LOCAL AND GENERAL

Taranaki Daily News, 10 June 1930, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Motorists found great difficulty in negotiating Mt. Messenger on Sunday night owing to a heavy fog which in places considerably impaired visibility. Whilst proceeding to Mokau on Saturday evening a motor-car went over the bank beyond ' Tongaporutu, at the scene of a recent double fatality. The driver, it is stated, escaped with minor injuries, but the car was considerably damaged.

The identification card which motorcar owners are required by the new Wellington by-law to place in the driver’s compartment is by no means a popular institution. As several members of the Wellington Automobile Club have decided not to comply with the by-law, no doubt the matter will be put to the test by a prosecution, which is a step the automobile club desires.

One of the most beautiful sights imaginable was observed in various parts of Wellington South on Saturday afternoon. With no warning save a deep hum a ’plane appeared, states the Dominion, over the hill at the /back of Newton Park, bound northward, followed by an amazingly numerous flock of birds, which seemed to be flying in formation. The birds were much too far off to detect what they were, but they were thought to be seagulls. “Almost every Saturday the football grounds at the racecourse are only half flagged and the dead ball line is not clearly marked,” said Mr. E. Gilmour at the meeting of the northern division of the Taranaki Referees’ Association held in New Plymouth last night. Other referees agreed. “Will somebody move that the matter be referred to the Rugby Union,” said the chairman, Mr. J. S. King who has recently come from' Wanganui. “The matter was referred to the Rugby Union last year, the year before, the year before that and every other year,” said the secretary. ... A treadle sewing machine made in New Zealand in 1864 is well worthy of the place assigned to it in the Otago Early Settlers’' Museum, says the Dunedin Star. It was constructed by Mr. George Pready, of Temuka, for the use of his wife. All the parts were made and fitted by hand. Mrs. Pready worked it daily for over 50 years, by its means supplying all the clothing for her numerous children, and the machine is in perfect order to-day. The treadle and the case are obviously home-made, but the finer attachments are finished with great skill and nicety. x An appeal to the Privy Council is being made in a final effort to obtain hotel licenses in Ashburton, Leave is being sought for the hearing of the appeal in October or November. The appeal will be against the decision of the New Zealand Appeal Court given against Joseph Seales, proprietor of the Somerset Hotel, Ashburton, in a test cast heard in Wellington last November. The decision of the Privy Council will also affect hotels in Temuka, Lawrence and Auckland, where a similar position has arisen in respect to a number of hotels in those districts.

Application was made the other day in Wellington to the Red Cross Unemployment Relief Committee by a young man recently arrived from Scotland for the cost of a cablegram to his parents for financial assistance. It was agreed that this be granted, and the young man has since received employment in the country. A case of a deserving nature was that of a man 64 years of age who had spent a lifetime experimenting upon the design and preparation of earthenware. In addition to losing everything, his hearing was completely gone, and his boots were worn through to the uppers. The committee agreed to have the boots repaired and gave further assistance in the way of clothing. A resident of one of the counties of England, writing to a business man in Palmerston North, says: “It is very difficult to get' men or boys to work here, as there is always the dole waiting for them. One finds it extremely hard to obtain the services of a gardener or female servant. If you get the dole in New Zealand your country won’t be worth living in. Every man and woman here is entitled to a weekly sum, and if anything is said to them about their work they act.in a manner which necessitates their dismissal. Over here men are supposed to receive from 14s. to 20s. per day, which is much the same as the rates paid in New Zealand, and many of them worth their food, let alone the payment of money. Well, that is the class that receives the dole in England.” “The underlying principle of British salesmanship has been that of service to the customer, and not of profit first and foremost,” said Mr, L. A. Paish, British Trade Commissioner, in an address to the Auckland Creditmen’s Club. “But the newcomer in international trade has widened the gap between costs of"" production and the retail selling price, and the customer has now to pay more for his goods. Our rivals have been spending this difference in profit on forceful methods of salesmanship. Under the stress of competition Britain has been compelled to change, her tactics, also, but it is difficult to teach an old dog new tricks.”

Speaking at a Timaru Rotary Club luncheon on the cancer fund campaign, Mr. G. S. Cray said that one of the satisfactory features in connection with the appeal was the generous response by the waterside workers. Without any prompting, these men passed the hat round and contributed £7 to the fund. “That, as an example, stands out as a satisfactory feature in connection with our job,” said Mr. Cray. “It should stimulate the public to further effort.” Mr. Cray said that the nurses at the Timaru Public Hospital had responded to the appeal in a wonderful way, and had contributed £2O to the fund. “They are not too well paid,” he observed, “and their splendid effort should be an object lesson to the people of South Canterbury.” An example the intense interest created by the British-Canterbury football match was provided by a decision to close the Addington Railway Workshops at 11 a.m., instead of noon on Saturday. A ballot taken among the large number of employees favoured the starting of work at 7 a.m,, an hour earlkr than usual, rather than the losing of one hour’s pay.

New regulations governing the censoring of motion picture posters are at present being drafted. This statement was contained in a letter received from the Minister of Internal Affairs (the Hon. P. A. de la Perrelle) at a meeting of the Canterbury branch of the Navy League. The letter stated also that the question of the censoring of films was also under consideration. ' Similar assurances were given in a letter from the Minister of Education (the Hon. H. Atmore).

In a case in the Magistrate’s Court a. Christchurch a constable in the box said that he told defendant, who was staggering drunk, to go to bed. “And you did not have to put me to bed,” replied defendant. “I went without your assistance.” “Yes, you got to your room with the help of the walls on both sides,” was the constable’s parting shot. A profit of about £2OO was made from the Auckland University students’ play, “All Quiet on the Waterfront,” according to a statement made at - a meeting of the Students’ Association. This result is considered highjy satisfactory, and it is understood, says the Star, that the play was the only “flesh and blood” production in Australasia t have been run this year at a profit,, owing to the severe competition of the talkies.

That the Roya. Show of 1932 should be held in Auckland, was, the opinion of members of the executive of the Auckland A. and P. Association at. a meeting held last week. • When remits for the RoyaL Show annual conference were being considered it was decided to recommend that‘autumn should be the proper time for holding future Royal shows. It was also considered that the classification of hacks should be defined.

Fifty books of l?.w were ranged on counsel’s table in the Supreme Court at. New Plymouth yesterday. They were used during an all-day argument upon intricate and very important questions involving the liability for rates of land mortgaged to .the Crown. Though the property under discussion is in the borough of Inglewood, the decision of the court will apply to the Crown and its relations with local bodies throughout the Dominion.

“Don’t be too hard on them,” said Mr. J. S. King, at the meeting of the northern division of the Taranaki Rugby Referees’ Association last night when members complained that junior players were lax in attending on time for the games. “Remember that they are mostly working in shops and offices and although the referee can generally slip away from work a little early boys have to wait till half past twelve,” he continued. “If players overstep the mark, however, the referee must award the game to the team which is on the field.”

When a discussion took place at the Auckland infirmary in regard to the kind of easy chair which the Hospital Auxiliary was prepared to supply for the use of the old men in the Costley wards, it was pointed out by the medi- : cal superintendent that elderly people often had little control over the pressure they exercised when they sat down. They usually “sit sudden,” causing a de- 1 weight pressure of half a ton. “Our chairs out here have to bear a good strain,” he said, “and the lower the seat of the chair the greater the strain.” “I think we have reason to congratulate ourselves on the amount of work we have been able to do,” said the Rev. R. Inglis, chairman of the Red Cross Unemployment Committee, at Wellington. A member of the executive had reported that some applicants for assistance from the society had felt they were asked too many questions, but it was often necessary to ask very direct questions, for “we have to deal with some of the most brazen-faced imposters that walk about the city,” explained Mr. Inglis. However, for the most part, really deserving cases applied, and 75 per cent, of the men who came seeking assistance from the society were genuine cases. A good story is told concerning Mr. P. Verschaffelt, Public Service Commissioner, who has just created a C.M.G. It was in the days when speeding by motorists on the Hutt Road, soon after it was put down in bitumen was very prevalent. Mr. Verschaffelt was driving along at a speed which attracted the attention of the traffic inspector, who stopped the ear and demanded, “Name, please.” “Paul Verscha—” Traffic inspector (struggling with his note book): “How do you spell it?” Mr. Verschaffelt again spelt out his name, adding, “An acute *e’, please.” “Er, what?” was the reply. After a further attempt at explanation by the Public Service Commissioner, the .traffic inspector ended the incident by remarking: “ ’Er, mister, you had better get away home.” Mr. Verschaffelt went on his way convinced that after all there was something in a name.

Let us show you testimonials from farmers who have proved the success of Lissaman’s Mammitis Paint. Send 5/6 for bottle. S. LissamaH; Chemist, Box 63A, Kaponga. At Stony River saleyards on Wednesday of this week Newton King, Limited, are conducting a sale of a grade Jersey herd on behalf of Mr. A. E. Hay. There are 32 cows in the herd, the factory returns of which show an average of 3521 b of fat for the past season. This is an outstanding record considering that there have been about eight heifers milked in the herd while this record has been put up. The cows have been mated with a particularly wellbred butter-fat bull, the breeding of Mr. W. J. Freeth, of Pukearuhe. Full particulars are advertised.

Dancers along the coast have a wide range of choice, no less than three functions being set down for their delectation to-night. These comprise a bachelors’ ball at Oaonui, with an augmented orchestra of six instruments, and longnight dances at Oakura and Omata. Boulton’s Orchestra provides the music at the latter place. Free buses will run from New Plymouth and Waitara. Free buses will also leave Opunake for Oaonui.

Many wonderful special' offerings are being put on sale at the Melbourne, Ltd., for the next few days. These offerings at greatly reduced prices are from all departments and comprise particularly bargains in men’s and boys’ clothing, ladies’ dresses and costumes, men’s and women’s underwear, Manchester goods, and hosiery and haberdashery.