LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Thames Star, Volume LIX, Issue 16754, 6 April 1926, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

It is against the regulations of the Post Office to accept for registration letters when the flaps of the envelopes are gummed down with strips of gummed paper. The big jumbled sentence competition in Humour does not close for a few weeks yet. Substanial cash prizes are offered in this competition. The wit in Humour is irresistible. Here is a. tvpic.nl joke from the latest number. 'Stout Lady: “We’ve just been down the Exhibition coal mine. My dear, what a terrible place! Those poor miners! I’ve resolved to use nothing but gas in future.” Three blackfisli similar to those which came ashore near Waitakaruru some months ago were stranded last Friday week (says an exchange). Two Waitakaruru men have since rendered down tlie blubber, and secured between five and six hundred gallons of oil, which will probably return them about 7/6 a gallon. The fish were 35ft., 33ft. and 27ft. long, but all the blubber could not be secured owing to the diffi-culty-of turning the bodies over. The Waihi telephone exchange is now open from 6 a.m. until midnight. As many Thames excursionists to Te Aroha yesterday were walking to the railway station, a car containing two ladies, several children and two men, one of whom was driving, raced down the street, which is on a slope, at a terrific speed, in fact, the speed was so fast that it attracted the atten tion of the large number of people on the: footpath. On reaching tae bottom of the street the car suddenly swerved to round the corner, and crashed into the wooden protection for the trees on the side of the road, precipitating its occupants on to the grass. To the witnesses of the accident it looked a certainty that there would be a fatality, but the general opinion was that the occupants of the car all had a miraculous escape. The driver is supposed to have stated the ear got out of control.

When Sir James Allen is eventually relieved of his position as High Commissioner, it is his intention to return to New Zealand by way of Japan. He will cross Canada and then go on to Japan, spending some time at the various places of interest. He will then see Hongkong, Maliila, Singapore and the Islands. At present he has pencilled his passage for the end of August, but this may have to be cancelled, if the Government should desire him to remain in London until after the Imperial Conference. Miss Kona Allen may accompany Sir James to New Zealand, but the rest of the family will remain in London for, at any rate, some months. “I am surprised at the great number of newspapers you have in this country,” said the new Bishop of Christchurch (Dr. West-Watson), in an interview with a Lyttelton Times reporter on Tuesday morning. “There are four newspapers in Christchurch, are there?” he added, in reply to a remark by the reporter. “The people here must be great readers. The papers seem to combine the characteristics of the big English productions as well as the provincial ones. The English city papers do not touch on the personal side, and the smaller journals include in their columns all the lesser important happenings; but the New Zealand productions combine ■ these characteristics. The Bishop-elect had also something to say about handshaking in general, for, as he laughingly remarked, he has had much experience of this since arriving in New Zealand. He believes there is much meaning in a warm handshake. When there is much of it to do, it is well to learn the art of it, such as turning a signet ring round so that the signet does not conie into painful contact with everv shake.”

A record of which they are proud was established recently by a firm of Wanganui land agents, who sold a local residential property by telephone, all the negotiations being conducted over the wire. The buyer (says the Chronicle) was a Palmerston North man, and he did not even inspect the property. The transaction was put through entirely by toll calls between Wanganui and Palmerston North, and the buyer’s profound faith has been rewarded by possession of a fine property. ■ First aid for coughs, colds and influenza Woods’ Great Peppermint Cure-.

WITHIN WIRELESS RANGE. Auckland.—Tofua. Kilmora, Ventura, Hinernoa, Matakana, Tekoa, Anglo-Columbian, Kawatiri. Wellington.- Wahine, Maori, Ngaio, Arahura, Tamahine, Corinthic, Tahiti, Kairanga, Surprise. Tasealusa, Cordelia, Kaiwarra, Kauri, Karori, Ivurow, Kaitangata, Waimana, Karetu, Canadian Traveller. Awarua. —Argyllshire, Huntingdon, Kaitoke, Waikouaiti. , .*

"Last year the total revenue of the Wellington Rugby Union was £6930/ 11/-, and the profit for the year £l4lO. The gate money taken at the Athletic Parle' totalled £6llß/18/8, and of this sunt' "£‘2470/9/6 was taken at cup matches, and £2337/7/8 at representative games. At Pet-One £447/12/3 was taken. The accident account showed that the expenditure was £279/15/6 in excess of the income. The assets of the Union are estimated at £10,012/ 1/9. It has now two freehold properties, Strand Park and air area at Taita, worth £3515/15/5. The freehold property (Athletic Park), less depreciation, is worth £4057/4/3.

The clock at the new Post Office which was placed in position at Paeroa on Tuesday morning is evidently a believer in the “no tick” principle. Apparently the hands became jambed in transit, aud it will require the services of an expert to set the clock in motion. Already many townspeople have gazed interestedly at the dial, and a few have been noticed to look at their own timepieces as if to make a comparison as to the correctness of the time.

In some parts of Southland the old Scottish superstition has not died (says the Daily News), and at a function at Winton one speaker, in making a presentation of a case of stainless cutlery to Mrs. P. de la Perrelle, asked for and received a penny in exchange -•-so that, as he put it, their friendship would not- he severed by the gift. A missionary just returned from India tells this story of a Hindu’s gratitude to a lady doctor who had attended his wife. The doctor received the following letter: —“Kind and fair madam, —I have the pleasure to inform you that my dear unfortunate wife will no lohger be a patient of yours, she having left this World for the next oil February 27th last. For your kind help in this matter I shall he ever grateful.” Au expert in furs who was in Bab clulha on Friday last dropped across a real bargain in a local auction room where a few fur coats, etc., were on saie (reports a correspondent) 1 . The visitor’s quick eye detected a nonde-script-looking garment, which, on inspection, was composed of four skins sewn together, with tails hanging. The skins were labelled “Astrakhan,” and tlie expert saw that they were real Persian lambskins, worth somewhere about eight guineas each. He almost wept for joy when tokl that- the price was “five boh” for the lot. It is not often that one can pick up such objets d’art in an auction room in a country town. The latest feminine, fad to find its way into New Zealand and to permeate subsequently through to Napier is the dangling watch. Women at various times have worn their watches in all sorts of possible and impossible positions, sensible and otherwise (remarks the Daily Telegraph), but the way in which two women were observed to be wearing their watches in Hastings Street indicated that Napier is well to the fore in adopting new ideas. A small ball of clear green enamel and gold dangled at the end of a long, fine gold chain. A close inspection showed that the jewel ball was fiat-bottomed, and contained the face of a tiny watch. Many examples of the dangers arising out of children being allowed to play near the power reticulation lines have come under notice (says the Waipa Post). Still another instance was reported by tlie foreman of the Te Awamutu Electric Power Board the other day, when he drew the Board’s attention to what may have had serious consequences. It seems that the trouble-man, on being called out to a fault a week or so ago, found a cord with a nut tied ou the end of it which had been thrown over the high-tension line by a boy. Endeavouring to disentangle it, the boy managed to shortcircuit the wires, which blew the substation fuses. If the cord had been damp, the boy would have received sufficient shock to be fatal.