COUNTRY NEWS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 175, 19 April 1919, Page 10

COUNTRY NEWS

NOTES FROM VARIOUS CENTRES MANAWATU A meeting of hockey players was held at Palmerston North this week to discuss the question of forming tennis out of the available players in the district, with a view to equalising the standard of tennis. Up-to tne present the Old Doys' Club have had the strongest combination, and it has been thought that for tho coming season, the players might be split up among the four clubs in the town to niulce for a more equal competition. The names of 39 players were handed in. It was pointed out.that there would have to be either a. senior or .'a junior competition, and it was suggested that the senior players should be. selected first, and the teams made up from the junior players. In.this way the junior players would gain goocl experience, and be coached by : senior mon.. The junior men could rc- • vert to their own grade 'in the nest year .if. so .desired. Tho necessity of encouraging the game in the schools was also emphasised. .It. was .decided.,to appoint a selection .committee of tour (Messrs. • Cousins,. Aitchcson, Webb, and Perrin) and the secretary of the Manawatu Association,. and.,to put , the. idea forward as n recommendation of, the Hockey Association. It-was.• nlso ; -decided to approach. the Feilding Club to see if it would enter the competition. A meeting was 'hold at Palmorstou North on Wednesday .night in furtherance of the movement to change the weekly half-holiday from Wednesday to Saturday afternoon. Mr. 13. L. Broad was in tho chair, and" he expressed, tho opinion that the question .should bo decided by those directly, affected— the shopkeepers- and their, assistants. Mr. L. Jamison then expounded the views of the shop assistants, an 3 pointed out that the movement had the support pf prominent business men as welLas the employees. Hq read a list-of business firms in Palmerston who supported' the movement. There were 93 retailers, of whom 85 at present closed on Wednesday. Besides there wero merchants and professional men on tho list, making altogether 170; Mr. Jackson also read numerous letters from business men and employers' associations throughout tho Dominion, in which Saturday was observed as a halfholiday, stating that business had not suffered, but on the contrary was more evenly distributed over the week. More than 50 per cent, of the shopkeepers in Palmerston favoured the ichange. Mr. J. W. Itimmer addressed the meeting from -the employers' point of view, and stated that he believed from the experience of other, towns, the Saturday half-holiday would be an. unqualified success in Palmerston. ■ He held that the shop assistants were entitled to consideration. It would make no difference ill the amount of business transacted by the shopkeepers; By. acclamation the meeting affirmed that in the interests of the town and with a view to bringing working hours into conformity, Saturday should be adopted as the weekly half-holiday. - Tne • experimental farm committee associated with the Palmerston North Tech"nical School, which was formed some two years ago, intend meeting shortly to con- | Mde'r taking steps for nutting this branch I of the school's ■ activities on a more satisI factory footing.. . I ..Staft ; Sorgeant-Major A. W. Chapman, | .late of the 19th Hussars. Imperial Army, j'uvho is well known in Palmerston Nortn, lias now taken ch'argeof the Stratford area. The sergeant-major was in the retreat from Mons and other engagements, and received four wounds. At Palmersi ton he was attached to tho Aivapuni

• . .imp for a considerable time. At a meeting of the Piilincrston 2\orth Hospital Board on Thursday a deputation was received from the local Labour Representation Committee, asking that all doctors ill tho town should be admitted to the honorary stall: of tho hospital. Mrs. Gill stated that tho deputation asked on behalf of tho people of Palmerston that doctors should be allowed to attend to their patients while in the hospital. The doctors should bo admitted to the honorary stall as was done in other places, as at present many people had to go to private hospitals in order to have their own medical attendant in whom they had faith. Sho could see no good reason against tho proposal, and tho people were clamouring for it. According to Mr. Catty the deputation represented a number of industrial unions., The body which he ' represented, numbering 500 members, asked that Dr. _ Burnett's services should bo made available 1 to them by having him placed on .tho honorary staff. He had no complaints to make against the hospital staff. In the discussion which followed Dr. E. Whitaker, speaking as a member of the board, quite agreed with the open-door policy and would like to 6ee all the doctors on the honorary staff, but ho pointed out that it would be almost impossible for each patient to be attended to by any particular doctor. If that was required the patients must go into private hospitals. The fairest way would be to put all the doctors on the honorary staff, and. they would have to take their returns by rotation, The board informed the deputation that the matter would be considered shortly at a special meeting of the board. Mr. T. J. Clapham has been re-elected to represent Feilding on the Foxton Harbour Board. Gunner Bert Wakelin, son of Mr. A. Wakelin. of the "Standard" staff. Palmerston North, who left with the Third Reinforcements, has returned from the Acting under medical advice Sergeant Norman Dahl, who has been an inmate of the Palmerston Hospital for some lime past since his return from the front, left on Thursday for Toownomba Queensland, accompanied by Mrs. Dahl and son. „ , The annual investiture of officers ol Lodge Manawatu Kilwinning, Iso. it, N.Z.C., took place at Palmerston this week, .many Freemasons being present. The ceremony of installation was performed bv R.W. Bro. D. M'Farlanc, Prov. ■ GJL assisted by BAN. Bro. J. A. Nash, P.G.S.W.; W. Bro. W. H. Smith, F.G.J.W.; AVer. Bro. A. E. Bennett P.M.; Wor. Bro. A. Torslonson, D C Bro. H. S. Porleons officiated as organist. J.W., Bro. E E. Holben, was installed as W.M., and the following officers were investedS.W., Bro. E. It Tucker; J.W., Bro. E. V. West; treasure" RW. Bro! J. A. Nash, P.G.S.W.; &.C., Wor. Bro. A. Torstonson, P.M.; Olmplain, Wor. Bro. A. . Olnrk, 5.1)., Bro. W. Mundy; J.D., Bro. A. Warboys; 1.G., Bro. A. JI. M. Wright; organist, Bro. 11. S. Torteous: choir-, master, Bvo. J. liett; stcwaids, Bros. \\. Jf Douglas. ,T. Linklnter, C. S. Pees, and "W. V. Henderson; A. Lam-

barth. • * ~ , i\ wing of men are now busily engaged by the Government: on the widening of tli" Uikiornmri-Akatarawa track. Mr. IT. Greedy, who has been mill manager for the Tokomaru l lax-milling f.'o. for a number of years, has rpsisncil his position, and was farcwcllcd this reek at a {fathcrinpc - of Tokomaru residents.