LOCAL AND GENERAL

Taranaki Daily News, 2 May 1933, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

"This dental clinic idea is one of the best the Education Department has ever brought forth, and the course of treatment for half-a-crown is wonderfully reasonable,” said Mr. L. A. Nolan at the Fitzroy householders’ meeting last night

To date 1178 dogs have been registered in the Taranaki County. The inspector reported that there were still about 20 dogs unregistered, but the fees were proving hard to collect. The inspector was given authority to sue in such cases.

The drivers of Taranaki County vehicles will not be permitted to pick up and carry any person under pain of dismissal. That decision was unanimously made by the council yesterday. Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Salway, Waitoitoi, have returned from three weeks trip through the Waikato.. They enjoyed splendid weather and said the country looked splendid. They combined business with pleasure and sold three trucks of Jersey yearling heifers at a good price at Whakatane.

That next year would see the jubilee of the New Plymouth Central School was a fact mentioned by Mr. S. G. Smith, M.P., at the annual meeting of householders last night. Mr. Smith pointed out that the task of organising whatever celebrations were decided on would fall to the lot of the incoming committee, although it would be next May before the jubilee actually arrived. If the school was to maintain its grade of 6a a substantial increase in the roll number would be necessary, said the chairman, Mr. W. H. Jones, at the annual meeting of householders at West End last night. It was hoped this would be brought about next term. He reminded parents that as long as a child reached the age of six before August 18 he or she could attend school at the beginning of next term and be enrolled on the school register as from May 22, the date on which the term commenced.

The northerly wind whipped up considerable breakers on the coast of North Taranaki'yesterday, but no damage resulted, the tides being nearly at the neap. Ngamotu beach was swept by bigger rollers than are usually experienced, and the launch fleet was rocking at its moorings. Rain and weather conditions generally made work at the port impossible, but the breakwater deflected from the harbour most of the swell that caused spectacular clouds of spray at the base of the Sugar Loaves.

A Stratford party motoring from Whangamomona on Sunday evening came across five rabbits on the road at different places between Whanga Saddle and Douglas, showing that the rabbit menace is becoming serious in that district. The rabbit is also rapidly making its unwelcome presence felt in the Patea, Waverley and Waitotara districts, where restrictive measures have recently eased, and it is fairly certain that the one district in the Dominion which for' years has prided itself upon its immunity from the pest will be able to pride itself no longer.

The Vogeltown School had not entered any of the competitions in basketball, football or cricket during the year, only one friendly game of each having been played, said the chairman, Mr. J. M. Thomson, at the annual meeting of householders last night. The committee felt that more interest should be taken in the competitions. The condition of the playing areas came into the question, said Mr. Thomson, and this was left to a special meeting in connection with the suggested formation of a home and school association.

At the Fitzroy School householders’ meeting last night the headmaster, Mr. G. A. Lyall, said that on the average girls obtained about five marks in 100 more than the boys. In his opinion this was due to the fact that boys liked to be but playing until dark, while the girls preferred to stay inside' and read. He made an appeal to parents, especially of boys, to endeavour to encourage their children to take an interest in books and reading, especially the new graded story books.

A pairs bowling tournament at Inglewood during the week-end was settled in a somewhat unorthodox fashion. The games were of 21 heads each, but about halfway through the rain set in so heavily that it seemed finality could not be reached that day. Bowlers, however, have the reputation for dour persistency in the face of the most discouraging inclemencies. They waited philosophically for the rain to cease, but it did not, so they showed their independence by retiring to the pavilion and deciding the bowling rubber at a game of euchre. Owing to the confusion that exists because of the similarity 1 of the names of Westown and West End Schools, both of which are on Belt Road, the meeting of householders at Westown last night decided to ask the Westown Progressive League to take steps to have the narne of Belt Road changed from Wallace Place southwards to a name of local significance. Mr. V. C. Davies was in accord with the suggestion, stating that it was proposed to plant the street with trees, makiryg it in time a beautiful avenue.

It had been contended by Labour candidates that members were paid too much for attending hospital board meetings and Mr. J. Brown was’ clearing up that point at the New Plymouth electors’ meeting last night. For meetings lOd an hour was paid and Mr. Brown thought many Labour men would “growl at a wage like that.” Travelling expenses to the extent of 8d a mile were allowed► A woman then interjected: “Who is the best man on the hospital board, Mr. Brown?” she asked. Mr. Brown looked taken aback and there was advice from the hall that he should not be modest. The chairman (Mr. R. W. D. Robertson) looked puzzled. “I’ll tell her,” said Mr. Brown, stepping forward, but before he could speak the chairman ruled the question a personal one.

A chimney fire at the Criterion Hotel at 7.45 a.m. yesterday was the cause, of the New Plymouth Fire Brigade being summoned to extinguish the outbreak with chemicals.

Donations to the Mayor’s relief fund were coming in steadily, said the Mayor (Mr. H. V. S. Griffiths) at the New Plymouth electors’ meeting last night. The result of the appeal was encouraging to the committee, and it was believed that a larger fund would be available for the relief of distress than in past years.

Boys with airguns are considered to be creating danger in some Wanganui suburbs. While cutting a garden hedge recently, Dr. E. Porritt was hit on the neck by an airgun pellet fired, by a boy who noticed a movement in the leaves and thought he was firing at a bird. The pellet caused only, a slight scratch, but serious harm might have resulted.

The total area under the jurisidction of the New Plymouth Borough Council was 4806 acres, said Cr. J. Brown at the New Plymouth electors’ meeting last night. The mileage of dedicated streets was 72, of which 46 miles were tar-sealed, 18 miles were metalled and only eight miles unmetalled. The length of water mains was approximately 68 miles and the length of sewers upon completion of the sewerage scheme would be 60 miles, 16 miles of which were old sewers and 44 miles sewers laid or to be laid from the £172,000 loan. Continuous rain yesterday prevented any work at the port of New Plymouth. The Totara and the Hawera were already in port, the former with coal and the latter with butter to tranship to the Mahia, and early morning arrivals were the Mahia and the John. The Hawera hove alongside the Mahia but later returned to the wharf. The John will sail for Port Waikato to-night providing the weather has moderated enough to allow the working of the cargo. The Hawera is to sail for Patea to-night, the Totara will leave for Westport to-morrow morning and the Mahia may depart for Auckland to-morrow night. Evidence was accumulating before the society of the great destructiveness of the German owl, said Mr. R. A. Anderson at the annual meeting of the New Zealand Native Bird Protection Society, and there seemed no way to deal with this pest other than by offering a bounty for its destruction. Where the nests of the German owl had been secured there was undoubted evidence of the severe raid made on our smaller birds such as the fantail, tomtit, pipit and robin. Efforts were made by the society’s executive to induce the acclimatisation societies to join in a programme of suppression of German owls, but the society did not get much encouragement. Unfortunately, the funds of the society were barely sufficient to carry out the work already on hand, and the income was too small to allow of the devoting of any substantial sum for the suppression of the bird. The statement that cars were driven through stock at speeds up to 50 miles an hour, and that very rarely did drivers stop to see what damage they had done if they hit any of the animals, was made at the last meeting, of the Waipa County Council in the course of references to the lack of consideration that stock in charge of drovers receives from motorists on country roads, especially on the

Hamilton-Ngaruawahia section -of the Great South Road. One ratepayer wrote stating that, while leading a nervous young horse he signalled as many as a dozen cars to give more room, and not one gave any consideration. It was asserted that many motorists appeared to think that they had the sole right of the road, or that live stock had no right on the road at all. It was decided that the attention of the council’s traffic inspectors and the Auckland Automobile Association should be drawn to the matter.

War, , aviation and the radio have brought the countries of the world so close together that now present conditions are a world problem, and not merely the individual problem of America, or Britain, or Germany, or Australia. Economic readjustment must come to the whole, and not to any one country. This is the view of Dr. William S. Porter, a prominent surgeon of Oakland, California, who arrived in Auckland by the Mariposa recently. "I suppose I will find things as Unsettled in Australia as they are in the United States,” he said. "Our big men in America do not know any more about world financial conditions than anybody else. Nobody dare predict how long it will take for the world to become settled again. America has been through all sorts of depressions before, but they have been national, and not international. America was able to cope with those past depressions, but this is very different. Americans had the reputation of being money mad. Prosperity was so overwhelmingly great that the people were carried far beyond their depths. There was a time when you could take a stock sheet, close your eyes, stick a pin through the sheet and buy the stocks you had picked—and you would make money. Things are different now. "One man said to me that any man who did not owe money to-day was comparatively rich.”

Family trees are more or less common. Not so family sagas. But the Paterson family, whose forbears founded the Bank of England and played other important parts in Britain’s development, have their origin and history recorded in verse. A copy of the “Paterson Saga” was shown to a Southland Times reporter by a descendant who lives in Invercargill. In vigorous verse the story of the Patersons is tracted. “The Patersons, ’tis our belief (runs the tale) sprang from a roving Viking chief.” Then “in later days they slew and harried wher-er the Douglas arms were carried.” But “with the spread of peace and order they spoiled no more the English border, but gave their minds to sow and reap, or multiply the black-faced sheep.” Reference .is then made to their work in building drains and cutting dykes. Then “fame o’ertook them, for in course one John evolved the Clydesdale horse, while cousin William’s Darien scheme shook Scotland like a fevered dream, and England grants him lofty rank as founder ef its mighty bank.” Thus the story runs until near the close of the 19th century, after which a fresh poet will have to trace the destinies of the scattered descendants of the family, not a few of whom are to be found in Otago and Southland.

The returning officer for New Plymouth draws attention in the advertising columns to extra polling booths in use on polling day. There will be booths at the public hospital, the Presbyterian hall, Westown, opposite the Westown School, and at the Harbour Board’s office at Moturoa.

Mr. James Hine, a member of the Dairy Produce Board, will address a meeting of dairy farmers in the Hempton Hall, Okato, on Thursday, The school grounds continued to be a source of pride to parents and residents, stated the report presented at the annual meeting of householders at Westown last night. Under the supervision of Mr. V. Davies the development of the school outdoors left nothing to be desired. It was noteworthy that no deliberate damage had ever been done to the gardens or shrubbery by the scholars, showing that the spirit of proud ownership extended right down to the junior pupils.

Very nice silk-proofed raincoats are being sold at Scanlan’s Melbourne Corner at 29/6. These comprise brown, black, navy and -rust, and are finished with white piping. Shapes are long and the cut is semi-military belted. Light weight and guaranteed shower-proof. Altogether a desirable coat at the price.*