Shannon News TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 1923.

Shannon News, 20 March 1923, Page 2

Shannon News TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 1923.

Mr , A. Billens, photographer, Levin, notifies that he is open for engagement to photograph Easter weddings at Shannon. Harvest thanksgiving services will be held in the Methodist Church on Sunday next, March 25, at both morning and evening services. On Monday night in the Parish Hall the produce and goods sent in will be offered for sale. There will also be a social, a number of friends havifrg promised to assist in the musical programme'. Last, but not least,, a light supper will be provided. The charge for social, including supper, will be only 6d each. Come and bring a friend.

Neither oi' the local cricket clubs ►played on Saturday. Udder the new draw Shannon had a bye, while Public Works have dropped out oi the competition. The linal for the Shield now lies between Weraroa and Shannon. ' ' , The best - talent available, in Palmerston North and Foxtou has been secured for the forthcoming ‘ grand Scottish concert in aid of the Soldiers Memorial, to be held in the iYlaoriland Theatre on Tuesday, March 27. Arrangements had been made by the dance committee of the Tennis Club for the appearance of a party of fancy dancers at to-night’s dance, but word has been received they will be unable to reach Shannon in lime. However, / the dance will be held as

usual, and patrons can be assured of

a pleasant evening. On Friday evening, shortly before nine o’clock, a sharp shock of earth quake was experienced in Shannon The shock was preceded by a slow rumbling movement, which culminated in a shake lasting several seconds. At the theatre where the pictures were in progress, the earthquake created mild excitement. No damage was reported. Again on Sunday .evening about 7 p.m. there were three more slight shocks. The usual fortnightly meeting ol the Borough Council will be held this evening. In our last issue we did not make it quite clear as to who was eligible to vote at the comfng municipal/ election. The Act states that any person who is a resident of a borough and over the .age of 21 years, shall be entitled to vote, provided he or she has been a-resident within the borough lcr three months and has completed 12 months’ ‘residence in New Zealand. This is the position as far a,s the ■residential qualification is concerned, providing fhe person is a British subject by birth or by naturalisation in New Zealand. No person, howevex - , who has not been enrolled by 5 p.m.' on April 12 will be entitled to vote. The poll will lake place on Thursday, April 26., % 6 ’ %

Advice of what must be a record wool price for this district has just been received .by Mr W. Kilsby, of Queen Street. A parcel of his Southdown wool sold at the recent Wellington sales realised 23£d per lb. Mr R. who for 23 years has been on the editorial staff of the Sydney Referee, has paid .16 visits to New Zealand. In 1889 he brought over the first Australian athletic team that ever visited the' Dominion. He came over to see Arnst and Webb in 1908 and 1909 at Wanganui, and in 1921 he brought over a team of greyhounds for the Australasian Waterloo Cup meeting at Franßton Junction. He is over here this time in connection with the rifle shooting, and competed at the recent Trentliam. meeting. Ail the visits have been with athletic teams. Mr Coombes** probably holds' the record for versatility in sport. ■

In addition to having bred and developed the' two greatest butteriut producers of the Jersey breed, Taranaki can hpw claim that one of Us former herd leaders lias established' another New Zealand record by siring three 7001 - butterfat daughters. This was the bull, Souinise Tom, formerly owned by Mr John Hale, owner of the “Holly Oak” Jersey stud. Mr Hale has now bred two daughters from this bull, which are both champions of New Zealand in tlieir .respective classes. One, a senior two-year-old, produced 6801 bof butterfat, and the other, a senior four-year-old, 7801 b cJ butterfat.'

A returned soldier and his young wile, who with much courage took up a backblock farm in the King Country, and who find .the;.work hard, and sometimes not profitable, say that .they do not' see. a very great return for all their labour, but they still-re-main hopeful and , look forward to better days. * Their worst trouble lor this season has been the ragwort weed. A wet season seems to have fostered-the growth oh the pests, -and what they call the ‘tyellow peril” seems to be popping up evefy where and showing its head in some of their best paddocks. They have been told that sheep help to keep it down, but on 139 acres bush farm, where dairying is tlieir chief source of income, there is not much' room for sheep. They had tried to kill the roots alter pulling up the plants by filling the holes with .salt, and in some cases pouring in kerosene, but with what result they at present do not know, but ragwort they found out was one of the worst pests on the farm, for all feed died down in the vicinity of the plants, which this season had made such rank growth. The “ragging” of new. pupils was the subject of a short discussion at the monthly meeting of the Southland High School’s Board (states that exchange). Mr J. Carswell said there was a certain amount of “ragging” that the board should wink at, but a case had come under his notice the other day in which a boy had shown fight, and as a result, *so he»was informed; he had, been put through the “ragging” ceremony every day tnat week. The boy had been ordered to sing in the train.- He had r.eiused to do so, and was again “ragged.” As a result of the affair the boy had left the school. The chairman: “Of course, a boy is well advised to go through it and be done with it.” The secretary' said boy’s parents could not understand why lie would not. go to school, nor why he appeared so worried at the time. The boy would not eat or sleep. Evidently he had not told his parents about the “ragging.” The boy was a clever boy and above the avfera.ge. The secretary undertook to go into the matter. The average length oi lile ■ in the United States Is 56 yeai’S —fifteen years

| more than it was in 1870. Life is ‘ longest in New Zealand, where the average is 60 years. , It is shortest in | India, where for thousands of years , there lias been no progress, except 1 such as England lias forced upon an , unwilling race. India's average .J life is 24 years. Dr. Farrard, president of Cornell, supplies the statistics. Not so long ago the second biggest city in France -had neither man nor woman past fifty years of age. Sixty was once very old, and seventy extraordinary. . Montaigne speaks of his old age at a time when he was riot yet filly. A lady who was a fellow passenger on the Arawa with the late Sir William Herries about two years ago wlien lie took his last trip to England, says that . one day near the Equator she discussed with the deceased statesman the question of unattained ambition. She says she will j never forget the thoughtful and seri-

oils way he gave his views on the subject, and pqinted out that it was not always possible for anyone .to gain the goal in life they had set out to attain. “ She said to him tpat; surely he had had all his wishes gratified with regard to woi'ldly attainments, for'had he not position and wealth and high Ministerial rank. His reply was that he had a great deal to be thankful for, but there was one position above all others which he thought would have satisfied him most, hut 1o which he could never now attain, and that, was to be Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament.