LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Thames Star, Volume LIX, Issue 16627, 24 October 1925, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Labour Day procession and sports on Monday.

The present has been a bad season so far for potatoes, and the prospect is that this staple,, article of diet will be dear as the season progresses.

The members of the Ladies’ Physical Culture Class are particularly reguested to attend at the Masonic Hall, Mackay Street, on Monday evening, at 7 o’clock.

The Colossal £SOOO Art Union, to be drawn on December 21t, is attracting some attention. Tickets are 2/-

each, or book of 12 for £l. Mr. W. J. Potter, Box 1505, Auckland, is the wholesale distributor.

On a farm in the Albury district a lamb with eight legs and two tails was born last week (states the Southland Times). The lamb died, but lias been preserved, and will probably be exhibited at the Timaru show.

“We have come to the point where the Liberal Party is dead, and everyone knows it.” said Mr. Huie (chairman of one of Mr. Coates’ meetings in Chrisichureh). “All sane and sensible Liberals realise that the future of New Zealand is in the hands of Mr. Coates and those behind him.”

It is interesting to note that a concrete bridge is cheaper to build than a wooden one (says the Wairarapa Age). Alternative tenders by the same contractor for a bridge were received by the Masterton County Council, the price for the timber bridge being £728/10/-, and for the concrete one £705/15/--.

It will he most welcome news to know (status the Hawera Star) that the Government has treated the Federation of Factories most liberally in granting the full £IOOO placed on the Estimates towards the establishment of the dairy research laboratory in Hawera.

An express goods train service between Wellington and New Plymouth is at present under consideration by the Railway Board, and is expected to become an accomplished fact in the near future. With such a service, goods consigned in Wellington in the afternoon will be in New Plymouth by the following afternoon. V An elector at the back of the hall at Mr. Lye’s meeting at Te Awaniutu interjected with a remark that he was not a squatter, but had a family of three. Mr. Lye caused laughter by immediately commenting: ‘Tou have a long wav to go before you catch up to me. hoy!” Mr! Lye has a family of eight sons and two daughters.

The Turusi Tennis Club held a successful opening on Saturday last, Mr. J. Mules, chairman of the Turua Town Board, officiating in the absence of Mr. A. H. Rogers, the Club’s president. There was an attendance of over 130 players and visitors, and the afternoon’s pleasure- was further enhanced, by the provision of tea by the ladies’ committee.

Disaster on a minor scale appears to have overtaken the dairying industry somewhere near Wanganui (stat.es the Herald) , as a launch owner bound up the river passed seven dead cows floating. Of late several dead boviries have stranded' in the city area, and the civic policy of giving them a push at the top of high water to change the venue appears to result. only in the creation of fresh difficulties elsewhere.

Two cars belonging to the WanganuiRangitikei Power Board have recently met with accidents and suffered considerable damage. “It is a coincidence.” said the managing secretary of the Board, “that in each case comprehensive insurance policies were taken out only a few days previously.” It was also a coincidence, lie said, that '-these were the only cars that the Board had thus insured.

Sensational reports are being circulated regarding the result of the goldmining operations of an Australian svndicate at St. Bathans and Ida Valley. More than 2ozs. to the barrowload seems too good to be true, but a revival of mining is now assured, as the modern method of working proves that there is plenty of ground along the foothills right from Clyde to St.’'Bathans that will pay handsomely. The excellent state of the roads in England was the subject of much favourable comment the other evening by Mr. C. Rosie, who has returned from a trip to the Old Country. Mr. Rosie remarked that the roads everywhere were in wonderful condition, and even the country lanes w.ere perfect for motor traffic. In England, he said, gangs of men, with fbad rollers and spraying plant, were employed continuously at intervals of about''' 25 mil.es on all the roads, which were never allowed to get into disrepair. Something must be wrong with the tar-mixing recipe used by the Greymouth Borough Council lately (says the Greymouth Star). The half-set sticky. tar on several footpaths has been the cause of many cross words. Some of these were enunciated recently in. vehement Chinese. An elderly native of China was proceeding along the footpath near the police station, when his boots actually stuck to the tar, or vice-versa. After a comical look of astonishment, John decided to take his boots off. and sat down to do so. He couldn’t get up! Held fast by the clutching tar, he sent out an “5.0.5.” call, and repeated it until rescued by the strong arm of the law.