THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto : Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 1924. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXV, Issue 4668, 29 February 1924, Page 2

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto : Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 1924. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The sculling match for uie Australasian championship, rowed on the Wcitcmala. Harbour last evening, resulted in Hannan, New- Zealand, de-, feating McDevitt, of Australia, by twelve lengths.

An officer of the Fields’ Division of the Department of Agriculture from Ruakura Experimental Farm was on the Plains yesterday at the request of several farmers wffio desired advics on cropping and the planting of pasture, and also of those who desired samples of soil taken for analysis.

At about 7.45 p.m. on Sunday the church services at Morrlusville were disturbed by the clanging of the firebell and the immediate hurried exit of firemen and a few anxious -householders. The brigade, which made a prompt appearance outside the main school, found that one of the 11,000volt electric power wires had fused and set alight to the pole.

"A policeman’s lot is not a happy one” is a trite saying, but few policemen have the novel experience of having a three-monthstold baby and five children) suddenly thrust upon them to caic for. Such was the experience of Constable. McClinchy on Wednesday night, when he had the painful duty of arresting the mother, a Native woman who became demented.

The headmaster (Mr G. 11. Taylor) of the Paeroa High School accompanied by some of his staff, accepted an invitation to inspect the work of the pupils of the Karangahake school, and the visit was paid yesterday afternoon.

The March issue of "The Ladies' Mirror” is to hand and is up to the usual high standard. A complete review of the social life of New Zealand is given, and appeals equally to city town, and country. Some beautiful portraits are also reproduced in this journal.

A four-roomed house, owned and occupied by Mr C. A. Hayward, Waitakaruru, was totally destroyed by fire about midnight on Thursday. Mr Hayward and family were away at a dance at the time, and no one noticed when the fire started. During the supper interval people at the dance noticed smoke, but by the time the first man arrived on the scene the flames had a firm hold and practically nothing could be saved. The house was covered by insurance, but Mr Hayward will be a heavy loser.

Owing to insufficiency of time and the Ink of a suitable running track the principal races for tne Paeroa school children were not run at Te Aroha on Friday last. On Wednesday afternoon the teaching staff took the pupils on to the local racecourse, and the f(’.lowing events were decided: — Mde: Leslie Marshall and Stani. Williams (dead heat) 1, E. Patara 3. J. Pascoe I’. Championship, 120yds : A Goldsosvrthy 1, W. Southby 2, J. Conolly 3. 440yds (girls) : Norah Spinks 1, Margaret Dean 2, Dorothy Towers 3. Girls’ Championship, 100yds : Connie Silcock 1, Dorothy Towers 2, Nona Jamieson 3.

The parishioners of St. Paul's, Paeroa, intend to oiler their thanksgiving for the blessings of the Harvest on Sunday next, Quinquagesima Sunday, when the services at the church will be of a festal character throughout the day. The Church’s great, service of thcVnksgiving, the Holy Eucharist, will be sung at 11 a.m.. the Kyrie and Offertoriuni being from Stammer’s Mass in E fiat, and the rest of the mu,sic, the plain song service in gen-, eral use. Choral evensong will be sung at 7 p.m., and at this service Mr Harold Hill, of Auckland, will sing “The Harvesters’ Night Song.” Parishioners and friends are asked to make thankefferings of fruit and harvest produce, both for the decoration of the church and for the sale which is to be held in the Parish Hall on Shrove Tuesday evening. It is hoped that the special offerings made at the Thanksgiving services, and the proceeds of the gifts of produce, will clear off all liabilities for current expenses of the present financial year.

In a case heard at Kawhia last week the Kawhia County Council sued R. P. Robinson for £lB 6s 3d, as rates due. Defendant told the Court that he had taken up land under the Returned Soldiers’ Act, and was told by the Commissioner of Crown Lands that there would be neither rent nor rates payable for three years. This promise was verbal, but had been gazetted, and he had taken up the laud on that understanding. For the Council the clerk contended that the council was not a partj’ to the agreement, and therefore the agreement was not binding. The Magistrate reserved his decision.

There was at least one thoroughly honest investor present at the Tolaga Bay races (says the Poverty Bay Herald). He had taken a ticket on Garzon in the third race, and went to the totalisator to collect his dividend. He had also had a ticket on No. 1 in the previous . race, and handed in the wrong ticket for collection. The clerk made a mistake and paid out the dividend as if the ticket were for Garzon. On gi ing through his pockets later the. investor was surprised to find that his Garzon ticket .was still there. Realising what had happened, he returned to the totalisator and handed over the ticket to a grateful clerk, who would otherwise have had to find the money himself. Asi one of the club’s officials remarked, it restored one’s faith in human nature.

By advertisement in this issue the Thames Valley Electric Power Board notifies that a series of. public meetings are to be held throughout this district next week in connection with the £150,000’ loan proposals.

This week’s issue of the "N.Z. Sport ing and Dramatic Review” maintains the estimably high standard which has given the journal such wide prominence. Racing enthusiasts shoul 1 be well satisfied with the generous space afforded in their interests. The North Island Band Contest at Palmerston North is represented in a wellchosen set of photographs of competitors and winners, and the centre pages are artistically.set out with the latest happenings from abroad, a special feature being the Royal procession at the opening of Parliament. In a host of miscellaneous illustrations arc the Governor-General’s visit to the North, arrival of H.M. A.s. Melbourne, Hamilton Motor Cycle Sports, the Christchurch Botanical Gardens, Wellington Representative Cricket team, the Pieton regatta, etc.

A football club has been formed at Kaihere. As most of the Patetonga players have joined, there is little likelihood of Patetonga being represented this season.