LOCAL AND GENERAL

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 2659, 15 November 1923, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The official opening of the Mont "a Hall will take place at an early date. The building will be completed next week. On view in the window of Mr Geo. Oxley, jeweller, of Paliintua, is a very line sample of the silversmith art in the form of a silver cup and plinth. The cup is what is known as the Irish design and stands fifteen inches high, the weight of the silver being 600 z., or exactly 51bs. troy. The trophy was imported by Mr Oxley to the order of Messrs 11. Cowan and E. Sullivan for presentation to the Paltintun Racing Club. It will be known as the Restoration Cup. —Herald. Amazing life and death struggle between a five-fool snake and a pelican was witnessed on the Murray, near Renmark (Australia) by two fishermen. The encounter began in shallow water, and the honours were all with the bird, who in the first round clutched the snake in its huge bill. It carried the writhing creature to the bank of the river, and managed after a few moments to swallow it. Thinking that the victory was the pelican’s, the fishermen went away and on returning in half an hour they were surprised to see the bird stretched out on the ground dead. The post mortem examination failed to reveal the snake and all that could he found in the bodh of the bird was a small hole in its crop which extended to the outer surface of the body. Obviously it had been made by the snake and through it the reptile had crawled to its freedom.

A pharmaceutical journal says: “Align.mettc, il has been discovered. is abhorred of flics, and in n room where pots of the flower are :-et, no fly will linger for a moment, instead of fly papers and of' horrible, sticky brown mixtures left about a room in glass dishes, wliat a blessed resource as a deterrent to the irritating fly is the sweet, wholesome flower of mignonette.”

The performance by the Maoriland String Band produced the largest house in Shannon and numerous requests were made for a repetition. At every place the band lias appeared high praise has been bestowed on the performers. The newspaper criticisms from various places leaves no doubt that the hand and the other performers are •relists of no mean order. Watch out for the carnival in the Town Hall on November 22nd. See advorI isemenl.

A series of conferences of subcommittees of the South Canterbury Power Board and Tiniani Borough Council have been held, negotiating for the sale of the Board of the Council's electric light and power plant. Yesterday the committeemet al Timaru, when the ditlerenee in the prices stood at £.10,000. After two hours’ deliberation, an agrecinenf was come to and the sale completed at £85,000, the parties dividing the difference. The price includes approximately £11,444 sinking fund. The Riddiford Cup for the champion cadet corps of New Zealand, was decided at Wellington yesterday. The staff officers had inspected the Nelson College Corps, Auckland Seddon Memorial Technical College Corps and Scots College (Wellington) Corps, and they placed them in this order:—Scots College 1, Nelson College 2, Seddon Technical 3. The first two were first and second last year only the order this time was reversed.

The defendant in a prosecution under the Rabbit Nuisance Act at the Magistrate’s Court at Taihapo stated that 4,000 rabbits had been token ..If his 1,250 acres by two trappers in a. few weeks. A witness who is a rabbiter, when asked if this could he considered a material reduction of the number of rabbits on the property, said it depended on (lie number of rabbits on the property in the first place. If there were very many, it would not take long for the 4,000 to build up again. Tie had taken 70,000 rabbits off 5,000 acres in eighteen months in the Moawhango district.

“Every disease in the medical directory can he caused through the neglect of the teeth,” said Sir Harry Baldwin, the King’s dentist, addressing a combined meeting of trade union delegates and a deputation from the Medical Council of the People's League of Health in London. “One of the commonest causes of had teeth is incorrect diet,” added Sir Harry, “White bread, which forms two-thirds of the diet of pour families is useless and naturally harmful, A tax should lie put on while bread to make wholemeal bread cheaper, Pigeons fed oi, white bread and water die sooner than those given nothing.

There has, without doubt, been a considerable amount of land aggregation in Mangaweka district (states the Tlunlerville Express), and this has been mainly responsible for the town going hack. Granting the freehold to L.T.P., settlers has not been » success n s far as keeping the land settled is concerned. It tins simply meant that the big man grabbed the lot. The same paper reports that a section with Four empt v shops in the centre of Mangnwelca has recently been sold tor £10(1. The Government valuation is somewhere about £OOO. f lhe buildings are to lie removed. At ;li,- present time tluuo are more shops in Mangawcka than there are required.

On itic .-uhject of cancer, a correspondent of a contemporary says: ]. n recent issue of the ‘Daily Mail’ Professor Jolly of Dublin University, made the lollow.ug announcement that lea drinking was the cause of internal cancer. Whether (he professor is correct remains to he proved, hut two significant facts stand out in regard to New Zealand: l it si. thiil we rank very high on li.e list for ten consumption per head, arc! 1 believe records prove tin,| cur death mortality from this scon l ' m of cancer heads the list. I have not yet come across it ease of internal cancer where the unfortunate was not it heavy drinker of strong tea. Cancer is practically unknown among the Dutch of South Africa, who arc essentially coffee drinkers.

It hoped next year to make some reductions in freights on the railways. Information to Ibis effect inis been conveyed to the Council of Agriculture by the General Manager of Railways (Air. R. W. AfWilly). Mr.MWilly has also stated thiil he could not grant the request for visitors to shows up to 50 miles, hut he has promised to consider favourably applications from show societies for the running of day excursion I rams to the shows. In regard to the request for the usual railway show facilities in the case of gymkhanas and sports held with the object of assisting A. and P. societies financially, Mr.M'Villy has expressed his full sympathy with the idea, and stated that lie would be pleased to consider favourably applications from associations of day excursion trains on the same basis as he proposed to consider day excursions to shows. This would also apply to the conveyance of horses and men in charge travelling to such gatherings. JH.

Another transmission victory for (lie radio. .1. W. Phillips, of San Francisco, told the jmlicc he was peacefully listening-in on a radio concert when a gentle knock came at the door of his hotel. “Come in” he called. Rhe did, a most winsome miss, and asked that she might listen-in with him. He consented. During the business of listening, Phillips maintained, the girl tuned in on his pocket hook and departed with £22. AYe once heard a man say: “It's very simple to drive a car when you know how!" Just so, hut yesterday

a couple of Chinamen found it otherwise. From wliat we can gather (hoy came to Grey town in a ear on business and whilst there a fellow countryman borrowed the car to go and get some rhubarb, etc. All went well coming up the street, hut when neat' the Courthouse, the bland smile of the driver turned to one of dismay as lie landed in 1 lie water-race. After getting the damage repaired at Rian Rtevens’, lie started off again, but was fascinated by another water-race and promptly lodged the car therein (just to cool the engine a little). The visitors rescued the car, and set off for Foatherslon, Inti near tilt? cemetery “Lizzie” simply turned turtle and (lie result was a big fall in rhubarb and radishes, also another job for one of the local garages. —C reyt ow n Stand a rd. “That’s giving away trade secrets,” remarked a witness in the Wellington Supreme Court, in a case arising out of a dispute over a confectionery shop. Tie stated that if chocolates were deteriorating in quality they were taken from the boxes and replaced with chocolates of an equal grade. It was difficult, however, to replace some lines, particularly the many American lines of which there were no hulk supplies. Lines of fancy boxes were often bought and filled by the retailers from stocks in hand. In cross-examination, the witness slated that if a box of one make of chocolates required replacing, and no hulk supplies of the same maker were available, the box was sold containing the chocolates of another maker. Very few purchasers asked for a particular maker’s chocolates. If a man asked for a box of :i particular maker and the chocolates were not in stock a statement would be made accordingly hut the purchaser might he shown a box with the name of the maker lie was interested in, although it contained another milker’s chocolates. The purchaser was generally satisfied with this if he obtained his weight.