Local and General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 175, 19 June 1940, Page 4

Local and General

Slip in Waioeka. A slip occurred in the Waioeka Gorge on Friday night, and both I the south bound and inward mails to Opotiki were delayed. The mail | from the north arrived in Gisborne shortly after 11 a.m., while the 1 north bound mail arrived at Opotiki too late to catch the express connection at Taneatua. This mail caught the goods train which left Taneatua at 1 p.m. Showing off at the Show. Whakatane's breast swelled with pride when it was announced at the Winter Show that the heaviest pumpkin exhibited weighed 19Slbs —or 4Slbs more than the heaviest the Waikato could produce. Whakatane does not believe in laurel-rest-ing and yesterday despatched the mammoth, per R.M. Transport, to Rotorua, where it will be shown at that district's Winter Show, which commences to-day. It is not known whether a concession was allowed on the freight charge. Paper from New Zealand Flax. A new use for New Zealand flaxis mentioned in the annual report of New Zealand Paper Mills, Limited. The report says that much of the company's raw material is obtained from overseas and from points largely subject to blockade. "We are now turning for supplies to other directions," the report continues. "In our - own New Zealand flax there is an excellent raw material for our manufacturers, but hitherto its high cost in comparison with wood pulp has prevented the , use we would like to have made of it. War conditions have now been an equalising factor,, and if fiirther , difficulties arise with timber we shall not hesitate to turn for sup- ( plies to our local market." ;

Reserve Register. More interest has been taken in the military register during the last week and it is filling rapidly. Open- ( cd at the BEACON Office, it pro- ( vides for the registration of those men willing to offer their services in the event of an emergency. Many men from country districts have j signed, and although the response } ftas been good, more are required. A group of 200 is the object. A Silly Rumour. A malicious rumour which has been I circulating in Whakatane for some time and which apparently has aho been going the rounds in other parts of the Dominion, is that the wife of Britain's former Prime Minister, Mr Neville Chamberlain, is of German extraction, and is connected with the great German armament of Krupps. A correspondent referred to this rumour in writing to an Auckland paper and cited the following facts in regard to Mrs Chamberlain: "I have taken the trouble to look up Mrs Chamberlain's lineage in Burke's 'Landed Gentry' and here it is in brief—The Rt. Hon. Neville Chamberlain married Annie Vere Cole, daughter of Major William Utting Cole, of 3rd Dragon Guards and of West Woodhay House, Newbury, and Mary, eldest daughter ot Major Horatio de Vere, son of Sir Aubrey de Vere, Bart. William Utting Cole's father was William Henry Cole, of Pul- | ham, Norfolk, of West Woodhay House, and Coombe Manor, Norfolk, , and his mother was Jane Brooks, ' daughter of Alfred Brooks, of Rich- , mond, London." Reference to the works mentioned by this correspon- , dent confirms the facts given by ( him. As he very truly remarks in , the preamble to his letter, the rumour is an idiotic one, but nothing, apparently, is too idiotic or too mali ; cious for the people who dissemin- ; ate these rumours. (

Five Brothers Serving with Forces. Five sons of Mr and Mrs Olsen, of Gate Pa, Tauranga, have enlisted and are either serving with the forces or 'have been passed as fU for service. One is at present in H.M.S. Achilles. Two are awaiting the call to camp. Patriotic Dane;. Readers arc reminded of the Patriotic, dance to be held at Edgecumbe to-morrow night. This function lias been organised by the new-ly-formed Edgecumbc Patriotic Com mittee and the proceeds will be devoted to patriotic purposes. A feature of the evening will be the presentation of a marching display by the Whakatane Caledonian Society's Pipe Band. Procession of Wheelbarrows. "A novel method of raising money •for the Sick, Wounded and Distress fund, which proved successful in Christchurch recently, will be employed during the street carnival on June 21. Many people are to Be asked to decorate wheelbarrows, fill them with marketable goods or produce, and pu.;h them in a street procession. At a convenient point the barrows wijl be assembled and the goods marketed. The procession is to be arranged by the committee supporting the sports queen, Miss Joy Asquith, to whose credit the proceeds, \yjll be placed," says an Auckland paper. Rotorua Gum Trees. Opposition was expressed by a number of members of the Rotorua Borough Council to the removal of gum trees forming an avenue between Rotorua and Whakarewarewa when this was recommended by the Works Committee. The Mayor,, Mr T. Jackson, reported that he had received a reasonable offer from a milling firm to remove the trees al a cost which seemed below that at which the council could do the work. He recalled that when removal was previously suggested it had been decided to leave the matter until trees were planted in the

intervening spaces. In opposing removal of the trees. Mr O. H. Coleman remarked on the asset thai avenues were in Cambridge and Hamilton. It was decided to leave sufficient gums until younger trees were of sufficient height. Garibaldi's Curse. The Minister of Information, Mi Duff Cooper, broadcasting on Italy's declaration of war, said Garibaldi, the heroic Italian, registered the debt his country owed to Britain when he called down a curse upon any Italian Government which in the future should light against the country that saved her. This curse, contained in a letter dated April 12, 1854, is eiteel in Garibaldi's auto biography. He wrote: "England i? a great and powerful' nation, independent of auxiliary aid, foremost in human progress,, an enemy to despotism, the only safe refuge for an exile from,, Europe, and the friend of the oppressed; but if ever England should be so circumstanced as to require the help of an ally, cursed be that Italian who would not step forward with me in her defence." Maoris and Religion. Of the European religions followed by the Maoris, according to a survey by the Government statistician, the Church of England possesses the largest following among the Maoris, nearly 25,000 acknowledging this designation. There are 11,300 Roman Catholics, 5700 Methodists, 5250 Mormons and 1100 Presbyterians. About 5500 Maoris objected to stating their convictions., or failed to specify them. If any Maoris still believe in the original faiths their ancestors brought with them from Polynesia, none apparently outwardly profess them—unless they be included among the 500 odd w T ho confessed to no religion, no denomination, and were included in "other religious professions." According to the census returns 586 Maoris profess the Hauhau religion, 5000 the Ringatu religion promulgated by Te Kooti, and the followers of Ratana number 16,337.