“STOP GROUSING”

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 118, 16 February 1928, Page 9

“STOP GROUSING”

APPEAL BY MINISTER OF LANDS Dominion Special Service. Masterton, February 15 An admission that bad times had been experienced in New Zealand owing to trade depression by the Hon. A. D. McLeod, Minister of Lands, at to-night’s smoke concert of the Masterton A. and I’. Association, was followed by a spirited appeal on the part ot the speaker to farmers not to assume a disgruntled attitude, thereby impeding national recovery and progress. “There is one tiling we want to stop, and that is this confounded grousing, not by the man on the land, but by others,” the speaker said. Deterioration of lands in New Zealand was not as serious as suggested, continued Air. McLeod, and deterioration had not affected more than ton per cent, of the property. It wns a case in which the farmer was called upon to stick to his own country and to support it by his effort.

An amusing instance of how people will adopt the cheapest mode of travel was given at a meeting at Hanraroa recently, when the question was being discussed of what support would be accorded the railway from Gisborne to Wairoa if it followed the inland route (says the “Poverty Bay Herald”). Settlers present declared that they would support the railway were it taken inland, but the officers .of the Railway Department were dubious as to the result if there was strong competition by lorries, it being their experience that people adopted the cheapest means of transport and travel irrespective .of what the indirect result woui I be. Air. E. I?. Bodie, business manager gave an instance of a woman who nsko<l a bus to wait while she put her child bound for school, on to the train. This done, she hurried back to the bus that would take her to tho samo destination at a slightly cheaper rate.

On a recent Saturday afternoon a party from Havelock North enjoyed i> very pleasant bathe from the sandy | beach near the estuary of the Ngarn roro at Clive, and shortly afterwardthey were startred to see a five-foo-shark among the inshore breakers with in 12 yards of tho beach (says tin “Hawke’s Bay Tribune”). liulf an 1 hour later another' shark, of equal size, followed the track of the one first seen, and the party decided to abandon | tile remaining bathing events out ol their programme. An amateur fisher man nearby, who had just caught a couple of fair-sized kingfish, said that he hail often fished there and these were the first sharks be had seen. A couple of ladies, resident close io the beach, said they had bathed daily during the summer' and had never thought of, much less seen, a shark.