NEWS AND NOTES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 2396, 23 February 1922, Page 4

NEWS AND NOTES.

Two big waterspouts were observed out on the Bay about midday on Sunday (says the Whakatane Press). They were travelling in a north-easterly direction. From Kohi point the sea, otherwise calm, was a mass of white the base of the spout.

The haggis which was specially ordered from Aberdeen for the great gathering of Scotsmen in London on St. Andrew’s day, mysteriously disappeared after reaching its destination. It had been delivered to the hotel, but was .inadvertently sent to the laundry, the error arising through a servant mistaking the haggis .for a consignment of soap.

Clyde Meynell, a director of J. C. Williamson, Ltd., has issued out of the Supreme Court of New South Wales a writ claiming £5,000 damages in respect of alleged libel from Smith’s Weekly. The article complained of appeared in Smith’s Weekly on January 28th, under the heading “One of Us —Citizenship for Hugh Ward.”

A Nelson motorist is enthusiastic abwit the discovery of oil at Murchison, which lie says is an important event for motorists. In his opinion the oil is of fine quality, and he quite expects that when operations commence the discovery will revolutionise motoring in New Zealand, because it only needs a cheapening of oil to popularise the use of the car.

As demonstrating that the Post Office authorities take care in the delivery of matter posted —even if there is only a wrapper left —it may be mentioned that a Masterton resident has received a broken newspaper wrapper stamped “Manchester, 10 p.m., December 6th, 1921,” and bearing the following words, which explain themselves: “7/12/21. Found in Manchester P.O. without contents.” The first case in the North Auckland district of a farmer walking out and leaving his property to the mortgagee, took place at Arapoliue last week, where a couple who have been struggling along for some time to pay their way ultimately decided to close down and get out.' They had no complaint to make against the mortgagee, who gave them every consideration, but simply thought it best to get out before they slipped furher back.

Two sharks were caught at the wharf at Mapua, Nelson, last week. One, on being opened, was found to contain a bottle that had been thrown overboard in Cook Strait from the steamer Nikau about a month previously. The reports of starvation and cannibalism in Russia make dreadful reading. There was an outcry during the Russian Revolution of “down with capitalism.” It was duly downed, and everything else was downed with it, until to-day. there come awful stories of parents absolutely eating their children to keep life in their own bodies. And yet, in spite of this terrible objectlesson there are people in New Zealand who favour the mad cry of “Down with capitalism.” A flagrant example of pillaging was shown a representative of tlie Christchurch Press by a city importer. In place of a small case filled with Cleveland engineers’ twist drills, of an estimated , value of £IOO, the case contained only cobble stones. These had been neatly and closely packed together, and the fastenings of the ease gave no indication that it had been tampered with. As if to add insult to injury, the person who substituted the stones for the goods left the list of the different lines of twist drills the case ought to have -contained, neatly spread out on top of the stones. Two elephants which escaped from a circus at Dannevirke a few days ago caused a considerable degree of consternation among local residents. A grocer driving on his .rounds met the huge beasts as they ambled unattended down the street. The horse took fright and bolted, and eventually the driver was thrown out and the cart was overturned and completely smas/ed. The driver sustained slight injuries to his back as a result of the accident. After doing some minor mischief, the elephants were recaptured by the circus assistants, much to the relief of the townspeople. A neat retort by Sir Andrew Russell to a heckler at his Hokitika meeting. He was speaking at the Town Hall, when an interjector at the back of the., hall called out, “What did you do in the Great War?” In the momentary hush that followed, General Russell promptly answered, “It is easily {seen the gentleman was not there, or he would have known.”- A storm of applause followed the reply. The Vacuum Oil Company Proprietary, Limited, announce a reduction of Is per case in the price of and 2s per ease in the price of petrol, and report that this is the ninth decline in the price of kerosene agd petrol since January, 1921, and represents a total decrease of 8s 6d per case kerosene, and 9s per case petrol. In other words, since January, 1921, the reductions in the price of kerosene total over 36 per cent., whilst the price of petrol has been reduced by over 26 per cent, in the same period. A general laugh was caused in the Supreme Court at Christchurch during the hearing of a charge of robbery with violence, by the reply of the accused to the Crown Prosecutor while under cross-examination. “The man was not sober', anyway,” said accused, with a show of indignant virtue. “Were you sober?” asked Mr Donnelly. “Yes,” replied accused promptly, then, as an afterthought, “well, I was as sober as he was, anyway,”