set down to be held on Thursday, , March 7, and it is well to note'' that . entries, excepting horses, close on. February 28. 761 Outstanding bargains at Henry ; Wilson’s: Cameo Blue Label Pure Silk ' Fully Fashioned Hose, worth 6/G, for [ 3/6; Tea Towels, 6d each; Pillow Cases; , 1/-pair; Large Towels, l/9 pair; 27in. . Prints, v 4Jd yard;; Cretonnes, sid yard; Men’s Thornproof Suits, 39/6; and Indigo Serge Suits (all sizes); 45/-. '