LOCAL & GENERAL

Horowhenua Chronicle, 9 March 1914, Page 2

LOCAL & GENERAL

p in the libel action New Zealand limes v. Dominion, the jury failed to agree. It is anticipated that two rinks ol btnvieis Jroin Levin will pay a friendly visit to Shannon Bowling ( Inb on \\ edncMlav next.

Manakau residents are making complete arrangements for the social gathering to be held next Wednesday by way of send-oli to .\lr and Mrs MelJain, who are moving to Wellington, where Mr McH'in has received a welldeserved promotion. Admission to the social is free, and everybodv will he welcomed.

Quite a dramatic little incident which reminded one of a moving picture scene occurred outside l'alnierston railway station on a rtcent Saturday morning. -lust alter the Xcw Plymouth express had left a lady who had come off flic train into the street suddenly discovered that she had left' hei little child on hoard, so. to the surprise of passers-by she ran out, hailed a laxi, and started off at great speed to race the train to Feilding to regain her little one. A distressing case of unappreciated genius is reported from Umtata, South Africa. A young nut, engaged in a Government department at a monthly salary oj £'12 10s. found it hard to make both ends meet. lie hit upon the following brilliant idea. He raffled his monthly pay. During flie three months that his little game had been proceeding the ingenious youth netted a clear profit ol +.J1 hy the sale of the f>s tickets I'c bad issued as shares in his salary raffle.

A Daily Times reporter was informed the other day by Mr J. S. Rankin, Government stock inspector at Masterton, who has just returned from a visit to the South Island, that the oat and wheal crops in the Timaru districts were the best grown there for at least twelve years to his knowledge The potato crops in those districts were, however, very poor and had been attacked by blight. There was an abundance of feed and good crops right from Timaru to Tnvercargill.

A subtle joke which is probably not very heartily appreciated by the victims is (hat to which every prisoner tried in the (Mirist church Su])renie Court is subjected. As he takes his place in the dock he is confronted by a notice which informs him of the time when trains run to Lyttelton. The notice has been in the dock for many wars, and . bears unmistakable signs- of the hundreds of prisoners who have leaned up against it.

A jnosl enjoyable afternoon was passed on Saturday by a gathering of Mrs ('. Iv. Wilson's friends in the Oddfellows' Hall, Levin, to say an revoir to her. The hostesses were Mrs. 11. A. Davies and Mrs 1). S. Mackenzie. Sons, instrumental music and a competition were indulged in. An appreciative speech was made by Major Liddle, in presenting Mrs Wilson wiili a gift subscribed for by her entertainers. Mrs "Wilson, in replying, remarked that it was ai times such as this that one realised the inell'ectivness of the English language in the mouths of ordinary people: the word ''thank you" was used for acknowledgment of the smallest politenesses and acts, yei it was the chief word remaining for those who met with great kindnesses and considerations. She thanked her friends mosi heartily.

The Taranaki llerald's Waiiara correspondent writes: "In convcisation witli a farmer on (lie subject of deep or shallow ploughin,ii- T "loaned Hie following- interesting facts. TTo had begun plough i111»' a ])addock io a depth of only four inches, which had been hi> invariable rule. An argument on {he .suh.jeci wilh another farmer who had slopped to pass the time of day while he was givillo- I)is horse a rest had interesfillo- and instructive results. The farmer passing- by argued flint if the plough was sel Io plough double the depth much belter results would follow. The argument became exciting, and eventually a be' was struck, ihe advocate of <lei>p ploughing slaking his extra cost and half Ihe loss if the crop were not so good, against the other paying liini half the extra value if ihe crop should be better. The remainder of the paddock was then ploughed eight inches against ihe four inches of the first part, and the whole set with turnips. What money changed hands T am unable io say, but T am assured that Ihe advocate of dee]) ploughing won his bet easily, there being no room for doubt as to where the Sin ploughing began and ihe -Jin left off, as Ihe difference in the ei op demonstrated thai.

Several pheasants and mallard. ducks have been received from Paraparaumu game farm by the Levin Branch of the Wellington Acclimatisation Society. These have been liberated in suitable localities in the county, and after fiie next two' breeding seasons an appreciable increase in the feathered game of the district ma; looked for. K* * A day or two ago Mr (jr. S. Moi » f lis, superintending engineer oj the LyHelton Harbour Board's «£- dredge Canterbury, noticed his two little boys playing with a large lound object in the back yard. Hi' asked them what they had found, and one of lliein with considerable difficulty carried the object to his lather and dumped it on the ground at his feet. Mr Moiris received a shock on examining it to find that the object was a Oin. round live shell, fully charged, and with a percussion fuse attached. The fuse, however, was not in proper working order. On opening it he found that it contained one and a half pounds of powder and 110 bullets. Mr Morris was informed by the son of a iVrnier,owner that there is another similar shell somewhere on the property, and he is now prosecuting a vigorous search for it.