Manawatu Herald TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1923. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 2539, 6 February 1923, Page 2

Manawatu Herald TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1923. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A slight earthquake occurred locally at 1.35 on Sunday morning. Mrs Jenks is paying a brief visit to Foxton. Complaints are made by a resident re sanitary matters.

There is a movement on foot to establish herd testing in various districts about Wanganui.

A branch of the Ancient Order of Foresters is about to be formed in Waikanae.

Mr W. H. Coles, pianoforte tuner, is in Foxton. Messages left at this office will receive imuiedate attenton.*

“My wife had 25 children,” stated Mr J. C. Lawrence, vice-chair-man of the East Ham North Unionist Association during a discussion on juvenile employment at a ratepayers’ meeting. He added: “I am a twin and one of a family of 23, and have been married 48 years.” The sheep-guessing- competitions at the Horowhenua Show this week resulted as follows: —Single sheep, correct weight 1021bs. Messrs H. G. Bryant (Manakau) and H. Nicholson (Foxton Road) were the nearest guessers with lffllbs. each. The three sheep gave a total weight of 2121b5. and Messrs Winiata senr., and J. Lemmon tied with guesses of 212ilbs.

Mi- W. Trueman, Town Clerk, met with a painful accident on Saturday afternoon while trimming a hedge at his residence. The slasher glanced off its objective and cut a nasty wound in Mr Trueman’s left foot., which required medical attention. The accident will incapacitate Mr Trueman from work for a few days.

At the local churches on Sunday night rference was made by.the ministers to -the effort being made to raise Foxton’s quota by free-will offerings on behalf of the Sir Arthur Pearson fund for the blind of New Zealand. The clergy made a special appeal for a liberal response when canvassers wait upon citizens this week.

A draft of immigrants numbering 515 is on board the liner Athenic, which is due to arrive at Wellington on Wednesday from Southampton. The numbers for the various centres are: —Auckland .194, Napier and Gisborne 13, Wellington .155, Canterbury 89, Otago and Southland 50. Included are 28 domestic servants. There are eight immigrants for Aus--1 ralia.

“Few people appear to understand the system of night letters,” the Hon. J. G. Coates, PostmasterGeneral remarked when talking of postal matters with a “Lyttelton Times” reporter. The Minister said that he was asked so many questions about “night letters” that he thought of getting the Postal authorities to issue a statement explaining their nature.

Mr F. Alfred Price, the wellknown instructor in elocution, voice production, dramatic art, deportment and physical training, has decided to open classes in Foxton if sufficient inducement off ers and will meet those interested in the Town Hall supper room on Monday next. Mr Price, who was previously in Auckland, has taken up his residence in Palmerston North.

“During the war I registered a sort of vow that I would never again speak to a German,” said Mr Grant, an Edinburgh banker, lecturing at Auckland, “but T had to break it when, under the blazing sun at Mt. Carmel, a member of that nation offered me a luscious Jaffa orange and other liquid refreshment to assuage my thirst, and what was more astonishing to a Scotchman, he wouldn’t take anv money for it!”

Simultaneous with the sounding of the fire syren on Saturday night the location of the conflagration was screened at the Town Hall pictures which prevented a scare on the part of the audience. Mr Hamer also notified those at the Royal, who were about to make a rush for the doors. Mr and Mrs Harris, the occupants of the dwelling destroyed, were among the audience at the Royal and were informed prior to the audience.

“It’s like drawing teeth,” said the Town Clerk of Wanganui to a reporter when asked how the rates had come in. Saturday was the last day for payment before the 10 per cent, penalty could be put on. There was a big rush of ratepayers during the last week to avoid the 10 per cent additional, but rates amounting to from £4,000 to £5,000 out of £54,000, are still outstanding. This means a few hundreds extra to the borough coffers, but the Coun-, cil would far sooner have the rates paid earlier. There died at Sydney on January 20 a veteran of the Maori war in the person of Mr Samuel Withers. He was a Somersetshire man, and at the age of 15 enlisted in the 40th Regiment (the Fighting Fortieth), which was dispatched from Melbourne to Taranaki when the war broke out in 1860. He received his first taste of warfare in June in the Puketakuere engagement. Later he was engaged in the Waikato. After the war he settled in Sydney and for many years was on the District Court staff. He was eighty-five years of age.

An Invercargill business man had an unusual experience the other day. He was walking along when lie thought he felt a movement on his back as if something had settled on his coat. He brushed the back of his coat with his hand, and no further attention being paid to him, concluded that he had been mistaken. The same incident happened later in the day, with the same results. In the evening, however, when he came to take his coat off, what was his astonishment to find a goodsized rat ni the lining, where it had been ensconced for the whole day. Miss Scadden met with a painful scalding accident at the Moutoa lea rooms on Saturday. She was stooping beneath a vessel containing boiling water on a gas ring, when by some means, the vessel tilted, emptying the contents on the unfortunate young lady’s back and shoulders. Mrs Walls and members of the staff immediately attended the sufferer who was subsequently removed to her home where she received medical attention. The effects of the scalding, though painful, are not serious.

The services of an expert mechanic in Mr Norman Barrett have been secured by Mr C. Simmons of Main Street, and patrons may rely upon getting prompt attention and reliable work. The garage at the rear of the cycle depot has been fully equipped and is now open as a “Ford Service Station” and all cars will receive expert attention. The cycle work-shops have also been completely equipped for the prompt handling of repairs and includes appliances for the entire construction of cycles to the stove enamelling of the frames. A complete stock of new cycles and accessories, motor tyres, benzine and oils is on hand.

Two lady visitors from Auckland paid a glowing tribute to the clearly screened pictures shown locally and the low prices of admission as compared with other towns.

William Holland Makin, Leonard Walter Makin and Percy Dowling Hawkins, the perpetrators of the cheque embezzling scheme, came up for sentence at the Wellington Supreme Court yesterday, the two former were sentenced to two years hard labour and the latter to one year’s reformative tratment. An elderly woman, who died suddenly on Monday last in Auckland, had only a. few hours before expressed the fear that she would not live through the day. At the inquest her sister, who is blind, and had lived with deceased for some years, stated that she went into the kitchen to find her sister on Monday afternoon, and, being unable to see, fell over the body. Witness recalled that after breakfast on Monday the deceased had said she felt so ill that she did not think she would live through the day. The verdict was that death was due to heart failure.