THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINUMURI GAZETTE. Motto: Public Service. MONDAY. WEDNESDAY. & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, MAY 30, 1923. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4570, 30 May 1923, Page 2

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINUMURI GAZETTE. Motto: Public Service. MONDAY. WEDNESDAY. & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, MAY 30, 1923. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Feiiding half-holiday poll, which retained Saturday bv 657 votes to 615 for Wednesday, has been declared void by the Magistrate on the ground that the of votjng paper used was ambiguous and tended to confuse voters. A movement is on foot, to build a public hall at Turua. A syndicate of local men are interested in the matter and propose at present, to have a shell constructed. The floor spa?e will be 100 ft by 40ft, and a stage and dressing rooms will be provided. It'was decided by the New Zealand Educational Institute at Wellington the other day that the Education Department be asked to make it mandatory for inspectors to supply head teachers with the marks gained by candidates in the proficiency examination, and that a uniform procedure in the conduct of proficiency examinations be followed throughout New Zealand. The enormous number of children finding their way into New Plymouth Hospital is causing much anxiety to the Education and Hospital Boards. No fewer than thirty boys and t.wenty,one girls were treated in the New Plymouth Hospital during April. They represented more than half the to(a.l number of patients. The question is asked, what are the reasons for so much sickness anfong the school children of Taranaki ? Some light may be thrown upon it by the striking disclosures made with regard to the drinking water in use. Mr Vickers said: “Last week I inspected six schools in the back country and I found dead birds lodged in the gutters of five. At one school they hold fortnightly socials. They go to a neighbour’s to get, water, for boiling because the tank water is not suitable. Yet they allow their children to drink it. It’s a wonder all are not dead. So long as these things obtain you will have sickness.”

The 105th birthday of Mr William Fortesque, of Picton, was celebrated at the home of Mrs Law, WaikaW’i Road, Picton, on Thursday last.

Professor Shelly, the Professor -of Education at Canterbury College, says the New Zealand child is a year older than the English child in mentality and intelligence.

In the dairy produce section at the Waikato Winter Show, for a oox of 561 b of butter made by buttermalf-r or first assistant, for export. Mr C. G. Mellor, o£ Ngatea, Lied with five others for first place out of a competition of 69 entries. For a box of butter for export,, by members of the N.Z. Factory Managers’ Association, Mr A. J. Garry, manager of the local factory, secured third place with 94% points.

As the result, of holding a banquet in a hotel it is probable that a number of Timaru’s leading citizens will be charged with being on licensed premises atfer hours.

The Rangitikei County Council has resolved : “That, owing to so many informal votes in county and borough elections, caused by the confusing methods of voting, this Council suggests that a universal system of voting should be adopted for Parliamentary, county, and borough elections, and that the Parliamentary method of striking out the names of candidates should be adopted.”—Advocate. A very well represented meeting of settlers on the Turua-Ngatea road was held on Friday last. After hearing the proposals explained it was unanimously decided, on the motion of Mr W. E'. G. Willy, seconded by Mr J. W. Ti’badaway, “ That this meeting of settlers support a proposal to-form .one drainage board between the Piako and the Waihou livers, and appoint two ratepayers to confer with the delegates appointed from other portions of the area to carry the project into effect.” Mr W. E. G. Willy and Mr A. H. Rogers were appointed delegates. A petition has been lodged hi the Magistrate’s Court praying that the election of Mr D. J. Evans on the Hokianga Borough Council be declared null and void, and that Mr G. H. Blank, being next on the ppll to those declared elected, be declared elected. The grounds for the petition are that Mr Evans is a member of. the Guardian and Times Co., and a director of the Gas Co., both of which received payments from the Council beyond that, allowed by Statute. We have received the following information from the branch secretary, Mr W. H. Blakeway, of the N.Z. Cooperative Dairy Company: The tote, amount of butter-fat received for April was 619,3001 b as against 585,5191 b for the same period last year, an increase of 33,7811 b. The advance payment was £39,284, as against £29,769 for the month last year, an increase of £9517. Of the total amount of butter-fat received 527,0931 b went to buttermaking and 92,2071 b to cheesemaking. The output of butter from Paeroa factory was 78 tons, N'gatei factory 125 tons, and Waihou factory 89 tons. The market prices are still somewhat. low, last week’s cable prices being: Anchor, salted 1485., firsts 1465, unsalted 150 s. The London manager considers improvement not far off. The price for cheese, white and coloured, is 90s, and a further drop is expected.

The Te Puke Town Board proposes to forward remits to tjie Municipal Conference as follows: (1) That the system of voting by means of a cross on a ballot paper be done away with : (2) that in order to obviate candidates for a Mayoralty (who are unsuccessful) being debarred from contesting the election for a seat on the council a separate date should be fixed for the Mayoralty election, or Mayors should be elected by members of the council; (3) that when a local body has decided on a day for the weekly half-holiday a poll of electors should be taken to endorse or disapprove such action.

The Maoris of the Wairoa (Hawke’s Bay.) district are very thorough in all schemes undertaken by them (remarks the Wairoa “Star”). They are now proposing to erect a Mnorj vicarage at North Clyde very .shortly. Five acres of land are available; also about 8000 feet, of sawn timber and £3o'o in cash. A motop-car fund is also being started, so that a car can be provided for the minister in charge to enable him to get about more freely in the large scattered district.