THE PAST WEEK.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5476, 18 September 1929, Page 3

THE PAST WEEK.

Here is another piece of choice humour (?) of the type greatly appreciated by our present Parliamentarians :— Mr H. G. R. Mason, speaking on the Defence Amendment Bill, said : “As the satiric poet put it, you had men saying : “We are the elect, the chosen few ; The rest of you are damned. Hell is good enough for you, We won’t have Heaven crammed.” Not content with cheap back-chat smacking of the gutters, the distinguished assembly goes a step further in vulgarity and appreciates a still weaker form of alleged humour. Major F. Sutton, whose views on the Manchurian situation are quoted elsewhere in this issue, is a typical soldier of fortune. Big, jovial, a delightful raconteur, and brave to the point of madness, he remains a cultured and polished man of many attainments. Major Sutton had a great deal to do with the perfecting of trench mortar warfare during the last conflict, and is a recognised authority on all types of machine-guns and small arms. H e lost an arm in France, but despite this fact undertook most hazardous trips all over China, in many cases to parts hitherto practically unknown to Europeans. His doings in that country after he first arrived there were matters of great conjecture and mystery to all but the Chinese, and he obtained an insight into the various warring factors of the Celestial Empire before he became finally attached to the person of the late Marshall Chang Tso Lin as his military adviser. To the Manchurians Major Sutton’s knowledge of the Chinese military camps and his specialisation of trench mortar warfare proved of incalculable assistance.

Matters seem to be getting somewhat involved around Katikati way. Lying at the dead end of two counties the people of that district are apparently between the devil and the deep sea. Dissatisfaction over the state of their roads has made a certain section clamour foi- territorial inclusion in the Ohinemuri County as a solution towards better conditions and local government. There is also a very strong feeling existent for exclusion from the Tauranga Hospital Board district, and for inclusion into that of Waihi, for better or foi worse. Against that a number of settlers residing in the Ohinemuri portion of that area who so far have not been blessed with the electric power reticulation feel that they would receive more sympathetic consideration at the hands of the Tauranga rather than the Thames Valley Power Board. The former has already made something in the nature of an overture to the somewhat exasperated settlers in question. No doubt everything will lapse back to the same state as heretofore, and no one will get any further, but evidently great dissatisfaction is rife, and there are matters that call for redress and readjustment.

A contemporary, dated September 12, announces in District Happenings, from “its own correspondent,” “that a meeting called for the purpose of considering the advisability of forming a school of mines in Paeroa was held last evening in the Public Hall, Wharf Street.” The paper’s Paeroa “correspondent” surpassed himself ! As a matter of fact, the original “correspondent” was a reporter on the staff of the “Ohinemuri Gazette” some 33 years ago, and the meeting in question took place in September, 1896—not 1929. Had the bright correspondent glanced at the head of the column in our issue of September 9, 1929, preparatory to adopting the time-saving and effortless method of writing local news by means of a pair of scissors and another journal, 33 years ago would have been noted there. As a matter of fact, 10 of the 14 people who attended the meeting are dead.