LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Otaki Mail, 3 April 1922, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Headers of tlie “Mail” arc notified I that subscriptions in advance for the • current quarter are due. By paying in j advance is on the quarter's subscrip- \ tion may be saved, and all who wish to [ take advantage of this concession . should do. so before the end of this ‘ mouth. The Committee of the Otaki .state ( School meets to-night at 7.30. Entries for the Otaki Amateur Athletic sports close on Tuesday with Air ! J. if. Irving, secretary. Among the latest subscribers to be ( added to the Otaki telephone exchange j are Captain Bax, 137, and Air Al. Brkell, . Mi. 190. j Bight acres of oats belonging to Air Xiivbey, of Levin, have been com- . pletvly destroyed by caterpillars. Not J a whole head is said to remain. ,

A coilin was made iu Kaetahi on Xues- j day for a Aloari who died suddenly at PipiriKi, The lueasurements weie: 7ft j 3iu long, 22mckes high, aud 3ft wide. Owing to the recent storm there have 1 been changes at the Otaki beach, and i the nult of the City of Auckland, which | has been embedded for many years can j now be plainly seen. I The ytruttord “Post” says it is re- | ported that the Alidliirst Dairy Com- i puny on Monday suid the balance of | the season’s output of butter at Is -lid I pier iu. The vital statistics for Otaki for the j March quarter were: Births 32, deaths I If, marriage licenses issued -1. For March alone the figures were ten, two, | aud one respectively. i In regard to soldier settlers, said the Prime Minister at Aloerawa (Auck- J land), the policy of the Government j was to stand by the “triers.” The men who were not “triers” had better go back to their original occupations.

According to a Press Association message, the Prime Minister stated at Whangarei on Friday that he would go to Loudon market in a month or six weeks for a loan which he expected to obtain at live per cent., or, at most (with all charges), at live and a half. A man named Mat the" Stephen AleGee, a resident of Otahuliu, aged -4!) years, was run over by a train at the Green Lane station on Saturday night. Both legs were practically severed, and he died in the hospital this morning. It is thought that deceased was endeavouring either to board or leave the train when it was in motion.

Mrs ft. Fielding was the soloist at the Otaki theatre last Saturday night. She has a beautiful mezzo-soprano voice, which she used to good advantage in “O Flower Divine” and “A Little Love.” Her best number was the encore “When Song is Sweet.” It showed the rich sympathetic quality of her voice, and was greatly appreciated by the large audience present. It is fifty years since the first school was erected in Palmerston North and on Saturday a jubilee celebration was held io the Assembly Hall at the new school, which has ju>t been erected at a cost .of £50.000. Ex-pupils from all parts of the Dominion were present, among the number being Mr George Siddells, of Otaki. who first attended the old school in 1888.

Great interest is being taken in the Otaki Amateur Athletic sports, to tie held on Easter Saturday, and the latest advice received by Mr Irving fsecretnry) is that Wanganui is sending a strong team, while Petone will probably do likewise. Masrerton. Manawatu, and Wellington will be represented. A committee meeting will be held in the Council Chambers to-morrow night at 8 o’clock.

Groat irnprowmenis have been effected at the Otaki Native Church of recent date. The Church, besides being nicely painted, has been otherwise improved, while at present the front fence, thanks to a energetic band of Natives, is being re-painted and other wise improved. The cemetery is shortly to receive attention, while it is probable that the two monuments opposite rhe Church will be removed to the Church grounds, where another monument is to be erected to the memory of fallen soldier-. It is understood that the Minister for Health (Hon. C. J. Parr.) has informed the member for the district that Cabinet cannot provide the money required for the erection of u St. Helen’s Home at Palmerston North. The Minister suggests that townspeople should now decide whether they will utilise an existing house for an immediate home, hand the money collected over to the Hospital Board, or make a further effort at a later date to raise additional funds. The Minister’s communication will be submitted to a meeting of trus-

tees to-day. The travelling reporter of the “Wairarapa Age” says:—“Under the new Local Bodies’ Finance Act, local bodies must live without their income after March 31st. The writer knows that this has led to high finance on the part of several local authorities. One clerk advised his Council not to make any desperate effort to get in outstanding rates till after March 31st, as these would be a clear profit for next year. Another body worked to the limit of its overdraft in paying cfbts. some of which were not really due. The overdraft on March 31st is an antecedent liability, and arrangements can be m&de to pay this off within seven years, thereby enabling shrewd officers to manipulate the finance so as to ease the harden on ratepayers during the lean years. Train arrangement? for the Easter Ixolidavs and the Munawatu races are advertised; - ' Tenders, to close on Saturday, are invited for cleaning drains on the Otaki Maori ; Racing Club’s jotasrs*