LOCAL AND GENERAL

Patea Mail, Volume XLVIII, 1 June 1925, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Mr Herbert Burch, rural postman -at Mentmorc, Buckinghamshire, England, has retired after walking 21)0,000 miles ,n his rounds in 43 years.

In order to set up in business for himself, a shoemaker's assistant in Paris stole 3500 pairs of boots during a period of four months.

Dust weighing llcwt was collected in one period of 12 hours fronv the chimaew smoke of a boiler furnace in England, by means of a new apparatus.

Lawyer (dictating); ‘‘’This will ortify that the bearer, whose name, ul dress and occupation are given below, is well known to me, and that I can vouch for his reliability. . . . (turning to applicant) “let me see, what is your name, address, etc 1’ '

Inducuna is not the modern infliction i! is generally imagined. This disease is mcnlioned in the play, “The Lame '.over," written in 1770, by Samuel Footo.

It is expected that details of the new aihvay tariff will be published shortly, md an announcement made regarding ho speeding up of the services in both he North and South Islands.

The “New Zealand Times" appears (cays the “Eltham Argus") to be in die way of becoming a whole-hog protection advocate, a policy that is not .affiliated to advance the best interests of the Dominion, though it may sake semi-millionaires of a few manufacturers. A Canadian engineer, Mr G. E. B. Sinclair, recently completed a line of precise levels 1252 miles in length, exand ng across northern Ontario and Quebec. This is believed to be the longest continuous line of precise levels ever run by one person. He started in the spring of IfJ2O, and set up 577 permanent bench-marks at an average distance apart of two and a quarter miles.

The ball to be held in the Town Hall, Fa'ea, on Tuesday, Kith June, promises to be above the average, as the programme will include several novel events. Special lighting and colour Meets are being arranged for, and followers of the light fantastic will be treated to an enjoyable evening's amusement. The music will be prodded by the popular “Serenaders" Orchestra.

A football match is to bo played op the local Domain ou Wednesday between the Whonuakura and Patca teams, the proceeds'being in aid of the Whcmmknra Hall funds. The teams will bo fairly evenly matched, and a good game should be witnessed. Residents of Patea and district "will be interested to learn that the business of the Patca Bakery has been acquired by Mr E. Heed, of Wanganui, who has had some fiO years* experience of the trade, and who comes with a reputation of being a first-class tradesman, and fully up-to-date in every department of the bakery and confectionery business. A Wanganui resident went to Auck'nr.d recently, and paid a yisit to St. : Hellers Bay, one, of. the waterside suborbs of the Queen, City. A fine monument on the esplanade there attracted his attention, and, being under the impression that it was a district memorial, he reverently approached it with his hat in his hand. It proved to be a monument to commemorate the inauguration of a water supply, erected by the Hoad Board that controls St. Hellers affairs, and in let-tors of gold appeared the names of the Board members, the Bond Board engineer and the clerk. As a memorial it is certainly unique.

By a new regulation introduced by direction of the Minister of Education (Hon. Sir James Parr), the provision of hot lunch drinks at school will be simplified. Previously, committees were not allowed to buy cocoa from the ordinary funds, and were not entitled to subsidies on money donated for cocoa puiposes. Tiie new regulation provides that after school cleaning and other ncccs-.-ury incidentals have been provided lor, the school funds may be used to provide hot drinks for the pupils. yubscriptions intended for cocoa may now be paid into the general fund, and vviil then earn a subsidy of ill for £l.

A capital full page picture of the Hon. J. C. Coates and Mrs Coates—two figure-.; large in the public eye at present —is the title page illustration in the current isoiie of vhe “New Zealand Free La nee. ” Aiiother good pictorial fea-

ture, covering several page.;, deals with the jubilee ol the Union Htcam Ship Company. There are photographs o. the recent heavy floods in the King Country, some of the best pictures at the Wellington Sketch Exhibition, and the great battleships of the United ■States Navy coming to New Zealand. Among the many interesting articles, n specially'readable one, is a persona! iketeh of the Hon. J. G. Coates,

After the defeat of the Auckland ‘Civic Square ’’ loan proposals, “Zaniol,“ in the Auckland “Star/’ offered the following suggestions for the utilisation of the Square grounds:— (J) That is be planted in pine trees, and the limber used to pay off the city debt. (2) That it be used for a uugo cinema theatre block. There would bo a popular house and a house for educative films, and the profit on .he former would make up for the dc.ieit on the latter. (3) That a branch A the Zoo bo established there. (4) .that it be turned into a bowling green or a miniature golf course—bowlers and golfers to submit tenders. (5) That it be wholly given up to shops ana offices and bear a great electric sign on cop —“Proputty, proputty, proputty, that’s what a’ ’cars ’em saay!”