THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1926. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVII, Issue 5039, 13 October 1926, Page 2

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1926. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Unfavourable weather continues to prevail locally, a ; iid there were several heavy showers of rain during yesterday. Last night there was a decided fall in the temperature, and early this morning it was bitterly cold. Snow could be seen on the. hills behind Te Arolia this morning, a’ndja white ma,ntle covered Mt. Te Aroha to a mid-winter level. The weather is very unseasonable, and it is many year's since snow has been noted on the adjacent ranges so late in the year as October.

The enthusiastic, though small, band of workers in the local Beautifying Society are having a very busy time at present. The pah't few weeks have been remarkable for the rapid and strong growth of nature, especially ,w«eed>s. The society is not in a position financially to pay for labour, and as a consequence the woh-k of keeping the numerous public garden plots in a tidy and cared-for condition falls on a willing few. A start has been made to do up the Arney Street ajnd Normanby Road-plots, but it is a big undertaking for a few. A little practical sympathy and help from the public wo'uld be much appreciated, especially at this time of the year.

The superintendent of the District Homes. Tararu, W. D. Gilmore, reported to the meeting of the Thames Hospital Board on Monday that there were eleven male and three female inmates. An elderly male inmate had died during the month. The farm was particularly well, and there was ample green feed for all stotk. In his general remarks the superintendent said: “Since treatment with Paris green the cockroaches have had a very sad time, and have hoisted the white flag. The casualties, are too numerous .to mention.”

“To feel that we in our intrinsic selves, are one another is worth morethan all the money the Minister of Public Works, can give us. Rivalry will accentuate the forces, but let hot that rivalry be in bitterness ; let it be in a holy spirit of contention, .and thus we make the world.” So Siaid Sir James Carroll a.t a complimentary dinner held at Te Aroha on Saturday night in a speech that was char,acteristic of him. He added that in New Zealand it did not matter under what Government they were, they would do their best and promulgate the best forces for the gooid of the country.

At the annual meeting of shareholders of Whitcombe and Tombs-, Ltd., at Christchurch, the report and balance-sheet showed that the to'tal profits for the past year were £53,512 13s lOd, including £14,685 0s 2d brought forward from the previous year. The net profit 'foi; the year was £38,827 13&. A final dividend of '5 per cent, on all ordinary capital, making 8 per cent, for the year, and a, dividend of 8 per cent, on staff shares were declared.

Nearly four hours atf©r R. Laskey, winner of Saturday’s Timaru to Christchurch race, had finished, a lone figure pedalled in darkness to town, says the “Post’s” Christchurch correspondent. He was F. S. Clark, a competitor from Invercargill, who, 57 years of age, had set his heart on doing the whole distance. The showgrounds, where the race finished, were closed, and he proceeded to the cafe where the cyclists were enjoying a smoke concert, and was received with cheers, being carried shoulder high to the chairman’s table. The table promptly became a money exchange, and Clark was presented with £3, collected for him on the spot.