Manawatu Herald THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1927. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3724, 1 December 1927, Page 2

Manawatu Herald THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1927. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Yesterday was St. Aiidrcd’s day. the vital statistics for the month of November are as follows, the figures for the corresponding month last year being given ip parenthesis:—Births 3 (4), deaths 1 (31, marriages 1 (2). ■ the Palmerston North branch of the >\\ ellington Automobile Club have contributed £25 for the making of a camping ground. for motorists at Tiritea, and the Borough 'Council will subsidise the donation with a £1 for £1 subsidy. The body of .George Newman, sixty years of age, was found hanging from a tree in a small plantation near Timaru on Tuesday. Deceased had been in ill-health for some time, and was a married man with a grown-up family. A letter of appreciation of the services of the Christchurch Police Force in investigating the murder of Gwendoline Scar If, has been sent by Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Scarff, the parents of the girl, to the Commissioner of Police (Mr. W. B. Mellveney). Under the Public Holidays Amendment Act, 1921, which was passed in December 21, 1921, hotels are permitted to open on Monday, December 20, and licenses to sell liquor at the race meetings which take place on that day will also be granted. The s.s. Kennedy which left Tarakolie for Foxton at 8 p.m. on Monday did not experience bad weather until about p.m. when the vessel was hove-to for some time in Cook Strait. The Kennedy arrived in port on Tuesday morning. James Hartnell was found drowned in a creek on his farm near Inglewood, yesterday. In the morning Harmell, who was a single man, 37 years of age, left home to cut blackberry on the farm. He failed to return, and the searchers found him lying in two feet of water. The Judical Committee of the Takapuna Jockey Club which held an inquiry into the death of the jockey, R. H. Reilly, who was killed during a race on Monday, passed a. unanimous opinion that the happening was entirely of an accidental nature, no blame being attachable to any rider in the race. To-morrow evening another concert and dance under the auspices the Motuiti Maoris will be held, in the meetinghouse, Motuiti. A .snappy concert programme of 12 items has been arranged by Mr. T\ Carter and dancing will also be indulged in. An excellent supper provided. Admission: gents 2/-, ladies 1/-. A verdict of accidental death was returned by, the Coroner (Mr. W. G. Riddell, S.M.), at an inquest held in "Wellington on Tuesday on William Niinmo, single, aged 24, of Karori, who was run over and killed by a train at Plimmerton late on (Saturday afternoon. After evidence had been given to the effect that deceased, who was a passenger r,:i the train which arrived at Plimmerton at 5.30 p.m., had apparently left the carriage before the train stopped, and was standing on the fttep, when he slipped underneath the wheels, Mr. Riddell returned a verdict of accidental death. Fears are entertained for the safety of two Auckland fishermen — Owen Jones, aged about 40, married, with three children, and Donald Wardle, a young man who is understood to have arrived recently from England. They left Auckland on the launch Huana on Sunday morning, anchoring off the north-east end of Tiri Tiri Island, in the Hauraki Gulf, on Monday afternoon. They were seen from the island leaving the launch in a dinghy about seven o'clock in the evening to set their nets, and they have not been seen since. The launch was found at the anchorage yesterday, unoccupied, and the dinghy was missing.

This morning' Mr. Harvey, of Levin, made a start with the erection of the concrete kerbing around the Triangle. The cold snap experienced last week was responsible for heavy losses in lambs and shorn ewes in the South Island. One case in particular is reported in mid-Canterbury of 65 deaths in lambs and of 150 newly-shorn ewes. During the month of November, rain fell locally on 14 days, a total of 5.08 inches falling. The maximum fall, .84 inches being recorded on the 15th and 27th. The coldest days were on the 2nd and 29th, when the temperature was 52 degrees in the shade. The hotest days, when the temperature rose to G 1 degrees, were the 7th and 9th. Yesterday morning a young man named Alf Thornton,, residing with his parents in Colombo street, Palmerston North went as usual to his work on the Agricultural College estate. He was last seen at dinner time, hut since he has been missing. The . police are investigating his whereabouts. The lack of a court does not necessarily stop young enthusiasts from playing .lawn tennis (says the Poverty Bay Herald). On a station in the Poverty Bay back country the Maori girls accompanying a gang of shearers have been able io indulge in their favourite pastime by utilising a post and rail fence in place of a net. Certainly they played with tennis balls, but the hats were of wood, while there were no lines around the “court.” A bridge party at Epsom, Auckland, on Tuesday had an unfortunate ending (says an exchange). When the time arrived for the guests to hid adieu to the hostess the perturbing discovery was made that there had been a daring and uninvited guest who had made a careful inspection of the wraps and coats left on the settee in the front of the hall and had departed with two musquash coats. They were worth £SO each.

A child aged five years and ahalf named Dorothy Leyland Green mot lier death at Napier yesterday under somewhat unusual circumstances. The little girl was left at home alone and when her mother returned at five o’clock she found her hanging- with her head caught in the window. Apparently the child mounted a block and put her head out of the window which was open only five or six inches. The block moved from under her and her head became caught and she was strangled. She was the only child. Many suggestions have been offered whereby the large swamp lying between Gonville arid Castlesliff, could be-converted into profit (says the Herald). A novel suggestion was made by Mr. J. Armstrong Nannie, at the Rotary Club this week, that the swamp should be made into an oyster bed. Sea water could be pumped into the waste area, and in a short time Wanganui would be able to supply the whole of New Zealand with the delectable shellfish. Similar oyster beds have been formed elsewhere with considerable success.

“I think we shall all be happier if we. smoke.” Thus Mr. Justice Fraser when presiding at a prolonged sitting of the Transport Appeal Board at Auckland, recently. His Honour then lit up and his example was speedily followed by counsel, clerks, reporters and onlookers. The judge evidently believes in the power of tobacco, to make people happy. So ,it does. But it must be the right sort of tobacco. Most of the imported brands reek with nicotine. Such tobacco never made anyone happy—for long. The purest brands of all are those produced here in New Zealand. They possess not only an exquisite flavour but a peculiarly delightful frangrance, and owing to their containing only a comparatively small’ amount of nicotine you can smoke them all day long if you want to without suffering any unpleasant or injurious after-effects. Any tobacconist will supply you. Ask for “Riverhead Gold” if you are accustomed to a mild aromatic, “Navy Cut” (Bulldog), if you prefer something stronger; but if you like a full flavoured sort try “Cut Plug No. 10” (Bullshead). Preparations have been in progress for months past at Walii, the home of “King” Te Rata Mahuta, to commemorate the anniversary of the crowning of Potatau Te Whero Wjhero, the first Maori King, which took place at Ngaruawahia in 1857 (states the “Auckland Sun”). Maoris from the Tamaki, Port Waikato, King Country, and Raglan are all in Hun.tly to pay their tribute to Potalau’s descendant. Fish has been caught, dried, and put by for months ready for transit. One huge load of all species arrived by mo-tor-lorry from Kawhia. Tons of kumeras and potatoes, pork in every conceivable form, vegetables in abundance, were collected. A staff of cooks and attendants were soon On the spot. Bread could not be cooked in the large quantities required, and the Huntly bakers had to come to the assistance of their brown brethren by making batches of 400 at a time. The visitors were seated in the big hall at Waahi for meals, and six sittings were necessary before the huge crowd were satisfied. At daybreak on Thursday the visiting chiefs aimived, anl made speeches of congratulation to Rata, assuring him of their loyalty. Judging by the -gifts showered on this unassuming monarch, there is no doubt about his “nrana.” No reference to any political matters was made, the gathering being entirely festive in character.

A trial of whippet racing in Wellington yesterday did not prove a success, according to an exchange. The dogs are small, and flash by at 15 yards a second, and the actual running over all only takes a few minutes altogether, which is out of all proportion to the time wasted waiting for it to begin. A strange phenomenon noticed by many motorists travelling in the districts along this coast (says the Wanganui Herald), is the presence of numerous springs coming up through the tar-sealed roadways. Probably the springs were there in the days of metal highways, but were not so noticeable. It is reported that foul brood among bees is very prevalent in the district just now (states the Stratford Post), and those who collect swarms would be well advised not to put them direct into combs but to keep the bees three days in a box, and then put them on sheets of foundation. By this means they will be enabled to rid themselves of any possible infection. The ferry steamer Wjahine was caught in the severe gale experienced on Monday night and arrived at Lyttelton three hours late. The passage from Wellington was described as one of the worst of recent years. The vessel came through the ordeal without the slightest mishap, although to some of the passengers it seemed that the whole top of the ship must be blown or washed away. Arrangements have been made for docking the vessel, for cleaning and painting. As a dairy cow cannot miss a milking without danger of suffering harm, something in the nature of a roll call at the shed is desirable. When the cows are numerous it is difficult to detect the absence of one by merely looking them over in the yard. A farmer near Inglewood, says the “Taranaki Herald,” after giving the matter considerable attention, has fitted his shed with a simple yet ingenious counting apparatus. A wire runs overhead along the bails, connecting at one end with an electric bell and a large dial bearing numbers around its circumference. Each time a cow is released after milking the wire is pulled, ringing the bell and moving to the next number a pointed which is operated by a cog wheel. The total of the cows milked is thus obtained, and if this does not correspond with the herd total a careful cheek is made.