Manawatu Herald THURSDAY, SEPT. 20, 1928. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 3847, 20 September 1928, Page 2

Manawatu Herald THURSDAY, SEPT. 20, 1928. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A school teacher in the Auckland Education Board district applied for two weeks leave of absence to fight an election as he' wished to stand for Parliament. The Board granted him two months leave without pay. The headmaster of the local District High School (Mr. Mason) has forwarded a message of appreciation to Captain Kingsford Smith for his ready response in complying with a request to fly over the school last Tuesday morning. L. A. Couch, the local competitor in the Palmerston North-Welling-ton road cycle race, has received a handicap of 50 minutes. The scratch men in the event are L. G. Lackey and E. J. Gross (Christchurch). The limit men receive 70 minutes. .

Mrs. Ulm was delighted at Sydney at hearing her husband broadcast from New Zealand. She heard him tell the gathering at Tom Heeney’s reception that he and “Smithy” backed Tunney in the big fight. She thought how brutally candid her husband was. She also heard the thunderous applause, which was “sweet music.”

The courage, initiative, and resource required to make a great airmen does not necessarily make a great boxer, if Flight-Lieutenant C. S. Ulm’s story of his own fistic, prowess is any indication. “When I was in the Army,” he said, during the course of a speech at the reception to Tom lieeney at Welling* ton, “I had 2475 fights and won two of them.”

The river has been very high for some days* as a result of the heavy rain experienced throughout the district. At high tide: the.water almost floods King’s mill. Unless a change in the weather is.experienced within a day or so there is every prospect of a big flood, which would greatly set things back in the milling industry. One of the minor dangers of high-speed motoring is the throw-ing-up of stones on metal roads, comments the Levin Chronicle. An instance of this occurred between the Whirokino bridge and Foxton, when the wind-screen on a car from Levin was struck by a stone which shot out from under a wheel of another car. The result was that the bevelled edge of the screen was shattered and ,splinters of glass were projected over the occupants, fortunately without them any injuries. 4 “• ‘

There is one piece of official machinery which has treated the trans-Tasman flight in the most matter-of-fact manner, giving no hint of the tremendous significance of the event (says the “Lyttelton Times”). In the books of the Customs Department appears the following unemotional entry: “Arrived —Southern Cross, aeroplane from Sydney. Passengers: C. Kingsford Smith, C. T. P. Ulm, co-command-ers; 11. A. Litchfield, navigator; T. 11. McWilliams, radio operator. Nothing dutiable.” No outward or imvard clearance papers were carried by the ’plane, which, in this respect, is like a pleasure yacht, but when cargoes are carried across the Tasman by air, the goods will be inspected just as the goods brought by steamers are.

The Mayor of Waihi, at a meeting of the Borough Council, congratulated Lieut.-Colonel Thomas Jowsey upon his remarkable recovery in the face of his obituary notice, which had appeared in an Auckland paper. The Mayor said the colonel’s death had been greatly exaggerated. The colonel replied that this was the second attempt to dispose of him. During the Boer war the New Zealand Government was notified that he had been killed in action. There was an old adage that the third time would prove fatal (laughter), but he was still holding out and hoped to keep going. Colonel Jowsey, C.M.G., commanded the Third New Zealand Contingent to South Africa. He has been a resident of W'aihi for years. It was his nephew, Mr. Thos. Jowsey, a sheep farmer near Hastings, who died last week.

Referring to the coming general elections the Wellington Post says: —The prospect of a three-cornered contest is again before the country, and he would be a rash prophet who would predict that again the electors will decide the issue so conclusively as they did last time. It is possible that the Reform-United contest will divert attention from the greater differences existing between these parties and Labour, and thus the issue may be confused. In these circumstances great importance still attaches to the character of the members returned. Men of ability and integrity are needed to face national issues as they are presented to them, to give support to well-considered measures, and to offer constructive criticism when it is called for. If this task is faced by men of experience and honesty of purpose, faithfully placing the national destiny above party consideerations, there is yet hope that the political position may be clarified and the will of the electorate given full effect.”

An Otaki resident reports that during Saturday night 20 of his canaries were stolen. Much damage was done to Greytown orchards on Tuesday, when a terrific hail storm visited the locality. The Board’s architect has been authorised to prepare plans and specifications for a bicycle shelter at the local DPI. School. The Mayor of Shannon, Mr. E. Butt, who was operated on, on Monday morning in a private hospital in Palmerston North, is reported to be progressing very well. Little work remains to be done in connection with the planting for the season of the State Forest. Some 5000 acres have been planted at Karioi, and an additional 1000 acres have been used for direct seeding purposes, while at Tangimoann the season’s programme is almost completed, the men being engaged in planting an additional 100,000 trees. The marram grass planting on the sand dune reclamation work has also been completed. Approximately 130 men have been employed at Tangimoana, Karioi, and Erna, near the National Park, the majority being at Karioi. When the planting seasons ends practically all will be put off. The men are recruited from the ranks of the unemployed and have been drawing the. Government relief wage of •9/- per day.

“A yard of clay”—and contentment! A well-known New Zealander just returned from a trip Home (he motored all over England) says the happiest man he met on his travels was a Devonshire yokel in a smock-frock who was seated on a rustic bench outside a country inn with his back against a tree and “a yard of clay” in his mouth. “He looked a perfect picture of contentment.” Wonderful is the power of the weed! It halves our sorrows and doubles our joys. Its enemies say hard things about it, but so long as its quality is good and it’s as free from nicotine as possible it does more good than harm. Unfortunately most of the imported brands contain so much nicotine that they do more harm than good. It’s otherwise with our New Zealand tobaccos. They are almost free from nicotine, and so may be smoked with absolute impunity. They are quite remarkable, too, for flavour and fragrance. The favourite brands are “Riverhead Gold” mild, “Navy Cut” (Bulldog) medium, and “Cut Plug No. 10” (Bullshead) full strength.