Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 1927. LOCAL AND GENERAL

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3584, 8 January 1927, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 1927. LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wellington had 170 wet days with 42.37 inches of rain for 192(i. Strawberries were selling in Auckland for lOd and 8d per chip on Wednesday. The Prince of Wales saw the match between Blaekheath and the Maoris on the Rectory Field on Saturday, and all players were presented to him. The Right. Hon. the Prime Minister (Mr. J. G. Coates) has left England en route for .New Zealand. He will sail from San Francisco by the Maknra on January 20th for the Dominion. The year just closed was the driest on record in Napier for 50 years. The total rainfall registered was 20.8!) inches. The previous driest year was 1921, when the fall was 20.94 inches. The average for the past ten is 32.01 inches. There were forty deaths in Auckland as the result of motor vehicle accidents in 1920, as against 22 for 1925. Although motor registration has increased considerably, last year's fatality rale lacks explanation. It is believed that when all statistics arc available it will be. shown that half the motor fatalities in the Dominion have occurred in Auckland urban area. The total for New Zealand for the year was 01.

A report is current that Ratana lias a rival in another prophet. Ratana, however, lias always denied that he is a prophet, his creed being that he is merely an instrument in God’s hands for doing good. This new prophet hails from Karioi, up the Main Trunk, and it is said that a number of Ratana’s followers in the Ohakune district are linking up with him. He proposes to lead a delegation throughout the North Island.

A charge of stealing £BO belonging to William Burnett was admitted by Mary Smith, aged 53, in the Auckland Police Court on Thursday. It was stated that Burnett, a young man from Hangatete spending his holidays in Auckland, met the accused on New Year’s night. During his association with the woman, the pair had several drinks. Later he found that lie had been relieved of £BO which he had in his pocket, and so be made a complaint to the police. Accused whs committed to the Supreme Court.

Blowing a shrill blast oh a referee’s whistle from the pulpit at St. Paul’s Church, King-hill (England), at a service for football clubs, the Rev. A. Wellesley Orr told his surprised congregation that that was the text for his sermon. “This whistle strikes terror into many of you, as I can see by the manner in which you jumped,” he observed. Then he told them that lie was formerly a referee in a West of England county. “God,” said Mr Orr, “is the great Referee. It is a good job that he overlooks some of the rules, such as only cautioning a man once.” - The telegram as a form of Christinas greeting seems to be hardly as popular as it was. Figures supplied by the Post and Telegraph Department show that the number of telegrams forwarded throughout New Zealand from 21st to 24th December (inclusive) was 137.991, as against 142,373 for the previous year. Received messages also showed a decrease, the number being 170,005 as against 170,040 in 1925. Transmitted messages, however, showed an increase from 258,349 to 205,000. Mail matter continues to increase in quantity every year, and the number of parcels handled at Wellington this Christmas reached the huge total of 80,■lOl. The number in 1925 was 75,852.