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Taranaki Daily News, 13 September 1926, Page 6

When a young girl of 14 years of age was recently being eomplimenled by the inspector of a charitable institution for managing the home with nine brothers and sisters in it, while her mother was in hospital, she replied that it was nothing compared with a girl on an adjoining farm, 14 years of age, who was looking after a family of 15 while the mother was away.

A quick “way out” for lambs that proved rather unprofitable for the owner, Mr. E. J. Williams, of Wharekopae, in the Gisborne district, was discovered last week. Riding round the ewes one day a shepherd discovered ten well-grown lambs dead in the paddock. Next day six more were in the same condition with their skulls cracked. Hawks were suspected at first, but a careful watch brought no further light on the question. It was a neighbour who solved the problem. He suggested moving five young horses from the paddock. This was done, and there have been no fatalities since. It is supposed that the lambs were feeding round the feet of the horses and were’ kicked.

In the computation recently made by the Census and Statistics Office of the latest estimate of private wealth of the people of New Zealand, an average war. taken over the years 1921 to 1925. This yielded £744,603,998, representing £553 per head of the whole population and £909 per head of persons of twenty years and over (practically the adult population). Going back a few years, it is interesting to recall that an estimate of the private wealth in 1914, taking an average over the years 1909-14, showed £285,485,829, being an average of £260 per head of the whole population, or £433 per head of persons twenty years of age and over. During the last eleven years the estimated private wealth of the Dominion has thus increased by practically £460,000,000. Notwithstanding that increasing values have been largely responsible for this phenomenal growth, the result of the comparison reflects a considerable increase in the prosperity of the counti-y. In deploring “a lamentable lack of courtesy on the roads,” Mr, Alan Robinson suggested to the Wanganui Automobile Association the other evening that a -‘complaints” book should be kept, and that the police be allowed access to the book. Mr. Robinson said that lorry drivers were the worst offenders on the roads. Many of them would not move over to the left to allow motor-cars to pass comfortably, and if an accident occurred, the lorrji always came off best.. The speaker said that on one occasion he was forced to stop three times while on his way to town because he could not pass the traffic with reasonable safety. And those who were blocking his progress turned round and jeered at him! Mr. Robinson’s suggestion was given a cool reception, one member saying that a complaints book might establish a dangerous policy which would, in all probability-, react on the members themselves.

The proposal of an Auckland aviator to fly from New Zealand to Australia was the subject of a question in the House of Representatives the other day, when it was stated that the Government was not sponsoring the projected flight. Mr. J. A. Lee (Auckland East) asked the Minister for Defence whether he was aware that a person calling himself Captain Robert Robertson had informed the newspapers that be proposed to fly from Auckland to Australia, and that he was receiving assistance from the New Zealand Government in the venture. “Information that I have received from Auckland,” said Mr. Lee, “is that he is not an airman, but a ‘hot-air-man.’ Will the Minister inform the House whether the Government is behind this or not?” The Hon. F. J. Rolleston, in reply, said that he had seen the statement in the newspapers. The Defence Department knew nothing of the gentleman referred to, oi- of his proposed flight. The Government knew nothing of his bona fides, and had no proposal for assisting him in any-way.

The Baptist Young People's Club resumed their weekly meetings on Saturday evening. The first hour was devoted to final arrangements for the annual sale of work on Saturday, September 25. The remainder of the evening, was spent with reminiscenes, several of rhe members con tributing. The scheme of endowment insurance instituted by the Wellington Gas Company for its employees was that submitted by the National Mutual Life Assurance, not National Mutual “Fire,” as printed in our Saturday’s issue. It Costs three-eighths of a penny to one penny per dozen to preserve eggs with She Hand's Egg Preservative. Small urnsufficient for 14 dozen eggs.