LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 2397, 25 February 1922, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The police are making searching investigations into the probable cause of Thursday morning’s fire. Mr J. Banks, Foxton’s new head master, will take up his duties next Monday week.

The local Tennis Club held a most enjoyable dance in the Masonic Hail last night. About forty couples occupied the floor.

The Taihape Borough Council has decided to take a referendum of the electors on the question of Sunday games on the public domain. A former postman of Patea was fined £2 and costs at Wanganui yesterday for failing to deliver a letter addressed to a resident.

The Otaki Dairy Company paid out 9-id per lb. butter-fat to suppliers for the January supply. There is every prospect of an advance in price during the present month.

Speaking at Dargaville this week, the lion. J. (i. Coates, PostmasterOeneral, staled that the operations of the Post Offices this year would show a profit of £IOO,OOO.

A reminder is given of the picnic and blackberrying parUMo be held at Kopularoa to-morrow. The Eire will be 3s return, and the launch will leave the wharf: at 5.30 a.m.

Shareholders in the Foxton Co.operative Society are reminded that a bonus of 2i per cent, is to be paid to-day, at the Society’s office, Main Street. The hours - of attendance will be from 2 to 5 and 7 to 8 pan. Mr H. R. Climie, of Hastings, is the Wairarapa Ilydro-electric Board’s first choice for the position of engineer, at a salary of £I,OOO per year. The second choice is a resident of Tasmania.

“Band not tight enough." So runs the judge’s comment on the Masterton Municipal Band’s playing in llie first test piece at Wellington. Ilow could they be. seeing that the band comes from a prohibition district"?

The local Fire Brigade will wait upon the Borough Council on Monday evening, and ask that a troll of ratepayers be taken to authorise the constitution of a Fire Board for Foxton.

As the result of a conference Iretween Palmerston bacon and pork buyers and their suppliers, it has been arranged, with a view to stabilising the market, that a pork pool, which pig-raisers throughout the North Island will be invited to join, should be established.

A forced landing was made by an aeroplane at Manakau on Thursday. The machine was on its way to Auckland from Tirnarn, and ran short of benzine before reaching Levin, where it was to refill its tank. While landing -I the undercarriage was badly damaged by a collision with a stump.

The glare of the fire on Thursday morning attracted a large number

of birds, which appeared for the most part to be seagulls, to the scene of the conflagration. The birds hovered for hours high over the flames, their white under-plu-mage giving a rather weird appearance against the black clouds overhead.

Two of the largest schools in the Wellington district are to be taken charge of by teachers from Hawke’s Bay and Wanganui districts, in accordance with the grading system. At Wednesday’s meeting of the Wellington Education Board a protest was received from the Newtown School Committee against the unfairness of appointing teachers from outside the district.

Members of the local Eire Brigade were somewhat astonished, when overhauling the chemical engine on the morning of the recent lire, to find nine small eels, varying in length from six to twelve inches, inside the cylinder. They had evidently been sucked through the pump supplying (lie engine with water.

In the Wellington Supreme Court mi Thursday, John Glover, printer and publisher of the “Maoriland Worker,” was charged with having published n blasphemous libel, which was alleged to have occurred in the last three lines of a war poem by Siegfried Sassoon. Glover was found not guilty, but the jury added a rider discouraging such publication.

The engagement is announced of Miss Isabel Massey, youngest daughter of the Right lion. W. F. Massey and Mrs Massey, and Mr C. W. Salmon, of Wellington. Mr Salmon served with tho New Zealand Engineers in Gallipoli and France, and received bis commission in the field. He rose to the rank of major, was mentioned in dispatches, arid awarded the D.C.M.

Promptly at 10 o’clock on W ednosday night the manager of the Springboks athletes, who were in attendance at the Athletic Club’s dance in the Soldiers’ Club, Palmerston N., packed bis team off home to bed. Absolute physical fitness is the true attribute of success, and realising this, the South Africans are taking no chances. Only two of (lie team smoke, and all but two are, a Standard reporter was informed, strict teetotallers.

Speaking at the school yesterday, Mr Furric, the departing head master, made a special plea for swimming hallis for the school. The Chairman of Committee, in reply, ,-:iid be did not like to make a promise be could not fulfill, but he would continue to use bis best effort.- to have the baths constructed as part of the school equipment. Yesterday was pay day in Palmerston North for the Civil Service employees, who were subjected to the first instalment of their wages cut. In the case of the railvvaymen of the second division, 12s, representing Is a day for the current fortnight, plus 7s lid as retrospective reduction, was taken off, and proportionate reductions were made in the cases of the Post and Telegraph and other departments. Sound advice to parents was given by the Hon. C. J. Parr at the opening of a new school at Miramar, Wellington. “I want you to realise,” said Mr Parr, “that the school does not belong to the Education Board or the Government, but to you. I hope that in April you will appoint a good committee, and that you will take a keen interest in' all matters affecting the school.” The main object of education was to turn out good men and good women, who would be good fathers and good mothers. He wanted to see the present generation grow up to be worthy citizens, loyal to their country,' their city, and their district.

There arc in the New Zealand railways at the present time approxinmli 'y 2,500 public and 3,000 private level-crossings, while there is a c< aslant demand for an increased number of public crossings, and the conversion of private to public crossings. Mr F. W. MacLean, Chief Engineer, New Zealand Railways, reported to the Civil Engineers’ Conference in Wellington on Tuesday that many expedients had been tried to minimise the danger at these crossings—by warning signs, alarm bells or signals, gates or bars operated by power or hand, or by crossing keepers, but none had proved satisfactory. “The coin that belongs to the Lord is threepence; that is, when you are orthodox —when you are feeling heterodox, and you have a threepence with a hole in it, and you cannot get rid of it anywhere else, then you bring it to church and give it to the Lord. Not that it is necessary to confine yourself to that paricular coin, hut it. seems to be the fashion to give the threepennyhits to God and keep the bigger coins for something else. God does not object to bigger coins.” These were remarks passed by the Rev. Mr Albiston at Ballarat (Victoria) the other day. It was noticed (says the Age), notwithstanding the caustic remarks of the clergyman, that the threepenny bits still predominated in the collection at the Rubicon Street Church.

SAFEGUARD THE CHILDREN. Notwithstanding all that is done by boards of health and charitably incliped persons, the death rate among small children is very high duripg the h°t weather of the summer months in the large cities. There is not probably one case of bowel complaint ip a hupdred, however, that could aot be checked by the timely use of Chamberlaip’s Colic and Diarrhoea Remedy. For sale everywhere. —Advt.

Mr Robert Rowe, of Gladstone, Wairarapa, celebrated his 104th

birthday on Sunday last. He is still hale and hearty. Born on February 19th, 1818, in Somersetshire, England, Mr Rowe is one of eight sons, whose father lived to the age of 97 years. Mr Rowe, with Mrs Rowe, arrived in New Zealand in 1857. Among Mr Rowe's earliest contracts in New Zealand were the making of a portion of the Makara Road, the laying of Molesworth Street, Wellington, and bridge building near Te Hut a and Waipukurau. Mr Rowe was later engaged carrying out contracts for the shipping of cattle at the patent slip, Evans Bay, Wellington, and subsequently had charge of the Evans Bay dairy, which was at that time owned by Mr Vallance.

The question of parental control was brought up at the Wellington Education Board meeting by the attendance officer. lie had visited a great many of the children’s homes during the year, and it was with regret that he recorded a great lack of sound parental control. This was particularly noticeable in the large centres, where some parents failed to realise that too much freedom, especially at night time, was not in the best interests of the children. He held that the time was approaching for the establishment of a special school for the purpose of controlling children who were out of hand. Such an institution would be the means of saving many from an unsatisfactory' career. A strong guiding hand at the right time would make good citizens of a laro-e majority of the class referred to.

Speaking before the Rotary Club in Auckland upon the subject of milk, Dr. Milsom raised a laugh by cne of his references to the bacillus Bulgaricus, commonly called Ihe “Bulgarian Bug.” This germ had become so popular in Auckland lately, said the doctor, that the offer of one of “the plants” was now recognised ns one of the correct social amenities of the day. The bacillus Bulprurif-us, to his knowledge, had been on the Auckland market for over eleven years. Metehnikoff had supplied it in a powder called laelo-bacilline, and it had also been ~n the market in a tabloid form as lactoids. ~Tn both these preparations the essential microbe was present in a much more pure form than in the kefir grain (the essential con--liluent of Bulgarian Bug), but in lhe latter form it was more easily handled by the public. “Health is better than riches.” — Gill.

Sound, robust health and strength depend on care and commonsense. Whenever you feel the coming-on of a. cold or chill, lake Baxter’s Lung Preserver. This splendid cough and cold remedy has given relief to countless thousands of New Zealanders for over fifty-five years. Its rich, warming goodness penetrates right to the root of the trouble, and brings speedy relief. As a building-up tonic, “Baxter’s” is also famous. Enriches the blood, fortifies weakened constitutions. Large bottle 2s (id. All chemists and stores. —Advt. 9