Shannon News FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1925.

Shannon News, 4 September 1925, Page 2

Shannon News FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1925.

The vital statistics for Shannon tor the month ending August 31st arc Births 6, deaths nil, marriages 2.

Mr and Mrs W. Moynihan, who have beun spending a holiday in Australia, returned to Shannon at tlie beginning of the week.

There will be no morning service at Ven. Bede's Church on Sunday next, tile only esrvice on that day being in the evening at 7 p.m.

The services at the Shannon Methodist Church on Sunday will he conducted in tlie morning by'the lie v. S. li. i J eryman and in the evening bv Mr Hill.

Tlie usual I'orinightiy. euchre anil dance in aid of Yen. Bede's Church will be hold ill the Parish Hall ■or. Tuesday evening. Euchre 7.30 p.m. to 9.30, to be followed by dancing li u til 1 a.m.

The rain fail in Shannon for themonth of August, as supplied by Mi Sinclair, of Vance Street, is as follows:—l.ain fell on nine days for a total of 3.18 inches, the heaviest fai; being .69 inch on the 24th. For the corresponding period last year 3.10 inches fell on teii, days.

Mr X. iC ThAvaites lias generously donated ' a beautiful and useful "Bulby's Outfit" for a guessing competition in connection witli the street stall to be held by the Piunket Society to-morrow. The winner has to guess the time at winch a clock wilJ stop which is to'be wound up by ilie Deputy-Mayor (Gr. Butt) at Mr Thwaitos' shop this morning at :t a..iu., after which' the face of the dock will be- sealed. This will be carried out in the presence of any of the public who care to attend.

To-morrow, a street stall will be t held by the committee of the local branch" of the Piunket Society as a means lor raising funds to place the branch on a financial looting. A large number of donations have been promised for the stall and the public will therefore have the opportunity of securing some good bargains, and as the committee are working or | behalf of a good cause it is antici- ; pated the public will respond generously. There will also be a number of competitions during the day.

The representatives of the Shannon Borough Council, Dairy Co.. Chamber of Cu-nunerce and the Moutoa residents visited Wellington on Wednesday in support of the petitioi:. to Parliaiment in reference 1,0 the Shaniiou-Foxton bridge. The representatives were given m good hearing befotre the Parliamentary Petitions Committee. The claims of the district were placed before the Commit tee by Messrs .7. T. Bo vis, 11. Downes, .1." W. Murray, E. Piggott, and E. Tregill and as a result something of a satisfactory nature is expected to eventuate at" an early "date.

In conversation with a "News" re presentatlve, Mr i. Cameron, of Levin, expressed the heartfelt appreciation of himself and family of the practical assistance proferred in connection with the recent accident to his daughter, Miss Freda, Cameron. As the result of receiving an accidental blow in the face while playing golf, and the subsequent hemorrhage, the sufferer's condition became so critical that a transfusion of bloorl became imperative to enable her to rally. Wlien the medical opinion became known, no fewer than 32 persons in Levin and Shannon volunteered themselves as subjects for the transfusion. In carrying out this delicate operation it is essential that the blood should possess similar characteristics to that of the patient, and many of the volunteers, when tested proved unsuitable on that aceotinl. However, two suitable subjects were found, giving on ear-li occasion twenty ounces, equal to one pint, of the v'ital fluid. The result was entirely beneficial and salutary, and tins' pa'.lient was not only enabled to withstand the effects "of persistent hemorrhage, but her convalescence will be greatly shortened. Mr Cameron said lie wished to say how grateful they were Tor the ready and -practical sympathy extended in a verv trying and anxious time.

An Aldershot manufacturer who used to make 7000 clay pipes a week has just gone out of business because (■.• lay pipes are out of date.

The exit doors on the new Chicago tramcars will not open until the ear comes to a dead stop, and the car cannot start again until the doors are shut.

Advice was received last night to the effect.that the Mauawatu Referees Association are unable to send a team to Levin on Saturday. Arrangements, however, are being made to have this match played on September 26th.

Cancer still looms large in New Zealand as a cause of death. According to the Director-General of Health, the dearth rate last year wa5,9.59 per 10,000 living, persons. This is high Pitbull in the preceding year, the disease carrying away 1245 in 1924 as compared with 1115 in 1923.

The Aberdeenshire Education Authority has decided to dismiss its married women teachers. In the discussion preceding this decision a member remarked that it was "a. scandal to. employ women whose husbands could keep them in comfort."

It is pleasing to note that with the help of a second day's permit the club's overdraft has been reduced approximately £IOOO, the present amount of the bank overdraft being £6936 14s lid.—ltem from the Waipa Racing Club's annual report presented to the annual meeting on Friday evening last*

A peculiar coincidence is reported concerning the death of a Maori boy —a son of Taui Wetere—says the Ka vvhai Settler. At the same hour on the same day of the same month last year his sister died after a pro- ■ traded illness, while practically on the same date the previous year, another elder 'brother fell a victim to a mortal complaint. This succession of deaths has aroused some discussion and no little, apprehension among the tribe.

Strong comment on the new number plates on motor cars was made by Mr A. M. Mowlein, S.M., when dealing with cases under the Motor Vehicles Act at the Manaia Court. The magistrate said he was disgusted -with the plates and emphasise.! the difficulty in distinguishing numbers of speeding cars, or other cars at a distance.

The scarcity of .pigs throughout the Dominion, arid especially in Otago and Southland at the present time, is difficult to understand, mow. particularly when it. is realised thai prices for pork have for so long ruled high. At Buroside on Wednesday last" the pennings of pigs were phenomenally small, a peculiar, feature being that no baeoners were .n evidence.

The Otago University authorities are planning to -ornament the front of the new dental school by placing there a figure of Saint Apollo-nia, who has the distinction of being the patron saint of dentistry. It. may not. be generally known that the lady earned this honour by suffering mar- i tyrctatn through having all her teeth out.

The German mortgage .credit banks of which there are 16 in Germany, are all established under the guarantee of some public authority, a State, a province, or a district within a province. • They do not restrict their operations to farm mortgages; they had in 1913 lent about £100,000.oOo—one half in farm mortgages, ami the balance to local authorities y of various descriptions.

Mr John Weber, of Denmark Mill, London, against whom the police issued a summons for a technical motoring offence, sent U> the chief clerk of the Police Court a cheque for £3OO to pay the fine, and requesting that, the surplus, if any shall be given to the London Hospital. Trie hospital will benefit by nearly the whole' of this sum, a,si the penalty in such cases is quite nominal.

A well-known stock buyer hi farmed- the "Rotorua Chronicle" thai in a draft of UK) fat cattle from UpoU!-:: district the average price was about £l7 per head. Some except.onai beasts off Te Puke pastures fetched £25 apiece. This is big money compared with prices ruling twelve months ago. The informant stated that the prices were not mere seasonal episodes, hut due to a genuine shortage of cattle throughout the Dominion. He saw no reasuii why good times should not be in store for the grazier.

A farmer living in the back country, behind Maxwelltown, when riding round his sheep a few days ago, noticed some ewes looking anxiously at a clump of fern, says the Wanganui Herald. The farmer's dog entered the fern, and it was noticed that a wild boar had been resting there. The farmer waited an opportunity to get a shot at Ihe boar and hit it behind the shoulder. He noticed that his dog did not come, out of the fern, and-on making further investigation he discovered that the bullet had gone through the boar and had also killed the dog. Just before the shot was fired the, farmer thought that the dog was well clear of the line of fire, so the bullet must have been deflected in passing through the pig. The dog cost him £ls a few months before.

In referring to the advantages of testing churnin.gs of hotter to ascertain the water content, Mr Fulton, the Government expert, stated at the Rotary luncheon at Wanganui thai prior to the legal limit ,nf 16 per cent, being allowed, butter wont, Home deficient in moisture. As a consequence. the country lost, money, as foreign salesmen were given to re-condition-ing the bolter and putting more moisture into it. Hp quoted a specific instance of this fact, and said that at the Palmersfou North Exhibition in 1908 the average water content in :V7 samples of butter was,. 12.38 per cent. Nowadays the average was 15.03 per cent.

A ChrLstehureh says the retail price of coal has .been raised by tw-j sailings per ton/from to-day owing to tne new raiiwtjy traffic.

The registrar oi Otago University has received word iron/the Education Department that the Government grant for VV.E.A. purposes is to be increased from £SOO to £750.

The number of opossum skins' obtained in Wesiiand this season is approximately 10,000, which is easily a record. Only about 1300 of these were stamped in Hokitika, the large bulk of them going to Dunedin.

When the guard on the ThamesHamilton train asked a reveller for his railway ticket the passenger was unable to produce it and was taken in charge, but when he was searched at the Hamilton police station the missing ticket was found.

"You'll never see cheap beef again,' was a statement made by a. farmer at Wallacetown. "We can't expect to find beef plentiful when we are killing calves by the thousands every year and slaughtering and speying so many cows. There must be a limit, and it seems as though we have jus; about reached it."

information from the registrar of marriages shows that nine men from the fleet entered into nuptial bonds at Auckland. The majority of the brides came from Australia, but at least three of them reside in Auckland. Seven of the nine couples wen; through the ceremony at the regislar's office.

A survey has been made of the kind of news most prominent on the first pages of American newspapers. Political news take's 38 per cent, of the space, police news comes second with 22, accident and disaster news is third with 15, foreign news claims 13, business 5 and so on. The survey covered the news for several years past.

The musician at a country danc lost an eye as the result' of a fall when he went out of the door of the hall without knowing that the steps,' had been removed. The sequel was a case heard by the magistrate tit Whangarei, in which Ernest Addington was awarded £2OO damages against F. A. Yates, a trustee of the ituatangata West Hall.

The gambling facilities at or within reach of Feilding appear to be un usually complete. A {bankrupt bookseller, under examination by his creditors on Wednesday, admitted that he attended the "Aorangi two-up school"—and claimed that he had been making money by his attend ance. Not sufficient to keep the D.O.A. from the door, though.

At the last meeting oif the Manawatu Agricultural and Pastoral Association the space committee presented a report suggesting the abolition of the dog section as it was not a financial success and suffered from a lack of practical enthusiasm on the part of those interested. This position was brought to the notice of the dog fanciers and they are trying to avert the catastrophe.

Some farmers in North Taranaki have recently noticed a withering of clumps of blackberry. A parasite has apparently attacked the vines. Fanners who have .blackberry on their places are observing the combat between parasite and vine with much interest. If the parasite continues its operations in the way it has begun, then a brighter day (says an exchange) is dawning for many dairy farmers.

To ring up 160 members asking them to attend the annual meeting, to receive from 40 odd definite promises to attend, and to find only a fewover a score at the meeting, was the experience of Mr R. M. Chadwick. secretary of the Napier Chamber oi Commerce. Mr Chadwick retailed this harrowing experience to the chamber as an illustration of the fact that interest was not as keen as u might be.

A tally of the traffic passing his house on Broadway, Auckland, near the Great South Road intersection, was taken by Mr J. Roberts recently between 3.30 and 5 .o'clock. In the To minutes the vehicles which passed comprised T 55 motor oars, 104 tramcars, 6T motor cycles, 62. buses, 43 bicycles, 13 motor lorries and 4 horsedriven vehicles. The rate of traffic works out at 15 a minute. It is eloquent of the passing of the horse that of the total of 1048 vehicles only lour went by horse-power.

Accountants practising publicly m \ew Zealand number 550,.an increase of 20 in twelve months. The .president of the Society (Mr W. E. Best, Christchurch), at Hie annual meeting art vised younger members of the profession nol to be in a hurry to commence public practice. Time spent in employment was well spent, as they could 'not have too varied an experience before entering public practice. He did not think that any member of the profession should enter public practice until he had reached the age of 30 years.

"i believe that there are thousands of young men in this country, sons of farmers, who are only too anxious to go upon the land, but they are not prepared to go into the backblocks at high valuations, without access roads, and with all sorts of inconveniences. There are large areas of land suitable for subdivision, and I believe that the people of this country will yet. demand that a progressive land tax be placed upon land so that people should not be able to monopolise it and keep it in a comparatively unproductive state. These areas close to roads and railways, should be made lo produce to their fullest capacity, and there should be some limit to the a mount of land that anv one person may hold."--Mr F. Lye, speaking on La rid Settlement in the House a few flays ago.

Unemployment is still rife in Wanganui. Though no distressing cases of want have been reported, the fad remains that a large number of single men are urgently in need of work.

Between thirty and forty old pictures, iuciuuing about a . dozen old prims, nave been bequested to the Christchureh Art Gallery under the win of the late William Gibbs, of St. Allans. Among the paintings is one estimated to be between two and three Hundred years old.

At the Timaru Juvenile Court (reports the Herald), a boy, aged eight years, was being admonished by the .viagii-ira.c E. D. Mosley), who said iie would have, to send him to an industrial school if he continued to take goous that did not belong to hini. "How would you like that?" concluded the Magistrate. "Fine," said the tx>y, "I'd like the trip." Even the Magistrate could not suppress a smile.

Extensive altera lions to the grounds of the Levin Racing Club are being made at the present time. A new public entrance is in course of construction, having concrete posts and stone walls, and it has been designed so as.to permit a more rapid clearance of traiiic from the approach to the grounds, and also.to- allot separate entrances for members witli . their cars, and lite general public, somewhat after the style of the Mana.wa.lu Racing Club's gates at Awapuni.

To pick up aai envelope containing £ls in three £5 notes was the experience oi a boy in Napier the other day. The lad took the money to his parents, who read the name on the envelope, located'the owner, and returned the money promptly. The cash had been dropped in the street by a lady living in Napier South, and she was immensely- relieved to have it returned to> her within an hour of losing it. Such practical examples of every-day honesty frequently, go unrewarded," but in this instance the boy carried away a crisp £1 note in recognition of his service.

Fifty pounds for one daffodil bulb seems almost, a. fairy story, but this is the price of a variety aptly named "Fortune." This expensive bulb is at present flowering in the garden of that well-known grower, Mr Robert, Gibson, of Manaia, who has probably the finest collection of daffodils in Australasia. Fortune is a large flower of handsome form, with a large yellow perianth and a very large cup of rich orung-e scarlet, arid .was imported from England by Mr Gibson last year. This is the first time it has flowered in New Zealand.

The Bible for the'blind, printed in the raised Braille type, can hardly be carried about in one's vest pocket. There are thirty-nine volumes, equal. in bulk to three benzine'cases, and occupying a shelf seven feet hi length. The cost in New Zealand would ordinarily be about £3O, but, in order to bring* it within, the reach of the afflicted, the British and Foreign Bible Society, subsidised by the Christian Churches, setts this huge production in Wellington to the blind for £2 IS/G, or 2s 3d a single volume.—The Rev. D. Calder at his recent meeting in Levin.

A mass meeting was held by a gathering oi followers of Ratana on Sunday evening for the pui'pose of praying that the charge of assauli against i'Ha Moko, Raiana's secretary, would'be adjourned so that the "divine cycle" should not be broken. The case was adjourned at Wanganui yesterday. Defendant is alleged to have assaulted a Maori girl and the action was brought by a relative of the latter. Counsel stated, however, that the girl had objected to the proceedings and both she and the defendant were members of the party which has accompanied Ratana. to America. The hearing was adjourned till they return in January. The, township of Bulis was the scene of a. motor smash on Sunday morning, 'which happily was nut attended by any serious consequences, though ail the potentialities of a serious accident were present. A ear driven, by Mr Wilde Brown, manager of the Bank of Mew South Wales at .Marlon, who was accompanied by ins wife and three young children, came into violent contact at the Bank of .New South Wales coiner with a car from Utaki, driven by Mr L. J. Cook, cycle agent, uf Utaki, who was accompanied by his business partner, Mr J. Nelson, and a lady, Miss McLeod. Mr Brown was proceeding to the beacii, and at the junction of the bank corner and the main north road the two cars met, Mr Brown's machine being badly damaged, while the forepart jf Mr Cook's machine wa.b wrecked. Luckily no uiie was injured, though Miss McLeod suffered a severe shaking.

In view uf the reports of sea erosion which are made from time to time, the following from a contemporary is interesting: In the struggle to defend the British coasts from sea encroachments seaside authorities have no better allies than the hardy tamarisk and shrubby sea. blite. These useful plants are as effective in protecting the lonely stretches of the shores as stout sea walls and farflung groynes. Shorehain, on the Sussex coast, was seriously affected by the incoming* tides until it was found that the loose shingle that fringes tlie sea could be bound into a resistive mass by the extensive planting of tamarisk, a hardy little plant, ■whoso only real enemy is severe frost. On the Nortolk coast the same method is adopted, but there the shifting shingle is bound, with shrubby sea blite-, which grows waist high and covers large areas oi the coast. The more this plant is ill-treated the stouter it flourishes. Occasionally a violent storm will result in 'the shrubs being completely embedded in fresh sliingle thrown up by the waves. This, in reality, is in advantage, as the plant puts forth new shoots that bind the fresh stones, still further strengthening the land rampart.

An effort on behalf of Eketahuna Plunket Society realised £3OO. A similar effort is being made in Paliiatua, £SOO being the objective.

A house occupied by Mr J. P. Bryne, of six rooms, at Garrington Settlement, Wairarapa,. was totally destroyed by fire yesterday afternoon.

"Children on cycles are a perfect road menace," said the foreman of the jury at the inquest at Bournemouth on an aged women. The jury suggested that all children at school be taught the ruies of the road.

Despite weather conditions, those opossum trappers who were experienced did remarkably well this season, the cheque received by one parly (of two trappers) totalling £630 lot six weeks' work. Another party of two netted £4BO, while quite a number made from £175 to £2OO apiece, the best localities being situated on the western side of the Wairarapa Lake, though, very good results were obtained in many parts of the district that had never before been trapped. The? number of skins taken (between 43,000 and 50,000) constitutes a record for the Wellington district, and the prices realised ranged from seven to twelve shillings, the highest price ipaid at the sale, being 18s 6d foe five super blue skins.

Over one million - brown fry are to be liberated in the Wellington district of the Acclimatisation Society, 50,000 in the Levin area, 30,000 in Otaki, 20,000 in Shannon, and 10,000 in the Mangahao territory. Fifteen thousand rainbow fry are to be liberated in the Otaki area only, as Rainbow fry flourish only in snow water and although experiments have been pursued in the Ohau and othe' 1 streams these were found unsuitable. So far as brown trout yearlings are concerned 500 will go to Otaki and 500 to Levin, and Otaki and Mangahao dam will each be supplied with a thousand rainbow yearlings. With regard to the Mangahao Dam 100 s: yearlings were set free there during last year, so that these together with another thousand try to be furnished this year should afford good fishing facilities a year or so hence.

The published Hawkes Bay railway statistics are very interesting to the residents of the district (says the Waipawa Mail), in view of the unfair treatment meted out by the railway officials to the town. Otane is the second largest trucking station in Hawkes Bay. The revenue derived from the town is greater than that from Waipawa, TakapauV Ormondville, or GLive, coming sixth on the list, and yet the higher officials of the Department are going out of their way to try and destroy that revenue. The whole matter is unbusinesslike that one wonders if the present control is in the best interests of the country. It is an open secret that the returns are not keeping up, and unless the Department adopts a broad-er-minded policy there is not the slightest doubt that this shrinkage will continue.

Testimony to the efficacy of the finger-print system is contained in the annual report of the New Zealand Commissioner of Police. Two coded finger-print classifications were last year received by cablegram from the London police, and a search in the local finger-print collection revealed tiie fact that these oiienders' prims had not been recorded here. The cablegrams were then repeated to tha Svdney police, and they identified each offender and cabled their records direct to' London. This is believed to be the first occasion on which coded finger-prints have been received by cablegram in Australia or New Zealand, and by means of Mhem the London police were able to produce the Australian records of the two offenders in the London court within a few hours of their arrest. On March 31 the finger-print collection consisted 'Of the impressions of 33,802 persons, an increase oi 1873 on last year's figures.

One member of Parliament, Mr .1. A Young, often feels uneasy about tlie speed of Main Trunk expresses on a particular section of the line. Speaking in the House of Representatives on Wednesday night, Mr Young said that on the steep grade between the high land and the Poro-o-tarao tunnel there were many curves and as a frequent traveller over the line he often had a feeling -of -uneasiness when descending the grade. Sometimes the passage was quite comfortable; often it was very much the reverse. The difference might be due to his position in the carriage, whether over the wheels or in the centre, but he believed it to be due to the control exercised bv the engine-drivers, some handled their engines very skilfully; others produced a good many bumps. The Railways Statement specified standard train speeds on curves. He would much like to know whether engine-drivers were instructed strictly to observe these speeds and not to exwed them.

District "drives" to collect cull cows from the farms and deliver them at the works for killing have proved satisfactory in the Wairarapa. The secretary oi that branch of the Farmers' Union has stated: "We have held seven drives since April, totalling approximately 1000 cows with never a hitch. In each of the nearer drives our expenses amounted to is per cow, while'.in the drives occupying four and five days we have not yet exceeded a cost of 2s per cow. General satisfaction, with the scheme is expressed throughout the district, and next season we anticipate holding quarterly drives from each area, and • anticipate 2500 cows. Bulls, steers, calves and even fat cattle nave been included and each is graded and priced accordingly. Our highest individual price was £6 17s 6d, and our lowest 15s, which is allowing for condemned cows, of which we have had a remarkably low average. Our average price throughout was approximately £2 7s 6d,"