IN TOWN AND OUT

Southland Times, Issue 20665, 22 April 1929, Page 6

IN TOWN AND OUT

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Pct Rabbits. 'Very few people are aware that under the consolidation of 1928 of the Rabbit Act which came into force on January 1 last, the keeping of pet rabbits is prohibited unless the owner possesses a permit. The penalty for offences against this provision is an amount not exceeding £207 Application for permits must be made through the Department of Agriculture. * * * * Week-End Arrests. An unusual number of transgressors were detained in the police “lock-up” during the weekend. Five men against whom arc pending charges of drunkenness, using obscene language and resisting arrest, were arrested in the town on Saturday evening and s;ient the night in the cells. They were bailed out yesterday and will appear before the magistrate in due course. Cars Collide. The intersection of Nith and Ettrick streets was the scene of a motor car collision at about 10 o’clock yesterday morning. A peculiar feature of the collision was that one of the cars sheered off the other on impact and crashed into a lamb standard on the kerbing of the footway. The standard was bent and the glass globe wrecked. None of the occupants of the cars were injured. Wags at Work. During the week-end one of the pedestals erected in the Post Office square was “graced” with a piece of figure-heat! masonry, obviously secured from a nearly building. At first glance the well-placed “adornment” would lead the average citzen to believe that the work of the anonymous donor had been completed. It sat imposingly on top of the granite plinth, but was out of all proportion to its supports. More Muttonbirds. The master of the Kckeno, Mr IL Roderique, which returned to Bluff on Saturday from the muttonbird islands, reports tliat all the Natives are in the best of health. The birds to be found everywhere in great numbers and are in better condition than they have been for some years. The Kekeno brought hack the first consignment of salted muttonbirds of this season’s catch. The vessel leaves again for the island at 6 o’clock to-night. * * * * Seamen Deceived. Some few days ago a vessel from the West Coast Sounds brought the news to Bluff that what had from a distance appeared to be a boat stranded on the beach had been noticed between Dusky and Chalky Sounds. Captain C. Hansen, of the schooner Britannia, which has just returned from a voyage there, reports that he was able to venture much further inshore than the preceding vessel and found that the object was nothing more than a huge tree trunk recently washed up on the beach. From a distance, however, it could quite easily have been mistaken for a boat. * « * Schools’ Consolidation. As the result of negotiations between the Education Board and the Department of Education, the consolidation of the Taramoa school with Waianiwa school will take place next month. There are at present 19 pupils on the roll at Taramoa school and 50 at Waianiwa. The question of conveyance was at first a hitch in the consummation of the proposal, but arrangements have since been made with the tenderer, and the work will be put in hand at once. Mr A. W. Jones (chairman of the board) reports that pupils will in all probability be established in the consolidated school after the term holidays next month. The Department has also approved of the consolidation of the New River Ferry school with Waihopai school, and as soon as transport is arranged the New River Ferry school will be closed down.

No Stamps. Many correspondents who relied 'upon the Post Office stamp machine were greatly inconvenienced last evening when it was discovered that penny stamps were not to be had from the machine. Just prior to the departure of the evening express there was a veritable stampede for stamps and only those fortunate enough to possess halfpennies succeeded in securing the necessary postage tokens for their mail. 'lhe Post and Telegraph Department came in- for a lot of caustic comment, from the tongues of both business men and private citizens. Thanks to the thoughtfulness of a railway attendant who possessed a book or two of stamps manv were accommodated, but others were forced to post their mail without stamps. Complaints were heard that the machines had caused heartburnings on former occasions and that the matter would be reported in the hope of securing a reliable stamp service. * * False Alarm.

At 8.58 p.m. on Saturday the sound of hurrying feet and hurriedly accelerated motor cars could be heard in Dee street and Esk street and a steady stream of taxis and men and women at the double flowed toward the railway station. At regular intervals the sound of an engine’s whistle could be heard growing rapidly more distinct as each crossing was reached. Surely, thought all those hurrying stationwards, the express could not be in on time. Yet those whistles seemed to tell of such a miracle. Just as the bulk of the people arrived the headlights of an engine appeared round the bend and all on the platform began to wear the pleased expectant look of those about to shake hands with or kiss wanderers returned home. But instead of passenger cars it was a line of rumbling trucks that the engine drew, and the smiles on the faces of the crowd changed to looks of disgust. It was then that the notice board was consulted and the now familiar announcement of delayed arrival read. Nine forty-five was the revised time of arrival, and the express actually beat it by two minutes.

Juvenile Agricultural Competitions. The value of the competition being conducted this season by the Southland Boys’ and Girls’ Agricultural Clubs’ Association was questioned by one or two members of the Southland executive of the Farmers’ Union on Saturday when a request for a donation of £5 to assist the funds was under consideration. The request was sponsored by Mr A. McKenzie, one of the executive’s representatives on the association. Mr Richard Arnott rose to oppose the granting of the donation and said he failed to appreciate the value of the competitions. He did not think the competitors were learning anything from the competition, which must be proving extremely expensive. The two judges, Messrs Davies and Mathews, had spent a week or ten days in the Wyndham district judging the crops. They had had the use of a car and had secured the use of another to transport the competitors around. The system of judging the crops was considered by Mr Arnott to be ridiculous, one row in the plot alone being dug and weighed and the weight per acre computed from that. Mr E. Bowmar said he was not greatly impressed with the competitions, but he considered that it was too late for the executive to withdraw its support since it had appointed representatives on the association. Mr R. Sim, also a representative on the association, said he was convinced of the value of the competitions, which were only in their infancy as far as Southland was concerned. Mr 0. E. Niederer said that such competitions had been of great benefit in Taranaki, where they had been taken up enthusiastically, and one provincial executive had seen fit to spend practically all its funds on the promotion of club work. It was decided to donate the amount requested.