LOCAL AND GENERAL

Taranaki Daily News, 4 February 1930, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A large number of the New Plymouth Post and Telegraph employees attended the annual picnic during the week-end at the Bell Block beach. A life-saving exhibition by members of the East End Surf Club was given. New Plymouth and Waitara rowing clubs will be represented by several “fours” at the rowing regatta to be held at Wanganui on Saturday. The New Plymouth club is sending crews of youths, lightweights and heavyweights. Under the non-committal heading of “Band” a sum of £lOO was approved when the estimates for the coming year were being considered by the New Plymo’uth Borough Council last night. It was resolved that the money be not paid over to any particular band until the council authorise it by a special resolution.) A small brass signal cannon is among the articles recovered from the wreck of the s.s. Hawea, which came to griefat the port of New Plymouth on June 12, 1888. Captain W. Waller, the owner of the cannon, intends to have it remounted. Although it has been, immersed for over 4b years its condition is not impaired. The cannon is one of a pair, but the other has not yet been recovered.

“This sort of o'ffence should be put down immediately,” said, Mr. R. A.oa, county inspector, in reference to the removal of road signs in the Okato district, when reporting to the Taranaki County Council yesterday. The Automobile Association had gone to coo iderable trouble and expense to have all roads named, “and then a, few halfdrunk hooligans came along and pulled the signs up and threw them all over the placed’

Rates amounting to £14,585 14s lid had been paid into the Taranaki County Council office up to January 28, reported the clerk (Mr. R. O. Ellis) to the council yesterday. This left £1351 19s Id outstanding. That so much had been collected should be considered highly satisfactory, said Mr. Ellis, for the amount outstanding represented 8 3-5 per cent, of what had been levied, whereas the amount "outstanding on March 31, 1929, was 8 per cent, of the total 1923-29 rates.

Injury to the hip and slight concussion was sustained by Mr. T. Bransgrove, a motor-cyclist _who at New Plymouth on Saturday evening collided with a car driven by Mr. C. Granger. Mr. Granger was turning into Mangorei Road from Devon Street and the motorcycle was returning from the Waitara direction along Devon Street. Though neither vehicle was seriously damaged Mr. Bransgrove was thrown against the car. His head struck, the windscreen and one foot passed through a window of the car.

Appearing on remand before Mr. P. E. Stainton, J.P., in the New Plymouth Police Court yesterday morning, Sydney Alexander Wright was further remanded to appear at Auckland on Thursday. There was a larger sum involved than the present charge indicated, said Sen-ior-Sergeant McCrorie, who represented the police. On his own application accused was granted bail in the sum of £lOO or two sureties of £5O each. Bail should be substantial, said the seniorsergeant, as there were other matters, including the question of breach of probation, involved in the case.

Complaining of the long grass in various streets in the suburb .of Fitzroy Cr. P. E. Stainton suggested at a meeting of the New Plymouth Borough Council last night that surely now and again the surfacemen could pay attention to the matter and have the grass mown. Great inconvenience was caused to ladies who wished to cross the streets, he said, as they could not do so without getting their stockings and frocks wet. “It must be pretty long grass if a woman gets her dress wet these days,” observed Cr. S. G. Smith, M.P., amidst laughter. “It’s true,” replied Cr. Stainton. “It just goes to show how long the grass really is.” A proposal that an increase should be made in the honorarium of the Mayor of New Plymouth, which at the present time is £250, was made by Cr. F. Amoore when the estimates for the coming year were being discussed at a meeting of the borough council last night. He suggested that an increase of £lOO might be made. Councillor 1U J. Pentecost supported Cr. Amoore, and said that the Mayor was not nearly recompensed for the service he was called upon to give. Councillor P. E. Stainton said that while he fully agreed with what the other speakers had said, he would have to oppose an increase in the Mayor’s honorarium at present, in view of the difficult times the council was passing through. At this stage in the discussion the Mayor (Mr. H. V. S. Griffiths) intimated that his desire was that no increase should be made at present, in view of the council’s present financial position. Councillor Amoore accordingly agreed to with-, draw his motion.

The question of hawking fish in the borough of New Plymouth was aired at a meeting of the borough council last night, when Cr. P. E. Stainton said that while he had no desire to be unduly hard on hawkers, yet the position at present was that the shopkeepers were being unfairly penalised. Though they were supposed to keep moving, some hawkers took up stands in the streets and stayed in one position for some time. It was decided to ask the chief inspector to take action in the matter. As far as legitimate hawking was concerned, the council resolved that in reply to a petition from owners of fish shops protesting against the hawking of fish in the borough the petitioners be informed that the council had no power to prevent such hawking, that the only powers possessed by the council under its by-laws were to require the hawkers to be licensed and to see that the vehicles and receptacles were kept in a clean condition, and that no hawker remain stationary in any street “except for such reasonable time as was required for the transaction of his business with any customer.” Under the circumstances the council could not see its way to take any action in reI gard to the petition.

At Okau to-morrow Messrs. Newton King, Ltd., are holding their annual sheep fair. Approximately 5000 sheep of all classes have been entered for this fixture and a number of good annual drafts are included in the offering. Okau sheep show pleasing results wherever taken, and prospective purchasers can attend this sale with confidence. Cars will leave all offices of the auctioneers On the morning 'ojf the sale.

The Kaponga Town Board has secured the services of Mr. W. H, Huggctt, New Plymouth borough electrical engineer, as consulting engineer. The initial arrangements made by the. Mayor were confirmed by the Borough Council last night, it being provided that Mr. Huggett’s travelling expenses should be paid by the board and that the borough should have first call on his services.

“The position in Sydney for private motorists is dreadful,” remarked Mr. G. R. Hunter, of" Christchurch, on his return from Australia. In some streets, he said, care were not allowed to stop at r. 11, even to set down a passenger, and by the time a parking place was found, the walk back to one’s office was so far that it was often easier to take a tram.

A vote of congratulation from the Taranaki Life-Saving Head Centre was last night accorded members of the East End Life-Saving Club who gave such valuable assistance at the drowning fatality last Saturday week. On behalf of his club Mr. W. Ainsworth, the East. End delegate, thanked the centre for the resolution. A letter of congratulation is to be forwarded to Mr. McArtney for the good work he did in the rescue at the Oakura beach on Sunday.

A start was made yesterday with the work of clearing the young trees that were planted last year on the open lands in the Kaitake ranges. As a result of the moist conditions the growth of fern and other rubbish during the past few months has been phenomenal, and the gang of ten unemployed detailed for the work will hate their hands fully employed for the next two or three weeks. Mr. V. C. Davies is supervising the work on behalf of the Park Board, and the men, all of whom arc married, have been selected by Mr. P. E., Stainton (chairman of the Unemployment Committee) and the Labour Department.

An application by the Opunake Surf Club for permission to hold the national life-saving championships at the Opunake beach was approved at last night’s meeting of the Taranaki Head Centre and will be forwarded to the Dominion Council. Mr. J. N. Stephenson, the Opunake delegate, said he understood the application was likely to be received favourably as at the last national championships it had been agreed that in future the competitions would only be held at a beach controlled by an active life-saving club. In addition it had been proposed that the swimming and life-saving championships should not be both held in the same centre.

In connection with Friday night’s fire at the Farmers’ Co-op. premises in New Plymouth, a close inspection on Saturday morning disclosed the fact that the damage was not so extensive as at first anticipated, being mostly confined to hardware lines, such a barb wire, netting, etc; seeds and manures tically untouched. The heaviest loser will bo the Daily News owing to damag by water of a large quantity of news print which was stored on the top floor. “It’s great to see the young’ people bathing here without fearing the sharks,” said a visitor from Sydney as he viewed a crowd swimming at .-.ans Bay, Wellington. “If this was in Sydney you would not see anyone in at all. Once the people didn’t mind, but now it is just a question whether a shark will get you or not when you dive in the water. Tho only place you can go for a swim in Sydney now with any degree of safety is Coogec, because it has got a shark-proof net. A visitor to Wellington from Sydney told a representative of The Dominion before he returned, by the Marama on Friday that he was glad to be goin. back because in Sydney he could get a rest. “I was told,” he said, “that Wellington was the quietest place in the world. In my opinion it is wild —much wilder than Sydney., The life is here jf you know where to find it, and I tell you it’s faster than (Sydney, and that’s fast enough, goodness only knows. I’m going back for a rest. The fact that hemlock was very bad throughout the Manawatu district was mentioned at a recent meeting of the Manawatu Rabbit Board states the xManawatu Herald. The inspector reported that it was spreading rapidly. Mr. R. Boswell said it was particularly bad along drains and in swamp lands in his locality, and one member instanced a case where a farmer had turned a large number of cattle into a paddock containing hemlock, after coming off a train in a famished condition. By morning half of them were dead through eating the weed.

A form of blight has attacked vegetable and flower gardens at Kaikoura, and the only vegetable seemingly capable of resisting is the cabbage (states the Christchurch Times). Tomatoes, beans, etc., have died, and potatoes seem to, be particularly affected, the plants in some cases presenting a good show of tops, but the tubers being completely decayed. Gooseberry bushes are also showing a completely withered appearance. Tho blight is prominent in isolated blocks, and cannot be accounted for, unless it is due’ to tho extreme rainfall, with hail, and the extensive humidity arising from the warm conditions prevailing. Fruit trees have, according to escaped the 'blight.

Permis'sion for the distribution of leaflets above the town of New Plymouth by the Taraiiaki Airways Ltd.’s aeroplane was sought from the New Plymouth Borough Council last night by tne Aero Club. Several business houses were already willing to pay for these services, it was stated, it being thus hoped to provide funds for the club. The chief inspector (Mr. R, Day) pointed out the possibility that many of the pamphlets would lodge on roofs and perhaps cause blockages in gutterings and spoutings, and, in addition, they would not add to the general tidiness of the town. The Mayor (Mr. H. V. S. Griffiths) said his experience when a similar experiment was tried in Christchurch was that the wind blew most of the pamphlets out into the country. The general opinion amongst the councillors was that there would probably be no harm in giving the proposal a trial, and it was resolved to accede to the request. Most of the leading swimmers in Taranaki will compete at the carnival in the Stratford baths on the night of February 6. Water polo between New Plymouth and Stratford will be played for the Dalgleish Cup. A dance will follow at the Medina.

A gala day is to be held at the East End beach, New Plymouth, on the afternoon of Saturday, February 22, according to a decision made by the East End reserve committee last night. Mr. A. R. Milne presided at the meeting, which was well attended. Arrangements for a programme were made. Smart race frocks together with their accessories, gloves, hosiery, parasol and lingerie are all tremendously reduced at the Melbourne’s great summer sale now on. Never before has there been such a sacrifice of dependable merchandise in every department. The wise ones arc buying.