LOCAL AND GENERAL

Taranaki Daily News, 22 December 1931, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

■The pohutukawa will deserve its name of “Christmas tree” this year, for in New Plymouth, where it luxuriates, it is coming into bloom, and should be out in all its glory at the end of the week.

During the holiday period the New Plymouth library reading rooms and museum will be open as in previous years on all days with the exception of Christmas Day for the convenience and use of visitors and local residents, according to a decision of the New Plymouth Borough Council last night. A levy was made on members of the New Plymouth Rotary Club yesterday for the'“sunshine box,” as a result of which nearly £l4 will be handed to the New Plymouth Relief Committee with which to afford relief to those needing it and for the purchase of Christmas parcels to be distributed amongst the poor.

A purchase of donkeys has been 'made by the Fitzroy Seaside Park Society. The donkeys are coming from the North Auckland district and every endeavour is being made to have them at the seaside for the gala on Boxing Day. The donkeys should prove a great attraction to many of the young generation of New Plymouth.

Authority to install coloured lights in Devon Street during the holiday season was granted the New Plymouth borough electrical engineer by the Borough Council last night.

The business of the year was finished in spirited fashion by the New Plymouth Borough Council last night. Less than 50 minutes after the council meeting had commenced the Mayor closed it with seasonal greetings to his colleagues. To-day is the longest day in the year, the flun reaching its greatest southern delineation. Although the difference will hot be apparent for a little while, the days will soon-begin to contract in length as the sun turns north. The longest day is regarded scientifically as the beginning of summer.

Swerving to avoid each other, a car and motor-cycle made a combined assault on a shop at the corner of Devon and Gover Streets, New Plymouth, last night. The cycle, ridden by Mr. Arthur Haywood, crashed through the plateglass door, Mr. Haywood being cut, and the car, driven by Mr. Harry McNeill, struck the corner of the building. The shop is unoccupied. The Now Plymouth Borough Council inspectors were instructed at last night s council meeting to prosecute every person driving in Devon Street (from Eliot Street to 'Silver Street), Egmont Street and Brougham Street (north of Devon Street) on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve at a speed dangerous to the public. As far as possible drivers are to be required in the parts of the streets enumerated to reduce the speed to six miles an hour.

During the year Mr. K. Ward has been acting as pianist at the entertainments arranged or given by the New Plymouth Rotary Club to tlie inmates of His Majesty’s Reformatory, New Plymouth. Mr. Ward has left NeXv Plymouth to take up his residence in Auckland, and the inmates of the institution have executed a beautiful painting and address in acknowledgment of his services. It is to be forwarded to Mr. Ward, who has also acted as pianist to the Rotary Club. Club.

A Winton district farmer mentioned the other day, says the Southland Times, that the present dry ffpell would be responsible for at least one or two items on the Christmas menu not being as popular as they had been in other years. The reporter was enlightened on the subject when the farmer went on to say that with the present shortage of grass on district farms, this year’s Christmas geese were of poor quality. As geese feed a good deal on grass, they had not done well at all this year and fat ones would be hard to secure.

Although it is often contended that girls hold an advantage over the opposite sex in tests of scholastic ability, the reverse was forthcoming at the prizegiving ceremony of the Longburn school, says the Standard, for of the class prizes the first awards went to boys in six instances as compared with three successes by girls. However, the girls turned the tables in the writing of essays, three carrying the day as compared with one prize winner by the boys. Modern office equipment had been developed to such a point that many employers were inclined to say that their machinery was so good that they could run their businesses with “cheap” girl*, said Mr. A. O. Wilkinson, president of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce, at the prize-giving of a commercial school. “I don't agree with that,” he went on. “‘Cheap’ girls are not cheap; they are the cause of endless trouble and difficulty to their employers. Modern office equipment has become very efficient indeed, but with it there is need to bring the human element to perfection a 150,.”

In reply to his letter suggesting that the northern boundary of the borough of New Plymouth should be described as “mean low water mark” instead of “the sea” as at present the Commissioner of Crown Lands is to be informed by the New Plymouth Borough Council that in order to enable the council’s by-laws relating to sea bathing to operate the boundary should, subject to the approval of the Marine Department, be. described as “a line in the sea one chain distant from, generally north of and parallel to mean low water mark of the sea.” There was consternation in a New Plymouth office yesterday when the typist opened a filing cabinet. Out sprang a big rat. There were loud screams, a rush of members of the staff and the public to the room to afford relief to the victim of another tragedy, and tlibn a rat hunt. But the rodent was too resourceful. There was a small aperture in the floor, and down this.he dived to the regret of his hunters. Then the cabinet was examined and it was found that the rat had been subsisting on the leather binding of books and records and making a general mess of important files and documents. Pinned face downwards on the road under the front wheel of a van, the three-year-old daughter of Mr. A. Francis, Opxnake, suffered severe internal injuries in an accident at Opunake on Sunday morning and was taken to the New Plymouth hospital. The child was in the front seat of a delivery van driven by Mr. Francis. As Mr. Francis was backing away from the kerbing he heard a scream. Quickly stopping the van he jumped out to find the child pinned under the front wheel. It is surmised that the door of the van accidentally opened and the child fell on the road under the wheel. The car was raised and the child was taken to the hospital. It was reported last night that her condition was regarded as serious but she was progressing fsfrvourably. The silence and dignity of the Police Court at New Plymouth were ruddy penetrated yesterday by the sounds of loud, excited chatter and shrill laughter. Heavy feet maintained an irregular tattoo on the concrete verandah facing Robe Street and the exuberant owners even made a bedlam of the entrance to the passage leading to the law library. The court was trying to concentrate on the intricacies of evidence in a complicated case. For some time counsel and the official typist persisted in the hopeless task of sorting out the witness’ voice from noises that were almost as bad as the worst static. Finally several very large policemen and one or two court officials were sent to quell the disturbance. They failed. The Natives were being paid their half-yearly rents and their joy easily conquered their respect for the law.

Readers’ attention is directed to an advertisement in this issue by Miles J. Cassidy, Hotel-Keeper, Tariki, announcing his special price-list for Xmas hampers*

Ladies White Cotton Vests, fine ribbed, no sleeves, at 16Jd each. Wonderful value* in Children’.* Socks for summer wear, at 1/6. Lace and White Cotton Children’s Sox at 6d pair. Pure Linen Tea Towelling, closely woven, and very absorbent, at 104 d yard. Selwyn Silk Hose, mock fashioned, a beautiful stocking, at 2/11. The Hustlers, Devon St.*

Liasaman’s Mammitis Paint. Our numerous repeat orders show that our mammitis paint is very satisfactory. Try a bottle, 5/6. Send to S. Lissaman, Box 63A, Kaponga, or at all stores. The latest “Jantzen” bathing costume for either men or women makes an ideal Xmas gift. These costumes are in stock at the Melbourne Ltd. and obtainable at the list price, viz., 26/6. A huge stock iof all manner of bathing costumes for men, women and children is held at prices strictly competitive and at the present moment very much in buyer’s favour.

An unusually large schnapper, measuring about 2ft 4in in length, was caught from the Stanley Bay jetty, Auckland, early on Saturday morning. Catches of this size, says the Herald, are rather uncommon even in the outer portion of the gulf, and are exceptionally rare in the inner harbour. The schnapper wae caught with live yellow-tail bait on a fairly stout line. The fish was in excellent condition.

The largest business premises at Matamata narrowly escaped destruction by fire last week. The manager was conversing with a friend when they heard two sharp cracks. Upon investigation they found that a box of wax matches had been gnawed by rats. Some timber was ignited, and a few seconds later a larga rat was seen scurrying along the rafters. Had the manager not been on the premises, it is likely, says the Auckland Star, that nothing could have saved the building.

When addressing a deputation of Arawa Maoris at Rotorua on Saturday the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, expressed the hope that the Maoris chiefs would do all in their power to check the trespassing and poaching known to be going on in certain parts of the Rotorua district. He wished them to do this, said His Excellency, in order to check the deletion of fish by illegal means, particularly during the close season.

The sales of health stamps during the five weeks from the beginning of the scheme on November 1 show that 72 pei cent, has been in the North Island, according to advice received from the Health Department by Dr. T. J. Hughes, medical officer of health in Auckland. The Wellington postal district led other areas, Auckland being second and Hamilton third. In the final week of the period more sales were made in Hamilton than in Auckland.

“It is most improper that such a conference should be held at the present time,” said Mr. G. Gallaway, when notification was. received at the monthly meeting of the Otago Hospital Board that the annual general conference of hospital boards would be held at Timaru in February next. The board, added Mr. Gallaway, had just told a deputation that it was hard up, and yet.it was going to spend from £5O to £75 in sending delegates from Dunedin to Timaru. The results of such conferences were quite useless, and he considered that they were an absolute waste of money. He intended strenuously to oppose any move towards sending delegates from the Otago board to the conference. A Wellington motor transport firm is seeking permission to drive a motor float conveying six horses at speeds up to 30 miles an hour between the city and Levin. When the application was dealt with last Thursday by the Wellington City Council, in its capacity as licensing authority, it was refused. Other local bodies are, however, concerned as reading authorities. The regulation speed for such a vehicle is 20:1'4 miles an hour, and the owners are endeavouring to obtain perinission to drive up to 30 miles an hour on the open road, where local restrictions do not apply.

A prophet never gains honour in his own country; neither does the rabbit. It has been known in the trade for years that many varieties of “seal” furs are made of New Zealand rabbitskins. As rabbits have been a pest in the past In New Zealand, their fur is not openly advertised as such here, but appears under many and various guises. In America, however, New Zealand rabbit fur ranks high in value. A recent copy of the Chicago Tribune to hand has a large draper’s and furrier’s advertisement announcing “Mendoza Seal (New Zealand buck rabbit) ladies’ coats, 100 to 125 dollars.**

The whitebait season in the Greymouth district has ended. When they were most needed the fish stayed away, and this has been the worst season that old residents can remember, says the Greymouth Star. With an average season, whitebaiters would have earned considerable revenue, and the unemployment problem in Greymouth would have been greatly lessened. There were more 'fishermen along the banks of the Grey River during the past few months than has been the case for many seasons, and even though comparatively few “runs” came along, the whitebait market brought temporary relief to those who industriously followed the occupation. The season commenced late, and also closed late.

Christchurch Cathedral has always been a very bad place to hear in, and the help of modern science has been called in to remedy the defect. A microphone installed on the pulpit and voice projectors fixed to pillars at different parts of the nave made it possible for people seated at the very back of the nave to hear perfectly. These projectors are specially designed for church services, and they do not distort or exaggerate the voice, like some raucous loudspeakers. Similar installations have been adopted in a number of 'European cathedrals, including Winchester, Liverpool, Worcester, Salisbury and Chester. A Wellington philatelist expressed disagreement last week with the complaints which some stamp collectors have 'been making in regard to illegible stamping on air mail in New Zealand, says the Dominion. He said that post office officials were- giving every assistance to philatelists. For his own purposes he had posted envelopes for carriage by air mail, and had requested various postmasters to facilitate return of the mail. In every case the requests had been promptly attended to, and the post-marking had been carefully applied. The services given by the postmasters were of material value to collectors, this philatelist said. Cricket is supposed to be a very sedate game. Even the spectators, according to tradition, are expected to confine themselves to handclapping. Even if a batsman should happen to hit three balls in succession over the fence and far away it is bad form to holler with delight. An innovation, however, was introduced at the Basin 'Reserve on Saturday afternoon, says the Dominion, when a powerful radio set brightened the whole ground with military marches, topical vocal solos, and announcements regarding the Test match at Sydney and the inter-State match between New South Wales and South Australia at Adelaide. The spectators thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment, and the players said that the loudspeaker did not distract their serious attention from the game.

One of the collectors for the Rotary Club’s Christmas appeal at Christchurch on Friday reports the adventures of a sum of money which, says the Press, had been accidentally dropped on the footpath. The money, £4 10s in notes and a half sovereign, had been in a dirty piece of rag, but the half sovereign had got out and rolled some little distance away. The paper .money, a portion of which was visible, attracted the attention of a passer-by, who asked the collector what she should do with it, and. was advised to take it to the police station. Later the half sovereign was picked up by a man, and the collector gave him similar advice. However, he said, that he could make good use of it. Ultimately a man and woman were seen picking up and examing pieces of paper, and the collector, having ascertained what they were looking for, told them what had happened. The loss of the half sovereign Slid not appear to give them much concern, in view of the recovery of the larger sum.