LOCAL & GENERAL

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 19, 15 October 1937, Page 4

LOCAL & GENERAL

Photos of Hastings. fcseven photographs, showing the clock tower, Cornwall Park, the Municipa) Tiieatre, and Cape Kidnappere, ar«> to be obtained by the Hastings Borough Council from the Department of Industries and Commerce. Lodal Body Salarles. Reporting upon the fact that the Local Body Officers' Agreement, covering borough councils, county councils, eleqtric power boards, hospital, rivers and town boards in the Wellington Iudustrial district, had become operative from the beginning of this montb, the Town Clerk, Mr Noel O. Harding, informed the Hastings Borough Councii last evening that the wage conditions of the award made little difference to the salaries paid by the council, the total amount involved this year being about £40, Grass in Streats. The question of the removal, by borough lorries, of grass from tbe roadside in cases where roads, and/or footpaths are mown by residents was discusged at a recent meeting of the Works Committee of the Hastings Jiorough Council. it was decided, however, that the cost involved to carry out this work would bo toq high for it to be undertaken by the council, and accordingly a recommendation along these lines was adopted at the meeting of the council ' last evening. ' Butter for Prisoners. Following strenuous representations by members of Parliament last year, the dietary scale for prisoners in New Zealand was improved by the inclusion of 2oz. of butter in the daily ration. Reference to this change is made in the annual report of the Prisons Department, which states that the dietary scale is exceedingly liberal and weil balanced, and is reflected in the almost lnvariable improvement in the physical condition of prisoners. The report also states that the health of the prisoners had been uniformly good throughout the year, there being no illnesses of an epidemic character. New Zealand Centennial. Discussing with a deputation recently the question of meulorials for the "New Zealand Centennial, the Minister of Internal Alfairs, the Hon. W. E. Parry, saiji that even wnen a Centennial memonal took the form of a monument, a museum, an art gallery, a« community hall or centre, or a sports ground or play area, it should, he suggested, be surrounded by a park or Delt, or be approached by a grove or avenue of meraorial trees, natives for preference, "which a hundred years or more later would be considered a living reminder of what New Zealanders ceiebrated in 1940. The Minister earnestly conunended to the publie spirit of landowuers the appeal of His Excellency the Governor-Ueneral that they make avadable afeas of land for Centennial plantings. He could imagine no more permanent manner in Which any individuai landowner could commemorate in perpetuity his public spirit. "Bought" 121 "Wlves," A tall and picturesque man, bearded and jolly, is Monsignor Francis Gsell, Roman Catholie aclministrator of the Northern Territory, now enjoying six raonths' Jeave in Sydney. He teils a remarkable story of having 121 "wives," all his own accordiug to tribal law, and each one bought and paid for. "I've been buying wives for the past 23 years," he says, 'and I believe 1 have more than anyone else m the world to-day." To a puzzled and somewhat scandalised interviewer he explained that these purchases were purely formai, and were arranged with the particular object of protecting young aboriginal and half-caste girls,, and converting them to Christianity Mostly he gave his "wives" iu marriage to the young men of his Bathurst Island missiou, though, in the event of the husband's death, they reverted to him. The most successful aspect of his strange experiment is that it prevents child marriage and polygamy, both of which are grave evils among the natives of Northern Australia. PQverty Bay Lambs. SheepownerB in Poverty Bay have been disagreebly surprised by the rosults of the season's lambing so far, and it js doilbtfui whether, when all the tallies are in and the opportunity arises to calculate the district percentages, the figure will be above 80 per cent, In a number of flocks, the owners of which have worked out percentages, tbe returns are weli below those of last season, and flockmasters are seeking in vain for the cause of tbe sudden decline. Flockmasters of iona experience in this part of the North Island look back to the time when averages of 125 and even 135 per cent. were not regarded as outstanding. Those figureB were recorded year byyear on properties which had not been long cleared of bush, and there seems to be no doubt that tbe exhaustion of the surface elements in the soil througli constant depasturing has affected lambing returns since the period of bush clearance came to a stop. The prospect of iower freights on fertijisers when the railway comes to Gisborne is counted on by many pastoralista for a general improvement in pasture conditions.

His Last Race. Werohia' has probably run his last race. The Greyspear gelding over* reaclied the other day when at exercise, and strained a ligament so bad* ly that his owner has decided not to persevere \vith him any further. Battle of Hastings An. anniversary of particular inter* est t0 Hastings fell yesterday, for it was on October 14, 1066, that Harold III. of England lost both his kingdom and his life at the Battle of Hastings. More than 30,000 were slain in this battle, and through it William of Normandy won the English Crown, Handed Back, A well-known New Plymouth man unsuspectingly received a setback last week when he took his collars to a Chinese laundr'y. Unwrapping the parcol the man behind the ogunter observed that the collars were of Japanese origin and he promptly handed them back to the customer and reiused to wash the articles. Teiephone Progress. The Dominion's teiephone eystem continues to reflect . the expansion m business througliout the couutry. . There has been a gain in the first hve months of the current financial year of 3902 subscribers, atter making allowance for relinquishments. This has brought. the total to 142,042, which representB an advanco of 9394 connections compared with the corresponding date of iast year, and an improvement of 20,081 on the diminisbed hst of -subscribers in J uly, 1933, when the teiephone lists reflected — in the reverse direction— dhe economic conditions then ptevailing. Test Fishing Case, When tbe test case against eight Auckland sportsmen charged with fisht lng on .Lake Roto Aira in the Taupo district cdntrary to the regulatjons was di^missed by Mr. Orr Walker,- S.M., who held the legulations were invalid an appeal was lodged by the Crown on a point of law. The case involved tbe right of Europeans to fish in the waters of this lake, which have hitherto been reserved sblely for members of a local Maori tribe. Advice has been received in Auckland that the appeal is not to Lie proceeded with. The confiscated fishing gear was restored to tlie sportsmen concerned some little time ago. pedestrian Crosslngs. Five methods of - perrnanently marlimg the pedestrian crossings with a . view to avoiding the work entailed in keeping the plainted lines clear and visible to traffic haye been considered by the Borough Engineeiy Mr C. E. Evans. Ihe schemes involved an expen^ture of from £ 11 to £160 \0 /- a erosslng, but tbe method most favoured is one that is estimated to cost about £350 for the 20 crossings and if given ett'eet to, would result in a saving of approximately £850 in six years, as it is estimated that the present cost of paiuting the lines is about £200 a year. The proposal is to use white rubber blocks. The council decided last evening to defer consideration of tbe matter in tlie meantima.