PERSONAL

Taranaki Daily News, 14 February 1931, Page 6

PERSONAL

Mr. Justice Adams, who is to preside at the Supreme Court opening in New Plymouth on Monday, arrived at New Plymouth la?t night. He was accompanied by his associate, Mr. W. H. Teape. Miss I. L. Silson, assistant; at the Opunake Power Board office for the past three and a-half years, has resigned her position, having accepted' an appointment as assistant in the South Taranaki Power "Board’s office. The resignation was accepted with regret at yesterday’s meeting of the board; and a record was made of appreciation of her services.

Mr. Stronach Paterson, who has been associated with Messrs. A. S. Paterson and Co., Ltd., for many years in a managerial capacity in Christchurch, London and Wellington, has been appointed. managing director of the company in place of the late Mr. S. A. Lqhguet, Mr. H. S. .Eastgate, manager of the company’s Auckland branch; has been appointed a director of the company. “The first stock sale of the year at Dipton waa a unique one,” declared a representative of a commercial firm to the Winton correspondent of the Southland. Times. He remarked that not only were there no sheep, yarded, but there were present seven furthers, five agents and a lamb buyer. Only, two head of cattle were forward. Some of the agents had journeyed .from as far as Invercargill and Lumsden arid the eattle were not even offered. „

A sharp earthquake shock which stopped the post office clock at 1.29 p.m. occurred in New Plymouth yesterday. Pupils of the Central school were very appropriately doing earthquake drill when the shake occurred. The motion was from north to south and the earthquake was of approximately 30 seconds duration. A few pieces of crockery were smashed in shops but otherwise no ascertainable damage occurred. At Opunake the earthquake brought most people into ■ the streets., The shake was fairly severe there, many stating that it was quite as severe as the one that did such damage on Tuesday week. A suggestion that rural mail carriers be given power to cancel stamps and deliver letters from one boxholder to another on tho sanie route was contained in a remit submitted by the Ratapiko branch of the Farmers’ Union to a meeting of the North Taranaki executive yesterday. The branch representative stated that the carrier travelled about nine miles on tlie one road and if he were allowed to frank a letter handed to him, he could deliver it the same day instead of carrying it barik to the post office to be dealt with and delivered the next day. He understood this could be done in the towns. The executive decided to make inquiries.

Dairy farmers in the Hawke’s Bay district wjll be relieved to know that thpir produce, whether in the factories or grading store, is covered by earthquake insurance by the Dairy Produce Board, said the acting-chairman of the board (Mr. J. Hine) in response to an inquiry by a News representative yesterday. It is not known how much produce at factories was affected by last, week's disaster, said Mr.. Hine, but at the grading store at Port Ahuriri there were 12,000 .boxes of butter and 500 crates of cheese on hand. In view of recent criticism .of the. board the instance of the scope of the insurance it ■ has arranged was perhaps of more than ordinary interest.