Shannon News FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1923.

Shannon News, 14 December 1923, Page 2

Shannon News FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1923.

The .many friends of His Worship the Mayor (Mr. Murdoch) will regret to hear he is at present indisposed. The quarterly meeting of members of dhei Shannon Chamber of Commerce will be held in the CQuncil Chambers this evening. Whooping cough is at present very prevalent in the infant classes at the local school..

The unloading of a number of new pianos at iMr L. HL Martin’s, and the arrival of the billiard tables, for the new billiard room gave Ballance street quite a busy appearance yesterday morning while the unloading was in progress.

The public are reminded that; the first annual concert of Miss Mona Neale’s pupils will be held in the Maoriland Theatre oh Tuesday evening next. As the proceeds from the concert are in aid of the Soldiers’ Memorial and school funds, it is hoped there will be a large attendance.

Cr. Hyde at Tuesday night’s ,meeting ol the Council, drew attention to the growth of blackberry in the Borough. It Was resolved that the roadman be authorised to notify occupiers of property where blackberry exists to remove same, and in the event ol any person failing to do. so the roadman is to (hand in th§ir names to the Council, who will take action. Much has been heard in regard to what money can be made flax cutting under the side leaf system. There are flax-cutters who say good wages can be made under' this system, while again others complain that they are unaibie to make a fair wage. Evidently the former position is nearer the mark judging by the returns of four boys,, the Batt Bros., of Koputaroa, whose ages ranged from 14£ years to 19 years, and who started cutting at Miranui on Tuesday last. These boys for their day’s cutting averaged 13s 9d. each. The manager states their bundles were, properly tied and! stacked in a workmanlike manner. If boys can show this return for their labour, surely men can do better. With the Gift Season now approaching Howard Andrew, Ltd., have a. special advertisement with suggestions for presents. Customers are advised to shop early and peruse page 2. '

An evening sports meeting will be held in the Domain on Saturday, commencing ,at 5.3 Q p.m..

At the School Committee meeting last night it was decided to hold the annual picnic on Saturday, February 17th. . ■ • *'. '

At Tuesday night’s meeting of the Council, it was agreed that tne local resident solicitor, Air Moody, be given preference in handling the legal business of the Borough. Asked by a councillor at Tuesday night’s meeting how long it woula be before the water supply would be available, the Engineer (Mr Edwards) said approximately lour to five months. '

Stock owners in the Boroughae advised that at Tuesday mght s. nu e-t----ine-pf the Council it.was decided to close the Borough road for grazing from to-day (Friday) at 6 p.nu At the opening of the Tennis. Club’s new courts on iWednesday afternoon, the Mayor said there were many tennis enthusiasts in Shannon an d he hoped some day tive from here, in the Davis Gup con tests. ! „ +VI A meeting of the members of the Shannon Bowling Cluib and all thase interested in the formation of a Cro quet auh in Shannon will beheld in the Council Chamibcrs on Tuesday evening, at 8 p.ni. All ladies interested are specially invited to. attend. The Moutoa school children’s concert will bo held in the hall on Thursday evening next when among tne items there will he niirsery in a novel form, consisting of Georgie Porgie and Simple Simon that will take you hack to your childhood days. Supper will be provided end dancers will be catered for with good up-to-date music. At the conclusion of the Borough Council meeting on Tuesday evening the Town Clerk (Mr J. T. Bovis) said as this was the last meeting of the Council before Christmas, he wished the Mayor, Deputy-Mayor and councillors the. compliments ol the festive season. The Deputy-Mayor (Mr Gardner), on behalf Qf the Mayor and councillors, thanked), Mr Bovis for his good Wishes, which were heartily reciprocated. . A novel sight Was. to be witnessed in Shannon on Wednesday evening as showing the many Uses a Fom car can be put, to.-A welUknown dairy farmer, was to be) seen driving has car slowly along one of the main, streets. In it he had two newly-born calves, the car being closely followed by the mothers—one at each side. He was transferring the stock from one farm to another and! the idea worked quate well, both driver and cows appearing satisfied..

A batch of twelve Cornish miners has arrive dat Waihi from Home under immediate engagement to the Waihi Gold Mining Company.

It is estimated iii some quarters that it will be necessary for the Dominion to import close upon 2,ooo,ovbushels of wheat next year, to make up for the anticipated shortage in the coming harvest in New Zealand. A Christchurch telegram s that Mr M. L. Reading, editor of the Lyttelton Times, has Vresigned for private reasons. ’ His resignation has been, accepted and will take effect in two or three months.

The “Ohakune Times” says: “One sawiniller in the district is said to have made a clear profit of £SOOB last month.” The 'same paper announces that two* new mills are being erected in the. vicinity of Raetihi. “We did our best for the Overseas Settlement delegates,”’said Mr G. L Daniell at the Masterton Chamber ol Commerce recently. “We even showed them where the Canterbury lamb was grown' (here,” .he added. At last meeting of the Opunake Town Board). 48 “dissatisfied ratepayers” forwarded a petition asking hit Board to “be good enough to resign and allow iis to elect a Bbard capable of managing our affairs in a busi-ness-like manner.” No action was taken. ( The three Japanese training ships, the cruisers Iwate, Yakumo am Asama,, will arrive at Wellington on February 4th and remain till February 9. They, will tHen jleave for Auckland, remaining there from February ,12th to 18th. The squadron will be accompanied by H.M.A.S. Adelaide. ; The impression gathered, by W. 0. Wpdqs, ,Qf Auckland, while in the United States recently, was that prices for petrol were now as low as they were likely to go. When reminded that there had been recent announcements of reductions in the Unit, States, Mr Wiles, said that these affected low-grade oils, which could not be used to any extent in this country.

An illustration or the manner in which seeds are distributed over a wide area was given when an, Auckland business man, opening a newspaper from Southland, saw a small shower of grass seeds .fall oh his desk. The seeds may have been blown into the. mail train as it was passing through the farming district, or a package of seed in, the mail may have “sprung a leak.”

Indifference to the growth of the rabbit pest was. implied in the answer Of a Waikato farmer to a remark by a visitor as to the number of rabbits seen on the farm. “Won’t you go into trouble?” inquired the visitor. “There is no rabbit board in these pairts yet,” was the reply, ‘‘and if thejre is one formed, I’ll get a seat oni lit.”

The plight of a lady in Gisborne he other day. attracted the sympathy, hut not the practical assistance of Hie few passers-by. The lady (relates the Poverty Bay Herald) was wearing a “picture” hat, which became the object of a swarm of bees, apparently on. the wing in search of a new homo. The unfortunate lady cast aside her head gear, and in a hysterical state left the vicinity, eventually fueeing herself from the attentions of stragglers from the swarm.

The Foxtoxi) Borough. Gouncil has, voted £5 ’ss to the Radium Appeal. The sum Of £232,000, the proceeds of the recent woof sales in Wanganui, was paid out to-day. Paymeiits are confined to growers in the Wanganui districts. “1 have on these occasions an unfortunate feeling that 1 am. repeating myself. 3u.t I derive some comfort from the fact that the other speakers evidently do not suffer from tne same discomfort.” —Senior . Inspector F. Bakeweli at the. break-up of the Wellington Training College. • The Wanganui Radio Club station received telephone call from an amateur at Otaki during its transmission on Saturday last. An encore of a certain item was. requested, nut unfortunately the record had taken away. The incident illustrates the large audience which even . a small transmitting station can interest.

Afraid that walking will become a lost art as the result of the growing popularity of motoring, . American ioutwear manufacturers have instituted a national campaign with tne slogan “Walk and be Healthy,” and some British manufacturers, are contemplating a similar step. An English shopkeeper is- using the slogan. “Walk more and live longer.” He suggests that all in the trade—tanner, merchant, and retailer—should contribute towards a national campaign.

The milking shorthorn , cow, Newstead Lucy, owned by Mr E. Ridgley, Riddway, Waiuku, is said to be. the oldest cow of any breed in the Dominion to qualify under S.O. test for her certificate of record with over 600 lb of butter fat. This cow milked all through last winter, the severest experienced during the last four years, and despite the fact that she has no teeth and is .16 years of age, she yielded 16,116.81 b milk, nearly 29 times her owii weight, containing 630,021 b but-ter-fat. She finished her test on October 24th,. end calved on October 31st, thus qualifyirig for her certificate with 83 days to spare.

' During a discussion on accounts at a meeting of the Elltham " County Council on, Saturday, *the chairman (Mr J. C. Belcher) remarked that he . believed it would be a good'' paying proposition for the council to cornnine with some the dairy companies in sending a lorry to. flew Plymouth with produce, and conveying bitumen for road work on the return journey. The account in question was for £261, payable in freight on 200 tons ,of bitumen.

The Longbum freezing works opened the season yesterday. Large numbers of stock were received for the floor, lambs predominating. ■ It is expected that within the next few days .a, full staff of floormen will' be engaged, although a good starf was made with about half the full floor staff. A “Standard” reporter was informed that the prospects for the season wqrei promising, and satisfaction was expressed with the number of stock sent forward for the opening operations. . Nine months ago a lady, while boarding thei Wanganui river steamer at Te Tahi landing, dropped overboard her handbag containing a gold watch, money, a bottle of perfume and sundries., LastVweek (says the Wanganui Chronicle), i when the river was low, and the waiter clear*, another lady, while standing on the Te Tn.hi landing saw an object beneath the surface, and got a native boy to retrieve it. It was the missing bag, and 1 with its CQntents was duly restored to the owner. The watch had suffered somewhat as the result of the long immersion, but the money, was as good coin of the realm as when it disappeared.

There was a curious psychological portrait in the mental make-up of a man, an inmate of Westbury (Wilts.) Workhouse 'for 68 years, who has diea ih that institution at the a & e °i 81. Known to. the. outside world by the name of “Topsy,” the old man was wont for years to stand at the gate and salute, passers-by with a “Good day; have you got a half-penny?’ He had a mania for half-pennies. Shown a sixpence and a half-penny, he would always choose the latter, scorning silver. A wreath bought with half-pennies (be had collected was placed on the coffin at his funeral, and a friend dropped a halfpenny into the open grave.

She wore her frock with the air o. a budding duchess. Its soft folds ui rich brown clung rojund her lithe form as she dived among the moving throng which eddied, round the totaiisator at Addington bn Friday

the Sun). And she was winning—sue laughted excitedly as. she clutched a roll of notes. Perhaps, though, it was her. frock—the beautiful new oration she was wearing for the first time. It was a new frock, everybody who saw her was soon aware of the fact. Hanging innocently on the sasii which wreathed round her waist was the price ticket. “Perhaps,” said the philosophic one, “she is only wearing the- frock on ‘appro.’ ”

Writing to. the president of the New Plymouth Chamber of Commerce on the question of the. immigration oi English secondary school boys to Tarakani, a Kakaramea settler says: “I have had two English hoys sent out to me through! Ihe agency of a friend, one lor myself and the. other for a neighbour. Both have turned out very fine chaps. They are, in, fact, much above the average colonists of their age, both in Workmanship and intelligence, This is perhaps a sweeping statement, but only too true. We are both Well satisfied with the' experiment. I am naturally interested hi your chamber’s scheme to bring out similar boys. Have you got one in sight anywhere, as I have another neighbour who is anxious to get one?” The writer is being told that the chamber’s last batch of applications of boys to come out in July, in readiness. for the new season’s work, win be forwarded next week, <and that his application, on behalf of a neighbour, will be included.

Wangpnui co-operative butter • facttories have been offered Is 8d per lb for their November output, and Is for December, This price represents 208 s ati Home, and since the product cannot arrive Home before February and March, it would seem that butter is in a very firm position. An interesting test to, show the tensile strength, of pinus insignis was car-

ried out by the Ashburton county engineer. A scantling (4in. by 3in.) was laid upon two uprights lift apart. Concrete of a total weight of five-tons was distributed along the scantling. The maximum deflection from the horizontal was found to be fin. All cheap farms are not in New Zealand —at so thinks a local resident. The family home in England had 99 acres of arable land attached to it, and was situated within five miles of a town with a Mg population.' Recently it went under the hammer and realised just over £IOOO. “About the price of a four-roomed bouse in Wanganui,” was the legatee’s comment.

The death is announced, at Lausanne, of Sir Frederick Treves, Bait . the famous surgeon, and one of found ers of the British Red Cross. Sir Frederick Treves was famous as surgeon to the late King Edward VII—-t was te who performed the operation tor appendicitis on that roya’tv—and was surgeon extraordinary to the tale Queen Victoria. ' A revival of the building industry is being experienced in the city of Wei- ; lington. Owing!<to tbe configuration of the capital property-owners are realis-

ing l the necessity for making the best use of their , restricted areas, and are climbing more boldly than in the past toward the spacious sky. v Several seven-stoi*ey buildings have been constructed of ferro-concmte during the past year or two, and a few more o. similar type are in architectural contemplation. . A small a : rmy of weasels formed up in inarching order on Friday afternoon bn vacant land beside the Mangotukui stream and proceeded on to Mor-

ley street, intending} to use it as a bridge to take them to the other bank of the stream. They met children on> the way home from school, and the children were frightened, as Weasels really are dangerous creatures. Some borough workmen, armed with shovels, put, a. different complexion on the affair, however, attacking the weasels and killing a number. Mr C. Hoskin secured one as a trophy and brought it to the Taranaki Herald office as a proof that the weasels' lost tho battlo. Owners of fowls in the! neighbourhood in 'question have been suffering losses.

A good story is told concerning the

erection of poles on a hydro transmission line not 100 miles from Eketahuna. A party was erecting' poles for the Government on contract, and half holidays and Sundays diet not appear irt the programme. One Sunday the gang commenced work op a. certain y propertv, the owner of : which was strong on Sabbath observance.. He appeared on the scene and registered a mild protest which was entirely ineffective. The work was continued. Seeing this the farmer had recourse to a more pointed argument. He rounded ud a rogue Hereford bull and • turned it. into the paddock where the men were engaged. There Was no more work that day; the persuasive oower of the animal being sufficient—Express. ' North Island fishermen are becoming interested in the evidences that salmon liberated in the rivers of the South Island are now appearing m northern waters in increasing numbers. Quinnat are now being caught in Wellington This discovery wa s made by the owner of a launch who. caught some of the salmon while trolling off Ngahauransa. The fish caught were not large, about five or six pounds in weight, indicatery that they had so. far lived their lives in the sea and were not yet ready to run up the rivers to spawn. It is however, not likely that anglers who fish the lower waters of the Hutt River, which runs into Wellipgton Harbour, will be catching salmon with rod and line during the coming autumn.