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Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16828, 15 December 1928, Page 4

The final function for the year was hold by the Brownies in the Parish Hall yesterday afternoon, when a most enjoyable time was spent under the charge of brown owl Mrs. G. J. Jeuuc. At the conclusion of the, 1 customary greetings and activities much appreciated refreshments were served to the children.

The borough water supply will be turned off all day to-morrow, and residents would be well advised to take precautions to see that they have a sufficient supply drawn off for the day’s requirements. The interruption is essential to enable the new pipeline laid across the Waipaoa bridge at Mata where to be connected up with the supply mains, and it is hoped that the work will be completed within the one dav.

“We must put this ‘ragging’ business down. It is not .at all fair, four big young chaps oh to one boy,” was what Mr. F. K. Hunt told a trio of youths, John A. McDonald, Albert Elshaiv, and Robert C\ Strong, in fining them £1 for assault, at tho Auckland Police Court yesterday. .Tables Aitehisnn, who did not- appear, was lined a similar sum. Sub-Inspector McCarthy said the four youths got hold of a hoy who was working in a garage with them and rubbed grease ou bis body. They did it ns a joke and never intended it- to he an assault. —Special. Serious concern in connection with t)ie proposal to hand over the control of the Gisborne Technical School to the Gisborne School Committee was expressed by tho committee in a letter received by the Hawke’s Bay Education Board at its monthly meeting in Napier yesterday. Tho committee stated that it was much concerned about the finan cial side of the proposal, and suggested that the board should indemnify tho committee against any personal responsibility in tho event of a deficiency. It was resolved to inform tho committee that the board had never been required to draw on tho funds, and was satisfiekl that when controlled by the local committee the school would he a great wce«w«

In a letter to the Hawke’s Bay Education Board at its monthly meeting in Napier yesterday, the Tokomaru Bay School Committee applied for a grant for repairs to t lie asphalt in the school grounds. The architect’s estimate ot the cost was £47, and: a grant of onethird of the cost was approved.

The case against James Morton McGill, charged wjili breaking ami entering and tnefl of a sate containing js-w cash and tao in cheques, tne property oi James Glance Christie, tooaccomst, was concluded in the Magistrate s Court m Vulnierston North yesterday. Accused was lominitted to the Supreme Court tor trial, reserving Ins detence.— i’.A. A coincidence occurred at the concertgiven in the children’s ward of me Cook Hospital last evening, when .Messrs. J. Davidson-Baxtei, and Owen Curclstoii, theatrical producers, Mr. J. Bcnwick, of Gisborne, and Mr. \V. Graeme-lloJder, of Auckland contributed several items. These performeis last assembled together two years ago almost to the day, when an entertainment was given in llawera in aid of the Haw-era Hospital's Christmas fund.

Reporting to the Hawke’s Bay Education Board at its monthly meeting in Napier yesterday, the secretary stated that the following applications for subsidies on voluntary contributions had been submitted to the department since the la: t meeting: Gisborne, grounds and pictures £l7 14s 4d, library £3 6s 8d; Waereriga-a-hika, levelling grounds £ls. The following subsidies had been approved by the department: Tolaga Bay, £4 14s 4d; Gisborne £l7 14s 4d. Fortunately, not a great number of hay crops in Poverty Bay have been lying cut in the paddocks, but the persistency of ihe rain lias been the cause of preventing those farmers who had. grass cut at the beginning of the week from carrying on with harvesting operations. As a result, decoloration of the bay has taken place in some cases, and even rotting lias commenced. The making of ensilage lias been slowly growing in favor in this district, and no doubt the wet harvesting period this year may cause many more fanners to seriously consider the saving of surplus feed in this manner.

This year Gisborne will have two late shopping nights immediately preceding Cbiistinas. The fact that Christmas Hay falls on a Tuesday enables shopkeepers to observe their late night as usual on Saturday, and a further late night on the next business day, which is Christmas live. By such an arrangement Christmas shoppers should have ample opportunity to make belated purchases. During the remainder of the week in which Christmas Day falls, however, there may he no uniformity among the retail trades of the town. It is possible for the shops, after observing the late night on Christmas Eve, to keep open on Saturday night or on New Year’s Eve, but not on both, and if either of these nights is observed for late shopping then the retail premises will have to be closed on the following Saturday night. When continued rain last month delayed shearing operations to the extent of causing decreased offerings of Poverty Bay wool at the Napier sales, it was hoped by those who still had sheep unshorn that there would be an uninterrupted spell of fine weather so that arrears of work could be overtaken to some extent. This hope, however, has not been realised, and frequent showers have caused minor stoppages in the operations till this week, when there has been an entire cessation for. several days;. The week commenced with most unsettled weather, and as a result ,-of the-showery conditionb practically no shearing has been dime in the district. The shearing season, therefore, will be a lengthy one, but so far it is not expected to extend far beyond that of last summer, when unsettled' conditions at about, this time caused serious delays.

A concrete-mixing machine which Mr. F. Goodman has just forwarded to Morerc for temporary employment in connection with the oil-boring operations is still highly efficient, though it 'was-purchased 20 years ago, and has soon hard service on many contracts. Tho mixer is driven by a low-powered engine, which nevertheless delivers, through a substantial gearing, a sufficient impulse to turn the drum when fully loaded, and then have power to spare. Mr. Goodman lias reason to remember this fact, for on one occasion, when working on a contract in the north, lie got his clothes entangled in the shaft through which power is transmitted from the engine to the mixing drum. Before lie could free himself, the steadily revolving shaft had stripped coat, shirt and undershirt in turn from liis body, taking also his braces and small pieces of his trousers clinging to the buttons. Severe abrasions about the face and arm were suffered by the contractor before the engine could bo stopped, but no lasting injuries occurred. There was a good attendance of members at the quarterly meeting of the Ancient Order of Foresters. The chief ranger, Bro. F. Foster, who presided, was assisted by past chief rangers Bros. Aliiiu, Sparrow, Allen, and O’Dwyer. Reports from the sick visitors showed that seven members were on the sick fund. Tho electiou of officers resulted in Bro. Vaughan being installed as chief ranger. Tho subordinate officers elected wore: S.C.R., Bro. G. Ancell; S.W., Bro. A. Leckie; J.W., Bro. G. Aspland; 5.8., Bro. J. Whitely; J. 8., Bro. R. Sutton; secretary, Bro. C. S. Bruce; treasurer, Bro. F. Sell. A letter from the district secretary informed the court that Bro. W. F. Ingram, district junior ibeadle would pay an offiicat visit on. January 30 . The secretary reported favorably on the social evenings held during tho year and expressed the court’s appreciation to those members who had assisted in the successful running of these functions. Further arrangements were made for the annual picnic, and Bro. Vaughan reported that, ho had received several donations. After several minor matters had been dealt with tho court closed with Hie usual honors to tile chair.

Natives of the Waiapu district have been provided with a now topic, bv n sudden change of habit on the part of a great pear tree located in the pa at Tikitiki. The tree had not borne fruit for a great number of years until the present season, and its sterility had been taken for granted for a long time,.but one inquiring native took the trouble to ask of the Government orchard instructor, during one of the ini tor’s periodical visits to the Coast, why the tree did not bear as others did. The instructor noted that there were no other pear trees in the neighborhood, and advised the inquires to procure some blossom from another variety of pear, place the twigs in water-filled jars, and hang them in the branches of the non-bearing tree. Mystified until the instructor had explained to him on broad lines'the basic manciple of cross-pollenat.ion, the Maori finally adopted the experiment, and this year the tree bears a fairly healthy crop of fruit. At a recent gathering at the pa. natives from other areas expressed surprise at seeing the crop, and heard with some degree of incredulity the explanation of iits rcjuvmtiQß,

A grant for the painting of the lfero school was approved at the meeting of the Hawke’s Buy Education Board in Napier yesterday.

At its monthly" meeting in Napier yesterday the Hawke’s Bay Education Board approved the erection of a new tank stand at the Otoko school at an estimated cost of £9.

The school medical officer, in a letter to the Hawke’s Bay Education Board at its monthly meeting m Napier yesterday, recommended the erection of more lighting windows at the Rakauroa school. The architect’s estimate of the cost was £22. and the board approved a grant of that * amount.

The To Hupnra School Committee, writing to the Hawke’s Bay Education Board at its monthly mooting in Napier yesterday, submitted a report from the borough drainage inspector in reference to the necessity for repairs to the sump, and the secretary and the architect were given authority to have the work carried out immediatcly.

Large numbers of sheep are at present on the road between Gisborne and Morere bound for Hawke’s Bay, while mobs of cattle are also engaged in the trek southwards. Long road journeys northwards will be commenced by large mobs of sheep after the holiday traffic is off the roads, these lots being bound mostly for the Waikato, while at the same time large consignments will, continue to go to Hawke’s Bay. A report on the vital statistics of the urban areas of the Dominion for November, shows the population of the cities and chief towns to be as follows: Auckland, 205,610; Wellington, 129,680; Christchurch, 123,140; Dunedin, 85,970.; Hamilton, 17,290;. Gisborne, 16,160; Napier, 18,600; Hastings, 15,120: New Plymouth, 16,880; Wanganui, 27,200; Palmerston North, 20,880; Nelson, 12,060; Timaru, 17,530; Invercargill, 22,865.—Totals 725,985.

The signing up of wheatgrowers representing 120,000 acres, the objective set, themselves by those interested in the formation of the wheat pool, was attained on December 1, the date arranged. As a matter of fact, the total acreage was 124,248 acres, and there are still some returns to come in. It is likely that this total will be increased, as the canvass of growers will bo continued in those districts which seem tc warrant that step.

A decision which should be gratifying to the Gisborne School Committee was reached at the monthly meeting of the Hawke’s Bay Education Board in Napier yesterday, when it was resolved that £l5O should be’ spent for the provision of proper equipment for the kitchen of the Gisborne manual centre, mainly for the cooking classes held there. It was agreed' that the money should be spent under the supervision of the board’s architect, and that it should be expended on the purchase of suitable stoves and other necessary equipment and appliances. An application by the Makaraka School Committee for the installation of a septic tank system at the school was considered at the monthly meeting of the Hawke’s Bay Education Board in Napier’ yesterday. The architect’s rough estimate of the cost was £214, stud the board decided to find one-third .of the amount, and to request the Health Department to find an equai proportion, provided the Health Department approved the installation and ,the architect was satisfied that its success was assured. An invitation to visit the Hawke’s Bay education district at the earliest possible opportunity has been extended to the .Minister of Education- by the Hawke’s Bay Education Board. At its monthly meeting in Napier yesterday the board also, decided to request the department to fix a definite date for the visit to the district of the department’s architect, it being pointed out that the continual postponement of the visit had tied the hands of the board and its officers in dealing with certain cases in connection with the provision of additional accommodation, of which -the Patutahi school was especially urgent. The lowest ebb in the unemploymentposition in Gisborne was reported from the office of the Labor Department this morning, . when it was announced that there were only 12 names oil the books. For a few weeks the number seeking employment was in the vicinity of 15, while, last week the figure quoted was 16. Apparently, however, some of the men have secured work on their own account, for none was obtained through the agency of the department. Qtao encouraging feature is the small number of new applications, which this week are only three. Eight married men are among the present number of unemployed.

Gbat the building was not worth repairing was the opinion expressed by the Gisborne School Committee in a loiter to the Hawke's Bay Education Board at its monthly meeting in Napier yesterday in connection with the .in-pcc tor's report on the old woodshed at the Gisborne school, and the coruimilco asked whether the board would replace it with a more present able The architect stated that the shed was used for storing old desks aniT fuel, and inquiries should be made f-s to what the other sheds were used for. The matter was referred to the architect to look into on the occasion of his next visit to Gisborne.

In preparation for the next breeding season, i’overty Bay and East Coast sheepfanners will be taking delivery of Hock rains in large numbers during the next few weeks. Already some have arrived, including two valuable Suffolk rams that were purchased in Australia, and sent to a Tolaga Bay farm during the last week or so. A shipment of flock rams, mostly Romneys, is to be dispatched from Napier by the s.s. Putiki to-night for Gisborne. This line is from the Hunterville district, while on the boat there will be also a stud Southdown, which, it is stated, has been bought at a sum extending into three figures. More rams are expected to reach here during the next few weeks, while after the holidays the arrivals should he heavy.

An indication that there is a shortage of sheep in Hawke’s Bay is that buyers from that district have been operating at the Matawhcro stock sales with more frequency this season than is usual. As in Poverty Bay, Hawke’s Bay pastoralists have a large amount of grass on their properties, and they find that they have to stock more heavily to keep the rapid growth in check. 'The result has been more frequent visitations to outside sales, of which Matawhcro appears to be popular at present. Hawke’s Bay buyers wore operating keenly at yesterday’s sale, and this, no doubt, was partly the cause of the hardening in the store market, and of keeping fat sheep at a good level Though the opinion of some is that the fat sheep market was easier, the pricos for this class of stock were generally considered to be quite satisfactory. The local demand for all classes of sheep continues to be good, and the outside competition helps to further stimulate the market. In the words of one of the operators, yesterday’s sale at Matawhcro was “an excellent