LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 103, 2 May 1924, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A Press Association message., from Auckland states that the Pukemiro Coal Company's office at Pukemiro was entered during last week-end and £164 was taken. Entrance was effected and the safe was opened by unlocking the doors, pointing to the use of duplicate keys.

The fishing season, which closed on Wednesday, has been a most successful one in the Manawatu, anglers havino- experienced good sport. The river" has been well stocked, and the fish have been in excellent condition. Some good fish were caught in the Tiritea and KohuleraKva slreaims, therts being several bags of 100, the fish seldom weighing less than l^lb, and sometimes being up to five pounds. There are good prospects for the shooting season (states "The Post's" correspondent), as ducks are said to be fairly plentiful, while there are plenty of hares. Pukeko are also becoming very plentiful, and it is anticipated locally that an open season for them will be declared next year.

With the object of stepping up into line with other districts and calling the attention of authorities to district needs in a united voice, the residents of Western Hutt have now formed an advancement association of their own, the following being the officers elected :—Chairman, Mr. J. W. Pascoe; secretary, the Rev. C. A.' Hawke; treasurer, Mr. J. Amos; executive, Messrs. G. Savage, \V. Wilson, S. Shepheard, E. A. Jessop, A. P. Leyland, G. Palmer, Mesdames Clarke and Cox. It was decided that a deputation wait on tho Lower Hutt Borough Council at its next meeting to draw attention to many matters in the district requiring urgent attention. The advisability of erecting a hall, suitable for social and public meetings, is to be considered at an early date.

In his address, at the Anzae Day memorial service at Tauranga, the Rev. I-'. L. Frost said that he had noticed in the newspapers that a British firm of manufacturers had adopted the name "' Anzac " for a particular name of cloth. This, he said, was extremely regrettable, and he felt that a strong protest should be made against such a use of the name (reports the " New Zealand Herald "). He submitted the following motion to the men:—"That this parade of returned soldiers sends its protest by teiegram to the Prime Minister, through Mr. C. E. Macmillan, M.P., against the use of the word Anzac as the name of a new material, and asks him to take immediate steps, through the High Commissioner, to have the use of the word in that connection stopped, and that, if possible, its importation to New Zealand be prohibited." The motion was. unanimously carried.

Like Ireland, Hataitai has a bounddaries dispute. In consequence of a dispute with the Education Board over the boundaries of the school district, no nominations have been received for the School Committee. The committee, in its annual report claims that the natural southern boundary is that of the Hataitai Land Company's property . (southern boundary), which is almost coincident with a line drawn east and west through Waitoa road. '-It is believed,'• says the animal report of the committee, ""that when Hataitai residents recognise the justice of. our claim for the Wailoa road southern boundary they will take the necessary steps to procure the readjustment which is now overdue. In short your committee's contention is that the boundary should be extended so that residents in the disputed area should be enabled to sit upon and vote for the School Committee and take an active interest in the" Hataitai School."

A ieneler, the lowest, £23,000, has lieen accepted by the Government for a new building- for the Dental School at Dunedin.

Imported dogs are not likely to raise any personal objection to a new regulation. Instead of, as formerly, remaining a full six months on Somes Island or other quarantine station, the time talcen in their departure from port o! shipment will be deducted from the quarantine period. Six weeks in passage from England to Wellington will, therefore, mean six weeks' shorter stay in quarantine kennels.

That there is some difficulty in penalising motor-lorry drivel's who monopolise the road on Paekakariki Hill and other bad spots was mentioned by the secretary of the New Zealand Automobile Union Executive (Mr. H. J. Stott) last evening. He said he had asked the police to prosecute in two cases, but they refused unless the actual name of the driver was given. As the lorries were registered in Feilding, he had little chance of making inquiries enabling a prosecution.

Schoolboys' habits of carving their names, etc., on school desks was mentioned at the Grammar School's Board meeting in Auckland on Wednesday, when an application for 240 new desks for the- Auckland School came up for consideration. The chairman, Professor A. P. W. Thomas, explained that the old desks had been cut about so much that they made writing very difficult. While carving was an unlawful practice, it did not appear that it could be stamp-' ed out. A member : "It encourages carving." The chairman: "Perhaps so; but we have a workshop in the basement of the school for that purpose." _ There was some argument in the Magistrates| Court yesterday over a civic case arising out of the OVongoronga tunnelhnj- contract. Plaintiffs were Albert Naisbitt and his wife, who claimed £50 from the Co-operative Tunnelling Company. Plaintiffs were cooks at the camp. Mr. J. A. Malfroy, for defendants, asked for an adjournment as one of his witnesses was in Australia. . Mr. O C. Mazengarb, for plaintiffs, objected strongly; and said that the applications were _in the nature of a humbug. A tlrree weeks' adjournment was granted, plaintiffs being allowed £1 Is solicitor s fee, and 10s each for four witnesses.

The remarks made by the New Zealand Federation of Drivers' Unions in connection with an application for a new industrial award are to be considered at a sitting of the Dominion Conciliation Council on 28th May. The claims include : —Forty-four hour week—4B at present. Wages (present rates in parentheses):—One horse, £4 15s (£3 17s); two horses, £5 (£3 19s 6d); additional horse, 4s per week extra (nil); plough and scoop drivers, or.c horse,. £3; two horse, £5 5s (£4 8s); motor vehicles up to one ton, £4 17s 6d (£4 2s) ; up to two tons. £5 (£4 ss); up to three tons, £5 3s 6d (£4 8s); up to four tons, £5 7s; up to five tons, £5 12s; over live tons, £5 17s (all £4 11s 6d); stablemen, £5 2s 6d; youths under 19, £2 12s 6d (£2 3s 6d); under 20, £2 18s 6d (£2 9s 6d); under 21, £3 7s 6d (£2 17s 6d); overtime, Is lOd and 2s per hour (Is 6^d). Easter Saturday is added to the list of holidays. Overtime, 3s and 4s per hour (3s). "/ . . .

Musical and other bodies which provide appropriate entertainments on the the Sabbath are prevented by law from making' a charge for admission, and are obliged to rely upon the generosity of their patrons. Their efforts are financed by the proceeds of silver coin collections. The fact that, a large section of tho public take advantage o£ this handicap upon musical enterprise by tending the smallest coin that can be found in the pocket was commented on in the last annual report of the Wellington Professional Orchestra in discussing the difficulty of meeting the expenses of concerts. The report for the past year contains a similar reference. "Despite the fact that the orchestra played to capacity houses," states the committee, "the average contribution per head works out at a fraction over 4d, not at all encouraging to those who are striving to give the people of Wellington an opportunity of. listening to good orchestral music." Finance again caused the executive grave concern, states the report, but with the exercise .of rigid economy the balance-sheet showed a ere-

dit of £25 10s Id. A considerable number of the battery

workers in the employ of the Waihi Grand Junction Gold Company were paid off at the end of the week, and

tlie complete cessation of crushing is

expected in the course of a few days. The final closing of the mill will bring the number of workers rendered idle to something like 200, of whom so far the Waihi Gold Mining Company, which has been fully manned for some time past, hap been able to find room for about

a dozen, with little prospect for the time

being at least of absorbing many more. A few single men have gone away, but the balance of the men thrown out of work are still, waiting to ascertain whether it will be possible to find employment on the Waihi-Athenree section of the East Coast railway, _or on the section between Katikati and Te Puna, the construction of which is to be undertaken by the Armstrong, Whitworth Company shortly. The Mayor of Waihi (Mr. W. M. Wallnutt) and the secretary of the Miners' "Union had made arrangements to go to Wellington, to interview the Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Works in the hope cf getting an immediate start for the men on these works (states the " New Zealand Herald "). There are already cases of distress in the town, and the position will become very acute shortly unless provision can be made for those out of work, the majority of whom are married men with families.

For the supply of edible fish from the sea surrounding New Zealand, declared Mr. L. 1?. Ayson, Chief Inspector of Fisheries, at the annual meeting of the Wanganui Acclimatisation Society, there were great resources that so far had hardly been scratched. Only one-twentieth of the valuable sea-fishing grounds had been exploited: He had investigated the area of sea water, under 100 fathoms, from the coast outwards, and had computed that there were 9000 square miles ol fishing grounds' under that d.gpth. Linemen could, of course, go much deepcv. Of.the trawling grounds, after allowing for an area of rough bottom, over which it was impossible to trawl, there were still available about 50,000 square miles. In the Wanganui Bight, said Mr. Ayson, the prospects for iishuig were'bright. These were beautiful trawling grounds, and he could not understand why trawling was not carried on more successfully here. In a reference to the seine method of catching fish. Mr. Ayson said that the ro-uils in the llau-

raki Gulf, so far as l.ic size c? the catch was concerned, were as good as those from steam tpiwlers, while the cost was much less. He hoped, in a few years, to see a, fleet of seine fishinff boats centred on Wanganui. Off the mouths of the Wanganui, Raugitikei,. and Mana\satu Rivers there should be sood fishing grounds.for flounders and other varieties of fish. In ojie respect, said Mr Ayson, Mew Zbaland led the world. This was in the successful establishment of Atlantic and quinnat salmon. Other countries had tried to establish them, but had failed. Argentina, for instance, had endeavoured to acclimatise the fish in the waters of that country, but so far with no result.