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Poverty Bay Herald, Volume L, Issue 16321, 3 January 1924, Page 2

The contractor’s gang resumed operations at the site of the new Haiti bridge to-day. A number of men were overhauling the pile-driving gear, and preparing reinforcements for further piles. Excavation lias been commenced on tho town side approach for the abutment and sheath piling. Numerous complaints have'been made by picnickers on" the Haiti beach regarding the inadequacy of thci sanitary arrangements in connection with the men's dressing shed. It- is stated that attention has been so lacking that the shed is now in a. filthy condition, and not fit to he used.

An indication of the. sobriety with which tho advent, of rue New Year was celebrated in Gisborne, is contained in tho fact, that so far this year there havo been no arrests either for drunkenness or more serious offences. Consequently, no sitting of the Police Court was necessitated either to-day or yesterday.

To-day was observed as a close holiday by most shopkeepers, and the town, in consequence, was much quieter than usual. Few people were about the streets, and a. general holiday spirit prevailed. Tho various picnic resorts asain attracted much attention, large numbers journeying out to the country andto the different- beaches.

The maize market has been very quiet during'the'last, two weeks, this no doubt, being partially due to the holidays. Local maize is now selling at 5s per bushel, and there is still a fair quantity held here. Tlie.ro are still fair quantities of South African maize on theAuckland market-, hut it is expected that there will he a. further demand for tho local article in the near future.

A well-known oarsman, Mr. G. R. Stone, left for Wnipukurau yesterday, where he lias received an appointment. Mr. Stone lias been a member of the Gisborne Rowing Club for three seasons, and has represented the club in four-oar. doable-scull, and single-scull inter-club events. As a member of the Old Boys’ Football Club, lie played a good game' of Rugby during, last season, and showed promise of becoming a useful senior player at a later date. Passenger flights from the Waikanae beach have been continued by Captain L. H. Brake in the Avro ’plane during the week, trips being made whenever the tides are suitable. About twenty passengers were taken up yesterday, and two or three trips were made this morning. Flying is to be continued this afternoon as soon as the tide is sufficiently low, and further trips will be made 'to-morrow, both morning 'and •afternoon.

The splendid cocksfoot grass growing on the railway lines and fining the country roads offers an outlet for .the energies of the unemployed, with the prospect of high"remuneration. It is estimated (states a correspondent) that a competent man could make a couple of pounds per day in wages, and the saving of the seed would mean a great deal to the district, in view of the big demand for good seed that may be anticipated as a result of the bush and grass fires.

Farmers on the flats who have been feeding their cows on fresh lucerne havo noticed that the milk has become tainted, similar to the taint which arises from feeding on turnips. On mentioning the point to Mr. Beatson, Government dairy produce grader, a Herald reporter was told that this taint would be avoided if farmers cut the lucerne, a day before they fed it. tio the cows. Tin’s allowed tho lucerne to wilt, and it' would be found id practice that wilted lucerne never tainted the milk.

“See this suit I am wearing,” said Mr. Josopli Metzger to a Southland News reporter in tlio course of a chat. “Ilia tailor-made and well finished, as you can see. It cost me £2 10s in Bradford. Here’s the receipt.” Tho receipt showed the suit to have been made by a firm known as (he “Fifty-Shilling Tailors.” Mr.Metzger .explained that it. , was the. huge orders handled*that enabled the makers to earry on profitably. Tho suit certainly , looked well, and' tho material appeared to be oLyood 1 quality. That tho Taurangn. route! to Auckland A is becoming increasingly popular with • the travelling public by the,/ numbers that have travelled that way' during thei holidays. During the post, four weeks la average of fifty people;a week have travelled via Tauranga. Al- 1 though the service is very popular to the‘business community, it. is also be- * coming a favorite tourist -route, many people considering that the (bush scenery on the Motu-Opotiki road is unrivalled throughout New Zealand. ■ ~ Gisborne does not stand alone in the mat ter of dry weather. - The township of Te Karakn .has had only sixty-five points of rain in 68 days; while Doceinner was tlio driest month on record, the gauge showing eleven points for four days. Tlio year's rainfall does,' riot compare badly with that of last year, ..being only 41 points less, owing to'aiwety Wihter. ... The-driest’month on record; prior - • to'.tliat' just 'closedowns - March,*V 1921, ;.. wlien 36 poihts ’■ were registipbijd. TJhS people , of : ,Te. iKaraka, alidi.district, are practically' all out.'of/cmii ’water, and" are p cnVting, river and spring water for house-, j holdi’use. /

- At,' their picnic at the Manutuke domain on New Years’ Day, the Chinese residents of Gisborne .. entertained a { largo number of Europeans. > There • wore about thirty Chirfeso-present,/and * the Eui-opeans ; invitedr were conveyed to the picnic ground and feted/handsomely. Tho whole entertainment, re»y i fleeted credit upon the organising! ability .- ■• j of the committee, under Messrs'- George •*' King and Pon Foo, chairman and sewe- * tary respectively. Chinese music,. in- ? etrumental and vocal, provided novel -* entertainment for the Europeans, and ‘ addresses were delivered by Messrs. King, Chung Pack, and Yew Luen, ■ many .compliments being paid to the / ■ « visitors. A sumptuous repast was '/I served, and: the delicacies provided were done' full justice to, j

Visitors: to'the sports at Ormond ‘yesterday .were .treated to an unexpected ex-l-.ibition of flying by v Captain L. H. Brake, who arrived on the .sports 1 ground-, in the Avro ’plane at about’3.3o in the afternoon.- The arrival’of the machine at- j tracted a great deal of attention, but its / subsequent behavior aroused no small j amount of admiration, and a certain - amount of trepidation. The pilot had beep to Ormond earlier in the Week, and found a suitable landing place, but the changed direction of the wind yesterday prevented landing on the ground selected!. As a result Captain Brake was compelled to search for another spot-, and tho evolutions performed by him during this search were, perhaps, the prettiest exhibition of flying seen in the district. From an altitude of some thousands of feet the machine swooped down like a huge hawk, until about fifty feet off the ground, and then circled round the locality. Every now and then the pilot would dive groundwards, at one minute darting between two trees, then lifting t-o clear a fence, or a house, and again coming down to within a foot or two of a paddock, only to rise again and continue the somewhat unusual gyrations, In the end, however, the* machine was compelled to return ten town without landing, much to the disappointment of the onlookers. Its performance was for all the world like.the.movements 1 of a huge insect or a bird seeking*a place to settle, and the manner in which tho machine was handled was a tribute to the skill of the pilot. The aeroplane subs*puently created great interest by making; flights from the Waikanae beach, on which there was a great- crowd o,f holidaymakers. In Liberty Hall, on Friday, night, the Labor Representation Committee is holding their fortnightly euehr© party and dance. Card players and dancers ar© assured of a pleasant evening.

' Mr. D. W. Coleman left by the s.s. Arahura on Tuesday, en route to Australia, >vhere he intends visiting several of the States. The red poppies from Flanders, which were planted in the Eastern cemetery, Anderson’s Bay, Dunedin, are now growing well, and every where among the graves of the soldiers they are making an appearance —Utfigo Time?. For better supervision of beaches at Freshwater, Sydney, two women inspectors have been appointed whose duty will he to report to the police, any improper conduct observed. It is probable other councils will take like action. The question of fancy bread, and the text of the regulation that, is proposed in reference to it, will be the subject of an interesting discussion at the conference of the New Zealand Master Bakers’ Federation at Christchurch early in January. Work on the Opunake railway is progressing satisfactorily. (hie lumctrcd and sixty men are afa present on the job, and a steam shovel is doing excellent work, dealing with about 6CCO cubic yards of material per month. It is hoped to have the rails laid to Opunake within the next twelve months, and present- indications point to this being accomplished. The funeral of Mr. Frank Morton, one of the most widely-known writers for the Australian and New Zealand press, who died suddenly after undergoing a surgical operation, took place in Sydney, 'and' was largely attended. There were at the graveside many artists and literary and theatrical people. Numerous floral tributes were received firom the press and tho stage. The competition conducted by Mr. W. S. Allen, of the Gisborne garage, in connection with the leaflets distributed over the town by aeroplane on Monday, was won by Mr. P. Griffon, Crawford road, Kaiti/the sentence which required completing being, “Overland cars are the best.” A consolation prize of 10s 6d was awarded to V. Vowles, of the children’s crpche, by whom 12 leaflets were sent in. The finish of the Peel street bridge came in for some criticism at tho last meeting of the Labor Representation Committee, it being considered by several speakers who claimed to be tradesmen and to understand such works, that Ors. Coleman and Bickford were riglitln the stand they had taken in the matter. The hope was expressed that the Gladstone road bridge would be given a smother surface. In connection with the trots at Epsom, Auckland, a record for the transportation of passengers was accomplished by the tramways department. With comparatively little overcrowding just on 10,000 people were taken from the trotting track in 28 minutes, cars being provided for neary every route. The Toads numbered 140 during the half hour, and this constitutes a record for Epsom. During the morning 130 loads were dispatched to the course. The Hamilton Borough Council’s drainage scheme is nearing completion. Of the £IIO,OOO loan raised for the purpose, £107,060 has been expended, and septic tanks have been built and 38 mi.es of sewer have been laid. Work lias been carried out in Ciaudelands, Hamilton East, Whitiora and Frankton. A good deal of work remains to be done at Frankton, and an additional 10 per cent, of the original loan will probably bo raised to complete the scheme. Letters received by last mail from Germany continue to carry an increasing postage (says the Christchurch Press). Post cards which are posted for a bumble penny in New Zealand require 6,000,000 marks coming from Germany. A post, card dated Berlin, October 29 last, just received in Christchurch by a business firm, has on it postage stamps to the value of 6,000,000 marks, which, on pro-, war basis of exchange, would represent £300,000. This goes to show the awful collapse of the German mark since the war.

The plea was put forward by two defendants charged at the Grey town Magistrate’s Court with being found on licensed premises on a Sunday that they pulled up at the hotel in order to replenish the radiator of their cars with water. When asked to plead, " . one said that if going to the back of • - the hotel for water was an offence then jig, would plead guilty. The fact (says the Age) was impressed on the magistrate by the police, that a big drain with water a foot deep ran for a mile on cither • ride of the hotel. Ihe radiator story fell flat., and' fines verb imposed. “Very many of the Maoris on the East Coast,” remarked the Hon. R. F. Bollard (Minister of Internal Affairs), on his return to Wellington, “are men totally different from those in one or two other parts of New Zealand where Maoris abound, for they work, and work hard. Some of the crops they produce on the coast are very' fine, and equal to tho beet grown anywhere on land, worked by Europeans.” Mr. Bollard added that a spirit of industry had seized tho natives on the East Const, and it was a good sign, not only for the ? natives themselves, but for the/ whole .Dominion.

An accident occurred to G. S. Shalfooti, one of the competitors at the motor sports held at Opotiki on Boxing Bay. He was riding one lap before the start of tho race. Just as he was finishing th.pi Japi his machine wobbled and it is believed he shut off his engine. He ,then collided, with a wire fence, was thrown back and struck the picket fence. The rider was picked up in an unconscious condition and was taken to the hospital. The latest hospital report is that ho ,is improving and that no bones are 'broken. It is thought that his helmet saved him from more serious injury, as there is a. pronounced indentation in it. Mr. J. Metzger, of Bluff, handed to a Southland Nows reporter who interviewed him on his experiences during a recent trip through Germany, a few of his hotel bids in the Rhineland. They are distinctly interesting souvenirs of an eventful tour. At Merrgentheim, for instance, the hotel expenses for a day and night for himself, his daughter, and his chaffour, amounted to tho trifling sum of 653,700,000 marks! A stay of an hour or two at Bingen cost a paltry 88,335,000 marks. “You can understand, ’’ said Mr, Metzger, “that we were glad’ to get ir.to Holland and handle the honest gilder. I used to got. headaches calculating marks.”

Kaho Marepo, a native of Whakatane, is a great contributor to the revenue through the medium of the Court. He came up smilingly before the Magistrate, Mr. Kenrick, for a breach of his prohibition order. “This man,’’ said Constable Cummings, “has paid about £SOO in fines for selling liquor and breaches of his prohibition order during the past few years. That is so, is it not, Kahe?” “Probably more,” said Kahe impressively. “If you go on like this, you will pay the national war debt,” remarked the Magistrate. He fen dan t was fined £2 and costs 725, which ho promptly paid, as he remarked •with a errand air: “I give plenty money in the Government.”

An interesting visitor to New Zealand Captain S. Faleko. who arrived in Wellington by the Mamma this week. Captain Fnlcke is an expert in jho old masters, arid had no hesitation in shocking Melbourne by declaring that its •£32,000 Van Dyck was not worth £3200, that its “Hoppner” was not a Hoppner. and that its gallery had a collection of “old junk” acquired at high prices. Just before leaving for New Zealand Indiscovered a genuine Rembrandt in Sydney, and also an Italian Benaissaricc painting depicting the Holy Family. “This work,” lie said in Wellington, “is an amazing example. The Virgin is shown, three-quarter length, a peacefullyseated figure with her child on her I no, her head gracefully inclined. St. Joseph stands looking with tender adoration over her right shoulder. St. John is seated in the foreground. The coloring of'deep red and russet brown is almost Rembrandtesque, but the gentleness and winning charm of Leonardo da Vine} breathes from this group. 1 will not go so far as to ascribe it absolutely to the great Leonardo, but I am confident in placing it as frony the brush of a pupil, either Cosare do Sesto or Marco d’Oggionne, probably assisted by the master himse]f.“

The dental profession is founded on the pcirmanenL unwisdom in the mass of tho general population, said Mr. F. Dyke Aeland, M.P., chairman of the Dental Board, at the opening,, of the School of Dental Surgery, King’s College. Denmark Hill, London, recently, it people ate oatmeal bread and used tootn-brushes for their gums and their teeth, and avoided sweets, particularly chocolate?, said Mr. Artaud, tlieroi would be no need for schools of this kind. But there was no tear that, in this or in other lnattors people* would' iM wliatl they knew they ought lit do.

That, America is easily beating England in the manufacture! of. agricultural implements and motor tractors is tho firm opinion of Mr. Joseph .Metzger, of Bluff, who returned from a visit to Europe through America, and did some private buying. England, ho told a Southland News’ reporter, is much too conservative', .bhe won’t abandon the old for new ideas, and America produces a better and a cheaper article in consequence/. Freight rates from America, were also low when compared with those from England. ,Ifa cost him about half the sum to consign goods from New York to Now Zealand than it would have cost to send the same shipment from Loudon. “If any of you have studied Wedded’s chart,” said Mr. J. Fisher, a Southland candidate for the Dairy Control Board, speaking at Wyndham, “you will have noticed that more butter goes into Britain from Denmark in the winter than tho summer, and the British consumer who buys Danish butter in winter thinks he is getting butter forty-eight hours o’.d., The Danish winter is more rigorous than ours, and you cannot tell mo that the Danes produce more butter in the winter than in summer, and it is a 10 to 1 chance that the British consumer, in winter, is eating butter made six months previously. Wo have gob to convince the British consumer that our butter is as fresh as Danish, and get him to eat Empire butter.” Several sites in tho vicinity of Auckland, suggested as suitable for the establishment of a flying base, have been inspected by Major-General Chaytor, and the result of tho investigation will he. reported to the Minister of Defence. General Chaytor said that the aim of the authorities was to find a silo for ..n aerodrome suitable as a base for both aeroplanes and seaplanes, and Point England, at West Tamaki, seemed to bn tho only locality presenting the necessary features, as it provided about 80 acres of fairly level land, and was on the edge of a wide expanse of deep water. Ho pointed out that it was desired to have a combined hangar for the accommodation of both sea and land ’planes, in order to save expenso by having one staff and one engineering plant. The provincial Government of British Columbia after two years’ experimenting with tho supervised sale c/f liquor has definitely decided to create a central bear distributing agency from which ihe Government will purchase all beer for stile in the Government liquor stoves (writes a correspondent). Amalgamation of all the breweries in tho province has already been completed as the first step in carrying out the proposal. By this method tho Government hopes to prevent illegal sale of beer to private concerns or individuals for smuggling purposes, and also to improve the, quality of the beer sold. With beer being manufactured hv private concerns there was no cheek on the amount manufactured or sold to concerns other than the Government, and it was this condition of affairs that compelled the Government to establish a. central distributing agency. When tlui ( 'uningham Bequest Winter Gardens are completed Christchurch will have two fine gardens for the cultivation of exotic plants. The first was given by Airs Annie Townsend, and although it is a splendid garden Christchurch has long been in want of another winter garden which would do justice to the domain. Mr. C. A. C. Cuningham made a. bequest to the Christchurch Domains Board .so that a, further garden could be built. Tins work was soon put in hand, but delays have occurred in finishing it. For some months the contractors could not proceed as they were waiting for j the iron girders for tho roof to come to hand. At a recent meeting of tho j Domains Board it was resolved that! the builders should be instructed to have tha building completed' during January. The Cuningham Gardens will bo considerably larger than Airs Townsend’s bequest gardens. The building: will be a substantial construction c-f ferro-concrete and it will be lofty ami roomy. " j

The inexorable march of progress in the city of Wellington seems to make a dead set against anything in the way of beautifying the town. Not manv years ago the bleak esplanade along tho Thorridon waterfront was, after much difficulty, made to look almost beautiful by means of one or two rows of hardy native trees. But these had just managed to weather tho storms of their ini fancy and get well started in life, when’ the Harbor Board and the Railway Department together had jointly to decide upon their destruction to make way for railway yards. It will he many years now before the waterfront in that locality again looks pleasing to the eye. Now progress is guilty of another act of vandalism. The once wind-swept and flthy thoroughfare known as Courtenay Place lias in recent years' taken on a greatly improved appearance. This is partly due,‘to the business centre movin'* in this direction and bringing up-to-date shops with it, but partly also to the fine belt of polmtukawa trees that is now blooming down the centre. This, too, has no sooner become thoroughly acclimatised and arrived at its best stage than progress says that it must go to make room for the trains and tramway skelters that tho growth of traffic requires. Wellington seems doomed to be forever a city of clay cuttings and bare mud hills.—Wairarapa Age.