LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 25, 30 January 1924, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

An election to fill three vacancies on the Otaki Borough Council, caused by the retirement of Messrs.. Cockrell, Kilsby, and Kihnister, was held on Monday, and resulted in Messrs. W. H. Bowden, A, W. Lj-oadway, and W. J. Barlow being elected. . ' * The Polynesian Society has decided to transier its headquarters, which have been at New Plymouth since the incep'ww the society, to Wellington, provided satisfactory arrangements can be made for the continuance of the society and for editing its journal" there. The transfer (says a Press Association message) will be made as soon as convenient after such arrangements have been completed. An official inspection of the Otira tunnel by the engineers of the Railway Department is to be made next week, to see that everything is in order before the Department fakes over this section of the line from the Public Works Department. The Minister of Public Woi-ks_ (tHe Hon. J. G. Coates) stated yesterday that traffic, both goods and passenger, is coming forward very well indeed. The handling of the traffic is working satisfactorily. -> - A movement is on foot for the erection of a monument on the Hnuraki Flams to mark the historic landing of Captain Cook. Records -show that Captain Cook landed on the plains near the Ihames River .on Monday, 20th November, 1769, and his diaries contain interesting references to the beautiful timber trees then existing. It is, understood j • v G*Yel' nment has been approached with a View to providing assistance for the erection of the proposed monument. ■ .Harvest operations have commenced in bouthland, and will sopn be general, states a Press Association message from Invercargill. The dry season has brought the harvest about a month earlier than usual. The quantity of oats marketed will probably show a decline. The crops are much lighter in straw than in previous years, and the yield also will be smaller. The seed harvested should be in good condition, and light samples are expected. The grass seed harvest is now practically over. Although the yields are not so large as in previous years the samples of seed thrashed . are pfump and well filled. . The condition of the membership of the Dunedin Returned Soldiers' Association is still very gratifying to the executive, states the quarterly report of the executive. At 31st December the association had 1796 financial members on the roll, as compared with 1703 at the same date of the previous year. The Dunedin .Association maintains the lead for membership in New Zealand,, and it is the earnest desire of the executive to top the 2000 mark by the end of the financial year, 31st March, ag this will have an important bearing on the voting strength of the association at the annual conference. The destruction of native pigeons and other bird life that find sanctuary in Mount Egm'ont National Park was referred to at Monday's meeting of the Park Board. It was mentioned that some of those to whom licenses had been granted to take opossums, and shoot goats had taken considerable toll of the pigeons. If this' practice were allowed to continue bird life on the mountain would, soon be extinguished. In the northern area, goats were causing great destruction, declared another member, who said that' as soon as funds were available they should consider the employment of rangers to snoot the goats and prevent the poaching going on"in various parts-of the reseryei ■ That the electrification of New Zea. land, railways may be much nearer than most people believe wais'the opinion expressed by the Hon. J. G: Coates (Minister.of Railways and Public Works) to a deputation of Waitakere and Swanson residents,who waited upon him recently. The Minister's remark was made in reply to requests for improvements to the railway/service and stations. In considering.all matters pertqining-to the railways, the Minister said it was certain that the electrification of the Tailways .was coming—that was evident ti'om what had taken place in Dther parts of the world, and, bearino- this tact in mind, the utmost care ha_ now to be given to the railway service in New Zealand. There is at present considerable activity in the pegging of mining cjaims in the Shotover district. The KaWarau syndicate has pegged the numerous tributaries of the Shotover between Branches Flat (above Skippers)' and the Lower Shotover, this being in connection with water rights, reports/"The Posts" Dunedin correspondent. The syndicate is -taking the precaution of pegging the confluences of every stream, and creek running into the Shotover and Kawarau, so as to guard against the possibility of men seizing these waters and demanding terms from the claimholders who derive their right from the company that is to be formed out of the syndicate. If this were'not done the claim-holders might be blocked. Branches Flat is the spot at which the Shotover Dam is to be constructed. Mr. Rudyard Kipling has been engaged in choosing names for the streets and other conspicuous features pf the great city which is now taking shape at Wembley Park (writes "The Post's" London correspondent on 20th December). Reference is made in various journals to the task Mr. Kipling has undertaken. "No one is better fitted than the 'laureate of Emph-e,' " says the "Morning Post, ' for instance, "to apply appropriate nomenclature to the thoroughfares in this striking illustration of Imperial development, in which the Dominions, India, and the colonies are all co-oper-ating- whole-heartedly with the Mother--4i j ■ rhe "*a"nes by w--ich New Zealand is represented are "Arawa," "Selwyn," and "Hobson," but these were chosen by Sir James Allen and not by Mr. Rudyard Kipling. Three names were certainly suggested by the latter, but most people would consider that they failed to represent any big idea or thine of common interest to all the people of the Dominion. VBluff avenue, 6'for instance, and'"lnvercargill. avenue," might be considered appropriate by a small and not unimportant community in the South, but they could hardly be said to embody any idea of general interest. Possibly Mr; Kipling had Bluff firmly im- ■ printed on his memory, because he may have ipund there a refuge from the tempestuous seas of Foveaux Strait. "Auckland avenue" was Mr. Kipling's other suggestion However, Sir James's choice will doubtless be more generally approved—Arawa representing the first "canoe and a great and loyal tribe; Selwyn the first Bishop; and Hobson the first Governor.

Die Marlborough Fruitgrowers' Association has already pencilled shipping space for over 7500 cases of apples for export to English anck£outh American markets this season, This estimate'is I&QQ cases more than the actual exports last- year. Peat fires on the swamp between Motumaoho and Tauhei have again broken out, and are burning at Whitikahu (near luuhei) and in the vicinity"'of the railway line between Morriusville and ..Hamilton. Bo far no damage has beeu 'done, the fires, in v fact, in some place* doing more good than harm. The chairman of the Wheat Board, Mr. G. W. Leadley, states that the average yield of wheat per acre this seasop will probably be nearer 25. bushels than 30 bushels. Mr. teadley gave instances, states the "Ashburton Guardian, in which it was shown that some of the best yielding land was not returning anything like the amount anti-" cipated. J A boy fell off a cycle in Hamilton on Saturday, causing a horse in a gig following close behind to become restiv*e. The driver, in order to steady the animal, held the reins too tightly/ with the result that the horse backed the gig into the front window of a. dairy shop, and smashed two panes' of th« plate-glass window and frame. The Window was valued at £20. " -"*"' j Reported to have been knocked do wri oy a motor-car in the street on Saturday night and left lying all rijght in the roadway, a seaman named William Williams aged 65 years, is now lying in the Auckland Hospital suffering from an injury, probably a fracture, to the' left knee. Tlie accident is said "to have occurred in Fanshawe street, Freeman's -Uay, where he was found on Sunday morning and removed by the police to the hospital. - . The "assets" of bankrupts are not always what they seem, or, at any rate, they do not always realise the amounts hoped for. The owner of an asset lws always a telescopic view; so has the prospective purchaser—with his eye to WIS-large end of the 'scope. , In a recent Auckland bankruptcy case, among the assets" were two motor-buses, which were said to have cost about £_2CO each. One was auctioned- on Monday morning. It bore signs of hard usage, but though there was no reserve, the price expected was £400. It was "knocked down" for £33. An expert' stated that the buyer.bad got a- bargain, for the engine alone, second-hand, was worth at least £200. • ■ This wool season has been one of the busiest the port k of Napier lias seen for some considerable time and a most beneficial one, too, states the "Hawkes Bay HeVald." It has made the farmer a much happier man, for prices have rißen very materially, arid give evidence of remaining oii.the level they have nowreached, arid it has. relieved the labour market. The amount .of labour the stores has absorbed is considerable, but it' was necessary oil account of the great amount of work to be done. The majority of this labour has come from the waterfront, and in consequence the rush of shipping experienced on one or two occasions has needed careful haiidling. There is every likelihood that the present condition of affairs will continue to tlie end of the wool season. Transit ""of fat lambs by motor lorries to freezing works has induced the New Zealand Meat Producers' Board to experiment in the direction of. ascertaining what the loss in condition amounts to compared with the driven lambs; Opinions differ as to the extent that lambs, particularly early lambs, suffer in condition and general appearance if driven any great distance as "'compared 'with lambs which have been railed or motored. The tests which are being carried out by the board .have been confined to unweaned lamhs, but are'not* yet complete as the season is too far advanced. They will be resumed again at the commencement of next season with the first drafts of early milk lambs.' The result of thesa experiments will be published when complete, and will be of interest *-to farmers in all districts. s The bird commonly referred to as the little grey owl was the subject of some* unfavourable comment by Mr. G. Howes ' at a meeting of the council of the Otago Acclimatisation Society. Mr. Howes said these birds were particularly plenti- ' ful around Balclutha, where they coujd be seen sitting on the. telegraph wires even*-in" the sunshine. He had counted as many as fifteen in an evening.- They were very numerous, he said, and he thought that in time they would become a curse to the district. ' The chairmali (Mr. M'lntosh) said he did not think 'they were protected,- and perhaps it would be advisable to get the opinions of some fruit-growers and settlers.. Mr. Howes said that the birds were favoured by the fruit-grower, as they had wrought havoc among the smaller" birds, which formerly stripped their trees (reports the "Otago Daily Times"). It, was decided that the ranger should ascertain the opinions of the,settlers\regarding fhesa birds. The New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Company's store at Auckland, which collapsed last Saturday, was 3. big build--frig on a site between, the railway and the Mount Albert tramway track near the city boundary. A great portion of the large building of timber and corrugated iron incontinently collapsed, precipitating a stack of 4000 cases of milk powder through an outer wall into a vacant section. The wreckage was more . spectacular than serious. It resembled -"- m miniature the devastating result of a. violent earthquake,1 and it looked ai though thousands of pounds' worth of damage had been dorite. As a matter of fact, it is estimated tyy an official of the company that the actual loss will be ' very little in excess_of £100. The dried powder, representing -226 tons in bulk, was valued at £15,000, the quantity being equal, to ten days' output of the various factories. The collapse of the building was presaged by an ominous creaking and grinding of*timber under severe strain and the strange noises peculiar to corrugated iron in expansion. The warning was prudently accepted by four storemen, who had been stacking cases of dried milk in Ihe building. They promptly descended from the top of the lofty pile to the floor, and watched the process of collapse from a'safe distance, taking care, however, to see that no children were at play in the vacant section. '