THE HaurakliPlains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto: Public Service. MONDAY. WEDNESDAY. & FRIDAY. FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 1925. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4826, 27 March 1925, Page 2

THE Haurakli Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto: Public Service. MONDAY. WEDNESDAY. & FRIDAY. FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 1925. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Weather, pennitting, the Waihi Bowling Club will play the return inter-club match against the Paeroa. Club on the local green to-morrow afternoon.

Attention is directed to a railway advertisement in this issue concerning the issue of holiday excursion tickets and special train arrangements to Matamata races on March 28 1925.

Owing to the continual dry weather and the enormous amount of through traffic the red roads on the Plains are going to pieces vejry rapidly. The Ngatea-Waitakaruru road is becoming verv rough.

Yesterday the Hon. W. F. Massey, Prime! Minister of New Zealand since 191.2, celebrated his 69th birthday. Born at Linavady, County Derry, Ireland, on March 26, 1856, Mr Massey came out to New Zealand at the age of 14 (1870) to join his parents, who had emigrated with the Nonconformist settlers eight years previouslj' (1862). He entered Parliament in 1894 as the member for Waitemata, and two years later was elected for Franklin. Mr Massey has sincq continuously represented fiiaf electorate, a matter of 29 yeans.

With Sunday next, Passion Sunday, begins the second and more solemn period of the season of Lent. From then onwards the whole of the teaching of the Church is directed towards tlic contemplation .of the Passion of our Lord, which culminated in the Sacrifice of Calvary. At St. Paul's Church, at the evening service, tne beautiful Litany of the Passion will he sung, the solo verses being taken by the Misses Miller.

Tnat rats are never to be found on the sinking ship but prefer to leave the vessel at her last port of call is a saving that bears credence with many (states an exchange). The latest from Taieri is that the rodents are. leaving the plain in very large numbers for the higher levels, and many people arc inclined to the belief that the omen is not a good one, and are linking up the i;at migration with another flood visitation in the not far distant future.

When asked if he would be turning out again for the Hastings Culb this season Cyril Brownlie, the well-known Alt Black forward, told a Napier Daily Telegraph representative that lie wab not sure of his intentions. He was keen to take up golf, which he played formerly in Nqw Zealand, as' t serious pastime, having had opportunities while at Home to play that fascinating game at fairly frequent intervals. “It’s harder to learn than football,” se said, ingenuously.

A robbery was committed at the residence of Mr H. Widdison, Whangamata, some time during the hours of daylight on Monday last, and the sum of £8 was (stolen from a chest of drawers in a bedroom. It. appears that Mrs Widdison is away in Auckland, and Mr Widdison left the house' after breakfast and was away all day. When he returned just before dusk he found traces of someone having entered tne house in his absence, and the money was missing. The police are investigating the matter.

The subject of Co-operative Banking has of late years been discussed a good deal by Farmers’ Unions, and many articles have appeared in the Press in this connection. In order to set the matter out clearly Mr Laurence Johnstone lias issued a book dealing exhaustively with it, aiiid quotes statistics he has compiled from some sixty different countries. Anyoti'.' interested in the subject may obtain a copy of the publication at the office of tiie N.Z. Co-op. Dairy Co., Ltd., for the modest sum of 2s 6d.

The road to tiie Waihi Beach is still being steadily improved. Drayloads of metal .are daily bqing taken to the one or two stretches Which had been left unfinished, and the metal is spread as soon as it leaves the carts. When these spaces are covered the road will be in a fit state for traffic in wet weather as well as in fine, and access to the beach will be obtained with safety and comfort. The road through the gorge is also being ate tended to, and just now is as good as the one across the plains.

A rumour is. going round (states the Pihama correspondent of the. "Dannevirke News”) .that some lucky man. has found a large piece of ambergris on the beach near Hawera. It is stated that Mr L. Harrop, of Pihama, who recently picked up a. negligible piece of ambergris which eventually brought him the trifling sum ot £1750 or thereabouts, has inspected the new find. This piece is said to weigh somewhere in the vicinity of 5001 b, and should be worth close on £3C',OOO.

The wooden covering of the shaft sunk by a- mining company at the Waihi Beach over twenty years ago, together with the fence which encloses it, is said to be in. a state of decay. One of the visitors to the beach the other day was Mr M. Paul, the mining inspector, and we learn (says the Waihi Telegraph) that the visit was paid officially for the purpose of making an inspection and reporting upon the matter. The shaft is clpse to the track used by pedestrians on .their way to points of vantage upon the hills overlooking the sea, and it is 300 ft deep. It has been long in disuse.

In reguni co the amount of natural water power available in various countries of the world a comparison shows that New Zealand, with 48 horse power per square mile, is surpassed only by Switzerland, which is extremely mountainous. Although the United States has thq greatest aggregate of available power. It has only 10 horse-power per square mile. Already, including large and ismali stations of public and private ownership, New Zealand lias more than thirty hydro-electric plants in operation.

Having been kept busy with the infantile paralysis epidemic, the DirertorrGeneral of Health has evidently not so far been able to fix a date for the conference of representatives of the Waihi and Thames hospital boards on the question of the amalgamation of the two hospital districts, and at which he contemplated presiding. As Dr. Valintine has been chosen by the Government to visit. Europe (at tlic invitation of the League of Nations) to study, hospital and health matters, along with medical men from other countries, and will leave some time next month, there would now appear to be little prospect of his attending the conference in question.

"Big Game” Fishing heads the features of the illustrations in this week’s issue of the “N.Z. Sporting ahd Diamatic Review,” some interesting scenes being depicted at Cape Brett and Mayor Island in the capture of mako shark and swordfish. The centre page's stand out in their portrayal of fishing incidents in ajid ardund historic Russell. The AU Blacks occupy special prominence in an effective page showing their return to Wellington after a victorious tour, Tiie; Ngaruawahia Regatta and the Rangitikei Racing Club’s meeting are covered by interesting snapshots, and many other local pictures will attract keen interest. There! is a fine selection of views overseas, with tiie usual stage, motion picture, and social sections.

For ingenuity farmers are hard to boat. On the Kaihere road there is an arrangement made by a settler for raising water from the roadside drain to a tough consisting of a number of 71b treacle tins fastened on a piece of wire netting arranged ais a belt over a couple of rough pulleys.

The first rain .to bd recorded locally for thirteen days fell this morning, when a moderate shower passed over the town. A heavy downpour would be very welcome just now, as farmers are viewing the prospects for autumn and winter feed with some alarm owing to the parched state of ,the t pastures and the retarding of root crops which has been caused by the dry weather.

The appearance of the Paeroa railway station at present is anything but prepossessing (since the removal of the verandah over thq platform- It was necessary to tear up the platform itself at intervals to dig up the standards supporting .the verandah. These trenches were filled in with loose soil, and this morning, just as the Thames-Auckland express arrived at the station, a railway porter, assisted by three other men, struggled for some minutes to get a barrow, luggage-laden, out of the hole. As a commercial traveller remarked, “You’ve got a proper Keystone] comedy railway station now!”

Did you ever smoke toasted tobacco? If so you will know how the toasting process improves the flavour. It is delicious. Coffee berries and tea-leaves are roasted, otherwise no one would care to drink tea or coffee. Well, the same treatment is found to answer equally as well with tobacco. Test this for yourself. The locally manufactured tobacco is now prepared in that way. The result is astonishing! Select a brand to suit your palate in regard to strength, either Riverhead Gold, the mildest of all, or Toasted Navy Cut (Bulldog), of medium strength; or if you prefer a fuller body take Cut Plug No. 10, the Bullhead label. The very first, wihiff will tell you that you are in for a superior article quite out of the common. You never get that same pleasant aroma with any of the ordinary tobaccos. And so smooth and mellow with their small percentage of nicotine, these brands may be smoked with perfect, immunity, and are recommended by experts and medical authorities.