Shannon News TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 1923.

Shannon News, 17 August 1923, Page 2

Shannon News TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 1923.

The! Pearson Blind Memorial Fund is now being brought to a close and from the lists that are coming in the results should prove satisfactory. Th© friends and members of the Methodist Ohurch are notified that Rov. l. Minifie will preach his farewell sermon on Sunday night, .the 19th inst... and we hope to see a large congregation .at this service. All ar© welcome.

Thanksgiving services will be held in thei Presbyterian Church on Sunday next, both services being conducted by th© Rev. Frank McDonald, of Foxton. In the morning th© soloist will be Miss Aim and in the evening Mrs Bovis.

A conference of engineers to consider the question of the erosion at the Shannon bridge was held in the Council Chambers on Wednesday last, after an inspection of the bridge had been made. Mr Furkett attended and there were also present ; Messrs Jickell and Gilmour (Makerua Drainage Board), Hay (Manawatu-Oroua River Board), Hickford (Manawatu G.C.), Dinnie and Anderson (P.W.D.), W. N. Anderson (Horowhenua G.G.), and R. Edwards (Shannon Borough Council). After a lenghy discussion it was decided to submit three proposals to the various bodies interested, accompanied by recommendations from the meeting. “In Texas they have a. tax on motor spirit,” said a returned Wellingtonran to the Dominion. “It usually amounts to id per gallon, which costs 9Jd. Everybody there thinks it! is the fairest tax for the upkeep of the roads. The man who motors a good deal pays his tax proportionately to the amount of petrol he consumes, but the tax does not press heavily on the man who only uses his car occasionally, at weieik-ends. Wages are tfie same 'as in New Zealand. There are no industrial troubles and very few unemployed. Mexicans do all the work on the. railways. Schools are good, and the churches are! well attended. The white and coloured populations Wave separate railway carriages, and waiting-rooms. Cotton, corn, wheat and cattfe are the industries. Th e cattle are Chiefly Here fords. Dancing is almost entirely prohibited. There; in re no fixed sports, .although while I was there, forty men were arrested for being associated with cock-fighting.”

Mi Bruce Gordon, of the clerical stuff, at the, local railway station, leaves by the Manuka to-day on. a six weeks’ holiday to Australia. A Maori Chamber of Commerce has been formed at Oruru, North Auckland, with an initial membership of nearly sixjby. It will be known as the Ngatikahu Chamber of Commerce. It was forty years lasi* Saturday sine© Auckland’s tram service was inaugurated. It was a horse-drawn service, from Lower Queen Street to Nlewton, and 484 passengers were carried the first day..

Though 5226 copies of each issue of Hansard are published, there are only 103 people who think enough of the members’ eloquence to pay for Hansard. Their total contribution to the cost is. only £216, and the cost of printing alone, is £8590. Christchurch folks ariei inclined to complain about the weather (remarks the Press). An exception is a Christchurch business man; who has returned from an eight! weeks.’ visit to Auckland. During that pieriod, he states, there were only two showers —one lasting three weeks and the other five weeks. An outbreak of fire occurred on Tuesday at midday in a shed, filled with hay belonging to Mr ,S. Bennett, Plimmer Terrace. A spark from' a passing train is believed to be the cause. Willing helpers formed themselves into a bucket brigade and were successful in saving the shed and its contents. What, is considered to hlei the smallest church in 'England (locally it is claimed to, be the smallest in the world) is situated at Pleatham, a little village in north Yorkshire!. It is a curious little structure dating back to 850 A.D., and measuring only 14ftj by 17ft., and it seats abouft fifteen people. The tiny tower was rebuilt in 1684. The church contains a 13th century stone effigy and also a stone coffin of the Crusade period. The main water-liable in front of the business premises is at present in a disgraceful state. We know that both the roadmen have been laid up with the prevailing sickness, but we certainly think xtl up to the Council to make some effort to have it cleaned out, as it is only. a menace to public health in its present state, and an eyesore to the public. Mr R. Tippler, the well knowni Jersey breeder, of Shannon, who has had three nowls under semi-official test during the past, year, has just received the final returns put uip by two of them who .havle completed the test. These are Twylish Rosebud, a 4-year-old, who put-up 536.32 lbs of butterfat, and Perfecta, a 3-year-old, with 552.261bs butiHerfat, while the 2-year-old To /.vfaire Maid, has registered 417.19 lbs with 38 days to go. These cows have received no artificial feed, therefore the records put up must be considered highly satisfactory. The canniness of the Scot is proverbial, and at thei annual meeting of the Preishyterian Church, held in. Devonport, one member wanted to know why a statement of assets and liabilities wias not presented with the balance-sheet (relates the Auckland Star). The reply was that they had assets valued at over £6009, but what was thei use of parading that before the minds of members, for 1 then thieiy would think . what a. wealthy church they were, instead.of thinking of the debt of £4OO on the manse and £I3OO on the church, and trying to pay it off, which they could easily do if they set themselves the task. Then, when that, was accomplished, they would soon present la statement of assietts. Those present! enjoyed to the full thei explanation given. The final of th© “Cheerio socials’’ given by thei ladies of thfei local Tennis Club was held in the Parish Hall on Wednesday afternoon, when a most, enjoyable time was spent by those present. The 'total proceeds for J/he afternoon was £7 55.. The results ol the various competitions was made known, and are as follows Doll (whos© name was Evelyn King) was won by Miss Evelyn King; hand painted , pin cushion, Mesdames Patton and Fiieieman tied, the former winning the draw; fish wedding competition, Mrs Easton; .the “groceries” contest, Mrs Easton, Miss. Merwood, Mrs Moynihan, Mr H. Parsons; ping pong tourn©y, Mr Parsons; the “points prize,” Miss Merwood was first with 28 points, Mrs Easton and Mr Parsons tieidi with 22 points each, Mrs Easton 'winning the draw, tjhus securing a dainty China dish. Miss Merwood secured the much coveted English crystal howl. In the children’s competition “Puzzle Towns” Master Lionel Merwood secured the prize with, 20 out of the 30 towns guessed correctly. Edith McKenzie, a, close second with 19. The ladies of the Tennis Club are deeply grateful to the public for the splendid support -gjivlein, them in their effort), and as all the same workers are going straight ahead on th© school “carnival” work, they trust they will be given the same support in that worthy object.

The isolation of ocean travel would certainly appear to be. a thing of the past. Mr J. Corson, writing from a boat running to Hawaii, says that every evening during the trip, passengers ‘listen in” to wireless concerts from San Francisco, Los- Angeles, Chicago and Honolulu, and that passing the music room, by means of amplifiers, the music of an instrumental selection is made to sound as plain as if actually played in the room.

That th(e seed of tfie goatsrue should germinate and break through concrete plaster seems almost incredible, yet this actually happened in the new Municipal Buildings. In preparing the plaster for the interior Walls of thle building, some of the seeds of this, noxious weed found their Way into the mixture. Some time after the plaster Work had been completed several swellings and cracks were noticed in onle of the walls. A closer inspection disclosed small: green shoots of the plant breaking through. The noxious growth was removed and the slight damiage repaired.—'“MainaWatju Herald.” ,

1 White bait has made its appearf ance in small quantities in the Otaki river, and a few catches are ‘ recorded.

The Chief Justice expressed much surprise at Wellington at hearing the expression “Gussy'’ applied to a young man. “I hav© never heard of it before,” declared Sir Robert Stout. “It is quite! new to me.” His Honour at til© same time expressed regret that the/ English language appeared to be insufficient for some people when they had tot resort to slang. Despite the views expressed in legat'd to the work yet to be done, it setems to be generally accepted now that the Prime Minisiter will leave lor the Imperial Conference in the Tahiti, which leaves Wellington on or about August 28. In such case, Mr Masstey will he able to make; a quick journey across til© United States and catch ia fast steamer leaving hew York for England. It seems likeiy however, that the session may not end before his dpiartune, hut wih continue/ for some time aiterwards.

A large number of influenza patients in Brisbaiile have recently been experiencing prolonged and distressing attacks, oi hiccoughs,. -■ A leading doctor said that this was an unusual form of gastric influenza, but it was not ain entirely new feature of the disease, as a few similar cases had been reported during other epidemics. One patient suffered an attack of hiccoughs which lasted for two hours and a half. H© was finally relieved by a hypodermic drug injection.

At a meeting of the Waitotara County Council yesterday a letter was received from Mr G. V. Pearce protesting against payment of the Power Board rate. “I am forwarding my cheque,” wrote Mr Pearce, “as l have not time to contest it. A local body that wiill agree to collect rates from ratepayers for something they do not want and not likely to get for the next ten years, ar e , in my opim ion, not fit to) be a local body.” The acting-chairman. Gr. R. Farley, saiu the Power 80/ard struck the rate, and the council was compelled to collect it. It was decided to reply reminding Mr (Parce of the fact that he was a member of Parliament in 1918 when thie Electric Power Board Act was placed upon the Statute Book. Attempts have been made to domesticate the pukeko (says 'the Grey River Argus) but without success, in one case- w© know of some pukeko eggs being hatched under a Dorking hen in a fowl run, and the awkward young birds throve fairly well; but as soon' as they grew strong enough, and opportunity offered, they wtm off to the nearest swamp. The experiment was tried several times, but on no occasion did the pukeko stay “put;” gardens or lawns have no attraction for him; he is bound to wander off in search of his natural habitat. Specimens of this, bird in confinement in zoological gardens are very miserable objects compared with those in their native swamps.

A particularly mean theft occurred on the lerry .steamer Britannia on an early trip from Takapuna to Auckland recently. Some ladies seated in the cabin observed a man quietly lift a purse off tlhe lap of a gill beside him and go up the stairway to the deck. The victim was promptly apprised of her loss and several passengers hastened to follow the miscreant, but unfortunately he was not identified. Subsequently, however, thd purse was found, having evidently been thrown away secretly alter £2. los—the bulk of the money it contained—'had beieta abstracted. The owner of the purse had the small satisfaction of knowing that five shillings had been considerately (or carelessly) left! to meet her immediate requirements. Discussing the sugar duty question a Neiw Plymouth merchant pointed out that the recent duty on sugar will not permit the Sugar Company to increase its price above the miarket Value of its sugar. Java to-day is quoted wholesale at £!25 per ton, c.i.f. Wellington, in single) bags, and £1 more in double bags. To this must he added the duty of £2 18s 4d, primage, exchange, and landing charges. The price in Auckland is £2B 10s. less a small agents’ commission, plus coastal freight, insurance, and landing charges, so the cost in Wellington to the merchant will probably exceed that of Java. Any increase in price can therefore only be what the public is prepared to pay for the better local article.

The Mayor of a rising borough situated. not a hundred miles from the Empire. Git-y,. recently boarded the steamer in Sydney, en route for Home (says the Napier “Telegraph”). On reaching the ship an old New Zealand acquaintance made himself known to His Worship, and after a few preliminaries asked for the loans of a fiver until' the boat reached Wellington. On (being handed the amount the borrower turned round and introduced to the Mayor two gentlemen “Mr and Mr , both friends of mine.” All went well until Wellington was reached, when it transpired that the borrower’s two “friends” were policemen in mufti, and that they were escorting the: gentlemen who landed the fiver back to New Zealand to make certain (explanations before a magistrate .

The gamble which exists in the present method of consigning produce to tfie English markets was strikingly illustrated at the annual meeitiing of shareholders of the Tikorangi Dairy Co. on Friday. In quoting the prices secured for the various shipments of produce, the secretary stated that one vessel which was loaded for West Coast of England ports arrived Home whilst good prices were prevailing. Delay took place in the vessel’s discharge and it was three weeks before her produce was landed. In the meantime the bottom had fallen out of the market, only a shilling being advanced on the shipment of butter. On the other hand, another vessel spent several weeks longer than she should have cruising around New Zealand. Her cargo, which' according to schedule would have been landed in the middle of the slump period, \oaught an improved market and realised nearly top prices.

Feilding Ratepayers an© to-day voting on the following loan proposals: (a) Reconstruction. and tar-sealmg roads, £16,000; (1>) purchase °f road making machinery, £4000; (c) building rest room and conveniences, £3500; (d) erection bridge Derby street, £2000; (e) erection bridge South street £-2000.

Mr W. H. Field, M.P. (Otaki), has given notice to ask the Minister of Agriculture whether it is. proposed, as soon as funds and circumstances will permit, to proceed with the long* contemplated soil-survey of New Zealand, and thus furnish a guide to farmers on various classes of land as. to the best fertilisers to use for their respective pastures and crops.

The Redfem Band (Sydney) has definitely decided to compete at the contest to bo held in Christchurch next vear, according to a letter received by Lieutenant W. H. Osborne, conductor oi thp?; First. Canterbury Mounted Rifles Band, Ashburton. It has been stated in New Zealand that the Malvern Band (the champion hand in Australia) also intends to go to. Christchurch In February. Should this come lo pass, the contest will be the most important ever held in the Dominion.

' Some idea of the /enormous number of listeiiers-in can be obtained from the fact that the operator .at, Eiffel Tower recently received the overwhelming number of 56,000 postcards In response to an appeal for ci. cisms. II he had had any previous doubts as to whether tTlere were more than a hundred or so people listening to him broadcasting his weather reports, thie dozen or so mail bags that arrived must have caused him to perform soiniei mental arithmetic in noughts. There has been some talk of the record heavy weight duck eggs, hut Mr 'David Rankin, an amateur pouitrylanner of Miramar has some white Leghorn fowls (of the Leger strain) which are daily laying eggs oi giant proportions and extraordinary weight (relates the New Zealand limes). Day alter day some of tne fowls lay eggs hail' a pound m weight and .never indulge in an extra cackle over it! Th© eggs are perfectly shaped, have a firm shell, and are said to be of splendid flavour. This, unique performance will surely take some beating.

An ocean race that will be watched with some interest in Auckland has commenced between the Clan Mackenzie and the Trekieve. Both steamers reported at Colon on July 30, and both, are en route to Auckland from New York. Both are 11-knot steamers and ar e of modern build. The Clan Mackenzie was, built in 1917, is. oi 6544 tons gross register, and is an oil burning steamer. The Trekieve is a sister ship of the Trelyon, which was at Auckland six months ago. She is a unit of tha Hain fleet of steamers, which are distinguished by a big white “H” on a black funnel, and, like her sister ship, she measures 5250 tons gross register, having been built in 1920.

Young fellows are not always entirely to blame apparently for preferring town tO' country life. Here is a case in point: A New Plymouth boy, between 16 and .17, has been working on a farm in the Aokura district, and was making good, those best able to form an opinion being satisfied he would he ai success on the land. His wages were 35s a week and found, and he was to get -a little extra, by way of gilts such as a calf and a young pig. His mother, however, writes him enclosing a “Wanted” advertisement and slating that she has secured the job for him at £1 a week, but that it will be more later on if he suits, and so the boy gives up his position in the count!v and comes hack to town. The worst feature of the mother’s letter, however, is that she encourages this boy to tell a falsehood in leaving his work out in the country by saying that he has to l come to town “to help his mother because dad is ill.” Opinion tv as recently sought by the National Dairy Association on a point of importance to dairy farmers. It was: Must dairy companies pay to a third party orders given by milk suppliers against their monthly cheques? The association’s solicitor advised as follows: “If the supplier gives a written order duly stamped and indicates that same is to b‘o paid out of liis monthly cheque, then the dairy company cannot safely disregard the order.. Generally speaking, the dairy company is not entitled to make a charge against the supplier unless the articles and by-laws in force permit it, nor can they make any charge against the third party to whom the order has been given. ’ ’

Mr. R. J. Seddon, the great New Zealander,, had a remarkable memory for names and often surprised people whom he had not seen for years by calling them by their proper names. But for all that he made many mistakes. One of the quaintest was made in the lobby of the House of Representatives in Wellington. The Bedell* Sievright British Rugby football team had arrived, and as they were to be entertained within the precincts of the House, they were standing, in a group at the top of the lobby awaitipg the coming of the Premier. In*the centre of the lobby were gathered all the newspaper nien then engaged in the House. The Premier had a trick of being late. He liked the audience, to be in breathless expectation. He came in with liis celebrated breeze and bluff ; heartiness and rushed into the centre of the crowd of pressmen grasping the first two available hands. “Well, boys,”: he said, “glad to see you. Wliat sort of a trip did you have coming out from Horae.” The disrespectful laughter of the pressmen greeted the Premier’s hearty welcome to men he had known for years.