LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19766, 14 February 1927, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Alterations have been made to the bus timetable affecting Wanganui Elast services. The buses scheduled to leave Anzae Parade at 12.45 p.m. and 1.45 p.m. will now leave at 12.40 p.m. and 1.40 p.m. respectively.

The development of telephone services in Wanganui is illustrated by the fact that the numbers are now weU over the 5000 mark. On the main city system over 3000 subscribers are listed, while there are 600 numbers on rural lines.

The spick and span C. and D. liner, Port Napier, which has been in tho roadstead for the past week, has become a familiar object to tho scores and scores of regular bathers at Castlecliff. Yesterday, lying at anchor under beautiful conditions, the Port Napier completed effectively the picturesque seascape.

There could bo no more shady trick than that played on a programme boy at the sports meeting on Saturday night. ' A penny, which had been dipped in mercury, was tendered as a two shilling piece for a threepenny programme, and as the lad could not detect the dodge he gave Is 9d change without question. This is not tho first occasion on which similar practices have been carried out with silvenM pennies at night sports meetings.

A party of fifteen American ‘tourists, under the guidance of Mr J. S. Wheeler, jnr., arrived in Wanganui on Saturday, and spent a glorious day yesterday in admiring local beauty spots. They leave this morning for Mount Egmont, to be followed next Monday by the first batch of the 200 tourists visiting New Zealand in the Cunarder, Franconia. Mr Wheeler’s party, which stayed at Foster’s Hotel, came to the Dominion through the agency of Pacific Tours, Ltd., of America.

Another week-end of glorious sunshine directed the thoughts of the majority towards the surf. On Saturday and yesterday almost 50 per cent, of the population must have spent a lot of the day in bathing costumes. The Castlecliff beach was thronged, and bathing conditions were perfect, with the result that hundreds of people swarmed in the surf. Kai Iwi, where conditions were equally ideal, entertained a record .crowd. Scores of cars were parked in the open space above the beach.

The next Wanganui wool sale will be held on February 24, starting at 7 p.m., when 20,000 bales of wool will be offered. Local wool stores are already taxed to capacity by the wool now held, and more wool could be offered if the allocation was not restricted to 20,000. In hopes of a hardening market, however, many growers are prepared to hold off until March 21, the last sale of the season. Most back-country clips are now made up, and the produce to be submitted next week will include much wool from well back.

A charge of theft of £26 17s 6d from T. Hodson was preferred against William Barrington Roberts at the Wanganui Magistrate’s Court on Saturday, before Mr J. S. Barton, S.M. Mr P. Dickson appeared for the accused, and Detective J. Walsh conducted the prosecution. Detective Walsh stated that accused had admitted .converting money from his employer’s bakery round to his own use. The stolen money averaged about 40s a week. Accused was prepared to make restitution of the money before the end of the present month. Roberts was convicted and ordered to come up for sentence on Wednesday when a report would be available from the Probation Officer at Dunedin.

The lot of women in the country, who arc not only without town conveniences, but far removed from aid in cases of sickness, hlas excited sympathetic consideration of the plan proposed by the women’s division of the Farmers ’ Union, to provide bush nurses and visiting housekeepers. Evidence of this is found in a substantial donation of £lOO received by th c headquarters secretary in Wellington, Mrs James Pow, from a gentlemian who desires that his name should not be disdou.d. Thc gift is made without any stipulation other than that the money be expended for providing bush nursing. The women’s division is making good progress in its campaign for this object, and hopes that in about three weeks ’ time it will have eight bush nurses at work, four in each island.