LOCAL AND GENERAL

Waipa Post, Volume 45, Issue 3250, 3 November 1932, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Auckland Board of Education has received advice from the Department to the effect that the retention of the Owairaka Valley school, between Parawera and Arohena, has been approved, and that the appointment of a permanent teacher will be made next year.

We notice that competing m the annual sports at the Wanganui Collegiate School, Jim McMichael was successful in winning the bantam-weight boxing championship. Jim is a former pupil of the Te Awamutu District High School, and is the elder son of Mrs Walter Locke, of Te Awamutu.

The Regulation of Speed for Vehicles Bill was read a second time pro forma in the Legislative Council on Tuesday and was referred to the Local Bills Committee. The Bill proposes to fix the maximum speeds for vehicles at 20 miles an hour m any borough or town district, and oo miles an hour in any country.

An average of 49 lb of buter-fat per' cow from a herd of 150 cows is a very fine production figure for the month of October. This is the record of a herd on Mr F. Reynolds’ property at Edgecumbe, on the Rangitaiki Plains, Bay of Plenty, and it is of interest locally to note that the man in charge is Mr R. Harvey, a brother of Mr A. P. Harvey, of Frontier Road. Mr Harvey, by the way, was one ot the successful applicants for part of the Waikeria estate, recently subdivided for closer settlement, and he will take up his residence in this district about the end of March next.

There is no lack of aspirants for membership of the commission or committee of inquiry which the Government proposes to set up to inqune into local body administration in New Zealand.. Questioned on the subject, the Prime Minister, Rt. HonG. W. Forbes, said he had had considerable correspondence from those willing to offer their services. Mr Forbes said it would probably be early next year before the commission was set up. He said there had been no change in the Governments intentions regarding the inquiry, and there was no basis for a suggestion that the idea of the commission had been abandoned. It is understood that preparations for the inquiry are now in progress by the collection oi data through departmental channel.

It is not surprising to read in Mr W. P. Devereux’s review of the English wool trade (comments the Dominion) that the decline in sterling has stimulated the demand for_ Bradford tops for export. What is surprising is that in the many messages dealing with the recent depreciation of the pound more mention was not made of the bonus so conferred on exporters. For the effect has been to cheapen British quotations in terms of foreign currencies. A fortnight ago roughly 3.45 dollars, 88 francs, or 14.5 marks was required to buy a pound’s worth of British goods. To-day the same quantity can be bought for 3.285 dollars, or 83.7 francs, or 13.8 marks. In other words British prices expressed in foreign currencies have been reduced by almost 5 per cent, a difference by no ffieans negligible when quotations are being cut to the narrowest margin. On the other hand recent reverses suffered by New Zealand meat and dairy produce on the London market might well have been more marked but for the fall in the pound sterling.

Five per cent is to be the rate of interest on a new issue of New Zealand Government debentures. The question is (comments the Doipinion) whether the Government is not keeping the rate too high, especially as the yield on these new 5 per cents will not be subjleeF to the special stamp duty of 10 per cent. In Australia the Commonwealth Government and the bankers are arguing whether to issue a ten years internal loan at 3i or 4 per cent. A few weeks ago in Great Britain £150,000,000 of six years 2 per cent Treasury bonds were over-subscribed. In both cases the Goveimments are taking advantage of the cheaper money market. Has New Zealand no part in the trend toward cheaper money that the Government should still be offering 5 per cent ? The Prime Minister should test the market at a lower rate, in the interest not only of the national finances but also of private borrowers. The present policy makes the Government a steady competitor in the local market at a price tftfit rpugt set the rate higher for all others

Advocating an active land settlement programme, as a means of restoring prosperity, a gentleman who travels extensively through the Waikato and King Country expressed the opinion that big estates need not be cut up to provide the necessary land. Rather should the vacant spaces along the country’s lines of communication be filled. Group settlement was advocated as the most satisfactory plan. There can be no doubt that this is a sound view. Group settlement on low-priced lands, with the State assisting to finance the settlers, offers many advantages both to the settlers themselves and to the country as a whole. With land values as they are, the purchase and sub-division of improved. holdings not only involves heavy initial expenditure by the State, but in many cases imposes a handicap on. the settlers who take up the highpriced land from which they may .never recover. Experienced and capable farmers may make a success of such, land under favourable conditions, but any extensive scheme of land settlement must include a large percentage of inexperienced men. These can be trained and broken into farm work under group settlement schemes, whereas they would in most cases be failures of put straight on to farm high-priced improved land. Mr D. V. Bryant’s plan must be one of the most practical methods of economical land settlement that have ever been put forward.

The annual meeting of the subscribers and thbse interested in the Public Library is to be held this evening. Stating that he desired to do something to assist the Government in affording relief to the unemployed, Mr r. W. Matthews, of “ Waiorongomai, Western Lake, Wairarapa, has presented 50 acres of first-class fanning land for the purposes of the Small Farm Scheme. In announcing the gift, Mr A. T. P. Hubbard, district organiser under the Small Farm Plan, said that this was quite the best gift that had yet been made toward the scheme in New Zealand. Mr Matthews, he said, had expressed the hope that other farmers would perhaps follow his example.

Some unusually large shipments of dairy produce) especially butter, will leave the Dominion during the next seven weeks, space allotments, arranged by the Dairy Board providing for the loading of 942,000 boxes oi butter and 252,100 crates of cheese. Including four ships now loading, the. list includes eleven vessels sailing up to December 23. The C. and D. Liner Port Gisborne, which is due to leave Auckland this week, is taking 120,000 boxes of butter (3000 tons), and 22,800 crates of cheese. The New Zealand Shipping Co.’s motorship Opawa, will take a like quantity of butteip and 25,000 crates of cheese.

Shortly after 2 o’clock yesterday afternoon neighbours noticed that the home of Mr Geo. Hastie, at Puahue, was ablaze, but before assistance could be rendered the place was totally destroyed. Mr Hastie was working on a neighbouring farm, and Mrs Hastie had come into Te Awamutu several hours earlier. It is not known what caused the fire, as we understand no fire had been lighted since early morning. There was no insurance on the building, which was owned by Mr John Kite, of Puahue, but there was a cover of £IOO in the State Office on the furniture and effects. Thus, both owner and occupier are losers.

District sportsmen do not appear to be entirely satisfied with the trend of restrictive regulation imposed at the instance of the Auckland Acclimatisation Society, and it would seem that at the next meeting of th© society, which is to be held at Otorohanga shortly, there will be opportunity to discuss with the executive matters of general concern. It is understood several of the country clubs affiliated with the society intend to have representative delegations present, and Te Awamutu anglers and shooting enthusiasts should also make a point of attending.

There were good attendances at the Empire Theatre on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings for the special screening of the picture, The Champ,” in connection with the benefit for the Waipa Rugby Union’s insurance fund. On each occasion the audience was very appreciative of the excellent programme provided. During the interval on Tuesday evening Mr G. W. Mairs, president of the Rugby Union, took the opportunity to present the trophies won by clubs during the season just closed, and congratulated the winners upon their success. At his call, also, the audience warmly applauded the theatre management for the generous assistance rendered to Rugby.

As the result of a heart attack while travelling by train from Wellington to Auckland on Monday night, Mr P. G. Roussell, general manager of railways, died at the home of his sister, Mrs H. Jenkin, Grey Lynn, five hours after the arrival of the train at Auckland on Tuesday. He had intended joining the Niagara that evening for Sydney to make inquiries regarding the operation of the Australian railways on behalf of the New Zealand Railways Board. Rising from the rank and file of the service, Mr Roussell served through all branches of the traffic and his experience in this connection enabled him to see matters as they affected all branches of the service. Mr Roussell is survived by Mrs Roussell, a daughter and three sons.

A resolution that the name’ of the New Zealand Country Party should be changed so as to embrace newer organisations which were springing up throughout the Dominion, and whose aims were included in the platform of the Country Party, was passed at a meeting of the executive of the Rotorua electorate held at Matamata. The party’s platform, it was stated, had been specially designed to give the greatest good to the greatest number. Various currency leagues and other bodies wlrch were advocating planks of the platform of the Country Party were springing up, and it was only right that these bodies should be given a chance of cooperating, said one speaker.

As illustrating the possibilities of wool production in the Pokuru district, what will probably constitute a record was obtained on Mr H. Fear’s farm on Tuesday last, when Messrs J. Robertson (Ngutunui) and W. Gray (Pokuru) were shearing. A carry-over from last season of fourteen ewes (two of which were wet) and two wethers were shorn; the sheep in question were four-tooth Romney cross, and their individual fleeces weighed from 1251 b. to 171 b. the total weight for the fourteen sheep being 198ilb. Thes© sheep were shorn as two-tooths last season, and had been purchased as cull lambs the previous season at 5s 3d per head.

The hallowe’en dance, last Monday evening in the Parish Hall, arranged to mark the close of another season of St. John’s Girls’ Club, proved very successful, for it attracted a very large attendance of members and their friends. The hall had been most ar tistically decorated in shades of yellow and black, appropriate hallowe’en favours being used to effectnExcellent music was supplied by the Kit-Cat Orchestra, supplemented with extras by the Misses Empson and B. Bowden, and Mr H. Bent acted as master of ceremonies. Quite a number of the dancers attended in costume, chiefly as pierrots and gypsies. A very tasty supper was served, and altogether the function was a very happy one.

Several Te AWamutu sportsmen and horses will be assisting at the Auckland Racing Club’s spring meeting, which opens at Ellerslie on Saturday.

The prophecy was made at last week’s meeting of the Wellington Philosophical Society, when the subject of science and agriculture was under discussion, that New Zealand would ultimately be looked upon as the greatest grass-growing country in the world.

A Press Association message from Tauranga this afternoon states that the body of the Rev. E. G. Ault, who disappeared from his home at Turua on Saturday last, was found yesterday afternoon on the beach near Ranginui Point at Welcome Bay. When discovered the body was clothed in a bathing suit. An inquest was held this morning. Deceased was about 50 yeai’s of age, unmarried, and had been in ill health for some time. He had no financial worries. The coroner’s verdict was that deceased met bis death by drowning on or about 29th October.