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Auckland Star, Volume LI, Issue 293, 8 December 1920, Page 4

The Weather Bureau forecast for 24 hours from 0 a-m. this day is as follows: —"The indications are for westerly winds, strong to gale, and backing by west to eoubh after ten hours. The weather appears likely to be cloudy an! unsettled. Rain probable, nnd the weather will probably become colder. Barometer unsteady, but rising after about. 24 hours. Sea moderate. Tides poor."

When a taxi-car driver stated in evidence at the court that his average earnings were about £2 per day net, Mr. J. W. Poynton, S.M., commented, "Better than the law," with which statement counsel promptly concurred.

Strawberries are very plentiful on the wholesale market at the present time, and with prices ranging from lid to 1/2 per box for best and 9d to IOJd for second quality, they are within reach of the majority of folk. During the last three days Messrs E. Turner and Sons have disposed of 2,200 crates. Good quality apricots are also coming forward freely and selling at prices ranging from 12/ to 14/0 per case.

That her Majesty the Queen has kindly recollections of her tour round tho world when Duchess of Cornwall, was demonstrated when the Bishops at Lambeth Conference were invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace. Tho Queen asked to have all the oversea Bishops presented to her. This was stated by Bishop Averill at St. Mary's Parish Hall last evening.

A breach of award was dealt with by Mr. E. C. Cutten, S.M., at tho Magistrate's Court to-day, Fred Morris being charged with failing to pay the award rate to a lad. Mr. Vallance, on behalf of defendant, explained that Mr. Morris wanted a 'bricklayer to work, and in order to secure the father's services consented to put the son, aged fifteen years, on the job. A labourer was also employed. The lad was now apprenticed. A penalty of 20/ was imposed.

Two applications Tor possession of tenements were refused by Mr. E. C. C'-utten, S.M., at the Magistrate's Court to-day. William A. Moore (Mr. Fraer) wanted possession of a house occupied by Joseph Power (Mr. Allan Moody) Plaintiff, a married man with no children, sold a farm at Cambridge, came to town, and joined the police force. Defendant was a married man with two children. Evidence was given that his wife had been ill for the past four months. An order was refused. Mrs. Mary Simpson (Mr. Gregory) asked for possession of a house occupied by Robert Edwards (Mr. A. Moody). Plaintiff stated she wanted the house for her own occupation. In cross-examination she admitted that during the last three years she had bought three houses and sold them at a profit. There was only herself and her husband. Defendant stated he was married with five children. The order was refused. A visitor to Auckland next week will be Mr. Lussich, an Aucklaudcr who has shown remarkable ability in town planning. He has been in New South Wales ten years, where he has done much towards the betterment of greater Sydney. He is the manager for the Town Planning Co. of Australia on Rosebery model suburb, and is also engaged at present in the laying out of a great model suburb at Strathfield. This suburb will be known as Strathholme, and is being built by the New South Wales Government under its new housing scheme. It will be the first and much the largest State-owned suburb in the Southern Hemisphere, if not in the world. "I was talking with a Scotsman recently," said Archdeacon Mac Murray at St. Mary's Parish Hall last night, "and he was very positive that the age of miracles was past. Later in the conversation, he remarked, 'I'm a Scot and have not tasted whisky for sixty year..' 'Mon.' said I, ' but surely that's a miracle.'" An inquiry made this morning regarding the wool clip and the prospects for the season elicited information of not a very cheerful kind. The clip is coming to hand for the sales very slowly, the majority of the owners being uncertain as to the sum they accept. The result is that owner, and brokers are just marking time.

The executive of the Returned Soldiers' Association last evening considered ways and means of securing 'larger pensions for disabled soldiers, and after thoroughly going into the matter, appointed a sub-committee to draft a scheme in accordance with a suggestion of the secretary, Mr. K. F. Andrews. This provides for the formation of a ■"justice league" to enrol electors as members, with tho object of securing half a million signatures to a petition for presentation to Parliament next session, and the drafting of a scheme by tho sub-committee to be endorsed by the branches of the association throughout the Dominion. A member of the executive pointed out that the increased pension of ten shillings recently announced applied only to men suffering from 100 per cent disability. The.c was to be no increase lo partially disabled men.

Proposals regarding the acquisition of the corner of Craig, Ltd.'. lease, Kiin-g's wharf, by the Harbour Board, which wishes to (build a railway siding to new wharf construction, were made in a letter from the firm, read at the meeting of the board yesterday afternoon. Amongst other stipulations the firm asked that the hoard construct n siding into their present building at King's wharf, and give favourable consideration to new berthing accommodation for shingle boats. The actingengineer reported ho did not see that Messrs. Craig had any reasonable claim for the. board to hear the cost of tbe proposed siding. The matter was referred to the Board-in-Committec, to be considered when the railway lines arc being arranged on the new reclamation.

A deputation waited on the Mt. Roskill Road Board last night, to discuss the question of an improved water supply on the higher levels of tho district. Messrs. Saunders and Mclvcrr. asked for the Board's consent to their properties being connected with the city wate.r supply as an auxiliary to the local supply. They would undertake to pay all charges for the latter. Messrs. Dawson and Bridgeman complained of the meagre supply of water to tlicir premises. Mr. Bridgeman snid they could not get any water at his home during two-thirds of the day. Mr. Dawson quoted several dates on which Ihe water was cut off from his house. He complained that the water pipes filled with air when the water was off. which was forced through the meter and registered as water for which he had to pay. Tho deputation suggested that the difficulty could be solved if a 3-inch main were laid from the tank to the highest point on Mr. Bridgemnn's property. All the speakers urged the Board's immediate attention to their requests owing to the great domestic inconvenience and the danger from fire. The chairman, Mr. O. E. Tansley, sympathised with the deputation, but was afraid tho Board.could not do much to increase the water supply until tho water tank was enlarged, which could not he done at present for want of funds. Both requests will be dealt with by the Board.

Asking an extension of their lease of part section in Customs Street West, between Messrs. Wright, Stephenson, and Co.'s building and Messrs. A. and T. Burt's, on the ground that owing to war service they had been unable to build, Messrs. Paterson and Robertson made application to the Harbour Board yesterday afternoon. A new lease for portion of the property was requested. The secretary reported that while the board could issue a new lease it' had no power to extend the term of the lease. As the lease in question contained provisions for half compensation, it would be difficult to fix the rental for a new lease. It was decided to notify Messrs. Paterson and Robertson according'y. In recent years the demand for honey has increased enormouslj' and the export from New Zealand has grown in proportion. Many returned soldiers have become interested in commercial bee farming, and according to the last returns there are 6400 apiaries in the Dominion, and 7f>,000 colonies of bees. In addition to the number stated it is known that there are residents, scattered throughout New Zealand, who have failed to register their hives, and the Department purposes taking action against the offenders for not complying with the regulations. Foul brood, it is stated, is one of the principal diseases that apiarists have to contend with, and the disease is so often spread from colonies kept for a hobby that it is necessary that all colonies should be registered in order that the apiarists who farm bees for commercial purposes may not suffer through .their stock becoming contaminated.

The shipping companies have informed the Agricultural Department that there is reason for believing that ample space; will bo available for shipment of this season's apple crop. Thei'e have already been a considerable number of applications for space, the preliminary bookings ! being in tho vicinity of 2,")0,000 cases, but! the shipping companies will be unable to state what space will be available until about the middle of January. When tliis is ascertained shippers who have applied for accommodation will be called upon to sign an agreement and enter into a bond undertaking to consign the number of cases for which space has been allotted them. In the event of this not being carried out, the dead space will have to be paid for. No objection, it is understood, will be made against a shipper who finds that he cannot carry out his contract, arranging with another who is in a position to fill the space. An unusual case was heard at the Taihape Magistrate's Court, when W. R. Mc-Ouinness sued the Moawhango Collie Club for possession of a lady's bracelet, a trophy aileged to have been won by the plaintiff's dog at the club's dog trials, : and dcliven- of which had been withheld by the defendant club. The defence was to the effect that the plaintiff was not eligible to compete in the event for the winner of which the bracelet was the prize, on account of not being a bonaSde resident of the district prescribed in the conditions. Plaintiff contended that he was a bona-fide .esident, as portion of hie property, though not the homestead, was within the area prescribed. The magistrate, Mr. E. W. Burton, in delivering judgment next day. said that the matter was not within the jurisdiction of the Magistrate's Court, as the conditions t under -which the. dog trials had been held stipulated that all disputes should be referred to th? North Tsland Dog Trials Associntions. the decision of which body was t'i be Ifinal. The plaintiff would be non-suited without costs. The Maoris in the Taihape district are predicting a very dry summer and autumn on account of the profuse flenvering of the cabbage palms. Some years ago, when the conditions were similar, the Maoris predicted a dry summer and long autumn, which pToved to be the driest ever experienced here. Unsightly signboards and notice boards about the wharves and properties of the Harbour Board will be done away with when the chairman of the .board (Mr. H. D. Heather), deals with the matter. The board has authorised him to take action.

The flagstaff on Tiri Tiri Island will j Ibe taken over by the Auckland Harbour : Board and put in first-class repair. At j j the Harbour Board meeting yesterday, I the chairman (Mr. H. D. Heather), said ; i that during the fog of Monday the cap- j ! tains of several of the steamers out in ! | the fog had declared that the new : I signals were of great help to them, and enabled them to know their position j all the time. i That sparks of "humanity still remain j in man" has been exemplified lately in I this neighbourhood (says the "Kawhia Settler"). The fact that two brothers •were patients in the Waikato Hospitali i at the same time impelled the Oparau "boys" to turn out en masse last week to | carry out shearing operations in place j of their mates, mustering, shearing, | baling—all has been finished, and done well. i To meet the difficulties of local bodies I in raising money for Public Works, the Gisborne Borough Council suggested in a letter to (the Harbour Board yesterday the adoption of a system of premium bonds. By this system cash bonuses would bo allocated by ballot . yearly over and above the annual interest fixed at _ per cent. The board took no action. The Railway Appeal Board is still occupied hearing evidence for arid against appeals by members of the service. Mr. E. Page, S.M., continues to preside. At yesterday's sitting the hearing of the appeal 'of Mr. ... U. S. Brodie was completed, decision being reserved. 1 The board then considered the case of Mr. D. C. Hiskins, ticket inspector at Auckland, against being superseded in promotion by several other members. The case was not finished with last evening and consequently proceedings in connection with it were resumed this morning. Tt was remarked by Mr. J. W. Poynton, R.M., on Monday that city residents did not appear to appreciate the full legal responsibility of keeping a dog. He pointed out that if any dog on a highway rushes at, attacks, or startles any person or animal so that life or limb of such person or animal is endangered the dog may be 'immediately destroyed and the owner or keeper or the dog was liable to a £5 fine. The remarks were made apropos a charge against Mre. Rose Eyre that she was the owner of a dog that attacked a pony in Symonds Street, and j the lady was fined £_. j "After a good look round Auckland,"' j said a well-known Wellington builder, who has been on a holiday trip to the j northern city, "I must say that as far: as homes go Wellington has to take a | back seat. The general standard of a I home here (Wellington) is very much below what it is in Auckland, and as for better-class homes we in Wellington have nothing to compa.e with the homes of Remuera and certain other parts _pf Auckland. Auckland houses are more , picturesquely designed than ours, are better built and usually stand on a decent section of land, which is by no j means the rule in Wellington. Welling- j ton may have its good points, but its; homes in the aggregate are not nearly as picturesque or as comfortable as those j either of Auckland or Christchurch. How can it he otherwise with so many hundreds of 25ft and 30ft sections for a ] man to build a home uponi" Tn connection with the explosion in a railway carriage at the Gisborne station it has transpired that the explosive was blasting powder, obtained by a young man, a resident of Matawai. No detonators were contained in the parcel, which w-as part of the contents of a military haversack, with which he was returning to Matawai by train. He was not in the carriage at the time of the explosion, but had put the haversack under the seat before going away. The haversack, it is surmised, caught fire from a carelessly-thrown cigarette end or match, and the attempt made by a passenger to extinguish the smouldering flame burst the paper parcel of powder, which, on contact ,vith tho sparks, ignited. Two other men, who were on their way to Waipaoa to split posts, and ! who were conveying the parcel of powder i subsequently found unexploded in the i luggage rack df the car, thought it was their powder which had done the damage, and promptly presented themselves at the police station. In the meantime, however, the man most concerned had also declared that he wished to make a statement, and did so to the stationmaster. An interesting souvenir of the war is carried by the steamer Kathlamba, now in port here. The vessel was torpedoed during the war, several feet of the hull i being blown from one side of the ship to tho other. She was beached to prevent her from sinking. After repairs had been effected and the vessel made sea> worthy, the missing portion of the plate was discovered in the engine-room. This the officers decided to keep aa a souvenir, and it may now be seen on the deck of the vessel, inscribed "With the Kaiser's Compliments." The Greenhithe Progress Association asked the Auckland Harbour Board to improve the wharf in view of the growth of trade there. Members yesterday however considered "unauthorised bodies" j should not take such (matters in hand,< and the board agreed to leave it to be considered when inspection of this and other wharves would be made. "The labour problem is heart-break-irig," said a farmer during the hearing at Masterton of a charge against him of i failing to keep down the rabbit pest. "I j have been paying men 15/ a day for rabbit poisoning, but it is now so hard to i obtain labour that I've had a Hindu, j now working for a neighbour, booked up ! seven weeks ahead." No perfume is so popular and appreciated as the famous No. 52 lavenderi water.—(Ad.) .The most powerful advertisement any j finm ever had. Law's auction sale of high-grade footwear. Almost finished. To-morrow, at 12 noon. —(Ad.) Lady connoisseurs of perfumes place' the famous No. 52 lavender water first on thir lists —for its sweet and lasting, fragrance.— (Ad.) i You get surprising results by using the very smallest quantity Polly brilliant metal shine.— (Ad.) I The Davis Cup tennis players find that | the "Keep Smiling" brand of boot polish ; gives the best shine. Ask grocers. (Ad.) ' | That delightfully refreshing and frag-: ] rant perfume No. 52 lavender water j has no compeer. It is the queen of: lavender water.—•(Ad.) j The Davis Cup tennis players are in for a good time in New Zealand, thanks to "No Rubbing" Laundry Help and ■ "Keep Smiling" Boot Polish.—(Ad.) j No. 52 Lavender water ls famous for; its sweet fragrance—in all sizes.—(Ad.) ■ Visitors to Auckland! Be sure while in this city to see one of its sights. Come to the Strand Arcade, take the i lift to the third floor, and see the noted I showrooms beautifully decorated for j Xmas, and full to overflowing "with gifts. |It is something quite different. A surprise awaits you, it's so dainty and j [unique. Warren's.—(Ad.) '