THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto : Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 1924. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXV, Issue 4682, 2 April 1924, Page 2

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto : Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 1924. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The amalgamation of Gonville and Castlecliff with the Borough of Wanganui name into force yesterday. The united borough will have a population of about 23,000', thus entitling it to be gazetted a city.

A' remarkable story of the return of a supposedly dead man to claim his inheritance after an absence from the country of nearly sixty years was told in the Supreme Court at Wellington before His Honour the Chief Justice (S-r Robert Stout) on Saturday last. His Honour granted the order sought, revoking a previous order declaring the man dead.

A Detroit woman offered a reward of five dollars for the return of her lost eat. In les,s than half an hour the small hoys in the neighbourhool rounded up 149 tabbies, including the missing pussy. It pays to advertise.

R was reported at yesterday’s meeting of the Thames Valley Power B'mrd that 35 milking motors and 41 lighting and heating consumers were connected up during the month. There are now 839 milking motors connected ano 229 motors on meter. The total number of consumers receiving supply from lhe board, including the boroughs of Thames and Te Aroha, is 4012.

Members of the Waitakaruru Domnin Board have been doing good work on the ground. The reserve has been fenced and a bridge erected. It i.s the Intention of the board to Jay down concrete tennis . courts, for which purpose a donation of £lO is expected from the Tennis Club. The balance of the funds of the SportsClub. about X 9. has been donated towards the cost of building a pavilion. The balance of the funds required for the domain improvement has been guaranteed by members of flie board. For Influenza, take Woods’-Great Peppermint Cure t

The local Registrar, Mr J. G. McDougall, advises the following vital statistics for Paeroa for the month ar Marcln with figures for the corresponding month last year in parenthesis : Births, S (9) ; deaths, 2 (0) ; marriages, 2 (2).

Coinii’enehig to morrow evening at Kerepei’lii. His Lordship the Bishop of 'Auckland, Dr. Averill, will tour the Huinaki Plains tarish. He will co’iducl confirmation services at various places, where 70 candidates are to be presented.

Electric light has now 1 been installed in the Turua post office in place of the benzine system previously in use.

The i uhlic Works Department, Pae--ro-i supplies the following rainfall figure.- for Paeroa lor the month of March : Rain fell on 16 days, the heaviest fall being on March 28. when 2.09 inches were registered. The total rainfall for the month was 1.45 inches. compared with 1.97 inches for the corresponding month last year.

At yesterday’s meeting of the Thames Valley Power Board the chairman, Mr F. H. Claxton, expressed satisfaction with the result of the recent loan poll, and recorded his appreciation of the valuable assistance that he had received from the manager, Mr R. Sprague, during the tour ■through the district to address th? ratepayers.

The annual meeting of householders for the purpose of electing a school committee will be held in the Soldiers’ Club, Wharf Street, Paeroa, on Monday, April 14, at 7.30 p.m. Nomination forms, which must reach the secretary before Monday next, April 7, at 8 p.m., can be obtained from an ’ member of the present school commit - tee or the secretary.

It is stated that in the absence of horse-racing and the totalisator in Taihape wagers arc made upon an/ possible happening. The latest is tlr.it employees make their bets as to whether the telephone will be engaged when lhe ring is first given. Lately odds have indicated that “Engaged” is the favourite. —N.Z. Times.

The total rainfall for the month of March as recorded by the Lands Drainage Department's gauge at Kerepeehi is the heaviest .since April last, and has only been exceeflefl ttiree times during the past twelve years. During the eleven wet days a total of 6.68 inches was recorded. The exceptionally heavy fall of 2.13 inches was recorded for the 24' hours up to 8 a.m. on Saturday last, and mi Sunday morning the gauge contained 1.22 inches. During the rest of the montn the ra nfall was normal, the continuous spell of wet weather from the fourth to the twelfth yielding 3|§ inches. The average for the month of March during the past twelve years is 4.74 inches.

Emphatic opinions were expresse I by the Hon. C. J. Parr on modern methods of treating prisoners (says the “Lyttelton Times”). “It’s a splendid thing not to sec the old walls 40 foot high," he said, referring to his vrnit to the Paparua Prison, “walls holding these poor people twenty-four hours of the day, where they ar? treated like lower animals. You now can go to Paparua. Caversham, and the Borstal Institute, and see magnificent results, brought about since the old days. At Paparua I saw 100 prisoners on about 2000 acres with no supervision whatever. The prisoners are put on their honour, and they seldom break their word. A man at Paparua, who has a long sentence, was put on his honour. He got away, wa-, caught, had three years added to his sentence, was given another chance, and for the past four years be has been the best man In the prison—an example to all the others.’’ The Rev. P. Revell said that he could not speak too highly of the good work done at Paparua. Mr Parr said that he was amazed at the success of putting boys on their honour at Werearoa and at the 'Borstal Institute.