Local and General

Waipa Post, Volume 42, Issue 3304, 2 June 1931, Page 4

Local and General

The Te Awamutu District High School Committee meets this evening.

A statutory first offender, arrested for drunkenness on Saturday, was brought before Mr W. Jeffery, J.P-, at the local Court yesterday morning, when he was convicted and fined 10s.

Quite a number of district spoilsmen left to-day to 4 assist at the Auckland Racing Club’s Great Northern meeting, which commences tomorrow, when the Coi-nwall Handicap and Great Northern Hurdles will be decided.

A Te Awamutu young hopeful, just five years of age, was being got ready for his first appearance at school, had been pestering his mother to make him a - pair of new pants, and when she had compiled the little laddie inspected them admiringly for a few moments, and then asked that she put a patch on them, “ so that I will know which is the back! His mother is, we hear, still in doubt as to whether the remark is a reflection on her ability as an amateur tailoress.

“With the three-party system of government there is bound to be a good deal of vote-splitting at the general election this year,” declared the Prime Minister on Saturday at Christchurch. “ The Leader of the Reform party will have to take the blame for this, as the Government, by making its fusion proposals, did all it could to prevent such an occurence. Mr Coates had the matter in his own hands, and in refusing to accept the Government’s proposals for a National Government he has provided for vote-splitting.”

The admonition to all motorists to affix the new license plates on thenvehicles was only partly successful on Monday morning. The Borough Council’s traffic inspector was observed during the morning calling the attention of motorists to the requirements of the law, and in every case the advice was seemingly acted upon promptly. But, strange to relate, one of the offenders was the Borough Council itself, for a truck driven by a Council employee came under the inspector’s eye, as the old number plates were in use. The employee lost no time in complying with the inspector’s requirements.

In an interview at Christchurch on Saturday, the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes, denied the truth of the statement made by the Leader of the Onposition, the Rt. Hon. J G. Coates, to the effect that the present Government had been warned by the Reform party in 1928 that dangerous days were ahead. Reform, said Mr Forbes, was in office in 1928, and, judging from its actions, nothing was further from its mind than thoughts of a coming financial depression. The United party had to take over the Reform deficit when it assumed office. Commenting on the statement by the Labour leader, Mr H. E. Holland, regarding forcing the Government to go to the country, Mr Forbes said this was nothing new. Labour had consistently voted against the Government since the commencement of last session.

Quite a gloom was cast over the town when it became known that Mrs J. A. Marston, wife of a"'prominent officer' of the local Post and Telegraph Office, had passed away on Saturday evening. Deceased, who had been confined to bed for a week with an attack of pneumonia and pleurisy, gradually sank and death ensued, despite the best of medical and nursing attention. She leaves a husband and family of four young children to mourn, and to them will be extended the sincere sympathy of a very wide circle. Mrs Marston was a Miss Ramsay, a .member of a family wellknown in Te Awamutu and Te Mawhai, and she was universally respected. The funeral took place yesterday afternoon, interment being at the Te Awamutu cemetery. A very large number of people formed the cortege, and the pall-bearers were Messrs H. Ramsay, J. Murtagh, E. Lawson, and F Waters. An impressive service was conducted at the graveside by Mr Sam Jones.

An impressive lead in the reduction of rates has been given by the Masterton County Council whose rate demands in the current year will total £19,000, against £27,000 last year, a decrease of almost 30 per cent. The general rate has been cut by. 35 to 45 per cent, according to ridings. Herein is an answer to those municipal wiseacres who are fond of repeating that substantial savings cannot be made. A year or two ago the Masterton county might have given the same hopeless answer,' “ It can’t be done,” but, under the spur of necessity, it has been done. The result is that one of the heaviest items ir overhead expenses has been much lightened, and the relief thus afforded will doubtless be deeply appreciated by the farmer ratepayers. Householders and urban traders generally are in almost as difficult a position as the farmers, and local bodies, which throughout New Zealand are at present framing their annual estimates, should strive to emulate the example set by the Masterton County Council.

A well-known Hindu family in Te Awamutu received an unexpected in/crease in numbers on Sunday when twin daughters were born.

To-morrow being King’s Birthday, Te Awamutu retailers will observe a close holiday.

“If people cannot afford to pay their license fees they cannot afford to keep dogs,” remarked a Borough Council member at Monday evening’s meeting when reference was made to pending prosecutions.

Reporting on business transacted at last meeting of the Main HighBoard, Mr M. H. Wynyard, of Auckland, mentioned that intimation was received that the engineer of the Waipa County Council expected to have the survey of the Great South Road between Ngaruawahia and Te Awamutu completed by the end of July.

“The rates of interest will right themselves automatically,” said a Wanganui secretary to a Chronicle reporter. He mentioned the fact that there were hundreds of mortgagee, who were not getting their interest. He mentioned one instance. A man had £40,000 out on broad acres at an average of six per cent, and his income from that soui’ce last year was only £SO. “That man would be satisfied to get four per cent, or even less,” the secretary added.

The death has occun-ed of Mr William Cullen, of Boundary Road, Claudelands, a pioneer of the Maungaturoto district, at the age of 73 years. Mr Cullen arrived in New Zealand at the age of eight years with his parents, Mr and Mrs John Cullen, who were among the first settlers of Albetland. He later entered the building trade and was responsible for the erection of most of the early homes in Maungaturoto. In 1911 Mr Cullen came to the -Waikato and farmed at Ohaupo. Later he took over a private hotel in Te Kuiti. Foi- several years he had lived in retirement in Hamilton. Mr Cullen is survived by two sons and one daughter.

Mr H. E. Holland’s announcement that “the Labour Party will seize the first oppoi'tunity that presents itself to send the Government to the country” will be read with considerable amusement. The Labour Party b ! '. frequent opportunities of doing this in the earlier sessions of the present Parliament. It not only refrain from; using these, but on more than one occasion made a deliberate sacrifice of its professed, principles in order to keep the United Party in office. Having squeezed the Government in every posible way, Mr Holland is now prepared to throw it overboard, like a sucked orange. An early election might suit the Labour Party, but as the Reform Party leader has given an undertaking to assist the Government in every reasonable way the opportunity which Mr Holland desires will not be of his own makim The Labour Party’s dog-in-the-man-ger tactics have been the least edifying feature of the present Parliament, and if Mr Holland’s latest display of political vindictiveness is an criterion, it is not likelv to improve its prestige in the forthcoming session.