Shannon News TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 1924.

Shannon News, 19 August 1924, Page 2

Shannon News TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 1924.

The iM outoa, t swjamp was thrown open for flax cutting again on Thurs ; day of last week.

An interesting letter on Borough affairs is crowded out of this issue and will appear on Friday.

The fortnightly meeting of the Borough Gpuncii will he held in the Council Chambers this evening. Miss Flora McKenzie, the New Zealand star Scotch vocalist, has consented to give several items at the Scotch concert to he held on Tuesday, August 26. Ladies interested in the formation of a Croquet Club in, .Shannon, are invited to attend a meeting in the Bowling pavilion on Thursday afternoon. A croquiet club is a very desirable social and pastime organisation in any town and it is hoped there will he a large attendance. The exhibition bf pictures to be held in the Maoriland Theatre on Wednesday, August 27, in aid of the Moutoa Hall Fund, has been arrangeu by the Farmers’ Queen Carnival Committee, in recognition of the assistance rendered to them by the settlers of Moutoa during the late carnival. On Sunday afternoon a boy named Newman, an escapee from Weraroa Training School, was arrested in Thompson. Street by Constable McGregor. It appears that in company with a lad named Asher he escaped from the school, after which they are alleged to have broken into four or five dwellings between Shannon and' Levin. At Buckley a settler caught them in the act of breaking into his residence and gave chase, Newman being caught in the street mentioned, and Asher escaping and being still at large. Newman was yesterday handed over to the school authorities. At the conclusion of the service on Sunday evening at the Methodist Church, opportunity was taken by Mr Roberts on behalf of their. many friends to make a presentation to Mr and Mrs Baxter, who have been closely identified with the church during their residence in Shannon. In presenting Mr Baxter with a handsomely bound book of Tennyson’s poems and a silver “Eversharp” pencil, he expressed regret at their departure, at the same time wishing them happiness and prosperity in their new home. Mr Baxter was also the recipient on Saturday of a gold mounted fountain pen from the post office staff.

un Saturday morning before Messrs Gunning ana Spencer, J..’sJt\, on a charge of being drunk and disorderly, John Kinley was fined £2 oir 48 hours’ imprisonment and David Wm, Roe on a similar charge was fined £i or 48 hours and for using obscene language he .was fined £4 or one month’s imprisonment. On. Monday morning , before the same justices, a middle-aged man named Hairy Gallagher was charged with being drunk and committing a grossly indecent act on Saturday afternoon in Stout street. Hie was convicted and fined 10s or 24 hours fox: drunkenness and for the more serious offence he was fined £5, in default one month’s imprisonment.

A sum of £278 is still owing on the Cambridge War Memorial and the con. tractor has notified his intention of taking out a writ against the four citizens signing the contract, for the recovery of the amount. A public meeting attended by seven people set up a committee to arrange with a number of ladies for a canyass of the town.

“He judges his place of residence by race meetings. II you can tell him What won the Gup he can tell you where he was at the time,” was the remark passed hy an official of the Nelson Hospital Board at a recent meeting when ah endeavour was being made to find out where the man concerned \had lived during recent years (states the Mail) in order to fix the liability for his maintenance.

Two sailors -got into a discussion over the exact definition of a heifer. One claimed that a heifer belonged to the hog family, the other that it was a variety of the sheep. After a long argument they decided to refer the question to a disinterested critic. “Bill,” they asked the boatswain, “what’s a heifer? We're haying an argument.” Bill bit off a barge chew of tobacco reflectively. “To tell you the truth, mates,” he said, “I dunno much about poultry.”^

Miners In North Wales are allowed 18cwt. of coal per month for which the charge at the pH head is 6Jd per cwt.

Messrs W. P. Hartley, of Aintree, England, are taking ad their workpeople who have been in their employ more than a certain period tor a four days’ visit to London and Wembley. The wile of a labourer in a Keighley spinning mill on 'ijhursday, June sth, gave birth to lour babies—two girls and two boys. All were doing well. Euiipo spiders are reported to be lairiy numerous at Castlecliff, and only a lew weeks ago a man visiting the beach was bitten by one. He neglected to have the bite attended to, and as a consequence, nearly lost an arm.

The Misses Martha and Bessie Theakstone, twins, aged 92, died recently at Kirk Deignton, W.etherby, Yorks. • They had lived together ail their lives. Next toj their house lives Mrs Culling worth, who is 91, and whose husband died three years ago at the age of 98. The Auckland, Zoo is rapidly becoming a paying proposition for the Auckland City Council. The takings at the gates at the first four months of the current linanciajl year .amounted to £3413, as against £llß7 for the same period last year. The Parks Comrilittee reported to the City Council that the recently purchased animals, including four additional Polar bears, and two Bengal tigers, would arrive lrom -London probably, in November, and that the four additional sea lions were due at any time.. An application was made to the St. Helens Licensing Magistrates, on behalf of the rector of Low House for a cinematograph license for the Parochial Hall, and witfTTeave to give Sunday performances. Mr Benson, chairman of the Cinema Exhibitors’ Asso ciation, formally applied,, in accordance with notice, for seven days’ licences for all the eight cinemas in the borough, The magistrates, after consideration, granted a six days’ licence to the Parochial Hall, and ac journed the application for Sundays to the annual meeting. H.M.S. Victory has been saved. ‘Saved for all time” was the phrase used by Admiral Sturdee to the Society of National Research. He said that up to date £78,000 had accrued to the fund from subscriptions, and interest on sums deposited at the bank during the past two years had amounted to £2500, The interest more than covered the expenses of collection which were only £2146. The Admiralty, he added, had helped in every way to get the work of restoration done as quickly as possible.

The pleasure of having four sons in different representative Rugby teams, and threp actively engaged on Saturday, is enjoyed by Mr F. B. Robilliard (says the Ashburton Guardian). Alan Robilliard was on the water as a New Zealand representative All Black, Noel was with the Canterbury representative team against Otago, Jack distinguished himself as an Ashburton County representative against Peninsula,, and Guy played in the trial game for the selection of primary schools’ irepresentatives on the Showgrounds. Of a truth, Rugby football in the Robilliard famiry “runs m the blood.” Under the heading “Freaks of Nature,” an American Feature Syndicate has supplied the following freak of journalism to papers in the United States: “Could a moa be captured to-day it would be sold to a circus or museum, and exhibited as one of the queerest birds ever known to man. Because of its destructive habits it was wiped out of existence in New Zealand. Being twelve feet in height a veritable airplane, it was easily the master of any other feathered creature. The moa could easily carry away live stock in its talons. People shuddered at the sight of the giant bird, knowing that it might bear away an infant, or even, a grown person. Finally the inhabitants of New Zealand banded together and destroyed every moa in the land.”

A Christchurch man narrowly escaped suffering a’severe property loss on Saturday last. He sold a motorcar in tlie morning a a man who was a stranger to him, and took in payment a cheque drawn upon the country branch of a leading bank. The car was taken away by the buyer. Later in the day it occurred to the seller that it would be a prudent precaution to verify the cheque, and on communicating with the manager of the country bank by telephone he was horrified to learn that as far as the bank was concerned the cheque was valueless, reports the Press. He then consulted the police, and as the outcome of diligent inquiries made during the afternoon the car buyer , was discovered and the oar removed! In the meantime it had been fuelled for a long journey into the country, and everything was in readiness for an early start.

* The Foxton Borough Council, which has a water and sewerage scheme in hand, has been unable to obtain further advances from the State Advances Department, and the work will consequently be held up. In answer to the Council’s application the Minister for Finance (Mr Massey) replied that the Superintendent of Advances informed hfin “that the applications being considered by the Advances Board are those made many months prior to your Council’s request for a further loan, and he again expresses regret that it is not possible at present to assist your Council.” Tfie Mayor said that it was impossible to complete the water and drainage scheme until a further loan was forthcoming from the State Advances Department. Hie was of opinion that the local application was one of the earliest lodged with the office. He said they were helpless to complete sewerage ■work and tied up fly the State Advances Office. It was decided that the Council place on record its deep disappointment at the Premier’s letter re water and drainage loan and urg es that the matter be again •considered*

By completing the trip from Southampton to Cherbourg in 3hrs 50mins., the* Cun&rd liner Mauretania has made a irecord fqr the crossing. For eightyfive miles .the liner, which was on a record-breaking trip after her recent overhaul, travelled at a speed of from 28 to 3Q knots. The time for the South-ampton-Cherbourg crossing is usually six hours. The Mauretania has beaten this by oyer two hours. A resident of Leicester, the great manufacturing centre of England, in writing to his 'brother in Wanganui, states that the prospects of die New Zealand woolgrower receiving a high price for his output during the coming season are exceedingly good, as his Ann was unable to secure raw material in sufficient quantities to build up a reserve supply. Other parts of the Old Country, be points out, are similarly affected, and the English manufacturer will have to rely for supplies upon the wool that wifi be offered during next season. Since me ierry steamer Maori has been converted into an oil-burner, she has developed a rolling habit while at sea that has been put down to the peculiar behaviour of her fuel ballast as compared with coed. On several trips of late, passengers have become agitated by the prolonged rolling ol the vessel, and have made complaints that the safety margin is not what it should be. Representations have been made to the Union Company by members of Parliament, and it is understood that, while officials do not admit that there is the, slightest unsea\yorhiness, fflhe Marine Department examined the original plans of the boat. The Departmental experts have now decided that ‘ there is no reason for any doubt as to the Maori’s stability. Fortunate deals in previous stones are not rare in New south Wales, but the reoord was made by a purchase and sale on the part of a city jeweller a few days ago* He was passing a pawnbroking establishment in Castlereagh Street when he saw a five-stone ring marked up for £5. A second glance at the article assured him that the ring was worth more than that, and he hurried into* the shop and bought it, the pawnbroker seeming pleased to get it 'Off his hands. At his own shop the jeweller polished the stones arid setting, and found thatthe stones were pure emeralds. They were set in pure gold, which had become tpxnisbed through age, while the emeralds were scratched and dirty. Taken from the setting three of the stones realised £3OO and when the other two are sold the figure should be close to £SOO, It seems that the ring was pledged with several other pieces of diamond jewellery two years ago.