LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 April 1922, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Daily News will not be published on Tuesday next (Anzac Day), which will be generally observed as a close holiday.

The case against Bishop Liston, a charge of seditious utterances on March 17, was called in the Auckland Police Court again yesterday, and was further adjourned for a week. —Press Assn. During his recent visit to Christchurch Mr. R. Day, chief inspector in New Plymouth, met the chairman of the N.Z. Plumbers’ Board. Arrangements were made whereby an examination of plumbers will be held in New Plymouth at the latter end of June or early jn July.

The Patea County Council received a letter recently from a settler who was unable to pay his rates, stating that his 25 years’ savings had all gone in his farm, and he was waiting for it to fall back into the hands of the mortgagees.

“Outside the Catholic Church,” said Archbishop Redwood at the opening o F the new convent school at Kaponga yesterday, “all the churches are becoming empty and people do not know the way to church.”

During the Easter holidays Messrs. L. N. Gibson and B. Humphries made a trip down the Patea river. The boat, which they had built themselves, was launched at the Patea bridge, Matemateaonga, and the journey to Patea was made in safety, after one or two minor incidents. The travellers state that there were but few happenings worthy of rerording, and that they thoroughly enjoyed the trip.— Argus.

According to Professor. Meredith Atkinsop, of Melbourne, who recently visited Russia, the main cause of the famine was the heavy requisitioning of grain made by the Soviet Government in 1920. The* effect was that the peasants who had been robbed by the Government refused next season to cultivate any surplus grain. Then came a drought and completed the ruin.

Here is an old Maori legend, preserved by the late Mr. Percy Smith in his “Wars of the Northern against the Southern Tribes,” published eighteen years ago: “It is strange,” says Mr. Smith, “but prior to the advent of the white man the Maoris appear to have had an idea that they were to receive the visit of some strange race. The following is the prediction as told by Pangari, of Hokianga, somewhere about the year 1820. At that time Pangari was an old man. and he had heard the story when a child, as related by the old men of the Nga-Puhi: Tn the days of old when Maoi was alive he told this story: Maoi was a tohnnga, a priest, and when he approached his end he said to Nga-Puhi, “It will not be very long before T die, nor very long after I am dead, that god will come on the crest of the wave, and ghosts (kehua) will be on his back. That god will be like the canoes in appearance, but he will be much longer, and he will sail all over the ocean, over everywhere. He will never be mistaken in his course over the ocean; he will sail away, and will not be seen by the people. After a long disappearance another god will appear, who will be like the former one. The first god will come by the aid of sails, but the latter by the aid of fire.” ’ ” It was not until twenty years after Pangari spoke of this prophecy that the first. steamer arrived in New Zealand.

The question of licenses for killing opossums was mentioned by a speaker at last night’s meeting of the Taranaki Acclimatisation Society. Mr. D. McAlhim said he did not know if it was generally known that these animals were protected. There were some opossums in Pukekura Park and he h’d heard of a party who was going there at night to slaughter them. The president of the society (Mr. C. G. Grover) said the council had recommended that the season for opossums should be the three winter montlis, during which their coats were ready for taking. However, no notice had been received from the Government. The society was ready to move when the new regulations came to hand. Another speaker (Mr. C. M. Hill) pointed out that in some parts of Taranaki opossums had become such a nuisance that the settlers were compelled to take action. The animals played havoc with the imported trees in the spring. The question was raised as to whether a property, owner was at liberty to destroy the animals without a license, and regulation read to the meeting showed that the occupier of an orchard could take action providing notice w.as given of such intention.

A party of about thirty-six residents of the Mid hirst district, who had travelled by motor lorry, were at the North Egmont Mountain House on Monday when the place was visited by a whirlwind. “It was a beautiful morning,” stated one of the party to the Stratford Post. “We arrived at the house about ten minutes before the visitation. when all at once the wind’ rose and there was a terrific roar. We women screamed and clung to each other, so terrifying was the experience. We were at the Old House, which, fortunately. escaped the full force of the whirlwind, but looking up we saw wood and iron and debris of all sorts being carried high in the air. When we arrives! at the new Louse it was a scene of desolation; one could not step anywhere for tlie debris that was lying round. You will see by the photographs what was the effect upon the building. The iron on the roof of the centre portion, both back and front, was blown off, and a 20-foot beam with iron attached was found in the treetops at the'back. A motor car was standing at the side of the house and was blown to the front for a distance of about fifteen yards and over a bank. We thought at first that everyone in the house must be killed. They had a marvellous escape. It must have been a frightful experience. A couple, said to be residents of Stratford, also had a terrifying experience, having to hold on to the tussocks for fear of being blown into the gully. “The woman seemed calm enough.” concluded the speaker with a smile, “but the young man’s teeth were chattering!”

Attention is drawn to the advertisement, which appears elsewhere, of the Old Girls’ Food Mart, to be held in Whiteley Hall on the afternoon of Saturday, April 29. This mart is being run on somewhat novel lines, each of the stalls having a different price for its varied stock of food articles. There will be a sixpenny stall, a shilling stall, and so on up to the half-crown stall, and the early comer will secure some tempting bargains at each price. The proceeds are in aid of the boarding-house fund, and al! Old Girls and friends of the Girls’ High School are asked to help by contributions of any kind of cooked food or garden and farm produoe.

Community singing, the craze that has passed through America and Europe, is coming to Taranaki and will be introduced, for the first time in the province, at the picture theatre in Stratford to-morrow night. Popular songs will be sung, the public being invited to join in.

The Auckland Acclimatisation Society is inquiring from the Department of Internal Affairs the cost of importing from America a million Atlantic salmon ova, and also as to whether the Government would give a £1 for £1 subsidy on the cost.

During the month of March there were slaughtered for local consumption at the New Plymouth abattoirs the following stock: —Cattle 211, calves 44, sheep 940, lambs 169, pigs 151 and 7 sucking pigs, and tripes cleaned 209 Compared with last March they show an increase of 18 calves, 114 sheep, 10 lambs and a decrease of 20 cattle and 9 pig®. Two cows, 4 sheep and 4 pigs were condemned. The total fees for the month were £192 Is sd, an increase of £8 12s Id.

A party of deerstalkers who returned to Nelson a few days ago, after spending eight days at Tophouse, report good sport in that district, though the heads obtained are only fair, the best being a ten-pointer. One of the party complained that indiscriminate snooting of deer had been going on, as no fewer than eight does and fawns, shot within the last few days, were found in the vicinity of the river-bed. It is nnderstod that the matter has been reported to the Acclimatisation Society. It- was also stated that paradise ducks were seen in great numbers, while grey ducks were fairly plentiful. Numerous quail were also seen. The statement was published in the Wellington Press that no picture houses are to show pictures on Anzac,Day, the commemoration of which has been “Sun. dayised” under the provisions of last session’s legislation. Some question, however, ha. been raised on the subject, and the Mayor, to whom the matter was referred, said the borough authorities had looked into the subject, and they could see nothing in the Act to prohibit the picture houses opening. Telegraphic inquiry made by the New Zealand Picture Supplies. Company elicited the following reply: “Internal Affairs Department states that no official notice has been published in the Gazette, but it is an offence to show on Anzac Day.”

At a mission in Wangaratta (Victoria) the preacher dealt with presentday evils. He condemned mixed marriages, excessive drinking and gambling, which, he said, were gaining a very strong hold over the young people of Australia. Referring to gambling, he said he knew where young men had even made bets in church. He instanced a certain priest who, when preaching, had the habit of taking a pinch of snuff, and would change it from the thumb and first finger to the one hand to the other hand, performing this several times before inhaling the snuff. Young men standing about the doors of the church would make bets as to which hand he had the snuff in, and the bet would lie decided when the preacher inhaled it. He appealed to them to give over the gambling

A ca«e has come under the notice of a Marlborough Express representative, which, as an illustration of sheer will-power and fine stamina, is hard to surpass. On the last day in March, an old gold-miner named Longhurst (known to many as the “Silver King”), who lived in a lonely shack far back in the ranges in the direction of Waikakaho, had tlio index finger of his left hand blown clean off by the explosion of a detonator cap which he was cleaning. The injury was severe to one of his advanced age (over 75 years), but he made shift with bandages and string and set oil to trudge to civilisation. He had a solid three-hours’ walk along a rough, unfrequented bushtrack, and it must have taken much courage to go through with the trip, lie finally reached the Picton-road, was picked up by a passing motor-car, and taken to the Picton Hospital, where he is now progressing quite favorably. As showing the rugged constitution of the man, it is stated that two years ago he rowed in an open boat alone down the Opawa River, out to sea, and round into Queen Charlotte Sound, where he was prospecting for coal.

A strange phenomenon was seen not •far from the sloping lands adjacent to Shoal Bay, Devonport, recently. The tide was an unusually high one, and for some reason hundreds of young eels swam near the edge of the water, swimming above land that as a rule is not covered by the tide. After high water, when the tide commenced to recede, they did not want to go out with it, and scores of them commenced to wriggle about in the coarse sea grass, and make their way inland for fully six or seven yards. Whether they were after food or whether they had completely lost their bearings it would be hard to tell (says the Auckland Star). Stories have bcm told how eels will travel overland for over a mile to get from one stretch of water to another, and the young eels proved that they were good land travellers. Had they not been discovered and killed by a large number of seagulls, it would have been interesting to find out how far they would have really travelled, and what their object was. The seagulls attacked them at the head, and it was only after they had despatched them in this way that they commenced in a leisurely way to devour them. The eels were about three or four inches in length.

How refreshing after an afternoon’s visiting or shopping to slip into a cosy dressing gown or jacket and feel at rest! Rennie’s offer you a range of charming soft fabrics that make up into cosy dressing gowns, and dainty dressing jackets at easy-to-pay prices. See page four and send for free patterns.

Any grocer, asked as to which washing powder sells best, will promptly reply “Fairy Wonder.” He will tell you that in nine cases out of ten customers ask for “Fairy” and will not take substitutes. This speaks volumes for the way in which “Fairy” has come to the front. It has practically ousted all competitors. There must be a reason.