THE OTAKI MAIL. MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1923. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Otaki Mail, 3 December 1923, Page 2

THE OTAKI MAIL. MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1923. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A concert party from Otaki, consisting of Miss Swenson, Messrs Henare and Raukawa Tahiwi, Nicholls Bros., and X. Mahima, visited Plimmerton on ■ Friday and gave a delightful entertainment. Sqngs and instrumental ! items were fully appreciated. The programme was repeated at Paekaka- i riki on Saturday night for the benefit j of the school fund, and the large audi- j ence enjoyed the concert. j Mrs. Stable's concert in Wellington: on Thursday evening -was fully enjoyed' bv all present. The "Dominion" says: ' ; A likely light baritone is Mr. A. K. 'feeling, " who though timid in tone, showed rare sympathy in 'Arab Song.' Miss Maud Elderton has all the confidence and a good deal of the finish of a singer well used to the> platform. She sang the Gounod aria, "Far Greater than His Lowly State," with a brilliance which earned immediate recognition. She was also associated with Mr. Morris in the daet, "Now Thou Art Mine" (Hildach). Other performers were Misses Bose Lee. M. and X. Thomson Cwho contributed a pretty duet), Joan Bavan, Constance" Berrill, Aika Nicol, Mesrilrnc-= iliexander, and F. G. Dairies, and Merr-rr, A. Cainpb'ell, A.. M. Dunkley, and Staple." ■

"We are robber heels free till Xisat oa ladies' shoes from £1 upwards. Call and • see our white shoe&—-ladies' and children's are cheap this year. Gsjr r s .Bestsek shoes to clear 3is 3d. Polish £ tin? Is. TVs are ageats for metal shoe lcccs.—lrvine's, shoe stare, Otaki.— Advt. . .■■**.**;

Next year Hamilton will celebrate its 6»fch anniversary, and the Borough Council has decided to 'hold some fitting celebration to mark the occasion.

The Thames Borough Council has decided to lay down its main street*, which is a mile long, in concrete, the width to be 18 feet.

The production from the mine ol Glen Alton Collieries, Waikato, on Tuesday amounted to 420 tons, a record lor the mine. The average weekly out put exceeds 2000 tons. The Hunterville Express says: The Hon. D. H. Guthrie is not yet well enough to take up his public duties, and consequently is unable to Officially -sppen the new dairy laatory at Rata,

When two small boys were charged at Tottenham Police Court, with misbehaviour, one said: 'Tin sorry for what I've done." The Magistrate (to the other): What about you? The boy: I'm sorry I've been caught.

On teunuay two Wanganui sportsmen pioceeued to Hiimtuugi anu shot I 120 rabnits. The. "buiimes" were) thick. One ol the sports hied on one occasion at a sitting, rahbit, and when he reached the spot he lound he had laid lour rabbits low. 11 would appear that remunerative employment is not too plentilul at ttie present tune, 'ihe Hamilton borough called lor applications lor trie, position 01 trallic inspector at a salary of £a per week, and received no fewer than 71 applications lor tne oihce, coming from ail parts oi the Dominion. A new engine that the Hamilton File Board Cuntenipiaies buying Was tested un Thursday. The water ui the mains snowed a pressure oi 121 b lo the square inch, and when the engine's pumps were applied the piessure was increased to 1801 b, and the water was thrown to a, height ol 100 leet.

A novel plan lor raising Capital has been evolved at the. new Wniie City (Syuney) lawn tennis courts, whion nave been estabksiied a little way out of the city. Life tenure seats have been arranged in the grandstand, and uf these 103 have alieady been sold, leaving only 22 now. available. The cost oi tnese seats is £IOO each. Tne readiness ol people to pay this sum for a lile-seat shows tne popularity uf the game.

If reports are true the Treasury ha t - lound a new source of taxation on racing, indirect, but very lucrais.'b savs the Timaru Herald. It is alleged'that income tax inspectors have interviewed members of the Dominion Sportsmen's Association, and made demands lor income tax on the profits of their operations lor a period extending over six years. The sums which some of the s.p. merchants nave been called upon to pay are reported to be pretty considerable, and the grand total should a good deal more than recoup .Mr Massey for his reduction of the tax on stakes.

At New Plymouth the first slunk ol the swimming season appeared Close lo the shore at the East End Reserve the other evening and was given a warm reception, if not a cordial one (says the Herald). It is reported to Ibave been a large one, and soon after its presence had been observed firearms were produced and attempts made lo shoot it. Whether or not it was hit, the shark threshed about a good deal and provided an interesting spectacle for quite a considerable number of persons, who assembled on the beach as close as possible to the shark.

Improvement to the toads in Wanganui County has resulted in their being called on to cany much heavier loads. Lorries with lo'adg of 24 bales of wool are now running to Wanganui from Maugamahu, the total weight being about ten tons. In the Maiigawhero Valley there is similar heavy cartage along the Parapara road, where fanners ate wanting t<> send out 20 bales per load. Heavy loading is to some extent due to the fact that the cartage is proportionately lower with a large looj.l ol wool. A startling experience belel S. Goldsbury, a Te Aroha youth, as he was cycling into town on Tuesday morning. He withdrew a cigarette butt lrom his mouth and thinking that he had extinguished it, he placed it in his hip pocket, l le had not gone iar, however, when he '-ound that the butt 'had come in contact with his coat, which, iii the breeze' caused by last travelling, burst into flames. The cyclist was : not long in (peeing himself *' oai - !'&§ garment. In "the wool sales held s.O !aE-iUi§ season, what strikes growers particularly ig the attention being paid by buyers' to Lincqin wools, especially '~«Ait'.;«;ipafed with prices paid lot -a„. " -4 4 'liuring' tij'e past two or these woo.. —-'* -Liiicolf! wools go

three years. Txie - J rtoi/j' \>pWinto the manufacture 0i - «£ly in<-"= carpets, etc., and appaJe*. that'particular trade is very busy a' Home A noticeable feature also is the prices obtained lor bellies, pieces, and locks, compared with the main portion of the clips. This is indeed a verv hard matter to be accounted for. All buyers are chasing them..

It has oiten been contended thftl .New Zealand was at one time under the sea, and the finding 01 fossilised sea shells on the Ruahines, and other mountains, seems to confirm the suggestion. Judging by two iossilißftd teeth from sharks which were recently found in the Napier Harbour Board's quarry in. Battery road, it would seem that the Napier Hills were constructed by sea action. These teeth were found deep in the bill, for the quarry has been worked l&t S> score of years. The teeth;, one a blinsh colour and tie other a grey, ar? splendid specimens of shark's teeth said are somewhat larger than those usuallv met with these days.

Usuallv from the. early days of October until the end of November, Queensland farmers send big consignments of tomatoes to Melbourne, but this season (writes a correspondent of tile Age) the crop has been almost wiped out by a grub or caterpillar, the offspring of a nocturnal moth. Chloridea obsoleta. One man had a crop of wonderful promise, about eight aore*. On the first day of picking he and hii sons took seven tons of tomatoes to the shed. Practically every tomato was affected and had to be destroyed. A few days later scores of tons of beautiful tomatoes were lying on the ground, and the full crop was cut and fed to the cattle. This man took from Melbourne last year £IOO a week for three mpntns. mis year he expected to take £l=o a week, but the moth upset all calculations.

Ouite a problem presents itself at times to gas and waterworks managers to ascertain with some degree of exactness, where a gas connection crosses a street or leaves the main, and very valuable time is lost in prospecting (says the. Dargaville Times). Bv courtesy of the Whangarei Borough the local gasmanger (Mr Marriott) veste-rdav had the loan of fheir wireless finder. Outside tie Bank of New Zealand is a gas pip* ".-hich' lias g'-ve= no end of trouble ftndinJe + -he of its l&e-'nr-g the main *x& snheeguent whereabouts but wife thft aid-of this macime.-ta* pipe vrks located in a.few minute* and f>e coi£« followed-across, road uMh miraculous »Ffl^3 of su-i'a Pi«e e>t mashiswy, -*-jr? would 6*« he recouped- to the 3*r-

There is conclusive proof that cattle tick is in evidence in this locality (says the Te Awamutu Post).

A tennis match was played between Victoria College and Otaki on Friday at Otaki, and resulted in a win for the visitors.

ft was reported last week that a. number of Whales have been seen about the Kaipara coast recently and that the Maoris were patrolling the beaches in search of ambergris. One of them was well rewarded for bis trouble and shipped from Pouto on Sunday night a parcel estimated to be worth at the very least £BOO.

In his half-yearly report lo the Kiwiton County Council Mr. ,i. \V. Hugging;. Inspector of Health, reported that nine cases ol diphtheria had occurred in one family in the County. Two cases uriginally developed aim instructions we>e given as to the precautions necessary. Uniortimaiely, tho father of this family was incline;, to ridicule the necessity lor these precautions, and consequently seven other cases occurred—including the father—who now regrets that he did not take advice.

An outbreak of larrikiuism among a section of the youth of Ohau is troubling that district and holding up the motorists passing through. The great idea is to deposit on the main road a large dummy parcel placed near the Post Office, within range of good cover. This ancient "gag," worked last week-end, has afforded the brilliant intellects of which the gang is composed a great deal of amusement at rhc expense of numerous disgusted motorists, who stop to investigate the seeming find.

The Oriental dance, arranged by Miss A'utu f'tiku and* held at Te Horo on Friday night to raise funds for the Kahui Cricket Club, was largely attended, and a pleasant time was spent. Flags and greenery were used in decorating the hall while Miss Utiku supplied the music. Mr. Harold Searuncke was M.C., and general supervisor, and much credit is due to him for the success of the gathering. During the exciting he explained the object of the dance, thanked those who assisted, and trusted al! would spend an enjoyable time. Supper was handed round and appreciated. "The pole Jines in Fo\ion are now complete 'and Otaki will be commenced in a week or two, ' Mr T. It. Overton, engineer to the Horowrieuua Power Board told a Chronicle reporter last week. "We find that the people in Foxton and the sU!ro"jnrl«ng district are anxious to have electric ity installed. The inspector has been booking up large numbers and very seldom meets with a negative aUs'-er. the inhabitants having fully apprecithe advantages ol the lh.nid's grouping system." Mr Overton stated that 57 tons of copper wire for the Board had arrived through Foxton durmg the week. Action is being taken- in Sydney, following a move made in Melbourne, to make "jay-walking" an offence against the traffic regulations (writes our own correspondent). "Jay-walk-ers," for those who are innocent of the term, are people who cross crowded streets diagonally, between the regular crossing places, and in most oases with their backs partly turned to the line of vehicular traffic. The feelings of drivers of vehicles is that, while the "jay walkers" are allowed t<i wander across crowded city streets at any place and any angle, without any check on their movements, the police campaign against motor traffic is a little unfair. Motorists say that natural-born fools amongst tho pedestrians are responsible for most of the motor smashes. "Jay walking" is certainlv dangerous. One has only to witness it in crowded thoroughfares like Pitt street and George st.eet, to appreciate it. Mangold plants an- advertised for S!l!p. \ bicvcle '•- advertised tor sale, cheap. Floor coverings, including carpet and inlaid linoleums, are advertised for sale, cheap for cash. Mrs. Smith, Rangiuni Road, is prepared to do plain sewing, crochet, or knitting at lowest rales. Messrs Bills and Moon- make a specialty of silk hosiery, and, ladies should read the firm';- advertisement. A Carterton resident desires to exchange his- property of -7 acres anu house for 10 acres and dwelling at Levic, or Foxtou. Messrs George Bud ': "1 Co of Manakau, have on I'.aii'l the bent oi good groceries, fruits, proscviag jar*, etc. rise adverti=eineru : Tenders are invited fui tar-uaiuting and sanding 'Jo chains of footpath, iomUl\°Q f,f seven chains footpath, and -» at pound building.-. rcmova, lam now stOCK.. j „ o ,„ lK .titio!j. shoes at Prices Tll - e v d lf a e tne ami workmanship pairs—his leather * a J _Advt. being the best.—F- Barrett.