LOCAL AND GENERAL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LVI, 29 December 1924, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A Customs officer, C. Galley, seizec over £IOO worth of silk blouses alleged to be undeclared by a ■man and Ins wife, who had just arrived at Wellington from Melbourne by the Moeraki. it appears that the- persons concerned had landed their 'luggage from til© vessel and it is alleged that they were asked bv a Customs official whether they had anything dutiable in their luggage. They omitted to declare the silk blouses, which are new. The Customs officer Galley, searched their belongings ancl found the blouses, _ winch were thereupon seized. The incident may lead to prosecution. —Press Association. The annual meeting of the Pelorus Racing Club will be held oil New Year's Day at Canvastown. There is every evidence of good sport being provided, and a large crowd will doubtless be present. The street collectiqn, on Christmas' Eve for comforts for the needy amounted to £2O 10s 2d. There were no expenses. The Mayoress desires to thank tho concert performers for their services ; Messrs Grant Bros, for loan of large Dennis lorry and Mr Russell for loan of piano. .

Good work has been done by the steam shovel at the slip on the Hutt road, but hundreds of tons of earth have yet to be removed before the road is cleared.

Although having two chances to win the New Zealand tug-of-war championship at Timaru, the Eltham team were not equal to the task (states the Eltham Argus). They pulled off with Enfield, who were a stone and three pounds lighter all round, and lost by an inch. This necessitated another pull, as Eltham had not previously been beaten, and Enfield won by a quarter of an-inch. Both teams were warmly- applauded for the fine sportsmanship they had shown. The losers received 'a cheque for £SO and the winners £l5O and a silver cup, with gold medals to the individual memof the team. The 'Evening Mail’s lino, department acknowledge a donation to' their Christmas cheer fund, from the - Auckland Clothing and Drapery Coy., and heartily reciprocate the good wishes accompanying it.

Competitors and others interested in the Dovcdale sports (postponed from last Friday) are reminded that they will be held 'to-morrow commencing at 10 a.m.

Sherlock Holmes, the famous detective of fiction, smoked strong black sling tpbacco and derived", inspiration from ill when puzzling over some problem of more than ordinary complexity. Shag is too full-flavourerl for many smokers. It contains a lot of Nicotine, and excess of' nicotine is a bad thing. The habitual use of such tobacco is bound sooner or later to affect the consumer injuriously. Unfortunately practically all imported tobaccos are heavily charged with nicotine. And in that respect they differ, essentially from our New Zealand grown tobaccos, the comparatively small amount of nicotine which eonstitut>'es oiiel of their chief recommendations. Also —and this is imifbvtaut —they are all toasted, and toasting brings out the flavour of the leaf in a most remarkable way. There are several'brands of this popular tobacco. Riverhead Gold mild, Navy Cut (Bulldog label) medium and Cut Plug No 10 (Bull’s Head) full strength. Each of them has its merits. That seasoned smoker, Sherlock Holmes, would doubtlessly prefer the last named.* DAWSON’S, Reerton, the leading 'Hotel on the West Coast. Patronised by ILR.H. the Prince of Walea., Francis B. Stallard, Proprietor.* Tourists ! Look! Round Trip! 76 miles for 12s 6d! Enjoyable day’s outing—through beautiful apple lands—-by Emms' Motor Service. ’Phone $27. Office. 29 Hardy Strest.* ' „ “TAN-OL” the perfect furniture and floor polish, is sola in liquid or paste form. Easy and economical.

A resident in the vicinity of Wellington Terraco was surprised on Christmas morning to discover a hedgehog in his milk dish. The dish —a shallow one —was placed outside the previous night, and the milkman made an unusually early call. And so did the hedgehog, which from its appearance had thoroughly enjoyed its repast. There is only one Maori student at the Jubilee Institute for the .Blind, Auckland, a young native from Waitotara, who lost his sight during the iniluenza epidemic. Although resident for a comparatively short period, he is becoming quite a capable piano-tuner, an occupation in which the blind became remarkably adept. He has also mastered the typewriter as well as the Braille print for the blind. More or less helpless previously, iie is now beginning to feel that life has still some interest for him.

The Dunedin City Corporation has loans falling due at the beginning of' next year amounting to £129,725. The sinking funds provided for these loans total *£44,725, leaving £85,000 to be renewed (states the Star). The whole of this amount has now been subscribed, and money is being received on account of the Waipori loans to the extent of £IOO,OOO. Included in the loans mentioned above is one of £3300. dated January Ist, 1875. A sinking fund of 1 per cent, was provided for that loan, and the amount, now accumulated in that sinking fund is £6984, sufficient to pay the loss move (than twice over. This is an illustration of the manner in which money accumulate over a long period at. compound interest. The surplus is being used towards the. paying off of otlnp' loans maturing at the same date. The London Spectator iy an article on unemployment in England, says:— .“The way to get rid of the unemployed is to find them work,, and the first way to find them work is not to put our energies into rehabilitating the pound sterling in terms of gold. To get rid of the unemployment of men we must get rid of the unemployment of capital. We must make capital go out and do its work in the world —the work of increasing production through the increased hiring of labour and its better remuneration. If there were more people at wbrk, 'and at better \vagi\s, and they were also encouraged by hope to put their backs into their work and so make the working hour give 50 per cent, more than it. give's now, we should soon get the one thing that produces work and wealth into the world. We mean demand—the demand for goods. An idle hundred pounds sterling is as bad ns an idle man. Capital must have its wages, and in earning these wages, it will give wages to labour. It cannot help itself. We are not asking, remember, for inflation, for that is the worst kind of dope and ruins instead of curing. We do, however, want to see that proper and thrifty boldness in commerce which allows credit to be given on goods to be created in the future. When money is cheap and easily obtainable, money, is bidding high for labour. But it. is often said that money is cheap l and easily obtained, when, in fact, it is nothing of the kind. Those who have money to lend lose faith and will only lend money to popple who do not want it—to people who can manage on their own resources. What, is wanted is willingness to lend to those who are projecting their enterprises into the future —who want capital to turn into- goods. We must never forget that speculation, though it, lias/ a bad name, is the spark which' fives the engines of commerce. We heed the right kind of speculator.” Tfie Regimental Band have prepared an appropriate programme of music to be played oil New Year’s Eve. The concert will commence at 11 p.m. on the Masonic Hotel corner, and will continue until after midnight. Among the number will be a popular selection of Scotch airs. a 1 ,