LOCAL AND GENERAL

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 2286, 7 June 1921, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Mr McDonnell took up his duties as lirst assistant on the local school staff yesterday.

The school term holidays have been lixed as follows: —Mid-winter, one week, commencing on July 4th; spring, one week, commencing Aug-' ust 29th.

, The final deposits were paid over on Saturday in connection with the world’s sculling championship, which will take place on the Wnivatt River on Saturday next.At the Palmerston S.M. Court yesterday, Henry James Turner was lined i’s on each of two charges of selling milk containing eight per cent, and 12.5 per cent, of added water, and Charles . Dexter, for vending same, was lined £1 and costs.

The eireus i> coming to town, bigger and better than Wirth’s. Eddie Polo’s new serial, “The King of the Circus,” contains all the thrills of. a regular circus, all the (downs, all the quintals, al the beautiful ladies and fearless acrobats. See them at the Town Hall to-morrow, at usual prices, (Id and 1/1, children 3d. —Advt.

A distinctly cute letter is published in the Autocar from a gentleman who has had his overcoat stolen from his car. He plaintively remarks: “Would the person who inadvertently removed a blue overcoat front a two-seater Rover car outside 2 Nottingham Place, kindly return it to Dr. IT.S.G., as the owner is feeling the cold severely after Ids recent attack of small-pox, accompanied by severe and extremely infectious, manifestations of, incurable skin complaint."

The Podding Star, commenting on the Royal Commission's report re the railway deviations,, says the Commission has come to pertcetly obvious conclusions, and Cabinet has expended some thousands of pounds in getting a verdict that every member of the Ministry could have given himself —and should have done so, as a matter ol prin-

ciple and courage Hut the deviation will cost a pot ol money (the most scarce thing on earth to-day, and the scariest) and how long before Palmerston gels its new station? Not in our time.

Cutting is evidently taking place in tlie building trade locally .(sinter tlio Wanganui Herald). A Wanganui builder stales Ilia! recently he >abaiitted what lie considered a low tender for a building which would only allow wages to keep his men employed. He was surprised to (ind (hat another lenderhad been sent in considerahly below the sum he had quoted. A Wainmle (Buitlli Island) builder advertises that he is prepared to erect houses of four rooms for £175, and of live rooms for £OOO.

At the Palmerston S.M. Court, yesterday, Dixons, Ltd., eofdial mannfaefurers, were proceeded a > gainst under the Food and Drugs Act for using saccharine in tho manufacture of: lemonade. The company admitted the facts, The shortage of sugar some months ago was >o acute that if it had not used this substitute, which was harmless, it would have had to close altogether. Counsel understood that other companies had also used saccharine. There was now plenty of sugar, however, and the substitute had not been used since—The Magistrate said that the company must have been aware'of the regulations, and imposed a ting of £5, with 11s costs.

A race between a runaway horse and the train gave the passengers by the first express to Christchurch from the south a thrilling 10 minutes one day last week. As the‘express pulled out of Rakaia station the horse, which was harnessed to a two-wheeled cart, was evidently startled by the engine's whistle, and made off ahead of the train along the road running parallel to the line. As the second level crossing was reached, the horse galloped across the track, the engine missing it by inches, hut smashing into the back of the cart. The horse was seen to run to a standstill, dragging the shattered remnants for another mile. v

“The class of singing in many of our schools is limited to wretched American coon songs,” said Mr C. S. Thompson, at the last meeting of tiie Canterbury Education Board. Air Thompson said that the Royal Musical Society was making a strong effort to improve'singing in the primary schools. That was a laudable object, and the society should he helped as much as possible by the board to raise the quality of singing and to instil in children a love of music by old masters. Another speaker saiil that in the majority of schools the singing was up to a fair standard, but there was room for improvement. The hoard decided to inform the society that it was sympathetic with the movement, and to ask for particulars of the proposals.

#lt was announced at the meat auction sale at Wanganui on Saturday morning that if the public did not advance their prices a little they would very soon squash tho sales. The announcement acted like magic, and prices firmed from the' jump.

The estimated average daily consumption of water in the borough of Palmerston North is 70 gallons per head. During the summer moil -j lbs the daily consumption rose to ihe alarming figure of 120 gallons. The borough engineer says that 70 gallons per head is the average consumption for colonial communities, but in the United Kingdom is a little less —about 50 gallons per head. liv Germany many of the towns and cities consume only 30 gallons per head. The tree-planting camp at Himatangi is under the control of the Forestry ■ Department, and not the Repatriation Board. An office in connection with the Department is located in Rangitikei Street, Palmerston N., where all particulars asto employment may be obtained. At present there are 30 men at till camp, and the work of planting the sand dunes with marram grass i* progressing satisfactorily, an average of from three'to four acres •icing planted per day. The quarters are fairly comfortable, and the food supplied is excellent. The body of Joseph Tonks, a well-known Wellington resident, who had been missing for several' days, was found hanging from a tree in I he •Botanical Gardens early on Saturday morning. Deceased was a married man with two little children. Tie occupied a responsible position in the Odlin Timber and. Hardware Company, and was formerly in business in the city. He had been suffering from nc'rvous breakdown. Deceased’s business affairs were quite satisfactory.

The milling of the orrcc despised pinus ig-ignis is now assuming considerable proportions in various parts of New Zealand. According |o the Morrinsville Star, the pinus insignis mill al Anandale, owned by Messrs Allen and Bentley, has been actively engaged in preparing timber for export. Last week 110,000 ft. of timber was loaded on to trucks at Tatuanui in three days. The timber was conveyed to Auckland and shipped by the Oinana for export to Australia. The local Beautifying Society .-üb-commitlee visited the grounds of Mr R. Moore, Lady's Mile, yesterday afternoon, for the purpose of inspecting various shrubs and dowering plants, in order lo assist them in making a selection from the nurseries for planting in the old cemetery reserve. Mr Moore supplied the committee with a list of trees and shrubs which he thought might -nit the nature of the soil. The subcommittee will submit their recommendations at to-night’s meeting of flic Society.

“You are asking me to pay you rates to the amount of £40,” wrote a Native landowner to the Matamata County Council, “and I am asking you a simple question. Is this a law passed for all Maoris to pay rates in this district, including those in the Pinko country? Are the Maoris paying rates there? If not. then why should T; this only Maori, pay rates"? I have no right to pay rates unless all other Maoris are paying rates; then I'll pay, too.” The letter caused a good deal of amusement, but, it being stated that this Native was a wealthy man, and "that last year his rates had been eojleeied through the solicitor, i'j was agreed to take Ibis course again this year if necessary.

The following, from the Alaorihitnl Worker, is a specimen of wlmt is being dished up for the delect anon of the patriotic workers of the Dominion : “The Worker is in receipt of a communication headed ‘Si. James’ Palace, >S.W.,’ and adorned with three ostrich feathers and signed ‘Edward P./ in which E.P. requests the assistance of this paper to build up the Boy Scout movement. Edward P. concludes his me.-sage by asking: ‘Will you help it (the Boy Scouts) to double its numbers this next year?’ Our answer is an emphatic ‘No.’ And the reason —well, that is not far to seek. The Boy Scouts have been used before, and will he so used lignin, as strike-breakers, and their whole training is in the direction of making them servile upholders of the existing stale of affairs. We are sorry that we cannot support ‘Edward P., Chief Scout for Wales/ for our natural inclinations are to oblige any' ‘P/ ‘bloke/ or ‘finger/ but there are limits Edward P., and your request is on the verge of the dizzy!”

As is generally the case throughout the country, Masterton is not without its unemployment problem. An official of the Labour Department informed The Post’s Masterton correspondent recently that calls in search of work at his office were now very frequent, and it was a very difficult matter indeed to place men. The applicants in the main had been, up to the present, single men, but now several married men with dependents were also seeking work. Nothing at all in the way of private work was offering in the town,-and it was almost the same in the country. He was despatching a number of men to Goermnent relief work in the TinuiAlfredton road. There was already a number of men there, and.when a further batch arrives from Wellington it is expected that there will be at least forty working there. They receive the same rate of pay as at Himitangi.

The sum of £48,910 was put through the totalisator at the Otaki races, as against £5(5,397 last June. The falling-off was due to the rain.

Sunday was the fifth anniversary of the death of-Eail Kitchener. The late field-marshal left England in H.M.S. Hampshire oil June 4th, 1916, en route for Petrograd, and was drowned off the west coast of the Orkney Islands, on the evening of the following day, the vessel striking a mine and sinking within fifteen minutes. Earl Kitchener was seen going to the quarter-deck with a naval officer, and shortly afterwards the captain called to him to go to the fore-bridge, near where the. captain’s boat was ready to bo lowered. "Whether Lord Kitchener entered the boat or not, or whether any boat got clear of the ship, was never ascertained, Of the ship’s company, twelve men, who were saved by means of rafts, were the only survivors.

One of the characteristic little touches of humour that so often enliven the public speeches of the Governor-General called forth much laughter at the luncheon given by the Mayor and .Mayoress to the veterans on Friday (says the New Zealand Herald). Tn referring to governors of bygone days, Mr Gtnison said that only that morning he had visited the grave of Governor Hobson in Symonds Street cemetery, and had reflected on the good work done in that illustrious buLall too brief career. In the course of his reply to the toast of Their Excellencies, Lord Jellieoe said smilingly, “Much as we love New Zealand, I do not wish his Worship to have the opportunity of visiting my tomb! I am going to work hard, I assure you, and do all in my power for tlu advancement and prosperity of the country, but certainly not to the extent of putting myself under the ground just yet."