LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Star, Issue 18627, 7 May 1924, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

From information received (says n Chris tclnmih telegram) the New Zealand authorities have reason to believe that Frederick Marshall, who escaped from I'apema Prison about six weeks ago, is at present enjoying his liberty in Australia. Angus Scott, the seaman on, H.M.S. Chatham who was charged with assaulting another man with a bottle and destroying the sight of one eye, was found not guilty.

The first regular meeting of the session of the St. Andrew's Literary and Debating Club took place on Saturday evening last in the dun room below tbo church. The subject was impromptu speeches, and an interesting and profitable time was spent, several inexperienced speakers making a promising beginning.

An open season for deer was advocated by a llotariau in an address at A\ el lington. Though 1,000 to 2.000 deer were shot every year, the numbers were increasing, and immense damage- was being done. The fact that venison could not be sold resulted in a huge economic waste. The hides were not worthless, as they could bo turned to good account. Some beautiful skins had been cured, and could bo used for rugs and other purposes. It was said that the time had arrived l when the 'Government should do away with licenses iu certain areas, thus throwing them open for deer to be shot. The meat could bo marketed, and some use made of the skins. Mr M'lnlosh Fills, Director of Forestry, said there wore 500,000 deer in New Zealand, and they were increasing rapidly, and were doing enormous damage.

Mention-was ■ made-in the Arbitration Court at Auckland, of ihe desire of part of Auckland to revert to 8.30 on the lato shopping' night instead of 9 o’clock, as in the award, and to close at 12.30 p.m. on Saturday. Mr Justice Frazer said that the - court was absolutely unable- to alter the award without the consent of both parties. Mr Crosby, secretary of the Employees’ Federation, said that the matter had been referred to the unions throughout the dominion, and they were well satisfied! with the award as it stood. He thought that the unions would be id advised to agree to the proposed alteration, having achieved the curtailment of the late night after twelve years' fighting. Mr Justice Frazer expressed the hope that the parties would meet and thresh the matter out. He stated that even if. as had' been suggested in some quarters, registration were cancelled, the award would continue. If those desiring the alteration in hours joined the union, they could, if in tho majority, formulate its policy. Cancellation would bo neither necessary nor desirable. The discussion was dropped. That there is a volume of building going on in Invercargill at the present time is indicated by tha returns compiled by the corporation’s engineer’s office from, the permits issued for tho past twelve months. During the year ended 364 permits were issued for building in Invercargill, involving a sum amounting, to £233,414, as compared with 254 permits and £.123,091 in tho previous year. ' The biggest building in respect of which a permit was issued is the hew Southland Boys’ High .School, the sum involved being £35,000. For another public institution, the new South 'School, a permit lias been issued, the eum involved being £7,939. Permits for dwellinghouses show a steady increase, and there is also an increase in the amount , esti: mated for business promises. Interviewed by a reporter, tho secretary of the Invercargill Builders’ Association said that never during bis ten years’ residence here had he seen so much building going cm. Tho position was the same in the country as in the towns, and a noticeable feature was the better class of diwelling which was being erected. The present position seemed to him to indicate the future prosperity of the province. Several architects stale* that they are being kept busy preparing plans for new buildings, one of which is estimated to cost £70,000.

A parly, consisting of Mr E. Page, S.M., Chief-detective Kemp, and tho clerk _ of the court, visited the Wellington Hospital yesterday to take the depositions in the case in which Julia Riuhllesden was charged with unlawfuly using an instrument on a single woman, Lucy Josephine Pope. A young man named Rory Finney was charged with procuring Ruddlesden to commit a crime. Pope, in giving evidence, said that the accused Finney, was responsible for her condition. Piuney made arrangements, and witness visited Ruddlesden, who performed the operation. She later became ill, and on the advice of Piuney admitted everything to Dr Luke, who ordered her removal to hospital. After witness had completed her evidence the hearing was adjourned, and the accused was remanded. The Director of the Meteorological Office, in his summary of tho weather during April, stales that tho month opened with dull,-misty, and foggy weather,'with the barometer reading about normal in all parts of the -dominion. Without any change in this respect, a- deluge of rain fell fn several parts of the North Island on April 3. A newspaper reported that the river Puhoi rose 16ft in an hour. There were also heavy falls of rain in Taranaki, Vvaihi, and Auckland and along the Wanganui River. Farther heavy falls took place between April 4 and April 8, when tho barometer was at its highest. Fair weather prevailed for a short time, buttho barometer fell smartly in the .south on April 10, and was folowed by showery conditions in the West Const and southern districts until April 14. Variable breezes and fair, though somewhat changeable, skies were experienced until April 22, when a westerly storm area made its appearance, bringing heavy rain in Westland and Otago. Rainy weather followed in the north, and next day with, strong northerly wind?. A rather sudden but mild southerly on April 24 accounted for a temporary improvement, but tho" closing days of tho month were unsettled and stormy, especially in and southward of Cook "Strait. The rainfall was generally above the average, but deficient in North Canterbury, and the temperatures were mild for the season.

The attractions of Now Zealand a» a land for young settlers have received widespread publicity in recent years, but one would not, have expected residents of Morocco to lie looking on Taranaki as a place to make their homes (says an exchange). However, a New Plymouth resident has received the following letter from a young Frenchman, dated Casablanca., Morocco, March 2:—"What employment would can find two young Frenchman who are willing to leave Morocco for another country. My colleague, twenty-four years old, is a mecaniciaii (mechanician), is employed at tho moment as'a conductor of tractors on a farm. Ho. knows Arabian and .Spanish, but not tho English language. Personally, I have twenty-three years, and am inspector on a farm. I know perfectly German and English, and speek fluently Arabian. I am very well acquainted with bookkeeping.”

Mr Frederick, Stubbs, F.R.G.S., tho well-known .traveller and writer, who has been touring New Zealand this .summer, left Auckland last week for Sydney, where ho will join a steamer for South Africa. In conversation with a ’ Star ’ reporter, Mr Stubbs expressed himself as being much struck by the progress of tho New Zealand cities. Everywhere he found evidences of prosperity, and practically none of poverty. In Dunedin, he said, he found comparatively few changes, but hundreds of new residences had gone up in Christchurch and in Wellington. In Auckland, in addition to private residences, he found handsome new buildings of a. more public nature, particularly the new University

and the Now Zealand-Insurance building. “I would liko to.refer, to tho Maori war monument in Symonds street ns being particularly beautiful, and. possibly the most beautiful war memorial in New Zealand, It is one of tho most perfect figures .of tho kind I. have over seen.”

, Travelling through-. Central Otago In the past three weeks, Mr R. E. Hornblnw, Mayor of Dargavillc, was deeply impressed with tho very pronounced evidences of a revival of fjiterest in-gold mining in that once-famed gold-bearing region {sa.vs the Auckland ‘Star’). “Among the places I visited,” he said, “were the headwaters of tho Kawara-u River, the outlet for Lako Wakatipu. A big, syndicate is at work here spending over £60,000 in blocicing the outlet, in order to drain Hie bed of the Kawarau and its tributaries, including the Shotover, the Molynoux. the Roaring Meg, and other streams. At the present time surveyors are employed pegging out -claims all along , the river frontage from Cromwell light down to Clyde.* These claims are quarter-acre raining sections, and each of ■them is being sold for £I,OOO. During my visit there were representatives from Australia and America seeking to secure options over private properties for mining purposes, and one Australian syndicate secured very extensive options in Arrowtown. The excitement in tho locality is very high over these river claims, ninny of which are yielding very rich gold under primitive conditions. Jn some cases several ounces of gold have been taken out of small pockets below water level. As a matter of fact, the excitement in mining circles down there, especially among the old campaigners, points to a revival almost equal to the hey-dey of the Central Otago gold days.”