LOCAL & GENERAL.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 4 December 1926, Page 4

LOCAL & GENERAL.

The Wellington wool sale will commence at 9 o’clock on .Monday inoining. A London cable states that the bat bearing the signatures of the Australian cricketers was auctioned, and reauctioned for £465, at a dinner for the benefit of a London orphan school. Rents in Wanganui, according to a land agent. there, show no tendency to decline, and though the demand for houses is not what it was. there are very few empty houses to be seen. According to a cable, Mr A. L. Reeves, general manager for the Charles Chaplin Studio at Los Angeles, said that lie was authorised to announce that the comedian would not-be responsible for further debts contracted by his wife, formerly Lit a Grey. Mrs Chaplin and her two sons are living with the grandparents. She announced that, -she did not intend to return to her husband’s mansion, and left following a disagreement on Monday evening. There was a large attendance at the Masterton Central School last evening to witness a folk dancing demonstration given -under the direction of Miss L. Payne (an exchange teacher from Toronto). A class of teachers has been instructed by .Miss Payne, about eight lessons having been given. Fifteen folk dances were most creditably performed by the class, and included English, French, Danish, German, Bavarian, Portuguese and Lithuanian dances. Miss Payne prefaced eacn dance with a, description. A collection was taken and realised £3/14/-. It, was decided that the amount should be given ito the Dental Clinic.

A chartered accountant, Henry William Franklin, aged thirty-eight, of Tavistock Road, Loiulon, lias‘been committed for trial on a charge of manslaughter by. the Coroner at a Leatherhead inquest. The inquiry was into the death of Edward Groombridge, a. Claygato bank clerk, who was killed when his combination came into collision with a car driven by Franklin. Mrs Groombridge and her seven-year-old daughter, who were in Cl 1 e combination are still in the hospital. The jury in returning a. verdict of manslaughter, found that the collision was caused by the negligent driving of Franklin, who was under the influence of drink at the time. William Hook, a civil servant, said that ho and his wife saw Franklin's car come along on the wrong side of the road. Lt narrowly missed his car. Immediately afterwards it collided with the motor-cycle combination. Neither Franklin nor another passenger who was in his car lifted a finger to help the injured, said witness. Franklin was admitted to bail of £IOOO and nne suretv of £IOOO.

, A sure and pleasant specific for removing Worms is WADE’S WORM FIGS. Wonderful worm worriers. *

A Hokitika message advises that the Bilim dredge washed up, for a fortnight's work, for a return of nearly 900 ounces of gold, making approximately 1400 ounces for the month.

The case of a-very unlucky man was revealed in the \Vellington Magistrate’s Court yesterday, when Herbert Davenport. Monsell appeared on a charge of canvassing for wipe orders in Lyall Bay, which is a no-license district. Senior Sergeant Lander stated that Monsell, the locql agent for a firin' of wine merchants, on his rounds soliciting orders, called at the house of the resident policeman of the district. The constable informed accused that lie was in a dry district, and the latter had said that he was unaware of the fact that the district was dry. Mr E. Page, S.M., said he had no doubt the offence was committed innocently, but a wine canvasser should make himself conversant with the licensing laws. He imposed a line of £2, with costs. The annual display of -Scout work—senior and junior—will be held in the •Public Park on December IS. The Scouts and Cubs are concentrating 'upon the preparatory work with -commendable interest and zeal, in order to make this their first- display —a success. The programme has been arranged with the object of demonstrating -the spectacular aspect of Scout work, and is as follows;—Fire drill, bridge and flagpole building, physical drill, Pyramids, figure marching, tent erecting, signalling with flags—-Semaphore and Morse; first aid, in which emergency stretchers and splints will bo manufactured; relay races, including sack and chariot races; clubs, grand howl; grand circle and Akela dances. The troop and pack will march through Queen Street, and thence to the Park.

A meeting of the Masterton branch of the Women's Division of the New Zealand Fanners’ Union, held this week, was presided over by Mrs T. R. Barrel-. There was a very good attendance. It was decided that the matter of lowering the age of candidates for junior national scholarships, and its relation to country children, should bo a subject for consideration at the next annual conference. Mrs Barrel- was asked to make inquiries regarding the scale of tariffs on kitchen utensils and domestic electrical -appliances. It was decided to send a strong delegation to the demonstration to be held in Wanganui next week. Owing -to the holidays there will be no meeting of the branch on January 5 as originally arranged. Final arrangements were made for the garden party to be held at Mr Adam McKay’s residence, Westbush Road, on Saturday, December 11.

There was a great deal of amusement amongst the passengers of a train which passed through Te Kuiti a day or two ago when they heard a farmer on the platform complaining that labour was very scarce, and that it was nearly impossible to get a man who had been trained to do farm work to go out back to his place. “The best man I can got,” he added/ “is a steward off a boat, anil to see that fellow trying to learn liojw'to milk would make a cat laugh, although' if has been confessed lie is mannerly to the cows and calls them, mgny endearing names, the best of the joke, the missus thinks lie is a grand fellow for the back-blocks, because lie lias taught her how to shake all the crumbs on the tablecloth on to a plate like they do at sea, so that on a wet day she hasn’t got to shake it outside. Then lie amuses the kids by showing them how to balance a plate on his nose; bait, oly laws, to try and make a farmer of him is almost beyond the power of any one!”