LOCAL AND GENERAL

Taranaki Daily News, 30 January 1931, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Frogs have wasted no time in taking up their abode in the backw-aters of Manganukhoe lake, and yesterday there was a chorus of croaking from every side of the lake.

The work of cutting away the dangerous Marsh’s corner, on the Junction Road, has been recommenced by the Taranaki County Council. Spoil from the cutting is being transported by motor lorry to a filling near the Mangorei dairy factory that will eliminate another sharp and awkward corner.

While motoring to Auckland on Wednesday Mrs. W. D. Graham, New Plymouth, had a slight accident on the eastern side of Mount Messenger. To avoid, another car coming round a corner on its wrong side she had to rim into the bank. The only damage to her car was a dent in the mudguard and this was straightened speedily at a garage en route to Auckland.

The pretty but most unwelcome dandelion has never before been so much in evidence in North Taranaki as it is at the present time. Well known farmers near Mangorei who pay special attention to the laying out of good pastures do not derive much pleasure from the spectacle of a blaze of golden yellow that is now lending a very picturesque touch to some of their fields.

Two picnic parties from Eltham spent the day on the New Plymouth beaches yesterday. About 70 children and 40 adults were on the Ngamotu beach for the Eltham Presbyterian Sunday school picnic, which was organised by the Rev. J. A. Ryburn. At the East End beach 47 children from the Eltham Salvation Army Home and some adults spent an enjoyable day. The picnic was conducted by Staff Captain A. Perry.

The tritns-Tasman flier Mr. Guy Menzies is expected, to arrive at the Bell Block aerodrome, New Plymouth, from Auckland at 3 o’clock this afternoon. He will he accorded a civic welcome by the Mayor, Mr. H. V. S. Griffiths, and. a welcome on behalf of the New Plymouth Aero Club by Mr- G. M. Spence, the president. In the evening the aero club will tender the aviator a dinner at the White Hart Hotel. Mr. Menzies is expected to leave Bell Block for Hawera at 9 ; a.m.'to-morrow.

The Huntly town district will assume its status as a borough on Sunday. Members of tjie Huntly Town Board will, meet on Monday evening to take over the affairs of the borough and make preparation for the electoral roll. An election to fill the offices of Mayor and councillors will be hbld in March, but the present town board, members will control the administration until the election takes place.

x The greenness of Taranaki in comparison with the dry, parched appearance of Hawke’s Bay was commented upon by a member of a Taranaki party which motored through the Hawke’s Bay district last week. On the east coast a drought had been experienced, and the country, was particularly dry, while water for the stock was scarce. Sheep were being moved daily to. the Woodville district or north to the Wairoa district where conditions were better. Discussing the question of winter feed, it was stated that with few exceptions farmers had not so far attempted to make ensilage. Some very fair stacks were to be seen. There were some good root crops, but generally the rape was stunted, in growth.

A letter has been received by the Wellington Chamber of Commerce in which the writer states; „ “Some business men, probably from sheer carelessness, or from a mistaken idea that correspondents are impressed by a deliberately illegible and flourishing scrawl of a signature, write their name in a way which cannot be. read.” The suggestion was made that the chamber disseminate a little propaganda for an abatement of the nuisance. It »vas .urged that the practice adopted in other parts of the world nimht well be followed here, and that persons sending business letters should sign their name over a typed transcription of the name. Car sales in the New Plymouth postal district fell by 355 in 1930 when compared with the returns for the previous year The total for 1930 was 802 and that'for 1929 1157, an average of 67 a month against 96. The figures for five months in 1929 were over 100 and the lowest figure for any month was 66. Lasv year, however, the 100 mark was readied on only one occasion, and in November only 26 cars were sold in the whole .of Taranaki. The New Plymouth district extends from Hawera to Aivakino. The Hamilton district, which is the second largest in New Zealand and includes Rotorua and Taumarunui, showed a de-, cline of 727 over .the 1794 registrations in 1929, so that the trend is not confined to Taranaki.

“With all respect to our local authorities and their officers, I can never be persuaded that they arc competent to pose as arbiters of public taste on aesthetic questions,” stated the director of town-planning, Mr. J. W. Mawson, at a recent meeting of the .Wellington branch of the Town-planning Institute. “I am sure that any local authority which adopted or even attempted to adopt such a pose, would lay itself open to ridicule. Nevertheless, I doubt if it would be possible or ever desirable for a local authority to divest itself of the responsibility of issuing building permits, particularly as questions of public health and safety must always take precedence over purely aesthetic considerations.”

Devon Street West extension, New Plymouth, which was formed and metalled about two years ago but subsequently cut up fairly badly on the fillings and was recently closed for repairs, has been re-opened for traffic. With the exception of a small section of macadam alongside the borough rubbish dump, which is full of pot holes, the street is now in excellent condition, and will in time be or erreat service in taking the bulk of traffic between New Plymouth and the. coast, thus avoiding too much congestion on the busy St. Aubyn Street highway that connects the town of New Plymouth with* the port at Moturoa. Incidentally Devon Street now becomes, it is understood, the longest straight street in New Zealand, takin" into account the total length from the junction of Devon Street \\ est with the Main South Road to the eastern extremity near the municipal slaughterhouse.

Not a few young men who find it impossible, to gain employment at present are solving the cost of living difficulty in a simple, novel and healthy way, says' the Auckland Star. Either they or their friends own small sailing ciaf , and now some of these little vessels arcbeing put to uses both economical and pleasurable. Several of the mullet boa tvne may be found round the gulf, with their crews of two, three, or inore ln ’ ing the simple life. A line overboard pro vides the flesh for most of the meals, though a gun ashore may also cout ' lbll , -to the pot. The primus stove does the cooking, and a call at some outpost ie plcnishes from time to tune the biea supply. One small sailing paity, wl are waiting for some weeks till certain work eventuates, frankly gave the information that the” could live well and happily afloat under these conditions a. a cost of about 7s 6d per week eaca, ‘assurcdlv a much smaller amount than would lie required for a more restricted life ashore.

“No. man will be disgraced in any way by accepting sustenance,” said the Mayor of Hawera, Mr. E. A. Pacey, last night at a gathering of unemployed. ‘‘The' country is bursting with everything necessary for men to live. People who are in good positions can say ‘What an awful thing this dole will be!’ Well, we don’t want the dole, but where is the work coming from ?”

While working near the tennis courts on the Camp Reserve at Waitara Mr. A. Hawkins unearthed a military button bearing the number 65 and a 'Schneider bullet. These are interesting links with the early history of the province, as during the troublous times of 1860-1861 several Imperial regiments were camped on the reserve, including the 65th, the 40th and the 70th. Hundreds of cases of tomatoes are being railed away from Bay View' every day, says the Napier Telegraph, the crop at present being at its best. The drought has not hit those people lucky enough to have theif gardens near the river, which has been a real boon to them. Blight has made inroads on the potato crop this season.

A rather unusual incident occurred in the Palmerston North Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday afternoon, states the Standard, when a solicitor appearing for a judgment creditor expressed annoyance at the non-appearance of the judgment debtor. “I am sure I sd-w him in the Court this morning,” stated the solicitor. The magistrate, Mr. J. L. Stout, told the clerk to inform the solicitor that the judgment debtor had passed, away a fortnight ago. As a start of her recent holiday a Dunedin lady frolicked in the surf at the Ocean Beach and had fier pleasure watered down by losing her dental plate—it came out with a mouthful of the ocean. She ducked, in search, without avail, then kicked up the silnd in the shallows, but had no luck. In defiance of all probabilities she renewed the quest at low'tide, still unsuccessfully. Next day she tried again and found the plate.. The story seems incredible, the odds against being beyond calculation, but the fact is fully supported. Prior to this the strangest recovery on that beach w r as the finding of a dropped wpdding ring after an hour’s despairing huiit, says the Evening Star. Under the new basis for the assessment of the rental of its houses, the Railway Department has made many increases! in its charges, and, says . the Christchurch Press, complaints are being made that, in view of the condition of these dwellings and the lack of conveniences, the new rents are unjustifiably high. In some closes the increase is over 100 per cent. • Notification of the alterations, which coffie into effect on February I, has been given i 3 a circular letter from the District Traffic Managers and District Engineers. “Railway rents have alvvays been very low. Most of them have been d.oubied,” said Mr. H. A. Penn, District Traffic Manager in Christchurch, when asked last evening the reason for the increases. -

“In Australia we often find, that students, flushed with their itijal honours, consider primary and sub-primary teaching to be lowering to their intellectual dignity,” said Professor J. L. Wrigley, of Melbourne University, speaking to teachers' from the Summer School at Christchurch,. “We turn them out into a rural ‘practice’ school comprising children of all grades, and they usually cpme out at the end of their term with greatly increased f'espect for the primary school teacher.”

Ah interesting exhibit in the gander, of Mr. Thornton, at Clive, says the Napier Telegraph, is a banana tree which is bearing fruit for the first time. The tree, which is five ypars old, has grown from a tiny plant to a height of nearly ten feet. It flowered for the first time this year, the flower being similar in shape to a. maize cob, but green in colour. The fruit is packed round it, and the whole covered by leaves. The bananas are about three inches long and an inch thick. Even if - tli?y fail to ripen -—and it is not expected that they will do so—they form aji uhilsual and interesting sight, and an adornment to any garden. /

The spirit of self-sacrifice is abroad in at least one jfice where salaries are paid by the Government, says the Christchurch Sun. Three highly-paid officers iu that office were promised. a rise toward the end of year, but when the time came nothing said about it, and, appreciating the general stress of the times, those concerned Hid not remind the authorities. Besides losing the immediate '■ benefit of afi increase in salary, these men will also suffer for the rest of their lives, for they are in the last three years of their service, and their superannuation will be calculated on their earnings during that period. , It was reported at the Horticultural Conference at Wellington that .25,000 passion fruit had been planted in the last two years in the northern part of the Dominion. In some cases in 20 months the vines had grown 15 to 18 feet on each side- of the plant,- producing 150 fyozen fruit. It was stated that pricecutting prevailed in some districts, but a Taranaki nurseryman was found busy packing parcels; of bedding plants for other districts, fie told the secretary he was sending a good lot of plants to Otago at Is 6d a dozen, postage extra, but the curious part of it was, said the secretary, that they could be obtained m Otago at 8d a dozen.

Large areas grazing in the Manawatu and Rangitikei districts havg been let to Hawke’s Bay pastoralists on account of the dought on the East Coast. The fields division superintendent of the Department of Agriculture (Mr. J. W. Deem) stated on Wednesday, says the Manawatu Standard, that the rain was bringing about a prolific growth in this area, and the influx of stock. would easily be accommodated. It was a peculiarity of New Zealand's climatic conditions that seasons often differed greatly between the East and the West Coasts.