LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 17, 22 July 1921, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Tho Postal authorities have received advice from Sydney that the s.s. Manuka sailed atf 4 p.m. on the 20th instant for Wellington. She" carries 230 bags from Australia, Fourteen hags from elsewhere, and 123 parcel receptacles, including ten from the East and two from Africa.

Four more five-roomed houses, erected at, Northland by the Wellington City Council, are now nearing completion, and a ballot for their disnosal will be arranged for within the next, fortniglit.

"This remit may be withdrawn; it is being dealt with elsewhere,"' remarked Mr. J. H. Absolom, of Hawkes Bay, at yesterday's conference of the Council of Agriculture; and then he added, as an afterthought: "It is being dealt with at the Imperial Conference." Really this does seem rather like shirking at the expense of Mr. W. M. Hughes. A portion of the Town Belt is to be set aside as a playing area for the new Technical College. The council last night decided to grant a lease on the following conditions :—(a) Payment of rental of £5 per annum, (b) term of lease 21 years, (c) a recreation ground in accordance with the levels prepared by. the City Engineer, to be constructed within a peiiod of three years.

"I don't think I am getting justice in tliis Court," remarked Mr. G. T. Loudon during the hearing of a case in the Assessment Court yesterday. "'I -j-oii'fc allow such statements to be made here." remarked the • President of the C< vi t (Mr. V. G. Day, S.M.). "I have had to deal with others who seemed to presume the same thing. I am certainly not going to allow a witness to make such remarks."

In about a month telephone subscribers in Kelburn, Northland, and Ka>rori will begin to benefit by the new automatic exchange in Upland-road. Tho exchange will ultimately serve all the area beyond Salamanca-road, but it will only take up its duty gradually, beginning with new subscriber's. It has been jlsked why the telephone exchange building is not used as a' post office a.? well. An) official explanation is that jaitomatic exchanges are not benefited by sharing the, same rooE with post oifices. The Post Office has secured a site for a branch ollice in Upland-road, not far frpin the tram terminus. 1

' Exportation of sugar, jam, confectionery, and other articles of food preserved with sugar is now permitted.

Authority has been given for the transfer by the Wellington City Council of the sum. of £13,800 from the' Electric Power Station Loan AcGount to the General Loan Account.

''It is always a great pleasure for those interested in public good to Ja\e the opportunity oi rendering service," remarked Sir James Wilson at last night's meeting of the Forestry League.

A meeting of representatives of public and local bodies throughout the province revived the Auckland Provincial HydroBlectric League, aiming at fostering tha movement for development of ihydroeloctricity in the province.

Regulations have been gazetted piescribing the procedure for the committal to a suitable institution of any aged', infirm, incurable, or destitute person who is found to be living in insanitary conditions, or without proper care or attention.

Ooal was the subject of an inquiry by Councillor Chapman at the City Council last evening. He asked how the Corporation stood? Mr. Morton said they had quite a good stock at present, but the price had gone up a.gain. The Mayor said the' shipping companies hud put it up against them. .

An increase has been made in the fees payable by local bodies to the Audit Department for arbitration and special and ordinary audits. The fee for ordinary audits was previously £2 per day of six hours, and has now been increased to £3 3s per day of seven hours. The change was reported by the Finance Committee to the City Council last evening.

In reply to an inquiry as to whether the Wellington City Council will agree to supply the quanity of electricity required by the borough when the Mangahao hydro-electric power is available, viz., 2100 h.p., the Petone Borough Council is fco be informed that the City Council will be prepared to favourably consider the matter-on conditions to be arranged. ;

"We have pleasure in reporting that Mr. A. T. Clark has made a generous gift for public use of an area of bush on Paekakariki Hill," states the annual re-: port of the New Zealand Forestry League. "A letter of appreciation was sent to Mr. Clark, and it is hoped that the example set by Mr. Clark will be followed in olJier cases."

Among the remits passed at the conference of the Council .of Agriculture was the following : —"That, as the labour on the waterfront throughout Now. Zealand is most unsatisfactory, and vitally affects the welfare of this country, the Minister of Labour b© asked'to convene a conference of all harbour boards, with a vknv to the adoption of some system of permanent labour on .the wharves. That the harbour boards of the Dominion should have an executive in Wellington to regulate the shipping as much as possible at each port."-

Reference was made at the City Council last evening to a report (not presented) which had been before tho Tramway Committee to the effect that the electrie.-light.in<; returns showed a reduction ■of £1700 as compared with last year. Councillor Norwood explained that the committee- had thought it wise, after a long meeting, to withhold the report for further, consideration; but he reminded tho public, through the council', that the lighting enterprise was not going on so successfully as it had done in the past.

Members of. the Land and Estate Agents' Association decided at their annual meeting that an effort should be made tcj have the present rent restriction law amended! It was contended that numerous Court cases showed that the law* was not attaining the desired objects, and building by landlords for occupation by tenants had ouite ceased. It was decided to write to the Government urging tho repeal of the law, and stating that if this were done many houses now empty would -at once be let and further building would be undertaken. Memories of the days when the.odds were laid in Cuba-street, and side-bets could be secured in Tory-street, were revived by Mr. James Ames, City Valuer, in the Assessment Court yesterday. "I remember Cuba-street in "SO," said Mr. Ames. "I knew it when it was,a racecourse. Cuba-street v.'as part of .a race-, course in the early days. They used to run up Cuba-street, along Ingestrestreet, down Tory-street, and back along what is now known as Courtenay-place to Cuba-street. I don't suppose there are many people here who will remember that." "How many furlongs was the distance?" inquired Mr. W. Perry, amidst loud laughter, but Mr. Ames did not inform the Court on this interesting point

Reference to the need, for preserving the trees in Mason's Gardens was made in the report of tho executive of the New Zealand Forestry League, presented to the annual meeting of the, league last night. "Your executive has spent considerable time in an endeavour to prevent the sal© of these gardens, which contain many valuable exotic trees," said the ■ report. "The property on which these trees grow is told by a, land company, with the object of cutting up for .residential purposes. Appeals have been made to the Government and to loca.l bodies to secure a portion of this, land as a forest reserve or as an arboretum. So far the efforts of your executive have been "unsuccessful. The land' was put up to public auction, but it is understood that there were no sales made. Your executive had the area surveyed, and there are about twelve acres which certainly should be conserved. It would be nothing short of a crime to allow these valuable trees to be ruthlessly destroyed." On the motion of Mr. A. L. Hunt, the meeting carried the following mqtitm :—"Provided a satisfactory offer is obtained from the owners of Mason's Gardens, this league agrees to co-operate with the Wellington Town,,planning Association in an appeal to the pnb-lic to raise the necessary funds to secure the gardens for the community."

"What I saw of the agricultural life and doings in the United States was chiefly in the States of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and lowa/' said Mr. W. D. Hunt in a paper read before the Council of Agriculture yesterday. 01 all that I'saw, what perhaps struck me more forcibly than anything else was the use that they make of silos. It seems to mo that we can take a lesson from them in this respect of advantage to' ourselves, particularly in connection with our dairying industry. The silos arc not met with just occasionally; they are literally there in thousands; practically every farm has them. The modern silo is a circular erection, built of reinforced concrete, and they run to a^tromendous height. The usual diameter is anything from ten to twenty feet, and they generally run in Height from four to six times the diameter. The highest I saw- was 90 feet high, but I was told that they sometimes run considerably over 100 feet. They are all circular in form. I inquired as to the cost of building these, and was amazed at the cheapness and rapidity with which they are constructed. ... I

feel sure that silos built on the American system would bo a great value to dairy{armeL's iv this country."

Use of the Town Hall was granted Victoria University College by the City Council lnst night for the animal l'luuket 'Modal debate, subject to the payment of clcur.iuß uud lighting churges.

Tenders are to be invited by the City Council for the erection of a cottage for the custodian of Wakefiold Park.

Two women probation officers have been appointed by tho Justice Department—Hilda Dettmaim, Ohristchurch. ; and Hannah Coombs, Dunadin.

The City Council last night passed a vote of condolence with Captain Dawson, Harbourmae^r, in the death of his son. A small area of land at Evans Ba,y has been proclaimed taken under the Public Works Act, for the-purposes of a fire brigade station.

Among local bodies loans authorised by Order-in-Cb;u)cil are : Wairarapa Electric Power Board' (for electrical retieulaioni),' £40,000; Palmerston North Borough Council (for completing gasworks undertaking), £10,000, both at 5i per cent.

Complaints have been received from residents at Oriental Bay with "reference to dumping refuse on the eastern end of the bay. The City Council has authorised the erection of notices prohibiting this practice. ''

The gate takings at the Basin Reserve on the 9th instant, on the occasion of the Rugby match, arranged by tho Wellington Rugby Football Union in aid of the funds of the Prince of Wales Park amounted' to £73 8s 6d. A^ letter of thanks is being forwarded by the City Council to the union for its generous action in the matter. '

In regard to the May Morn Forest, the report of the executive of the New Zealand Forestry League,' presented to last night's annual meeting of the league, stated that the question of purchase by the State had been discussed with the proprietors. This movement was warmly supported by the late Sir David Hutchins, and it was understood that the forest was being surveyed, with 'that end in view.

In the Supreme Court, Auckland, yesterday, Mr. Justice Adams made an order winding up Mataia, Ltd., which is a company of two persons, both directors, viz., Garrett P. Barry and David Robinson, application being made by the former and opposed by the latter. The company had acquired land at Kaipara for £13,350, of which £11,125 remained on mortgage. The balancesheet showed that the company lost £820 in eleven months.

Support was given by the annual meeting of the State Forestry League last night to tlie resolution of the Council of Agriculture, urging upon the Government the necessity for promoting during the next session of Parliament the passing of a' Forest Act, to enable the State Forestry Department to carry out effectively its policy for the conservation of the Dominion's rapidly-diminishing forests. '

"There is no doubt that many of the stationmasters are . good fellows, but I think there are many occasions when the Railway Department should be had up for cruelty to dumb animals," declared Mr. D. W. Westenra, of Dunsanclel, in speaking at the Council of Agriculture, on the subject of the carriage of stock, but chiefly show stock, on the railways. Mr. Westenra added that, rather than send His light horses by train, lie had ridden them 30 miles to a show.

"In my tour tnrough England and Scotland a matter that struck me most forcibly," said Mr. W. D. Hunt in a paper read before the Council of Agriculture, "and one that I thought we could take a lesson from' in New Zealand, was the careful manner in which they fed their live stock. Wherever I went the stock seemed to have abundance of feed, and from our New Zealand point of view the country was understocked. Ido not think I saw a single place where the stock did not seem to have all the feed that they required. In a similar tour through New Zealand you would find a very large proportion of the properties you passed, with the stock on them looking as if they could do with a bit more feed. Overstocking is very prevalent in this country—it is practically non-existent in Great Bri-

We have been grazing

stock in this country for a little more than a generation, whereas in Great Britain' they have centuries of experience behind them. It was quite evident from what I saw there that the lesson of the evil effects" of overstocking has been thoroughly learned in' Great Britain. In this country many of our fanners have still a lot to learn in this direction."