Town Talk

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 76, Issue 105, 6 May 1933, Page 6

Town Talk

Accession Day To-day, May 6, is Accession Day, the anniversary of the death of King Edward VLL in 1910 ana of the accession of King George V. to the Throne. He was crowned in June of the following yea l ’. As rs customary, a Royal salute of 21. guns will be fired at Point Jcrningl’.am at noon, arid ihPiC will be the usual display of bun* ing on ships and buildings. Not Much Profit. “There’s not much profit in one section of my trade these days,” remarked a Wanganui butcher yesterday when asked how business was holding up with the arrival of winter conditions. He stated that there was ai increased demand for bones, mainly for the purpose of making soups. Little coined beef is being inquired for, while the demand for cooked meats is considerably less than in the summer months. ‘ ‘A Nice Tooth.” Dentists are people who arc regarded with a certain amount of awe and those who approach them prepared to have their teeth extracted have little liking for the venture. Heartfelt thanks are not always showered upon them, after the operation. Yesterday it was with some surprise and not a little amusement that a Wanganui dentist heard his patient remark: “Thanks, that was the nicest tooth I have ever had out.”

Rotary Club Officers Officers of the Wanganui Rotary Club arc to be elected for the coming year on Monday week. They will be installed when the annual gathering is held at Foster’s Hotel on June 24. So far the following nominations have been received: President, Dr. 11. D. Robertson; vice-president, R. L. Thomp son; secretary, S. R. McCallum; treasurer, W. E. Wilson; directors, G. W. Carrad, O. Allen, 11. Webb and \V. B. Alexander; sergeant-at-arms, John Coull; programme organiser, A. McSkimming.

•‘The Funny-looking Man.” Wanganui's chief librarian. Miss Blackett, talking to a ‘‘Chronicle” reporter yesterday, referred to the death of Air. W. B. McEwan, chief librarian to the Dunedin Public Library, and recalled that he had met many outstanding literary people in Scotland before he came to New Zealand. When working as a lad in a large Edinburgh bookshop, he noticed one gentleman to be a regular attendant. His curiosity piqued, he enquired of an assistant as to who ‘the funny-looking man’ might be. “The funny-looking man is Robert Louis Stevenson,’’ was the reply. Child Rescued from River

Only prompt action on the part of Mr. R. Luff, of Tay Street, saved Joyte West, a child aged five, from drowning in the• Wanganui River on Thursday afternoon. She had been playing on the pontoon used by the Wanganui Motor-boat and Sailing Club's members, near Cal ver’s Corner, when she fell into the river, which, was flooded. Mr. Luff, who was gathering wood nearby, saw the incident and jumped into the river fully clothed to rescue the child, who was not injured. Air. Luff’s action was particularly plucky in view of the swiftly running river. It is the third occasion upon which he has rescued people from the Wanganui. History cf the Ma or:

Dr. G. H. Scholefield remarked at the Historical Association held in Wellington on Thursday evening that he hoped more attention would bo paid in fi't.urc to the history of the Maori, says the Evening Tost. This study was still in a very elementary stage and amounted largely to a record ‘of war parties and battles. There was a great b'),’/ of very valuable material for stud.t in the whakapapas in the Native. Land Courts, and tie hoped that some attempt would be made by students to reconstruct the social history of the Maori by studying the influence of leading men and women in Maori history on the basis of those whakapapas and of what was known of their personal character and achievements. Election Recount. Votes cast at Wednesday’s municipal idection are being officially counted by the returning officer’s staff. A major roll is being compiled from all the rolls used at the respective polling booths. This 1 is clone by a member of the staff calling out every name enrolled while a. check is kept by others looking over the rolls used at the booths, who call back to him the numbers of every person who voted. He scores out those numbers and the names corresponding. When this check is finished the returning officer is in possbssion of one roll showing who voted and who did not. This system of check discovers any dual voting that may have occurred. Official counting of ballot papers is proceeding while the major roll is being compiled. Increase in Private Schools

According to the annual report of the Wellington School Committees’ and Educational Federation, one result of exclusion of live-year-olds from the State schools has been an increase in the number of private schools and kindergartens, pays the Evening Post. “It ’s to be hoped,’’ remarks the report, “that the education or some other department of the Stati' will see to it that these private kindergartens arc conducted on lines beneficial to the ehiid in regard to accommodation, sanitation, teaching, etc., and not permit them to be used only for financial benefit to the conductors. Time alone will tell whether the present, growth of private kindergartens and schools (manly due to the policy of economy practised by the Government.') will not have a permanent offset against the national system of education.” Only a Rumour. An indication of how a rumour can spread and bo convincing was given in Wanganui, this week. A well-known business man wired a friend in Wellington as follows: “Are the H.AIS. Hood and the H.AI.S. Nelson in Wellington harbour?” He received a prompt wire in reply to the effect that they were not. “Why?” was tacked on to this message. The Wanganui man wrote his friend stating that hi' had heard it on “the best authority” that when the Diomede sailed for Samoa recently it. was with the intention of meeting the scouts of the British Fleet; in Ihe Bacilli*. As a. result of that meeting (lie Hood and the Nelson had turned up suddenly in Wellington. He heard also that the first battle line of the Fleet was steaming full speed from Suez, ostensibly for New Zealand or Australia. Now ho knows that the whole thing was a rumour.