Shannon News FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1923.

Shannon News, 30 November 1923, Page 2

Shannon News FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1923.

It is rumoured that a local hotel is to ohlauge bauds at an early date. Mr Fargher, who has been on a visit to Napier, ■ returned home on Wednesday* Mr C. Sipjeirs’ fiaxinill near, the Kara stream has. again resumed operations alter neing closed down lor some considerable' time.

The" 1 proprietors Qf the Maoriland Theatre are. installing immediately, a large electric motor to take the. place ui the. engine. The contractors for the installation of the electric fighting in .Shannon have made, ia start and are at present working on two houses in Vogel street. •

Yesterday the first consignment oi 4-inch pipes arrived from J. Duthie and Co./ lor the Shannon water supply land they are now being distributed over the Borough. Mr Brittain, of Auckland, manufacturer of Children’s Playground; apparatus, has submitted to. the School Committee quotations for apparatus for the local school which are to be: considered at its next meeting. The local, land agents report a great shortage, of houses, for. letting; each uay they are inundated with enquiries. Opt© agent s.aid if he had tnem he could find tenants for at least' 30. They also report haying several enquiries for small farms .around Shannon. v

The borough workmen are at present ‘‘spring cleaning” the township. During the last few days they have cleared .the grass on the roadside in piimmp.r Terrace near the plots and also fhe stretch from the railway station tQ pear McKeggs. Yesterday they were removing grass, off the footpatn in Ballance. street.

The new method of cutting flax has been the means, of a large number o ir/Jn finding employment iat the, Miranui Mill, a big percentage of a whom are residing at the mill. The accommodation has been taxed to its utmost and it has been found necessary to. erect a number of tents to assist in housing the men. At present there are. 105 men being catered for. Shearing is now in full swing around Shannon, the farmers taking full advantage, of the. fine weather. In previous years the farmers have found it ofieaiper to. forwlard their ifii’ps by motor lorry to Wellington!, but this season, owing to the local carriers being 'otherwise engaged, it being sent 'by rail, whch does not cause satisfaction in some quarters.

A lot of interest has Ween created as to how long the candle in Mr George’s window will remain alight. It was lift atdQ.JO a.mi. on Monday, and on Tuesday afternoon it only had about six inches t° go, and the opinion then wa# that it would be out that evening. The prediction wag a long way out as since then it has been burning in its own fat and last evening (Thursday) lib Was going strong and looked as if it would l'aat for several hours. The person who guesses the nearest time fit (takes to bum, ouftj becomes the winner of a gold wristlet W>at(diL . ,

“FoxtonTßand ine in the. main street last evening shortly after their arrival Mr jhing Lee very thoughtfully distributed soft drinks among, them, his action being greatly appreciated both by the players; and those present.

The dredge is making great headway with the banking of the Mangaore stream and has! reached the corner of the old ferry road. The work is no being carried out by the Public Works Department in conjunction with , the Makerua Drainage Board. Some smart work whs done by. the dredge on the Shannon-Foxton . road in the formation Of the road oven the bank, 3500 yards Of spoil being removed in Hess than four days, it being Stimated that 1* yards Was removed every 40 seconds'. In regards to. the maintenance of the Shannon-Foxton road a correspondent writes desiring to know what the money paid in rates to the Horowhenuja County Council by the owners of the Whitanui and Poplar mills is useu for. He says in one case exceeds £IOO, and he wants to know Why some of it is not spent on keeping the. road in order. During the past eight days the goods traffic tat the 'local railway Ration has been very heavy and the staff have been hard put to it dealing with the work. It will .surprise many to know what has been handled and to give some idea we publish the following list Arrivals: Coal 350 tons, cement 360 tons, sand 20 tons (wieekly), glass 95 eases iron rails 50 tons, cable 30 tons, pipes .109 tons, gravel 78 tons, sleepers 260, 10 tons turbine machinery 151 four-inch 30ft water pipes, and between 200 and 300 tons of ordin'arv goods. While outward goods there were: Hemp 120 tons, butter 47 tons, cheese from Tokomaru and Linton which go from this station 17 tons wool 167 bales,, 154 crates electrical insulators 'and about 50 tons of ordinary goods.' Of the above goods handled during the last eight days it is. estimated that Mr Franks’ lorries carted 700 tons. There is conclusive proof that cattle tick is in evidence in this locality (says the Te Awamuitu Post). Next year Hamilton will celebrate its 60th anniversary, and the. Borough Council has decided to hold some luting celebration to mark the occasion.

The Thames Borough .Council has decided to lay down its main street, which is a mils long, in concrete, the width to be 18 feet. The production from the mine of Glen. Alton Collieries, Waikato, on Tuesday amounted to 42b tons, a record for the mine. The average, weekly out put exceeds 2000 tons. The Hunterville Express' says: The Hon. D. H. Guthrie is. not yet jvell enough to take up his public duties, and consequently is unable to offlciallv topen the new dairy faatory at Bata,. ;

When two small boys were charged at ‘ Tottenham Police Court with misbehaviour, one said: “I’m sorry for what I’ve done.” The Magistrate (to the other): What about you? The boy: I’m sorry IWie been caught. On' Sunday two Wanganui sportsmen proceeded to Himitangi and shot 120 rabbits. The “bunnies” were thick. One of the sports fired on one occasion at a sitting rabbit, and when he reached the spot he found he had laid four rabbits low. It would appear that remunerative employment is not too plentiful at the present time. The Hamilton Borough called for applications ior the. position of traffic inspector at a salary of £5 per week, and received no fewer than 71 applications for tile office, coming' from all parts of the Dominion,. A newi engine that the Hamilton Fire Board contemplates buying was tested on Thursday.) The water m the mains showed a pressure oi 42ib to the. square inch, and wnen the engine’s pumps, were applied the pressure was increased to 1801 b, and the water was thrown to a height of 160 feet.

A novel plan f<ir raising .capital has been evolved at the. new White City (Sydney) lawn tennis courts, widen have been established a little way out of tne city. X Ale tenure seats have been arranged in v the grandstand, and ot these 103 have already been sold, leaving only 22 now. available. The cost ox these seats is £IOO each. The readiness of people to pay this sum fpr a life-seat shows the popularity of the game.

Improvement to the roads in Wanganui County has resulted in their being caiied on to carry much heavier loads. Lorries with loads of 24 bales of wool are now running to Wanganui from Maugamahu, the total weight being about ten tons. In the Mangawhero Valley there is .similar cartage along the Parapara road, where fairmens are wanting to send out 20 bales per load. Heavy loading is to some extent due to the fact that the cartage is proportionately lowier with a. large load of wool.

A startling experience befe} S. Goldsbury, a To Arohia youth, as he was- cycling into town on Tuesday morning. He withdrew a cigarette butt from his mouth and thinking that he had extinguished it, he placed it in his hip po.cket, .He had not gone far, however, when he found that the b.uitt had com® in cpnv*.ct with his coat, which, in the breeze caused by fast travelling, burst into flames. The cyclist was not long in freeing himself from the burning garment.

t At New Plymouth the first shark of the rswimixiing season appeared close to tile shore at the Bast End Reserve the other evening and was given a Warm reception, if not -a cordial one (says the Herald). It is reported to have been a large, one, and soon after its presence had been observed firearms were produced and attempts made to shoot it. Whether or not it was Bit, the shark threshed about a good deal and provided an interesting spectacle for quite a considerable number of persons, who assembled on the beach as close_as possible to the ftb&rfe

The municipal motor-buses in Palmerston North are still losing money. For the half-year ending September 30 the expenditure was £3674 and the revenue £451 less.

Tihe Hamilton Borough Council has decided, to ere.ct no more workers’ .homes and to return the balance of the £lo,<*9o loan (£2300) to the Government. Eight dwellings i have been erected, at a total cost \of approximately £7700. Of these., two ; are leased and the remainder let to weekly tenants.

At the meeting of the Presbyterian General Assembly in Christchurch the following motion was carried: That the assembly, while earnestly hoping that in the good proyidence of God the Way to union with the Methodist and) Congregational Churches may soon open, deeply regrets that for the present all thought of immediate negotiations must be abandoned;, and therefore discharges the committee, and thanks them for their services during the last five years.”

The Wairanapa Age reports that a great deal of interest is being shown in a display of some German paper money in the shop window of a local jeweller. About 15 months ago a customer left Mastertan for Germany owing the jeweller the sum. of 8s 6d for repairs to. a watch. This ; week a letter came to hand enclosing German notes for 1,500,000 marks in part payment of the account. The envelope is. also on view, with postage stamps affixed to the .value Qf 1300 marks. ,

In the wool sales held so far this season, what strikes growers particularly is the attention being paid by buyers to. Lincoln wools, especially when compared with prices paid for these wools during the past two or three years. The Lincoln wools go into the manufacture of floor coverings, carpets, etc., and apparently that particular trade is very busy at Home. A noticeable feature also is the prices obtained for bellies, pieces, end locks, compared with the main portion of the clips. This is indeed <a very hard matter to he accounted for. All buyers are chasing them. It has often been contended that New Zealand was at 'one. time under the sea, and the finding of fossilised sea shells on the Ruahines, and other .mountains, seems to confirm the suggestion. Judging by two fossilised teeth from sharks Which were recently founds in the Napier Harbour Board’s quarry in Batitjery road, it would seem that the Napier Hills were constructed by sea action.. These teeth were found deep in the hill, for the quarry has been worked for a score of years. The teeth, one a bluish colour and the other ia grey, are splendid specimens of shark’s teeth and are somewhat larger than those usually met with these days.

Usually from the. early days of t)ctober until the end of November,Queensland farmers send big consignments of tomatoes to Melbourne, but this, season (writes a correspondent of the Age) the crop has been almost wiped out by a grub or caterpillar, the offspring of a nocturnal moth, Chloridea. obsoleta. One man, had a crop of wonderful promise,- about eight acres. On the first day of picking, he and his sons took seven.tons of tomatoes to the . shed. Practically every tomato Was affected and had to be destroyed. A few days later scores of tons of beautiful tomatoes were lying on the ground, and the full crop was cut and fed to the cattle. This man took from Melbourne last year £IOO a week for three months. This year he expected to toke £l5O a week, but the moth upset all calculations.

In the London Zoological Gardens during September several valuable specimens of a collection were found dead. A hippopotamus died after eating explosive hidden in tin cans; three alligators had their eyes gauged out ; a .famous grey monkey, the oldest member of the collection, died from poisoning, and an ostrich, which, desp' • its reputation, was. unable to digest pins which some, strange lunati: had hidden in a piece of bread. The only clue to the crimes is a human I‘»ger found lying in a lion’s c ,ige It is believed to be that of the criminal,' and ’t was probably bittc-n while he was trying to give the lion poison. Many theories are advanced regarding motjLv.es ■ but go satisfactory one has-he@h fognqf.

There h& .been .a conflict of opinion for many years whether white, lead paints have an injurious, effect upon painters, and also upon people who live in painted houses. It is well unknown that a very fine dust is given off by paint that has lead as its basis. Scientists of recent years have given much thought to the subject, and have evolved a paint that has zinc for its principal content. A striking example of the hygienic values of such paint occurred recently, not a hundred miles from Ta.iihia.pe, where a tradesman was obliged to give up his occupation as painter because of his health becoming impaired. Later he decided to resume his trade, but decided to use only the new paint, composed of zinc. To. his great satisfaction, he has never been troubled since with his old compaint of “painter’s colic.”

Action is being taken in Sydney, following a move made in Melbourne, to make “jay-walking” an offence against the traffic regulations (writes our own correspondent). “Jay-walk-ers,” for those who are innocent of the term, are people who cross crowd,ed streets diagonally, between the regular crossing places, and in most cases with their backs partly turned to the line of vehicular traffic. The feelings of drivers of vehicles is that, while the “jay walkers” are allowed to wander across crowded city streets at any place and any angle, without any check on their movements, the ( police campaign against motor traffic is a little unfair. Motorists say that natural-bora fools am,ongs£ the 'pedestrians are responsible, for most of the motor smashes. * ( Jay walking is certainly dangerous. One has only i to witness it in crowded thoroughfares - like Pitt street and George statelet, to appreciate it. . ,

It was reported last week that a number of whales have been seen about the Kaipai-a coast recently and that the Maoris were patrolling the beaches in search of ambergris. Une of them was well rewarded tor his trouble and shipped from Pouto on Sunday night a parcel estimated to be worth at the very least £BOO. In his half-yearly report to the Kiwitea County Council Mr J. W. Higginsi, of Health, repiorted that nine cases of diphtheria had occurred in one family in the County. Two cases originally developed, and instructions were given as to the precautions necessary. Unfortunately, the father of this family was inclined to ridicule the necessity for these precautions, and consequently seven other cases occurred—including the father—-who now regrets that b|e did not take advice. ‘

Intending competitors, are reminded thlat entries, close at the “Chronicle’ 1 office on Saturday night at 8 o’clock tor the Levin Horticultural Society’s Show next Tuesday. 'Entries should be made prior to Saturday if possible in order to avoid delay •at the last minute. A number of judges have consented to act, including Mr A. J., Shailer (Palmerston), cut blooms; Mr J. J. Whitehead (Palmerston), cookery and homle industries; land Mrs W. H. Russell (Wellington), decorative section. Schedules, and >entry forms are availablei at the “Chronicle” office. “The pole lines in Foxton are now complete ‘and Otaki will be commenced in a week or two,-’ Mr T. R* Overton, engineer to the Hocowneuua Power Board told a Chronicle reporter yesterday. “We find that the people in Foxton and the surrounding district are anxious to have electiveity installed. The inspector has been booking up large, numbers and very seldom meets with a negative answer, the inhabitants having fully appreciated the advantages of the Boards grouping system.” Mr Overton stated that 57 tons of copper wire for the Board had arrived through during the week. If reports are true the Treasury lias found a new source of taxation on racing, indirect, but very lucrative says the Timaru Herald. It i s alleged that income tax inspectors have interviewed members of the Dominion Sportsmen’s Association, and made demands for income tax on the profits of their operations, for a period extending over six years. ,The sums which some of the s.p. merchants have been called upon to pay are toported to be pretty considerable, and the grand total should a good, deal more than recoup Mr Massey for his reduction of The tax on stakes.

Quite a problem presents itself at times to ga : s and waterworks managers. to ascertain with some degree of exactness, where a gas. connection crosses a street or leaves the main, and very valuable time is lost to prospecting (says the. Dargaville Times). By courtesy of the - Whangarei Borough the local gasmanger (Mr Marriott) yesterday had the loan of their wireless finder. Outside toe Bank of New Zealand is a gas pipe which has given no. end of trouble finding the point of its leaving the main and subsequent whereabouts but with the aid of this machine the pipe was located to a few minutes and the course followed across the road with miraculous The cps of such a piece of machinery, we understand does not exceed £3O, would soon be recouped to the borough. .