LOCAL AND GENERAL

Waipa Post, Volume XXIV, Issue 1689, 21 November 1925, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

>Mr C. J. Duggan. who resigned from the Railway Department in order to contest the Rangitikei seat, has, through the courtesy of the Prime Minister, rejoined the service. Mr R. S. Weir's Highland Mary (Ayrshire cow) was sold at the Christchurch Royal Show to a Waikato breeder at a price running well over three figures.

The secretary of the Waipa Racing ditto informs us that he has written to the Waipa County Council re the parking of cars on the road near the racecourse gates, with a view to avoiding congestion on .race day.

JDalgety and Co., Ltd., report having received the following cablegram from their London house dated the 18th inst:—'Tallow: 1910 casks of tallow offered and 945 casks sold. There is a fair demand at unchanged prices.

Intimation has been received by the Waipa Racing Club from Mr T. C. Cray, the architect, that he had accepted Mr P. W. Peate's tender for the new official standi The contract price is £687 7s. The original specific cation has been amended to provide for concrete steps in place of wood. A collision occurred on the Para-w&ra-iPukeatua road, on Brett's hill, during Thursday, when a car driven 'by a Pukeatua resident named Mcintosh collided with one driven by a representative of Messrs H. Andrew and Sons, Te Awamutu. The latter car was somewhat damaged iby the head-on impact, 'but it was able to return to town under its own power. Neither 1 driver was injured.

A commendable action on the part of a numlber of Nelson tomato growers towards a local grower who had been laid aside with sickness is recorded (says the Mail). The grower has been lately in the hospital recovering from a serious operation, and, realising that a. very severe loss would occur to him !by not being able to plant his tomatoes, some twenty growers assembled in his garden and ploughed the land and planted and sticked some five thousand plants; theiy also replaced those that had been stricken by a late frost.

In these days of mechanical transport a 22 horse team, particularly within the confines of the city, says the Oiago Daily Times, is a decided novelty. On ' a recent Saturday afternoon there was delivered to the Kaikorai tram-sheds a new caible, the traction of which must have been a distinctly heavy demand on the resources of the transit company's stables, and the sight of 22 powerful draught horses drawing the huge jinker. with its 10J ton load, up the street attracted many onlookers.

The west end of the Bay sands at Oamaru had a curious brown carpet a few days ago, on parts three inches thick. At a little distance (says the Herald) it might be supposed to ibe seaweed ground up 'by being dashed by waves against the rubble below the cliffs. On examination, however, it proved to be composed almost wholly of comminuted grasses and other land vegetation—probably dead vegetation carried to sea by floods in the rivers, and by some curious action of wind and current, collected together and brought into Caroline Bay. The evidence of witnesses in court regarding the number of drinks a defendant had on the eventful day under consideration may generally be regarded as a conservative estimate. In the Hawera Court there was a defendant who admitted having eight drinks, but brought witnesses who said he had been perfectly, sober. The magistrate said he had known men who had been speechlessly drunk and gibbering over the wheel of their cars and yet could later get witnesses to ay that they were perfectly sober and had only had four shandies. "The fatal dose seems to be four shandies," added the Magistrate.—Star.

"Ragwort is going to wipe out dairying in Taranaki," said Mr H. Jones (Kaimata) at a meeting of the North Taranaki executive of the Farmers' Union (reports the Herald). "Blackiberry is a serious menace, but ragwort is worse. Farmers will ultimately have to go in for .mixed farming." Statements by other members were that ragwort on the top of the Kaitake ranges spreads its seeds for miles around the countryside through the medium of the winds, that some farmers had actually asked the inspector to serve them with notices to cut blackherry and ragwort, but had not received any, and that what at a glance would be a clean .paddock was covered with roots of ragwort, growing there from wind-horne seeds.

The members of the New Zealand Milking 'Shorthorn .Association had before them at a recent meeting a letter, in Spanish, from the Argentine Milking Shorthorn Association, and also a translation of the letter into English, but the translation was of such a character that it was almost as cryptic, as the original (relates the Christchurch Press). A specimen sentence ran as follows: "For a long time in this country there has .been making itself felt the necessity for the existence of an organisation of breeders of Shorthorn herds, in the form authorised, being for the reasons expressed, the nature of our work, entirely basic and truly profound, meticulous and extensive, for which we rely upon an excellent and important nucleus of specimens of first class as regards milk yield and type of breed, considering matters from the point of view of our present necessities." No wonder a sigh of relief went round when the secretary came to the closing sentence: "We salute you with the assurances of ou'r highest and most distinguished consideration."

It is expected that some 9000 to I 10,000 tales of wool will be offered ■ at the Wanganui sale to be held on November 25th. |

The offer to provide an orchestra of eight instrumentalists for race day has been accepted by the Waipa Racing Club, and the secretary is> entrusted with the arrangement of details. 'A Gazette notice empowers the Railway Department to acquire several areas of land near Huntly, approximately 20 acres, for sites for the erection of employees' dwellings.

Mr D.'McArthur, manager of the Te Awamutu Electric Power Board, advises us that the interruption of the electrical service on Thursday 1 last from about 6 a.m. until 7.45 a.m. was due to the branch of a tree falling on to the transmission line in the vicinity of Mystery Creek, ,'beyond Ohaupo. The 'break occurred outside the Te Awamutu Board's area. "It seems absurd to spend money we do in building those large permanent schools in concrete and brick; they will last for a hundred years; and we know 'perfectly well that in a quarter of that time, with modern science and knowledge, our ideas about housing 'will entirely change, when we have buildings put up at such low expense," said His Excellency the Governor-Gen-eral when he performed the opening ceremony of the Cashmere Open-air School, Canterbury. The Auckland Acclimatisation Society, at its meeting in Hamilton last Wednesday evening, decided to spend £lO or £ls in the .purchaes of a quan? tity of rice seed, which it is intended to sow in marshy ground along the banks of streams in various parts of the province. It is contended authoritatively that the rice, which is primarily intended as feed for wildfowl, will not become a pest, but that it will be appreciated fodder for stock during dry seasons. A warning against people with goitre dosing themselves with any form of iodine was issued by Dr. Eleanor Baker McLaglen, who said (reports the • Poverty Bay Herald) that all marked cases, and all those which showed toxic symptoms should be under the care of a doctor. The treatment which had been undertaken in the schools was rather than curative. The doctor said that it was proiba/ble that in the near future the Health Department would issue some definite advice on the subject of the prevention of goitre.

The Auckland Automobile Association service officer, Mr Champtaloup, stated in the course of conversation that the arranging of tourist camping grounds by local authorities was a very commendable idea indeed. Those local todies which had already taken up Jhe scheme were making money for their town besides giving motorists a service which was appreciated. He was glad the Te Awamutu Borough iCouncil had favourably received the representations of the recent deputation of local memlbers of the A.IA.A., and he would like to see the local camping ground instituted in time to incorporate the information in the association's service notes right away. There would be big tourist traffic through Te Awamutu in the next few months, and this fact should be made the most of br the local authorities. A recognition social and dance is to be held shortly in Cambridge complimentary to the late M.P. for Waikato, Mr F. Lye. At a meeting this week convened to discuss the.project, the chairman (Mr P. T. Glanville) said the political fight was now over, and all sections of the community agreed that Mr Dye was a sterling and honest man who had rendered impartial service to his constituents. Mr Lye had entered the political field an untried man and he had carried out his- duties in an exceptional manner, but best of all, in defeat, he had shown himself to be a thorough gentleman. Having given of his time and labour ungrudgingly to one and all during the past three years, it was felt .by many in the district that Mr Lye's services should 'be recognised in some tangible form, hence the meeting that night.

iA resident of Teasdale Street says he received " t'he fright of his life" last evening. IHe was just leaving his front gate to attend a meeting when he observed a motor car approaching down the incline. It came off the metalled strip of roading, and he Avaited, expecting the car to pull up opposite him. Imagine his surprise when it dashed past within a foot or two of him and came to rest butt into a 'bank. Investigation showed that it was driverless. Apparently it had been left unattended momentarily just below the crest of the rise, and the brakes failing to hold it went for a jaunt on its own account. The resident who had the narrow escape investigated, found that the car was a Dodge (significant name!), and so inquired from neighbours as to ownership. But the neighbours could throw no light on the mystery, and the police were notified. Later the owner came and claimed his errant steed, which was little the worse for the unusual escapade.

The Sydney Morning Health quotes the following from the letter of a lady now returned from a visit to a married sister in Queensland, Longreach district: "During the railway strike there Iwas much talk of civil war. They declared that it was coming soon unless the Government gave the strikers all that they asked.. The men who were engaged on the station were always talking civil war. They declared "that it was coming soon. I was told that offenders against the law in the interior of Queensland go unpunished more often than not. Juries are afraid to convict, and the police can do nothing even if they wished to. If a man is given the 'sack' the woolshed is fired soon afterwards. No person engaged on a job .may he spoken to toy the employer. If spoken to the worker iwill at once take his departure. IHe suffers no loss by so doing, because he takes his wage 9 card with him. It has to be signed by the employer every week, and the amount of the wages is stated. When a worker leaves his employment the Queensland Government pays him the wages stated on his wages- card, and continues to pay him wages for a certain period while he is looking for new employment."

An inter-club tennis match between Awamutu and Cambridge teams is likely to eventuate at an early date. Several Te Awamutu district sportsmen left last evening for Auckland tc attend the Otahuhu Trotting Club's 'fixture at Alexandra Park to-day.

An interesting : announcement by the Official Assignee is that the first and final 'dividend of one penny in the pound is now payable in the bankrupt estate of John Chiverton Kersey, of Te Awamutu, taxi proprietor. The death occurred yesterdaiy at Whangarei of Colonel C. E. Mackesy, C.M.G., aged 64 years. He served in the Great War in command of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles in Egiy.pt and Palestine.

The daylight limited express train from Wellington to Auckland was much better patronised last (yesterday) evening than on any other day during the week. Quite a num'ber of Te Awamutu people joined the train last evening. The returning officer for the Ohinemuri electorate has received an application from the New Zealand Alliance asking for a magisterial recount of the votes cast at the recent licensing poll, at which restoration of licenses was declared carried. It will be remembered that restoration of license to sell liquor in the Ohinemuri electorate was carried by a margin of 48 votes over the threenfifths majority needed.

A young married woman from the King Country was brought before justices at the Te Awamutu Court yesterday to answer charges involving forgery of a cheque drawn on her father':; banking account. The forgery was, it was contended, done at her father's request, in the absence of her mother, who had been authorised to sign the cheques. After hearing the evidence the justices decided that they had no other course but to commit the offender to the Supreme Court at Hamilton next week, bail being allowed.

,The controversy rages as to the rights and wrongs of the returning officers for the Westland and Lytteltcn electorates 'giving their casting votes. A prominent Labourite cairns that it is an " outrage " for the returning officers to depart from Parliamentary procedure* by deciding against the sitting members—in each case they were Lafcour supporters. Whatever was the accepted custom does not much matter nolw, for the returning officers have voted. Albout the most sensible suggestion we have heard on the subject is that provision should be made in the case of future elections for returning officers to be requiredd to record their votes on polling day, the voting papers to be sealed and put aside for use in case of a tie. That course would obviate any suggestion of influence due to the tie.

We were shown yesterday a couple of stalks of what looked like a weed that grows prolifically in various parts of the country, hut which we were informed is a genus of flax, commonly known in Ireland as lint, from which the world-renowned Irish linen is manufactured. Our informant, an old Irishman, expressed the firm conviction that the Waikato is admirably suited for the propagation and cultivation of this valuable plant. He says he has seen many plots of up to 100 acres of lint grown in Ireland, where the practice is to break up the ground take a first crop of oats, and then sow lint, a very fine crop resulting. So long as 'New Zealand adds to her s L oc!c of motor cars at the rate of eibout 60 a day (states an exchange) the motor trade must be perfectly justified in its claim to be the most active industry we have. It has- entered upon a period of great prosperity, and the /building schemes of a number of leading city firms are planned on a scale that is unparalleled by any other industry. In this connection it is worthy of note that the. local motor engineering firm of H. T. Salter and Co., has recently completed a commodious showroom for the better display of latest model cars, while the firm of R. W. Gibson have their motor engineering premises undergoing enlargement to more efficiently cope with the increasing businss.