THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto: Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1926. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVII, Issue 4935, 5 February 1926, Page 2

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto: Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1926. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Nominally the state of no-license in the Ohinemuri electorate ceased yesterday. In effect the conditions of no-lieense remain in force until such time as licenses are actually restored.

Two grants, each pL£5, were made by the Ohinemuri-County’Coucil yeslterday for the purpose of assisting to defray the cost of cleaning the Opukeko and Puke outfall drains, Paeroa.

A total of 3.52 inches of fain fell at Kerepeehi during the month of January, as, recorded at the Landis' Office. There were 14 wet days. The average for the month of January during the past 14 years is 2.73 inches, despite the heavy falls of 3.52, 4.88, and -4.14 inches in the yearsi 1921-23.

Mr J. Price asked at the Thames Valley Power Board.meeting on Tuesday if it Was true that stoves had been installed in town areas on a flat rate. The chairman replied that he knew of only one sjuch case, and that was at Paerba.

When dealing with tenders at yesterday’s 7 meeting of the Ohinemuri County Council it was found that Messrs Mitchell Bros, and Branan and Co., Ltd., had. tendered the same price. To overcome the difficulty the names of the two firms were written on slips of paper and placed in a hat and drawn for. Messrs Mitchell. Bros, were the successful tenderers.

At the Magistrate's Court at Wanganui on Tuesday the. inspector of awards claimed £5O from Murray Bros., proprietors of the Royal Willows refreshment rooms-, for a breach o-f the Northern Taranaki Restaurant Employees’ award by employing waitresses after 10.30' p.m., instead of waiters or casuals, as provided by the award. A penalty of £2O was imposed.

A Maori named W. Hiko was/ working on the road at W.aimana for the Whakatane County Council (says the Whakatane Press), The day was'hot and he kept his hat tightly drawn down over his forehead and he found that he was suddenly stricken with blindness. He was taken to the Opotiki Hospital, where it was concluded that Hiko’s hat was too tight round his forehead, thuis- causing the optical nerve to, be interfered with. Since admission toi the hospital the patient’s sight has returned.

Whether members' of the various churches in Paeroa have a total disregard for the appearances of their respective church (properties or whether they are .too bu-sily occupied with their private vocations- cannot be stated. This morning the minister of one of the churches was to be seen with coat and hat off and sleeves rolh ed up, hard at Work with spade, hoe, and rake, cleaning up the paths surrounding his church, while not many chains away another cleric, also with coat off, was observed seated on an upturned benzine tin calmly applying a much-needed coat of paint to the fence fronting his particular church.

Champions and competitors at the N.Z. swimming contest in Napier form an attractive portion of the illustrations in this week’s issue of the “N-Z. Sporting and Dramatic Review.” The Wellington Racing Club’s, meeting and the Takapuna races are given generous space, and the centre pages are conspicuosuly set out with photographs, of notable figures in sporting and theatrical circles. The stage, motion picture,, and society section has an attractive showing, while the miscellaneous portion has many subjects of outstanding interest.

On Sunday next, Sexagesima Sunday, the Holy Eucharist! will be sung at St. Paul’s Church at 11 a.m., and at evensong the Litany of the Incarnate Word will be sung before the Benediction.

Mr McCormick drew attention at the meeting of the Thames Valley Power Board on Tuesday to the fact that some people on a flat rate allowed their lights to burn all night. Tne chairman said that this wasi not permissible under the flat rate, which required that electricity must be used in reason.

A start has been made with the removal of the Netherton Hall to its new site opposite the school. Members of the Hall Society assembled at a working bee on Thursday and removed the internal flttingst

Through newspaper advertisements notifying prospective consumers to make early application for. power the Thames Valley Power Board' states that it has received a number of applications.

A haystack on Mr E. Muggeridge’s farm, Canal Road, Ngatea, containing the hay from a ten-acre paddock, was destroyed by fire on Tuesday, spontaneous combustion being the cause.

The practice of petty thieving of newspapers left in settlers’ mail boxes still continues in the district. A resident from Netherton stated this morning .that on two occasions recently he had seen a motor-par stop at his gate, but was unfortunately too far away to see the number of the car. Each time he had observed a car s|tpp the newspaper was mijssing.

Paeroa Presbyterian Church, Sunday next, 11 a.m. .and 7 p.m., Rev. John Lowden, of Auckland; alpo Waikino 3.p.m. Special congregational meeting on Wednesday, 10th inst., at 8.15 p.m. Business re vacancy. Miss Ogilvie in Paeroa, February 18.*

Good progress is being made withthe sanding of Wilpon’s Road, the contractors using two lorries, each one making eight or ten trips daily. Work was held up for a short time yesterday afternoon as the county grading work was progressing too slowly, but this should not occur again, an extra plant having been obtained.

-The following return for ,the year ended December 31, 1925, was tabled at yesterday’s meeting of the Ohinemuri County Council, the figures in parenthesis being for 1924 : At the Paeroa abattoirs 587 (71,0-) t cows, 361 (328) steers and heifens', 1242 (1654) sheep, 153 (191) lambs, 49 (50) calves, and 60 (97) pigs were slaughtered. The net revenue collected amounted to £558 0s 3d (£638 8s 3d).

A schoolboy left his home at Te Aroha early on Monday morning and no trace of him can now be found. The police have been informed, and friends and parents organised search parties without success. The boy is 15 years, of age, about five feet in height, with blue eyes, slightly deformed right hand owing to an accident, wearing shorts and blue coat, and of fair complexion.

The Netherton Ratepayers’ Association decided at its meeting last evenn ing to urge upon the county engineer the need for causing as little interference by metal punts ap possible to the shipping at Fisher’s, landing, ow r ing ,to the difficulty of getting the boat to stop there. It .was also decided to point out that adequate space should be left for settlers to approach the wharf with their vehicles,.

Last year 24 interments took place and 19 sections were sold at the Paeroa cemetery. Interment fees amount-, ed to £29 17s 6d, and the isale of sections realised £22 ss. During 1924 there were 27 interments, and 12 sections were sold.

The mixed train from Frankton Junction was late in arriving at Paeroa last night on account} of ,a heavy load of steel girders which it bro-guht for the new railway bridge over the Ohinemuri River at Paeroa- ,On arrival the . girders were shunted back to a site near the bridge and lifted off the trucks by means of a steam crane. The full complement of girders, which were manufactured in England, has now been received for the bridge, .and the work of constructing the structure is to be pushed on as speedily as possible.

The latest London week-end cable quotes Anchor butter at 178 s, unsalted 180 s, Australian 170 s, Argentine 150 s to 1565, Danish 184fe, -f.o.b. The market is firm, but quiet after being fairly active. Renewed ' activity is expected next week, and .the indications are for am improved demand oh the Continent. The retail, isi -unchanged. .White cheese is quoted at 102 s, coloured J.o6s, with market active and firm after being down to 100 s and 104 s. Retail unchanged.

"We New Zealanders are apt to judge .the whole Chinese nation by the few coolies that we see carrying vegetable baskets,” said Mr Frank Milner, of the Waitaki Boys’ Schoiol,' in the course of a lecture at Cambridge. “Why,” said the speaker, “it would be jusft as fair to take the few straggling swaggers to be found in New Zealand as a fair example of the New Zealander !”

Mr W. F. Johnstone, with his wife and family, have returned to Paeroa after an enojyable motor tour of .the North and South Islands. In all, Mr Johnstone covered 2447 miles by car, over which distance he did not sustain a single puncture.

The need for repairs to the School Road bridge at Netherton was mentioned at last night’s meeting of the Ratepayers’ Association, and it was decided to draw the attention of the county engineer to this danger to the travelling public.

The following advertisement is from the Waimate (Manaia) Witness: “Public notice is hereby given that registration fees are now due for all cows grazing on the streets of Manaia. —W. T. Bodley, Town Clerk.”