THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto: Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 1929. LOCAL AND GENERAL

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5465, 23 August 1929, Page 2

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto: Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 1929. LOCAL AND GENERAL

• The schools in this district will break up for a fortnight’s holiday this (Friday) afternoon, and will reopen .on Tuesday, September 10. The road between Paeroa and Waihi has been greatly improved, and is now in fair condition. Of the 17 factories controlled by the N.Z. Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., four are situated on the Hauraki Plains and two in the Thames Valley. The number of motor vehicles in use in the Dominion as at June 30, 1929, was 196,889, and the quantity of motor spirit imported and used during the past twelve months was 56,699,946 gallons. In tabloid form the Rev. W. G. Monckton summarised the chief cause of the hostilities existing between Russia and China, when speaking at a lecture in Hamilton this week. “The trouble is largely over the Manchurian railway, which is owned by the Russians, financed by the French, and runs over Chinese territory.” he said. Tho Chinese Nationalist Government has objected to Russia using the railway for Communistic and militaristic purposes. The item which appeared in this paper some days ago concerning the delay in shifting the posting boxes at the Kerepeehi post office, as promised by the Postmaster-General on his recent visit, had the desired effect, and yesterday a new posting box was made available. The representations to the Minister concerning the desirability of making the telephone box sound-proof have also borne fruit. When the alterations are completed this box will also be used for telephoning telegrams.

An enjoyable dance in aid of the St. Paul’s Ladies’ Guild was held in the Anglican Parish Hall on Wednesday evening. Miss Marshall provided the music, and a delightful supper was served by the ladies.

An English syndicate is prospecting the huge coal deposits at Charleston. Westland, which have hitherto been unworked owing to the difficulty of transport to rail and shipping. If prospecting results are satisfactory, the intention is to erect a distillation plant involving a cost of £500,000

Although the amount of rain that fell during the early part of the present week has not been so great, the cumulative effect of it with the long spell of wet weather of the last two months has made the land of the Hauraki Plains very wet and muddy, so that drains quickly fill. Many farmers are now having surface drains ploughed.

That women’s fashions in dress may have serious reactions on industry was a point emphasised by the chairman of the Wellington Woollen Company at its annual meeting. “Incessant change,” he observed, “is a feature of modern life, and two or three garments of inferior quality are now bought where one of honest make would, as of old, be better for both appearance and pocket.”

Rugby to be played on the Hauraki Plains to-morrow will be the final of the knock-out round for the Dent Cup, in which Kerepeehi will meet Waitakaruru at Ngatea. The curtainraiser will be the Ngatea-Maramarua junior match.

New Zealand’s earthquake certainly provided plenty’ of sensational copy for overseas newspapers. We doubt, however, if any journal has stretched the facts to such an extent as “The Queenslander,” which reproduced a photograph of the greatly damaged Hodgson store and supplemented it by the following amazing paragraph : “The walls of this store at Murchinson, according to a reliable witness, swayed and touched the ground twiee before springing back to the (upright) position shown in the photograph.” And Edison is still seeking a substitute for rubber I