THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto: Public Service. MONDAY. WEDNESDAY. & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 1923. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4542, 21 March 1923, Page 2

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto: Public Service. MONDAY. WEDNESDAY. & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 1923. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Levin Dairy Company sends all its butter to Wellington, a distance of 66 miles,, by motor lorry.

Government debentures of £4o'oo at 5% per cent, for equipping the physics department of the Otago University have been over-subscribed.

No less than eleven hundred passengers for the races at Paeroa and the Ngaruawahia regatta were carried on the Waihi railway line (including stations to Karangahake) on Saturday.

“I think the people of New Zealand over-clothe their boys and underclothe their girls,” said Dr. Elizabeth Gunn at the Feilding Luncheon Club when lecturing on “Vigorous Childhood.”

s Six artisans and 64 labourers were working on the Waihi-Athenree section of the East Coast Main Trunk rajlKvay line during January month. On the section between Tauranga and Taneatua there were 99 artisans and 348 labourers during the same peripd.

There is undoubtedly a general feeling that the helpful man in Parliament is the one who is never idle, one eternally on the job, always up and doing, and Sir -Joseph Ward answers the description—a fact which is weighing with life-long supporters of the late member for Tauranga, says the Bay of Plenty Times. There is certain dissatisfaction in the Reform camp, because the local party was not allowed a selection in the matter of a candidate. Mr McMillan was practically thrust upon them, and some Reformites do not think he is cut out for a successful or useful career. He is absolutely unconvincing on the platform and too slow in action.

At a recent meeting of the Board of Agriculture held in Wellington, after discussing the matter of the cull cow apd scrub bull, it was agreed that the proposal to make the licensing, branding, or speying of unprofitable animals was not yet practicable, but that the A. and P. Associations, herdtesting and breed societies, and daily companies should be asked to assist in ar active propaganda against the use of inferior animals as sires and the discouragement of the sale of cows as milkers when they had been found to be unprofitable.

“If every man who over-estimated the value of his property lost by fire, Was charged with making a false declaration, I am afraid our courts would be well filled with cases,” remarked Mr Justice Salmond at the Masterton Supreme Court.

At the Huirau Road cheese factory the daily make is now 33 cheeses, compared with 45 a day during the flush. The average grade is 91, and the tests of milk received range from 3.5 to 4.8.

A proposal to erect municipal baths at Frankton has been approved by the Hamilton Borough Council, and the Borough engineer has been instructed to prepare plans and estim-> ates for* the work. The dimensions of the baths will be 150 ft. by 42ft. It is considered the baths, when finished, will be the most up-to-date in the Dominion.

“As far as I can see, with my experience of dairying,” said Mr G. Buchanan at. the Netherton meeting last evening, “the amalgamation with the N.Z. Dairy Co. has been a good thing. I do not say everything is yet perfect, but big advances have been made on past conditions, and .furthei improvements will be made in time. The big advantages that stood out were reduced manufacturing costs, lessened cost of administration, improved quality of the product, and more advantageous methods of marketing. On this last point they now had the opportunities of securing very great gains by the degree of control exercised by Mr J. B. Wright in London. In one small direction alone an absolute saving of £12,000 had been made quite apart from the v6ry big gains secured by controlling, the price and seeing that it was not manipulated by the speculators.”

Five rinks from t.he local bowling club will leave this evening to take part in an electric light bowling match against Te Aroha to-night. An inter-club match will be played against Thames at Thames on Saturday next. Those willing to travel are asked to advise the secretary as early as possible. Cars will leave Paeroa about 1 o’clock.

Harvest Thanksgiving services were held by the Methodist Church at Ngatea and Waitakaruru on Sunday last, and the produce donated was sold on Monday evening at Ngatea, bringing in about £l6. During the evening songs were contributed by Mrs Wheeler, Miss Lux, Messrs C. Mellor, C. Hobin, A. Vowles, afid Foster. Miss R. Hilford was the accompanist. At Waitakaruru the sale of produce realised a little over £6. Items were rendered by Mr Barlow, Miss M. Faherty, and Miss M. Beaver.

In an interview with Mr A. J. Sinclair, assistant manager of the N.Z. Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., we learn that on taking the Netherton cheese balances at May, 1922, it. was estimated that the final payment for Netherton would be 13.954/ This figure was arrived at on estimates of shipments afloat and stocks in London which had not been sold, together with estimates as to what the stocks on hand in New Zealand would realise. On account of the market rising it was found, when the final figures came to hand, that Netherton had benefited over the original estimates by approximately £750. This amount, when actually distributed to suppliers over the 224,0771 b of butter-fat, amounted to .7d, bringing the final figures for Netherton factory to 14.72 a. The average advance for the season worked out to 13.1 d. To this ..was added an/interim payment of Id for the whole season on December 1. together with id extra on the months of August, September, and October, which averaged ,22d for the whole season. To that payment is now added two-fifths of a penny, making the final payment 14-.72d. * ■

Qpe of the most fortunate escapes from serious injury or from death which have been brought to notice for some time occurred on the Thames line on Saturday evening, as a “special” was returning from the Ngaruawahia regatta. A' Waihi resident who was travelling by the train fell, it is understood, out of one of the converted trucks. The train had proceeded some considerable distance before the train crew could be notified, as a result of which some time was occupied in z searching for iwhat was supposed the dead body. However, after over an hours’ search the man was found unhurt. As a result of the happening the train service on the line was temporarily disorganised and the second train from the Paeroa races was temporarily held up for over 1% hours at Te Aroha. .

The Shelly Beach cheese factory at Kopuarahi has recently' commenced the manufacture of casein. During the winter months it is the company’s intention to buy “whole” milk, which will be separated at the factory. The cream will be forwarded to the Ngatea butter factory, and the skim milk will be made into casein. The suppliers to this factory will thus receive the cheese prices ruling, plus the price of casein. The manufacture of casein on the Plains is quite a new departure, and prospects augur well for its success.

The question of the administration of the Noxious Weeds Act was dealt with at the recent meeting of the Board of Agriculture, the Minister having expressed a wish to secure an expression of the board’s opinion thereon. A recommendation was framed on the lines pf county councils being enabled to administer the control of noxious weeds.

Details have come to hand concerning the operations of a liquor smuggling gang operating between Sydney and the U.S.A. It is stated that the activities of this gang resulted in one shipment of whisky of 29,00'0 cases being landed in America from Sydney, and that a syndicate pf six men netted a profit of £60,000 as the result. The spirits were bought in Sidney at 3s a bottle (in bond) and changed hands on the other side at over £1 a bottle more.