THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto : Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1926. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVII, Issue 4928, 20 January 1926, Page 2

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto : Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1926. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Unsettled weather still, prevails locally. Heavy showers were recorded during Monday night, a,nd yesterday further heavy rain fell intermittently. Throughout, the weather has continued to be sultry and oppressive. The rainfall has done an enormous amount of good, so far as crops, pastures, and gardens are. concerned, and all fears of a. serious setback on account of a drought have been removed. ■

The amount of gold mined in the Otago* district up to December ' 31, 1924 j totalled 7,749,078 ounces valued at £30,859,193.

Surprise has been expressed at the fact that one had ,f o pay sixpence for a permit to take a camera, into the Exhibition. This is probably one of the 1 innovations of .the' organisers of the Exhibition to make every post a winning one, and the revenue from this f’ource must be fairly considerable, as photographs of the attractions to be found at the Exhibition will no doubt be largely sought by amateur photographers.

"You’ll break your blanky necks to. get into the tote to| lose your money, and yet you won't put in your bids for tehse rams,” cried a popular Masterton auctioneer at the Solway ram fair recently, apparently exasperated at the slowness of the bidding. The s.ally raised a roar of laughter.'

“Tell him to come in if he wants to see me,” said a New Plymouth hotelkeeper to a messenger 1 who told him the other day .that a person outside the building wanted to see Rim. The visitor came in—on the ba,ok of a heavy horse he was riding. The stamping of hoofs echoed .through the ba'-rooni, and did not die'down until the lofty visitor, his business over, lowered his head to get out under the top of the door. It was certainly a case of high jinkis; for the practical humorist was a well-known character in the town.

Since the arrests for burglary at Wanganui on Saturday other interesting disclosures ..have been made, one in particular relating to a local chemist's, shop (says an exchange). The cheihist, shortly after opening his premises e*n a recent morning, noticed that a certain drug was missing from its usual place. He inquired of an assistant where the drug had been p'aced, but the assistant had not interfered with it'. Entrance to the shop had evidently been made by means of a skeleton key, for the locks were not interfered with. A person addicted tn drugs, who would go to a,ny extent to satisfy his, craving, evidently knew exactly where to look for it, for he did not interfere with any other article. Another chemist in the town has a fairly accurate description of a man who called at his pharmacy and asked to be supplied with the di'itg, but was refused. j

At the Magistrate’s Court a.t Waihi yesterday David’Marshall, boarding-house-keeper, of Aongatete, was; lined £2O for sly-grog selling. He was convicted and ordered to pay costs, £8 13s, on a charge of supplying liquor to natives, and the liquor was ordered to be confiscated. M. J. Devitt, of Aongatete, was fined £l' for conducting a lottery by raffling a gold watch and chain.

On Saturday the Paeroa Lawn Tennis Club intends holding a handicap tournament, for which entries, close with the secretary, Mr 1. Peek, at 7 o'clock to-morrow evening. The ha,ndicaaps will appear in the "Gazette on Friday.

Further evidence in connection with the operations of the N.Z. Meat Packing and Bacon Co., Ltd., is, being taken at the Courthouse, Paeroa, today.

The need for exercising the greatest care .when administering ‘ medicine, even the mast common household remedies, was exemplified at Paeroa on Wednesday. Considering .that her infant daughter was a little "off colour,” the mother took a bottle from a shelf a,nd, pouring out a teaspoonful, of what she believed to be castor oil, she made the child swallow it. In a very short time the child was found to have become a dark hue, and was obviously seriously ill. After an emetic had been administered the doctor ordered her removal to the hospital. A later examination disclosed that the mother had given her daughter camphorated oil by mistake, the effect being that the heart became overstimulated. Fortunately the child is home again, and is feeling no illeffects. If prompt action had not been taken a tragedy would have been inevitable.

A leaf put of the book of the Mayor of Paeroa was .taken by the chairman of the Hauraki Plains County Council yesterday, when a member arrived 3% hours after the time of the commencement of the meeting. Several matters concerning riding had been deferred, and the chairman observed that he hoped all councillors would attend punctually in future and not keep the council sitting late.

So far no word has’ been received, a.t Kaihere concerning Uie site of the new post office, and the subject is still the cause of much debate. The fear is being expressed .that unless a move is made shortly .the building will remain'in Ngatea until next summed

At the .meeting o£ .the Hauraki Plains County. Council yesterday it w;as decided to retain Saturday as the half-holiday for the county.

Last week's thunderstorm at Kaihere, when the creek rose eight or ten feet in a very short .time a,nd fell as rapidly, washed big quantities, of shingle down from fhe hills. Many dray-loads have been carted away, and many farmers would welcome another such storm if it would replenish the supply. Such a storm was expect-i ed on Monday, but it kept to tlie other side of the range of hills..

The 16-year-old Maori lad whose escapade was' reported in the “Gazette” a week or two ago appeared before Mr J. H. Salmon, S.M., in tlie Juvenile Offenders’ Court at v Waihi yesterday. He admitted the theft of two £5 notes from his former employer, a, Mr Josephs, of Tauranga, also of a suitcase, and a bicycle which he said he “just picked up” in Paeroa. Accused, who elected ,to be dealt with summarily, was convicted and ordered to be detained for a period of three years in tlie Borstal Institute at Invercargill.

The N.Z. Co-op. Dairy Co.’s L6ndoli manager' quoted the London market butter prices as follows : Anchor 1765, uns,alted 178 s, Danish 1755-1765, Australian 1665-168 s, Argentine l's2s-1565. The market is firm, but quiet after buying early in the week. The retail is unchanged. White cheese is quoted at 102 s, coloured 104 s, with ma.rket 'firm. Coloured is scarce.

The number of motor-cars "on the Plains is increasing rapidly, and many, workingmen now own one bf the cheap models. Quite a brisk business is being done in second-hand vehicles.

New Brighton and the other beaches on the western shores, of the Firth of Thames are being discovered by more and more Plains people every week. In faot, so well-known have they become that when a Plaijisite refers to “the beach” op “the coast,” the western shores and not the Thames, coast, as formerly, is meant! On Sunday a very large number of motorists from all parts of the Plains were noticed picnicking, bathing, or gathering mussels, pipis, or cockles, and while many of them were making their first visit .there were many who had been there before. Motor buses took big parties from Netherton, Kerepeehi, and Waitakaruru, as well as from the western dis,tricte'. The high spring tide had crossed the road for a few yards at three places, “making it muddy, but not sufficiently ba ( d to cause difficulties. The tide had prevented the side road from being used, thus, traffi© had to keep to the new metal, which is net yet smooth and solid.

The rates struck by the Cook County Council (Poverty Pay) for the cur* rent year totalled £48,843, and of that sum very little more than £6OOO, or approximately 12% per cent., has been paid, the sum outstanding being no less than £42,700. The council has an overdraft limit of £45,000, and that figure has already been reached. It cannot, under any circumstances., be exceeded, for the new legislative provision makes it a.n offence for a local body’s overdraft to exceed the estimated revenue for the year. If it should be exceeded each member of the body is, liable to a heavy fine for every day that the overdraft is above the legal, limit.

,Mr R. Si Kallu, Paeroa, has received a,dvice that he is the successful tenderer for the plumbing work fojr the new municipal chambers.