The Chairman (Mr Vaile) said that some three or four months ago an irate lady - a resident of the district - had gone to the school and thrashed several of the scholars.
The teacher, he alleged, had not attempted to stop her, and, in fact, had rather encouraged her in so far that she (the teacher) had said that it served the boys right, and she hoped that the thrashing would be a good one.
This, the Chairman continued, was a wrong action on the part of the teacher, and at a meeting of the committee held subsequently it was decided to ask for an apology. This, however, was not forthcoming.
The committee had communicated with the Education Board without obtaining the satisfaction it desired, and the board had refused to forward the correspondence to the Minister.
The committee thereupon wrote to the department, which had referred it back to the board, and the committee, considering it had been slighted, concluded that the only course open to it was to resign.
A proposal was made at the householders' meeting that the board should be requested to remove the teacher and appoint a certified teacher; but the majority of those present were apparently disinclined to vote on the motion, which four persons supported, while three opposed it, and eventually it was decided to prepare a petition for signature, praying for the removal of the present teacher.
•On Thursday afternoon a number of unemployed married men waited on Mr J. S. Douglas, chairman of the Dunedin Drainage Board, and asked if anything could be done by the board to give them employment.
They were men who had formerly been in the board's employ.
It was pointed out to Mr Douglas that it was a hardship upon their wives and families for them (the men) to be out of work.
Mr Douglas assured the deputation that he would do his utmost to assist them to obtain work, and he promptly conferred with the board's engineer on the subject of putting them on, with the result that they have been given a start.
The chairman's prompt action is greatly appreciated by the men.
•While the Fruit Preserving Industry Bill was under consideration in the House last night (our Wellington correspondent states) the Prime Minister (Mr Massey) announced that he was sending a water diviner and a boring plant to Earnscleugh Flat, Central Otago, with a view to getting artesian water for the fruit-growing industry there.
Mr G. M. Thomson said they would get the water without the diviner.
Mr Massey laughingly replied that he knew the member for Dunedin North was a sceptic, and he also had been sceptical until he had seen the water diviner at work.
Mr Massey intimated that he was negotiating for the resumption of 7000 acres of land in the district suitable for fruit-growing, and if he was as successful as he expected to be, he would be able to place 150 fruit-growers on the land.
Part of it would have to be irrigated.
Whilst walking along the Waikuku Beach, four miles north of the mouth of the Waimakariri on Sunday evening, Messrs A. Day (Woodend) and T. Woodham (Hokitika) found three frost fish which had been left high and dry by the evening tide (says the Christchurch Press).
One of the fish measured 5ft 2in, the other 4ft 3in, and the third 3ft 2in. On Saturday morning, on the same beach, they found a frost fish 5ft 7in in length. - ODT, 25.7.1914.
