NEWS AND NOTES.

Hokitika Guardian, 6 July 1928, Page 4

NEWS AND NOTES.

ANY FAMILY? “Any family?” asked examining counsel tof a defaulting Maori in the Opunake Court recently. “About seven,” was tho reply, “seven or eight. Ah, yes.” he added after brief reflection, “eight.”

THE HONEST TRAMPS. Two tramps who found a woman’s work book containing a £1 Treasury note took it to the Luton (Bedfordshire) police station ilrnl handed over tho money. The sergeant on duty immediately made a collection among the constables on parade and handed over 7s to the tramps.

“MIND THE JOLLY BABY.” The following novel excuse for absence from school was received by a South Taranaki schodlmnster from a Maori girl recently: “Dear Sir—l am not going to school tliis morning; might he at play-time or dinner-time; if not will be there to-morrow sharp, because I have to mind my little sister. My mother is at the beach on the booze. I. don’t know if she coming Ibac-k or not. Have got to feed the cows with turnip. If. I come nobody to mind the jolly baby.”

FRENCH CANADIANS. To-day there were nearly ,3,000,000 Frencli-Oanaclians, said’ Professor Osborne, addressing Victoria College students at Wellington; there were 00,000 in 1759. Few had come from Europe .since 1658. “If they like you they will do anything for you,” he said, “but they are very hard to drive. The educated French-Canadian speaks the French of Old France, nnd is essentially French. It has boon said at times that they do not speak French properly, but this is untrue. The illiterate French-Canndian does not speak his language properly, hut then illiterate persons belonging to any nation do not speak their language as they should.”

PLUNKET SOCIETY’S SIMPLE METHODS. Speaking at the annual meeting of the Wellington branch of the Plunket Society, Dr D. Macdonald Wilson said he was sure that a great feature in the success of the methods of the society, was that it had a uniform system throughout the country, rind the system was also a simple one. “It is wonderful,” lie said, “what simple things have done in the way of preserving life. Probably the simple fact of boiling water and surgical instruments has saved more lives in surgical procedure than anything else. So when we tome down to facts it will be found that the saving of life lias usually some simple basis; and when we get cjown to simplicity of food, and to carrying out the simple laws of Nature, it means the saving of many lives.”