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Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16243, 18 January 1927, Page 6

Sharks seem to be prevalent in Auckland waters this summer, but so far bathers have escaped. However, they have been warned to be careful. Several large sharks have been caught well up the Attckland harbor recently. Two monsters were captured at Raglan during the week-end.-—(Special.)

The present season has been an exceptionally good one for grapes it: North Otago, and although a little later than usual, a heavy crop is expected. A yield of several tons wil! i:rpbably be gathered from the Kakanui vineries alone. Kakanui is acknowledged to be one of the l>est grape-growing districts in the Dominion, and enormous vineries have been established there during the last few years. Most of them are now in full, profit. There are also fully a dozen vineries in Oamaru, all of which have this year a prolific crop of grapes.

A contention put forward by Archdeacon Williams during his address on the Maoris at the Rotary Club yesterday was that the Maori could rid himself of a bad habit more quickly than a European. Though Maoris gave way badly to drink at times, they saemed to be able to give it up- to a greater extent than the white man. Years ago there was an old chief in Hawke's Bay who was a vorv hard drinker. Alt the Maoris in bis pa followed his example, witli the result that there was a tremendous amount of drinking done there. The chief realised that this was giving the pa a bad name, and" decided to put a stop to it. He told Toe Maoris that he would hold a court each Monday and all those who returned home drunk on Saturday would be: brought up. The fine for the first offence would be £l, for the second offence £5, and for the third £25. All went well for a time until one night ho was the* only one to come home properly drunk. On the Monday ho went to hold his court, and when ha asked if there were any cases was told that there was one-—himself, tie fined hiimylf £1 and gave himsalf a long lecture. Some time later he came home drunk again, -and again he spoke very strongly to himself and paid his £5 fine. He never got drunk again because the fine would have heen £25. (Laughter.) Years after when he was dying they wanted to give him brandy, but he would not allow it.

Referring to the, humor of the general strike in England, Dr. Gibson, of Christchurch, said to a reporter that he had heard of one bug in London manned by young men in plus fours and flannels which bore this legend: "The driver ot this bus is a Guy's man. The conductor of this bus is a Guy's man. If anyone heaves a brick he will be a Guy's patient."

It was mentioned by the chairman of the Wanganui County Council at the last meeting that advice had been received from Wellington that all councillors who met the Duke and Duchess of York would require to wear mormny dress and top hats. The chairman then eased the minds of the councillors by stating that all they would be roquired to wear would be a. dark suit and bowler hat. The matter of road lighthouses to indicate danger was again discussed at a meeting of the Wairarapa Automobile Association, when the North Island Motor Union asked for an expression of opinion on this matter. It was decided to reply that one of the aims of the association was to eliminate unsightly advertising alontr the roadside, and it would therefore be inconsistent to support the proposal. A party of 12 men recently carried Catherine, daughter of Mr, and Mrs. A. Cowan, of Gfcuru, a distance of 40 miles on foot in one day owing to the serious illness of the child. After a short carry next day, the remainder of the journey was completed by vehicle? The feat is worthy of the traditions of South Westland, where the settlers always rally to assist one another in cases of distress. The patient is now making good progress. The first of the annual excursions arrangol by various societies in the conntry districts, in conjunction with the Napier Thirty Thousand Club and the Napier Borough Council, is to take place on Januaiy'26, when members of friend ly societies in Dannevirke and tho surrounding districts will visit Napier, It is expected that two special trains will be engaged to cope with the numbers on that occasion. In a few weeks' time Napier will be the goal of many other excursions from thfl country. A procession of five motor lorries, stacked with 13 big casc<s, through the streets of Wellington (reports a special correspondent) attracted a good deal of attention. The contents of the cases form the big Wurlitzcr orchestral organ that is now (being- installed at the De Luxe Theatre. This organ, which is the latest design of such instruments, which are fairly common in first-class American picture theatres, will not displace the orchestra as now constituted. One will be complementary to the other, and will be associated in the playing ol overtures and entr'acte music.

A motor-lorry, loaded with grass-seed, capsized on the Te Aiite road, near The Kennels. The lorry, which was ownett and driven by a Maori, George Rainey, swerved in the loose shingle and toppled over. The driver and a passenger named Joe Baracouta, another Maori, jumped out as the lorry was falling, and both were struck whilst jumping. Rainey sustained a cut over the eye, which, however, was not serious. The passenger fared worse, his injury comprising a painful gash in the leg, which necessitated! attention from a Waipawa medico.

Following the death of a young Maori woman, Mrs. Mata Winiata, who died near Whatatutu on Sunday night, an inquest was held before the coroner, Mr. E. C. Levvey, yesterday. The evidence disclosed that deceased had given birt' 1 ; to a child on Sunday and that everything was progressing favorably when she complained of a severe pain in her chest. Assistance was given by a nurse, but the \voman died. A post mortem examination Was made by Dr. Rice, who considered that death was due to a sudden blockage of the pulmonary artery by a clot of blood. A verdict was returned in accordance with the medical evidence.

With the Wellington Cup only a day or two off it was perhaps only "natural that Star Stranger and Te Monanui, prominent candidates in that race, .should he watched with special interest in the Mount Eden Derby Stakes at the Mount Eden swimming carnival last night. The Derby Stakes is contested by wooden horses, which the swimmers have to push along in the water. Te Monanui was well back in the early stages, but came with a rattle at the finish, and was only beaten by a touch by Tresham. Star Stranger was never in the hunt. As Tresham is not engaged in the Wellington Cup, supporters of Te Monanui, therefore, have no reason to be disappointed with his prospects.—(.Special.) For several months of last year a stafl of men of the Public Works Department was employed in making borings in the Waitaki River, above Ivurow, to ascertain if a suitable foundation could be obtained for a dam, in the event of this site bflinjr chosen for the auxiliary electric power station between Lake Coleridge and W r aipori. The result of the investigations has not been officially disclosed, but it is unofficially stated that the foundations are in every way satisfactory. It is stated that the cost of erecting a dam on the upper reaches of the Waitaki would be a great deal less than that of securing current from Lake Tekapo. The matter is, however, one for the authorities to decide. The Waimakariri project is scouted in these parts as impracticable.

The case of the Norwegian motor ship Aronnoy, which recently visited Wanganui to discharge phosphates, but could not enter the port owing to tier deep draught, was mentioned at the last Wanganui Harbor Board meeting. It was stated that the vessel was full) laden, and her draught (25ft.) Ad not permit her to work the port, which could not yet take vessels drawing more than 24ft. it was further mentioned that the reason why the ship went on to New Plymouth to unload was the heavy lighterage charges imposed by tho local stevedore company. Mr. Bignell, the chairman, said it would, cost nearly as much to lighter the cargo from, tho roadstead! to Castlecliff as it cast to brino- it from Texas to New Zealand. The actual figures were 30s per to bring the cargo to New Zealand, and 25s Sd per ton to lighter it to Castleel iff. Mr. W. Bruce: It shows the necessity for the Harbor/Board taking over the lightering facilities. Tho chairman: Yes. it is working'in that direction.

An amusing story relative to the willingness of the o'ld time Maori to indulge in fighting was told by Archdeacon Williams in his address to' the Rotary Club yesterday. An old naval captain who retired took up a store in the North Auckland district and did some business with the Maoris. At that time the tribes were fighting amongst themselves with old muskets that would only throw a bullet a few yards. The storekeeper went down to a pah one day and found (here a Maori from another tribe. "Hullo," he said, "What are you doing here? You aren't a member of this tribe so the fight's got nothing to do with you." "Oh," the Maori replied, "I have relatives here so 1 must help them." A week later the storekeeper went to the other pah, and was astonished to find the same Alaori apparently fighting for the other side. "What on earth are you doing here," he said. "I thought you were fighting for the other side." "So, I was," replied the Maori, "hut you see I've got relatives here as well, so I've come over to give a band."

Aucklarxtcrs for two years past hav watched the War Memorial Muse slowly rearing its walls upon tii Domain hill, states the New Zealand Herald. Many of them have compared its progress with that of six and seven, storey commercial buildings in the city, and have wondered why the work takes so long. Actually, .nil is going for-, ward quite according to plan, and tn« museum shovild be ready for occupation by the end of this year.

High praise for Milford track was given bv four Australians who called at the Dunedin Tourist <Xfice on their return from the track. They thought the scenery wonderful, and the accommodation and attention at the huts left .nothing to be desired. They expressed their intention of coming back again next year, and said that in their opinion Milford track was one of New Zealand's big assets. A number of overseas tourists have passed through during the past few days, principally bound for Queenstown. In an editorial the New Zealand Accountant says that in the course of its business it "had recently scanned about 3CO letters from youths applying for positions, and it found that in letters from lads who had been given the privilege of secondary education the spelling and punctuation were abominable, and from the point of view of the commercial community, one wonders whether we are getting adequate valm> for the huge sum of money that is expended annually in New Zealaffd on higher education.

Not for many years lias there been , such profuse growth of white clover in | North Otago as this season. Everywhere one goes one sees the fields clad in white. In many paddocks the clove." has appeared where it has not been sown. An officer of the Agricultural Department expressed the opinion tnat the clover was to be found in the wholo of the soil of North Otago. In the dry seasons it did not appear, but when there was an abundance of moisture, as in the present season, it becam« vigorous. Needless to say, stock is thriving upon the clover. While deep-sea fishing off the Whitianga coast, a party of Thames enthusiasts had a long and exciting tussle with a mako shark which tipped the beam of the official scales at 4291 b. The. party report excellent fishing along this coast. A sensation was caused among the large number of campers on tji« Puru beach when it was discovered that some of the campers who had gone out fishing had landed the largest stingaree known to have been caught on the coast. When they unravelled the monster from the net, it measured 7ft. 6in. long, and sft. 3in. across, with a sting 10in ; long. A non-tradesman of Wanganui, who turns the scale at anything up to 23 stone, had occasion to Visit Hatana pa. At the main gate he was confronted with tbe sergeant-at-arms, who politely informed him that no pakehas would be admitted. The heavy-weight thought that persuasive influence might have a good effect, but still the gatekeeper refused to produce the key. "All right," said the heavy-weight. 'Ten going in, so now you know what's trumps." He then nimbly climbed over the gate, and once inside had a most cordial reception from Eatana and members of the executive.

An anecdote illustrating the fact that the Maori has learnt dishonesty from the white man, was told by Archdeacon Williams during his address at the Rotary Club yesterday. He said that many years ago in iha Wairarapa there wa 3 a storekeeper who used to do a big trad© with the Maoris. They found that he always treated them exceedingly well, and in selling them sugar and flour h« used to let them weigh the bags theniselvtxs. In those days they used to weigh with a steelyard, and in order to strap the sacks on to this, something was necessary. He used to leave a heavy bullock chain close ty, and tho innocent Maoris used to chain their bags of flour and sugar on with this. Eventually, of course, they found out that they were being "had," and looked to do the same thing back to the storekeeper. That many factors enter into the difficulties experienced in obtaining employment by workers who, in previous years, have had no trouble in getting work, at least in the summer, was snggested to a Wellington Post reporter by one closely associated with labor problems. In the case of country work, farmers are doing as much as they can themselves nowadays, and tractor*, farmer driven, may be displacing teamsters in some cases. The transference of steamers from coal to oil-burners must displace a number of men, in the case cf some ships from 60 to 80, and the resultant disuse of coal affects miners, transport workers, and ordinary laborers. There were many other cases of changed conditions, where the effect was not quite so perceptible, but in the aggregate changed conditions, undoubtedly had a good deal to do with the number of men now seeking work in different parts of the country.