Shannon News Friday, December 29, 1922.

Shannon News, 29 December 1922, Page 2

Shannon News Friday, December 29, 1922.

Mr J. Turoa, the well known operator at the Maoriland Theatre, is at present spending a holiday with friend's at Porangahau. At a sitting of the local Court yesterday, before Messrs. Gunning and Spencer, J.P.’s, Joseph Hourigan was charged with being an idle and disorderly person, and was senetnced to 14 days’ imprisonment.

The many friends of Mr G. Mercer will'regret to hear that ihe has received the sad news of the death of his mother at Nelson. Mr Mercer left yesterday for Nelson to attend the funeral.

Mr H. Barber, while engaged in cutting a root in a drain, had the misfortune to cut a sinew on the back of his hand, tvliicli necessitated medical attention.’ It" will be some time before he will be able to use the hand.

The Shannon News will be published on Wednesday and Friday next week.

The Christmas trade in Shannon this, year is reported to be much the same’ as the preceding year. This season the trade was not so much of a rush, the shopping being extended over a greater number of days.

Many complaints were heal’d as to the filthy state of the trucks on the 9.30 train from Shannon to Awapuni on Boxing Day. These were the only seats available for Shannon passengers, there being about half an inch of dust on them.

Up to the present no word has been received from Wellington in regard to the cricket match which the Shannon Club was trying to arrange with a Wellington team for New Year’s Day. They now intend trying to get a ..Palmerston team to visit here.

A few days ago Miss R. Blight, whilst engaged in cleaning a window, put her hand through it, receiving a very nasty cut on the wrist, necessitating several stitches. On Boxing Day, Shannon wore a very deserted appearance, the majority of people being away holidaymaking. A large quota journeyed to the races at Awapuni. Others went to Foxtdn beach, while there were several picnic parties. Unfortunately rain came on early in the afternoon, which caused an early return home, thereby spoiling the day’s outing for many.

We leam that a meeting is to be convened of ratepayers at an early date for the purpose of considering the proposed waterworks scheme as submitted recently by the Borough Council.

Owing to there being insufficient flax ready for cutting, the Miranui mill will only be running two strippers when the mill commences work after the holidays.

"A friendly cricket match was arranged for last Saturday between the Foxton and Shannon Cricket Clubs at Shannon, but for some reason the Foxton players failed 75 turn up. The many friends of the Rev. .1. R. McKenzie, of Petone, will be pleased to learn that he is exchanging pulpits with the Rev. Mr Stewart for five weeks, commencing on Sunday next. Nurse Fox, of the Wellington Hospital nursing staff, is at present staying with her uncle, Mr G. Quarrie.

A man named Edward Sullivan appeared before Messrs. Gunning and Spencer, J.P.’s, on Wednesday morning charged -with drunkenness on Saturday and also committing a grossly indecent act in Plimmer Terrace. On the first charge he was lined £1 or 48 hours, and on the second. charge he was fined £4 or one month’s imprisonment. x - % Continuity in education was referred to by the headmistress of : the Auckland Girls’ Grammar School (Miss W. Picken, M.A.), w,ho stated in the course of her report: “I wish parents could realise th£t it is very little, use for girls to< come to a secondary school unless, they are prepared to stay at least the full two years of their junior course; and even then they have only laid the foundations of their secondary education.” As the result of legislation passed by the Victorian State Parliament, ‘the squaring of juries will now be a difficult matter. Previously there were too many loopholes in the law to'effectually stop the practice. Convictions were difficult. An isolated' case, in which the police were able to sheet home the offence,., disclosed a scandalous state of affairs. Parliament has passed a Bill which, among other things, prevents the names of the jury panel being disclosed either to' the Crown or the accused personbefore the trial. 'Hie Premier, in sponsoring the Bill, told an illuminating story of how the names of jurors called for a session were posted on the wall of a “two-up” school for the information of patrons. He admitted that the practice of juiy “squaring”

was not general, but it was beyond doubt that constant attempts were made. Labour members read into the Bill a threatened blow* at ihe jury system, but the argument carried no weight.

The Bulletin’s Sydney correspondent writes: “Rumour says that matrons in Court circles arc beginning to smile knowingly when Princess Mary Lascelles is mentioned. The Princess has retired from active social life. Various domestic additions are being hurried up at Goldsborough Hall, and Queen Mary'has arranged to stay there during the second week in January. It looks awfully interesting—doesn’t it?”

Payments made on tlfiT2oth insl. by the various dairy companies for but-ter-fat supplied during November were as follow: Kairanga, £7OOO (1/5 per lb); Whakaronga, £2700 (1/5 per lb); Tiakitaliuna, £1470 (1/4 per lb); Ravenswood, £IO4O (1/4 per lb); New Zealand Farmers’ Dairy fJnion, £16,373

(l/3fr per lb); Awahuri, £8387 (1/3 per lb); Shannon, 1/5; Levin, 1/4.

Late .shearing, with an increased supply of thistle pricks on the hands and arms oi men handling the fleeces, has brought to light quite an unusual number of cases of what is known as wool poison. The trouble is like blood poison, and unless ‘taken hand by skilled treatment at once, is apt to be exceedingly troublesome or even dangerous.

When one of the apprentices of the Randwick (Sydney) trainer, F. McGrath, returned to the sheds after a gallop on Magnet, he asked McGrath if he could see anything on his neck. To the trainer’s astonishment he saw blood running down the lad’s neck and on the back of his shirt. The boy stated that, lie thought someone near the three furlongs post had thrown a stone or a piece of glass at him as lie was galloping. Then it was discovered the mare had thrown both her. hind shoes, heavy ones at tha.t, and one had evidently caught the back of the boy’s head and inflicted an ugly wound.

There were many voices raised in protest on the Niagara prior to her berthing at Auckland on her last trip regarding the compulsory oath of allegiance and of obedience t t o the laws of the country (reports the Auckland Star). Britishers generally resent these oaths in peace time, however necessary it may have been considered during the war, declaring that their imposition by frequent repetition become nauseating and an innuendo against their loyalty and character. “It. is un-British,” said one passenger. “We resent being asked to swear to our loyalty when most of us have proved it by our long years of British-citizenship. Why should a British subject be made to swear allegiance to the King of whom he is a subject in New Zealand if it is not demanded elsewhere? It is absolutely nauseating this sort of thing, and do you think it would deter anyone who is disloyal from landing? If he is disloyal he ‘is quite unprincipled enough to swear v anything to get ashore where he wants to. The thing is ridiculous, nauseating, offensive to all free Britishers. As for the oath to obey the laws of the country, that is absolutely farcical. Don’t we all know that we have to obey the laws of any country we are in, or suffer the penalties provided for their infringement? Ignorance of the law is no excuse, and the form of oath is not a text, book of the. laws of New Zealand anyway. Why don’t your officials here learn common sense, and snip off a few miles of the red tane which enmeshes yon?”

Striking a cow, a train on the Rovanui lino was derailed at The Camp the other afternoon (says a Grey mouth paper). ‘ The men from the State mines had to walk down from Rewanui to Dunollie, and another train came up from Greymout.h. Tho cow, like many others that arc killed while wandering along the railway lines seemed to belong to nobody; at least, as far as is known, nobody turned up to claim it.

From New Plymouth to Sydney direct, with about a month spoilt in Australia —this roughly describes the tour which has been arranged by the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce, and in which some 70 or more of its members will take part. According to the present plans, the party will leave New Plymouth by a Union Company’s steamer at the end of February or early in March. The director of the New South Wales Tourist Bureau, with director of the New South Wales Millions Club, has arranged a well-diversi-fied series of excursions, all or any of which may be taken by the New Zealand visitors. Most of these trips will be made by motor car or by train and car ; combined, and guides will accompany the parties. It is estimated that the whole! excursion, including seamer fares, hotel accommodation in Sydney, and participation in the programme of outings, will not entail an expenditure of more than £BO for each member.

Tile Minister of Railways recently .promised to acquaint the Foxtoii Harbour Board of the date when tire General Manager of Railways would visit the port lor the purpose of looking into the matter of access to the wharf and shed. The hoard, at its last meeting, deputed Messrs. Barber and Signal to meet Mr McViliy and to discuss, not only this question, but also the matter of freights, wharfage and general. The Minister failed to carry out his : promise to advise the board of the general manager’s coming, and the deputation failed to meet him. Doubtless the General Manager was conscious of me appointment, otherwise he would not have asked the stationmaster if he had seen the deputation which was supposed to wait on him (reports the secretary to the Board). So great was his disappointment that he instructed the sta.tionm!aster not to ring the Harbour Board office, and said, “If they are not here to time that is not my funeral.” The Board, has decided to take the matter up with the Minister.

I “I never used the word in my life, said a defendant at Upper Hutt yesterday when shown a certain word, not to be found in the dictionary* which it was alleged he had used to his daughter. The humour of the situation dawned on the Court when it became known that defendant could not. read and was quite unaware what word had been pointed out to him by his solicitor.

A prodigy has been discovered in Hautapu, in the shape of a dairy farmer who has nothing to grumble at. This morning a well-known ■ dairy farmer in that locality informed a Waikato Independent reporter that his cows were doing well, his hay crop was excellent, tlie weather was quite all right, and, in fact, “everything in the garden was lovely.” The reporter was so’ flabbergasted to find a farmer without a grievance that he was rendered speechless.

Thus the Waipa Post: A leading Cambridge resident who claims to support Reform policies in the politics of this country, and who attended Monday’s meeting of the Waipa County Council at Ohaupo, informed a Waipa Post reporter that, he had opposed Mr J. T. Johnson’s candidature for ihe Waikato seat because he (Mr Johnson), when a member of the Waipa County CoiuTcil, had been a party to the compulsory merging of the. Pukekura road district in the country, thus closing an institution that centred in Cambridge, and also because Mr Johnson had been party to the drainage commission which had required the Upper Mangapiko Drainage to contribute toward the maintenance of the lower reaches of the stream. In the face of paltry “politics” of this sort, is It to be wondered at that Reform is to-day likely to cease as a political force in the affairs of this country? The other. day a King Country newspaper inixe'd a society item with a farm note, with the following result: “The Red Cross concert given last night by 16 of our beautiful young ladies was highly appreciated. They sang in a charming manner, winning the plaudits of the audience, wHo pronounced them the finest group of Shorthorns in the country. A-few of them wiere rich brown in colour, but the majority were spotted red and white.)’ The editor, it is said, immediately went on a prolonged holiday to Auckland. An amusing incident happened this week in connection with the display of Christmas goods being made by one of the Wanganui tradesmen. For advertising purposes a fine looking Christmas pudding had been placed in tlie shop window, and it proved to be quite an attraction. Several customers bad to. be advised that it was merely a dummy imitation of the real puddings, and all went well until a newly initiated shop assistant sold the dummy. The result can be better imagined than described. When the boiling of the pudding commenc ed the bread with which the “shell” had been stuffed soon became soft, 'and with consternation the good housewife saw her big fine “duff” shrink and collapse. What was said to the tradesman is being held in re serve for the Blue-book.

M. Maunoury, French Minister fa" the Interior, noticed the other day with concern that a very beautP i Louis XIV. “Savonnerie” carpet, which adorned the floor of his study was beginning to show signs of wear and was losing its brilliancy of colour. He sent for an inspector of the Beaux Arts, and learned, to his surprise, that the carpet, which is national property—was estimated at a million francs (about £20,000 at the 1 present rate of exchange) but that if it were put up' for public auction it would fetch between two and three millions. “That is far too expensive for me,” remarked the Minister. “Please have the treasure removed. A modern carpet is quite good enough for my use.” For a long time Chinese market gardeners on their way to the. Melbourne market early ill the mornings have been stopped by a policeman on the St. Kilda Road and accused of driving on the wrong side. Generally the Chinese are asleep in the waggon seals, and the policeman, on waking them, would fine them ten shillings each. He‘made the pace too hot, even for the Chinamen, and complaints to police headquarters resulted in two plainclothes men hiding among the cabbages in a Chinaman’s cart last week, and directing him to drive on the wrong side of the road. At-'2 o’clock a uniformed constable stopped the waggon and fined the Chinese ten bob. “Me welly poor,” said the Chinese, “me only eight bob.” “Well, fined eight bob,” replied the constable. The Chinaman acted his part well, paid over'the money, and laughed in great glee when the plainclothes men jumped from the cabbages and caught the policeman, who has been dismissed from the force.