LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 December 1922, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Moa Dairy Company paid out over .£ll.OOO to suppliers on the 20th inst. The payment represented Is 3|d per pound butter-fat.

That there was no hope of Spotswood obtaining a water service from the borough of New Plymouth in the near future was made clear by the Mayor (Mr. F. E. Wilson) at a meeting of residents of that district last night. Mr. Wilson emphasised the great amount of work that was required in the town. Something in the nature of a record has been established, by the Pepper family, who figured so prominently in the Vogel town school prize list last evening. A branch of the family tree appeared at the top of five classes in the school, wjhile three of them received good attendance certificates. This fact was commented upon by the chairman of the school committee.

The Hawera Co-operative Dairy Company paid its suppliers yesterday the sum* of £34.000, which. represents the progress payment of Is Gd per lb. for November supply of butter-fat, also the final payment for last season, of l%d per lb. butter-fat for the supply from October to June. This final payment brings the pay-out for last season up to Is 4 l-10d average over the whole season.

A section situated on the corner of Pioneer and Breakwater Roads, New Plymouth, three acres throe roods nineteen perches in area, was offered for sale, together with an eight-roomed dwelling, by Messrs. Newton King, Ltd., yesterday on behalf of Mr. W. J. Honeyfield and a purchaser was found in The Moturoa Syndicate. The price paid was £4500.

The outdoor operations of the New Plymouth Beautifying Society will conclude on Saturday next, to be resumed in the autumn. *lt will therefore oe impossible to complete the work required to put in anything like order the locality which may be designated as the municipal grounds on the Carrington Road. There was a fair number of workers, volunteers and wages men, last Saturday, some engaged in these grounds, and some on Baines Terrace. By the kindness of Miss Hempton the workers were regaled with afternoon tea on the lawn at “Marsland View.”

The good attendance of the pupils was a special feature of the work at the Vogeltown school during the school year just closed. At the prize-giving ceremony last night 44 good attendance certificates were presented, this number being nearly one-third of the total roll of 13'6. During the evening the chairman of the school committee (Mr. V. Griffiths) said the attendance had resulted in the raising of the status of the school, as the average attendance of 121.3 entitled the school to an extra teacher. The staff at present numbers four.

The primer classes of the Fitzroy School were presented with their prizes yesterday afternoon in the gymnasium by Mrs Roy L. Parkin (wife of the chairman of the school committee). It was not difficult to see that the children were eagerly looking forward to the coming holidays. Each child was presented with a picture-book prize, and the joy of the little ones was complete when each was handed a. bag of sweets. Aitor presenting the prizes Mrs Parkin wished the children a merry Christmas, a happy New Year and an enjoyable holiday, and expressed the hope that, when they came back again to school, they would be rid of their coughs and colds. The singing of “God Save the King” by the little ones concluded a happy little gathering.

At a meeting the other day of the Te Kuiti Chamber of Commerce, the chairman stated that the service between Te Kuiti and New Plymouth marked a new OYa in tHe history of Te Kuiti as a tourist centre, and the opinion had been expressed that Te Kuiti would become the centre of the tourist traffic for the North Island. Mr. Magon had told him that tne motor service would be continued. At present the old route was beino- taken, but shortly after Christmas” the new road would bo open lor traffic, making the trip much njpre comfortable. enabling it to be done in seven hours. The route was a magnificent one from a scenic point of view. Mr. moved and carried that the suggestion by the New Plymouth Tourist and Expansion League bad the entne sympathy of the Chamber, and every assistance would be given, the Boosting Committee was empowered to take the matter in hand, and try and arrange for tile establishment of a tourist bureau in Te Kuiti.

■Special values at C. C. Ward’s.: Ladies’ vests, good quality, large size, 1/6 1/11. 2/3 each; fancy tionts, -/H , comfy cut 2/3; cellular vests, 3/11 each. Best value procurable m hosiery ami gloves. Silk ankle mock seam. 2/6 pair; non-ladder. 4/11; silk gloves double tips, 5/11 pair; long silk gloves, 8/11; kid gloves, 8/11, 12/6.

Kingfishing off Napier has commenced and some excellent catches have been recorded this week, in one case no less than 70 fine specimens being landed.

Commenting on the vagaries ot our Acts, the Wanganui Herald observes that to kill an op possum without having a license the offender is liable to a penalty of £5O. On tlie other hand if a person suffering from an infectious disease travels in a train or public conveyance the maximum penalty is £lO.

The Inglewood Band will make its first public appearance on Saturday evening, when they will play a number of selections and Christmas carols at the band rotunda. Bandmaster Murntt expresses himself as well satisfied with tile progress made by members during the short period of itexistence.

A Taihape sheep farmer writes that owing to the rabbit pest the sheep carrying capacity of New Zealand’s farms has been reduced in ten years bv 2,000,000 head, which is approximately equal to 10,000,000 rabbits. In Taihape sheep are estimated to have decreased by at least 150,000 on rabbit infested areas.

An incident indicating the voracity of the shag was related at a meeting of the Wellington Acclimatisation Society. A member said that recently he had seen a friend shoot a medium-sized shag, which had protruding from its mouth a trout weighing well over a pound. Part of the fish was semi-digested.

Till! net profits of the Hawera Winter Show were £425, and the directors have had to consider the advisibility of erecting further show accommodation owing to having to remove the temporary building from Rowe Street known as tlie poultry hall. They have arranged with the architects to get out the plans for a two-storey building on tlie vacant piece of land fronting Rowe and Albion Streets. This will necessitate a further expenditure of anything from £4OOO to £5OOO.

“The orgy of dancing,” which has been experienced during the winter and spring came in for some criticism from Mr. I<. Foote, rector of the High Scnool, at the annual prize-giving function “Boys and girls cannot do thenwork properly if their energies are used up at social functions,” remarked the rector. “Young people cannot do tneir work properly if'they have an over-in-dulgence— you notice I say “over-in-dulgence.” I would not ent it out altogether, but there has been far too much dancing this winter and spring.

Members of the Wanganui Borough Council (states an exchange) are. twitting one of their number as to whether it is one of the duties of a City Fatner to become a temporary nurse of young children on special occasions. A genial and good-natured councillor was sitting on the balcony of His Majesty’s on election night smoking a cigar and studying the returns, when a lady approached him and politely asked if he would mind her child for a while, v course, the councillor smilingly complied. Time drifted on, the lady evidently became interested in the returns, and the councillor became anxious. To look lor the lady would be hopeless. Arter a long duration, which under the circumstances seemed three times as long, he very willingly handed over the child to the thankful mother.

The cowardly ruffians who hunt the northern suburbs of Melbourne in packs, attacking unfortunate persons who they consider have given offence, are easily nut to rout, states the Age. On Cup night a rowdv crew of pot-valiant youths on their way home from the races nicked a quarrel with two chance acquaintances whom they met on the road. In their characteristically playful wav they knocked the men down, and proceeded to kick them into insensibilitv. The residents or the locality took very little notice of the affair; not so Police-woman Davidson. Although not by any means a strong woman, she called two others of her sex to her aid, and the three made a sortie against the hooligans. It is understood that hatpins played some part in the attack, but, be that as it may, the youths broke before the determined onslaught of the women, and left their battered victims in the hands of the enemy. Miss Davidson, having effected a timely rescue, had the injured men taken to a hospital and treated for their numerous cuts and bruises.

' ,ii the preface to a new edition of his political reflections, “A Gentleman with a Duster” writes:—“lt would seem that wherever our language, lias travelled there is now a conviction that true leadership lies in the conjunction of high intelligence and an incorruptible moral integrity. 'Humanity, one may say,, is something more than dissatisfied with its leaders. It begins to know wny those leaders are unsatisfactory. This is tlie first step toward a more rational government and a more seemly world order. . . . If I may presume to offer a word of counsel to those for whom this present edition is chiefly, intended, I would beg them to be guided in their choice of leaders mainly by moral qualities, that is to say, qualities of character, rather than of intellect, and then to be as loyal to those chosen leaders as they should be severe in their judgment on lesser men whose interest lies in making bad blood between the captain and the rank of file. Discipline is essential to the existence of democracy; without it there can be nothing but disorder, disappointment, and defeat. The great beginning is a reasonable goal: then a choice of high-minded leaders; and then a stout and loyal heart for the long march to a more just and beautiful world. AVhen democracy demands character in its leaders, when it feels in its blood the atlantic difference between a specious ‘talker’ and a man of profound virtue, then, but not even then without loyalty, can it hope to find a happy issue out of all its affliction.”

Greetings to all—the old, old wish A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May this one be the best yet, and may your furniture be well made by Sullivans, that it will live to see many New Year days.

The management of the Melbourne, Ltd., express their desire that their patrons do as much of their shopping as possible this week prior to Saturday. As the Christmas Eve rush this year promises to be greater than ever it is obvious that more service, more selection, and more comfort can be obtained by earlier shopping.

To cope wi|h the removal of house refuse during the holidays, arrangements have 'been made to remove rubbish on the Wednesday morning in each week from those houses usually served on Mondays and Tuesdays. The work will commence at 5.30 a.m., and householders should see that rubbish receptacles are put out before that hour.