LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19845, 20 May 1927, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

An address on "Optimism” was delivered at the Wanganui Optimists’ Club yesterday by Mr R. G. Firth.

Race visitors were yesterday given a not altogether desirable sample of Wanganui’s weather, for a particularly cold wind made conditions in the city unpleasant, although there was a good many hours’ sunshine.

It is announced by the Wanganui Corporation Tramways that, on and after June 1, the concession tickets for use on trams and buses will be raised in price. Tho existing tickets will not be valid after June 8.

Many Wanganui people are having cause to regret the present unwelcome visitation of coughs and colds to the city, and a considerable number of residents has succumbed to the mild form of influenza which is prevalent.

"If something is not done in the near future to eradicate this weed, Now Zealand’s chief exports very soon w\ll be fanners’ and blackberry jam,” stated a delegate at the Farmers’ Union conference at Levin on Wednesday.

On a charge of stealing three head of cattle, valued at £7 17s 6d, at Westmere, Kenneth Humphries yesterday appeared at the Wanganui Magistrate’s Court. The cattle were the property of Gertrude Huddleston, and accused was remanded to appear at Feilding.

Serious though the matter of unemployment may be in Wanganui, the bigger cities are much worse off in this respect, and in Wellington there are some hundreds of men out of work. On May 16 there were 328 men registered with the Labour Department as unemployed in Wellington. Married men numbered 168 and single men 260.

Changeable weather during the week has interrupted Home loading operations on the freighter Port Denison, in the Wanganui roadstead, and the steamer’s departure from this port is indefinite. Other shipping movements at the port have, however, proceeded as usual, and the coastal trade, in particular, has been well maintained.

Fire at midday yesterday completelydestroyed a largp country residence of 16 rooms at Aorangi, a few miles from Feilding. It was owned by R. L. Levin and occupied by W. McConnon. The fire started in the kitchen, there being no one in the house at the time. The insurances were £2OOO on the house and £5OO on the furniture.

A decree nisi was granted at the Supreme Court yesterday by his Honour Mr Justice Ostler in the case in which Elizabeth Ellen Jones petitioned for a dissolution of her marriage with William Jones. The petitioner said the parties were married in 1896; they separated seven years ago and she had not heard from her husband since.

A local Government office which is situated in a hotel building received a visit from a “perfick lidy” a few days ago. She approached the brass-edged counter and in answer to the official’s enquiring look she said: “Give us a bottle of stout, will yer?” “I beg your pardon?” said the astonished clerk. "Isn’t this the bottle store?” said the lady. “Oh, I’m sorry, I thought it was —it looks like one.”

It was suggested at the Farmers’ Union conference a‘c Levin this week that the Harbour Board elections should be held on the same day as the County elections to meet the convenience of farmers who, in many instances, had to come long distances to vote.

It should not be long now before people in Christchurch will be able to talk over the telephone to Wellington. Operations have been completed at the new station at Seddon, necessary under the system, and testing of the service is to be carried out this week. Until the system has been tested thoroughly, it is not possible to state when it will be available for tho use of the public. Later extensions will make it possible for residents of Wanganui and other centres to exchange conversation with South Island towns.

The following extract from a letter received from a Nelson resident pays a tribute to the late Mr Noel Baines, of Wanganui, who was killed on Mt. Egmont last week. "He had served through the whole war with the Border Regiment, was wounded in France, and had afterwards an Intelligence billet in Salonika. He had had an extraordinarily varied career before the war as tutor to some big Russian families near Moscow, and knew Russian well. He had met a wonderful lot of interesting * big-wigs’ in his time. I believe he was very popular at Wanganui College, and the boys were very fond of him. My own impression is that, being the only comparatively undamaged member of the party at the bottom of the cliff, he thought it his duty to get under weigh for assistance at once, which was fatal, for had he stayed with Taylor he would certainly have been saved.”

The “roll and throw” method of delivering the morning or the evening newspaper undoubtedly has its disadvantages, not the least of which, as far as the householder is concerned, is the fact that the paper, after it leaves the runner is at the mercy of the elements. The hunt under the hedge or in the neighbour’s gardens after a heavy wind, and the drying out of the paper on the oven door on a rainy morning or evening are everyday experiences, but a device which has been patented and will shortly be on the market should eliminate any inconvenience. It consists of a cylinder of galvanised iron open at one end. which is clamped longitudinally on the gate or fence, and which is of such dimensions that it just allows a rolled-up paper to be pushed into it. It should prove, a boon to those whose residences are some distance from the road, and so simple is the idea that it is a wonder that no one has thought of it before.