Shannon News FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1922.

Shannon News, 17 November 1922, Page 2

Shannon News FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1922.

The Shannon Cricket Club intend holding a guessing competition to raise funds towards purchasing a net for practices. It is the intention of the Shannon Cricket Club to purchase a lot of new' material. They are going to donate' the old to the schoolboys’ cricket club. It is expected to make a start with the singles and pairs championships in connection with the local bowling club this week.' Members . are now practising hard.

, Jvliss Eason, the newly appointed Head '-Infant Mistress at the local school, has taken up her duties. Miss Eason, previous to accepting this appointment, was Infant mistress at Lower Harbour School, Port Chalmers.

The men at Mangabao hydro works intend, holding a grand bachelors’ dance,at Arapeti on Friday, December 15, to commemorate the year’s work. A combined meeting of Mr Linkl-at-ier’s committees and supporters will be held in the Parish Hall, Shannon, on Tuesday, November 21, at 8 p.m. Mrs F. Wi Venn, an old resident of Shannon, who has been on a visit to the Old Country, has returned to Shannon.

In the course of his speech at Taupiri last week, Mr R. F. Bollard, M.P., mentioned that the Hon. W. F. Massey was receiving • £2OOO a year as Prime Minister, but the speaker knew personally of an offer to Mr Massey, from a certain bank in Wellington, of £SOOO a year to take over the managership.

The question of land nationalisation as propounded by the Holland Socialistic Party, was referred to by the Hon. Mr Massey in his address at Inglewood. . He said the first attempt at land nationalisation was made away back in history in the time of Joseph in Egypt. He recalled that when Joseph’s brothers came to him to buy corn and had exhausted their money he said to them, “Very well, I’ll take your lands instead,” and they agreed. Joseph was a great financier, but the country had never recovered from that transaction.

The Prime Minister was responsible for an unconscious “bull” in the course of his address at Stratford on Friday night. He was telling the audience of some of his experiences in England during . the course of assisting in raising" one of the big war loans, and said he Was addressing a large audience in a town in the north of England. “It was an audience as ‘dense’ as that which I am facing tonight,” said Mr Massey, and in a moment there was an outburst of laughter. When this' had subsided, someone asked, “What about those behind you?”{to which the 1 Premier cleverly replied, “I never forget the people who stand behind me.” (More laughter.)

The' movement to improve the Foxton Harbour is not getting much encouragement from the Railway Department. On Monday, Messrs. R. W. McVilly, general manager of railways, 11. Buxton, chief traffic manager, F. W. McLean, chief engineer, and EC. Gillon, chief mechanical engineer, visited Foxton, but the local Harbour Board was not notified of the visit, although the Minister had inforcned the Board that, this would be done. A deputation from the Board was to have interviewed the General Manager in reference to the railway crossing rights to the wharf, which has been held up pending Mr McVilly’ s visit. The departmental officers came down and returned by special train.

There is no> more delightful emendation of a hymn than one that was made necessary by the advance of modern locomotion in “The Son of God goes forth to war.” Bishop Heber wrote 1 : “O God, to us may grace be given, to follow in the train!” Thus it stood in the earlier books. When the coming of the railway gav6 to following "in the train” a familiar meaning unknown to the Bishop of Calcutta, revision committees were obliged to provide-against the laugh-ter-provoking quality of the line by altering it “To follow in Thy train.”’

The totalisator return of £28,514 for the first day of the Hamilton racing Club’s meeting at Claudelands on Saturday show a deficit of £13,635 10/ compared with the first day of the last meeting.

The Wairarapa Age says: Since the Masterton Chamber of Commerce considered the matter of starting a woollen mill in this district, several exist-

ing mills have published their balance sheets for the year. It is remarkable that, in spite of the troub-

led times they havet almost all done exceptionally well. The Mosgiel Company, with a capital of £83,000 and reserves of £37,000, has made a profit of almost £62,000 for the financial year. The Bruce Woollen Company, a much more recent forrhation, did almost as well, thus showing that the prophets of evil who declared that ail the prosperity of woollen mills was due to the war were not correct. The Wanganui Company, in any case, has. thought- fit to go ahead with its suspended scheme and we are now informed that the little town of Winion, in Southland, is about to start a mill. Tt is quite clear that the woollen industry is a very thriving industry in New Zealand and that- there are other people besides those of Masterton who consider there is still room for new mills.

It is. not often one sees shrubs grow- I ing on the roof of a building, hut on ; the roof of Whiteley Church, New Ply-1 mouth there is a taupata which tip- j pears to be flourishing. Apparently a j seed carried by a bird has germinated j and the shrub is now nearly three feet j high and looks to he quite strong and j healthy. *

A large eel was secured by a Maori a day or two ago in one of the ponds near the oil derricks, Moturoa (New Plymouth). The eel was taken on a large hook lashed to a stick, and upon benig , “jagged” straightened out the hook and escaped. The native, however, was not to be denied. After adjusting the hook he returned to the fray, and hooked the big “tuna,” which turned the 1 scale at 221 b, and was between five 'and six feet in length.

Mr T. D. Burnett, Reform candidate, speaking at Temuka, said Mr Massey did not favour “the big man.” In 1906, Mr Seddon’s time, a farmer owning land valued at £IOO,OOO and making 10 per cent on his capital, paid £531 5/ in land tax, and no income tax. In 1912, Sir Joseph Ward’s time, he paid £654 13/9 land tax and no income 1 tax. In 1921-22, Mr Massey’s time, he paid £1316 13/4 in land tax and income tax to the amount of £2482r-a total of £3798. Yet the opponents of-the Reform Party charged them with specially favouring the “big man.”

Thus the Auckland Star: “Come over to Massey-donia and help us” was Mr Massey’s little joke at Pukekohe. This was by way of an invitation to Liberals to join.the party led by Mr Massey. It is said that a Scotsman jokes with difficulty. , Mr Massey is not exactly a Scotsman. He h'ails, from that part of Scotland known as (he North of Ireland. But his little joke bears the well known Scottish characteristic, and Mr Massey must feel a sense of relief at ridding himself of it. As to its application—St. Paul in a vision saw a man from Macedonia praying “Come over and help us.” He took ship for Philippi, the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and abode there many days until he got into trouble, and finally,, after a sojourn ni gaol, during which wonderful things happened, he departed from the city.”

. The Grey River Argus, the West Coast Labour daily, asked its readers to note the other day that the Liberal aspirant for the Motueka seat had received a delightful surprise packet in the shape of a cheque for £SO towards his electioneering expenses. There was no name to it, the donor wishing to keep his identity to himself, so that it. is not likely to help the candidate much. This calls to memory an old story of another West Coast cheque. A certain member of Parliament was presented with a purse of sovereigns; so the story runs, in recognition of his action in furthering the passage of some local legislation, and when it Was pointed out that the acceptance of the gift was contrary to the law the member immediately sent his cheque to the donors of the sovereigns', with a letter expressing his gratitude but saying that he could not think of accepting the' gift for doing what was no more than his duty. The cheque, when presented at the bank, was returned marked N.S.F. What become of the sovereigns the story leaves to the imagination.