LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 April 1921, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Racing Commission is hearing evidence in Auckland. It will leave for Hamilton to-morrow, proceeding thence to To Kuiti and Wanganui.— Press Association.

At yesterday’s meeting of the Stratford Hospital Board the chairman (Mr. U. D. Sole) stated that the nurse who had been engaged to replace Sister Johnson, who is leaving for America, was the young woman who had been found dead in bed. in a New Plymouth private hospital on Monday. She had been trained in the same institution as Sister’ Johnson and had been looking forward to coming to Stratford.

The executive sub-committee of the N.Z.R.S.A. has passed resolutions requesting the proprietors of theatrical and picture entertainments to refrain from performing on Anzac Day out of respect to the memory of the fallen; and, in view of the coming municipal elections, requesting the various associations throughout the Dominion to adhere to the constitution by refraining from active„ participation in municipal politics,. The taking of the census in some countries entails considerable difficulties. In .Zululand for instance the natives make their record on a stick of wood. Notches are cut dividing the stick into as many parts as there are huts in a kraal, and then smaller notches are cut in each division, representing the people in each hut. The sticks are threaded on strings and are then collected by the British police.

The centenary of the New Zealand Methodist Church, which falls next year, will be marked by the Church taking over as a separate South Sea Island mission field the Solomon Islands. To date the Methodist Churches in Australia and New Zealand have jointly controlled the mission work in the South Sea Islands through a combined board. The last meeting of this board was held in Sydney recently. The Rev. W. A. Sinclair, New Zealand general secretary of the Methodist Foreign Association, attended it, and final arrangements were made for the New Zealand body to take over full control of fh<» Church’s missions in the Solomons.

“For every man who has left the carpentry trade or any other trade to become a tramway employee, I say that you can find a dozen or twenty men who have left the service to take jp wnarf laboring, nav vying. and other such employment,” said Mr. H. T. Arafet *ong, .representing the Christchurch Tramwaymen’s Union in the Arbitration Court at Christchurch. The statement wis made in reply to one by Mr. F. Thompson, general manager of the tramways, that a tramway employee told him that he had been a carpenter, could take the employment up again at a higher wage than was being paid to him by the Tramway Board, but that he preferred the board’s service because it gave permanent employment, and tools were not necessary.

There was an attendance of about 60 persons, presided over by Mr. Gray, at the Ilempton Hall, Okato, on Monday night to hear an address by Mr. L. Mcllvride, under the auspices of the Labor Party, The speaker dealt fully with the Labor Party’s platform, and he was accorded an attentive hearing. After the address, a considerable number of questions were asked, and the meeting terminated at a late hour. At the conclusion of the meeting the opportunity was taken to form a branch of the Labor Party, and 24 names were handed in. Mr. J. Lawn was elected president, and Mr. ,W. A. Thomas secretary pro tern. The election of the committee was held over until the next meeting of the branch.

About fifty members of various localbodies met at Hawera on Monday night, when a municipal evening took place. Councillor Hayton, who with Councillor Lewis had convened the gathering, was in the chair and the proceedings were of a very happy and pleasant nature. After light refreshments had been partaken of, a number of toasts were honored, and several interesting speeches were delivered on affairs connected with the borough. Occasion was taken to congratulate the Mayor (Mr. E. Dixon, M.P.) on his success in the by-election. There was the best of good feeling throughout the evening, and the speeches were interspersed with musical items.— Star.

A Wellington paper states that there is undeniable proof of the vast amount of cheese manufactured in New Zealand —and eaten' in the Old Country —at the Wellington Harbor Board’s cheese stores near the Glasgow Wharf. There are three floors in the main shed, and a temporary and fairly efficient cool store erected during the war period, and stacked up in these buildings are 95,000 crates of prime New Zealand cheese awaiting shipment. This great stock of cheese does not represent the whole of New Zealand’s output, for it was produced mainly in tlie Manawatu, Wairarapa, and Hawke’s Bay, cheese from north of Wanganui and Napier being shipped from Northern ports, and little South Island cheese finding its way to Wellington. Nor do 95,000 crates represent the season’s output for the three districts named, but is roughly the output for the four months following the first flush of the season.

The operations carried out in late years for the re-establishment of oyster beds in Whangaroa Harbor have proved entirely successful. In the early history of New Zealand Whangaroa was famous for the richness of its oyster supply. Owing to the ease with which the shellfish were obtained, however, they were taken away 'in enormous quantities for export to Australia, and stripped from the rocks by such wasteful methods that the fishery was entirely destroyed. Three or four years ago, however, oyster spat were transplanted from the Bay of Islands by the Marine Department’s officials, in conjunction with Mr. J. C. Martin, of Russell. The young oysters have tpnee grown and multiplied, and spread to such an extent that there is reason to hope that within a year or t\vo Whangaroa will contribute on a liberal seal© to the Dominion’s oyster supply.

Owing to the large amount of building done, during the past two years building sites at Fitzroy have become hard, to secure. In this issue L. A. Nolan and Co. advertise the subdivision of Mr. D. Carmichael’s valuable property, Devon Street, into twelve handy building sites, which will be submitted to auction on the 30th inst. Anyone contemplating building should inspect this property. A conference of the Saturday Provincial Half-holiday Association will be held at Eltham to-morrow night at 8 o’clock.

A meeting of ratepayers will be held at Hempton Hall, Okato, to-morrow, Thursday evening, for the purpose of objecting to the proposed rate to be struck W the Taranaki County

Fencing wire has been selling in Wa nganui recently at £35 per ton.

It is estimated that the saving to the community by the installation of hydro-electricity in the Wairarapa will be £50,0D0 a year. It is reported that the deer-shooting in the Ruahine ranges is providing good sport. Some excellent heads have been secured, and the prospects for -L good season are very promising.

“The New Zealand forest is one of the most beautiful in the world,” stated Mr. P. M. Page, of the Forest Service, in Master Lo- on Wednesday, “Not only is it beautiful, but it has some of the finest trees in the world, particularly the Kauri. Nothing can touch it.” The new miners arriving on this coast from England (says the Westport Times) are well pleased with the surroundings. They consider it is quarrying here, not mining, as one can stand up to his work instead of lying down, as in the English coal mines.

The Free Press states chat at a grandmothers’ afternoon tea gathering in Balclutha recently the combined ages of the 16 old ladies present totalled 1150 years—an average of nearly 72. A boy who had been boarded out from the Weraroa Training School to a residence of the Pahiatua district, walked from Pahiatua to Masterton, and entered a house in the absence of the occupants. He removed a new suit, a pair of boots, and a watch and chain, of which he was in possession when arrested. He was brought before two Justices of the Peace at Masterton and ordered to be sent back to Weraroa School. The dismissal of men in various commercial and other firms in Christchurch continues. Some firms are making a more drastic cut than others, but the total is growing steadily. In one city office six men have been paid off lately. Another big institution is reducing hands’ as mercifully as possible, and giving them a month’s holiday in which to look round for other employment. In the case of big stock agencies it is expected that there will be a decided shortening in the country agencies. “This fire-blight disease was brought into New Zealand over thousands of miles of ocean. The people in Hawke’s Bay consider that a belt should be provided that would protect them against its invasion from other parts of the country,” said Mr. J. A. Young, M.P., at a farmers’ meeting in the Waikato, “but how are you going to prevent it going over such a short distance?” he asked. Voice from the audience: “By Act of Parliament!” (Loud laughter).

Reports recording big cuts in the wages of station hands are becoming quite common. The farmers are apparently determined to reduce their living expenses. A private letter received in Wellington states that on an Alfredton station recently the owner called all his employees together. He told them that wages were to be heavily reduced, and the men were informed that they could not be guaranteed. The wages of the head shepherd, a married man, were reduced by £35 per year. The wages of the second shepherd were reduced from 40s pel’ week to 255, of another station hand from 45s t0.27s 6d, the cook from 50s to 27s Gd, an<r a fifth hand from 40s to 255. The cook and at leasi one hand decided to leave.