LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1763, 11 December 1917, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Accounts amounting to £592 11s Od were passed for payment at last night’s meeting of the Borough Council. Chaplain-Captain McKenzie, formerly of Apiti and Shannon, is returning to New Zealand at the end of the month. The dog registration fees for next year were fixed at last night’s Council meeting on the same basis as previous years. The Queen of the South, from Wellington with general, arrived at 9 o’clock this morning. She will sail again for Wellington to-morrow with a cargo of hemp and wool. The head teacher of the local State school acknowledges with thanks a donation of 7s from Mr T. S. Harper towards the school prize-fund. “The stain on the national flag is just as deep if that Hag floats over slum-bred children and ill-paid, illfed, ill-housed men and women as if it were to drop in defeat on the field of war.” —Lloyd George. During the month of November, 9 horses and three cows were impounded by the ranger, and seven horses and one cow were released to owners on application. The driving fees totalled fifteen shillings. There were present at last night's Council meeting: The Mayor (Mr John Chrystall) and Crs. Henderson, McColl, Bryant, Walker, Stevenson, McMurray and Hurley. Apologies for absence were received from Crs Coley and Thompson. Applications from the picture show proprietors for permission to show pictures on Christmas Day were refused at last night’s Council meeting, the voting, being; For, Crs Henderson, McColl and Hurley; againsl, The Mayor and Crs Bryant, Walker, Stevenson and McMurray. Killing weeds on the roadside with the aid of steam is an interesting experiment now being carried out by the Wanganui Borough Council staff. The road-roller has been utilised, and the steam is forced through a hose, thence into an upturned box at the end, which is kept in one position until the patch of weeds, underneath has had a liberal vapour bath. So far the results have been good, Mr 0. H. Dawson, fisherman, issues a warning to persons who have been damaging his fishing nets and breaking the lock at his whare on the river bank near the wharf. Mr Dawson informs us that nets have been cut and drying poles destroyed, and locks broken from his whare by some mischievous person or persons. He has also placed the matter in the hands of the police. The will of John Norton, of Sydney, newspaper proprietor, who died on April 9th, 1910, was lodged last week at the probate office, Melbourne, for sealing purposes. Probate has been granted in the New South Wales estate for £73,000, and the Victorian estate is slated as real estate valued at £13,158, and personal property valued at £ll,039, which, by his will, is left to his daughter and niece. A letter was read at last night’s Council meeting from Air A, Stevenson, op behalf of the residents of Reeve Street, asking that sojpefhipg should be done to make the strept and approach to it from Francis Street passable for vehicular traffis. —It was decided on the motion of the Mayor, seconded by Cr Walker, that Reeve Street and the approach thereto from Frances Street be formed 13 ft. wide, and graded up to at least one foot above the surrounding surface of the ground!" Want to try a curious sum? Put down the number of your living brothers. Multiply by two. Add three. Multiply the result by five. Now add the number of your living sisters. Multiply the total by ten. Add the number of your dead brothers and sisters. Subtract' 150 from the total. The righjt-hand figure will be the number of deaths; the middle figure the number of living sisters; and the left-hand figure the number of living brothers. See if it doesn’t work out, At last night’s fJouppil peeling Cr McColl asked if something could not be done to improve the apppprapee of the cemetery. He said jt was at present in a very bad state, and something shbuld be done to make it look decent. Also the pump on the property was more often out of order than in order, and should receive atieptiop.—The .matter was referred to the Cemetery .Committee, as also was an application from the sexton for an increase in the fee for digging graves, v

The latest casualty lists include Lauce-Corpl. J. G. Burr among the dangerously ill, and Private B. F. Mohekey in the severe cases. Presumably suffering from mental derangement, an -elderly man named John Gommins" attacked his sister on returning from mass, at Melbourne on Sunday. He smashed her head and cut her throat, and.then entered a room and similarly murdered his mother and sister.

At last night’s Council meeting it was decided on the motion of the Mayor, seconded by Cr Walker, that the Manawatu County Council’s attention be drawn to the overhanging willows on the Whirokino road, which are a danger to the travelling public, as well as making it extremely difficult to drive stock. The planet Venus in now a very conspicuous feature in the western sky each evening, being above the horizon for three hours after sunset. The planet has now reached its maximum elongation of 47 degrees from the sun, which it will approach rapidly. Its brilliancy and size will increase until January sth, as it approaches the earth. The present, distance from the earth is 60 million miles. Viewed through a telescope, Venus displays phases like our moon. It now is half full, while at the time of its maximum brilliancy only. one-quarter of its surface is illuminated.

The sudden appearance of a large shark caused a sensation among a group of bathers at Castlecliff beach on Thursday morning, states the Wanganui Chronicle. A big dorsal tin was just noticed cutting swiftly througth the calm water, and a moment later the shark appeared in a sraoth roller, at the same moment turning on its side ami exposing its white underpart as it swerved at one man who was standing in about four feet of water. He splashed the water hurriedly, and the shark, after grazing him, sheered off. All the bathers (hen made a precipitate retreat to the beach.

Parents whose children attend the local State school and pupils directly concerned, will regret to learn that Miss Moxhain, who is in charge of the infants, has tendered her resignation to the Board. Miss Moxham’s resignation.is not only a serious loss to the local school, but to the Board. This young lady is an expert teacher in every sense of (he word. Apart altogether from her academic (pialitications, Miss Moxham possesses the physiognomical gift without whiyh no teacher can hope to succeed in the profession. The gap in the teaching staff caused by Miss Moxham’s- retirement will he a serious loss to the school.

The Foxtou road, reported the County Engineer at Saturday’s meeting of the Horowhcnua County Council, is in a had way. One would hardly believe that it got so much metal a few months ago; however. it is no use trying to repair in winter-with our pit metal. It is laid in places almost like soup, and the first motor car that comes along scoops it out, and a good deal of it goes over the side of the formation. Until we get something better to keep our roads together it is imperative that we repair with crushed boulders well rolled, “The worst piece of road I have ever been over in my life,” commented Cr. Broadbelt, when the report was read.

A serious.accident occurred at about 12.30 o’clock yesterday to Mr Jack McCarthy, of Palmerston N. It appears that he was motor-cycl-ing down the Kairanga road between Longburn and Awapuni, and collided with the express for Napier. The train was travelling at a very fast rate,, and when it was pulled up Mr McCarty was lying between the smokebox and the cow-catcher. The motor cycle was thrown clear of the train. The injured man received medical attention from Dr Frengley, who was on (he train, and was afterwards taken to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. Deceased leaves a wife and two children.

When the Inspector of Nuisances’ report, which stated that the borough was in a fair sanitary condition, was before last night’s Council meeting, Cr Stevenson asked what had been done in reference to the septic lank at the back of Whyte’s Hotel. The Health Department had been playing with the matter for three months, and it was time that something wqs f)one. —ft wijs decided, on the ipotion of Cr Sjtevepson, seconded by Cr Walker, that the Health Department’s attention be drawn to the septic tank at the Whyte’s Hotel building, and that they be requested to take immediate steps jo abate the nuisance being caused thereby, as in its present state an epidemic is likely -to be caused, and this Council is of opinion that the matter has been in the hands of the Department long enough to have received attention.

Speaking at the opening of the Anzac Club at Palmerston on Saturday, the Prime Minister, the Hon. W. F. Massey, made reference to the proposal to confer a special distinction on the troops which took part in the Gallipoli campaign. The Minister said he was strongly of the opinion that the honour should be conferred. No honour was too great for our Gallipoli men. The Government of New Zealand, however, was against any of the men being left out who took part in that campaign —(hear,hgar) —apd the Government of New Zealand, with that of Australia, will ask the Imperial authorities to make no distinction between the men who left this country in 1914 and those who went in 1915. All who took part in the Peninsula campaign were entitled to the 'honour to he conferred op the troops who fought there. (Hepr, jjep).

Cabinet, said the Prime Minister, at Auckland, had not yet considered when Sir Thomas Mackenzie’s appointment as High Commissioner should end. Neither had the question of Sir Thomas' successor been considered. ~

More coal (says the Auckland Star) is being produced in New Zealand at present than ten mines can find sale for, and if large consumers would take advantage of the summer months by laying in a stock instead of, in many cases, waiting until the winter, when the normal demand exceeds the output capacity, there would really be no fear of a coal shortage in New Zealand at all. Some of the freezing companies and other industrial concerns have, in fact, had large concrete -coal storage tanks erected. These are filled with coal and then flooded with water, which keeps the coal in perfect condition against when it is required. One of the reasons of the coal panic which occurred early in this year was (hat many big consumers were caught napping with .short reserve stocks.

The extraordinary method by which a German, P. Willms, tried to escape from (he concentration.camp at Holdsworthy, was told before a military court in Sydney recently. Willms was one of a party outside the main compound for the purposes of recreation. When the men were being rounded up to return to the camp one of guard noticed some freshly-dug ground. He placed his foot, on one end of (he plot, and it sank under his weight. Moving a yard further along ho put more weight into his effort this time, and out jumped Willms, who had buried himself with the idea of escaping later. Willms pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to escape from the camp, and explained that in his view he was perfectly at liberty to attempt to escape. He said lie could have escaped hundreds of times on previous occasions, but scorned to break his parole. When under guard the circumstances were entirely different. The sentence of the Court was sent to (ho confirming authorities.