LOCAL AND GENERAL

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 2 June 1921, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Messrs A. Becroft & Sons have just completed the building of a six-roomed house for Mr A. W. Sanderson, at Ahuroa. This firm specialises in country work, and .have a good deal of building on hand at present. The road between Mill Road corner and the bridge is in an awful state, after only a small amount of rain. If the Town Board cannot do anything before the winter ends, the metal that is on the road now will simply disappear. A start has been made with the erection of the Soldiers' Memorial at the Springs. The " man in the street," who is usually an expert on all matters, thinks that the weight of the completed article will make the ground sink at this spot, but this idea is not worth worrying about. The stone for the Soldiers' Memorial lias been landed in Auckland. The sculptor will be handicapped in completing the memorial until a complete list of names is secured, and next-of-kin and friends of deceased soldiers are urged to immediately forward full particulars to the secretary (Mr W. F. F. Raisber}. At the last meeting of the Waitemata County Council a comparative return of county valuations was put forward by the treasurer. The gross valuation 1921-1922 was estimated at £3,779,445, an increase on 1920-1921 of £1,259,592. Mairetahi riding was estimated at £441,231, with an increase of £204,671. In an articj«? about the old settlers, a contemporary says :—They have fought a good fight; they have laid good solid foundations for us to build upon ; and the amazing progress and prosperity of the whola Dominion are due to the hard work and the foresight of our staunch British pioneers. It remains to be seen whether our own more complex life, and easier times, will produce as fine a type as the rigorous days of old developed. "Why Change Your Wife'?" a Para-mount-Artcraft Royalty masterpice, to be seen at Everybody's next Wednesday night. Few productions of the past decade have achieved the all-round popularity of Cecil 8. de Mille's masterly studies of married life and its problems. By virtue of his extensive study de Mille stands to-day pre-eminent as the producer of this class of picture, and this is one that should not be missed. Two very popular stars in the cast are Thomas Mcighan and Gloria Swanson. There will be good supporting features. Remember—next Wednesday night.

"Any rags, any bones, any bottles today ? The same old story in the same, old way." One was reminded of the song by the appearance of a bottle-gatherer in Helensville lately. He collected here in the course of a week sixty sacks of empty bottles of all sorts, each sack containing an average of six dozen bottles. On his first trip to Helensville some years ago the same man gathered enough 'empties' to fill three L railway wagons. When visiting Te Awamutu the other day he saw a card in a shop window which read : " Wanted to buy—Whisky bottles, 4s a dozen." Haying about 500 dozen on hand he approached the counter with an elastic step and enquired how many the advertiser could do with ? " I want four dozen," was the unfinancial reply. For Bronchial Coughs, take Woods' Great Peppermint Cure. The £15,000 Hamilton case reminds old-timers of a big New Zealand sensation which occurred over thirty years ago aud was known as " The Severed Hand." A man named Howard, at Christchurch, insured his life for £5000, and shortly after disappeared. One day a couple walking along the Sumner beach picked up a human hand, and on one finger was a ring identified as one worn by Howard, the presumption being that the man had been drowned. His wife claimed the insurance money, but before it could be paid over experts declared that the hand found was that of a female. Howard was later arrested near Masterton, and received a sentence for fraud. Though several new graves were opened the mystery as to where the hand camefrom was never solved, and Howard never told.

About forty attended the class for-Jn-struction in dancing held in the Agricultural Hall on Monday night. Some enthusiastic and willing pupils presented themselves : with practise these can see ballroom ostracisation fading away into the limbo of the past. Mr P. W. Smallfield, instructor in agriculture, will give a lecture to members of the Helensville branch of the Farmers' Union at the board-room on Monday, 6th June, at 8 p.m. Subjects:—Drainage, pasture control, and manures. All farmers are invited to attend. The following Post Office arrangements for King's Birthday will be observed : —- Friday, 3rd June, will be as a Sunday, and the office will be closed in ail the branches. Mails usually closed on Friday will be closed at 8 p.m. on Thursday, 2nd June. A clearance of street boxes will be made at 7.30 this evening. Farmers' are notified on page 1 of this paper that the Farmers' farm school will be held at Ruakura for one week from July 18 to 23. The week's instruction by lectures and demonstrations in previous years has been a farmers from all over the North Island assembling there for education. See N.Z. Farmers' Union advertisement. Three accidents necessitating the doctor's attention occurred in Helensville on Saturday last. A man named F. Quin, employed on the steamer Bellbird, accidentally lost a finger. While attempting to recover a spanner which was falling off an engine his finger got caught and was doubled back out of the socket of the hand. While playing football for Helensville (against Waimauku) Montgomery was thrown heavily and had his shoulder dislocated. In the same game L. McLeod got kicked over the right eye, a deep ugly wound resulting. George Barr McCutcheon's greatest romantic novel was "The City of Masks." Now, this old world love tale in a new world setting has been adapted for the screen. If is even more appealing and charming as a motion picture. The city of unknown faces —hurrying past—lostWhere your next-door neighbour may be a genius, a prince or a gunman, but always a mystery. A romance of life beneath the surface of things as they seem to be. Peeping into New York's secret places—behind her social masquerads —into the inner hearts and loves of her ladies, her. gentlemen, her knavss. To be seen at Everybody's on Saturday night next.

At a meeting of the Bachelors' Ball Committee on Tuesday evening, details in connection with the forthcoming ball on June 16th were gone into. The question of catering, which has caused the committee a good deal of concern, was fully discussed, and various tenders and proposals were considered. It was finally decided to accept with thanks the assistance of the ladies in preparing the supper. (A well-attended meeting of ladies held yesterday afternoon expressed their willingness to give the bachelors every assistance). Judging by the enquiries for tickets, there is every likelihood of a large attendance at the ball. Tickets (£1 Is) are now available from all members of the committee.

At the local Court yesterday morning two young Maori men named Ngati Walters and Jack Rice were charged with the theft of a hat, valued at 18s 6d, the property of Mr A. Robinson. The police said the hat was taken from the Agricultural Hall during a picture show. Walters at first denied that he had taken the hat, but afterwards admitted that he had and had burned it. Constable Hunt said this sort of petty larceny went on in different parts, and it must be stopped. Walters said he had taken the hat in error for his own, and then got frightened. Walters was fined £1 and costs 12s, also ordered to pay cost of hat. Rice, who was in his company at the time, was convicted only. Messrs J. H. Claridge and Jas. Hand were the presiding Justices. For Influenza, take Woods' Great Peppermint Cure. A big double feature programme will be presented at the Lyric Theatre next Saturday night—we think it will prove to be the best programme so far seen in this hall, and that's saying something. D.W. Griffith's first national personally-direc-ted picture " The Greatest Question" will comprise part of the bill-of-fare. It is a masterly interpretation of humanity's greatest question—you see the charaters struggling on, sometimes fighting, the current of life, sometimes mounting the crest of success, sometimes drifting. You will marvel at this wonderful play. Then comes Charlie—the still first popular comedian—with his Ford car, his missus and two little Chaps. If you haven't laughed since you came to Helensville, you will on the 4th June. See the million dollar' comedy', ''A Day's Pleasure."