LOCAL AND GENERAL

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLI, Issue XLI, 13 June 1921, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The slump of New Zealand timber is likely to prove a serious setback to many -West Coast mills (states an exchange). It is officially stated that, owing to lack of orders, the mills will probably have to close down until better conditions rule.

The Mohaka viaduct on the East Coast Railway will be 370 ft high— 140 ft higher than the Main Trunk viaduct, and a quarter of a mile longer (says the Gisborne Times). A mile or so further on, another and smaller viaduct will be necessary. Several tunnels are also included in the projected railway. For the viaduct jobs tenders will be invited from the biggest engineering firms in the world.

Surely .this is a record: An old man named Frederick Lyness, who has seen nearly eighty summers, made his 135 th appearance in the Wellington Magistrate's Court on Thursday morning (the Post reports). He was charged with being an incorrigible rogue, in that he was found begging alms in Cuba street. "This man was begging from all and sundry," said Sub-Inspec-tor Willis. "It is very difficult to know what to do with him. He absolutely won't stay in a home." "The best thing I can do is to send him to gaol'for three months," said Mr F. K. Hunt, S.M.

-The Golden Bay cement works, which are now controlled from Christchurch, are still closed down owing to a lack of orders. A business man very Largely interested in the trade said that the slackening off in orders was inevitable. When cement was short the price was raised and vraised iagain; until oonsumers found that it would pay just as well or - better to import, so many thousands of tons of English and Canadian cement came into New Zealand for the first time for a score of years, and as it came for big jobs in most caseß local cement, when it became available, could not get in! Now the price of local cement has receded it would hardly pay to import from England or Canada, ,so the depression will continue just so long as imported stocks last and the financial stringency continues. A great deal of building.would be done if money were available at a reasonable rate, but, as very little money is available for building under 7 per cent., people naturally hesitate at going on with the job.