LOCAL AND GENERAL

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume XXVI, Issue 7901, 12 September 1929, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The chairman (Mr F. M. Strange), at the last meeting of the Thames Valley Power Board, remarked that there were hundreds of fiat rate electricity consumers using wireless sets without paying the £1 fee.

The quarterly meeting of the Waihi Fire Board will be held at 1.30 this afternoon and in the evening members will meet to make a presentation to the ex-chairman (Mr Evan Morgan) in recognition of his services to the board.

The district engineer, Public Works Department, Auckland, is inviting tenders for painting and renovation the Mataora native school buildings. Intending Waihi tenderers may see the specifications, etc, at the Waihi post office.

Should the weather be favourable the Waihi Federal Band will play a programme of music in Seddon Street on Friday evening. A collection will be taken up in aid of the band funds. Qn Sunday afternoon, commencing at 2.30 o’clock, the band will give a musical recital on the hospital grounds, a collection being taken at the gates in aid of the funds of the hospital.

The retail prices of the three principal foodstuffs —groceries, dairy produce and meat —in Waihi during July averaged 50.6 per cent, over pre-war costs, compared with a Dominion average of 46 per cent. Blenheim was the dearest town with 63 per cent, above the prices ruling in July, 1914, and Greymouth the cheapest with an increase of 35.6 per cent.

Good progress is being made on improving the road between Tauranga and Waihi. At the notorious Armstrong’s Flat, about eight miles from Tauranga, the contractors have almost completed metalling and are half-way through the cutting. When the bend in the road is taken out and the metalling completed it will be a distinct improvement for motorists. During the present year this has been the only point on the road where the use of chains has been found necessary. As far as the present company is concerned the first two ingots of gold from the Hauraki Consolidated mine were lodged in the Bank of New Zealand, Coromanled, last Saturday. This was quite an event and a number of people interested in the matter attended and inspected the ingots, which were valued at £SOO and £2OO respectively. They are the result of the first clean up of the mine which amounted to 180ozs. of gold. According to those interested this' is but the forerunner of bigger things.

“You have had, or are about to receive a sum of money from the estate of a deceased relative,” said counsed in the Waihi Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday to a defendant who was applying for a variation of the amount of an order made in respect of his separation from his wife. ‘My word, that’s good news to me,” responded the applicant, adding as an afterthought, “though I’m sorry anybody’s dead.” It transpired in further cross-examination that the legacy to which counsel had referred was mythical, tlie applicant having written to his wife stating that his brother had left him £SOO merely to see how she would re-act to the good news.

“This is quite refreshing,” remarked Mrs Wayne, president of the Waihi sub-branch of the Plunket Nursing Society, at the monthly meeting last week, when the donation box at the rooms was found to contain the sum of 19s 2d as against Is 9d for the previous month. Other members present—Mesdames Lightbourne, Cornthwaite and C. Dunstan —also expressed their appreciation of the improvement in this direction and the hope that it would continue. The district nurse’s report showed that during the month colds had been very prevalent amongst the mothers and babies, but that there was some improvement towards the close of the period.

At a recent meeting of the Waihi Beautifying and Tree Conservation Society attention was drawn to the tact that the somewhat unsightly buildings at the rear of Mr P. Munro’s block of shops at the foot of Seddon Street would mar the appearance of the good work being done in improving the western entrance to the town, and it was decided that the hon. secretary should communicate with the owner’s Waihi agent (Mr J. Murray) suggesting that they should receive some attention or be removed. Replying to Mr Murray’s communication on the subject, Mr Munro, now living in Auckland, states that in view of the inadequate return he receives in the shape of rent from the shops and the expense he has been put to in connection with them during the past few months he does not feel like spending any more money on the property. He, however, expresses sympathy with what is being done by the society and instructs Mr Murray to donate a guinea to the funds on his behalf if the scheme is in any way benefiting the property.

The most talked of and best advertised book on the war to-day, Remarque’s “All Quiet op tjie Western Front,” —which is to bo placed on the shelves in the Waihi muucipal library for perusal by adults—is thus referred to by the New Zealand Re-* turned Soldiers’ Association’s Review:—."The opinions for and against the publication are legion. Without doubt it is powerful and horrible, but it deals with war which is inadequately described when termed "Hell.” The book has been stated as crude and obscene, but it must be remembered that. Continental people look at many things in a manner which makes the average Britisher wonder. As propaganda for the out-, lawry of war the book —minus one or two passages which the translator might have handled very differently —would be most valuable. Its terrible and too vivid descriptions of devastation and suffering of animals and people—civilian and soldier—must influence readers and strengthen their hatred of armed conflict. "All Quiet on the Western Front” is, however, the story from a German p.oipt of vipw, there are equally as powerful bopka op the >yar written by Rritjsheps that have not received sucii wonderful pdvgrtising. ’A Private in the Guards,’ by Stephen Graham, is a splendid book, and there are passages dealing with the happenings in France that are every bit as vivid and powerful as Remarque’s book. ‘Under Fire’ and ‘The Path of Glory’ are also good war books.”

For the time being the staff of the cottage hospital at Paeroa will consist of a sister in charge—to be a nurse as well as a midwife —a cook, a laundress and a handyman. In connection with the representative football match, Thames v Tauranga to be held at Tauranga on Saturday next, a special train is being run from Thames North to Tauranga and back. Details of train times and special day excursion fares are advertised by the Railway Department in this issue.

A daffodil show and sale of work will be held in the King’s Hall under the auspices of St. John’s Ladies’ Guild, on Thursday and Friday, September 26 and 27. Numerous stalls and other attractions will be provided, while there will also be competitions in various classes of cooking and, of interest particularly to farmers, special prizes for the best fresh butter and the best salted butter. Further information may be had from Mr E. Durston. Hail, rain and frost were experienced in Waihi within a period of 12 hours or so. A very slight fall of hail occurred yesterday afternoon and was followed in the evening by a comparatively heavy downpour of rain. This did not last long but was succeeded by a very sharp frost. In the somewhat unusual circumstances it caught a number of local gardeners napping, with the result that the young spring growth and pot plants which, if one had been prepared for a frost, could have been protected, suffered a fair amount of damage. The local weather observer, Mr M. F. Haszard, reported 10 degrees of frost, the second heaviest noted during the winter.