LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXI, Issue 18818, 6 July 1923, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Tasmania’s revenue for the year June 30 was £2,172,000, compared with £2,181,000 in tUw previous year.

Last month 40 marriages took place at Hamilton, which constitutes a record for the town. In June, 1922. there Were 16 marriages.

Some time ago it was decided to import a number of goats to the Wairoa district, where it is hoped that they will prefer blackberry vines to ether foods. Recently a consignment of 167 arrived and they are now being distributed. Amateur wireless is getting a very popular hold in Wanganui and ■'listening in” is becoming quite an ordinary part of daily life- Wireless would be even more popular, and certainly in wider use, were it not for the tact that the incidentals are. expensive.

One of the most serious effects of the continued rain at Auckland is the loss of time sustained by outdoor workers. The engineer in charge of the Great South Road road-making contract for the Ono Tree Hill Road Board, Mr J. Dawson. stated that during the last two months no less than four weeks had been lost through wet weather.

A Hamilton resident travelling on the Main Trunk train from Welling ton left a handbag containing jewellery valued at £2OO on the train. She had four children to look after, and her anxiety for them caused her to forgot her handbag. She discovered her loss soon after the departure of the train from Hamilton, and informed the police. Advice has been received that the bag had been found on the train.

The Dairy Farmers’ Union is calling a conference of dairy factories of the whole of the Wellington province for July 19, in order to discuss the unsatisfactory position of the bacon industry. The efforts to secure the works of the New Zealand Meat Packing and Bacon Company having proved fruitless, the

question of a new co-operative scheme on a large basis will be discussed in the hope of devising some solution of this vexed problem. “The fact that available phosphate is abundant in Otago soils but deficient in most New Zealand soils, especially those of the North Island

and southern parts of the South Island suggests.” Mr B. C. Aston, chemist to the Agricultural Department writes in the latest number of the Journal of Agriculture, "that some day Central Otago, with its splendid summer climate and irrigation, may become the granary of New Zealand.” The prevalence of timber thefts is causing some concern among builders and the trade generally (says a Christchurch exchange). Recently somebody seems to have travelled round the suburbs with a cart, for timber was taken from three sections where buildings are in course of erection. A considerable quantity of jarrah flooring was taken from a job at Cashmere Hills, and lining and studs were collected from sections in Spreydon and Richmond.

An unusual request was made by an accused person who was before the court in Timaru recently, on a charge of theft (reports the Timaru HeralJ). He had been convicted on his own admission of the theft of a rug, valued at £5 6s, which he had sold to a taxi proprietor for £l, and he asked to be allowed to repay the £1 which he had obtained from the taxi man. His Wor-

ship said he would make no order in this respect, as a taxi proprietor who would buy a five guinea rug for £1 from a drunken man did not deserve any consideration.” A New York cablegram to Aus-

tralian papers states that the Prince of Wales has had an unexpected honour thrust upon him by being voted the world’s premier dancer by the National Institute for Social Dancing, which announces that ii sent him a number of new steps. Addressing, the Prince, the institute, through its secretary, said: “It is our unanimous vote that your Royal Highness deserves first place among the world's dancers, by reason of which position we find it only befitting that your Royal Highness be the first to learn the steps.” The divorce laws in New Zealand were scathingly dealt with by Mr J. W. Kemp during a lecture he gave at Auckland. "What must be the feelings of fathers and mothers at the outlook before their children?” ho remarked. "The domestic situation everywhere is alarming. Take divorce, for instance, and the ease with which the young people can separate in a few years after having sworn’ to be true to one another at the altar. if they took a little more care before they got tied up there would not be these frightful misunderstandings, atid the fearful tragedies which often occur after marriage. The foolish and flippant behaviour of young people when courting is not the right preparation for marriage. The law of the land may free them, but not God’s law.” He gave instances of several extremely ’sad cases which had come under his notice, -where, by the death of a child, the parties had been reconciled.

The jubilee of Luther Burbank was celeorated last month in California's best manner. The magician is now 74, and tor 47 of those years he has lived and worked in the little town ot Santa Rosa” —the world, as with Emerson's maker o£ mouse-traps, having made a path to his door.” But although few Americans realise it, Burbank is working secretly against their Constitution. He - ist le, since he will ■not allow even a humble potato to I remain humble. Plants in Burbank’s hands must become aristocrats or perish. Pure democracy ’he immediately attacks and destroys, so that when California hugs him to its democratic bosom he is wondering all the time how to belittle and befool Its philosophy. But that does not matter - in the meantime. What California remembers is that the potato he sold for £3O before he went West is believed to have contributed since to the food values of the world at least £30,000,000 —and conspirators can be forgiven a good deal if their labours while they live are so richly beneficient.

In the course of a lecture to a meeting of Clandeboye farmers Mr G. S. Ridley stated that a classing of lewt of manure to the acre was equivalent to loz (or a tablespoonful) to the square yard, and yet it was astonishing what such a small application would do.

“There is nobody travelling. I haven’t taken a pound this morning,” growled the tram conductor. Ills bag hung limply, and tuppences dropped into its leathern depths with scarcely a jingle. The traveller listened and wondered gloomily if rates would go up.

Electric current to the value of £5BBl 17s 2d was consumed by the various municipal departments in Napier last year. The trams consumed £258'3 12s 2d, sewerage £1313 Is 6d, waterworks £740 13s sd, and street lighting £638 15s 7d, the balance being made up by sundry departments.

The savings in Government departmental expenditure as disclosed by the Budget, aro common to nearly all votes, the principal reductions being : —Post and Telegraph working expenses, £.330,145; Public Buildings. *<.217; Defence and Naval, £222,029: Lands and Survey, £63.295; Customs. £33,123; Railways, £1,527 053; Education, £65.571; Agriculture, £66,979; Marine, £34,491.

The weather report from the Mouniahaki Experimental Farm for the month of June, states* Heavy rain fell on 15 occasions, the heaviest fall 1.3 inches, being recorded on 27th. The. month has been wholly Jacking in sunshine, loss than 150 Lours lieing recorded for the month. One frost was experienced on the 26th. A thunderstorm occurred on the first of the month, also eno on the 30th. the latter being accompanied by a hailstorm. A rather unusual experience befell Mr James Benjamin, an electrical linesman at Waiorongomai, near To Arolia, when travelling from one part of the. district to another. Ho had proceeded ever the first part of the way by horse and trap, but the animal bolted, occasioning such damage to the vehicle tlrit Mr Benjamin was unable to proceed any further in it. Thereupon, he mounaed the horse. The animal threw him, and he sustained such injuries as necessitated iiis removal to the Maikato Hospital, where he is progressing satisfactorily.

The five youthful members of the Westminster Glee Singers, and Mr. Leo Du Chateau, their manager, were proceeding home to Adelaide from Glenelg soon after midnight recently, when the motor in which they were riding collided with a goods train at the Leader street level crossing, at Forestville, with the result that two of the boys—Leslie Snow and Edmund Walter —received injuries which necessitated their removal to the Parkwynd Hospital. The other members of the party, although all slightly injured, had miraculous escapes from serious injury. According to the Rev. J. W. Kemp, the life of a politician is not altogether a bed of ro.se». “It is one of the most harassed and tumultuous lives that the mind can conceive,’ he remarked. “How a man can sit in Parliament and keep his mind and temper, I do not know. But they do not always keep it, for we read of lively and unseemly scenes. My heart is filled with anxiety and fear when 1 view the political situation. Not only in the national quarter, but in the international quarter. The whole atmosphere is pervaded with suspicion. We are living in a political swamp, and we do not know what will break out to-morrow, or whether it will be a tornado which will make pale the fury of 1914.’’ Among tne settlers about Wailij who are making good is a little □and of Danes at Aiataura, the pioneer of the party being Otto Bjerring, who, after farming in other parts first, took up land in the Waihi district just on three years ago. Mr Bjerring has a large block, some hundreds of acres of which have already been put down in grass. His fellow-countrymen are pushing on with cultivation of their holdings, and that they are more than satisfied with the land is evidenced by the fact (says the Auckland Star) that they are arranging with other people in Denmark to come out and take up holdings.

A Napier exchange says that a good story was told by the Rev. Canon Clarke at the Presbyterian Sunday School at Taradale. The Canon said: "Many people frighten themselves to death,” and instanced the case of an editor, who was supposed to be dying. The doctor was summoned, and entered the sick man’s room. He stole quietly to the bedside, and placing his ear to the chest of the editor, solemnly rose and exclaimed: ‘The circulation lias stopped.” The magnetic power of these words caused the editor to almost jump out of the bed and exclaim: “What? Impossible! My paper has the largest circulation of any paper in the country. I will see into this. There is a mistake somewhere.”

A reply to criticism of the Auckland Education Board in connection with the Tauranga by-election and the erection of a district high school at Morrinsville, was made at a meeting of the board on Wednesday. The secretary stated that while at Morrinsville on January 25 he suggested that Morrinsville, from the number of children, was entitled to a school. On February 6 application was forwarded to the Department with the board’s strong recommendation that it be granted. The Board

telegraphed protesting against delay in waiting for the Education Counci' meeting. Ten days later the board members, officers, and senior inspector conferred with the Minister at. Auckland concerning the establishment of several district high schools. Morrinsville included. The Minister was disinclined to agree until the board suggested that the schools should be established for a period of three months upon a definite as-

surance of the board that if the average attendance were less than 20 the secondary department should

automatically be closed. The board on February 27 received a memorandum from the Department, dated 23rd, formally authorising the establishment of the school.

The postal authorities have received advice from- Vancouver that the R.M.S. Makura, which left Vancauver on June 30 for Auckland, has Cn board for New Zealand 1979 bags of mail.

The debts of local governing bodies, on account of outstanding loans, have increased from eight millions to thirty millions during the last twenty years; the increase during last year is the greatest for over .thirty years. A movement is on foot to Interei* members of Labour unions in Durr; edin in a class in Marxian ecou<» mis, which is at present being conducted. Tiie circular bearing or, the scheme states that the workers study class exists to meet in soma measure the need lor an independent working-class education “which the W.E.A. and the like, dependent mainly on capitalist funds and teaching from capitalist text books, have tailed miserably to meet.”

“I’m not going to Taranaki any more to buy Jerseys,” said a Waipawa buyer at Carterton, “as I cap buy the same quality stuff at half the price in the Wairarapa.” Av otljer buyer, Mr W. H. Jenkins, of Christchurch, who paid 82 gns. for a yearling bull, stated that direct relations of the animal purchased, by him were sold in Taranaki the other day for £l5O. “It paid me handsomely to come from Christchurch to secure such an aristocrat at the price.” “I have been amused at the tactics adopted by members of the other side of the House,” said Mr Glenn,

M.P. for Rangitikei, in the course of his speech in the Address-in-Repiy debate. “Two gentlemen particularly, to whom I have referred (Messrs Veitch and Masters) struck me as indulging in flying stunts, and if honourable members do not know what “stunting” is, I will try to describe it. First of ali, as a means of self-protection the flying corps man practices certain movements with his machine; secondly, and more important, he tries to .deceive his enemy during a combat. In the present case, the gentlemen I refer* to are trying to deceive the general public. Their game is very plain.” It is not generally known, but a fact, nevertheless, that, living in a modest cottage, working side by side with her soldier husband, on their little farm at Aoroa, near Dargaville, is a close connection of one of the oldest ducal houses of Yorkshire, England. This lady, the only daughter o. . younger son (deceased), was a nurse in one of the large hospitals in the north of England before coming to New Zealand. This lady was so popular at one time with all classes in her own country home, later a great favourite with doctors, nurses and patients alike, in the hospital where she served five years as a nurse, Is now quite happy and content on a dairy farm, helping her husband milk cows, looking after her garden and poultry, and well content to be free from social ties and old conventions.