NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 107, 2 November 1933, Page 10

NEWS OF THE DAY

At the Borough's Expense. A protest against the action of the Police Department in renting a house for ono of its employees and applying to have the name of the Crown entered as the occupier, thus freeing it from rates, was made nt a meeting of the Gisborno Borough Council, it being contended that the Crown was utilising provisions of the law in an endeavour to obtain a reduction in rent at the expense of the borough. .The council decided to place the facts before' the member of Parliament for tho district with tho object of bringing tho matter before Parliament. Power-line from Arapuni. Good progress is being made with the construction of a 110,000-volt electric transmission lino from Arapuni to Stratford, a distance of 123 miles, states an Auckland telegram. The object of tho line is to connect tho Arapuni system with tho Mangahao and Waikarcmoana systems, and to supplement tho Taranaki reticulation with current from Arapuni when the capacity of the Mangahao system is fully extended. Tho new lino follows a route through tho King Country} touching Puketutu, Ohura, Tangarakau, and Whangamomona. About three-quarters of the line is constructed, and the wholo of the work is expected to be completed before next winter. Most of the line will be suspended from wooden poles, but over the hilly country steel towers arc being erected. , "Filching" Electricity Profits. Tho extent to which tho practice of "filching" electricity profits for Velief of rates has grown in the past few years, says tho "New Zealand Electrical Journal," will bo realised when it is seen "that no less a sum than £120,000 has been thus transferred for the year ended March 31 last. Of this amount the Wellington City Council Electric Light Department supplied £26,000, Christchurch Municipal Council Department'£ 16,000, and Dunedin Electrical Engineering Department £22,446, a total.for the ftirec cities of £64,44(5. There are two main reasons for this being a thoroughly bad practice, to say nothingl of several other important ones. One is that the. legitimate incidence of the rating levy is upset, large and small users of electricity being made to contribute more than their share, and secondly that this "filching"- tends to blind the citizen to the real extent of hi 3 rating, and thas lead him to think that he is rated less heavily than ho really is. The Government seems tho only hqpo in stopping the extension of this vicious practice, and it is to be hoped that legislation somewhat along the. lines, but more watertight, of the United Kingdom Act will soon be introduced, prohibiting the diversion of electricity department, profits,

Optimistic Sawmillers. West Coast sawmillcrs and timber exporters arc optimistic of the result of tho removal of ; the tariff and primage duty on tiniber exported to Australia. In conversation with an "Argus" reporter one big ; sawmillcr said that it should hav.o a big effect on tho timber trade of tho West Coast, as it would mean, as far as he knew at the present time, a difference of about two or'three shillings a hundred feet on the price of New Zealand timber in Australia. "All wo want now," ho concluded, "is a bit of an exr/ort market for red pine." "League of Nations" in Court.: A case in which tho plaintiff was1 a Chinaman and the defendant a Muori gave rise to sonic amusing comment beI tween two counsel and the Magistrate in tho Lower Hutt Court yesterday. The case concerned a building erected by the plaintiff 911 tho. defendant's land, and the point was whether it was a fixture or not, and counsel for the defendant (Mr. E. P. Bunny) remarked jocularly that seeing the case was.between a Maori and a Chinaman, it should be reforred ■to tho League of Nations. Tho Magistrate ' (Mr, J, .S. Barton, S.M.) thought that it might come before one of the delegates of the Institute' of Pacific Relations, and counsel for the plaintiff (Mr. C. A. L. Treadwcll) hoped that relations would be pacific afterwards. Lorry Accident Diversion. An exciting pig hunt, in which many men and small boys joined with joyful zest, took place in 'Newton, Auckland, yesterday afternoon as the result of a motor-lorry laden with corrugated iron, plate-glass,, several drums of benzine, and twenty pigs colliding with- a !telegraph, pole, states' a telegraphed message. The pigs, 1 iron, benzine drums, and glass were Hurled on to the foot-path,-and the "polo was almost severed about seven feet from the ground. The driver had a miraculous escape from injury. The crowd which quickly gathered was afforded an unexpected diversion when nineteen small pigs, squealing loudly, began to run in all directions. Then tho chase was on! Some of thot) animals scampered away up the hill towards Karangahape Eoad, but ten pigs made for a rubbish tip. Several boys, clamb.ering through the maze of old tires and rusty tins, cut off the fugitives until two men came down and carried them by relays to another Meanwhile, the hunt was continued up tho hill, and, after a good deal of excitement and much running, pursuers captured the remainder of the pigs. Blenheim's Outstanding Rates. With outstanding rates totalling over £7000 tho Blenheim Borough Council on the recommendation of the finance committee decided to institute drastic action to effect collection (reports tho "Express"). The position was regarded as extremely serious, and with the heavy demands now being made on the borough's financial resources by the prosecution of tho sewerage under-, taking, it was recognised as' imperative that every means must be utiiisod to get in the arrears of revenue. It is proposed that notice bo givon that all 1.932 rates unpaid by November 13 would be sued for without further warning, and that in cases'where judgments1 had been ov were subsequently obtained, the power of sale be exercised where necessary. Special attention was given to the position of unpaid rates on houses mortgaged to tho Crown, tho council being recommerfded to search all titles and sell up the properties where there was any equity .outside the mortgages. The report presented to the council was of a lengthy and involved character, dealing exhaustively with all classifications of arrears, and recommending general and firm action against all defaulters. The Mayor asserted that quite a lot of people who were not paying were in just as good a position to pay as those, who had doiio so. The council' Would not bo acting fairly if it permitted these people to escape while others wero making sacrifices to meet their obligations.