LOCAL AND GENERAL

Manawatu Herald, Volume XL, Issue 1779, 22 January 1918, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The local Masons will entertain visiting'brethren at a social evening in the Masonic Hall to-morrow night.

The public- are reminded of the up-river picnic to he held to-day. The boats and punts leave the wharf at 10 o’clock.

To-day is Anniversary Day—the 78th anniversary of the founding of Wellington —and is being observed as a public holiday. Air T. P. Henderson, pianoforte tuner, will visit Foxlon to-morrow.

Orders left aj: this office will receive attention.

Owing to the Hailway Department not running a special train for today’s local races, a large number of motor cars have been requisitioned to convey sports from adjacent districts.

The town last night and to-day was full of visitors for the races. Owing to the early closing of hotel bars, many visitors promenaded the mi! in thoroughfare until a late hour last night. Mr Arthur East, son of Mr Thos. East, of Eoxton, left by this morning’s train for Auckland, where he goes into draining at the Narrow Neck camp prior to joining the forces at Samoa.

While to-day’s races have at--1 raeled a largo muaher -of visitors In the town, the seaside has aiso proved a greater attraction to a large number. Many car loads of visitors have, proceeded to the bach this morning.

So far no trace of the whereabouts of Frederick Cassin, of Hastings, who was adjudged bankrupt some time ago, can be found. A warrant is now out for his arrest; (states the Napier Herald).

The American Government announces that no more naturalisation papers will he granted to enemy aliens during the war, and that Germans born in the United States who have not taken out papers will come under the. ban of the law.

Says last night’s Palmerston Standard: —“In connection with the appeal of the manager of the N.Z. Shipping Go. at Fox ton, it should have been mentioned in our report (hat a letter from the general manager of the company supporting the appeal was placed before the Military Appeal Hoard.”

At a meeting of St. Mary’s parishioners on Sunday night, it was decided to petition the Archbishop with the object of retaining the services locally of the llev. Father Corley, who lias been notilied of a transfer. It is rumoured that the llev. Father Dure (assisted by the. Rev. Father Morris) will take up the duties of his old charge.

According to (he remarkably smart manner in which the shearing has been got through and the wool got into Napier from the country districts, (.here does not appear to be any shortage of shearers in the Hawke’s Bay district. More wool has been got into the stores to date than for any previous similar period.

A letter received from a mrtn who was in the fighting round Ypre.s says: My regiment is now down at Arras for a rest, but the strange thing to me is that we recently carried out a raid on the German trenches and brought in some prisoners from the very same regiment which had been in front of us at Ypi’es. They, too, had been sent down to the Arras front for a rest!”

A somewhat amusing incident was witnessed in Main Street last night. A young man, muffled up, was seen with head down cutting out the pace. His pacer, attired in orthodox riding breeches, was left in the rear. It subsequently transpired that there was no competition, merely an overweight “Tod Sloan” endeavouring to reduce weight in order to qualify for a mount to-day,

ui The “limit" in donacriptton is said to have been reached in.(England' by the calling up of a A ve * months old baby at Hull. E° r re ‘ examination a one-legged man on crutches and a deaf and dumb baker are two other notable examples. New Zealand can beat them; we have gazetted the dead for desertion. The marriage took place on November 24th, at New Road Presby-. terian Church, Woolwich, England, of Lieut. Walter Frederick KentJohnston, R.A.F., eldest son of Mr and Mrs-C. J. Kent-Johnston, of Auckland, but formerly of Foxton, and Agnes Gilmore, second daughter of Mr and Mrs Walter Brown, of Spittal, Killearn. The Wanganui Chronicle states that as a reprisal against the Marton Borough Council for insisting on the payment of a gas hill by a certain date, and exercising a penalty for default, the Postal Department is cutting out the municipal supply and placing an order with a private lirm for a separate equipment. Experiments in the cultivation and treatment of nettles are being carried out in Britain with a view to using the iibre for making yarn and cotton. It is hoped that (he flax formerly procured from Riga may thus he replaced. Gun-cotton has been successfully produced by this means, and ah excellent substitute for silk found.

Child must be a very naughty place, if we are to believe a correspondent who writes as follows in the Child Mail; —Thequost loathsome, miserable, God-forsaken wretch on earth is a gossip. T think that when Satan has a job so infinitely mean that in all the .pit he cannot find a devil mean enough to do it, and all' bribes and threats have failed to get one willing for the infernal crusade, he says to one of his sergeants: “Go up to Otaki, and in such a street) or such a corner, get those gossips, and they will be glad of the work.’ Take not into your ear any mure of that scum of hell that people call tittle-tattle.”

The railway refreshment rooms at Waipukurau were broken into one night last week (states the Napier Herald). An entrance was effected by smashing the northern window of the building. Fortunately, the proprietor had removed the ,cash-box before leaving the premises, and the only articles missing are a couple of boxes of cigarettes, each containing fifty packets, and several bottles of chutney. So far there is believed to be no clue to the perpetrators of the crime, but the police are at work, and it is probable that more will be heard of the matter in the near future.

The following quaintly-worded epistle from a Hindoo was read at the last meeting of the Taumarunui Borough Council, and caused much amusement; —“I most humbly and respectfully beg to state that 1 tie my horse with the fence opposite the street this morning. While I just reach in the street the poundman lake the horse away. I ask him; he said ‘lt is pounded.’ I left to pay two shillings, so I did. Now I am applying for my mates, because they can’t read the paper. If the Council put proper notices one each side the road that will be very good for the peoples because they are use to fie the horses on the fence and they are stopped at once.”

A meeting of the district committee of the Presbyterian Church was held in the local church yesterday forenoon. Delegates were present from Boston, Bangiotu,j and Glen Oroua. The Rev. J. 11. Bredin presided. In presenting the quarterly balance-sheet, the treasurer (Mr W. Renton) stressed the necessity for a better system of assured finance to replace the present: system. It was decided to ask the district committees to recommend the envelope system of contributing, and to endeavour by other means to liquidate all outstanding liabilities before the end of the financial year—doth June next. Other routine business was transacted. The next meeting is to be held at Glen Oroua in March.

It is interesting to note that information recently circulated.’ by (he water department of a small English municipality where meters are used shows the importance of discovering and mending leaks that may occur in a piping system. Under a pressure of 401h5., it, is estimated that in 24 hours 170 gallons of water will pass through a hole a shade larger than the period at the end of this sentence. An orilice slightly bigger than the head of a pin will permit 3,000 gallons to escape in a similar length of time. Thus, ever so slight a hole may cause the wastage of a great volume of water if it fails to receive immediate attention.

The late Mr Joshua Jones, familiarly known as “Mokau” Jones, who died at Waitara a few days ago, headed the first survey party that entered the Kiug Country after the Maori war. Mr W. H. Skinner, now Commissioner of Crown Lands for Canterbury, was a member of the party, Mr Jones had established very friendly relations -with the natives in what, prior to that time, had been regarded as a district unsafe for Europeans to venture, into. In 1878 he was largely instrumental in arranging a meeting between Sir Ceorge Grey, the then Premier/and Hewi Maniapoto, who, up to that time, had maintained the strictest seclusion since the historic fight at Orakau in 18C4. For his good offices in this respect, Mr Jones was presented by Kewi with a taiahu as a token of peace between the two

A quaint pair that attracted attention at the Dominion bowling tournament in Dunedin (says the Star) were Snell ajnd Knox (Edgeware Club), winners of the pairs on Otago green, Knox is about fift. 7in. in height, while his lead Confesses to sft, 2in. “They were a sporting pair, and played a rattling game. Speaking to an Ashburton Guardian reporter last week, about the enormous profits made by the Japanese owing to the war, Mr T. Horlihy, a visitor from Japan, said that he is personally acquainted with a young Japanese who, prior to (he war, was earning only £0 a month as a shipping clerk, but who had made over*, £4,000,000 out of ships.

Specula I iii'; upon “What England will be like in 1930,” Sir A. Conan Doyle, writing in the Strand, Bays, inter alia: “The tendency will be to get at the roots of religion, to cast 1 away the fojans and formulae, and to believe ih deeds rather than in dogmas. At the same time there will be an increasing demand for positive proofs of supernatural interference, and an acceptance of ;hc fact that the age of inspiration and of revelation is not a dead historical thing, but is with us now.”

A. Oliver, the well-known New Zealand horseman, who left with one of the reinforcements about six months ago, stated in a letter recently received from him that he is now acting as one of the riding instructors in England. Another wellknown New Zealand horseman, E. O’Neill, had charge of the department, but it had grown so large that an assistant was required, and Oliver received the appointment. Oliver wishes to be remembered to all his New Zealand friends, and states lie was in capital health.

The record for persistency and consistency in volunteering for active service must surely he held by Trooper William Bassett, of Wellington (N.S.W.), who was rejected nineteen times before be succeeded in passing the doctor. According to (he Sydney Sunday Times, Bassett, has now been two years in the field with the Australian Expeditionary Force, and has come through southless, without even a wound or a day’s illness. He is serving in Palestine, and his father was recently advised that Basset had been awarded the Military Medal.

According to advices from Washington, since the war began the world’s meat-producing animals have decreased by 115,000,000, The decrease consists of over 28,000,000 cattle, sheep, and 32,000,000 pigs, and for the most part is to be found in European countries, as cattle and pigs have actually increased in America. While European countries have reduced meat consumption to those not engaged in war, the saving has been overcome by the increased demands of the armies, with the result that live stock decreases have occurred in all the countries. Canada and the United Stales arc increasing their live 'stock.

According to Mr J. \V, Poynton, R.M., chairman of the Military Service Board, marriage certificates are always treasured by the feminine contractor of a ceremony (says the Hawke’s Bay Herald). One witness who had on Tuesday to produce proof of date of marriage he told to get his marriage certificate from his wife. She would he sure fo have it, as all women treasured those documents. Later in the day a certificate was produced by another witness, and handed to the Board, and the witness showed a tendency to leave without regaining it. Mr Poynton called him back, and remarked, “Here is your marriage certificate. Your wife will give you fits if vou don’t lake it hack.”

Germany is putting 14.3 soldiers into the field for the same amount of money which the United States is paying for a single flghtiing' man, according to calculations of government experts. They said the same general proportion was true also of maintaining the armies in the field, or, in other words, America must raise 14.30 dollars where the enemy raises only 1 dollar for the purpose of carrying on the war. The difference was said to he due to the higher pay of United States soldiers and the greater cost of supplies, and the contrast was used as a (ext for admonitions that resources alone would not win the war, hut; that strict economy was necessary.

A young limn, Mr Cecil T. Cross, aged about 27 years, lost Iris life on Tuesday last under very sad circumstances. He was one of a, survey party of four or five working for Messrs Dix and Wall in the district above Pipiriki, and in the vicinity of the houseboat. The party were surveying and cutting tracks in the bush, and Mr Cross climbed a tree in order to get a better view of the direction of the line, taking a slasher with him. As some branches were in his line of vision, he proceeded to cut them away with the slasher, which struck another branch anrfVas deflected on to his arm, the result beiing that a nastygash was inflicted and an artery severed. Cross descended to the ground, and one of his mates bandaged the arm and appeared to have succeeded in stopping the bleeding. A start was then made to convey Cross out of the hush, in order to secure medical aid; but as soon as the journey commenced the bleeding •started again. Unfortunately no member of the party was proficient in first aid, and efforts to stop the bleeding proved ineffectual, the result being that the unfortunate young man bled lo death in five hours. ,