Shannon News FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 1926.

Shannon News, 27 August 1926, Page 2

Shannon News FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 1926.

A prolonged shock of earthquake was experienced in Shannon at 1.43 p.in. yesterday.

Since tire census wag. taken in April last, no less than seven new residences have 'been built or are on the way, within the Borough of Shannon. i

A special meeting of the Borough Council will be held this evening to discuss the iManaiwatu-O'roua River Board’s proposed scheme to deal with the Manawatu river.

A Shannon resident, who has jus: returned from a visit to Central Otago, states that this part of the Dominion, has been experiencing a very mild winter, ■. me of the oldest residents expressing .lie opinion that it is the mildest t'. ey have known for nearly fifty years. ,

Advice has been received from Wellington that our lai Mayor, Mr Win. Murdoch, who now resides in the Empire City, is sericusJy ill. His son Mr Harry Murdoch, deft for Wellington on Tuesday. It will be the sincere wish of his many friends in Shannon that he will be quickly restored to good health.

The card club cjonducted under the. auspices of the Shannon Bowling Club held their weekly tourney last night. There was a large attendance of players, who spent a. pleasant evening. Mr and Mrs Baird won the lady’s and gent’s trophies in the crib section, Mrs B. Wilkinson securing the trophy for the euchre:,

A movement is being made by the, Foxton Chamber of Commerce to secure an all-night telephone service. To gain this end it is necessary to increase the number of subscribers. We understand a meeting; has been held at Moutoa, while the district has been canvassed, with a view to adding new telephone subscribers to the Foxton bureau.

In conversation with one of the pioneers of Shannon he informed our representative that in 1891 the flax then growing in this district was not worth cutting. He said the settlers of those days never anticipated that flax would become the main industry of the district. The swamps were only thought of as likely to become farm lands.

The late Mrs W. Cumberland, of Wanganui East, who passed away during the week-end, at 'the age of 76, came to New Zealand 51 years ago and ever since had resided in Wanganui, where she made many friends. The deceased lady is survived by her husband, three sons and three daughter-;. One son was killed in action during the war. The members of the family are Meisdames S. W. Carter, of ■Levin, J. Laird, of Waitotara, and H. M. U’Connor, of Devonport, and Messrs W. T. Cumberland, of Auckland, F. L, Cumberland, of Te Arolia, and E. E. Cumberland, of Pat'etonga.

What is one man’s meat is another man’s poison. While the Auckland Golf Club has been objecting to the raising of the revaluation of its Middlembre links to £*20,645, the Otahuhu Borough Council has been calculating the increased revenue which this assessment will mean to it- At the council’s meeting it was reported that last year the rates collected from the club amounted to about £BO, but this year the levy would be, £602. However, the valuation may yet be the subject of an appeal by the club.

Some youngsters at Waikaraka indulged in a novel form of sport, which was reminiscent of the ostrich-riding episode in “Swiss Family Robinson” (says the Northern Advocate, Whangarei.) When three porpoises became trapped in Waikaraka stream, the daring lads threw a lasso over the tail of the largest of the fish and allowed it to tow them up and down the river. They seemingly enjoyed the experience .until it was'ended by the falling tide leaving the porpoise stranded. Since then the three fish have been skinned.

There have been several cases lately in Halcombe of cows dying through choking. One day last week a farmer lost two good cows, who were choked with turnips. One died immediately, the other a few hours later 1 .

. “Look at his face; it tells!’’ said counsel ‘in t)he Auckland Supreme Court in examining a witness regarding the alleged drinking habits of a certain person. “That signifies nothing,” replied the witness. “I have seen worse faces than that on prohibitionists.” .

In' view of the epidemic of “unlawful conversions," as the law eu-. phemistically terms it, of motor cars the suggestion is made in Auckland that the hitching post system be reverted to for motor cars, each owner to provide himself with a strong chain with a padlock.

Parliament will have a very busy time ahead if the Prime Minister is to leave New- Zealand by the 31st inst. There aTe a. dozen Government Bills yet to he dealt with, and the Public Works Estimates, the Supplementary Estimates, and the Washing Up Bills have to he put through.

A Halcombe farmer, who took about 500 sheep to the Sando.n Hogget Fair last week, brought more' than half of them back, the offers made for the stock not being near the value their owner put on them. Values for sheep generally were low, and not half the 6000 or so offered were sold, though there were a few changed hands privately. Good ewe hoggets brought up to 27s 6d, and wethers about £l.

What might ibe termed adding insult to injury is the action of residents in a certain county adjacent to Timaru where a private bus has commenced in opposition to the railway. Not ■ content with railing their luggage to Timaru and travelling themselves in the bus, they also avail themselves of the comfort of the railway waiting-room fire pending the appearance of the bus. A railway employee was heard to remark: “This is making it a bit too hot!"

When addressing a meeting of p farmers in Napier, Mr A. McJ’dr:son, a well-known agriculturists and specialist in lucerne growing, said that he attended a lecture given by Mr Boyd, of Ohio, U.S.A., a lucerne grower on an extensive scale. At the close of his address one farmer stood up and said: "You have told us all about lucerne, but how long does it last?” Mr Boyd replied: “My friend, you can pliant lucerne and leave it to your widow and children afterwards."

The profits of Mr. Henry Ford, his son and family from the manufacture of motor cars were officially disclosed last month for the first time. In an action brought against the Ford firm for the .recovery of £2OO, 000 for alleged violation of patent rights it was testified that the gross profits of the Ford Motor Car Company for the seven years 1917 to 1924 amounted to £175,235,000 and that the net profits, all of which went to Mr Ford and his family, amounted to £105,300,000.

The plight of lower-class Russian workers under Soviet rule was realised by Mr. W. J. Poison when he encountered an immigrant from South Russia in Santos, Brazil, when he was in South -America recently. The man and his family were *of queer type, being very short of stature, but sturdy, with perpetually puckered foreheads and distended stomachs; but he told Mir Poison that he and his family, in Russia, had not tasted meat for over a. year, and that in the winter they had subsisted on grass! After such a regime they found the ample meals at the Brazilian -immigration quarters positively luxurious, and thought they were in Paradise.

A considerable' amount of opposition is developing in Palmerston to the Mayor’s proposal to make a gift of £IO,OOO worth of land to the Government for the Agricultural School. A loan will have to be authorised by the ratepayers, one of whom writes as follows to the Times: “Gan either you, Mr Editor, or the Mayor inform me what advantage the working ratepayer will receive from the Agricultural College being erected in a County area? I have the sad experience of my rates being increased 10s per year for the past three years and the open-handed generosity of the Mayor without even consulting the ratepayers is going to land us with still further increases. When tire poll is taken you will, I think, find your views sadly shaken.”

A Waimate woman purchased a duck at a saleyards some twelve months ago for Is, intending eventually to place the bird upon the table on some special occasion (says the Daily Advertiser)., However, upon arrival at its new home the bird immediately ipade its first contribution towards its keep) 1 an egg being found in the yard. It- was then decided to postpone the duck’s execution indefinitely, and this act of clemancy has well repaid the bird’s owner, who, for the past 365 days, without exception, has gathered an egg each day from the duck—which must be something in the nature of a record—and the "bird is still going strong. Many poultry breeders have tried to obtain this wonderful bird, one man offering £1 as an inducement to the fortunate owner to part with her bird, but, needless to say, the offer was refused.

The Government has declined to entertain the proposal of the Waitemata Bridge Committee for legislative authority for a million pounds lottery to construct a bridge across Auckland Harbour.

An interesting find is reported from Reotahi, near WRangarei Heads, where Mr P. Gardner, of Kamo, discovered a set of Maori fire-making implements in a cave. These comprise a wooden blow pipe, a tassel of dry fungus for tinder 1 and a grooved fire-slick, the last being considerably scorched, indicating long usage.

On tsome sheep holdings in fill© Feilding district the lambing period is well advanced. A noted stud breeder near Feilding has had remarkable results from his flock of 27 stud Southdown ewes. A total of 47 lambs, all in ~a sirong healthy condition, have made their appearance, and of this number there are three triplets, 18 twins and two singles.

The popularity of C.P.R. dances at Tokomaru is proverbial by-this time, but even Messrs Hotchen and Watts must have been pleased and surprised to find that their well-orgaused dances attract 300 people. Levin, Palmerston North and even Feilding were well represented, everyone experiencing a thoroughly enjoyable time. Mr Perry acted in the capacity of M.C., while the Jazzmanians rendered a dance programme at which none could cavil.

Many cars share the fate of Dobbin and Daisy in the United States so far as pounding is concerned. At &■ meeting in Palmerston North the other day, Mr. M. A. Elliott said that in New York, the police impounded cars improperly parked.. That is, the parking officer had master keys. When lie found a car parked on the prohibited roadside, he just got in and drove it to the pound, where the owner could get it out by paying the fine.

The Magistrate’s Court sittings in the Palmerston and Feilding districts are being taken by Mr J. G. L. Hewitt, relieving magistrate, during the absence of Mr Stout through illness and Mr Watson on other business. Mr Hewitt presided at the Levin Court yesterday and fixed the next sitting here for September 22nd. There will be a! sitting presided over by Justices of the Peace on September 16th for minor cases. The Qtaki Court will sit on September Bth instead of the 2nd.

An erstwhile athlete, lias pointed out that R. A. Rose’s marvellous long distance performances may be due to braciiycordia. Brachycordia is a medical term for "slowness of the pulse,” the rate of the pulse being sometimes as low as 40 per minute in perfect lipaltli. Bose’s average pulse rate is 54. Brachycordia may be pathologic or physiologic, as it would seem natural to suppose that a brachycordia athlete would have greater reserve power than an athlete with a heart beating at an usual rate. This may account to a groat extent for Rose’s wonderful staying powers./ 'lt would\ be interesting to know what Nurmi's normal pulse rate is.

At' the monthly meeting of the Cambridge Power Board, Mr J. S. Fisher, who attended the Dominion power ’Boards’ conference in Wellington recently, stated that while in the capital city lie had observed that finance appeared to be more easily available than for a very long period.- lie had -received one unsolicited offer of £20,000 and upwards from a firm of financial brokers, of Wellington at 5i per cent. The indications he had noted were* of a very reassuring nature. The chairman said the delegate’s news was very refreshing. Be .assumed that there would be 1 per cent, brokerage on the offer made to Mr Fisher. The chairman further stated that at the last council meeting a councillor had indicated that he could secure money at per cent. He was afaid this low .rate was too good to he true, in view of the fact that the Dominion’s recent loan had not been rushed locally. It seemed logical from, a business point of view that if financial houses had money to offer at per cent they would place it in Goverment security rattier than lei>d out to local bodies.

Thoroughness and keenness are the outstanding features of American golf; with the U.S.A. champions it is golf; golf all the way. The difference of style, the local conditions, the confidence and perseverance which have led to America’s supremacy are explained in an interesting article, which is also an excellent guide to reducing errors in play. This article, entitled “The American Golf Invasion,” 'by Arthur Havers, appears in the July issue of “Cassell’s Magazine.” The fiction hi this number is contributed by John Galsworthy, John Bellairs, Douglas Newton, Olive Wadsley and many other well known writers. The “Boys’ Own Paper” is another magazine that is always welcome. The current number contains. in addition to its fine boy stories, a wealth of articles on hobbies and pursuits in tvhich healthy hoys a.re interested. .Particularly striking is an article on Public School Volunteer Corps, with a full page photograph of Earl Haig, well worth framing. The August number of Weldon’s “l adies’ Journal” and “Bazaar of Children’s Fashions” are right up to the standard so faithfully maintained by these popular publications. Messrs Gordon and Gotch forward copies of the above journals.