Shannon News TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1925.

Shannon News, 10 November 1925, Page 2

Shannon News TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1925.

A first offender for drunkenness was convicted at the Police Court yesterday morning and fined 10s. Air W. Murdoch, J.P., presided. Dancing enthusiasts are reminded that a wind-up dance will be held in the Parish Hall this evening by the Ladies’ Guild of Veil. Bede’s, the proceeds from which are to go towards the bazaar fund. The official opening of the Tennis Club, which was postponed from Wednesday last owing, to the unfavourable weather, \yill take place to-mor-row afternoon at 2 p.m. The public are cordially invited tq be present. The tennis courts in Vance Street, which were recently top dressed, are now in a slippery state, no doubt due to the wet weather and as a result during the past day or two there have been a number of falls, one of the victims, Mrs C. Hardie, sustaining a sprained akle. On Thursday last the flaxcutters at Wldtanui came out on strike owing to a dispute with the owners as to' the price for cutting to be paid on a new block of flax, it appears that the cutters have been working among- soiAe poor flax, and to coinpensaite them the owners had agreed to increase the price on one of the other blocks, and the trouble now is that there has been a misunderstanding -as to which block it was to be. There is every prospect of a settlement being arrived at immediately, and already several men have resumed work. The cutters at Dalzcll’s mill, Makerua, are also out on strike. In this case -an increase in' the cutting rate is .being demanded by Hie men. The deatli occurred at the Palmerston North Hospital on Sunday last of Mr I. P. Leverich, of the Public Works staff at Mangaore. The deceased, who was 40 years of age,, had been ill for a few weeks, but it was only last week (hat it became necessary for him to enter the hospital and his death (came as a great shock to his friends. The late Mr Leverich, who was born in Now Orleans, had visited many parts of the world prior to coining to New Zealand, where he arrived shortly before the outbreak of the war, but later left with the Expeditionary Forces, faking his part in the Great War. On returning lie took up a position with tlK> Public Works Department, and about two years ago was transferred to .Mangaore. lie was well known in Shannon, having taken a great interest. in sport and social affairs and his death will be much regretted by a wide circle of friends. R. is understood deceased had no relatives in the. Dominion. The funeral takes place at the Shannon Cemetery this afternoon.

A resident of Ivaponga, Taranaki, decided to top ( Ills pinus msignis trees in the neighbourhood of the electrical high-tension lines, ana ms experience may be a warning to all farmers similarly situated. He tackled the work while a high gale of M ind was blowing. This resulted in carrying a heavy bough across Hie lines. He caught hold of the green end of the branch with the iulention of pulling it off the wire. He ascertained thereby that largo and sudden doses of electricity were not to be commended.

The Auckland Star lias worked out the percentages of die total votes cast for each party at the general election. The Star’s calculation of the voting strength of the parties does not quite accord with 1 lie latest figures, hui ihi- percentages are near enough for all practical purposes. Reform, it says, east 46.99 per cent, of the total vuie, Labour 27.64 per cent., Nationalism and Liberalism 23.26 per cent., independence"].7B per cent., and the Country .Party .33 per cent. On this basis Reform should have 38 seats in the House, Labour 22, Nationalism 18, and Independence 2.

Thu King- i§ tO| receive an 801 b. cheese specially made for presentation to him at the Tiratu factory, Lawses Bay, on behalf of the soldier settlers on the Tiratu Block, of about 4000 acres, “as a token of our appreciation of the close attention your Majesty has always given to the many pioatems associated with the re-settle-ment of discharged soldiers; secondly, as a tangible expression of our continued loyalty.”An Eltbani farmer who had been much worried by ravages committed by dogs amongst his sheep on a farm in the Toko district lay in Wait, for the destroyers and accounted for three with a gun. He did not know who the dogs belonged tq until he was served with notice of a claim for £SO, the alleged value of the dogs. This gave the necessary clue to the ownership, arid now a contra claim, amounting to £IOO lias been made for the value of the sheep destroyed.

‘‘The great curse which affects the dairying industry in New Zealand to-day does not lie at Home at all—it is in the milking sheds of this country,” said Mr G. Roberts, when speaking as a representative of the Otago factory managers at the farewell to Mi' A. C. Ross, of the New Zealand Dairy Division. “The quality is cursed by filth,” he added, “but if the Government took the matter up it could remedy the fault in a month. 1 am. satisfied that the secret of the quality of Danish butter lies in, the fact that the cow byres in Denmark are as clean as the dwelling houses.’

“It seems absurd to spend the money \ye do in building those large per-manent-schools in concrete and brick, which will last for 100 years, when we know perfectly well that in a quarter of that time, with modem science and knowledge, our ideas about bousing will .entirely change, when we have buildings put up at sucli low expense,” declared his Excellency the Governor-General, Sir Charles' Fergus son, when he performed the opening ceremony of the Gushmere Open-air -School (Canterbury) on Monday. .

A feature of an address on Central American experiences, given at the Auckland Rotary Club by Mr Walter F. Boyle, was his description of the amazing trade in bananas carried on by the people on the southern coasts. After, having lived in this part of the world for a little while, one was forced to the conclusion that the principal‘pastime of United States citizens was the eating oi bananas. It seemed as though there could not be enough mouths in all the world to consume them. A- whole,fleet of “banana boats” was employed in carrying -the fruit away.

Mr Gilbert Clement, son of Mr W. C. Clement, met with a painful accident on Wednesday (the Eltliam Argus reports). He was harrowing on bis father’s farm, Anderson Road, when he wag knocked down by the horse, which was rather a spirited one. Mr Clement fell lace downwards and the harrows were 'drawn across liis body, inflicting deep wounds in the buttocks. Had be fallen on his back and the harrows been drawn across bis stomach the accident might easily have been a fatal one. He is progressing favourably.

In future motorists who have the misfortune to. meet with an accident in which no personal injury has occurred will not be obliged to report the matter to the police. This information has been received by the South Island Motor Union, who wrote to the Minister of Justice in regard to the matter. The .Minister has advised that on the advice ol the Crown Law Office he has issued instructions to the police not io prosecute where a motorist fails to report an accident in which no injury to. any person had occurred.

Tiie amount of- unemployment in Taranaki wouicl appear to be considerable, il' the number of men travelling the roads in search of work is taken as an indication. Motorists state that one or two swaggers arc to be met with in the course of a couple of hours’ drive about the province. Two men arrived in New Plymouth this morning in quest of work-. One said he had walked from Cambridge, and the 'Other from I-lawera. The unemployment figures for New Plymouth show little variation. There was a steady decrease) in the number of men looking for work up till a fortnight ago, but Ihe returns for the week ended last Monday showed an increase of four, the total number having been 13. —Herald.

While searching the house of Alfred Stanton Booth, for an unregistered revolver, which had come lo the knowledge of the Hamilton police, Constable Sul ton came upon a weird-looking weapon, which, on closer scrutiny, proved to he a home- ( made revolver. Booth was charged on four counts with breaches of the Arms Act. and the. revolver, when produced in Court, furnished a good deal of amusement. The breech was part of an old army rifle cut down, while the stock was crudely fashioned out of a piece of rough wood. Booth, if was stated, had made this murderous-looking weapon in Eng- : land, prior to leaving for New Zealand.’ Mr Wyvern Wilson, SAL, said that evidently he considered he should have some safeguard when he set out. for the wilds of New Zealand. (Laughter). Remarking that defendant had probably erred in ignorance, Tips Worship imposed a nominal fine of 5s and costs on each of the four charges. The weapon was confiscated.

An experienced sheep farmer estimates that the wet and backward season will cause a shortage of 2.1 b per fleece. He reckons the North. Island will be 60,uu0 bales ■short and the South 40,000. At New PlymoiLh on election night, otlie loud speaker announced mat Mr Holleston was in the lead in the Waitomo electorate and' immediately followed by saying an item w.ouid be given entitled “where’s My Sweetie Hiding.” A voice: ‘.‘Up in the Wattomo Caves.” An Oamaru resident supplied a Mail reporter with a striking instance of die profit accruing from the planting of trees. Between 35 and 40 years ago a runhoider near Haumer planted 60 acres in pinus ins ignis. The mill has just pulled out from working in the forest, and the runliolder’s son has the satisfaction of knowing that the gross profit from these trees is £35,000.

A highly-imporluil discovery in re gai'cl to the- peculiarities of firedamp has been revealed by recent research, and many explain why in the past there have been explosions in mines •through no apparently immediate cause. Research has shown -that a mixture of firedamp and air cun be ignited without the application of flame, merely by raising it to a certain temperature, either directly by the application cf heat or indirectly by compression.

Probably many motorists are not aware of the fact that if they drop a bottle on the roadway it is their duty to go back and pick up the pieces. A reminder was given to this effect at the Hamilton Court, when a youthful motor-cyclist admitted that after accidentally dropping a bottle from his machine in Victoria Street, leaving broken glass strewn oyer the carriage way, he had neglected to go back and gather up the. remnants. As the prosecution was the first of its kind in Hamilton, he was let off with the payment of costs, 7s.

Mr W. Stern, of Milton street, Christchurch, pays ■ a tribute to the honesty of a pedlar. On Tuesday one had called at his house and sold to Mrs Stern some paste for removing grease stains. In the evening the man called again and asked Mrs Stern what' she paid him with. “A £1 note,” was the reply. “Go and make sure,” rejoined the hawker. A search of her purse revealed the fact that she had tendered a £5 note in mistake for £l, and the man had returned with the four pounds at the end of his day’s work. ,

The Government , Publicity Officer has received advice from the Photographers’ Association .of America with headquarters at Washington, that a dozen enlarged photographs of selected New Zealand scenes will be displayed in the Association’s Pictorial Exhibit at next year’s annual convention. The Association receives portrait exhibits from: the Professional Photographers’ Association of Great Britain and Ireland and the Ontario Society of Canada and is anxious to obtain a similar exhibit from the professional portrait .photographers of this Dominion. The Publicity Officer will be glad to supply further information to any photographer interested in the proposition.

“There is no need to enforce legislation to compel people to keep their children at school until the age of 15 in New Zealand,” said the Director of Education (Mr J. Caughley), when explaining the junior high school system to an audience in Dannevirke. “Education is so much appreciated that die number of children wlio do not attend school after they are 14 is negligible—only about 2000 to 3000, in fact. Probably most of these are unable to be spared,, the circumstance of their parents requiring them to commence earning as quickly as possible. It would rather be unfair to compel such to attend school and learn a lot of filings that probably they would find of no practical benefit, to them in the lives they would have to live.”

A County Council which lias been in the lialnt, of accepting orders given to -tradesmen by their contractors for payment, and honouring them, received a surprise during l a recent visit of tiie Government audit inspector. The orders bore the usual 2d stamp but the auditor held up the vouchers on the ground that such orders required a os stamp under section 7b of “The :Stauip Duties Act, 11)23,’’ for every hioo or fractional part. Recently the point was stressed on some local Government works, states the Age, where tiie storekeeper on the job required the men giving orders on their pay to affix the duty stamp, hut this they declined to do, ami the storekeeper declined to supply goods, and the work stopped.

Near the site where a well-known English car is manufactured stands a little old church whose foundations were laid in the Norman period, and whose spire and tower show many signs that follow in the wake of battle and conquest. The pews of this church, at Northfield, near Birmingham, show the unmistakable marks of bridle-chains chafed at the time when the sacred precincts were used as stables by William the Norman. Another interesting (and unusual) feature of this church with much quaint history l about it, is that in the porch may be seen the names of the vicars that have conducted the church offices during the last 900 years and wire have helped in forging many links in what must he a , romantic history.

“It is absolutely wrong to say that red deer are causing great depredations around Waikaremoana,” says a member of the Hawkes Bay Acclimatisation Society. “If eat those big trees they will have to be pretty hungry.”During last moiltli the Dunedin Telephone Exchange finked up with 230 new subscribers. There liad been lor some time a long waiting fist of residential applications wliicli had to be set aside in favour of more urgent applications from business houses, but the department has now satisfied the requirements of them all. At an examination a boy was asked to state why a tiger is striped and he wrote: “It Is striped because it makes it- better for circus proprietors. If a tiger escapes irom a circus -it is easier to find him than if he had no stripes. He will not gu far without someone noticing that he is not a horse or a dog on account of his stripes, and calling up and asking the circus people if they have lost a tiger.” The incentive to prompt payment of rates Held out by the Takapuud Borough Council—an offer of a rebate of 5 per cent, on all amounts paid before November I—has proved very effective. Although only a month inis elapsed since ' the issue of ratedemands was completed, more than half the amount levied for the current year has reduced the municipal treasury—over £14,000 out of the total of £25,870. The, result is a very material reduction of the bank overdraft arranged by the council in anticipation of revenue arul a corresponding saving in interest. The Otaki Borough Council also offers a discount -of 5 per cent, for prompt payment of rates.

“One of the rumours circulated about me ig that I threw my teeth away to get off Gallipoli,” said Mr W. E. Leadley (a Reform' candidate for Avon) at a returned soldiers’ meeting at Christchurch. A striking profol’ of the falsehood of the rumour Was forthcoming (says the Press). Lieutenant Crumpton, who was present, arose and said; Mr Leadley was my sergeant cm the Peninsula, and when he lost his teeth I ordered-him back to tlie base. He refused to go, and I have seen him sticking bacon, andgrinding biscuits between two- stones, and moistening tire crumbs with jam. All I can say is that the statement is a d lief (Applause)..

“They say there is nothing in bowls,” said a player'at Stanley Buy green, Auckland,. on Saturday, “but on‘ our rink we played for two solid hours, the teams being very evenly matched. At'the last head, with only one bowl to be played, our side was two up in a splendid position. Up came the last shot; it first hit one bowl, then another and finally a tlijrd, and just rolled into shot by the 16tli of an inch, and we had lost the game.” It was agrbed that it was the glorious uncertainty of bowls which gave the game its greatest fascination, and that it ' was the one game where men of mature years could hold their own with much younger men.

In concluding its labours at the Supreme Court, Auckland, last week the grand jury made the following presentment to Mr Justice Herdman who was then presiding: “Following the direction of 'Mr Justice Reed the grand jury, which is .composed chiefly of motorists, agreed with his Honour’s condemnation of the practice of speeding by many drivers of motor vehicles, and respectfully urges that strong representations he'made to the proper authorities to put a stop to such practices. Further, the grand jury draws attention to the present danger of children using trolleys on tiie main highways, and in the playing of games of football, cricket, and so on.”

With the election over Mr Coates will have to set about re-constructing his Ministry. Sir Francis Bell has announced his intention of resigning at the year’s end, and a new AttorneyGeneral will be required as well as a new Leader for die Upper House. Sir R. Heaton Rhodes also has withdrawn from political life, and his portfolio must be allocated. A third Minister who has gone is the Hon. D. H. Guthrie, who; was a member of the last Cabinet without portfolio. , It is expected that die Hon. W. Downie Stewart will become Minister nf Finance, which portfolio the Hon. W. Nos worthy/now liQlds. An ex-Minis-ter (Mr E. P. Lee) having been elected once again for Oamaru the position is interesting. »■

That unity is strength was demonstrated quite recently in Pitt Street, Dunedin, says the “Otago Daily Times.” A predatory cat, evidently bent on attending to the day’s menu, was cautiously stalking a starling. Bit by bit the cat worked her way to within about a yard of the bird, and was just about, to spring when the starling suddenly turned, and to the intense astonishment of puss, immediately assumed the offensive. No sooner bad it done so than, as if from nowhere, there appeared nearly a dozen of its mates, and Jor a few moments a very bewildered and angry cat was occupied in defending herself against an enemy whom, no doubt, she had previously never considered in the light of a possible foe. For fully five minutes the miniature battle raged, when apparently, the severe heckling she was receiving proved too much for.puss, who, deckling tlmt discretion was the better part of valour, bounded through the hedge and disappeared..