LATE LOCALS

Hokitika Guardian, 29 February 1932, Page 6

LATE LOCALS

The Framers’ C.C.C. butchery opens to-morrow, at the corner of Stafford and Fitzherbert Streets, when prices will be found to be of the lowest and the quality of the best. In connection with the railway transfers announced, Mr I*. R. Duffy stationmaster at Ross, is being transferred to the charge of the booking office at Greymouth. At the Magistrate’s Court, Greymouth, on Saturday morning, before Mr W. Meldrum, S.M., two seamen, Andrew Rely, aged '24, and Alexander McLeod, aged 30, were charged with fighting in Johnston Street on Friday night last. Each wa s convicted and fined i£l. An unsuccessful attempt was last night made to force the front shop door of the drapery premises of .Messrs Tymons, Ltd., in Mawhera iQuay, Greymouth. Of late doors of business premises have been bad\v mutilated by attempts to force them open with a. chisel or some such instrument, but in most cases the attempts have been unsuccessful, extra precaution having been taken by shopkeepers. '

A serious breach of the Slaughtering and Inspection Act was committed, by a. Hawke’s Bay farmer who was found in possession of fifty-three sheepskins .the ears of which had been cut off. The skins had been found hidden in a patch of scrub about a quarter of a mile from the accused’s homestead. The accused, who pleaded "not guilty, stated that the skins were his and that someone must have cut off the ears after he had placed the skins where they were found. • Evidence was, however, given that the skins were not identified as being the property of the accused nor did they belong to neighbours. The accused was convicted and fined £2O.

During ’ the first four months of the current freezing season, from October 1 to January. 31, the kilings of stock throughout the Dominion were considerably in excess of Diose for the corresponding period of last year. There was an increase of 1,090,177 in the number of sheep killed, made up by the slaughtering of 81,789 more wethers, 262,780 ewes and 745,608 lambs, 'file increase was accounted for mostly in tbe North Island, where there has been a great deal of in-

terruption to the freezing industry. In the South Island, which has been labouring under drought conditions to a great extent, there was a falling off in the killings of wethers to the number of 1249. On the other band tbe slaughtering of ewes increased by 89,689 and ,J>yr 255,438.