MISCELLANEOUS.

Otaki Mail, 13 November 1922, Page 4

MISCELLANEOUS.

• At the Wanganui Magistrate's Court a defendant in arrears lor maintenance of liis children, who are being kept by the Salvation Army, admitted that his wife had a two-seater motorcar to drive about in, but explained that it belonged to his father-in-law, who also paid for Che benzine used. On Thursday Mr Perreau captured' a young albatross on the river foreshore at the seaside at Foxton. The bird measures 6 feel from tip to tip of the wings. .Mr Perreau brought it to Foxton, and it seems to have settled down to its inland environment. It has a keen appetite lor meat and iish.—Herald.

A meeting ol Friesian breeders was held in Palmerston North yesterday, when it was decided to extend the boundaries of the Friesian Association's district to take in the whole of the lower portion of the North Island, and to engage in a campaign to foster .the breed among the Black and White fanciers by members visiting the more remote breeders and those in a small .way and giving friendly advice, also by encouraging testing and methods of improving fat production. A little scene took place ut the Police Court, Wanganui, when a I young Maori woman made an appeal I "to the local Justice of the Peace for I more, clothes. "The police took me away before I had finished dressing.'' she remarked and then burst I into teats. The kind-hearted J.P.* ' who is a bachelor, could not be exI pected to decide whether a woman was sufficiently clad to appear in court or remain in custody till Monday next, so he elected to entrust this matter ot detail to the care ol the iiolice.

An original and highly ■ interesting exhibition has been on view at the Palmerston show this week in the form of a. Maori pah as it exists in the Hot Lakes region. The background and surroundings generally are true to life, with whares, etc., and the occupants, who by th» way, are a fine musical body, moving about, as one* would expect In a native village. Added to this is Hie wonder of the thermal belt—the steaming hot holes in the 'ground, with water, and mud bubbling, and which form the means of cooking in the north. The whole scheme is wonderfully natural and true in detail, and is most interesting. The promoters come from the Dannevirke district.

Thus the Marlborough Express: On Saturday evening sounds weird enough t.o curdle one's blood and engender thoughts of diabolical murder attracted a crowd of while-faced, tearstricken people to the neighbourhood lof a certain laundry in the town. There was first, a bang, and then a j .shriek o r mortal agony, followed by a gurgle of maniacal laughter. One of ) the crowd, more venturesome ihan his fellows .investigated and discoverI ed that it was another case of national i music—a duet sung by (wo Chinese artists, accompanied by the grotesque instrumentation of the Flowery Land, and produced per medium' of a graImophone. The. Wanganui Swimming Centre is objecting very strongly to the following threat made in a leaflet issued by I the Wanganui Education Board and relating lo the teaching of swimming;

i "When capitation payments are rein- } stated by the Department, the Senior i Inspector will refuse to recommend the payment of capitation to any class where there is the slightest suspicion ■ lihat pupils are encouraged-to use the strokes (crawl and trudgeon) objected to." These strokes are said to have been condemned by a Dunedin physical ihstructor~as being injurious. ;i'he president of the Wanganui Swimming Association says the claim is unjustifiable. HaWaiians, Fijians and all other natives have never been taught the breast stroke. They had a crawl stroke of their own, and one had only to see representatives of these races to recognise that they were straighter in the back than our own people, who. it was stated by authorities, developed slight, curvature when children through" many causes that need not be mentioned here.

[ At the Marion Police Couit G. T. i Sanders, formerly a Sergeant-Major 'in the Defence Department, pleaded not guilty to obtaining £l7 15/ by false pretences from the Department, and was committed for trial. The prosecution alleged that when accused was demobilised he asked for and was allowed the sum mentioned as the expenses of the removal of his furniture to New Plymouth. The , furniture was never removed, but act cused obtained an account from. 1. j Bridge, a carrier, and the cheque I was paid over on this statement to Bridge, who handed it to Sanders, receiving £3 back for putting in a tender. Bridge pleaded not guilty to, a j similar charge. He stated Sanders | told him his tender was accepted, and | the Department wanted" his account to attach to the tender. He thought it unusual ,but gave the account and heard nothing more till he zot the

- cheque. He showed it to Sanders, who I took it and said he had put oft shift- ' ing for a week or two. He handed ' witness £3 for the trouble of putting j in a lender, and postponing the Job. ; Accused was c jnmitted for trial. ' A miscellaneous lot of scrub and other bulls were offered at the Carterton sale-yards last week (says the Wairarapa Age-. Of the entry, a large ( number were passed in. The demand was for bulls at prices ranging from £4 to £7. Jersey bulls that were passed in were sold afterwards at £ls and £25. "Why do people buy scrub bulls?*' asked the writer of a stock agent. "I know it is a losing pro- ' position—and dairymen must know , it," was the reply; ±'but yon cannot 'induce them-to put. in a few etxra I founds Tor an animal that is likely j to improve iheir herd; probably hard i limes Is a big factor, though my firm lis always willing to stand to the dairyman who displays an inclination to secure a pedigree animal as the head of his herd."