LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 13, 17 January 1922, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A correspondent ("J.R.") writes with regard to the rates of interest payable on deposits held after 31st December. He points out that it was stated by Sir Francis Bell that the minimum rate of interest would be 6^ per cent., but a loan office to which he applied stated that only 5£ per cent, was being paid. The explanation is probably that the company concerned is one provided for when the Bill was in its final stages by a clause to the effect that the rate of interest, should be 5^ per cent, if the borrower were an incorporated build-* ing society or' a company whose principal object and business if lending money by, mortgage on lands for a fixed term of years, or on conditions providing for repayment of principal and interest by fixed periodical payments.

The Acting-Minister of Railways was asked by Mr. Mitchell (Wellington South) in the House of Representatives last night if the agreement regarding Thorndon reclamation which had been signed by the Harbour Board had yet been signed by him for the Railway Department when it was intended to bring down the legislation to give effect to the agreement, and when a start would be made with the retaining wall; The Hon. D. H. Outline replied that the agreement had just come back from the Crown Law Office, and had been before Cabinet. It had to be further considered by Cabinet. The Bill was being drafted, and would be ready by the time the matter wa3 being consid-. ered by Cabinet. The .commencement of the work was a matter for Cabinet to decide. "Will the Bill come down this session?" asked Mr. Mitchell. ■. "Yes," replied the Minister.

A fine of £20 on each of two charges of loitering in the street for the purpose of betting was imposed in Auckland yesterday by the Magistrate on Thomas Hope, aged 50.

Since Friday 2.21. inches of rain has fallen in the Oamaru district, doing inestimable good to the wheat and root crops. The weather is now. fine, and the prospects are good for a record harvest.

A deputation consisting of, ministers of religion .waited on the Petone Borough Council last night'and urged on it the advisability of reconsidering its action in allowing tennis to be played on the municipal courts on Sundays. It was pointed out that the council had given its official sanction to Sunday sport, which the deputation' considered was an entirely wrong step, and one that was new to Petone. The whole tendency to-day was to hurt little children and destroy the home influence, and make the work of the Church more difficult with the young. After the deputation had withdrawn.it was decided to take no action.

Kealising the lucrativeness of peanut growing, some enterprising persons last year formed a company, which ■ was called the North Queensland Products, Ltd., to exploit the industry. They were so far successful as to be able to market 30 tons of peanuts in iSslbourne during the season, and these commanded the highest prices. Encouraged by this success, it is now proposed to exfend operations by subdividing 3000 acres of the 8000 acres held by the company, in North Queensland into 4-acre blocks, to be sold to the general public on easy terms, over a period of four years. The whole area will be operated during that timo as one unit by the company, which will charge the block buyers a fixed price per annum for producing his cropland buy the-whole, output. After four years the buyers of 20 acres or more will be entitled to operate their blocks themselves. It is pointed out by the promoters that there is a demand for 3500 tons of peanuts yearly, while peanut oil representing 3000 tons of peanuts is imported annually. The company's property is situated a few miles from Cooktown, North Queensland, and, besides peanuts, will grow citrus fruits, pineapples, bananas, maize, etc..

_ Thanks to favourable climatic conditions, andi also a more liberal use of manures, the hay crop throughout the Taranaki district is particularly heavy this year, the yield in many cases being almost double that taken, from the game area last season. The frequent warm rains which have been -experienced have (says the Herald) also given root crops', etc., a splendid start, so that fanners generally should have no' difficulty in doing their cattle well during the winter.

Twenty-seven cases of infectious disease were reported to^the Wellington Health authorities for the week ended 16th January, while twenty-eight cases were reported for the previous week. Details of the number of cases in the Wellington area are as follow, figures for the previous week being shown in parentheses :—Scarlet fever, I (11); diphtheria, 9 (10); tuberculosis, 7 (0); poliomveliti6, 2 (0); puerperal septicaemia, 2 TO); varicella, 5 (4); pneumonia, 1 (0); enteric fever, 0 (1): erysipelas, 0 (2). Total, 27 (28).

A finding of accidental death by drowning was returned at the inquest held by the Coroner (Mt. F. K. Hunt, S.M.) yesterday afternoon, regarding the death of a married man named James- Arthur Hussey, who lost his life at Paekakariki on Saturday evening. The evidence showedl that. Hussey, who was spending a holiday at the beacli, went in for a swim about 6 p.m.; and was observed; shortly afterwards to be making distress signals. The life-guard was- summoned, but the deceased disappeared, and his body was .not''found until four hours later.

The huge seas which swept "Maronbra Beach (N.S.W.) recently, during a storm brought up an old ship's boiler of iron, estimated to weigh from 25 to 30 tons. The discovery was made by a storekeeper at Maroubra, who saw" the boiler on the rocks almost within, touch from the beach. The boiler is believed to have come from the Union Company's steamer Tekapo, which was wrecked about 500 yards from its present position. The Tekapo, a steamer of 1544 tons, went ashore at the southern end of Maroubia in a dense fog during' the early morning of May 16, 1899, over 22 years ago. She subsequently became a total wreck.

Among the passengers who arrived at Sydney recently were two Australian delegates-to the Esperanto Conference, which was, rccentlj held at Prague, Messrs. J. G. Pyke and E. Bawson. They state that there were 2500 delegates at the conference, representing 37 different nationalities. The delegates found that in all the European countries which they visited they were able to transact much qf their business through the medium of Esperanto. While in Dresden they visited a school, in which 37 students, Tanging in age from 8 to 13 years, were able to speak the language. At several of/the railway stations in Europe newspapers printed in the Esperanto were on sale. ,

The washing away of €he Whenuakura railway bridge recalls to the Wanganui Ohroncile an incident that happened about four yean ago. On the occasion, when the early train from Wanganui reached the Whenuakura Biver, it was found that some logs had banked up against the piles, and that the bridge was about a, foot out of plumb. . The driver refused to take hie train across, and another train with gear was sent from Wanganui, the logr were shifted, and the heavy strair on th© structure was removed. This work also necessitated the temporary holding up of the. down express. Since that time railway men have viewed,the bridge with misgivings, and they are glad to know that now a modern bridge wilThave, to be built.

According to Mr. W. H. Morton, City Engineer, who has just returned from Australia, slump conditions ars more in evidence'in Sydney than in Melbourne. In Sydney there were no outwardjsigns of a plague scare, though every precaution was bsng taken with a view to minimising the effects of the disease should it secure a hold in the city. In both Melbourne and Sydney the electric power plants were being remodelled in order to make them comply with the latest British standards. This work was regarded as urgent. Considerable improvements were being made to the streets in the/way of wood-blocking, and by other means. In Melbourne loan moneys were being spent on city works, and the city was being improved all th* time. •' ■ .

There appears to be considerably more unemployment in Auckland at present than there was before Christmas, the number of callers at the Government Labour Bureau showing a distinct increase . (says the Herald). It is thought, one reasor for this is that many men in casual employment gave up their positions before the holidays and are now finding it difficult to obtain others. There are also indications that a number of the seekers after work have only recently come to Auckland. A large proportion of the callers at the bureau are labourers, some of them very, young men, and the majority state their willingness to undertake any kind of work. The Public Works Department, it is reported, is not engaging any more men except tunnellers at present.

The pleasant weather conditions which greeted the Springboks on their arrival in Wellington were quoted by Mr. T. M. Wilford, M.P., in welcoming the ■ visitors yesterday as an example of Wellington's splendid climate. "You strike Wellington at a season when no wind blows and the sun' shines," he said. "While at anchor out in the harbour on Sunday you had before yon a typical summer day. First impressions were always the happiest, and he was sure that when the visitors during their tour experienced the cold winds of the south and the dustiness of the north—(laughterj—they would still have a good impression by that which" they gained while on Wellington Harbour.? It .wag said, he informed the visitors, that a Wellington man could always be recognised by the fact that he made a grab at his hat on rounding a corner. (Laughter.) That was a slander. "We always reoognise an Auckland man because he makes a grab at his haV-and misses." (Laughter and applause.)

An advertisement in the Melbourne Age has prompted an inquiry as to the practice at leading hospitals in reference'rto the transfusion of blood whenever;; such an operation was considered necessary. The advertiser states the young man, sane, strong, and clean living, and would give by transfusion any quantity of his blood up to the medical limit, to any hospital or private individual who would lend him the price of a third-class passage from England for his wife and child. As far. as could be ascertained by the Age, it was not the practice of the hospitals to pay persons for permitting the transfusion of their blood. At the Melbourne Hospital there were about a dozen such operations every year, and when they took place the transfusion was ,from some relative or friend of the patient, no payment being made for the service rendered. Transfusion was usually performed when a person was anaemic or had lost a large quantity of blood. During the war it was the practice to grant a fortnight's holiday and a trip to England from France to soldiers who volunteered to'permit of the transfusion of their blood- to badly-wounded comrades,' and it was said that in England payment was made for the'service, some of the larger hospitals having a regular list of individuals prepared to make the sacrifice of their blood, for which service they received a fee up to 20s for each operation;

No Imi than five ex-soldiers have now abandoned their farm* in the Puahue district, say» the Waipa Post.

Mr. M. H. Ballinger, superintendent engineer of the head office itaff of Turnbull and Jones, Ltd., leaves Auckland to-day on a business visit to the Old Country.

In the Auckland Police Court yesterday, Harold King, who had previously admitted vagrancy, pleaded guilty to having in hist possession counterfeit coins with the intention of uttering them. A detective stated that the accused had also double-headed and double-tailed coins, a kip and di^e, of which some were not true. The accused was committed for sentence.

The fact'that demurrage charges were made on certain parcels from the United; Kingdom awaiting delivery at the Chnatohurch Post Office led the Chamber of Commerce to write to the Post Office authorities in Wellington, and a reply has been received that, in view of the special circumstances, authority has. been given for the waiving of the demurrage charges on such parcels, conditionally on the duty being paid within, twenty-eight days of 9th January.

The secretary of the Christchurch Chamber of Commerce has received a leter from the Board of Trade enclosing a report on trade with the East, Japan, the Dutch, East Indies, and China, where there appears, to be an excellent opening for New Zealand products. The Department of Industries and Commerce is endeavouring to arrange for direct; shipping to the. Dutch East Indies, i.e., Sumatra, Jaya, and Celebes, where there is a population of approximately forty-five millions. Australia has been doing a very large trade with the East, and) there seems no reason why New Zealand should not obtain ite share.

A Palmerston North publican, in conversation with a Manawatu Times reporter, stated that the recent Arbitration Court award, reducing : the hours of labour of hotel servants from ten to eight, would be a severe blow to those engaged in the trade. He pointed, out that in a staff of twenty, it would mean the employment of three' of four extra servants, or the impairing of ,'the service that is_ rendered to the public. ' i. believe," said the publican, "that many of the licensees in the Dominion will have to go under, unless the tariff is raised. Thej will not be able to stand this blow, on top of the increase duties on liquor, and the increases in (wages." The Patea River was in high flood last week, and a great quantity of timber was brought down; in fact, it .is very many years since so much timber has been ■ seen on the river, and there was quite a .busy scene of people collecting firewood. The quantity of timber. together with the very muddy state of the river, indicates that the flood waters in the back country reached unprecedented heights, and it is feared that considerable damage has been/done by slips. It is, however (states the Taranaki News) an ill wind that blows no one any good, and the Maoris and smaD boys had great sport "jagging" eels and other fish.which the flood waters brought down, and which were compelled by\the muddy state of the water to come to the surface.

Australia has rather a more' definite method pt dealing with the question of rent restriction than New Zealand—the adjudication of the Fair Bents Court. A return recently made by the Court at Sydney shows "hat during the past twelve months rent was reduced in 278 cases, but was increased in 276 cases. It might appear on the face of that return that while tenants benefited by the action of the Court in 278 cases, they suffered in an almost equa! number of cases. An analysis made showed that in 243 of those 276 cases the court fixed the rent at a lower sum than that demanded by the landlord! Thue' the true result of the operations of the court was that tb.e rent payable oi to be paid by the tenant was reduced in- 278 plus 243 cases, that is, 521, while the rent was increased in only 33 cases.

Those conversant with present-day land valued in and around^Wellington will probably view with interest the following paragraph taker from a newspaper of many years ago, and found recently by Mr. H. Stace among the papers of his father, the late Mr. T. W. Sta-ce: "On 27th September, 1839, the present site of -the city of Wellington, and all, or nearly all, the country in the rear, was purchased by W. Wakefield from seventeen Natives for the following consideration : 100 red blankets, 100 muskets, 2 tierces'tobacco, 40 irop pots, 2 cases soap, 15 fowling pieces, 21 kegs powder, 1 cask ball cartridges, 1 keg lead slabe, 100 cartouche boxes, 100 tomahawks, 40 pipe tomahawks, 1 case pipes, 24 spades, 50 steel- axes, 1200 fish hooks, 12 bullet moulds, 12 dozen shirts, 20 jackets, 20 paii trousers, 60 red nightcaps, 300 yards cotton duck, 200 yards calico, 100 yards check, 20 dozen pocket handkerchiefs, 2 dozen slates, 200 pencils, 10 dozen pairs scissors, 1 dozen pairs shoes, 1 dozen umbrella, 1 dozen hats, 2 pounds of beads, 100 yards of ribbon, 1 gross Jew's harps, 1 doneni razors, 16 dozen dressing combs, 6 dozen hoes, 2' suits of superfine clothes, 2 dozeni shaving bozes and brushes, 20 muskets, 2 ( dozen adzes, and 1 dozen, sticks of sealing wax. Richard Barrett and: his mate, R. Lowfy, were witnesses of the sale." ■