LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLIX, 15 August 1929, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Messrs Ericson Bros, and Blair, who found the ambergris on the Otatra Beach some months ago, have received their returns from London, amounting to several thousand pounds (states the ‘ * Southiand Times ”). A consignment, of 300 tons of coal from England for the Napier Gas Company reached Napier yesterday in the steniner Hertford. The. importation lias been rendered necessary owing to Ihe failure of supplies from Newcastle, due to the miners’ strike. The Hertford carries 500 or 600 tons for the Timaru Gas Company. Last evening at the High School in Hawera. the local pupils .entertained the visiting Feilding football team and masters. A welcome was given by Mr A. Gray, headmaster, and respondel to hv Mr McClure and by the captain of the team. Dancing was enjoyed for an hour or i wo and supper, provided by the girls, concluded a very pleasant evening.

A well-known Greymouth business main, in a (letter received in Wellington remarks: “Business, lam pleased to say, is recovering after the effects of the earthquake, and although as fa.r as Grey mo nth is concerned wo have all been put to extra expense in effecting repairs to chimneys and roots and loss •of business, the town looks no different. There is an air of prosperity; in fact, there halve been quite recently several fairly large purchases of property in the heart of the town.” The cold weather this winter, the earthquake affecting the AVest Coast areas, and the coal strike in New South Wales are factors which have created an abnormal demand for coal from the AVaikato mines. Last month 16.L50 tons were produced from one company’s colliery, the output from which is the largest in the North Island. Last year the company in the Waikato produced 167,633 tons of coal, while for 1927 the output was 176.254 tons. The miners are at present working full time. AA’hile mails were being transferred from the liner Ruahine to the Harbour Board launch in the Gisborne roadstead last week, a hag of second-class mail matter from Christchurch was lost overboard, and sank in 11 fathoms of water. Attempts were made to recover the parcel, hut these proved unsuccessful. In view of the possibility of the bag being washed up on the beach, residents were asked to communicate with the postal authorities or police immediately the parcel was discovered, hut up. to Saturday no trace of it had l>een found.

The engine shed at AVaiotira Junction, North Auckland, was destroyed by fire on Tuesday night and a- AVB type locomotive inside was damaged to the extent of about- £IOO. The loss on the shed is estimated at over £3OO. The fire apparently started in the roof. The engine crew had been off duty for several hours. Efforts to move the engine out of the burning shed had to- be abandoned. A bucket brigade succeed- ' ed in saving a large stack of timber and , two water tanks.—Press Assn. • A peculiar discovery was made on a I farm at To Kadiu, near To Awamutu, reI centty. AVkile an excavation for a gatc- | way was in progress, a stratum of sandstone about 2ft thick was being cut through. Embedded in the stone near the lower side was found a piece of beautiful kauri gum. Below the layer of stone was a considerable number of roots of large trees-, indicating that ages ago there was a forest there. The executive of the board of governors of the Kirkpatrick Masonic Institute for girls at Nelson has decided to make a substantial addition to the 'buildings to provide additional accommodation. The buildings are overcrowded and the board) is unable to accommodate further applicants, and five girls are waiting admission, all being necessitous cases. It was decided that as the present income of the hoard was not sufficient for requirements, andl in view of the necessity of •providing a guarantee of additional income to meet the growing needs of the institute, an appeal- he made to all Masonic lodges in New Zealand for financial assistance.

The hearing of the dispute in eonnwit ion with tho machinists’ section of the printing trades industry was confined; at Wellington yesterday. The Commissioner (Mr Hally), who presided, reported tliat the major points in dispute—wages—had been referred to ■the Court- of Arbitration, the parties being unable to agree upon the various rates. The employers weTe of opinion that owing to internal competition, tho general conditions of the trade and tho effect of competition through impoxta-' ,tion, they were unable to increase the present rates of wages or in any way improve the conditions exf employment existing at the present time. The workers contended that the cost of living warranted an improvement upon the present conditions. The representatives of the parties being unable to agree, the matter was referred -to the Court of Arbitration for its consideration.

, A meeting of the council of the Stratford Acclimatisation Society was held on Tuesday night, when there were present: Messrs J. Petrie junr. [ (president), K. Pegg, C. Atkinson, J']. C. A (Inw, E. ( . Worthington, and E. H. Kivell. Messrs Pegg, Knewstubb, Richardson, and Green were appointed a pheasant hatchery committee to supervise this part of the (society’s operations. it was further resolved that the balance of the council constitute a fish hatchery committee. The president and secretary were deputed to interview the curator regarding the approximate price of rearing 500 yearling fish. The visiting committee reported that the fish at the hatchery were developing very well, and the curator reported that both brown and rainbow fry were an extremelv good lot.

The reason men would not go on the land to-dav was because the reward was not great enough, stated Mr F. Col hock when speaking upon ‘‘.some of the farmers’ problems'’ at the weekly luneiieon of the Auckland Rotary Club. Mr Colheck said that New Zealand had unlimited markets, received good prices for its products, and managed its business well, hut the real trouble lay in the fact- that the cost ol production was so high that it left a very small margin of profit. That high cost was not due so much to high labour costs as to other causes. Tho farmer already worked from 12 to 13 hours a day. and utilised the labour of his wife and children as unpaid workers. ‘‘New Zealand had indulged in an orgy- of borrowing, and “secondary industries are asking for further protect ion.” said Mr Colheck. “This means that costs are raised indirect ly as well as directly. Interest and profits are correspondingly increased and passed on to the- consumer.” There were several industries whose only hope of salvation was subsidy, and the propping up of those unprofitable departments was becoming too heavy a drain upon the resources of those that paid. Mr Colheck claimed that if the present incidence of taxation was uerxisted in farms would become fewer, until it would not he profitable to farm any- hut the highest quality land.

Speaking in regard to highways subsidies at the monthly meeting yesterday of the AVaimato West County Council, the chairman (Cr E. Long) said that if the county received all that its ratepayers paid out iu benzine and tyre taxes, there would bo no need to ask the Government for subsidies.

Questions regarding the proposals for introducing black and blue opossums, musk rats and silver foxes for the purpose of producing skins for marketing purposes, wore submitted to the Board of Agriculture in AVellington hist week, for its opinion. The board did not express any objection to introduction of opossums, notwithstanding the fact that silver foxes, if introduced, were intended to he kept in captivity, tile board was unable to agree to the proposal. It also was opposed to the introduction of musk rats.

The well-known yacht Carnegie, which is on a world cruise, will arrive in New Zealand early next year, and is due in Lyttelton on January 10. Captain J. P. Ault is in command of the ship, which As being sent out by the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institute. Magnetic surveys and investigations into the nature of the sea floor form the principal part of the work carried out. The Carnegie lias twice visited New Zealand in the course of long world cruises. She is unique in having practically no iron or steel in her construction, all heavy metal, being non-magnetic.