LOCAL AND GENERAL

Taranaki Daily News, 18 July 1930, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A sewing circle was formed at Egmont Village yesterday to prepare clothing lor dfetribution by the district nurse, Sister Gill. A meeting was held at the residence of Mrs. Lister. Those present were Mesdames Lister, R. B. Gosnell, A. Jordan, A. Corney, G. Plummer, J. Kemp, C. Parker, and F. Meuli,

“It’s the other side of the oil industry, isn’t it?” said Mr. R. W. Tate, S.M., in the New Plymouth Police Court yesterday. "Not the silver lining we hear about.” The case was one in which the ability of a judgment debtor to pay depended on the success of his oil boring contracts. A motion strongly opposing the proposal to xetend daylight saving to one hour was passed at a meeting of suppliers to the Kaipara Co-operative Dairy Factory Company, Limited, held at Kaipara Flats. A meeting of suppliers of Wellsford and surrounding districts held at Whangaripo passed a similar motion. The proposal to abandon the 1931 census was criticised at a meeting of the Auckland branch of the Economic Society. A resolution was passed stating that it was considered sv ’i an action would be a retrograde step, calculated to impair the value of all nast and future census enumerations. The resolution is to be forwarded to the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Prime Minister.

The New Plymouth Beautifying Society will resume work *' on Baines Terrace tomorrow afternoon.

Although it is now two months and a half since the inquest into the death of Walter Edwin Price, builder, of Palmerston North, was adjourned sine die, no announcement has been made as to when proceedings will bo resumed. The inquest was adjourned three times, the last occasion being on May 1, when one of the principal witnesses was unable to attend owing to illness. The witness is still not in a condition to give evidence. Benzine thieves are getting bolder. The syphon method is now being abandoned in favour of one much more expeditious. The thief undoes the drain plug at the bottom of the car’s rear tank, lets the benzine pour into a large container, and is off in a few minutes. Two cars were robbed in this manner in Bond Street, Wellington, on Monday night and the tank of another in the neighbourhood also was drained. Altogether 25 gallons of spirit was taken. A lack of street lights- makes the operations of thieves comparatively easy. “Hitch your waggon to a star,” said Mr. T. J. Griffin, inspector of schools, at his farewell in New Plymouth last night, lie was addressing younger teachers particularly. That was the only thing to do if they were to succeed, he said. If they were to get anywhere in any profession it must be through hard work, and plenty of it. Worry would kill them, but hard work would not. Competition was very keen to day and it was only the hardworking teacher who could succeed.

Reference was made at the conference of electric power board secretaries and executive officers at Wellington to the fact that wireless seta are becoming an increasing source of revenue to power. supply authorities. One speaker gave an instance of a consumer in his district who had an all-electric wireless set, and used between six and eight units a month. In addition to the current actually used for the set, which was going for two or three hours each day, there was the extra current used for lighting as the result of the late hours kept. Ae a result of the controversy, regarding liquor in dance halls, steps have been taken by a New Plymouth social body to institute a check at its dances. Inspector Day reported to the Borough Council that the trouble was not so much due to liquor being in the dance halls as its being outside in cars and so outside the jurisdiction of the committee controlling the dances. It was therefore decided to adopt a plan being worked successfully in - Christchurch, where pass-out passes are not issued at the door. Consequently once a person enters a dance hall he or she cannot go outside and return on a pass.

Holding that the defendant did not have the exclusive right of use of the property and was therefore not an occupier within the meaning of the Act, Mr. R. W. Tate, S.M., yesterday gave judgment for the defendant, with costa, on the claim for rates made by the Taranaki County Council against A. J. Mack as lessee of native reserve property known as the Rewa Rewa rifle range. The range was used periodically by the Defence Department and Mack was therefore denied tho sole occupancy. At the hearing Mr. R. H. Quilliam appeared for the county and Mr. C. 11. Croker for Mack.

The unusual course of producing a doctor’s certificate to show that the testator was in possession of her full mental faculties at the time that she made her will was followed by Mr. J. Rukutai in the Native Land Court at Auckland when an uncontcsted application for probate of a Maori woman’s will was being heard. ‘ Has the matter of deceased’s mental capacity been raised by other relatives?” asked Mr. H. F. Ayson, the presiding Judge. “No, but I obtained a certificate from a doctor who attended her for the last three years of her lite in case it was,” replied Mr. Rukutai. “It is not usual to anticipate trouble in that way,” commented the Judge. An amusing incident occurred at the entrance to the Auckland Winter Exhibition on Wednesday, says the Star. With a breezy wave of their hands, and a muttered, "Showman, showman,” two men attempted io run the gauntlet of the doorkeeper. The official took umbrage at such barefaced behaviour, and would be pacified with naught but a bona-fide pass. Some considerable argument ensued, and the timely appearance of a constable wrote finis to an audacious endeavour to see the treasures of the exhibition without payment of the usual price of admittance. Expressing the hope that the parties would find some way of composing their differences Mr, R. W. Tate, S.M., yesterday entered a non-suit on a preliminary point raised by the defence on a claim for damages and the recovery of chattels and a counter-claim for damages for alleged “I don’t often take a point like this,” said counsel, “but this is a neighbours’ quarrel and jt is desirable, if possible, that it should not go .on. We have a complete answer.” Counsel’s objection was that there was want of jurisdiction in that the plaint note was defective. It did not state the whole substance of the action as required. He suggested the parlies should shake hands and go home. The magistrate said there was no doubt the plaint note must contain the whole of the particulars. He suggested it was wise to use a special plaint form for that special kind of action.

Maoris from all over Taranaki and from various other parts of the North Island gathered at Waitara last night to discuss two matters that are at present of vital interest to members of the Atiawa tribe. One is the question of the disposal of the cremated remains of. the late Sir Maui Pomare and the other the question of nominating a successor to contest the Western Maori seat in Parliament held by the late Sir Maui. It has been suggested that a candidate may be found amongst the local natives, but in any case the Atiawas are concentrating upon the selection of a candidate who will counter the influence of the Ratana candidate. Discussion on the questions will take place at Manukorihi pa today. Forty years ago he arrived in Nelson as a youth and was sent to take charge of a school of 150 pupils, said Mr. T. J. Griffin at his farewell in New Ptymouth last night. His salary was £lOO a year and that of his assistant £6O. "I can assure you I did a mighty lot of character training there with the stick,” he said. "I used it freely and I have since worked out that I was paid at a rate of a halfpenny for each flogging I gave and 2d for each interview with irate parents. It is now a hideous dream to me but the full use of the stick was then a common practice throughout New Zealand. Those days have passed, however, and I don’t think we have gone too far the other way.” He bad changed his method after coming in contact with an inspector who never said one unkind word. When he himself was made an inspector for Taranaki he determined to treat the teachers and children as he had been treated by his inspector. The New Plymouth 'Savings Bank is already feeling the benefit of ft modem office and model surroundings. At the fortnightly meeting of tho trustees this morning the manager reported that during June, 192 new accounts had been opened and for the period from July 1 to 15, 11'8 new accounts, a total for hist over six weeks of 310 accounts. ■