LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Waikato Times, Volume 118, Issue 19665, 27 August 1935, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Competitions at Hawera. —The Hawera music, elocution and dancing competitions commenced yesterday. They will extend until Friday.

Change of Name. —According to a notice in the New Zealand Gazette, Bruce McCauley Mutton, butcher, of Hamilton, has changed his name to Bruce McCauley.

Missing Fishermen Safe. —A message from Brisbane states that the four fishermen reported missing yesterday have arrived safely at Yeppoon, after being storm-bound for a week at Heron Island.

Quadruplet Lambs. —The lambing season usually produces a number of freaks, and the latest is quadruplets at Cambridge. One of Mr Jas Taylor’s crossbred ewes gave birth to four lambs -on Sunday and they are all healthy.

A Family Man. —i“ How old are you?” asked Mr Justice Callan of a Maori bankrupt applying for discharge in the Supreme Court, Hamilton, this morning. “Thirty-flve,” replied the applicant. ‘‘And you have 10 children,” commented His Honour, smiling. ‘‘Discharge granted.”

Rights of Pedestrians. —“The time is coming when pedestrians will appear to have no rights at all on the road,” observed Mr Justice Callan in the Supreme Court, Hamilton, yesterday. “Pedestrians may have to adopt a general rule and walk In the faoe of oncoming traffic at night, or else carry rear reflectors.”

“ It Is Paid For!” —An amusing anecdote is related of the -fondness of the late Mr Will Rogers, -film -star, for an old -car. He was -asked why he didn’t buy a new one, and replied: “ Because mine has something that ■most of the new cars don’t have." “What’s that?” he was asked. “It’s paid for," replied the homespun philosopher.

Deposits Dlsoouraged. —Speaking at the annual meeting of the National Bank of New Zealand in London last month, ’the chairman (Sir Austin B. Harris) said that for a time the bank was obliged to discourage the lodging of deposits, as it was impossible to employ them profitably. With improving trade, however, there should be a gradual improvement in this connection. The bank’s deposits for the year showed a decrease of £2,000,000 in -Britain and New Zealand.

Barrister Enters Box.—Dissatisfaction with portion of the evidence in a divorce case in the Supreme Court, Hamilton, this morning, expressed by Mr Justice Callan, resulted in Mr N. S. Johnson, counsel for petitioner, removing his wig, entering the box, and giving the required evidence himself. Mr Gillies agreed to take charge of Mr Johnson’s brief while -counsel was in the box. “I -am sorry that Mr Johnson has been -put to this trouble, but we must get the evidence m a proper way,” observed His Honour.

A Fortunate Loser. —Mr Andrew Hunter, of Brighton, received a decided shock when he arrived at his home from Westport one night last week to discover that he had lost the sum of £2OO in notes—the payroll ol a number of employees (says the Westport Times). He immediately telephoned Westport, and gave details of -his movements before leaving with the result that Mr A. Jost was successful in a search for the money, which has since then been returned. It is stated that Mr Jost generously refused the reward offered for recovering such a large amount.

Chilled Beef. —“You may remember that last year I referred to the interesting- and successful experimental shipments of chilled beef from the Dominion to this country, indicating that chilled beef can he carried as well from New Zealand as lrom the Argentine,” said the chairman of the National Bank of New Zealand at the annual meeting* held in London last month. “Now that the Dominions I include Australia —ha\e demonsi rated that chilled beef can ho sent over in good condition, it seems onl} reasonable to hope that the} may receive a greater proportion of the total beef imports to this country, ol which at present 15 per cent, aic foreign and only 23 per cent, from Hie British Empire."

IVlay Solve a Mystery. —A chance discovery by Mrs W. W. Sampson, of Wellington, upon her property at Silvers (.ream, may prove lo have solved Uic mystery of how crayfish spawn. A little stream lias its source on her property, and increases ns it flows lo join the river in the valley. The. construction of a track in the cliff above a bathing pool led lo the discovery ol thousands upon thousands of New Zealand fresh-water crayfish embedded in the blue plug about 50 loot or more above llie pool on the shady side. The crayfish varied in size from full-grown members lo perfectlyformed eraytlsh no larger than the head of a pin. 'flic larger crayfish were crusted with eggs. The little stream had steep sides, and there was evidence that the eraytlsh worked their way upward through the earth to a height estimated lo lie about 100 feel. The progress or, the eraytlsh was no doubt facilitated by a seepage ot water, which made the earth soft and muddy. As the crayfish were found near the. source of the stream, it is surmised that they go upstream into pie farthest reaches in order lo spawn, In season —probably in the late spring. Knowledge about the spawning habits of crayfish has been scanty.

Portion' of Cut Restored. — The Moa Farmers’ Dairy Company has reinstated portion of the 10 per cent cut m the wages of its employees.

Air Mall From London.— The New Zealand section of the Empire air man. despatched from London on August ll will arrive at Auckland from Sydney hy the Wanganella to-morrow morning.

Fire Engineers’ Conference.— The sixth annual conference of the ln stl " tute of Fire Engineers, New Zealand branch, will be held in Palmerston North on December 4, 5 and 6.

Light Frost Reoorded. —A light frost of 4 degrees was registered in Hamilton overnight. A heavy mist which followed this morning conditions cold and unpleasant.

Amateur Billiards Championship.— The New Zealand amateur billiards championship, which will open at Auckland to-morrow night, has drawn 16 entries, of which eight are from the south.

German Tank Corps. —A German tank corps made its first public appearance yesterday. Ten of the tanks were employed in a mock battle at Munich with nine fighting aeroplanes. There were 100,000 spectators.

Gold Sluicing Return —The Charleston sluicing return for the four weeks ended on Saturday is as follows: 13 oz. 11 dwt for 20 shifts of 9 hours, Temporary stoning plant is working satisfactorily and it is hoped to increase the yardage after adjustments.

Lower Quotation for Gold. —Gold was quoted in London yesterday at £6 19s lUid (the lowest price this year), the dollar at 4.97 13-16, and the franc at 75 5-32, compared with £7 0s l*d, 4.062 and 75 1-16 respectively on Friday.

St. Peter’s Players. —Although there has been heavy booking for Thursday' night’s performance of “ The Importance of Being Earnest,” Oscar Wilde’s brilliant comedy, by St. Peter's players, at least 200 good seats are still available at the box plan office.

No Sketohlng In Court.— Interrupting .proceedings at the Supreme Court at Wanganui during the hearing of a breach of promise case, the Chief Justice, Sir Michael Myers, took occasion to issue a warning that sketching was not permitted. “I don’t say it is being done,” he said, “hut would point out that it is not allowed."

Tennis Club Management Expenses. —The expense entailed in conducting a tennis club was evidenced in the balance sheet of 'the Hamilton Lawn Tennis Club presented at the annual meeting last evening. Wages amounted to £175, 'court maintenance £22, purchase of seeds £ll, repairs to court £2l, and purchase of balls £49.

Value of Resusoltatlon. "More people have been drowned on land than in the water,” said Mr K. C. Reid, chief instructor of the Auckland centre of the Royal Life Saving Society, in Hamilton last evening when speaking on the value of resuscitation. Many people had been taken alive from the water but had died on the land because of - the lack of knowledge of resuscitation methods, explained the speaker.

River Live-Saving. —" On the Waikato River a reel wmuld be impracticable, but a ‘box line outfit' should prove ideal," said Mr F. Langley, prominent Auckland life-saving authority, in tendering advice on the best methods of life-saving in the Waikato River to a meeting called last evening to consider the formation of a Hamilton life-saving club. The ‘box line outfit,’ explained Mr Langley, was very light and could be operated by one person. Such lines should be placed at Intervals along the river bank.

Bell Birds Increasing. —There area number of bell birds In Tirnaru, the sweet notes of the birds being particularly noticeable of a morning in various parts of the town (says the Timaru Post). Mr C. G. Longuet, in speaking at Invercargill on Arbor Day, said it was gratifying to notice the increase of bell birds throughout the Dominion, lie said that these erstwhile shy native birds were rapidly becoming domesticated. At one time they were very afraid of man, but now they frequented gardens and permitted people to approach close to them.

Dairy Produce Sohemo. —An indication of the benefits of the _ butter equalisation scheme operating in Australia is afforded by the returns for the past season. Without the earlier Paterson plan, or the present equalisation scheme operating, the equivalent average butter-fat values of the average Australian return from London would have been about B}d per lb., but the Victorian average butter-fat price for the 193-4-35 season equals approximately 11 Jd per lb. The advantage derived from the exchange position is equal to nearly 2id per lb. butter-fat, and with the 3d extra from the equalisation plan Australian dairymen are deriving the very substantial assistance of approximately old per lb. butter-fat from both sources.

The Cat Came Bac.k. —Blaclde, the cat which normally lives on the Government steamer Matai, but occasionally leaves her at port and is waiting for her at the next, is known on every waterfront in New Zealand. Last time the Matai was in Lyttelton the tale of Blackie’s wanderings, of his occasional excursions on Ihe steamer express, and even, the evidence suggested, on the North Island Limited, was told by the Christchurch Press. Since then, it is reported, lie has surpassed himself, lie left the ship at Westport, and though the crew expected to sec him walling for them at Wellington, they were, disappointed. The Matai went on the slip for overhaul, and when slic came down Blackie was still missing. Sorely though their faith was being tried, some of the crew still had faith in him. Others reluctantly lost hope, and it was they who introduced two new cats for the voyage round the northern lighthouses. Two months after she left Westport the Matai arrived back in Wellington from the northern I rip Faith was .instilled, for Blackie was on the wharf, showing by Ids appearance Hint ids temporary home had been a good one. And the first night lie was back on the ship the new y-rccruited cats learned, painfully, who was the boss cat ou the Matai.

Special attraction, daily in House and Making’s Tea Booms! Each afternoon from 2.1 a to -4.15. August 27, until September 5. the talented “Boland Family Sextette " —Viennese Orchestra (direct from Vienna) will provide a special programme for palI’ons. An oulslanding musical presentation‘Hint music-lovers should not miss! Six talented musicians adept at piano, violin and ’cello! Extract from Auckland Star says: “The audience could not get enough. . . rheir Viennese music .... created quite a furore.’’ Now you can hear them at Mouse and Dnkimr’s! You MUST contrive to be there l*