LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 15752, 26 February 1919, Page 7

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

It is expected that there will be between 100 and 200 competitors at the Group 6 (Palmerston North) Rifle Meeting, which is to he held on the Putiki range on Friday and Saturday. A number of competitors will be accommodated in barracks at the Drill Hall.

Stone-throwing appears to have be 1 come a popular pastime among certain young hoodlums at Castlecliff. Householders complain not only of the annoyance, but of the danger of the practice, and in two families, we are informed, children have been struck by flying atones. The matter has been placed in the hands of the police who, it is to be hoped, will lose no time in locating the offenders.

An Auckland fruitgrower, who was in Christchurch recently, made some remarks about the high price of fruit there. He had sent down a ton of plums for sale, and had received 3id per lb for them. He was quite satisfied with the price, but he saw the plums shortly afterwards offered retail at 8d per lb. “A consignment of lemons sold at the equivalent of 14s per case,” he said, “but on the Retail prices asked- they will cost the consumer about 35s per case. This to me seems an'unfair profit to ask the consumer to provide.”

Corramandel is said to be one of the very few places, if not the only one, which kept out the 'flue during the epiaffairs was brought about largely by the efforts of Dr Greig, who, it will be redemic recently. This happy state of membered, was in practice in Wanganui a few years ago. The efforts to achieve the desired results were somewhat drastic. They were related by a member of the Hospital Board at today’s conference, and consisted of definitely isolating the town. No one was allowed to enter without first passing a rigorous medical and bacteriological test, and were kept under strict quarantine. All roads leading to the township were barricaded, and sentries placed on guard to prevent an entry by stealth. Just as keen a watch was kept upon visitors who arrived by steamer. There was a Maori pah just outsidq of Corromandel, and of its 53 inhabitants all went down with the ’flu, hut there were only three deaths.

The Wanganui Technical College is an institution which is progressing rapidly and is yearly growing in influence and in reputation. This progress is well illustrated by the increased attendance at tne day school, and some interesting figures on this point are now available. In 1915, when the school opened for the year, the attendance wiS 166; by 1918 it had increased to 149, that number of pupils being on the roll at the beginning of the school year. Last week’s attendance was 313, an increase of over 60. Since the last figures were compiled the attendance has still further increased, and is now over 76 more than last year. The courses are attended as follow: General course 106, commercial 93, engineering 46, domestic; 40, agriculture 28. There are four returned soldiers attending the school daily, two for engineering and two for accountancy. The hostels run in with the school are increasing in favour, and there are pupils boarding there who represent a very large district. The boys’ hostel at present contains 36 boarders and the girls’ hostel 16.