Manawatu Herald TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1927. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3596, 8 February 1927, Page 2

Manawatu Herald TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1927. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The flag' on the Post Office was flown at half mast yesterday, the occasion being the funeral of the Japanese Emperor. Dr. Alexander Goldstein, a prominent Zionist, 'left Jerusalem on January 18, on a world tour of remote Jewries, including Australia, New Zealand and China.

Mr. D. W. Malheson, ox-Mayor of Levin, has taken up his residence in Wellington, where he will supervise, several agencies of wliiolv he has secured the Yew Zealand rights.

Tn a ease under the Family Maintenance Act in Timaru, where a testator left .040,000 and only granted his widow £2OO a year, the Court increased this sum to £OOO, with a cash payment of £ISOO. for I ho purchase of a home.

The .telegraphic business transacted daring the first nine months of: the current financial year amoniiled to 12,014,757 telegrams, and toll communications 214,059 more than for the corresponding period of 1925-20. The revenue was £580,007, ail increase of £5939. The special excursion train on Sunday from Terrace End to Coxlon was not very well patronised, only .80 odd people availing themselves of visiting the seaside. The threatening wen I lien- possibly had something to do with the limited patronage.

People, who use sparklets for soda. syphons should he careful. A visitor to Onmnru said that his wife allowed a sparklet hull) to fall on the floor fsays an exchange). It was afterwards swept up and thrown into the coal bin. A day or two afterwards when coal was put on the fire a terrific explosion occurred, and iiinc*li damage was done to the room. The sparklet hull) was subsequently found embedded in the wall.

The fact that the Wanganui River was legally named “Knowlesville River” in the old days is not generally known, says the Chronicle. When the city was named Wpnganui, the river was called Knowlesville, but little notice was taken of the correct title, which eventually went out of existence. In the early days the name of the city was spelt “Whanganui,” but as the town was habited at the time by pioneers from London the reason for the dropping of the letter “h” is fairly obvious.

Delegates from all centres of the Dominion will attend the Librarians Conference to be held at Wanganui next Wednesday and Thursday. Palmerston North will be represented by Messrs H. Oram and F. W. Christian and Levin by Mrs Penny. 'Foxton will not be represented, although time was when Foxton possessed a. fairly extensive library and reading-room. It was situated in the Borough Council Chambers which was destroyed by fire some years ago. The new building, erected with the insurance money, excluded the library and public leading room. The Council however, rent a room! in the C. M. Ross buildings, for library purposes. We hope, in the near future, that the Council will consider the question of erecting a public reading-room and library for Foxton to make up for the parsimonious blunder of a few years ago.

Mr. Peter Grant, aged G 4, a wellknown sportsman and one time partner in the sporting firm of Barnett and Grant, went into the Grand Theatre, Christchurch, on Thursday evening in company with two friends and shortly afterwards suddenly collapsed. He was carried out and restorative measures applied, but a doctor who was summoned pronounced life extinct. Mr. Grant had been under medical treatment and death is supposed to have been caused by heart failure,

Replying to deputations at Hunterville from the Rabbi! Board and Farmers’ Union, the Hon. A. T). McLeod agreed with the suggestion that Rabbit Board inspectors should assist in preventing or checking noxious weeds in comparatively clean areas. A Bill dealing with the problem was now being drafted. He saw no reason, and thought the Minister of Agriculture would agree with him, why the proposal should not be included. The greatest problem was not regarding areas overrun with weeds, but to prevent the spread of weeds in comparatively clean areas.

Henry Hornblower, a. member of the House of Representatives and a partner in Hornblower and Weeks, bankers, giving evidence in the tax case, involving the Ford Motor Company, revealed that his concern offered Mr. Ford 1,000,000,000 dollars for the latter’s motor works hut the offer was turned down. Mr Ford was offered 500,000,000 dollars in 1916, but this increased eight years later. Witness said: “Mr Ford laughed at me; he is the marvel of the age and if the public were permitted to buy the company’s stock it would be taken like wildfire.” He estimated Mr Ford’s present earnings at 100,000,000 dollars per annum and added that fif - teen years ago a 100-dollar par value share in the company was now worth 12,500 dollars.