OBITUARY.

Putaruru Press, Volume IV, Issue 116, 14 January 1926, Page 4

OBITUARY.

MR. HENRY GYE. A well-known employee of the Bartholomew Timber Company at Te Whetu passed away suddenly in Auckland on Friday, the Bth inst., in the person of Henry Gye. Deceased, who was 56 years of age, had gone to Auckland for t.he holiday season when the mill closed down. The late Mr. Gye was a popular and respected re- I sident of Te Whetu and took a very | keen interest in local affairs. Deceased was chairman of the local school committee and also of the sick pay fund administrators and was a keen supporter of all outdoor sports. The late Mr. Gye leaves a widow and one son aged 15 to mourn their loss.

“ There is always a possibility that one class of education might outbalance another,” said Mr. J. M. Coradine at the Mastcrton Technical School (reports the Wairarapa Age). “ But it is of no use getting excited about it. The balance must eventually be restored. A well-balanced education, with the technical and academic branches in their proper proportions, results in a well-balancea community.”

Commenting on the appointment of a “ water-taster,” an English writer asks how many people ltnow that the quality of coal can be decided by taste? He was not aware of the fact until he observed an old North-coun-try miner quietly putting a small piece of coal in his month, and then pronouncing judgment as to the quality. He was told that quite a number of the older miners decide the quality in this way.

A number of American tourists, who visited Te Aroha during the Christmas week-end, have been amused at the parochial policy that prevented them from enjoying a- game of tennis early on Sunday morning*. They were also surprised and amused at the attitude of a local tourist agent who could supply, them with no information of trips in the district, and wondered why they should wish to leave the confines of the town for sight-seeing purposes. He explained that there were a score or more hot springs, both for bathing and drinking, and that the town possessed various scenic attractions. When the Americans made other inquiries, they found that extravagant demands were made for tours by motor-car, and the only reasonable, offer was a sorry gig and an ill-nourish-ed horse. In the circumstances, they were strongly disposed to go on to Thames, but discovered that no service car was available, and they had to remain in Te Aroha until a train passed through on Monday morning*.

The independence and resources of the camping motorists is illustrated (the Te Kuiti Chronicle says) by the history of a little camp at present to be seen on the roadside near Awakino. The steering column of the family car broke, the machine mounted a bank and rushed swiftly to the bottom, about 30 feet below. How it failed to overturn is a mystery to its occupants, all of whom escaped unhurt. Did they ring up a repair shop for help, a taxi for transport, and a hotel for accommodation? Not a bit of it. The whole family literally put its shoulder to the wheel and after prodigious efforts the car was returned to- the road. There they dismantled the broken carts, and , paterfamilias caught a passing service car for Te Kuiti to get new ones. But he could not find in Te Kuiti what he needed, and so he departed by the express for the garages of Auckland. Meanwhile the family philosophically pitched camp by the roadside and is awaiting his return, secure in the thought that no hotel bill attaches to a fresh air cure by the side of the broad highway. 11

u it j s learned on good authority (says the Lyttelton Times) that the Hon. W. Nosworthy will not be Minister of Finaribe in the new Cabinet, and there is every reason ing that the Hon. W. Downie Stewart will be allotted that portfolio. It is not thought likely that the portfolio of Agriculture will change hands, and in itself it is generally considered to be a one-man job. Mr. Nosworthy _s acceptance of the Finance portfolio, it will be remembered, was only really in the nature of provisional acceptance. As it is more than lilcely<know that Sir Jaimes Parr will leave Not Zealand in March next to succeed Sir James Allen, whose term as High Commissioner ends by effluxion of time, it is considered more than a probability that the Hon. E. P. Lee, who is not new to Cabinet position, might be found again the holder of one of the portfolios at present held by Sir James.” Other rumours in wellinformed circles are that amongst the new Ministers will be found Messrs. O. J. Hawken (Eg-mont) and D. Jones (Ellesmere). The itinerant barber has arrived, says a London paper, and a great boon he is proving’ to busy business girls and harassed housewives who have no time to wait their turns in the overcr’owded shops of the coifeur. Any Sunday morning, in almost any suburban area, one may see a smartlydressed man carrying a neat leather bag’ touring the middle-class houses. He goes from door to door and charges a shilling a head for a shingle or bob, and does his work thoroughly for this moderate fee. “ I am art assistant to a barber in town,” one of these Knights of the Combs and Scissors said recently. “I noticed that all the women—especially the girls like to have their hair trimmed on Saturdays. It is nothing for us to have to turn away a hundred would-be customers at the week-end. It struck me that there was money to be made by working. a district (in Sunday mornings. Apparently the same idea struck others as well, for there are many of us at the game now.”

A rather good story is told of a certain well-known farmer m the Kihikihi district, states the Waipa Post A few days ago he was mowing- blackberries on his farm, but the hot weather induced him to leave the horses attached to the mower while he enjoyed a few minutes’ swim in a near-by stream. He dived oft the bank with a loud splash, which latter so startled the horses that they bolted Tile swimmer heard the clatter of horses’ hoofs and the rattle of machinery, so he hurriedly scrambled out on the bank and essayed to recapture the errant steeds. The sight of the farmer careering- round the paddock clad only in a righteous indignation, and the" horses more frightened than ever at the unusual spectacle of a naked man chasing them, war indeed a remarkable one. fanner had the satisfaction ultimately of stopping the runaway without damage, but he has since, according to uir been verv busy removing bin ckbeMKcities from 'his feet and legs.