Shannon News TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1925.

Shannon News, 17 February 1925, Page 2

Shannon News TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1925.

Mr and Mrs A. 11. Morgan who have neen spenu'ing a. holiday in the &uum isuuid returned tu oriannon last ween.

The Mqufco.a School Conuuiti.ee am having improvements, made to urn senouigi-ouuus. i-jancy concrete posis ana gates are now being ereeteu.

un Saturday a rink of howlers consisting or Messrs l-iqacn, brahn, wuvuiey and Boyis (skip; were defeated at luvui alter a. good game hy the holders, oi the. KinneDurg leathers, Messrs i J yke, lnder, Clements and sunan tsKipj ttiQ scores being &> to 18.

A representative cricket match wui be played between teams representing Horownenua and Manawatu on Saturday, March 7th.. It is more than likely that the team to play against Victoria will he selected after in is game.

Numerous complaints have been received by the'Council, of persons interfering with the taps on the water mains, and the Mayor ask& us to state thajt any persons found interfering with tiie. taps or anything in connection with the water supply that the tion with tiie water supply the Council intend to prosecute.

The men W.ere engaged yesterday at the' Manawatu river on the Shannon-i-'oxton road in shifting the engine and puanp to the other side of the river fox the purpose of driving the piles to hold tiie wires to take the punt across. It is estimated the punt will he ready for use in a week's time. The p_unt will be capable oi carrying the biggest motor lurry witjh a full. load.

Dr. W. B. Mcr'-er, Medical Officer oi Health, Wellington, visited Shannon on Friday to ascertain what precautions were being taken in the Borough to prevent the spread of infantile paralysis. After making enquiries lie expressed himself as satisfied that every means was heing taken to cope with the disease. He also complimented the Mayor (Mr Murdoch) on the circular he had issued to residents.

At file Magistrate's Court, Palmerston North yesterday morning, be,foro Mr J. L.Stout, S.M., Smith Hmchcliffe, flux-worker of who was £l3l in arrears in respect to a maintenance order made at Nottrain-in-Longendale, England, in favour of his wife was convicted and sentenced to six months' imprisonment with hard labour, to he released on payment of the arrears.

On Friday last a consignment qf 115 goats arrived at the local railway station to the order of A. and L. Seifert Flaxdressing Co., Miranui. They are to be liberated on a section of the swamp, wihich is covered with blackberry as a trial experiment with a view to 'eradicating tiie'"pest. Should the experiment prove a success it is intended to obtain further consignments of goats.

Mr L. Randall \yiho Has been on a visit to his parents in South Australia returned to Shannon at the end of last week. Mr Randall, who is a cricket enthusiast, was fortunate in being able to witness the test match at Adelaide between England and Australia, in which the latter won by a narrow margin. Mr Randall was absent from New Zealand for two months during which time (he also visited Sydney and Melbourne returning home via the Bluff.

During tlie week end a party from Shannon visiter Kapiti on a fishing expedition and report a good haul oi fish.

Mr L. A. -Johnson of Whangarei, has been chosen to represent ,the Reform Party for the Manuk.au Electorate.

Mr J- Grystall, Mayor of Foxton, lias announced that He will not. seek re-election ■ to that position in April next.

A census taken hy the police on behalf of the Labour Department shows that of 1260 barmaids registered m 1911 only 220 are now. on the roll.

The Wanganui Education Board's senior Inspector wiU visit Foxton about February 25 for the purpose of conferring witjh the local School Committee respecting the application t° r the" establishment of a District High School at Foxton.

The Taranaki Oilfields, Ltd., commenced drilling at Moturoa on Wednesday. The Tarata -bore is already down 300 feet and has encountered gas..' Operations are temporarily suspended for adjustment and alteration of. machinery.

Overheard on the Aramoho railway station: Two hors.e-Jboxes on the New Plymouth express, which was standing at the platform, 'bound for the Havvera races. Two jockey hoys got out to 'stretch tJhemselves. "What's this place, Jim?" Jimmy had a look round and said: "Oh!. 1 dunno what they call it, but it's where you get off for the Wanganui races."

The Herald reports the death of Mi's Caroline Withers, one of Foxton's oldest residents, and wife of Mr Bruce Withers, of. Union Street. The late Mrs Withers, who was 77 years of age was born at Motueka, in the Nelson* district, and came to Foxton 40 years ago, and had resided there with her husband ever since. She leaves a family of two sons and fi v « daughters.

The test of the work done in the Day Trades Classes a.t the. palmerston N. Technical School, is the eagerness oi employers to obtain "Tech" boys. The difficulty of the school is to keep them. As a well-known Palmerston North employer recently stated:—"My ideal apprentice is a lad who is not more than sixteen years of age and who has had a couple of years at the Tech. Trades Classes."

"Bacteriologist" writes to an Auckland paper as under; "Since arriving from Sydney J, am disgusted with ail the grotesque theories, regarding the causation of infantile paralysis. The sun has no more to do with this unhappy tragedy than you have Jo do with the scarcity of long 'shandies' in Tophet. Tell the people to stop the kiddies playing with the sand and soil."

The customers of one of the Chinese laundries at (Auckland had an unpleasant surprise when'they paid their weekly visit to receive their laundry parcels and deposit fresh orders. Instead of finding the oibsequious Celestial, they discovered a hard-headed bailiff in possession. And what was worse, he could neither give nor receive collars and shirts. He confided that the electric power had been turned off, and that about 1000 collars were Wing in the shqp. Judging by the number of customers entering the premises in the course of a few hours, ihe business appeared to have been in quite a flourishing state, remarks the Star. *

In the current number of the "Law Quarterly Review," Sir Frederick Pollock pays a tribute to the late Sir John saimond. His sudden deaWi, iu writes, "is a grievous loss both to the learning of the Common Law and to that new and last-growing hody oi constitutional doctrine and practice which has sprung irom the full recognition of the Dominions as partners in the Commonweal in of me British Empire. Sir John belonged to the emancipated modem school oi English jurisprudence, English in essentials out emancipated irom me insular bonds of Uie utilitarian jurists and economists who dominaieu most tii our nineteenth century teachers and many of our Judges."

The local electrical authorities draw attention to the danger of boys Hying kites 'iu the vicinity of electric powei lines, in conversation with a "Chronicle" reporter, the Board's. Engineer iMr Overton) said cases were un record of fatal accidents having occurred through damp string from a kite being held in a hoy's, hand and becoming ' entangled m live wires, the damp string acting as a conductor of the current. -Parents are asked' to> warn their children oil toe serious consequences that might follow a KUe becoming caught in tiie lines. Apropos ctf the peculiarities of the electric current, it will be. recalled that the cables, last week recorded a case where several firemen received severe shocks through flhe current finding its day down a jet of water that had come. in contact with high tension lines.

Since the wireless telephone, the first of its kind in New Zealand, has been installed at toe Mansion House, Kaw.au, ii has proved of great convenience to the general public and shipping Recently the Government launch, en route to the various, lighthouses, with mails, had occasion to use the station The launch was compelled to call in at Kawau to shelter at two o'clock in tihe. morning on its way to call relief from the mainland to a case of sickness, the lighthouse keeper at Cuvier Island being seriously ill. Had the plant not 'been installed it would have meant serious delay owing to the fact that the nearest telephone was a considerable distance off As it was immediate connection was made with the authorities in Auckland, and a steamer was despatched to tfhe lighthouse without delay Recently the Kawau station spoke to" a. steamer Qff Lyttelton Heads, a distance of 550 milea.

The County Clerk, Mr *. U- Hudson was absent from Saturday's meeting of Uie Horowhcnua county Council owing to indisposition, which has confined V to His bed tor the past lew days.

Tlie railway authorities are t OU J compete w.itb. motor traffic, but; large notice noards erected -on rauway property between Foxton and 1 aiiiuiW North set out the advantages or i\ certain make of car. No dount revenue from such a source lias a certain compensation.

M Saturday's meeting of. tne Borowhenua County council, tne chairman (Cr. G. A. 'yMonk) before opening the meeting, moved a vote of sympathy with Gi\ Catley and laniily in the bereavement which they recentiy sustained. The motion was carried in silence, all standing.

Cr. Monk, chairman of tlie Hprowhenua County Council at Saturday's meeting drew attention to tno unsightly advertisement boards which were being erected on railway property, these, boards were, he saiu, a blot on tlie landscape, and as one who had a love for his country, he greatly deplored seeing Government property used for purposes which rendered the country side hideous. Ho recommended that the Government be approached regarding tins matter, a protest being forwarded against a continuance of the practice. This was carried unanimously.

A bishop wlio inferred too much and a taxi-driver who also, drew an inference, were the chief participants in an unrehearsed comedy one night recently (says the Dunedm' "Star ). The bishop is a visiting member of the Anglican General Synod, and, it is said, is the possessor of a slight brogue. When, therefore, he mailed a taxi and instructed the driver to "drive to the Cathedral," it was with a considerable feeling of shock that he found hiinse.lt deposited at the doors of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Cathedral. He did not venture within but returned with all haste to his own told, just in time to be late.

A local resident who has just returned from the South. Island, mforaned a "Chronicle" representative tq-day -that rus.t is very bad this season in the oat crops of South Canterbury. The crops have heen exceptionally well-grown and earlier crops have threshed out well, but the later ones on account of the wet weather experienced since Christmas w.ill be only fit for chaff. At one place, he stated he had seen a threshing-mill at work and from a distance <xT threequarters of a mile nothing could be seen during the progress of the threshing but a brown cloud ol dust which completely ihld mlil - were good, but tneic was a fair amomit of mildew winch would result in much of the wheat being suitable only for fiowl-feed.

At a late hour on a recent .night an Auckland man who. had developed a stiff neck, rushed to the. nearest doctor to ascertain if he had contracted infantile paralysis, \says. Friday s Star) The doctor assured him that he had not the symptoms, but the man was not satisfied, and went to a second doctor.. Again he was told there was nothing seriously wrong wiflh him, but once more he sought another physician. Altogether he disturbed five doctors., always with the same result. Finally, in despair,, he rushed to the city hospital m tuc small hours of the morning and insisted upon being examined by t e resident doctors there. Whether he was satisfied with the hospital diagnosis is not related, but he was sent off with Uie announcement that he must have, been sitting in a draught!

At Saturday's meeting of the Horowhenua County the question 01 driver's licenses, under tne provision oi the Motor Vehicles Act, was discussed at length, it was pointed out that by some local bodies, licenses were.'being issued wittiout any test wiiatever, and it w.as decided to reoummend to the Gov eminent t'hat a uaiiorm test should he instituted helure a license cuuid he obtained. U was lurther punned out that some drivers were going outside their own disuict tu ohiu.in neenses., w.neie uic if si was less rigorous man locally, uut that as the Act stated specifically uiat tne license must he omained m ide'district m which the owner's garage was situated, such owners uad uui l'ulhiied tne provisions, oi the A cl -

The Otaki Mail publishes a letter irom Henia Te Ao, Hon te Wa.ru, r. H. fekipwitn,, Pirinira Hohepa te Tana, Moid te wiharewniti, and other Maoris, in vvJucn they say; "in your issue oi the 9th inst. mere appeared a report of a supposed meeting of tii£ Ngati-R&ukawa Time held recently in respect to tile Ratana movement. As a result of this report a hag gathering oi tiie iNgati-Haukawa Tribe w.as ai Hori te Want's residence on Wednesday evening, the 11th inst., when strong exceptions thereto were voiced by all present. This gathering was a representative meeting of the NgatiRaukawa Tribe, •wiiereas the meeting held as reported was not. We might mention that every one present at our yatihering have signed Ratana's covenant, and practically all were present at Kaiana's pa uuriinj- Christinas, and therefore knows the Ratana movement from A to Z; whereas the persons that passed the resolution reported got their facts from the man at the comer, and therefore knew absolutely nothing about the matter. The whole aim and object of Ratana is to uplift the Maori people, both bodily and spiritually, to forsake tohungaism, drinking and all had habits, and to imitate all the best ways of their pakeha brothers There is. no question whatever of disloyalty as alleged; and we regret exceedingly that such a wrong impression of the Ratana movement has been broadcasted by a certain section of. our own race. W can only assume that the persons responsible for such allegations followed the example set by the Arawa Tribe.'*

Kins George the Third's problem of a ow the apple got into Uie dumpling was nothing to that confronting a Weraroa resident recently. He was shelling green, peas lor Sunday b dinner when in one o<f the pods, he discovered a large green caterpillar, which had apparently lived there *°* some tune, as practically the whole of the peas had been devoured. l«tteie was no sign of a hole in the pod through which the invader could have obtained ingress and like King George he exclaimed. *'How tho devil did it get there?"

Mr C W. Curtis gathered fresh laurels for the Levin Amateur Atnletic Ciuib when he annexed in sensational style the three-mile, cycling championship at the Wellington Provincial championship meeting 'held in Wellington on Saturday last. Curtis' win was one of the most spectacular of the meeting, he coming up from the rear at a terrific pace at the finish of the race, to win by five lengths. He was unfortunate in the One Mile race, where with every chance of winning he lost ground towards the end of the race owing to another competitor coming to grief in front of him. Curtis, who is only twenty years ol age, should give a good account of himself in the New Zealand- championships at Wangahui, where he will represent the Wei-, lington Centre.

A plague of caterpillars made its appearance at the Boys' Training Farm last week, when on Friday they were luaticed in a seven acre oat crop. By Saturday jhe whole of the flags or outside leaves of tlhe oats had heen stripped off, and it was then decided to put the bander into the crop. This was done and by the tiniG the third swathe had heen run round th-e paddock, the caterpillars, apparently realising tnat their refuge was being invaded, began to stream out from the crop on. all sides, so that the ground was back with the inch- long pest. On one side of the paddock a water-race runs, buf v this did not stop tlie horde, the surface of the water being soon covered with the bodies wrigling across, to the shelter o'f the grass beyond. For half an hour Uie migration continued and then ceased," probably through lack of further caterpillars.