LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3682, 25 August 1927, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The annual general meeting of the Eoxton Beautifying Society will be held in Ross’s Rooms at 7 o’clock this evening. Henry Pepcr, a married .. man, aged 72, residing at Ravensbourne (Dunedin), died in the hospital as the result of taking poison' in mistake for cough mixture.

Two starlings have built their nests on the s.s. Ngaio and are rearing their young ones on the vessel, undisturbed by rough trips across •the Straits (states an exchange). During 192 C, 739 petitions for dissolution of' marriage, including five for nullity, were filed in New Zealand. This number was 10 more than in 1925, but has been exceeded in three previous years, namely 796 in 1921, 768 in 1924, and 748 in 1920.

Two serious ehai’ges were preferred against David Laing, labourer, of Peilding, in the Feilding Magistrate’s Court yesterday afternoon, before Mr. E. Goodbehere, J.P. The charges related to alleged offences against a little girl aged 12 years. Accused was remanded on bail.

Roy A. Johnston, a high school boy who found a plant of stolen jewellery on the sand hills at Dunedin recently, ensuring its return to the owners, was publicly presented, after school prayers on Tuesday morning, on behalf of the owners, with a gold watch and chain in token of t'heir appreciation.

Foxton is to be visited on September 2nd by the Rev. A. J. Seamer and his talented Maori oratoi-s and singers, when they will give an entertainment in the Masonic Hall.

A poiee constable in Hokitika during night duty last week saw four large rockets fired out to sea, apparently well off Ruatapu. The rockets were seen also by others, including workmen on the night shift on the dredge (states an exchange). Although the matter was reported to the authorities, so far there has not been any’ explanation of the rockets, which, it was assumed, were a signal of somd nature.

A young lady, while alighting from a train at Otaki station on Saturday night, missed her footing, due to the lighting facilities provided at the station. She came into contact with the wheels of the carriage, but, luckily, the train was at a standstill. The young lady, in question, suffered an injury to her ankle. This should be another argument in favour of better lighting to Otaki railway station, which is probably one of the worst lighted in New Zealand, says the Mail.

As the Army and the Navy refused them, the authorities decreed the destruction of 10,000,000 cigarettes, which were purchased in 1918. They would probably have been issued to the troops had the war continued. They were burnt in the “King’s Pipe” at the Liverpool Building, in which all unwanted tobacco is destroyed in the presenle of a Customs officer. The process of destrurtion occupied several days, constituting a record “smoke.”.

A' new regulation states that bluegum poles must not be used as electric light poles unless a certificate has "been obtained from the Forestry Department, before the trees are cut, to .the effect that they are suitable for the purpose. When reporting, upon this to the Manawa-tu-Oroua Power Board recently, the engineer, Mr. W. A. Waters, said the regulation amounted almost to a total prohibition. “Out of 92 poles broken in New Zealand last year,” said Mr. Waters, “twenty-three of them were bluegums. The percentage must be very high when the small number of bluegums in, use is compared with the hundreds of thousands of other poles.”

Tourists to New Zealand from some big cities of the United States of (America, accustomed to high prices for choice cuts of swordfish, have expressed astonishment at the waste of this excellent food in the Dominion (says the “Northlander” in the Auckland Star). So far the only use made of the big game fish lies in t'heir supply of sport and their weight for the captors or certificates. However, even if satisfactory cool transport were available for the sportsmen’s trophies, the average New Zealander would need some persuasion to accept this food, which might have to masquerade under another name before it would find favour.

“Is that what you call purchasing land?’ 1 ’ .asked the Hon. Mr. Justice MacGregor in the Supreme Court at New Plymouth, when coun- . sel in an application for discharge in bankruptcy stated that the bankrupt had purchased a large block of land for £II,OOO. No cash passed, and the whole of the purchase money was allowed by the vendor to remain on mortgage at a very low rate of interest. It was subsequently stated that the land in question was valued by the Government Valuations , Department at £22,000. That valuation had since been reduced to £14,000, and the land could now be bought for £7OOO. It was therefore suggested that the bankrupt had been led into this rash speculation by the high Government assessment. —Herald. While Mr. R. M. Maunder and party were returning to Palmerston by motor from Waipukurau last night, they had a providential escape from serious injury. Just as .they reached the railway crossing between Woodvillo and the Gorge, they were met by a service car proceeding towards Pahiatua. Dazzled by the glaring headlights, Mr. Maunder pulled well over to his right side of the road and stopped his motor to allow the service ear to pass. The bank gave way and the car (a sedan) somersaujlted twice before coming to rest at the bottom of the bank. Mr. Gilchrist suffered rather painful though not severe abrasions, the other members of the party, Messrs Toogood and Maunder escaping unhurt. The car was considerably damaged but had it been an open one, the consequences to the occupants would undoubtedly have been much more serious.

On a recent Sunday a local resident named Fox took his dogs out into the bush on a shooting expedition (states the Bay of Plenty Times). In some dense scrub one of the dogs bailed up a large animal which turned on the dog and ripped open its neck with one bite. It had also crushed the dog’s head to pulp in its paws, when Fox came on the scene and fired a shot at the animal. With peculiar pantherish leaps the latter turned and disappeared in the scrub, leaping with ease a creek 12 feet wide. Fox thought he had wounded the animal, and spots of blood on its trail gave evidence of his claim. Parties of local residents subsequently commenced a hunt, but' beyond finding a lair with several large bones in it, they got no sight of the animal they were seekin". It is recalled now that a travelling wild beast show was in the district six months ago, and that five of the animals escaped into the bush.

At the Invercargill Supreme Court, before Mr. Justice Sim, Tryphena 'Clifford Rae, on a charge of murdering her four children on April 11, at Kaiwera, was ordered to be detained in a mental asylum.

The Justice of the Peace Bill introduced during this session is to hand. Its purpose is to consolidate tho many amendments which are now contained in about 400 clauses. The material alterations include the imposition of a penalty of two years hard labour for false declarations and cxtetul the jurisdiction of Justices in cases of theft.

“Don’t put that to the jury in a serious vein,” remarked Mr. Justice Ostler, in the Napier Supreme Court the other day, when counsel was asking a young girl if it was not a fact that, she had been chastised by a neighbour for stealing fruit from an orchard. “Goodness me,” remarked His Honour, “did you never rob an orchard when, you were a boy?”

On Friday night Alfred Dunstan, a shopkeeper of Dunedin, received a telephone call stating that his sister was in the hospital, having .been knocked down by a motor car. On arriving at the institution he found that he had been hoaxed, and on his return discovered that his shop had been burgled and a quantity of cigarettes taken.

The contractor for the erection of public swimming batlm locally has commenced operations and the ground has been marked out on Easton Park and boxing is being erected for the concrete work. When this is commenced it is expected that some of the local unemployment will be absorbed. The Council, which is responsible for connecting up the baths with the water main, has also made a start and this work will also help, in a small measure, to alleviate local unemployment.

Speaking at the Manawatu County ratepayers meeting at Sanson on Monday evening, Mr. Fagan, an exCouncillor said: “If you are dissatisfied with your council, you have yourselves to blame, for how much interest do you take in their -work? Sir James Wilson, in all his years of work, never drew any honorarium, but the present chairman, in recognition of his services and as the council realised what a drain on private expenses and time the work is, have voted him £IOO a year.

The late Dr. Harvey, of Waverley, was a great lover of homing pigeons, and had a well-appointed loft. In the early days, when telephone lines into the back country were not in existence, the doctor, when he had occasion to go to at-' tend to patients, would take pigeons with him, leave them at the patients’ homes with instructions to release them in a few days, attaching messages to the birds to inform him of the health ri'f his patients. In this way the doctor kept in close touch with the country people, by whom he was so greatly loved.

In regard to the death at Nuhaka of George Nepia’s half-bro-ther, Johnnie Nepia, it appears that he was refused admission to a dance in progress in the hall, but being determined to at least hear the music won't round to the back of the hall and, mounting a staircase, gained access to a room over the stage. From here he proceeded out on to one of the joists of the ceiling. Another lad who accompanied him, seeing the ceiling bulging downwards, tried to pull Nepia back, but Nepia took another step forward over -the joist and fell through the ceiling, face downwards, striking the back of a seat, and crushing his chest badly. The height from which he fell was nearly 40 feet.

The sub-committee of the Canterbury Education Board set up to consider the position of unemployed teachers has passed the following resolution: “That after the end of June each year probationary assistants who show sufficient ability should be allowed to apply for eprmanent positions, and that all who, at the end of the year have not been successful in obtaining positions, should be allowed to apply for persupernumerary assistants at the same salary.” It was resolved to transmit the resolution to the Department with a statement of the position and a recommendation that legislation on the above lines be enacted to relieve the prseent unsatisfactory state if affairs. The “Killjoys?” —-Alas! like the poor they are always with us! They’d rob existence of all its pleasures if they could. Novels, dancing, theatres, cards —they’d cut ’em all out! Now as for smoking its too shocking for words! Happily these wet-blanket people are in the minority. Rather! Or life wouldn’t be worth living! They seem to have an especial down on smoking! Yet the “weed” gives innocent enjoyment to millions, every day. Why not, so long as it’s pure and as free from nicotine as possible? It’3 nicotine that is the source of all the trouble, when troubles come. The imported tobaccos usually contain a lot of it. That’s why we hear of smoking causing heart and nerve trouble. Our New Zealand tobaccos are the purest. You can smoke them every day and all day long and they won’t do you any harm. They contain comparatively very little nicotine. That’s why. They are unequalled for flavour and fragrance too, and yet very moderate in price. Ask for “Riverhead Gold” mild, “Navy Cut” (Bulldog) medium or “Cut Plug No. 10 (Bullshead) full strength. ®l*

The schools in the Wanganui Education Board district, which will break up for the second term holidays to-in t orrow will re-open the 12th September.

The Australian schoolboys’ Soccer team played the first game of its New Zealand tour at Wellington yesterday, when it was! beaten by 3 goals to one, by a Wellington schoolboys’ team.

Mrs. Lita Grey Chaplin, wife of Charlie Chaplin, has been granted a divorce, states a Press Association message from Los Angles. A settlement which was reached out of Court gave Mrs. Chaplin 025,000 dollars and the custody of the two children.

The member for Rangitikci (Mr. W. S. Glenn) has given notice in the House of Representatives to ask that a return be tabled showing the number of bankrupt farmers in the Dominion for the years 1925-26 and 1926-27, and also the number of farmers who abandoned their properties. The commercial travellers of Dunedin this year were compelled by law to abandon their usual bag day effort, with the result that an art union was substituted. Some 1700 tickets were sold in the streets netting £BBS. With cash donations and outstanding tickets the proceeds are expected to reach £IOOO.

A story of an incident which might possibly have had more serious consequences is told in Wanganui (says the Chronicle). Two insurance agents were inspecting a property on which a house had been recently destroyed by fire, when their attention was drawn by the leapings of a dog which had been rummaging in the debris. It was discovered that the electric power had not been turned off and the animal had received a severe shock from a point. Prior to the incident, numbers of children had been playing on the property.

Constable Butler, of Wfaipukurau, was informed by ’phone that a basket containing a baby had been left on Mr. Vic. Olsen’s doorstep, Racecourse road. . Mr. Olsen was disturbed by a wailing, which he thought was from cats, and was surprised to find the baby. The child was a fine baby boy, well nourished and cared for. Its linen was clean and in good condition. The basket contained a letter unsigned, in which were two five pound' notes and which stated that the writer would come and see the baby again.

“There is to-day an insensate appetite for speed and an insensate desire to pass anything ahead,” said Mr. R. Wl-Tate, S.M., in the Stratford Court last week. The standard of care, he said, was so deplorably low in Taranaki that the Courts were always being filled with motor cases that should never occur if due care was exercised. Mr. Tate went on to say that any motorist who passed a vehicle already travelling at 25 miles an hour without knowing definitely that the road ahead was clear was guilty of negligent driving.

The man who fired the first British shot in the Great Wlar is in Wellington, says an exchange. He is a young settler, Mr M. A. G. Jenkins, who came to New Zealand at the beginning of this year, and is now farming at Te Kauwhata, 54 miles south of Auckland. Not many of the immigrant farmers in this country have had their portraits printed in the great English dailies to do them personal honour, but Mr Jenkins has been a national figure on account of his unassailable distinction. It was at Binche, a village near Mons, that his gun came into- action against the Germans, and he fired the first round, at 11.30 a.m. on the 22nd August, thirteen years ago last Monday. The case of the first shell is carefully preserved, and is now a trophy for- competition between football teams of the Army. The gun itself is housed at the Imperial War Exhibition in London.