General News.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 19258, 13 March 1928, Page 8

General News.

A conference with regard to Page's road will be held in the City Council Chambers on Thursday afternoon. Mr H. Macintosh, Chief City > Traffic Inspector, says that pillion riding is now definitely legal, provided that there is only one passenger and that he, or she, rides astride behind the driver. At a meeting of the Summit Road Board yesterday Mr H. G. Ell suggested that all reserves on the Summit Road east of Parkinson's Bush Reserve should be vested! in the Summit Road Trust. Consideration of the matter was deferred.

Freight hauled by rail through the. Otira tunnel to Christchurch during the last week was 8938 tons, representing an increase of 2423 tons over the amount recorded during the corresponding period last year, when it was 6515 tons.

Within the next fortnight the_ new car and repair shop at the Addington Workshops should be ready for occupation, the erection of the new buildings being well advanced. Each building is to have its own power plant, and this is expected to effect a great saving in shafting and belts. The world's record thresher shark, weighing 8321b, which was landed on February 18th off Cape Brett, was consigned from the Moerewa freezing works to Auckland the other day. It occupied the full diagonal length of an "L" truck. The tail is about four feet long.

The City Eate Collector's Office had another busy day yesterday. The sum of £23,301 was taken, and the amount of rates 'outstanding is now approximately £91,000. There are now only two days left in which tardy ratepayers may make their payments, if they are to avoid the addition of the penalty.

Only two refresher courses for pilots are being held at the Wigram Aerodrome this year, and the first will commence on Saturday. It will occupy ten days, and will be followed immediately with another course which will end on April sth. Each course will be undergone by a batch of ten men. The cadets finished their training last week. The Takapuna Borough Council, which some months ago decided to refuse all applications for the erection of hoardings, has received a naive request from a ratepayer, who asks permission to lease a section for the purpose of erecting a hoarding, as only, by rent derived from such a source can he pay his rates! m According to a report received by the Auckland Acclimatisation Society last week, trout are plentiful in- the lake at Arapuni It was stated that last month fishing parties made catches of 97 45, 32, 22, and 20 fish in a day, wb!ile the fish were in splendid) condition and were great fighters. Those near the dam were particularly large. In the Canterbury-West Coast health district last week there was one death from an infectious disease, this occurring from tuberculosis in Canterbury. The cases notified were as follows: Canterbury: Scarlet fever 11, diphtheria 2, tuberculosis 5, pneumonia 4, poliomyelitis (infantile paralysis) 5, septic abortion 1; West Coast, diphtheria 2.

For Pastoral Run- 250, Waimate County, 168 applications have been received by the Commissioner of Crown Lands (Mr W. Stewart). The examination of applicants takes place this afternoon at the Courthouse, Timaru, and the ballot will be held immediately the examination is over. The land is situated ten miles from Waimate, and eleven from Makikihi railway station. It will take at least six months before the full transfers of men from the Addington Workshops to Hillside, Dunedin, and vice versa, are made, said a railway official yesterday. The respective workshops will have to relieve each other as each building in the new shops is finished, as Hillside will be solely a locomotive plant and Addington will look after cars and waggons.

"A good deal of criticism has been levelled at the Government-on account of its campaign against preservatives in foodte " said the Minister for Health, the Hon. Mr Young, when speaking at Kaitaia last week. "Boracic acid is not wanted in the butter in England," he continued. "It may be pointed out that a little preservative in butter will do no harm, .but the position is that it will be getting into all things. Too much disinfectant can do much harm." With ewe fairs at Waiau, Little Kiver, and Culverden, the Railway Department will be very busy this week. To-morrow from 150 to 200 stock waggons will be sent to Addington from all parts of the district, the Dunedin line, and the West Coast. West Coast stock railage has slackened, and the freights of stock to the south are not so heavy as last year. A big demand is being made on rolling-stock by the grain traffic, however, and the Railway Department would be aided by quick discharge.

"I am 71 years of age, and have been paying rates for 50 years without having anything done to my road, so I think I am entitled to some consideration." Thus spoke a settler who waited on the Inglewoodl County Council last week asking that a bridge be built to give him access with implements to his farm. He and his son, he added, had "humped" two tons of fertiliser to the section on their shoulders last year, but for his own part he was getting too old for that. Members were sympathetic toward the settler, and the overseer was instructed to report on the matter.

The sloop Laburnum is to sail from Lyttelton at 11.30 a.m. to-morrow for Wellington. Several private deputations were received last evening by the Hon. Mr MeLeod, Minister for Lands. Mr H. G. Ell waited on him with reference to the Summit road. The Prime Minister (Mr Coates), in the course of his remarks at a dinner given in his honour at Temuka, last night, said he had never seen the South Island looking in a more prosperous than at the present time. A large, number of friends and members of the Young Men's Christian Association gathered last evening to extend a welcome to Mr- C. A. Pegg, who has been appointed physical director of the Association, Mrs Pegg, and Mr 0. Russ the new membership secretary. The welcome took the form ot a tea, during which several entertaining items were given. The Hon. Mr MeLeod, Minister for Industries and Commerce, told a reporter last evening that the Government had no great apprehension that the Canadian trade treaty with Australia, which also affected New Zealand, would be abrogated. There was no reason to anticipate that anything serious would be done by Canada at present. That fresh air and sunshine would help to build up the nervous system to stand the strain of the too-rapid life being led'to-day, was a statement mado by Dr. R. B. Phillipps at a meeting of the Open-Air League last evening. He added that one of the factors in the eradication of anaemia among women was the wearing of lighter clothes. The open-air classrooms in the Canterbury district now number seventeen, states the annual report of the Open Air Schools League. These are distributed as follows: —Fendalton 5, Spreydon 4, Opawa 2, Cashmere 1, Linwood 1, St. Andrew's College 1, Sumner Roman Catholic School 1, Sacred Heart Convent 1. Six more are to be erected shortly—-Bangiora 4, and Elmwood 2. In reference to the steamer reported to be in distress off Porangahau on Sunday night, the Kahika, which arrived at Napier yesterday afternoon, reports having sighted an unknown vessel a little south of Cape Turnagain. The Kahika signalled, but received no reply. No further steps were taken as the ship sighted appeared to be proceeding normally on a southerly course. —Press Association. Mr John Fisher, the president of the Waikato Show, was very outspoken in a recent speech about farmers and finance (states an exchange). He said: "The farmers are prosperous to-day, some people say they are hard) up, but I say they are not. Just look around to-day and see how well they all look here," and, he added, "the county council of which I have the honour to be a member has had all its rates paid up." Asked last evening if there were any prospects of increased trade with the East, the Hon. Mr MeLeod, Minister for Industries and Commerce, said toe non-existence of a direct line of steamers was the principal difficulty. In Australia manufacturers were taking measures to improve their trade. For instance, butter was being put up in small cartons, as was necessary for the East. Not a great deal, had been done in this direction yet by the New Zealand factories. Representatives of the unemployed made fruitless enquiries yesterday for a room in which to conduct a relief depot, pending a decision by the Canterbury Trades and Labour Council next Saturday evening on the request for the use of the Social Hall in the Trades Hall. Yesterdlay the Labour Department received 19 fresh registrations, ten from married men. One was placed in private employment. The Department has on its books at present about 290 names. An Order-in-Council in the Gazette amends the license issued to the Waimairi County Council for the erection of electric lines, and adds the following clause:—"Electrical energy shall be received from the Lake Coleridge supply at a pressure not exceeding 11,000 volts between phases, and transformed down for distribution on the threephase system at a pressure not exceeding 6600 volts between phases, the routes of the electric lines being as shown on plan." An excellent photograph of the Capitol at Washington was exhibited at the P. andT. employees' reunion at Blenheim on Saturday evening by the Secretary of the Post Office (Mr G. McNamara), who said that it had been transmitted over telegraph wires in the United States. He said that in the near future the transmission of documents or photographs hy telegraphy would have to be made another branch of the P. and T. .Department's activities in New Zealand. If an important document missed a mail, there should be facilities for "telegraphing" it Press Service Booth Electric Pumps are made, not merely to sell, but to serve as well. They are giving efficient service to thousands of New Zealand users—all absolutely satisfied—a record of which we are pardonably proud. No_ one has yet discarded a Booth Electric Pump for any other make! Illustrated pamphlet post free gives all details. Booth, Macdonald and Co., Ltd., 06