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Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16839, 31 December 1928, Page 6

. The Herald will not be published to-morrow, New Year’s Day. As the Opotiki Borough and County Councils cannot agree as to terms regarding cost of lighting the new Waioeka bridge, the County Council, at its last meeting, unanimously decided to cut out the bridge • lighting altogether. The motor-car traffic during the holidays shows a remarkable, increase over previous years, and the number of tourists passing through is outstanding (reports the Upotiki Herald). The parking camp at the wharf has been well patronised, whilst a number have camped at the beaches.

For 20 positions filled by the Taranaki. Education Board, almost 1000 applications were received (says the Taranaki Herald). This does not represent that number of teachers, however, as some applied for two or more positions. Many of the applicants were teachers who had held temporary jobs and are now seeking permanent positions. They will probably be absorbed during the year.

Tho Pacific Cable Board’s steamer Iris is to leave Auckland for the Tasman Sea on Thursday to repair a fault in the Eastern Extension Co.’s cable between Wellington and Sydney. The fault is situated about 300 miles from Wellington. Before the Iris returns to Auckland it is expected that she will effect repairs to two of the Telegraph Department’s six cables which are situated in Cook Strait and connect the two islands.

Ihe present season is far from a good one in Poverty Bay in respect of stone fruit. The wet and humid conditions have been most favorable for fungoid growths, while the frequency of rain lias made it very difficult for growers to check tho spread of disea-se. The result is that not only is much of the fruit split with the rain, but also brown rot is prevalent, and the fruit when picked does not keep any length of time. Apples appear to be doing well, and the posiposition in this respect should be quite satisfactory, though the crops are not so heavy as last season. At a meeting of the directors of the Feilding Freezing Co., the lion. <f. G. Cobbe tendered his resignation as chairman, his 'explanation being that certain farmers had withdrawn their support for political reasons. Mr. Cobbe wished it to 1 be understood that he did not wish to occupy the position while there was a possibility of his doing the company damage. The directors refused to accept the resignation, the board being of the opinion that Mr. Cobbe might bo in a position to render the freezing industry and farmers as a whole some assistance, and that the present feeling would soon blow over.

•.Satisfaction is expressed at the large entries received for to-morrow’s A. and P. Show at Nuhaka. This is the jubilee event, and every endeavor has been made to make it the most successful ever held by the society. The horse and pig classes are exceptionally well patronised, while tho sheep entries and those for dairy cattle are up to tho usual standard. Working dogs have been entered in large numbers, but the support given to the sporting dog classes is slightly disappointing. The fact that no challenge classes have been scheduled this year may lie responsible for this. If the weather remains fine it is expected that the usual large crowd will assemble on the terrace which acts as a natural grandstand, and that the attractions will be at least quite up to the usual high standard set by the society. A veteran of the Maori war passed away at the Veterans’ Home, Auckland, on Wednesday, in tho person of Mr. Henry Howell. His age was 86. Born at New Plymouth, Taranaki, on September 23, 1842, the late Mr. Howell joined tho Taranaki Volunteers in 1861 and served with them for a year. Later he was with the Colonial Defence Force in Wellington for 18 months. He returned to Now Plymouth, and for five years served with the Light Infantry. In 1880 lie joined the Constabulary, and in 1883 took his discharge. Coming to Auckland, the late Mr. Howell joined his brother in a plumbing business at Ellerslie. He entered the Veterans’ Home in 1926, having been predeceased by his wife and two sons. The only surviving member of his family is, Mrs. Asher, of 6 Ngapuhi road, Remuera. Deceased was accorded a semi-military funeral.

While the nurses of St. Mary’s home, Otahuhu, were entertaining the inmates of the institution thieves ransacked their quarters. Every loom had been raided and between £l6 and £2O had been taken.

Taken by surprise in a current of a treacherous nature, three married men, all good swimmers, and residents of Palmerston North, had a hard struggle to regain the banks of the Manawatu River in safety on Christmas Day. They had ventured in lor a swim in the vicinity of Hokowhitu, and encountered a swift current at an unexpected point, the main course of the river having evidently recently changed. One mossed (lie river by dint of strenuous exertions, but the other two were not so fortunate, and when they finally regained the bank were utterly exhausted, being incapable of further effort. It was some time lie fore they fullv recovered.

The value of buildings for which erection permits were issued in Hamilton in the year just closing is less than last year’s figures by nearly one-half. The.new structures represented a total value of £3.1,060, against £60,175 the previous year. They compare badly with the boom years, when in one 12-monthly period the figures lopped the £250,000 mark. The coming year, however, promises well in the building trade, for already pians are out for new buildings to cost over £IOO,OOO. The majority of these will he commenced early in the new year.

A lady who attended a school break-ing-up ceremony a few miles from New, Plymouth last week had an unenviable experience. Returning home by motor she had not proceeded very far when her car began to splutter and soon stopped. Thinking that blockage had occurred in the benzine feed-pipe, that part was taken off after considerable trouble, wtih the assistance of some passing motorists, but no cause for the trouble could be located there. Further examination revealed nothing that was likely to prevent the car from giving its usual good service until the benzine tank was examined, when it was, discovered that someone had emptied the tank, which had contained over three gallons of petrol, and had left only enough in the tank to enable the driver to get well started.

The week-end weather was extremely hot, and the beaches and picnic resorts throughout the district were crowded with holiday-makers. Every known swimming hole in the rivers outside the town area was patronised, and hundreds of bathers disported themselves at Waikanae, Haiti, and Wainui, while less readily accessible strands such as thoSe at Turehau and Muriwai also had their quota of holiday makers. Among the visitors to Waikanae during the afternoon were the members of the Wellington cricket team, some of whom had not, had a previous opportunity of seeing the beach. Under ideal conditions for bathing, the/ 5 gained most favorable impressions of Gisborne’s great asset. The day was probably the hottest of the year, and especially in the early afternoon became almost tropical-.. Later a breeze from the sea tempered the aridity of the day.

The value of boarding-school experience is emphasised by Mr. J. H. Murdoch, M.A., principal of Scots College, Wellington, in his annual review of the college activities.- “The pupil," he says, “who enters wholeheartedly into the boarding life of a college is gaining, in the best possible way, an education that is truly practical and is training himself* all unconsciously, to take a responsible position among his fellow men when he enters the larger world beyond the scdiool gates. There is a grave danger, in a prosperous country like New Zealand, that our boys should learn to enjoy the material fruits of their parents’ energies at the cost of the weakening of their own moral fibre. The life of a boarding school encourages in boys a manly independence and strength of character that are the essential foundation of any real success."

The other clay a Blenheim tioner imported from Wellington an electric ice cream refrigerator of an elaborate make. It is necessary, in using the machine, says the Marlborough Express, to fill certain tubes and reservoirs with brine of a particular specific gravity, and to ensure that the Blenheimite made no mistake in this regard the Wellington agents prepared the brine, soldered it up in benzine tins, packed the tins in their original benzine cases, and-shipped them to Blenheim. When the machine was erected the brine was brought from the wharf and one of the eases opened, when it was found’that someone, in Wellington or in Blenheim, evidently concluding that the tins eontained motor spirit, had punched a couple of holes in one tin, drained ofi the contents, and then replaced the empty tin in the ease. Inquiries are now beiug made for a motorist suffering from chronic carburettor trouble.

So much has been heard of tho “talkie pictures” that it is interesting to receive first-hand information /from a man who has, during the past few months, been among the audience in anl up-to-date “talkie” picture house. Mr. T. N. Horsley, who has returned to Christchurch after a six months’ trip abroad, expressed 'the opinion to; a 1 representative of the Press that this class of picture had' come to Stay.' lie explained that in America he saw an operatic tenor on a film, with thej voice coming through perfectly, and! that it was extremely difficult to believo that it was not the living man. At) another picture house he saw. and heard both candidates for the Presidency of America give a five minutes’ speech,, and again the impression was the same. In a play in England, however, there appeared to be little co-relation between the character and the artist’s voice. A! football match appeared to be a mere) jumble of sound which might have been produced by anybody, while a singld speech, with the artist depicted, was excellent.

Somewhat unexpectedly the British tramp steamer Surat arrived at Wellington on Thursday .in the coarse of a voyage from India to the West Coast ot South America. Her stay in Wellington was very brief, for after taking on a consignment of 40 valuable stud sheep for Peru, the Surat sailed on the final “leg” of her passage from India—the 6500-mile run across the Pacific to-Corral, a port in Southern Chile. The Surat is a single screw cargo steamer of 3819 tons gross register, launched at Glasgow in 1917 as the Betiva. She was built for Messrs. James Nourse, Ltd., of London, a firm that has been engaged for many years in the transport of coolies from India fo the plantations in the West Indies, first with sailing ships, but latterly with steamers. After her launch the ship was taken over by the Admiralty for war service. About two years ago : the ship was acquired by Andrew Weir arid Co., owners of the Rank Line of Glasgow, arid renamed Surat. She is manned by white officers and engineers,'and a Lascar crew. The Surat has been “out” from Britain nearly two years, during which time she has “tramped” many seas and visited many out-of-the-wav ports in the Indian and Pacific ('beans and the Ch>na This is her second vovage from Tndia to South America, and she is carrying a cargo of gunnv-bags from India, and 1500 tons of .wheat shipped at Sydney.