LOCAL AND GENERAL

Taranaki Daily News, 16 July 1929, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Two sharp earthquakes were felt last night, one at 8.25 and the other a little a ter.

Three cases ox pneumonia, two of scarlet fever and two of diphtheria were reported in New Plymouth during June. The season’s tree planting on the hydro lands surrounding the New Plymouth Borough Council’s storage basin has been practically completed. The area beyond the dam site cleared by the fire has been planted, as well as the gaps in the top plantation. On Sunday last a motorist from New (Plymouth to Opunake came across five lots of horses, 'presumably turned out to graze on the public highways for the week-end. Stray horses on the roads are a menace to motoi' traffic, particularly at night. Sheep worrying is reported from several farms near New Plymouth. Recently one farmer had 25 out of 42 sheep injured or killed. Another had several lost and others forced into a swamp, from which they were rescued with difficulty. One of the farmers was fortunate, for after' waiting up for a night or two, he shot two of the dogs, which, it appears, were used by the owner for sporting purposes.

Access to Fort Niger, New Plymouth, from Lemon Street has been closed by the erection by the New Plymouth Borough Council of a corrugated iron fence, and the only way to reach the reserve is via Pendarvcs Street. The fence enclosing the borough stables and tar works and borough property on the corner of Lemon and Hobson Streets has been cut bock several yards, enabling & clear view to be obtained of traffic approaching from either street.

A donation of £lOO towards the earthquake relief fund was voted by the New Plymouth. Borough Council last night. The Mayor said residents had responded splendidly to the appeal, but he believed ratepayers desired that the council should make a contribution from the town as a whole.

The Gordon Park estate of 300 acres at Okoia has been placed under offer to the Government with the object of having it cut up for closer settlement. The land is of first-class quality for intensive farming purposes, says the Wanganui Chronicle.

Unless it is sealed with tar, bitumen, or other suitable material, no footpath is properly constructed in the opinion of the New Plymouth Borough Council. It was decided last night to inform surveyors that in future sealed paths would be asked for in streets it is proposed to lay out in subdivisions.

Through the generosity of bowlers throughout the Dominion the earthquake relief fund should benefit to the amount of at least £750. An effort is being made to have each bowler in New Zealand donate Is towards the fund, and as it is estimated that there arc 15,000 bowlers in the Dominion, a handsome addition to the fund should be made. No fewer than 570 motor-drivers’ licenses were issued by the New Plymouth Borrough Council in June. In reporting this fact to the council last night Chief Inspector Day commented that the large number of applicants was despite the rush to renew licenses before the end of May. The total of the fees collected by his department was £567 13s. Much amusement was created in Devon Street, New Plymouth, yesterday by the appearance of a young man riding an old-fashioned “penny-farthing” bicycle. Painted a vivid scarlet and with a huge front wheel containing an advertisement, the machine had the desired effect—it attracted the attention of large numbers of the public. Having paid £l, instead of 10s, annually for extra water for his septic tank, a ratepayer wrote the New Plymouth Borough Council last night asking that some consideration be given his case. The error was not on his part, he said, for as far as he knew the correct charge was not mentioned on the printed forms. It was reported that the total overcharge for the period was £2. It was decided to refund £l, the overcharge for two years, the period to which the council was limited. A reunion of old (boys of the New Plymouth Boys’ High School was held in the form of a dinner, over which Mr. A. B. Moverley presided, in the Crown Hotel, Dunedin, last Thursday. Among those present were Messrs George, Samson, Ewart, Watt, Fookes, O’Dea, and Bellringer (New Plymouth High School), Messrs Lockett and Lowndes (Gisborne Boys’ High .School), and Keenan (Sacred Heart College). A toast list was honoured and old acquaintanceships were renewed.

“The building returns for June (£13,227) show a good improvement and several very large contracts have been arranged,” reported Chief Inspector Day to the New Plymouth Borough Council last night. “At the same time, it would be a pity for the idea to get abroad that the building trade is booming in New Ply-

mouth. Although there is a fair amount of work on hand there seems to be sufficient labour to cope with it. Nothing should be done that would cause an influx of labour to the town at the present moment.”

Those who passed along the Taita Gorge Road, Hutt Valley, recently saw just south of the gorge itself the result of what must have been one of the narrowest escapes from death a motorist has ever had, reports the Dominion. A coach-built sedan car was lying wedged under a willow stump some distance from the road, and several feet below the level of the high-way. Its four wheels were uppermost, and getting the vehicle out looked a problem. What speed the car must have been travelling at to clear the bitumen and wire fence could only be conjectured.

Nine more of the men on the New Plymouth unemployment relief commit-

tee’s list will be absorbed to-morrow in tree-planting in the Egm on t National Park, the board having decided to take advantage immediately of the Government’s promise of a grant of £lOOO for the completion of the reafforestation scheme. It is probable that more men will be taken on later, since the board hopes to complete the scheme this season. No difficulty was experienced by the unemployment committee in finding men willing to work on the ranges, several men even being eager to leave work as close to New Plymouth as the Doralto Road construction in order to obtain steady employment. The pines planted on the Kaitake ranges last year 'by the Mt. Egmont National Park Board are showing up well. On the exposed spurs the young trees have done splendidly, many being four feet in height and of sturdy growth. The board proposes to utilise the latest grant of £lOOO to the planting of the remaining area, including Lucy’s Gully and one or two plateaus. In the sheltered spots macroearpa, redwoods and gums will be planted, and pines on the exposed portions. When completed the ranges from Tataraimaka right round to the Taranaki Forestry’s Co. area on the Surrey Road will be covered with trees, which later should enhance the appearance of the whole district.

Wintry weather is likely to continue for some time yet, but the problem of how to meet this weather will be solved if you buy now at McGruer’s Winter Sale.

The Hustlers’ sale which is now in full swing are now offering, bargains at prices far lower than cost. Grasp your opportunity by securing some of these .snips for yourself, and benefit by our loss. ,Mr. A. W. Martin, the well-known rupture specialist, from Dimedin, is now on his twenty-fourth annual visit to the centres of New Zealand. He will be in New Plymouth on Wednesday and Thursday, the 17th and 18th of July, and may be consulted free at the Criterion Hotel. Hours: Daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Will be at the Central Hotel, Hawera, on Friday and Saturday, the 19 th and 20th of July*

Among the many bargains to be had at Broome’s Cornel’ are men’s holeproof working trousers at 7/11; men’s dark grey suits 37/6; boys’ jerseys in navy, brown and. dark grey, sizes l’s to B’s, at 4/0; men’s English saddle tweed trousers at 9/6; men’s odd coats 17/9; men’s odd vests 7/9; boys’ brushed cotton singlets 1/6 to be obtained only at W. H. Broome’s, Taranaki’s finest price store, Devon Street, New Plymouth.

The chess and draughts match ’between New Plymouth and Hawera has been postponed. It*was to have been held at Eltham or Stratford to-morrow.

Mr. George Wilson, missionary from Malaya, will speak at the Robe Street hall to-night on Early Christianity and the catacombs of Rome.