LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 66, 18 March 1924, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A Press Association message from Auckland last evening states that telegrams protesting against the sentence of seven days' imprisonment on Blair, a telegraphist, for laying " tote " odds among his fellow-workers, have been forwarded to the Minister of Justice by Messrs. Savage, Bartram, Lee, and i'arry, Labour M.P.'s. ' In pursuance of its policy of closing down small schools and providing transport for the children to the larger schools, the Education Department is having1 built a number of 'buses capable of seating 30 children. The first order for three of these vehicles has just been completed by Mr. H. Hurrcll, of Petone. Can white pine timber be protected against the borer? There are probably various replies to the query, and one is supplied by a gentleman in Dunedin who (states " The Post's " correspondent) has given some attention to the subject for several years past. He says v thorough soaking in sea water seems lr- render white pine impervious to the borer. This conclusion is based o n observation made by himself. In the north part of the South Island cottages built of white pint about sixty years a^o showed no sign of borer. Cottages in the same locality built about thirty years ago were riddled with it. The timber ioi the older houses was rafted by sei and thoroughly soaked in the process! the timber for the newer houses wns transported, by more modern method's^ and never " tasted " salt water, therefore it is deducted a thorough soaking in sea water will preserve white pine from the borer, ' I

So far the value of buildings erected in Petone during the current year has been £56,840. Xiie dog ranger is doing good work in the streets of Jt'etone. During 22 days in February, 55 dogs -were removed, 43 being destroyed, 11 returned to owners, and one sold. Final leave to appeal to the Privy Council was given G. H. Lysnar by the Appeal Court yesterday, in applicant's case against the Gisborne Harbour Hoard. Mr. J. S. Hanna appeared for Lysnar, and Mr. Myers, K.C., for the board. The Auckland executive of the Returned Soldiers' Association has decided not to accept or dispose of any poppies from headquarters on Poppy Day unless the proceeds are devoted to the same object as last year—to the relief of widows and orphans of devastated France and to the provision of reproductive emubyment for local returned soldiers. 'The reasons for the decision, says a Press Association message, are that no portion of the fund should be handed to any of the association's funds, and that it is wrong in principle to appeal to the public for funds, the disposal of a percentage of which is unknown at the time of the appeal, and is left to be decided some time after the appeal by a body the personnel, of which cannot i he ascertained at the time of the appeal. The executive approves of the principle adopted last year. The annual cross-harbour swimming race from Northcote to Ponsonby, Auckland, was set down for Saturday afternoon, but was suddenly postponed sine die. On Saturday morning official information was received from Captain Sergeant (harbourmaster) that sharksone Bft long—had been seen in the vicinity of Northcote Wharf, on the course of the. harbour race. The Swimmin" Committee met at half-past 1, and considered the position, and decided in the circumstances that it could not take the responsibility of holding the event. "Good timber spoilt," was the comment of a witness in the Auckland Supreme Court when describing a. farmhouse at Putaruru. He would not, he said, call it a house, but just a building, a nd it would seem as if the only tools used in its construction were a saw, an axe, and a hammer. The doors were put on with lead-headed nails, and an axe had been used to chop away part of the timber so that the door handle could be turned, reports the "New Zealand Herald." Mr. Justice Herdman dryly asked if the house had any other peculiarities, and the witness, in reply, dealt with the conditions' of the bathroom and washhouse, concluding with the remark that the work had evidently been done by a bush carpenter. Suggestions that the Post and Telegraph Department should exchange its proposed Post Office site at Hataitai for a more central section of land owned by the City Council, at the corner of Hataitai and Waitoa roads, were made some time ago by deputations which Mr 4 L Monteith, M.P., introduced to the Mayorand the Postmaster-General. Mr. Mouteith has now received a letter from the Postmaster-General, saying: "I beg to_ inform you that the council does hot wish to exchange its land, but desires to dispose of it outright. The matter of purchasing the City Council property has been gone into very .thoroughly by my officers, but the price asked is considered, excessive; and it has been decided that no action'is to be taken in the direction of obtaining the land." Fuel oil instead of coal as a means-of-nrmg m steamers is on the increase, states the harbourmaster, Captain J E Dawson, in his annual report, and a number of vessels trading to the port have had their furnaces converted to fUni 01L ThlS has "ecessitated the need of regular supplies being maintained at the port so that steamers can get their fuel oil tanks replenished when required The bunk oil storage tanks which were erected some time ago at Miramar by toe Vacuum Oil Company have now been taken over by the Union Steam Ship ■Company and put hit general use so Tn fill f PP hes can be obtained. Xo fill and replemsli the tanks the Union bteam fehip Company chartered the bunk oil tanker Orowaiti, a steamer capable o carrying about nine thousand tons of fuel oil. This vessel has so far made three consecutive voyages from San Luis tonSP% W, r° rth Americ *> t0 We»i"gtanks at Miramar. The Orowaiti on ™]> bert»s at the Miramar Wharf and from there she pumps her fuel oil cargo into the tanks. The method o transferring the fuel oil from the Miramar tanks is by the bulk oil hulk Adder ley, .from which the bunkering steamer receives her supply. During the past" few days officers of the Railway Department have been inspecting blocks of land in and around Aev Plymouth for cutting up and founding a railway settlement, as they have recently done a i Marlon, Hamilton, Momnsville, and other centres The aim, states the "Taranaki Daily News," is to build the houses at such a cost as will enable the occupants to pay a weekly rental or meet interest charges based on a figure not more than a day's wages. The Department, which has "its own sawmills and factory at Frankton (the latter costing some £80,000) has already built about 400 houses, and is now only getting into its "stride " By employing the latest and most efficient machinery and labour-saving devices it can turn out a complete and up-to-date five-roomed house for £7CO, having during the past year or two brought dowc the cost from £850. The reduction in the price of gas an-, nounced at the annual meeting of the Auckland Gas Company held recently will take effect with the" April readings". A general reduction of 3d per 1000 cubic feet, states ''The Post's" Auckland special correspondent, will be made, with an additional 3d on supplies to Devonport, and an additional Sd on supplies to Takapuna, Otahuhu, Point Chevalier, Papatoetoe, and New Lynn. In view of this announcement, it may be mentioned that in January of last*year a reduction of 4d per 10DO cubic feet was made by the Wellington Gas Company; aml, a second reduction of 3d per ICOO feet was made in September last. A further reduction of 3d per 1000 feet has been operating here as from the Ist of the present month. The net price per 1000 feet; in Wellington is now 7s Bd. Swish! Crash! Whack! A shower of splintered .class, and a thud as. a boulder weighing a pound landed through the windscreen of a motor-car. Not an enviable experience, certainly, but it happened to a motor-car returnin ■ to Christchurch from the Waimakariri about 7.30 o'clock on Sunday evening (states the "Sun"). Mr. "j. A. Guild, of Sunnier, (he owner of the car, and Dr. H. Wales were driving back to Christchurch after a day's fishing at the Waimakariri. Mr. Guild was at the wheel, and the car was purring- along smoothly in the dusk. When about SCO yards on the Christchurch side of White's Bridge, the boulder suddenly splintered the windscreen, covering the occupants with class and naturally causing; a deal of consternation. The boulder was thrown from the right-hand side of the road, apparently by someone behind a hijrh hedge. Mi-. Guild received cuts about the face and splinters of glass in his eyes. Dr. Wales escaped injury. This is not the first cr.so of its kind. At a recent meet-in;; of the Automobile Association a letter was received .dealing with the same.trouble in the vicinity of Christchurch,