LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1665, 23 January 1917, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Yesterday’s weather was ideal for the holiday. To-day is equally fine.

Sub-Inspector Marsack, of Palmerston North, has been promoted Inspector, and has been transferred to Wellington. Levin has now 347 consumers of gas, and in addition there are 47 street lamps being supplied. Gas stoves in use number 116; power engines, 3.

Despite the counter attraction of the races yesterday, a large number of visitors found their way to the seaside and spent a most enjoyable time bathing, boating and fishing. Mr Bauckhain’s residence had a narrow escape from destruction by tire yesterday forenoon. A band of willing helpers were quickly on (he scene, and succeeded in beating out the flames from the grass-lire in the vicinity.

At the last meeting of the Otaki Town Board a proposal was heartily supported that arrangements be made so that the board could go fully into the question of a water supply for the township. A poll on the electric lighting question will be held at the end of next month. Well done, Otaki!

Some reckless driving by motorists was witnessed in Main Street yestrday. One driver plying for hire and with the object of making hay while the sun shone, sent his car along time and again at a dangerously excessive speed. Fortunately he met with no mishap, hut in any other town he would be prosecuted for furious driving.

The death of Duncan Mundell, a Wanganui waterside worker - , occurred with tragic suddenness on Friday. Deceased, with his wife and little daughter, were proceeding by the Castlecliif train to join the train for Hawke’s Bay. Just as he entered the carriage he collapsed, and died in a few minutes. A few days previously his little son died suddenly.

A British explosives factory, located eastward of London, has been destroyed by lire, followed by a. great explosion, the most terrible experienced in the metropolis, completely obliterating the place A number of other factories and houses were also destroyed, and the casualties, not yet fully ascertained, run into hundreds. The disaster will make no practical difference to the output of munitions.

Apropos of Saturday night’s railway crossing accident, it may be mentioned that the raihvay track between Foxton and Longburn, a distance of about !2() miles, runs parallel with the road, and is unfenced. Between Foxton and Himatangi the road is right up against the railway sleepers. It Avould be much safer for road traffic if the road had been formed about half a chain from the raihvay line.

Arrangements are being made by the Levin Borough Council, the Otaki Town Board, and the Horowhenua Co'unty Council to form a. deputation to wait on the Minister relative to hospital severance. The three bodies are very desirous of cutting adrift, either to form a separate hospital district or to join Palmerston, where the rate is only about half compared with that charged by the Wellington Board. A special district is, however, preferred.

A pleasant river excursion and picnic at the seaside was held under the auspices of the local Methodist Sunday school yesterday. A number of adults took advantage of the outing, and accompanied the children. The party landed on the south spit, where sports of all kinds were indulged in. The superintendent (Mr Huntley) and teachers were indefatigable in their efforts to give the youngsters a good time, and that they succeeded was evidenced on the faces of the children upon their return. The school is indebted to Mr Signal for his kindness in conveying the children to the seaside free of charge.

Legal proceedings are to be taken against a number of ex-patients in the Pntea and New Plymouth hospitals, whose accounts are long overdue. An instance demonstrating the callous indifference of some people to the claims of those to whom they owed money is given by the secretary of the Taranaki Hospital Board. A man,who owed the hoard £42 for hospital treatment, when presented with his account, stated that he could not pay just then, because he had just bought a motor car. The board did not recover that £42 for four years, and not until Court proceedings had been taken.

Our attention has been drawn to the fact that in a certain shop window in Main Street a number of distinctly indecent picture bannerettes are displayed to the public gaze. In fairness to local business people we may say that the shop is only being temporarily occupied. A business man, in conversation with our representative yesterday, remarked: Is it immoral for a man to go to the races and invest money on the totalisator when he owes me a fair sum of money?” He added that the individual had just informed him that if he had any luck with the gee-gees he would be able to square his account!

Housewives! We have the right labour-saving devices to cut your work in two. Our stocks are complete with every house need. Best value offered at Walker and Furrie’s, Poxton.

Mr 6. "pxley, a well-known Puliiatua business man, is spending a short holiday in Foxton, Visitors were present at the races yesterday from the Wairarapa and Pahiatua districts. They arrived by motor cars.

The race ti’ains yesterday am, this morning were particularly patronised, and arrived well up t| time.

The programme of music by tin Foxton Borough Band yesterday A* was favourably commented upon by visitors to the races.

Despite the large number of visitors* at present in Foxton, the crowd is well behaved, and the police report a comparatively quiet ,ime ‘ V Among visitors to the races are a number of “sharpers,” who seem to exist by followingV from meeting to meeting, like wandering gipseys. One can tell th .u by their hungry, cunning look, h .ic * “sport of kings” has its parasites, and they keep the police busy. .

A dense cloud of smoke ,as noticeable in the direction of the Whirokino run yesterday afternoon, probably the result of a grass fire.

Kesidents should be careful to avoid lighting fires in the open during the present dry season, owing to the danger of dry grass throughout the borough. The fire inspector has already found it necessary to warn certain residents against lighting fires without taking the necessary precautions.

Says the Napier Henrid; —Last: week large sharks were very plentiful in the hay and worked havoe ainong the trawlers’ nets. In some instances the trawling crews replaced their nets by hand lines, and hundreds of schnapper were caught. '

Each man had three lines, and the fish were hauled up two lit a time continuously. One fisherman's record was over 200 in one day. At present by the wesferu pier at the entrance to the inner harbour small sharks can be seen making their way up the channel by the score.

A settler with "humy years of

farming experience, in conversation with a Dunedin reporter, mentioned that he knew of several farmers not many miles from Milton who had wheat stacks on their farms dating back from 11)14, and although they had been offered .up to 7s a bushel for this wheat they had refused to sell. He said further that this sort of thing was calculated to confirm the impression formed in some quarters that the farmers generally were doing their best to make as much money as they could out of the war, but he was in a position to say that while there were to be found instances of certain farmers acting in what might he (allied an unpatriotic way, the large proportion of the farming community were as keen to do their share as any other citizen of the Empire. In the circumstances it was deplorable that men existed whose only interest in this Avar was to make as much money as they could out of it.

On (Sunday morning last a bandsman at New Plymouth had the unique experience of playing several

solos on the summit of Mount Egniont. It had been arranged that the band should make a trip to the mountain, and play a selection on the top, and in consequence the band proceeded to Mountain House on Saturday evening. On Sunday morning at 3 o'clock the company were astir, but the guide, Mr Williams, strongly advised against the original project being carried out, owing to the probability of rain. Eventually a party of over twenty, including several civilians, made a Mart, but the heavy going, the exhausting work, and the intense cold proved too much for a number, and one after the other gave up the enterprise. Eventually, however, seven bandsmen and two civilians reached the summit, and Sergeant Coulter, who had carried his instrument all the way, played several euphonium solos, including “Nearer My God to Thee” and “Auld Lang Svne.”

An Otaki resident has received a telegram notifying him that his son has been selected by ballot for military service. This man’s son was killed in action less than two months ago. The receipt of such a tele-# gram, when relatives have scarcely recovered from the shock caused by the deatii of their loved ones, reopens the old wound, and causes much suffering that is altogether unnecessary, and the case we have quoted is not the only one of the kind. There is no excuse for such criminal bungling as this. —Mail

A striking incident of a trench raid made by New Zealanders “somewhere in France” is related in a private letter received in Auckland, states the Herald. A- - mongst the prisoners taken in that raid was a German who spoke English. This person showed a desire to cultivate familiarity with his captors, and put to them the question, “Is there anyone from Taumarunui amongst you?” Afterwards it was discovered that the man, who gave the name of Jorgansen, had been in New Zealand, and had worked in a sawmill at Taumarunui. He expressed the wish to meet any of his" former workmates who might be amongst the British troops. If any Taumarunui lads were about the trenches, however, they showed no eagerness to renew acquaintances with their ex-colon-ist foeman.

Call in at Walker and Fume's when you require anything for cleaning or cooking purposes. All household lines stocked and excellent value given. '

The dektli occurred at Palmerston North on Sunday of Catherine, wife of Mr Patrick Guerin, of Palmerston North, and formerly of Poxton. The deceased was 66 years of age. The late Mr Guerin resided in Poxton for many years, and with her husband shifted to Palmerston North some years ago.

A monster stingray was captured at the seaside yesterday afternoon by Messrs Rev. Bredin, McMurray and McDonald. They noticed the monster in the shallow breakers, and tackled it with poles, finally heaving it out of the water, when it was dispatched, and the tail and barbed sting taken as a trophy. The body of the fish measured about five feet across, and weighed about 3 hundredweight.

A South Canterbury angler is said lo have had an interesting experience recently. He was making a long cast when he realised his line was caught behind him, hut to his astonishment he got the distinct and unmistakable thrill that denotes life at the end of the line. He had foul-hooked a rabbit with his devon and recovered from his astonishment barely in time to prevent its regaining the safety of its burrow. The resulting struggle among the toi-toi and gorse, though it ended victoriously for the fisherman, rendered it necessary for him to discard a nearly new trace. 1

Not a little embarrassment was caused to a visitor to the AA ellington races by the insistence of a young lady (a complete stranger to him) that he was her long-lost brother, whom she had not seen for 14 years. It was in vain that the man protested. “I know you are my brother and yon know it too,” she said. “But I have never had a sister, and I’ve never seen you before,” replied the man. Eventually he managed to convince the young lady that she had made a mistake, and she left him somewhat reluctantly, says the Times.

We often hear of people paying “conscience” money to the State (says the Stratford Post). AA'e wish that newspaper subscribers whose subscriptions are in arrears would become afflicted with the same complaint. AA’e especially refer to those people who “silently, secretly and surreptitiously” sneak away from the district leaving their newspaper bill unpaid. If at the last day our account books are submitted as evidence against the people whom we have in our mind’s eye they will he doomed —we wore going to write damned —for a certainty. They will he sent among the goats, and the sentences will not wring (ears of sympathy from our eyes as we pass over and take our rest amongst the sheep,