TOWN EDITION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 14609, 20 May 1918, Page 4

TOWN EDITION.

I At latest . advice Sergt. -Major Percy Fromm, of Gisborne, was at Oxford University studying, preparatory to receiving a commission. i A successful trial was given to kauri gum ....i on a trip from Auckland- to Whakatane, on a Northern Stenmship : l.oinpany'a oil steamer, j It Wfl-s reported at the last meeting of , tlie Auckland Education Board that <13 | districts had failed to elect school committees. I Dining tho past few months the -secretary of the Napier Returned Soldiers' | Association lias found satisfactory employment for nearly 40 returned men. The members of the 'Cosmopolitan Club •l will entertain their lady friends at a .' dance in the club-rooms tO-inorrow even- ; ing. A splendid floor has been prepared, | whilst tlie music will be of the best. A large attendance is expected. It must be gratifying to the relatives I and fviends of Lieut. G. A. Fromm and Lance-Sergt. W. S. Coleman to learn •"that they have been mentioned in despatches by General Sir Edmund AUenj by, Commander-in-Chief -of the Eyptian i Expeditionary Force. Tho famous case in which the Maoris claim the beds of the inland lakes of New Zealand will be argued early in 7 June, probably tho 10th, before Judge Wilson, of the Native Land Court. The plaintiffs will be represented by Messrs. F. Earl and S. P. Skerrett, K.C.'s, while „the Solicitor-General will appear for the Government. Very large interests are at stake, with famous members of the Bar on either side. The jubilee of the Christehureh Star . was celebrated on Thursday last by the publication of a special illustrated supplement, wliich includes pictures of old and new Christehureh, and a narration *■ of incidents connected with the estabi lishment of the paper. A feature of the well-printed production is a facsimile ; of the front page of the first issue of the paper. Both tho letterpress and pictures in the jubilee number afford a striking demonstration of tho progress made bv the cathedral city during the past half-century. An interesting exhibition was given in the N.Z. Slupping Company's store in Grey street of the Monckton patent wool ' cHp, whioh is claimed to be economical as .well as effective. This type of clip is used by most firms in Australia. The manager of the Wellington office of the New Zealand Shipping Company was 'present at the exhibition, -which was made before a representative attendance .of those interested. As showing the effectiveness of the clip, bales of 7cwt i wore dropped 30 feet, and even' then held firmly. The following girls of the Allies' •j Hockey Club have been selected to. atj tend a practice match on Wednesday morning at 6.30 (there will also b© a ! practice on Tuesday morning at 6.30) : A I team : E. Lowrie, M. Thelwall, J. Hari vey, .M. Crawf orth, L. JYlcKenzie, M. jDempsey, G. Newev, L. Crawf orth, M. jFyson, Q. Bullen, D. Hale, E. Dower, j Fredericks, .N. McFarlane. B team: M. j McConnell, T. Simeon, L. Farming; G. ! Fanning, V. Johnstone, T. Mouat, M. ' Ferguson, B. Pearce, N. Kay, N. Aylward, E. Smith, A. Stillman, L. Godfrey. To help to meet the food shortage iu England, the New Zealand Convalescent Hospital at Hornchurch is attempting to make itself as self-supporting as popI sible. An officer who returned last week said that 30 acres of the grounds were under cultivation, and potatoes and vegetables were grown in great quantities. Tlie patients had already planted 60,000 cabbage plants. A poultry ; farm was also being run in connection with^ the institution. Tho breeding of rabbits was also an important feature of the food department. Belgian hares had been crossed with rabbits, and a fine large animal had been the result. "The officer commanding rabbits is an ; important person," said the officer, "and he has been able to add considerably to the food supply." The whole of tho " work is carried out by the patients as' " part of thoir convalescent treatment. : The matter of the production of fuel alcohol in New Zealand was referred to in a letter from the Hon. A. M. Myers^ Minister for Customs, read at a meeting of the Industrial Association held at Auckland. There would be no unnecessary embargo upon the distillation of fuel alcohol, Mr. Myers stated, provided '■■ such distillation took place in sufficient quantity to warrant proper supervision, ■ nor any difficulty about granting licenses for stills for the recovery of alcohol , in large quantities for commercial purposes. At the same time it might be mentioned that Dr. Maclaurin, Dominion analyst, who had made investigations, . had reported that it was doubtful ; whether alcohol could be economically produced in New Zealand. Various experiments were at present being made with flax refuse, wood, sawdust, waste fruits, and other materials, and it depended upon the success of these experi-' ments whether the manufacture of fuel '■ alcohol would be proceeded with. - The passengers who left Cathedral Square, Christehureh, by the 5.23 p.m. rtram for Fendalton on Tuesday had an J unusually eventful trip. Coming out of Carlton street the tramline turns j into Rhodes street, a narrow thoroughi fare with a right-angle turn towards Rossall street. It was at the elbow of j Rhodes street, on the right-angle 'turn, 'that the ''mishap •occurred. The tramload from town, which consisted of an , electric car of the ordinary type and a double-deok trailer, met in head-on collision with a precisely similar • turn-out which was going to town. The impact ' was not a very severe one, though it was sufficiently violent to bring alarmed pasengers out of all the cars. There was a shattering of the glass fronts on both electric trams, but surprisinglv little structural damage occurred. The incoming car appeared l , tp get off very lightly, as it backed away from the contact and returned to the loop in Rossall street, where the oars ordinarily cross. The driving apparatus of the car going outwards was wrenched from its position, but it was still capable of being operated. An incident that would havo been ; amusing,, 'had it not ended seriously for four men, is recorded by a soldier writing from dine of the camps at Home to . his parents in Auckland. Ho relates | how something went wrong with the 'engine, and the pilot was compelled to ,- come down. "A big crowd of Tommies gathered round the machine," he states, ' "and after the pilot had repaired the I trouble, he got half-a-dozen of them to hold the aeroplane while ho started the propeller. As soon as the Tommies heard, the buzz of the blades they let go, and before the pilot could get .jn. the machine was going round and round tho paddock at about forty miles an hour. Several attempts were made by the pilot to get on board, but he was unable to do so. Unfortunately when the machinebegan to move it bumped into the crowd of Tommies, and knocked them down like skittle-pins. Our company was putting on their coats after physical drill, and when wo saw the aeroplanes coming straight for us we ran for our lives. Finally one of the wfngs caught the ground, and the plane turned over on its back. About a dozen men were lying on the ground, and of these four were so seriously injured that there was not much hope for them."