THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto : Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 1926. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVII, Issue 4921, 4 January 1926, Page 2

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto : Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 1926. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Thames Valley Electric Power Board has been authorised by His Excellency the Governor-in-Cduncil to raise £so,o'oo'for electrical works, being a further portion of the £150,000 loan sanctioned by the ratepayers.

The clarion call to the To Aroha Fire Brigade Sports on New Year's Day was answered by nine Paeroa athletes. In the sprint events G. Wells, who wag running in fine form, secured first place in the 120 yards Te Aroha Handicap and second place in the 220 yards Waihou Handicap. R. Swann finished second in the "Bridge Domain Handicap (mi<]e), being narrowly beaten by A. Morrissey, the crack miler. A great effort will be, made by the Paeroa ( Athletic Club to “scoop the pool” at the Hikutaia sports on January 29.

The present voyage of the Aorangi was made memorable by reason of the fact that itsi passengers had two Christmas days this year instead of one. Christmas, Day proper found the Aorangi at Suva. Leaving in the afternoon she passed the 180th longitude late at night, and when the passengers woke up next morning they found that the date was still December 25. That is the way of the Pacific route. One gains a day on the way to America and loses, it again on the return voyage.

Counsel at' the Wanganui Court, during a break in the proceedings, was discussing tlie fashions (states the “Herald”), and remarked that it Was astonishing nowadays, to note how some of the solicitors’ junior clerks and junior reporters ran to fancy socks, sopte of them of the most hideous and glaring designs,. The most brazen flapper would hesitate to adopt some of the. colour schemes, even in jazz garters. ,

A motor party of four, in a big car, received a decided shock on the Te PoLOkoroire Road thd other evening, when the car dashed into the Matamata County Council’s road roller, which 7 was standing in the middle, of the road, without lights. Fortunately, beyond receiving a severe, shaking, no one was, injured, The car, however, was damaged, the splashboard being ripped off the right side for the whole length, and the back axle was put out of order.

"The old-time custom of 'the wakes’ or the singing of Christmas carols, on tlie morning of Christmas was a very delightful one, honoured as a traditional custom wherever the British flag waves. But (writes “Citizen” in a Christchurch paper) something approaching deterioration lists set in of recent years—something quite abnoxious to a great many people. This is the custom of brass bands to coin'mence an organised raid on wellmeaning folk in the early hours of the morning long before Christmas. Such was the case on Sumfay morning when many city and suburban people were roused from their slumbers by sections of bands playing Christmas carols and hymns, and then soliciting money at doors for .their unpardonable intrusion. This act of making a commercial business out of a solemn festival of the Christian Church is scarcely in accord with tlie ideas of right-thinking people, and one may perhaps be forgiven for this, protest in the hope that these intolerable bands .will desist from inflicting further .torture between dawn and breakfast.”

Trade in Paeroa was not very brisk, on New Year’s Eve, and the crowd in the streets was not nearly as large as. on Christmas. Evo. The utmost goodwill prevailed, and 1926 was ushered in very quietly.

A boy named McCall, when stepping out of a motor-car on Beach -Road, Waihi, on Friday, got in front of another car coming up from behindHe was knocked down and injured about the head and legs, and was taken to the hospital. His injuries are not considered to be serious.

The town bore a very quiet appearance this morning, and there were few people about. A number of the local tradespeople do not reopen their premises until to-morrow.

A sight familiar to Waihi residents was witnessed on Friday last, when throughout the day miners were to be seen coining down the Martha hill with their bundles of working clothes, many carrying the apparel in pikati form slung across their backs in sugar and flour bags. Not aware of this practise of bringing their clothes away for a wash up during a vacation, a visitor to the town was under the impression .that Waihi was overrun with swaggers.

The time allowed by law for any petiiton by the prohibition party alleging irregularities in connection with the licensing poll in the Ohinemuri district has elapsed without action having been taken. The vote in favour of the restoration of licenses cannot now be disturbed, and the next move will be -the appointment of a returning officer and the fixing by the Governor-General of the date for tLc election of a licensing committee. The election will be conducted on the same lines as a parliamentary election. and will take place some time after February 4, the date upon which the state of no license in Ohinemuri will eease to exist.

A splendid opportunity of visiting the famous Waihi Beach wiili be offered on Sunday, January 10, when a special train will leave Te Aroha lor Waihi at 8 am. Times of arrival and departure from principal stations are referred to in our' advertising columns, and particulars of excursion fares may he obtained by reference to a poster which has been distributed round our town. Motor-car and ’bus transport from Waihi to .the beach has been arranged, and excursionists are promised a pleasant outing. We understand that the Waihi Beach represents a small township at present, as some 1600 people are living there for the holidays. All the facilities of a town are enjoyed, including stores, refershment rooms, post office, bathing sheds, etc. A peculiar but painful accident bcfel the three-year-old daughter of a resident of Te Awamutu on Christinas Day. The child was eating almonds and suddenly commenced crying, complaining that an almond had gone up her 1 nose. The parents immediately attended to tile child but could see no trace of an almond. However, the child kept complaining, and it was decided to take her to the doctor, Who was successful in removing portion of the obstruction. The same afternoon the mother noticed mother piece of almond in the nostril, wh'le the child was sleeping, while next day a complete half was, recovered by the mother. How the almond became lodged in the nose is a mystery, the child being emphatic that she. swallowed it and that it entered from the back of the nose.

Those wishing to see broom in full bloom on hundreds of acres of unoccupied land should go to Taupo at this time of the year (says a correspondent of the Hawkes Bay Herald). The, plant running wild as a weed may be a bit of a nuis.anee,, but all leguminious plants flourish amazingly on pumice country, and will enrich ■the land during the time it remains unoccupied by farmers. At present the air is sweet with perfume of* the flowers, the golden and primrose colours of which give the landscape a feature of attractiveness;'

A few days ago* a Maori woman found a bottle on the Mahia beach, and on opening it discovered a message from one of the crew of the United States Battleship Richmond, which recently visited New Zealand. The messagel asked the finder to forward a note to Levin and Co. (Ltd.), Wellington. This, was done, and by the return* inail came a parcel containing a number of children’s toys and presents for the woman and her husband.

That the population of Palmerston North has increased by leaps and bounds during recent years is generally well known, and a comparison of the figures, for several years during the last twenty-five years enables this rapid increase to be fully appreciated. In 1900 the population was in the vicinity of 6000, and ten years later it had doubled itself. Between 1910 and 1920, which, of course, includes the war period, there was comparatively only a small increase, which brought the figure from 12,000 to 13,750. The next five years s,aw a rapid increase of five and a half thousand, and the population is now over 19,250. A glance at the figures for 1900 and 1925 shows that in these twenty-five years the population has actually increased by over 300 per cent.

Reference to one-ton trucks was made at the conference of local body executive officers, inspectors, and engineers, held in Wanganui. It was considered by the meeting that some alteration in regard to the uniformity of .the enforcement of the regulations should be made, as a number of owners of this class of lorry were dodging their responsibility by declaring that they did not carry full loads. It was, suggested that all the local bodies should be circularised drawing attention to .the fact that the local bodies were getting beaten on this class of vehicle ; and to keep a strict watch oh the one-ton lorry owners who stated they always carried under weight, as it was usually only a matter of time when they would be caught with a full or over-load, which would bring them into the higher class, of registration. ?