LOCAL AND GENERAL

Taranaki Daily News, 30 March 1933, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

For riding cycles at night without lights at New Plymouth on March 19 Donald McLean was yesterday ordered to pay 10s costs and Reginald Thorne was fined ss, with 10s costs. Two shifts are now working on the Okahukura tunnel slip on the StratfordMain Trunk line, a night shift commencing last night.

The opinion that summer tinie would be much better for farmers if it operated in the winter and not in the summer was expressed to a News reporter by a North Taranaki farmer yesterday, rie has not gone back to ordinary time. Imprisonment for a month, release to be granted on the payment of £5, was ordered for Phillip Olson at New Plymouth yesterday because he owed £54 5s 6d under a maintenance order. “He has paid nothing since last July,” said Mr. W. F. Southam, maintenance officer. “He has never been satisfactory.” Basketball players who helped at the social gatherings connected with the Albion Football Club at New Plymouth last season have decided to form a basketball club. At the annual meeting of the Albion Club last night permission was asked to name the new club “the Albion Basketball Club.” Permission was granted and the footballers wished the girls success. \

An account of the activities of the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce in the interests not only of New Plymouth but of the province of Taranaki as a whole was the subject of an address delivered by Mr. A, F. Sandford, president of the chamber, to the members of the New Plymouth Round Table Club at their fortnightly luncheon yesterday. A determined burglary was made at a garage at Fitzroy last night, tire attempt being unsuccessful only because an unusual type of lock withstood the attack of a lever. No damage was done beyond a few loosened screws. Another garage in the same locality was entered on Sunday night and a small quantity of benzine syphoned from the car parked inside.

Pupils of the New Plymouth Girls’ High School were examined at the school baths yesterday in bronze medallion and honorary instructor’s certificate tests. Messrs. F. J. Eggleton and L. Frethey, president and secretary respectively, of the Taranaki Centre of the Royal LifeSaving Society, were the examiners. Only about half the girls were examined; the remainder will be tested on Saturday morning.

Much has been written regarding the effect of music upon animals, and those who are interested in this matter , would have had a very interesting study at New Plymouth last evening when the brags band of a well-Jmown organisation was busy practising. A large hound of uncertain breeding took up its station on tire opposite side of the street, and immediately the brass instruments commenced, he joined hi with a long wailing howl which continued until the musicians paused for breath. However, no sooner had they started again than tiie dog chimed in with his somewhat discordant note. The duet continued for almost half an hour.

Whether he (or she) can be charged with being on licensed premises after hours or consuming liquor while wider the age of 21 years is a matter of conjecture, but a hedge-hog—and an Albino at that—found complacently lapping up beer dripping in the cellar of the Hotel Imperial, New Plymouth, last night was oblivious to the statutes and merely waddled around, blinking pink-eyed bleariness at those who disturbed his peace. There is no accounting for tastes, but this silver-grey rodent certainly has modernistic tendencies. The unusual sight of a man and his wife tramping the roads in search of work was witnessed by a motorist in the Lepperton district yesterday. They intended to stay in the country districts, they stated, as it was little use going to the towns io seek work there. In the country everyone had extended them the greatest hospitality in return for the work they did. One farmer was asked for the use of his shed that they might shelter there during the night. The farmer’s wife, however, rather than allow the woman to sleep in a shed offered her a comfortable bed in a spare room.

One day last winter a party of New Plymouth climbers intending to tramp to Kahui hut on western Mt, Egmont via the Kahui track drove up the Oxford Road and left their locked cars at the head of the road. During the tramp the owner of one car lost his keys arid it was only after a visit to New Plymouth and much lost time that he was unable to unlock his car. Recently the long arm of coincidence extended over another tramping party containing some friends of the owner of the keys,. and the missing ring was found once again months after it had been lost on a rough bush track.

"Can you tell us where the headquarters of the Taranaki Football Association are to be this season?" asked Mr. Ashton at tire annual meeting of the Albion club at New Plymouth last night. “With five or six clubs at this end I don’t see why we should have to go to Stratford for the meetings when there are no teams in the southern end of the district,” he added. It was pointed out that the New Zealand Football Association was concerned in the matter; it believed that if the headquarters of the Taranaki. association were moved to New Plymouth it would be the end of Soccer in the southern part of the district. Another speaker said that one idea was that there should be a northern and a southern association. The subject was not pursued. “The seriousness of the unemployment position in Canada conclusively indicates that New Zealanders who may contemplate visitjng Canada to secure work should know the facts and the futility of taking such a step," says the New Zealand Trade Commissioner, Mr. J. W. Collins, in a letter to the Unemployment Board. “Many New Zealanders who came to Canada during the last tlirec years have not yet succeeded in obtaining employment, and at the present time several young men and women find it impossible even to maintain themselves. New Zealand school teachers, accountants, cabinetmakers, carpenters, electricians, musicians, shop assistants, nurses and others have tried in vain to secure steady employment, and are having a very difficult time. The New Zealand Government offices established here have proved a boon as a common meet-ing-ground, and, wherever possible, help has been afforded. The New Zealanders generally have been of a very independent, intelligent type, and have shown great courage and initiative in facing conditions as-they exist."

A note of irony was struck in the case of banking “holidays” in the State of Kentucky, according to American papers received by the last mail. Each day was designed by the Governor as a “day of thanksgiving,” as under Kentucky law the executive, is empowered to appoint only times of thanksgiving as public holidays.

The ferocity of the mako shark is so •d'ell known as to need little comment. This attribute was illustrated recently at Mercury Bay, when a shark made an attack on the launch Dauntless. When the launch was beached for cleaning purposes, three mako shark's teeth, broken off, were found embedded in her timbers just below the bilge outlet. Apparently the mako had bitten off more than he could chew.

A South Canterbury motorist had a remarkable experience while proceding to his home recently. He was puzzled by a peculiar black haze approaching him, and when it was upon him he found that thousands of flies were responsible. They poured into his car, filling the air with their buzzing, and became so annoying that he pulled vp until the cloud had passed. On inspecting the radiator of his car subsequently he found numbers of- flies embedded in the mesh, and even found bodies of the pests beneath tire bonnet.

The third export shipment of Otago apples for this season, comprising 28,000 cases, and bringing the total to 37,000 cases, is due to leave by the Somerset, now loading at Bluff, to-day. The bulk of the consignment is from Ettrick, Roxburgh and Central Otago districts. Cox’s Oranges and Munro’s Favourites are the leading varieties. Some Cox’s Orange have been rejected for export because in the dry weather they did not come to full size, and others of the same variety failed to pass the inspector because of black spots, which are said to be only skin blemish not affecting soundness or flavour.

Strong criticism was heard among players and spectators at the Albion v. Carisbrook cricket match at Dunedin on Saturday, which decided the cricket championship, Carisbrook winning. When the umpires decided to continue the match in the rain, half the members of the Albion team appeared on the field in ordinary cldthes, with the addition of overcoats, sweaters and blazers. _ When, at five o’clock, the umpires, after inspecting the wicket, decided to proceed despite an appeal by the captains of both teams that the game should be declared off, one bowler rolled bis trousers to the knees. Dunning was in great form with the ball, taking eight wickets for 98 runs.

The new Christchurch B class radio station, 3ZM, was opened officially at 8 o’clock on Monday evening by Mr. E. J. Howard, M.P., who spoke over the air.. Mr, Howard said that the station was founded primarily for entertainment purposes, and was run by two young men, whom he congratulated on their courage and enterprise in entering the broadcasting field, He referred to the advantages that New Zealand would gamin the way of advertising by the shortwave daily broadcasts which will be made by the station in the near future. The announcer for the new station is Miss G. W. Green, announcer of the old 3ZG station.

From two localities, fairly wide apart, come reports of a meteorite being seen in daylight on Sunday. A man who was hiking on the Waitakere Ranges stated that shortly after noon he saw an exceptionally bright flash of light in the sky, and was under the impression that a meteorite had fallen quite close to him. He made a search in the surrounding bush, but found nothing. A resident of Ostend, Waiheke Island, stated that at 12.15 on Sunday he saw a meteorite, which appeared to be double the brightness of Jupiter. He said that it was very clear in the south-west sky, and was falling when he saw it. An unusual sight was in the outer harbour at Lyttelton on Sunday afternoon. When yachtsmen were returning from Port Levy (says tite Christchurch Times) they saw numerous large shoals of whale feed, through which they passed. These visitations are fairly rare, but Sunday’s occurrence was even more interesting on account of the fact that it was accompanied by visit from three albatrosses, which very rarely come so close inshore. For some reason, one of the albatrosses alighted on the water and shortly afterwards dived. The other two birds which accompanied their mate wheeled about as if mourning its death. The reason for the proximity to the shore of the huge birds was given by a mariner as being probably due to a storm off the coast,

There was a city-dweller at the ram fair at the show grounds, Christchurch, last week who is now congratulating himself on having escaped a profound embarrassment. He was attracted to ihe side of the ring in which the stud rams are offered and assuming a farmer-like attitude with his arms draped across the top of the rail, began to absorb as many of the details as he could of the mystifying business of buying and selling sheep. The auctioneer struck him as being particularly well worth watching and so closely did he watch one of the fraternity that after an exciting minute of shouting from the rostrum, he found himself in possession of a fine Southdown ram, and the price the auctioneer was demanding was 14 guineas, The little man strenuously denied that he had bid anything at all, and, muttering something about sheep farming on an. eighthacre section, left the ring, with the auctioneer's uncomplimentary remarks stinging his ears.

The following letter explaining the Government’s intentions with regard to reductions in rent payable by Crown tenants has been received by Mr. C. W. Markham, secretary of the Otago Crown Tenants’ Association, from Mr. H, R. Robinson, deputy-commissioner of Crown lands: “The department is not insisting on payment of the arrears where the lessee is not in a position to meet them,, but is insisting upon payment of the balance of the rents affected by the reduction. That is to say, if a man gets a reduction of say 50 per cent, as from July 1 last, then he must pay the balance of rent which fell due in July and January last. We will not insist . upon payment of the arrears owing prior to that date if he can show that he is not in a position to meet them. We expect all tenants to meet whatever amount they can possibly pay, and if they are able to pay the arrears or any portion of them, then we expect them to do so. I trust this will make the position clear. Speaking on tire keenness of cricketers in various parts of the British Empire, Mr. D. R. Jardine, captain of the M.CC. eleven, told the boys of St. Andrew s College, Christchurch, that Hie statutes of the British West Indies afforded a good example of what cricket meant to the people there. “If you studied the statute? of that country you would find that ‘cricket may not be played with more than 200 players on each side, said Mr. Jardine. “This is a sound Jaw, for it shows that the people there are so keen that cricket played by elevens does not satisfy them. The whole village mjist join in. I know of one occasion when the star bowler of one side took 54 of the 99 wickets. Then there was another’ occasion when the losing team became dissastified both with the umpires and the members of the victorious team. Both sides and the umpires had gathered after the match to celebrate the victory, when the losers took up stumps, bats and anything they could lay their hands on, and a terrible free fight ensued."