THE Hauraki Plains Gazette. With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto Public Service. MONDAY. WEDNESDAY. & FRIDAY. FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 1927. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5078, 21 January 1927, Page 2

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette. With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto Public Service. MONDAY. WEDNESDAY. & FRIDAY. FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 1927. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

In addition to sixty-one charges of theft of borough funds, involving a total o'f over £7OO, made against J. J. Ritchie, ex-town clerk of Waihi, four more charges have. been?, laid by De-tective-Sergeant Slweeney, involving moneys received by the accused for payment, to the State Advances Department, Wellington. Accused, who had been ordered into the hospital by a medical man, was 'further remanded to appear at the Waihi Police Court, on Monday, January 24, but it is understood that the state of his health is still such that it will be impossible for him to comply with the magistrate’s order.

The Rev. Roy Alley, M.A., o'f Dunedin, will take the morning service at, the Paeroa Presbyterian Chui ch on Sunday next, and the afternoon service at Hikutaia at 2.30 o’clock.

The Auckland Education Board has appointed Mr W. Dickson sole teacher at Pipiroa and Miss C. Delaney assistant mistress at Hikutaia.

The extent to which motor transportation of passengers is superseding other methods of travelling is amply demonstrated on the Hauraki Plains. There are three daily train services between Thames and Auckland through Paeroa. Passenger-carrying steamers also ply thrice weekly between Thames and Auckland, thrice weekly between Paeroa and Waihou River landings.- and Auckland, and twice weekly between Piako river ports and Auckland. Despite these long-established services the number of motor services is still increasing. There are. now three firms running four trips daily between Thames and Auckland via the Hauraki Plains and one firm funning two daily trips between Paeroa and Auckland via t,he Plains. The steamers must be feeling the. competition o'f the motors, for with the increase in t,he number of motor services there is a corresponding increase in the number of passengers offering.

The late Mr J. W. Coles, of Hastings, who died in the Napier Hospital on December 24, left the whole o'f his estate, valued at £4OOO, to the Napier Hospital Board.

"You’ve only to pull the cork and everybody’s in the room,” said a. witness from Mokau, describing to the Police Court at New Plymouth on Thursday. Race day only happened once a year, he explained, and nearly everyone got, a case in at that time and entertained his friends. He would have to mention the whole township if he were to say with whom he had had drinks.

On Monday last Mr H, K. Peterson, of Kerepeehi, commenced running ai motor-bus service from Thames to Auckland via Turua, Orchard East Road, and Ngatea. A very comfortable twelve-passenger vehicle is being used.

Bowlers will find themselves particularly catered for in this week’s, issue o’f the “N.Z. Sporting and 1 Dramatic Review” in a comprehensive series, of animated snapshots covering the Dominion Bowling Association’s! tournament in Auckland. Tattersail’s Club meeting at Randwickoccupies a prominent space in graphic: snaps, and the Marton races are alsorepresented in interesting fashion. Leading characters in the. 'forthcoming Military Pageant in Auckland furnish an attractive series. A special feature is the welcome to thePrince o'f Wales at Ramsgate., while, numerous overseas pictures are included in one of the most diversifiedselections yet presented. 1

Patrons, of the light harness sport should And plenty to interest them at the Te Aroha Trotting Club’s annual totalisator fixture, which is to take place to-morrow. Excellent acceptances have been received. Special trains will run from all parts of the district at excursion rates.

The Hauraki Plains school dental officer, Mr F. G. Stockwell, was due back on duty at the Ngatea dental clinic on Thursday last, but he has received instructions to report at Nelson for fiimporary duty on that date. In view of the lack of appreciation of hip services, when on the Plains last year it is open to question what is trie future intention of the department as regards the Plains service. Seeing that the department will not give way on the question of sending him to, the various schools, the opinion has been expressed that the department’s wishes, will be followed if an opportunity is given.

The Minister of Health (the Hon. J. A. Young) has received advice, from the British Ministry of Health, through the High Commissioner, London, under date January 14, that last week’s figures, for influenza showed a rise, in the number, of deaths in the United Kingdom. For the 105 great towns deaths were 172 for the week ending January 8, as against 86 for January 1, and in London 72 as against 17. The number of pneumonic cases notified 'for. the week which ended on January 8 was 2010 in England and Wales, and 348 in London.

Exception, in the name of fairness, is taken by a. Plains motorist to the ■statement published in many newspapers that a certain settler had collected £BO-odd from motorists, for towing them through the mud o'f the Mamaku Hills during Christmas week. The teamster, had recently walked off a farin and. was endeavouring to make a living by carting firewood, and though the motorists in. most cases fixed his remuneration, and when not able to pay were towed free, the £23-pdd—the highest day’s takings—was very acceptable, enabling him t.o employ carpenters, to erect a new home for his wife and family.

The number of ’fowls, ducks, and geese, etc., in New Zealand Ln 1921 was greater than in 1926, when the last census was taken. In a report to the Minister of Internal Affairs (the Hon. R. F. Bollard) the Government Statistician (Mr Malcolm Fraser) gives the following return- for 1926 : Fowls, 3,308,384 ; ducks, 352,030 ; geese, 48,879 ; turkeys, 76,852 ; total, 3,781,145, a decreas of 20'9,864 on the number in 1921.

A gang of Lands Department employees is engaged at present in laying the concrete ’foundations on the banks <f the Piako River a little below Ngatea on which the 110 ft high towers to carry the Public Works Department’s electric power mains, will be erected.

There are distinct merits in having personal belongings of a peculiar design. A Plains motorist has. a tobacco pouch which is opened and closed merely by the pulling of a cord. Some time ago he lost this pouch on the Pokeno road and it was found by a Maori, who was so pleased with the way it worked that he demonstrated if 'far and wide, with the result that the owner heard of it and claimed the pouch. A similar pouch was owned by the 'father of the Plains man, and he recently toured the South Island. While in a little tpwn in Westland the pouch was removed from the mudguard of his car where it had been placed while the owner lit his pipe. The matter was reported to a poliee.man who happened along, and on hiss Teturn home the motorist found that the pouch had been recovered by the police and forwarded along.

An instance of the humid conditions prevailing in some of the back portions of the Nelson district this year is the grass growing on the backs of sheep. Some of them when mustered have been as green as t,he fattening paddocks. Most children have been taught at schoool to germinate seeds ®n pieces of wet flannel. Exactly the same, process goes on on the sheep’s back. This sort of thing, says the Nelson Mail, should never occur when land is properly farmed, for grass should never be allowed to grohv so long and rank that the sheep can becojne coYered with the seed. Still, such things occur, probably through want of knowledge in some instances, and bad luck in others. Whatever the cause, the sheep certainly present n strange appearance with an abundant growth of grass on their backs.

Anything done by a Government department seems to be the special bait Tor “farm-gate engineers.” There, is probably a sound reason for it, but the fact has excited some comment that on the Bombay-Waikino electric power line where it crosses the Piako River there are four changes in direction where to the layman it, appears that the line could have, been made straight, and therefore at less expense.

In the early days o'f the Hauraki Plains it was a common occurrence to hear of three or four Lands Department “bosses” and one workman engaged on- one job, while the ‘Government stroke” was too common- to excite comment. Now times and methods have changed, and though old ideas die hard, and some settleis will still observe that instances of efficiency are isolated, there is, no doubt th.at a different spirit prevails among Government .Workmen-. Tuesday last was one of the hottest days experienced his summer, and there was not -a breath o'f wind. Coming suddenly in an out-of-the-way place, upon a gang of five, men, they were found busily engaged in that strenuous occupation of mixing concrete, and although there was- no “boss” on the job they would not stop work when addressed by the passer-by.

The Piako River is not an alluring place in which to bathe, yet during the hot weather of the past week it hafe been better than nothing, and even ladies have been seen in for a dip in the early evening.