LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 61, 6 December 1920, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The glorious weather on Saturday and Sunday placed Wellington in holiday garb and the beaches, parks, and buvts wore crowded with picnickers. The man in the street, who has been for sp long wondering where the summer has hidden it«elf availed himself of the chance- to browse in tho open. Crowded tramcars and cheery motor parties were common sights during the week-end. The Hon. 0. J. Anderson, Minister of Internal Affair*. ha; received a cablegram from tho British Legation suiting that the British Famine lie! lef Crm. mitleo, Peking, urgently appeals to the people of '.New Zealand for immediate subscriptions to relieve famine sufferers in North' China. It is stated that des'ier.ite conditions nlrei.ly ex.ft over tho" whole provinces, and while ctue'iiu and reliable British organisation e>isU for relief, the work is nlni.st at n standstill owing to lack of fun.'g. It is feared that the nositlon will Ucome more acute as winter appro.iciHS, ami uny subscriptions, to tho fund bhoubl be remitted to the famine- relief tioiisuiw at the British legation, Peking.

Mrs Jennings, aged about 60 years, who arrived in Wellington by tho ferry steamer Maori on Saturday morning from Lvttelton, dropped dead in tho tramway waitiug-i»ied in Post Office So.uaro about 7.30 o'clock Mrs. Jennings, who was-a resident of Christchurch. collapsed while reading a notice, and expired almost immediately- She. hnd in her possession a train ticket to Mairricoville.

Under the direction of the director of reserves (M. J. "M'Kenzie) the banks and the ground at tho foot of the cuttin°s nt the entrance to the Mount Victoriat ramway tunnel were planted last season, and this year tho climbing roses have reached a height of eight to ten feet, and aro covered with .beautiful white blooms. Were a few crimson ramblers planted among the white Dorothy Perkins varieties a touch of glad colour would be added to tho hanks. Virginia creepers have been planted a".ilnstl the masonry of the tunnel face itself. and this will, in a few years, lend n touch of the picturesque to the cold concrete walls. At the Hataitai end the triangle of. ground on the northern side has been planted with flowering shrubs, which should make a brave show in a year or two.

The attention of householders is drawn to an advertisement in this issue. ielating to disposal in Wellington bv the Defence Department of surplus troopship [urniture.

Mr. C. Grnvndler. general sreretary of the' New Zealand Workers' Union, has received a telegram from Auckland slating the Auckland Buihkrs- and General Labourers' Unions, eomprisinp; cier 5000 members, held a ballot on the question of joining the New Zealand Workers' Union. The result of the ballot was almost unanimously in favour cf joining.

At a meeting of the committee of the Wellington. Bose and Carnation Club it was decided to. abandon the holding of the annual spring show at tho Town Hull. The club" will, however, ho'.d a members' show toward; the end i-f January, at which lectures will be c'elirevcil by prominent members on the subject cf roso culture.

Tho time lias come when we can no longer expect to lx> dependent on the Brougham Hill and Wellington flubs for courts- (says tho annual report of the Public Schools Tennis Association). Tour committee feels„that tho moment is opportune for approaching tho City Council with a view to having'a part of one of the pity reserves set aside for the use of the thousand and more school tennis players whose activities are so restricted at present on account of tho dearth of courts.

Ever and anon some enterprising German firm brings its line of "superb goods under the notice of a local concern per medium of a business letter that lacks nothing ,in correctness (savs tho"Pouthland Times"). But there are exceptions, and from tfnns Flansberger. of Berlin, a motor and cycle dealer has just received a circular addressed to him in the country of Hans Hansbergnr declare* that lie has 'tho Bieat smiplv motor accessories," but it is not likely that tho local firm will be buying on./. .

An'egg of a rare island bird has been brought bad: to Canterlinrv Museum by Mr. J?.. Speiirht, the curator, from a visit to the. Pacific Wands. The l;.id is a megapode—"big foot"—and is allied to Hie sorub-fowls, malleo-fowls, and brush-turkeys, which constitute t]ie irrn-jp of mound-builders, of Australia, fts home is the island of Ninnfoou, one of the Tongnn croup, and its habitat is a lar<re crater-like lake in the centre of the island. Before an eruption in JS7G, it u-.t: fairlv plentiful, but it lino become one of the rare birds of the world. About. 15117 tbe Tune; of Tonga protected it by declaring that it was tnpn. If. now has the more practical and effective protection of the law. Natives of the inland regarded the p«s* as a great delisa?}\ and still call them "King's food.' I hn pirirs aro deposited in tunnels in light soil, where Uic.v are left to be hatched l>» (Ik> boat of the- Min. They are eVhptiVil in 'shape, about three in'ches and a quarter long, and vary in colour from a wa'".n cream to vcllowish-wh'te, ••-oilow-ish-brown, and rich cream. The islanders call th« bird Malau: in scientific literature it is Megapodius- Pritchardi. It was reported' some twenty years nso to lie present on Sunday Island. Kcrmadoc group, in the Dominion of New Zealand, but the report apparently was ircorrect.

A mild sensation was caused at \Varringtin on 'Wednesday morning, prior to the arrival of the north-bound express (says the "Otago Daily Times"). A cattle truck, with the usual high sides and top croas-bar. and containing a lull, hi 1 lieei: shunted into the siding for tnloadii!-'. The owner not liking Iho look of th-' animal, which, no doubt, had hecmefl enraged through travelling, decided that the best and safest means of

unshinpi!!'-' thn bovine was to drive sonic en.vs"past the truclc as the bull was being liberate*. Before that propositi!*? covld lie pivr«. effect to. however, the animal, with one bound, lumped out: over Mia to>-i of the track—a. phenomenal feat— and landed o;: the vails, TC« appeared to lie stunned for the of a few (vermis, but staggering to his feet charged madly along the line. Ho nego-

tiated the cattle stops in one. bound, and disapnear'rd from view down tho beach road. Sc-mo half-dozen local re-

sidents,' casually interested in ihe unloading or.enitions, 'scattered in all dnect;on>. '

As a result of representations tyr the Auckland Forestry League, a Commission is to bo appointed by the Government to inquire and report as to the manufacture of paper from wood pulp in New Zealand (states tho Auckland "Herald"). In a letter to the Mayor of Auckland, the Minister of Industries and Commerce (tho lion. 13. P. toe) states that iiow tho Parliamentary session is over, ho proposes to go fully into the matter with the Board of Trade, with a view to inquiry being made into paper manufacturing and other industries for which, from the efficient treatment, of existing forest areas and their energetic extension, adequate supplies of raw material would be available He adds that in. view of' the conditions existing as to prices ajid scarcity of paper supplies, it is recognised that Hib inquiry should be urgent. During So v-av the National Efficiency. Board ■mode fairly comprehensive inquiries into the matter.*'As a result, inquiry had ton made from 'abroad by interested n'rties in the South Island as to tho pos'?"bililv of securing the necessary machined for the manufacture of paner from wood pulp. The Deoartment was advised Z the cost of machinery at. present Though inquiries wero til being made,.it wag not fonsidercd ?, e to start the industry' «t. present, V^ilH-ing 0 r TiT D'op'arf to publish the result next session of Parliament.

Si?if-"nre «elH"?"«r thn eom.tor ffij Th. hjgj, = has no °P O C,L lj "iii a on the lomloii honor is not s «"" ?J7i, at "areo su,.pli<« Kcw Zeal,,,! market after January.

At a meeting of the coiuniitlco of tho Akaroa Boating Club lust week, comment wns made on tho report that at tho annual meeting of tho Rowing Association in Wellington tho reason - given whv Akaroa should not be chosen for the next championship regatta was its "inaccessilniHy." It was pointed cut by committeemen that the Canterbury Shipping Company's boats Storm, Wave, and others frequently called'at Akaroa, and, as they'sail direct from Wellington, could bring any number of boats. As far as accommodation was concerned it was also pointed out that Akaroa was much ahead of Picton in that respect and wag noted for its excellent sorvices of water, drainage, and electric power; whilst the harbour was quito as suitable for rowing, three championship (professional) races having boon rowed there.

A visit to the Pacific Islands has con- i Tinced Mr. It. Speight, curator of Canterbury Museum, that a complete BeoIcical survev should 'bo made of the. 1m Island*. Ve'rv littlo was known of tho geology of Vi'ti-Lovu, the main island of the "roup, he said in Christchurch. lint J it had been shown that it possessed an interesting scries of old continental rocks, which, if thoroughly examined, might prevo to contain minerals of economic importance. Tho sequence of beds was analogous to the more recent tertiary beds of New Zealand, and a comparison of the fossil animal life in the beds oi the two places might furnish interesting correlations between Fiji and *ew land, and; perhaps, other parts of the world. Apart, from economical considerations a geological surrey of the group would supidv knowledge of the past geological history of the Pacific, and a careful study of coral reefs in tho lijian tertiary rocks would throw much light on the origin of coral reefs generally. Most of tho Tongnn Group wns a raised coral atoll, which supplied information as to tho structure of the thick coral reefs. . A I nartv of American otluiologists. working in the Tongan Group, has discovered on the island of Kao an old buried village, destroyed bv a volcanic eruption. Some of the covering material has been, removed bv excavations, which are fairly, oxtensive The villa™, -,t is believed, was (lestroycu about 200 years af!°>. Tenders for the supply of locomotives, concrete-mixers, and a water-wlicel have been accepted by the Tenders Board of the Public Works Department. Tho locomotives include four Barclay, four IJavenport, and eight Fowler type engines The .successful tenderer for ho ]•"«lot loeomotives was Messrs. .Victors (iV/U. Ltd., Wellington, the price being ■ l\m for each engine, or a total ot AWJ--Mows. 'Richardson, M'Caho and Company. Wellington, ewuretl the . contract for rlie Barclay engines, the price being £m each, or £6ffio for he four locomotives, while F. It. Perrott, of Sydne . obtained the order for the Dayenpo t type at a total cost of approximate!} r-G-ilO The locumotives nro non lor iTnv particular section ojT the railway, and are to bo sent to different, parts of New Zealand. The concrete-mixers are required in connection with the lijdro electric power scheme nt Mnngahao and t successful tenderer for eiglvt of ftcm was Messrs. Richardson, M'Cobe ■ oncj Company. Ltd., of Wellingtonat a total Bi-icc of &112, while Messrs. Blair,, Keid, aTcompany three nt a total cost of i!I6U ISs. ine tender rf the Terence, and Hanson Hecifric Company was accepted for the supply if for the Hanmer Sanatorium, the cost being /-925.