HALCOMBE.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXVII, Issue 10550, 15 January 1913, Page 7

HALCOMBE.

From Our Own Correspondent. [ The death of Mr Vereker Bin don removes a man to whom many of the living owe a debt of gratitude. As the chief and sole inspector of the Wanganui Education Board, Mr Bindon worked himself unmercifully and the application of the deadly spur to his jaded anatomy eventually produced mental and physical prostration. When in Auckland twenty-three years ago the chief school inspector of that district told me of the late"Mr Bindon's phenomenal success as a teacher in the city, and knowing the ceaseless energy of the man expressed a fear that his friend Bindon was working |tod [hard and would break down Jin his attempt to do the impossible. The deceased gentleman not a keen interest in the progress of education in this district, but showed a personal solicitude for the welfare^of our children. So marked, indeed, was the latter that I and others have often marvelled to hear him address them by their Christian names. Instead of fearing the advent of the "spector" the children joyously welcomed his coming and some of those children of twenty-odd years ago have wondered why I last ween failed to pay this poor passing tribute to the memory of Vereker Bindon "who was loved by us all.'' It was with much regret we learned that Mrs Bradley and Mrs James Morrisson are still in hospital, and are not yet beyond the danger line. Both these ladies are daughters of old and esteemed settlers, both have youth in their favour, and if the sincere wishes of their many sympathisers can help their recovery they will soon, be restored in good health to their homes and.their little ones.

A barrow wheel and a yard or two of string attached to the axle was the simple apparatus with which Master Adam pulled a portion of the flesh off his little finger. The doctor completed the "bad job" by removing the bone at the first joint. A few days later the twin brother of the young mechanic nearly succeeded in cutting off one of his fingers with a saw. Add to this the fact that mother injured her back when nursing her boys and we have a heap of trouble which is not fairly distributed. "The dearest drink that ever I swallowed!" remarked Mr H. Cuff when he beheld all that was left of a mowing machine to which his left horses were attached. While Mr Cuff was slaking his thirst at neighbour Faulding's the horses bolted and covered a mile of Man-

gone road in about 2.55. During the last quarter the racers had only a portion of a pole attached to their harness, the rest of the reaper

was scattered r over the course and was harvested in sections. The horses fortunately were uninjured. When thanking Mrs Honeyfield on Saturday for providing tea for the oricketers, Captain Pleasants said that;if the ladies :would follow Mrs Honeyfield's excellent example Halcombe's sickly cricket would revive

and become strong under susch sweet and generous treatment. On behalf of the ladies I am prepared to enter into an agreement with our "Knights of the Willow" to supply them and their opponents with the cup that cheers and the cookies that are toothsome every time they play a match on the home pitch, provided always that they give me due notice of the coming of their friendly rivals for cricketing honours. A meeting of our School Committee was heldjjon Saturday last to adjust and pay a timber account. Those present were Messrs Burcham (chairman), Adam, Thomas and the Rev. Daniels.

Our representative, D. H. Guthrie Esq., M.P. : has received the following from the Hon. Herdman, Minister of Justice: —"I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 21st inst. forwarding a requsition signed by a number of residents of Halcombe for the appointment cf£a resident constable at Halcombe; and in reply desire to inform you that I am referring the representations submitted for the consideration and report of the Commissioner of Police."

£ Once more I wish to direct attention to the manner in which stock trains are handled. I am not a "shipper," nor do I write in the interests of sheep and cattle growers, but I am in sympathy with the animals I see every day on their way to the slaughterhouse, and again I have to enter a protest against the way they are "bashed" about in the trucks when they are stopped, started and shunted. The regulations very pioperly specify that the utmost care shall be exercised in the working of trains conveying live stock, and if —as I am assured —the drivers of these trains- are to exercise the utmost care then I must conclude that they are not skilful, or that there is

something radically wrong with their engines, or with'the way the trucks are linked together. Notice the easy workmanlike way our passenger trains are now stopped and started—without jolt or jar—and then join with me in asking those responsible if this can be done for our comfort, why cannot the same be done for our dumb and handless animals that can neither swear at the authorities, or write of their sufferings to newspapers. After perusing this, your account of Police Court proceedings—" Defendant asked for an . adjournment to consult a solicitor. Sergeant Bowden: "I don't know what he wants a solicitor for, the whole thing is in a nutshell." S.M. Poynton: "Solicitors have an ingenious way of gefctng things qut of a nutshell." Sergeant Bowden: ' 'They usually get the whole kernel" —which, observed the experienced reader "means that in any case the client has to shell out."

The rector of a fashionable church who was bothered with innumerable j telephone calls ordered his name to j be struck out of the telephone book, j A merchant of the same the rector and who lived in the same j suburb was then continually an- } noyed by requests to officials at funerals and baptisms. He went j and told of his troubles to the < parson and asked p s him to.'Jj have his \ name again put in the telephone { directory, but in vain; the parson \ was "not on," and wus determined \ t) remain off the list. The merchant j then decided to place the matter j before the authorities. As he was j writing his complaint the telephone j bell rang and the timid voice of a \ young man asked the Rev. Mr ; Blank if, he wpuld marry him at Gnce. . It was Saturday night and a happy thought came to the worried «

merchant, and he replied: "iSTo, I'm too damn busy with my sermons.''