LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 31 December 1924, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

It is stated that as far as the retail drapery business in Wellington is concerned the trade of last week formed a extremely wet weather , the pre-Christmas. week was rather depressing, but ample awards were •made on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, witfi the above result.

, O' l Saturday evening a motor mishap occurred at Cardiff, when a motor lorry owned by .Mr. A. Cameron, of Cardiff Bead, dashed into.the bank while rounding a corner. The trout wheel was smashed, but no other damage resulted. It is understood that the accident occurred through the lights failing. “One of the compensations of the teaching profession is, that its mem-’ hers are always in contact with the spirit of youth;” said Mr M. H. Oram, when speaking at. the break-up ceremony of the Boys’ High School, Palmerston North (reports an exchange), ‘lou will notice,”, he added, “how much younger the teaching staff appear ■ than the members of the board of governors.”

Although he was a prohibited person and had been before the Hawera Magistrate’s Court three times during the past three months, Harold Gordon Tonks was yesterday again charged with drunkenness. Sergt. Henry said that Tonks had been found in an hotel earlier in the day. and, although he had been .warned had taken no heed. Mr S. MacDonald,,:J.P., imposed a fine of £3, and allowed seven days in which to pay. .

When Ratana’s Maori party, which returned to New Zealand from England last week, was in Japan, in the course of its tour, the Japanese were greatly taken with the Maori music. for instance, a performance was given in the open air music hall in the middle of Hibiya Park, and was attended by representatives of all nationalities. In addition to items by the string band vocal choruses were also given.

It may ne a good plan to decorate a town' for Christmas or on anv other I estival, but it is advisable to remove such decorations as soon as the occasion necessitating them has passed. A visitor to Hawera yesterday states that the town had been splendidly decorated with greenery for the festive season, but no attempt has since been made to remove the decorations, which had faded and died, with the result that the general appearance was one of neglect, which was out of keeping with Hawera’s reputation as a town". —Stratford Post.

, The festive season with its privilege of remembrance for friends far and near is now with us. We are ready for it with a huge stock of sensible gifts, presents which will be appreciated because of their utility as well as beauty. Call and look them over at your leisure.—Harrops Ltd., Hawera and Stratford.—Advt.

The Taranaki Jockey 01 uh has paid in to the Government account the sum of £3705 13s Bd, being taxation on _ the recent race meeting. The dividend _and totalisator tax amounted to £3515 16s and the. gates tax to £45 2s Bd..

Picton also put a remarkable rainfall record during the storm which raged last week, says an exchange, a local observer recording a total fall, in four days, of six inches. It is stated that some damage was caused to gardens in Picton, the deluge being responsible for isome bad soourin o, on the hillside properties. ”

The police issue a warning that in the event of fireworks being discharged in a public place during the holidays the offenders will be prosecuted. They are liable to a fine of Lo, and the police have been given lnstruotiopis to prosecute in every ease.

There is no doubt that December tins year has been an exceptionally wet month. The total rainfall recorded at the Hawera post office is /./I inches, as canupared with 115 inches last year, while during December this year there were 20 davs on which rain, fell as compared with. 12 days during the corresponding period of last year. The maximum fall for December, . 1924, was on the 11th when 2.3 inches fell. The total fall tor the year was 59.32 inches.

Ijie contract fo,r the erection of the relational. Bank’s new premises at the junction of High and Princes Streets has been let, Mr A. Brown, of Hawera being the successful tenderer, the contract price being £8620. Builidng operations will commence early in January. There were eight tenderers for the work.

In conversation this morning prominent business men stated to a Star i e presen tat ive that they were. satisfied with the trade done during the Christmas period. They did liot anticipate as large a volume for New rears. Eve, though no doubt it would be somewhat above normal. The special lighting and decorations were regarded as well worth the effort, and in future similar arrangements may be made, to give Hawera a festive appearance and so help to attract visitors. ,

The condition of the ,road from Waipuku, toll-gat© to Inglewood is described by J .i tr , ave ers , ~a s shocking, and the potholes are likened by one who has tsfcgn over the rqad to a honeycomb. The motor traffic lately has been heavy, and so has the rain, th© result that the road has become very and cars are forced to prornu o Ve Fi a slow rate of speed, lne bout h Taranaki roads are in marked contrast, and the main highways an© reported as being in very good order. .

In i reporting the death of Mr Charles Stewart, of the Stewart Timber Co., the Dominion states: —“In the days before the Te Aro reclamation, sailing vessels used to bring down rough hewn logs from Hokianga and; other ports- and discharge them into the harbour, just where the Taranaki Street VVharf stands to-day, and boats used to tow them to the shore, where they were hauled into the mill by machinery. This method of supplying the ** u j r requirements of Wellington prevailed for. over a quarter of a century. In the ’7o’s the firm undertook the construction of the railway line between the Rangitikei River and the Turakma.”

The Prince of Wales’ visits to, the United States furnished an immense stimulus' to trade. In the New York papers even Mr. Wanamalter’s advertisements are studded with “offers” of English suits. In London the tieinakei s and the tailors- in Piccadilly were getting even more orders from American visitors than jfrom the Americans who come in the, height of the London season. Some came in with little photographs of the Prince clipped from the newspapers, and demanded “a real lot just like that.”

_ Users off the telephone in' South Taranaki are finding it difficult to near over (long distalnces. owing to the constant humming noise on the wires The cause of this is believed to be defective, insulation permitting one telephone wires to be affected by other electric lines. Telephone linesmen have spent much time in trying to .locate the trouble, but up to the present they have not found it. No doubt the very wet weather has added to the trouble, but users of the wires will hope that it will soon be rectified and an end be pub to the noise which has for many weeks interfered more or less with conversations. In some parts of the district telegraph lines have also been affected by the disturbing influence of foreign current. =* 1

The question of the dearth of men ottering for the ministry was referred to by the Rev. John Dickson at a meeting of the Christchurch Presbytery last _week, reports the Lyttelton lanes He said that to account for this dearth of ministers and ministenal candidates in the Presbyterian ana othei churches, various causes had been assigned. Some said it was c /' ie to criticism of W °'i God ’ ih * y thought 1 .Ly a, gospel worth making sacrifices to preach. However, personally, he considered that the .real cause was that the ' stipends offerer! were not sufficient, and did not en- . ure against rfceurnary embarrassment in the midst of the absorbing duties ol a minister. .

rWn hC ? Se '? mi racnlous escape from death (writes the Southland News correspondent from the Milford Sounds tiack) occurred a l'ew days ago. The horse was_ engaged carrying stores Mt Pasß ; I Whl , le going below lei. i‘ OWn i lfc i sh i pped 011 u narrow ledge of rock, balanced itself for a moment, and then fell over a clear drop of 30ft and rolled over and over ior about 100 ft down the hillside To the astonishment of the man in charge it struggled to its feet, and though very much bruised and shaken it w-as able to be led along the hillside until a suitable place was found , lt on the track again. The tussocky nature of the growth evidently broke the hardness of its fall but it was a remarkable performance suit? 0 1 ' ronsh without serious re-

7V- fc his , ba Sg.V trousers ioi led his eyes about and greeted the Wanganui Herald reporter with a pleasant smile. “Off to Ratana?” queried the reporter. “Yes,” said Horn, but, by corry, te wahine and me we get there a bit late, I tink Have to sleep in te tent. No good this weather, eh?” Then Honi thought philosophically, and again remarked, ‘Never mind, plenty of kai 2f e n y° u don ’t go there to eat all the time. What about the sniritual uphft? ’ said the reporter, p n l '.right for, te young fellow, replied Honi. “I like to uplift te leg of wild pig better. Te nymn he sound werrv nice in te rlisance. ’ “Soothing like when you want ‘“Thor’ °-+ f the reporter. That’s it,” said Honi. “We now go and have te beer together. You wait ” for tS°W "’ al ’ ine> 06 116 IM ' 36 Remove corn; with Frogandra: 2/6 —Advt. ■ - ‘