LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 31 March 1925, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The ceremony of turning the first sod of the llutt Valley railway deviation will take place on Thursday, April Kith.

Up till yesterday 400 motor drivers’ licenses have been issued by the Wairarapa South County Council, and 18S by the Carterton Borough Council. A car, driven by a lady, bumped into a verandah post in front of Messrs Hugo and Shearer’s this morning. A bent mudguard was the only damage.

A requisition, signed by more than the required number of burgesses, was lodged with the Carterton Town Clerk to-day, asking for a poll to determine the day for the statutory half-holiday for shops.

A light-weight boxing match for a pure of £175, fought at Auckland between Purdy and Baxter, was won by Purdy on points. The contest went the full id rounds, Purdy winning comfortably.

The vital statistics for Masterton for the month of March are as follow's: Births 22, marriages 8, deaths 5. The totals for the quarter from January Ist to March 31st are:—Births 0.8, marriages 23, deaths 18. The Tainui arrived at Auckland yesterday with 250 immigrants, including 19 English public schoolboys. Last night 185 immigrants left by tlie Main Trunk express for southern destinations. This morning.-the Suffolk arrived with another batch of 295 immigrant, s including 43 domestics. Onethird of the immigrants on both \cssels are children.

The opinion was expressed by members of the Masterton Fire Board yesterday that the time was approaching when the erection of a new and more commodious fire station would have to be undertaken in Masterton. With the new engines and appliances it was pointed out that there was no reason why the fire station should be in the main street. The chairman (Mr W. Candy) added that if they were anticipating this step they might find part of the money as they had for the new engine—by earmarking an amount each year.

A fresh anomaly in the Motor Vehicles Act was unearthed at a meeting of the Masterton Fire Board yesterday., when it was mentioned that motor drivers’ licenses had been taken out for four members of the brigade. Mr V r . A. Part on asked how the brigade would be placed if any of these men left and went driving on their own account on a license issued for fire-fighting purposes. He did not suggest that anyone would, but it was another matter for which apparently no provision had been made in the Act.

Advice has been received that Mr 11. S. Alpe, the well-known veteran road walker, is making good progress on his long journey from Xew Plymouth to Wellington, via Manawatu and Wairarapa. In reaching Feilding he succeeded in breaking the previous record for a distance of eighteen miles. The time was 3 hours 30 minutes, which was 20 minutes better than the previous record. Mr Alpe, who is making the tour on behalf of the Barnardo Homes, expects to reach Wellington on April 17th.

At a meeting of directors of the Parkvale Dairy Company yesterday, the following resolution was. passed: — “That the Parkvale Dairy Company, recognising the necessity for a wider organisation of factories under the control scheme and to safeguard the cooperative principle, urges the establishment of a federation of daily companies in the Wairarapa, and that the dairy companies be circularised to that effect, and that a meeting be convened by the Parkvale Dairy Company on April 16th, in the Dalefield Company’s building at Carterton, to consider the question. ”

A welcome was extended at the meeting yesterday of the Masterton Fire Board by the chairman (Mr W. Candy) to Mr S. S. Dean, manager of the All Black team, who is a member of the Board. After referring to the excellent performance of the team, Mr Candy said lie hoped Mr Dean had returned a wiser man from the point of view of lire board business, and that the board would get some benefit from his experience. Mr Dean thanked the chairman for his welcome, and said with Steel, who is a practical fireman, he had visited several brigades at Home, and he would be pleased to place any information he had gathered at their disposal.

Superintendent A. E. Freeman reported to the Masterton'Fire Board yesterday that a team from the brigade had competed in the Christchurch demonstration, and their work had been most satisfactory considering that four of them were young members who had not competed previously. They gained third, fifth, sixth and two seventh places (seven prizes given) in different events, winning £lB in prize money, while they gained ninth place out of 69 brigades in the championship shield competition, Mr T. Jenkins, speaking as an old competitor, said this was a verv good performance, especially as half of the team comprised young members. On his motion it was decided to congratulate the team on its success, and encourage them to keep on with the work.

At the quarterly meeting of the Masterton Fire Board yesterday, a recommendation was received from the Superintendent (Mr A. E. Freeman) that the Board make an effort to have the town creeks made available for use by the new pumping unit. He suggested opening up the culvert adjacent to the Methodist Church, in Chapel street, which was the centre of a block of wooden buildings, and also at the culvert near the Academy Buildings in Church street. It was decided to make application to the Borough Council to have the recommendations given effect to. It was mentioned that this would be an excellent emergency provision in the event of the water reticulation ever failing.

At the meeting of Stonehenge Lodge of Druids last evening, Bro. Winhall, A.D., presiding, the G.L. delegate (Bro. H. Nicholson, P.S.) gave a long and interesting report on Grand Lodge proceedings. Members were extremely pleased to note that a Druids’ club room is to be provided in the new G.L. building for the use of members in or passing through Wellington. The quarterly returns showed a particularly pleasing position, both as to finance and membership. Bro. F. Bickering was appointed to act as judge in the coming ritual competition. It was decided to hold a social after the next Lodge meeting. It was resolved that brothers able to play in the seven-a-side football tournament, and who have not been approached, be asked to notify the secretary at once. Sick pay and accounts totalling £154 10s were passed. Five irieuds weje proposed for membership.

The wholesale price of butter has been reduced in Melbourne by 5s to 1455.

Alexander Caldwell, an elderly retired farmer, who settled in Tiinaru a few months ago, died suddenly when driving his ear yesterday afternoon. It is presumed lie had a paralytic stroke.

Tlie Wellington Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is contemplating the appointment of an assistant inspector for tlie Wairarapa district. The organising secretary, Mr C. Smith, is at present in Masterton, and may be consulted at the Prince of Wales’ Hotel.

A son of the so-il, desirous of opening an account in a bank not a hundred miles from Invercargill, was handed a paper on which he was asked to write his “full name and description.” This is wliat lie wrote: “Mr “Short and fair, with whiskers.” —Southland News.

Cross-words puzzles have been banned at Dulwich Library, England. _ Immediately the newspapers are received, and before they are placed in the reading room, an assistant blacks out very thoroughly with a heavy pencil the squares which have become, such a popular feature of every-day life. The object, presumably, is to prevent a newspaper being “held up” by any person for more than a reasonable length of time.

The Hamilton Borough Council had a long discussion on the recommendation to appoint a manager at £IOOO a year, and the proposal was carried by one vote. The official is to be “the chief executive officer of the borough, whose duty shall be the general supervision and control of the staff, and the coordination of the activities of all departments.” Ail amendment moved by the Mayor, Mr J. R. Fow, which was lost on a show of hands, was: “That Mr Davey be appointed business manaager, and be given the powers set out in the former appointment, that Mr Waddell be made town clerk, and further, that a committee comprising Messrs Hay and Webb and the two officers mentioned be set up to report on any reorganisation necessary, the matter to be reconsidered in six months’ time.”

Work has now commenced oil the road in connection with the construction of the second dam at Mangahao a project which is expected to cost £60,000. The main storage for Mangahao is the dam on the Tokomaru river. This is directly connected, through number one tunnel, with the other main dam on the Mangahao. The second dam is part of the original scheme, as outlined by Mr Evan Parry, in his report in 1918, and was always considered necessary, before the capacity of Mangahao could be brought up to the full load of 24,000 K.V.A. As it is unlikely that this load will be reached until three or four years’ time from now, it has been unnecessary to proceed with the construction of this dam at an earlier date.

“These 'pushes’ must be warned to behave themselves. This spirit of Bolshevism and opposition to the police is bad. It seems a sort of religion with some,” asid Mr J. W. Boynton, S.M., at Auckland, when fining three men £3 each for disorderly behaviour. Constable du Temple said lie approached the hotel corner at Freeman’s Bay after closing time. Discordant vocal sounds had been drifting in his direction, and iic assumed the congregation of men near the hotel was responsible. He advised them not- to obstruct the footpath. After repeated requests the men moved away, but when witness was walking off with Constable Watkins, members of the crow’d began to make howling and booing noises. Defendants were conspicuous among the party. ’ Tuohey said to witness, “You won’t last a week.” Despite warnings, defendants continued to create a disturbance, and witness gave an example of the noises complained of. At one stage Tuohey told his companions not to dispute with the police.

Scenes reminiscent of the old Roman days were conjured up at New Plymouth on Friday, when the lion which recently escaped from its cage at Hawera into a crowd of spectators, essayed another bolt for freedom. A cageful of lions were being put through their tricks when one lion suddenly sprang to the roof of the cage and squirmed ts way through the netting. With commendable presence of mind one of the keepers seized a pick, and, pushing it into the jaws of the lion, tried to lever the animal back into its cage. His efforts were aided by the trainer, who seized the animal’s tail, and a grim tug-of-war ensued. Their combined efforts proved too much for the lion, and it was gradually forced back into the cage, where it accepted the inevitable, and the performance proceeded without further incident. The audience had, however, considerably thinned, and many did good time in their flight for safety.

The “Christmas number” of the Soviet journal Izvestia displays a cartoon of “Father Christmas,” his sack filled with “gifts” in the shape of chains, handcuffs, guns and poison gas tubes, standing terror-stricken on the frontier of the Union of Soviet Republics, which a “Red” soldier defends with a rifle. Underneath is a Christmas tale called “Christmas without Christ,” in which the splendour of the “new Red Star in the East’ eclipses that of the “fading star of Bethlehem.” Far more significant than these allegories is a, short article on “Saint Pioneer,” dedicated to the “Young Pioneer Movement,” a children’s Communist league which seeks to implant in children the principles of atheism. The article begins with one of the numerous ditties of tlie pioneers’ repertory. “Down with all the monks, the rabbis and the popes. We’ll climb up into heaven and sweep away the gods.” Among the “miracles” assigned to the credit of “St. Pioneer” are those of “splitting the family in two—the old obsolete parents and the young vigorous Atheist of the future.”

Air. M. 11. Dixon, of the Xapier Technical School, who recently returned from a holiday in South Africa, brought back with him some seed of a new grass that is becoming much in favour amongst the farmers in South Africa. This is “Teff,” an annual grass and a native of Abyssinia, in Africa, where native labour is employed on the farms, it is found that “the boys” will not exercise the care that is required in feeding lucerne to animals, and so teff is, in a great measure, supplanting lucerne. Teff is of great value as a secondary crop, can be

cut twice in the season and has no equal for cleaning dirty lands. If sown to allow germination with any weeds, it will invariably smother the weeds, and at the same time give a profitable yield of hay. If the weather is favourable, a profitable second cut can be had in two months after the first cut. On good soil and with ample rain the crop will yield from two tons to two and a half tons per acre, and teff has returned from £3 to £4 per ton.

A visitor from Australia made some pointed remarks to an Otago Daily Times reporter regarding tlie patriotism of New Zealanders. He said it was generally recognised that New Zealanders were more patriotic than Australian, s and that being so he could not understand why there were so many American cars in the Dominion. Tie said the proportion of American cars to British cars in New Zealand was over 80 per cent in favour of the former nation, but that in Australia the ratio was about 50 —50. Then again one could not but be impressed by the goods of American origin sold in the shops. ‘‘America has got this country down,” he added.

Further instances of the remarkable experiments in thought-transference carried out by Professor Gilbert Murray, in which” the Earl of Balfour recently participated, are recorded in a paper by Mrs. Henry Sidgwick to the Society for Psychical Research. The paper reviews the results of 259 experiments spread over many years. They reveal Professor Murray’s ability to describe faithfully and in detail an amazing variety of scenes and incidents real and imaginary, and to repeat quotations —all announced when lie was out of earshot. Mrs. Sidgwick reviews the chances of the live recognised senses— Seeing, Taste, Touch, Hearing and Smell—having operated; but the experiments raise anew the fascinating possibility of mankind possession, undeveloped but potent, a sixth and uncharted sense. Professor Murray himself is stated to leave the way open to the theory formerly described as “brain waves.”

The Ladies” Mirror, the well known monthly magazine with Dominion-wide circulation, is intending to embark upon a scheme in Masterton and the surrounding district that should prove of great benefit to the locality, socially and commercially. Mr Robert A. Stewart, the well known author and publicist. is at present in town with a staff of ‘men collecting photographs of those socially important in the district, together with child studies, for reproduction in the Mirror, and is getting the staff photographer to take photographs of the larger mansions. This will give the district a great “boost,” for the Mirror is seen monthly by easily 100,000 persons resident in New Zealand. “It is our intention,” he states, “to make the paper of interest to the people of the provincial towns, as well as to those of the bigger cities in the future, and with this object in view we are enlarging the Mirror another eight pages, of which the Wairarapa district will share a goodly portion. ’ ’

Leather purse lost. Phonograph for sale. Jersey-Ayrshire cow lost. Six-roomed house to let. iGirl or young woman wanted as general help. Castlepoint County Council invite tenders for carting metal by motor lorry. Messrs C. Smith, Ltd., insert special advertisements in our wanted known column. Mr. Wm. Jenkins notifies that in future his bacon-curing factory will be at the rear of Hilton’s Pork Shop. The Masterton Auctioneering Company advertise a sale of drapery at their Mart to-morrow, at 1 p.m. Also poultry and Aerial motor cycle.

We have received from Messrs. Gordon and Gotch, per favour of Mr .A. Henderson, several of the latest magazines. The February Cassells’ contains interesting fiction by well-known authors, a special feature being Robert Hichen’s new story. The “Adventure Story Magazine” is full of thrills to lovers of romance and adventure, and the “Story-teller” March issue is an exceedingly good number of this ever-popular magazine. We also recommend to young people the January number of “Little Folks,” which contains good holiday stories of every kind.