LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 7, Issue 437, 27 December 1918, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Owing to the Now Year holidays there will be no issue of the " Times " on Tuesday next, December <Jl<-t. Under the new regulators whereby mensels has become a notifiable disease, a case of the same was reported at the meeting of tlio rulcekohe Borough Council on W< duosdsy of last week.

Particulars of railway arrangements for the New Year holidays are advertised in this issu*. Picture patrons arc reminded that the following holiday sncgenings are booked ftHhihe PremkjpHall, Pukekohe, Dec. 28th. "The Gates (&mmMss, , ' Wednesday, Jan lg^VPoll?^ohiftCircus;" 2nd, programme.—(Advf) Christmas at Pukekohe passed off very quietly. Business was exceptionally brisk on Tuesday, and good trade was reported everywhere, the arrival of Santa Ciaus at the Bookery on Monday being hailed with great delight by the hundreds of children that assembled to greet the venerable gentlemen. The Public Service Entrance Senior Scholarship and Intermediate (Senior Free Place) Examinations are to be held in the Oddfellows' Hall, Pukekohe, from the 6th to the 14th January (both days inclusive) under the supervisisn of Mrs G D. Baird. At ihe Cbris'mas shoot promoted by ihe Auckland Gun Club, and held at Ellerslie on Saturkay last, the main trophy, the Hazard Cup, was won by Mr W. McNally, of Pukekohe. Mr Joe Wright, another Pukekohe representative, tied and shared the stake with him, but as Mr Wright, unlike his colleague, is not a member of the Auckland Club, the cup went into Mr McNally's possession

At the meeting of the Pukekohe Borough Council held on Wednesday of last week, a letter was received from the Alexandra Borough Council protesting against the practice of the medical profession sending tuberculosis patients from the towns to favourably situated districts, and it was decided to write to the Minister for Public Health in support of the action being taken by the Alexandra Council.

The matter of clearing willows from creeks was brought up at the meeting of the Franklin County Council on Thursday of last week, the Finance Committee's recommendation that the Council should bring before all owners of property the need of ring-barking willows and clearing creeks out being adopted. For the information of those concerned it was pointed out that January was the most effective time of the year for the work to be done. On Saturday last a little gathering was held at Kerr's Boarding-house, Pukekohe, when Mrs Cave was presented by the boarders of the establishment with a handsome tea set, accompanied by an address, in appreciation of nursing assistance rendered them by Mrs Cave during the recent epidemic. Mr R. Hastings made the presentation and spoke feelingly of the noble and fearless manner in which Mrs Cave had gone to the assistance of her neighbours with the result that no fatalities had occurred.

The difficulty of and expense involved in dealing with Maori lands was instanced at the meeting of the Franklin County Council last Thursday week, when it was mentioned that in regard to the acquisition of a small area of native property, worth about £lO, for a deviation of the Mmgatangi road, it would be necessary to publish the official notice in the " Maori Gazette." as well as in the '• N.Z. Gazette," interpretation fees thus being necessary, or to pay a survey fee. As the latter was toe cheaper method, the same was decided on.

At the meeting of the Pukekohe Borough Council on Wednesday of last week a letter was received from the Town Clerk, Auckland City Council, stating that the City Council had been advised by its solicitor as to its legal powers to deal with various aspects of sanitation. The communication stated that while the powers of municipalities appeared large they were in reality restricted by continual references to other authorities, especially the Public Health Depaitment. In the opinion of the City Council dual control was undesirable, and it was considered that the powers of municipalities should be enlarged to enable them to deal in a more comprehensive manner with dwellings. The City Council was, therefore, requesting the Government to widen the powers of municipalities by conferring upon them the authority contained in Sec tion 111 of the Public Health Act, 1908. The conferring of such power would, it was stated, enable municipalities to license all dwellings and to ensure that they were fit for habitation both from a structural and a sanitary point of view. The City Council suggested that adjacent authorities should communicate with the Government in the m itter.—The Mayor remarked that he did not feel inclined to ask the Government anything, and the letter was merely " received." A find of some little interest was made recently by Mr Wily on his property at Puni, in the shape of a little Mongolian or Tibetan god The figure, which is about three and a-hilf inches long, is neatly carved out of the soap stone common to the foothills of the Himalaya mountains, and is undoubtedly of considerable antiquity. For a long time it has been believed tint at some period in the remote past there was a certain amount of communication between India or Tibet and New Zsa'and, three article-, which undoubtedly had their origin iu one or other of those two countries having been found in the possession of the Maoris. <me of these is a bronze bell, with an inscription in Tamil daring from the thirteenth century and another, a carved stone duck o' a species inhabiting Tibet. It is quire possible the figure found at Puni may turn out to be another link in the cluin of evidence It was found midway betwweu two old Maori pas, buried in the subsoil, and had evidently lain undisturbed for a very long period, ft is now in the hind* of the authorises of the Domini, n Musoum, at WelJingt >n, in the hone that an expert miv bo found who cm confidently deteimtne the period in which it was carved at d the country to which it belonged I

There was an exceptionally cold snap for the time of year on Xmas eve and a resident of Paerata, who was an early liser on Wednesday morning, supplies the information that at 430 am.the white coating of frost was plainly visible on adjacent swamp lands. A memorial service was conducted at the Anglican Church, Tuakau, on Sunday last by the Eev. L Foulkes in memory of the late Bros. fl. T. Acton and J. Govern, members of the Loyal Pukekohe Lodge, M.U., 1.0.0. F., both of whom succumbed during the influenza epidemic. About 25 members of the Lodge attended the service The preacher took ior bis text "'Bear ye one another's burdens," and his kind and feeling reference to the deceased and his good advice to those present in reference to the text were appreciated. In a letter written to Mr H. H. D. Wily, of Buckland, from Gaza Hospital, Cairo, dated October 24th last, Trooper T. HaTper, of Pukekohe, stated that he was recovering from a serious attack oi influenza, that disease having set in amongst the troops just as they were returning from a big drive of the Turks through the Jordan Valley. Trooper Harper goes on to say :—" When the operations started our division (the Anzacs) were on the right flank in the Jordan Valley, and our work for the time being lay there. We started off by clearing part of the foothills—light work mostly, gathering a fair number of prisoners here and there; and then had our first real fight for a bridge at a very pretty spot sailed Damieh, on the Jordan river. Our regiment rode down on to the Turks there early on the morning of the 21st September, and the advance party (which happened to include our troop) dismounted for action, and got right amongst them in the darkness. They wew too strorg for us, however, and pushed us baok almost to where we had our led horses tethered. The darkness, however, saved us a lot of casualties The remainder of the regiment joined up with us. and we went for them again about eleven o'clock, and we swept them in front of us like sheep, they discarding their machine-guns, rifles, and equipment. We got them at point blank range crossing the narrow bridge, and caused an awful mess. Some got away, but came in later and gave themseVes up. Our casualties for the day were light, but a peculiar thing was that every man that was hit was either killed or died of wounds. We had a rest all next day, and then our brigade started to climb the Moab hills on the other side of the Jordan. It was terribly hard going, leading our horses single file up a rough almost perpendicular track. We got to Essalt that night, and took it without trouble, horses and men just about done. Next day we pushed on, and the following day attacked Amman on the Hedjaz railway. We took it after an easy day's .fighting, and then had two or three days' spell, living well on sheep and bullocks. All of a sudden we had to rush away south along the Hedjaz railway to protect a party of 3,000 Turks whom we had cut off and had sent in their surrender, but were being harassed by about 40,000 armed Bedouins. We found them at a railway station with an Australian brigade, who had allowed them to keep their rifles for their own protection. In fact, the night before the Australians and Turks had done outpost dury side by side We stopped there a couple of days, potting an occasional Bedouin, until the Turks were all got away, and then we rode back to Amman, and from there back for our re>t Our brigade must have captured about three times its strength in prisoner*, and a great number of machine-guns, big guns, and ammunition, but I think it was the easiest fighting I have ex perienced in the whole campaign "