Shannon News FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1922.

Shannon News, 3 November 1922, Page 2

Shannon News FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1922.

The vital statistics tor the month of October are. as follows: Birth's 7, deaths 1, marriages nil.

The Shannon' Cricket CLub and the P.W.C. Club have come to a most, satis factory arrangement re sharing the wicket and mat.

We learn the Fo>-ton Tennis Club have issued a challenge to Shannon to play for the Newman Cup in about a fortnight’s time. Oil Tuesday last whitebait were reported to lie running very freely in the Manawatu, and several good catches were made.

The president of the Horowhenua Cricket Association has presented die Association with a bat to be used in representative matches. Previous to this the Association has had no material and players have had to find their own.

It is suggested that the shortage of suitable houses is partly responsible for the fact that there has not been a marriage registered in Shannon since April last. Surely this must be a record for a place wilh a population of over 1000 persons. The rubber industry is evidently booming, as a Shannon resident., who is ihe. holder of several shares in a large rubber company in South Africa is in receipt of a dividend warrant for 'l2* per cent on money he has invested in the company. He states it is the largest dividend he has yet received.

The local tennis team selected to play Foxton in the first round of the country clubs’ competition journeyed to Foxton on Wednesday, but were unable to play owing to the rain. At the ‘Borough Council's meeting on Tuesday evening it was stated by the Mayor that the rent for the two workers’ cottages will be 19/ per week each, which includes 1 per cent sinking fund. A deposit of £SO is required to be put up by the purchasers.

For some reason unexplained, the Mayor and councillors of Shannon received no invitation to be present at the official opening of the dredge at Makerua on Monday last. The drainage of the .swamp is of vital importance to Shannon, and it is strange that the courtesy of an invitation was not extended to Shannon’s leading citizens.

An impression has got abroad that there has been a split in the ranks of the Shannon Cricket Club-owing to some of its members being instrumental in forming the P.W.D. Club. Such is not the case. The position is that Mr Bishop, in the interests of the game, resigned to enable him to form another club, as there were sufficient players available for another team, the Shannon Club being quite unable to finance putting a second team in the field, and his action was highly commended by the committee.

Thus the Marlborough Express: On Saturday evening sounds weird enough to curdle one’s blood and engender thoughts of diabolical murder attracted a crowd of white-faced, tearstricken people .to the neighbourhood of a certain laundry in the town. There was first a bang, and then a shriek of mortal agony, followed’ by a gurgle of maniacal laughter. One of the crowd, more venturesome than his fellows .investigated and discovered that it was another case of national music—a duet sung by two Chinese artists, accompanied by the grotesque instrumentation of the Flowery Land, and produced per medium! of a. gramophone.

On Saturday evening next, at the Maoriland Theatre, the.- first chapter of the great- Universal chapter play, “Robinson Crusoe,” will be screened, and in connection with this picture his Worship the Mayor has presented a beautiful gold watch and chain and a gold wristlet watch. The watch and chain is to be presented to the boy whose envelope is first opened on the screening of the eleventh chapter of the picture, and the wristlet watch to, the first girl. At each screening of the picture each child will be given a tenth part of the map of Robinson Crusoe’s Island, and the children are to assemble the parts on a map that will also be given them, marked with the spaces. The first correct answer openecT will be the winner. The watches are now displayed in the window of the Cash Trading Co., and a ten years’ guarantee goes with them. The Wanganui Swimming Centre is objecting very, strongly to the following threat' made in a leaflet issued by the Wanganui Education Board and relating to the teaching of swimming: “When capitation payments are reinstated by the Department, the Senior Inspector will refuse to recommend the payment of capitation to any class where there Is the slightest suspicion that pupils are encouraged to use the strokes (crawl and trudgeon) objected to.” These .strokes are said to- have been condemned by a Dunedin physical instructor as being injurious. The 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 Marton Police Court G. T. Sanders, formerly a Sergeant-Major in the Defence Department, pleaded 1 not guilty to obtaining £4715/ by false pretences front the Department, and was committed for trial. The prosecution aileegd 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 accused obtained an account from. J. Bridge, a. carrier, and the cheque 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 similar charge. He stated Sanders told him his lender 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 <ot the cheque. He showed it to Sanders, who took it and said hei had put off shifting for a. week or two. He handed witness £3 for the trouble of putting 1n a tender, and postponing the job. Accused was c.mmitted for trial.

On Tuesday evening next, Mr Murdoch, the Liberal candidate for Manawatu, will address the electors at Levin.

The popular socials which have been held fortnightly in the Parish Hall were brought to a close for this season last Tuesday evening, when the hall was' taxed to its utmost by the large number present. During the proceedings Rev. Abbott thanked all for their attendance., also the committee for the hard work they had done to make the socials such a success in every way. As usual, euchre was carried on until 10 p.jn., the prizes bein gawarded to Mrs McLaggan in the ladies’ section, Mrs Davis taking the consolation prize. In the gents, Mr Coward was the winner, Mr Sinclair gaining the consolation prize. The prizes were also awarded to the winners of the most points for the season, which werg as follows: Ladies, Mrs Bowler; gents, Mr Hugh Easton. Refreshments were then handed round, which were done full justice to. Dancing was then carried on, during which a waltzing competition was held, which caused a lot of amusement. The couples, who were blindfolded, had to waltz between two rows of bottles without knocking them down. Only two couples were successful in their first attempt, Mr Jamieson and Miss Kay and Mr Quarrie and Miss Neale, the latter couple being successful in the final. Unregistered firearms seem to be like mortgages—they come- home to roost on someone. In one case heard at the Wanganui Court, the- police had traced the ownership of a gun down through the hands of four men.

A “swop over” of a pea rifle between two Wanganui lads for a new pair of pants led to both lads being prosecuted under the Arms Act, as certain formalities as to registration bad not been followed out. The S.M. viewed the charge as a technical breach and inflicted fines accordingly. At the Wanganui Magistrate’s Court a defendant in arrears for maintenance of his 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 itlso paid for the benzine used.

So pungent are some of the Japanese hayings that our equivalents seem flat in comparison. For example, where we say, “Accidents will happen in the best of families,” the Japs have it “Even a monkey will sometimes fall from a tree.” “The more haste, the less speed,” becomes “If in a hurry, go round.” And where we say, “Oil and water will not mix,” they say, “You can’t, rivet a nail in a custard.”

Three woolbuyers, representing English firms, are visiting Marlborough, and the Blenheim Express believes that this season will see a good deal more direct business done than in past years. It is reported that -one of this year’s merino clips has been sold for 21 d bar locks, and that for some well known clips offers have been made up to 2/. The owners of coarse wool are also being invited to do business on the improved prices.

Sydney is fastidious in the matter of the-fish it eats. People refu&e to buy gurnard (esteemed as a delicacyin Europe), even at Id a pound. They will not even eat it if it is given away, as witness the rebuff which the manager of the State trawlers received when he offered gurnard to the unemployed and their families free. The result has been that many big catches have found their way,to the incinerators. '.

There was probably no more valuable feature ol‘ the Carterton Show than the milking' competitions. Every dairy farmer who saw the Pukio (Martinborough) cow, which topped the list with 6881 b of butterfat for the season, must, have wondered what sort- of a fortune he could make with a herd of such animals. It is, of course, most unlikely that, any . farmer will have a herd producing 6881 b each, but there is nothing to prevent them going half way, and even that would be double 1 lie average production to-day. If every herd could double its yield the owners could snap their fingers at the high price of land. A slightly built young man who scaled a telegraph posf at Wanganui at 2 o’clock one morning, appeared before Mr Barton, S.M., on a charge, laid by the Telegraph Engineer, of interfering with (he telephone wires. “One of my mates dared me to climb the pole, 'they thought I wasn’t strong enough,” said the defendant. He, however, protested against any intention of doing any damage. The magistrate, Mr Bar-1 ton, pointed out that the defendant bad laid himself open to a fine of £IOO or 12 months’ imprisonment. He, however, would accept the explanation to some extent that it was a prank done out of mischief or bravado. Any interference with telegraph and telephone'lines had to be stopped. A fine of £2 with costs was imposed.