LOCAL AND GENERAL

Taranaki Daily News, 3 August 1931, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The New Plymouth Fire Brigade \yas summoned to attend a chimney which was afire in Dr. S. C. Allen’s residence, Powderham Street, at- 3.30 p.m. on Saturday. When the brigade arrived, however, the fire was under control. Owing to the force of the gale, the coastal steamer Opihi, which was light ship after discharge of southern cargo at New Plymouth on Friday, was not able to return to Wellington In the week-end and the vessel will remain at the Newton King wharf until the weather moderates.

As a result of an accident with a spirit stove Charles Bicheno, aged 20, Urenui, was admitted to the New Plymouth public hospital last evening suffering from burns to his face and hand. His injuries arc not very serious and his condition last night was comfortable.

“I want to make a confession,” said the Hon. S. G. Smith, Minister of Labour, at the opening performance of Music Week in New Plymouth yesterday afternoon. lie went on to say that while sitting many nights in his office in Wellington grappling with the problems that came his way he had been greatly helped by music that came over the air—even though it was “canned.” At the old mission schools Maori war captives sometimes attended, though often with apparently very discouraging results, said the Bishop of Waiapu at St. Mary’s Church, New Plymouth, last night. In one case a scholar was considered hopeless and was sent back to his own country. A year or two later his Lordship’s grandfather visited the district and found that the apparent dullard had taught his own people to read and write.

The death occurred at the New Plymouth Hospital yesterday morning. of Arthur Jones, aged 23, an electrician employed by the Waitara Borough Council. An inquest for identification purposes was opened before the district coroner, Mr. R. W. Tate, S.M., at New Plymouth yesterday afternoon and was adjourned indefinitely. Jones was admitted to the hospital on June 25 suffering from a compound fracture of the left arm and haemorrhage caused by a fall from a pole on. which he was working at Waitara. . The Taranaki climate was not looked upon with favour by the Rev. Professor W. Hewitson, Dunedin, who visited New Plymouth on Saturday, but it provided him with an opportunity of displaying his ready wit. There was a sudden shower during the ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the new Presbyterian Church. “This seems more like a Baptist one,” Professor Hewitson said. “But the method is Presbyterian rather than Baptist—sprinkling and not immersion.”

Like most Scots, the Rev. Professor W. Hewitson, Master of Knox College, Dunedin, did not hesitate to joke at the expense of his own race when laying the foundation stone of the new Presbyterian Church at New Plymouth on Saturday. It was a long way from Dunedin to New Plymouth, he said, and he carefully pointed out to the New Plymouth Presbyterians the expense there would be in his journey to officiate at the ceremony. “However,” he said, “the trick did not work. I find I’m hero and am expected to speak twice on each of the three days of my visit. Scottish like, you have given me as full a programme as you could.”

Appreciation of the organ recital given upon a small church harmonium at Holy Trinity Church, Te Henui, after evensong last Sunday night, was shown last night by the large attendance. The Rev. K. Hariwera was the preacher at evensong, at which there was a crowded congregation. After the service the Rev. Edwin Wright, late assistant organist at 'St. Bartholomew’s Church, Portsmouth, England, and vicar designate of Otorohanga, gave renderings which were greatly appreciated. The programme included: “Hymn of Praise” and “Lieder Ohne Worte” (Mendelssohn), “Largo” (Handel), “Londonderry Air,” “March in D” (Seymour).

The influence of personality was illustrated at the founding of the Anglican Mission to Maoris by Samuel Marsden in 1814, said the Bishop of Wuiapu at St. Mary’s Church, New Plymouth, last night. "When the missionaries arrived a barrel containing tools and implements was rifled by the Maoris and the contents stolen. Marsden, though not a man of striking appearance, told the chief that unless the goods were returned he and the missionaries would go back to Sydney. The Maoris had not asked for missionaries and did not really care whether they stayed or left, but something about Marsden must have appealed to them. The next day all the goods were returned but one axe. It was explained that this was held by the Maori who had first rifled the barrel. He had been expelled from the tribe for his offence but it was thought only fair he should be allowed to retain just one axe.

Explaining, in his address at St. Mary’s, New Plymouth, yesterday morning, the difficulty of accurately defining each race’s meaning of the word cruelty, the Bishop of Waiapu repeated an interesting old-time Maori criticism of the British. When certain Maori chiefs had visited the Rev. Samuel Marsden at Sydney they came back shocked at British cruelty in that a convict had been sentenced to death for stealing a pig and that he was not to be hanged for two or three weeks. The Maoris considered the penalty was too severe as the convict “probably only • stole because he was hungry.” But they considered the real cruelty lay in keeping the man awaiting death for two or three weeks. “Had a slave of mine stolen,” said one chief, “and I considered he would be better out of the way, I should have come behind him and split his skull with my mere. He would not have known punishment awaited him in the cruel fashion of you Englishmen.” Mr. R.. A. Npedl, deaf aid specialist, is returning to New Plymouth and may be consulted at Mr. Blennerhassett’s Pharmacy on Monday and Tuesday, August 10 and 11. Patients are requested to make an appointment with Mr. Blennerhassett. An advertisement of interest to intending land buyers is inserted in this issue by Messrs. W. H. and A. McGarry, of Ellhaffi. I have used your After Calving Drench for five seasons. The best I have ever used.” Morrison, farmer, Te Roti. 2/each, 20/- dozen. MacGregor, Chemist, Eltham.

Hard quarters! A Taranaki farmer says; “Beyond doubt Lissaman’s Mammitis Paint is a good cure. No cow affected has lost a quarter with this treatment.” Box 63a, Kaponga. *

Departures from Auckland for all countries during July outnumbered arrivals by 291. By far the greater number of people left for Australia, and most of the arrivals at Auckland were from Australia.

“We do not see why workers should be penalised by the senseless method of distribution which is now carried on,” said Mr. J. Purtell when appearing for the Auckland milk roundsmen before the Arbitration Court at Auckland. “To give an exaggerated instance of the overlapping in the distribution of milk, I was informed by an employer that no fewer than 31 carts distribute milk in one street in Remuera.”

An appeal for the conservation mutton-birds is issued by the New Zealand Native Bird Protection Society. It is stated that although the birds arc still numerous the fledglings are taken for food, while mutton-bird oil has 'been in demand. The'* society adds: —“If commercialism gets the upper hand, the flocks may be so reduced in size that natural enemies will soon be able to accomplish the final destruction of these unique birds.”

An impudent theft was perpetrated recently within a short distance of the Nelson city boundary. A farmer there was grazing a mob of sheep on a paddock of turnips close to the house, and his surprise can be well imagined when, on rising one morning, ho found the skin, head and offal of a sheep lying in the field, the carcase of course having been removed. The thief was evidently a keen judge of mutton, for the animal removed was a prime wether, inferior animals being left untouched.

A prospector with considerable South Island experience is sure that he has found gold colour in a creek a few miles from Whangarei, states the Advocate. He is at present on unemployment relief works, but when he can accumulate sufficient, capital to purchase an outfit he intends to do sonic prospecting. He says that much of the northern rock formation is similar to the best mineral yielding parts of the Thames and Westland, where in the days of panning a week rarely yielded less than £5. The tearing of the award tickets by many of the birds exhibited at the Auckland Canary and Cage Bird Club’s show on Friday was a cause of considerable annoyance to the officials and amusement to visitors. A seemingly inoffensive love-bird, only a few inches long, kept tearing small pieces off the ticket stuck in the bars of its cage, and eating them, until there finally remained only a fragment of Ted paste-board to Indicate that the bird was a first prizewinner.

“Of recent years the Maoris have been earning good wages and relying upon the stores for their supplies. Cropping has either been done too late or neglected altogether, and many natives are without the necessary seeds for planting this season,” said a resident of Whangarei who is interested in the welfare of the Maoris in that district. He said that a certain amount of marrow and potato seed had been distributed among the coastal peoples, who had been strongly advised to plant early this spring. Thirty years ago on Saturday the first sod was turned by the Mayor, Mr. Alfred Kidd, in the construction of an electric tramway system in Auckland. Work was first started on the College Hill route which, together with the line through Parnell to Newmarket, formed the first sub-contract let 'by the Auckland Electric Tramways Company. The formal opening took place on November 17, 1902, and the service was commenced one week later, on the Queen StreetThree Lamps route. The horse tramway system had been started nearly 20 years before electricity was introduced. “Stopping waste has the same effect as getting more business, and it has the advantage that it costs nothing except thought and care, and can be practised successfully, at times when new business is hard to get and possibly expensive to handle,” states the general manager of railways, Mr. H. H. Sterling, in a circular which has been issued to every member of the railway service. Mr. Sterling appeals for economy with supplies and materials, and points out that last year the expenditure on general stores, coal, coke and stationery was 48 per cent, of the total wages bill. He gives as an illustration the fact that if each electric light or gas unit in the department was wasted for one hour daily, the annual wastage would be £15,000. A Stewart Islander, who recently visited Waituna Bay in search of ambergris, had a remarkable experience with a deer, says an exchange. His dog startled a stag in the bush above the beach, and in its fright it came out on the beach and made straight for the sea.' After safely negotiating the breakers it got into smoother water and headed out to sea in the direction of Codfish Island, .with the dog following. It soon outdistanced the dog, and kept on in the direction of Codfish Island until lost sight of when more than halfway across. Tim distance to Codfish Island is about three miles, and there is no doubt that the deer would get across safely, as deer are strong swimmers.

Travellers on the Main South Road the other morning between Balclutha and Milton, in South Otago, witnessed the rather unusual spectacle of a farmer shovelling snow from the ground in order to enable him to proceed with his ploughing. The paddock upon which he was working consisted of an open hilltop with occasional dark sidlings, upon which the snow still lay in drifts to a depth of from one to two feet, offering an effective barrier to the passage of the plough. Rather than allow his ploughing operations to be completely held up by these drifts until the increasing warmth of the sun hal melted them, the farmer had adopted this method of opening up a passage for his team and plough. The full south-westerly gale that raged at New Plymouth yesterday morning apparently concentrated its main fury on the western end of the palladium at Ngamotu. On that side the verandah was enclosed by a stout canvas screen, securely roped and battened. Behind it were stocked a number of glasstopped tables. About 9 o’clock the wind suddenly ripped away the screen, tearing the timber in the process. The tables were blown down and the glass covers, a quarter of an inch thick were splintered. One table was actually blown along the verandah and pieces of glass a foot long were tossed about. Mr. H. Giles tried to hold the canvas down while he detached the ropes; he stood on the material, but so strong was the gale that the canvas was lifted up with him on it. Towards 10 o’clock the wind abated somewhat. An electric light wire was blown down at the foot of Pioneer Road.

Exceptional bargains in art silk underwear are on offer at the Melbourne Ltd. during the concluding stages of the great winter sale. Famous makes such as Canterbury Locknit in vests, bloomers, nights, “Sweet Nell” make in bloomers, trinity sets, slips, camibockers, etc., many of the garments being lace-trimmed, arc all greatly reduced. We cannot worry over a 10 per cent, cut. Stocktaking is due and stocks must bo reduced. We have made amazing sacrifices on all goods. McGruer’s Sale is now on. See windows.* Lissaman’s Mammitis Paint cures hard udders. Manawatu farmer writes: “Since using your paint have not had a single cow go dry in a quarter. An unfailing remedy.” Lissaman, Box 63a,