GENERAL ITEMS.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXI, Issue 19050, 1 July 1924, Page 8

GENERAL ITEMS.

An excellent film of the wonderful Waitomo caves has been secured and is to be screened at the Wembley Exhibition. The pretty glow-worm grotto, where all the‘“walls and ceilings are studded with brilliant diamonds, “The Cathedral,” and other marvels of Nature’s glorious beauties will be shown.

Apparently ours is an ungrateful community (remarks the Oamaru Mail). The secretary of the Oamaru Hospital Trustees reported to his board that out of some 200 outpatients who had been treated at the hospital during the past year only one man had offered to pay anything for his treatment.

The late Mr. William Winstone bequeathed £5OO to the Methodist Orphan Home Mission, Auckland; £lOOO to the Methodist Orphan Home, Mount Albert; £5OO to the Methodist Foreign Mission; £5OO to the Door of Hope, Auckland; £lOOO to the Jubilee Institute for the Blind, Parnell. The estate was sworn in for probate at £lOO,OOO.

The crooked stick which Sir Harry Lauder uses when he sings “I love a Lassie” will this December have been used by him for 19 years (says a London Evening News writer.) It was originally an alder vine in the hothouses of the Marquess of Bute, and was given to a friend of Lauder by the head gardener. It is valued very much by the owner—and in insured with the rest of his properties.

The weather in the Tasman S.n has been exceptionally stormy for some time. Since June 12 eleven vessels have reached Auckland from overseas, and all had a stormy experience whea approaching New Zealand. The storm area extended to the north-east coast of Australia and as far north as Rarotonga. The wind blew with the force of a fresh to strong gale, varying from between south-west and north-west.

Every 28 minutes, during the last year, a person was killed on the highways of the United States and each time 2.5 minutes were ticked through, some person was injured. Highway accidents claimed 15,000 lives caused 1,700,000 injuries. The death rate from automobiles has increased from approximately nine deaths to every IUO,OOO of population in 1917, to 13.6 per 100,000 in 1923.

“It is a law which, I may say without fear of contradiction, is broken ten times for every time it is observed,” remarked counsel in tho Blenhem Magistrate’s Court the other day, ap;o pos the Statute which requires that all traffic should stop before crossing a railway line. “Ten times ten, of ton times a hundred would be nearer the mark,” amended the Magistrate (Mr. T. E. Maunsell). “Have you ever sst-n this law observed?”

Modern methods of gas-making have had a deleterious effect on tar for roadmaking, according to a statement made at a meeting at Carterton last week by Mr. A. J. Paterson, Wellington city engineer. The ingredients of most use for road-making were extracted by the high-pressure retorts, and that was why it? was not probable that such a good tar-macadam road as Queen Street, Masterton, could be constructed nowadays.

The news that Mr. Vernon Reed has been appointed to one of the vacancies in the Legislative Council has been w 11 received in this district (says the Nor h Auckland Times) as it has been recognised for some years that North Auckland has not had it fair quoto fo members in the Council. Mr. Reed, with his years of Parliamentary experience should make a useful member of the Council and the North is to be •on gratulatod on securing his services.

Miss Hope Hampton, the American film actress, tells a good story against herself. A timid little girl came to her dressing-room and asked her for her photograph. The request was granted, and was repeated again the following night. Yet a third time the little girl came back. When asked what sue wanted with three photographs she replied, “Well, you see, the little girl who lives next door to me has promised me one of Mary Pickford, if 1 give her three of you!”

Quite a sensation was caused in the Omani Magistrate’s Court on a recent morning amongst those who do not frequent the Court by a complainant in a maintenance case letting out a picrcit g shriek and collapsing on the floor. Th* senior sergeant and a constable car. eu her out, shrieks and moans echoing through the building for some time. As this is a regular habit of this complainant, the Magistrate instructed tho police that she was not to appear in Court in future, but that the police should take other proceedings.

In a plebiscite conducted by Messrs Fry, of Bristol, 628,00*0 persons voted on the subject of the best names for girls. At the head of the list stands the beautiful English name of Phyllis, and next to it come Grace and Elsie, but after these the preponderance of votes goes to simple old-fashioned names like Barbara, Patience and Prudence, Jane and Susan, with Priscilla and Matilda also rans. Tho popularity of the Princess docs not produce any majority for Mary, nor is the Duchess of York’s Elizabeth represented in the first ten.

There’s no place like home, thinks a young New Zealander who is pining to return to Maoriland after having tasted of that which many countries overseas have to offer. Writing to an Ashburton man, the wanderer, at resent domiciled in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, states he I‘ft New Zealand some five years ago, and has been in many different countries since, but he has not found any place he likes as well as he does New Zealand. JHe is thinking seriously of returning, but would first like to knew the rate of pay ruling for harvesters and and the ftuture pro spects for such class of labour.

An instance of tho remarkable growth in popularity of the wireloss receiver was practically demonstrated in a Wellington street, when two boys, one a Chinese, of about twelve years, and the other a year or so on his junior, were busily poring over a blue paper plan of a radio hook-up outside a wellknown wireless dealer’s shop. “They’re thirty bob, aren’t they?” ventured the younger, pointing to some object located in the middle of the plan. 11 Thirty bob,” exclaimed the Chinese youth, a touch of infinite disgust in his voice “Two quid ten.” High finat.ee for juveniles!

“There . are very few estates in Marlborough which would not sell a block of land to-day,” was the opinion expressed by Mr. L. Chaytor at a meeting of the Provincial Farmers’ Union last week. Mr. Chaytor added that money was tight and very little was offering for properties at the moment.

To find a strange key in the back door of her house which she had previously locked was the unusual experience of a Timaru resident, She was sitting on the verandah of the houso waiting for a friend and upon her nonarrival decided to go indoors. Imagine her surprise when she found that tho back door, which she had previously locked, the key being hidden, nad a key from another door inserted in the lock. On looking round she discovered a bundle of articles close by. It is surmised that an unknown, person while attempting to enter the house heard the owner, and made off in haste, leaving behind the tell-tale bundle.

“It is certainly a kink,” remarkci Mr C. R. Orr-Walker, S.M., at the Juvenile Court, Wellington, on Saturday when a girl was charged with stealing various goods. Senior-DetecUvo Cameron observed that the girl had bought a cup and saucer valued at £3 10s, one and a quarter yards of ast.akan, and pepper, salt and mustard set valued at £1 2s 6d by representing Jut she was buying them on behalf of someone else. It was suggested that a period of supervision would do the girl good. The magistrate accordingly al- - the case for three months, tie probation officer to supervise the girl’s actions.

It is not often that a wedding ceremony is held up on account of the non-appearance of the officiating minister. Such a thing however happened at a down-river town this week (says the North Auckland Times). One of our local ministers who is always busy had a funeral an<F a wedding on the

same after oon. He had finished his duties al the former and was his way home when he was inforwm to his dismay that he had overloolffl the wedding ceremony and the bridal party had been waiting at the church. To wind up old “Lizzie” was the work of a moment and the minister put up a new record between tho cemetery and the appointed place for the wedding which, although it was delayed almost two hour®, was put through without further hitch.

According to tho Dunedin correspondent of the Press, tho Tasman Sea seems to bo entering the lists with Cape Horn and the Banks of Newfoundland as to running the highest waves in tempestuous weather. The steamer Waimarino, which arrived at Port Chalmers with. 6000 tons of coal from Newcastle, experienced the Tasman Sea at its highest wave run. The crew, as a whole, reckon the waves were exceptionally high. One man says they were the highest ho has soon in his forty years’ experience of the sea. Another, —ho has experienced the Capo of Good Hope, Capo Horn, and Banks of Newfoundland in their stormiest moods, considers that for height of wave the Tasman Sea can easily hold its own. The waves he considers wore anything from 40ft. to 50ft high. The tempest shrieked and white crested rollers topped menacingly, but with the exception of minor damage to the dock fittings the Waimarino came out of the storm unscathed. t

A letter addressed to the “Department, of Education, New Zealand Gorernment (the British Secretariat). Christchurch,” has been delivered to Mr. C. R. Kirk, secretary of the Canterbury Education Board. It is dated: “The Thantin University Institute. Sagaing, Burma, Wednesday the Waning 12, 1 286 8.E.” The writer, “Maung Than Tin, 8.C., 8.A., F.T.Sj M.Sc., Ph., A.M.R.A.S., Inspector oi Schools,” asks to be put in toucl with tho people here, and. especially, for copies of picture postcards and th< ocal publications. He concludes “With the season’s warmest and sincerest greeting of the Burmese Thitigyan, as Now Year Water Feast, from th® Silken East of the Orient, and th® land of glittering, golden pagodas and white elephants, green palms swaying to the tropic, bracing breezes, and fly* ing fishes of Kipling’s ‘On the Road to Mandalay,’ dignified Buddhist works of the Lord Gautama Ordef. with their flowing yellow robes, laden with wisdom and olden traditions of ages, etc., Maung Than Tin.”