LOCAL AND GENERAL.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XX, Issue 2065, 10 January 1925, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The total area of land in New Zealand, vested in and administered by the varous Maori Land Boards, as at .'ll si March, 1024, was 773,55.'! acres. The total area, of land held by Maori owners at that date is estimated at '1,591,456 acres, r,f winch 4,319,384 acres are situated in the North Island. One settler of North Otago withdrew his wool from sale al Dunedin because his reserve was not reached. "I am satisfied," he said to a North Otago Times represent ait Ve, "that if it was good enough for 1 certain speculators to buy with the object of selling again, it was good enough for me rto hold on." Advice has been received from Oakland, California, that a- party of 50 American tourists and their wives will arrive in Auckland on February 2nd. On the 4th they will proceed to Rotorua, remaining there unMl the 9th. On the 12th tlie party will arrive in New Plymouth, and will stay there until the 16dh, when they will proceed to Wellington, to leave the following day for Sydney,

Mr H. B. Climie, consulting engineer to the Wairarapa Power Board, uiates that he cannot make any definite statement as to when the electric i ewer and light are likely to be again wiiiijble to consumers. The drying out after the storm was not proceeding as quickly as was anticipated, as the silt had forced the moisture right through the coils, and though the current was being generated through them they were drying out slowly. •

The assertion that the Dunedin Exhibition is not being advertsed abroad is not borne out by~" information that comes to Mr Barling of that city, in a letter from a. friend. Tim is to the effect that at a little sput called Hastings, in Surrey, radio fans listened to a broadcasted lecture on New Zealand, in the course o'f which it was announced that an International Exhibition would be held in Dunedin in 1915. Many who beard this announcement, probably learned for the first time that there was such a place as Dunedin in New Zealand. Sweet are the uses of advertisement!

With the very remunerative prices ruling nowadays for wool, it is interesting to note a comparative table in the latest Official Year Boi*k giving the estimated sheep flocks of various countries. New Zealand's total sheep are 23,775,776. Australia has more

sheep than nay other country, the aggregate reaching 78,803,261, of which 3-1,723,681 are in New South Wales. Soviet Russia (uot including Siberia and the Caucasus) is second otii the list witfh 46,700,000, and United States follows with 38,811,000. Other countries with more sheep than New Zealand are: Argentine 37.064,850; South Africa, 31,696,040; and Chile 30,671,841.

Nowadays tho sight of a shattered shop front window in a main street is apt to provoke the observer to blame the motor car and mournfully comment on the association between petrol and alcohol. It was, however, "an act; of God," and not of a "fliver" which the acceptor of a risk on plate-glass *~IL1 J<3 callecl on liquidate in respect of a centrally-situated grocer's shop in Dunedin. A bottle formed the apex of a pyramid of tins of preserved peaches in the window. .The contents of one tin fermented, and the tin "blew out." Deprived of its support, the bottle obeyed the law of gravitation, and in its fall struck tike window and. administered tho "knock out.''

A KeniiingtSrtii resident, Mi \V. Swale, i s the owner of a remarkable •log, a three-year-olld pointer, states ■he Southland Times. Tin l animal is an expert at catching eels from the Waihopai River, and has already a totjil of about 40 "kills" to his credit this season. In the experimental stages his modus operandi was to seize an eel near the head, but as this entailed a good deal of discomfort throiugh ihe thrashing of slime and water by his victim, he has now got the means of capture down to a fine ait, and drags his prey ashore by the i.n'l, then proceeds to give the quietus to his "take," and carries the body ■carefully to his owner's residence.

Hamilton possesses the somewhat questionable distinction of being fourth on the list amongst the centres of the Dominion as far as litigation is concerned. After Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, the capital of tihe populous and ever-growing Waikato has more Supreme Court work than any other town in New Zealand, noHj excepting Dunedin. In some respects to even exceeds Christchurch. The to|al amount claimed through the Hamilton Supreme Court last year was £99,341 6s lid, while in pleas over £3666 was paid in. lii criminal matters the Grand Jury found true bills m 35 cases, 18 convictions were recorded, and nine acquittals made. The number of petitions filed in divotrce reached 61, while chattels securities totalled 1083. Adjudications in bankruptcy numbered 77, while 113 applications to conduct sales through the Registrar were made.

The Taumarunui Borough Council has been authorised to borrow £5500 for the purpose of constructing and equipping municipal abattoirs. Mr L. C. Harton, secretary of the Te Kuiii Racing CSlub. has received wofd that the Racing (fLwnail has approved of the 7th and 9th February as tihe dates for the To Kuiti meeting.. Henry Ford doesn't waste words. He says: "If your business isn't worth advertising, advertise it for sale." An anonymous gift of £IOOO has been made towards the cost of publishing a new edition of the Maori Bible. At present there is no complete edition. s Interviewed at Wellington on his return from the medical congress at New York, Dr J. S, Elliott said: "The signs of wealth in the United States are staggering. Time only can show if tfiis amazing prosperity can continue. The working classes enjoy high wages, but the cost of living is high. A press wire states that at an inquest concerning the death of a single woman named Preston Margaret Hughes, aged 50, who was found drowned in a creek at Tuakau on Thursday, a verdict of drowning -was returned, there being no evidence to show how deceased got into the water.

The New Plymouth Road remains in good order. One of the worst places is the unmetalled portion between Mokau and Tongaporutu, which has passed from mud into a deep bed of dust. It is, however, quite passable. The road from Aria to Matiere is in a very bad state and is hardly fit for motor traffic.

A novel means was used in order to make those on the Main Trunk express from Auckland, which passed through Shannon early on Sunday morning, acquainted with the All Blacks' score. The train did not stop, but an enthusiast on the station tied a note to the tablet. .The enoinedriver at once took steps to acquaint, passengers of Ihe contents of the

A deputation of workers arrived at the Wanganui Herald office'the other day, thumped heavily on a door of the literary department, and after gaining admission were most eloquent in pretestations against the tramway officials for refusing to accept concession tickets on January 2. The spokesman, after making numerous "complimentary" references to "the

officials" and the tramway system in general, informed his listener that he need not. put anything in the paper about their grievance. "Those council Johnnies are all away On holidays and they won't read it," he added in explanation.

Two young teachers of Queen's Park School, Messrs Skein and Mitchell, had an unpleasant experience when coming down the Wanganui River in an open boat from Taumarunui last week. The boat capsized in a rapid. Mr Skein clung tel it, but Mr Mitchell swam for the bank, only to find it too steep to land. He swam out into the river again, but was forced by a back-wash

to make for the bank again. The only footing he could get was on a ledge, with his head just above water. Considerable time went by, and Mr Mitchell's positan became critical iu the extreme. Fortunately, a river steamer came in sight, and in answer to his calls for help, he was Ts3cued.

Recently a young man in the north was lefti a sum of mc<uey by his parent who "shuffled off this mortal coil." Ho longed to be the owner of a car. Disregarding all by-laws, he reached a speed of 67 miles an hour. But that was too snail-like a pace; he aimed at 70 miles, and, pictured to "himself tihe time when, as a taxi-driver, he would be able to ewer the roads at this uniform pace! He saw a firm of motor mechanics, detailed the trouble. Yes. tney would increase the speed by the elimination of the exhaost. This, was done; 70 miles an hour was attained. That young man is now doing a month's hard labour, and his possession of a taxi-driver's licenso has been indefinitely postponed.

Several sports paviliuns and dress-

ing-rooms in Christehurch have been gone through by a sneak thief during the holidays, and wallets, both Mi and empty, have been stolen, as well as a good deal of loose change. At the Avondale tennis pavilion last week the. thief got £lB in one sum from the pocket of a member who was playing at the time. This sum included the

money subscribed for a presentation, and also one or two annual subscriptions to the club. A visitor from Wel-

lington also lost a wallet containing some marksmen's badges. Fortunately he had not taken his money and boat ticket to the court. The thief visited

the Linwood bowling green, and, on being accosted by a member, made ahasty departure. The United Club's pavilion was also visited during the-week-end and money was stolen. The thief has plenty of assurance, and walks in bofldly as if he were a,' e'hAmember. It is stated that the police have recovered some of the stolen wallets, but have had no luck in regard to the wanted man.