LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15521, 31 January 1914, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS

A seaman named J. - Bella, onf board the Kini, met with' an accident ;on Wednesday, shortly after the. vessel came to an anchor in Hnia Bay; Manukau Harbour A. block and tackle gave way,' and in falling struck him on the head, inflicting ' a severe wound, ~and" rendering him unconscious. He was- conveyed-in *■• fishing j launch to Onehnnga, which was reached after a journey : occupying several hour's, on account of the weather. : Dr. 5 Bruce attended to the man's injury, aud-Kis condition is not serious. .•'•>■/.•". fc s -< The; degeneration, of pheasants' throughput the province -is-, causing, some concern on the part of acclimatisation societies and much thought has been given, to the question of introducing new blood >to i m l prove the strain. > The-Auckland Society recently received an interesting communication on the subject from Dr. Hope" Lewis a member of the council, '■ who has " been m England for the last' ia months,' and who is about to leave on the return voyage. He has made extensive inquiries and has obtained valuable' information m garfingf. Mongolian and -other breedsT of pheasants, and is convinced .that, a groat improvement would result to the New Zealand birds if some of these breeds W6 re imported. From the curator of birds of the London Zoological Society obtained the information that the Himalayan iivionaul pheasant would flourish, well in the r mountainous districts of New, Zealand, and that an importation of these birds could bo made direct from India. '.. The jirobabih'tW are that the Acclimatisation Society will act upon the information Dr. 'Lewis; has furnished, • • '...... . ,;r.;*']:~''">'T

- >■.-- .'..,'-.:. _] . • vgp^ffl " Fiction in the Libraries*.* i s - ! s ' i a special, article " by. • •'. T^We^'.^Pll supplement issued with td-d«,v. n^Vlf " Kawau," by Frank Morton- '•Tht? 1 * of the Tnatera;" by R. 'W'B-u % W ■ Evening at the .Fair,'' by Elsie '"- '• ' Jf|f Outbaci, > I Paraki, ; are among the special ?I* " Mercutio," in his column of local ~ J l '" 1 deals with current topics. A», I? photograph shows the Dominion If H Britannia circling in the air over pt '*- i l bition. rut 'fc^'--,|t i . A warning was issued By jj- '* §■ Frazer, S.M., at the Police CoJaW V - I day to picnickers who feel tempted - $ mit breaches of the Fisheries ' £' gathering oysters from Government , If" Three men came before him char £ i •- ? : the offence, but it was admitted & prosecution that they were me H til! I launching parties, and did nofj iP ° ! ' ; beds for the special purpose of fa?*}* '■ oysters. The magistrate said £ ?■- offences were not serious on number of oysters consumed, bat k? '^ 3 v of the unskilled way they were the rocks, in most cases a portion ofi ? snell oeing lett adhering, so that J? ' oyster could not fill the place Th l "-i fine of £2 was not proving a det = and he indicated that in future 2? would consider the question of incrT* the penalty. - . The Auckland Acclimatisation g ■ has received a report from its raS?- - refutation of a letter recently ps&* J in which the correspondent stated tW ' ' Waimakariri and Waihou had bee? : rated as trout streams. The' report that at about the time these rivers 3 - ' fished by the luckless angler, Wffi£**l were obtaining capital sport and JJ£In, one day Messrs. Wild and &&£*. Te Aroha, secured a bag of 33 - b is trout, all much over the standJdlSj Mr. P. Palmer, jun.. of Frankton M I turn,, took 12 fish, averaging ;4ilfel weight; for a day on the Waihouljg|S| Palmer, sen., obtained three fish X-iy' t 81b, 51b and 21b respectively; I E, Kettle, jun., for two hours' fld&g I the Waunakariri, obtained a 3?-2' I seven fish, varying from fib to 31b-!'? weight. Other good catches are- ml i tioned. "I deny emphatically that ft,'! Emallness of catches can be attribute Lvl any scarcity of fish in the rivers of t& 1 district," concludes the report. ;' ; 1 : A man named E. Smith Mclrme* .*& I was employed as a sculleryman on J tho-llnipn; Company's steamer Mourn, 1 I alleged to have been assaulted and ToM I on the Some liner Star- of Australia yesfcp, I day afternoon.' In a statement mads (, 1 the water- police, Mclnnes state* that's,, I was paid off the Moura yesterday morm'ijl i and went aboard the Star of I inquire 1 about .a position as second owl I He then had £4 17s.in gold and silver.* 1 his possession. While talking to the K ci in the galley, he says he was approScl|iSi : 1 a fireman, who, on.Jearning that Molina § was about to join the vessel, invited hia £ 1 the firemen's quarters. ' Mclnnes accepted- i the invitation, but state* that he had-^ : i sooner reached the forecastle than he ; :l ceived' a violent blow in the mouth aid ~1 was knocked off his feet. ' While he | " endeavouring to.rise ho was again 'i&s\ in the month, and he alleges that th*T. ! four men' then/snrr&uDaed ! him, >rified ha '' pockets, and decamped. Mclnnes imi ■ diately informed the ship's. officers, - j then tee water police. ''.''•''■ ' ' '" '■'.'•■ ''■:'£'&?■ A .new record for dryness would .kvs been established by the present . monti' had the heavy- rain of .Thursday ; evenly ' not; fallen. ■ The showers that marred Via '=• closing hours of the . holiday amounted .53in, bringing the" total rainfall tfe '! month up to Mm; Only three "shower, , had been recorded previously, one oj m ■ y j m the 7th, .ilia on the 10th, M d'.fflfi. ' an the 23rd, an' aggregate of .35in; Tvaiih ; : ' is much below =■, the register '" of ASm : fe'" :; January of ISOB, which still stands as' <& i smallest rainfall recorded: f: in • Anckfe^jluring the first month ; of the ye.sr. The ' heaviest fall in January was that of -7.45 c. . n 1907, : when there was an (irtraordiaarr"Vrainfall,'and consequently heavy floods ;ha. Waikato. / The : : figures '< for nonth of the 1 past three ■ years aiei-~ January, 1913, Hin . jJ.-,, T - 1912, ''. L.7sin, and January, 1911, 1.25 in." *.' -, '- ; Shooting under service conditions is a : /ery; different matter to ; bull's-eye : shoot > ing.' ; The meeting at Penrose, which has just ended, fully -."exemplified' : the usefulless of the service system from a-in:Ji-ary standpoint. ; At ' present : the -Mil:;ies for introducing the' system'amongst ie various . groups are very '' raeagft ■. Captain J. A.. Wallingford, district maietry instructor, -is of opinion that Mi< government could do much towards i-*ft ''■= -uting __ more rifle ranges' or miiiatm* ranges.' in the districts. ,-/:,__ Level railway t crossings were referred it last evening's meeting of the Auckland, Suburban Local Bodies' Association,: when ,:■- 4 letter was read from the Mount Albert"' Borough Council on the subject, / -This 1 stated that .the Hon: W. H. Hemes, Minis-■ ' *r for Railways, had written to the cow :il. explaining that the Department wu : -/ ;oing- exhaustively into the matter. J&> * ?erts were,now gathering 'data/and would ;< nake an extensive report on the state ii ' ev'el'crossings. - -.- • ~ .-,.-^f-- f .%g . -y . J The ferry service from Auckland '-to Jevonport was severely tested on Then-1-lay morning, when' an abnormal rush's*'Passen S er3 to the number- cf/aboei/'? 16,000 were carried across the harbour in;-: the forenoon, and as the great majority were bom.J for the Takapuna races, the traffic was heaviest between ten and twelve "i clock. Four of the best, steamer? ii; the Ferry Company's service maintained-* , [ ten-minutes' time-table, and 7or two I-JaSJ 8 the VeSSels ' carried an average" d j-IjWO. passengers per, trip. , There was not r the slightest, hitch in the carrying tamp i ments,and ,no accidents we're reported. v The company has a plan by which it is hoped to obviate in future the inconv«-ii-,«ce experienced in buying tickets "Wi ihursdav. -- ,VK*. Three, nominations -have been made & ' the seat on the Auckland Land Bout which- will be rendered vacant on March V' '-. of time. The retiring member-" ■ is 7 *• James Trbunson, an-elective rente- v : sc-ntative of the Crown tenants, ffe/htf for re-election, and' the < other candidatM r are Messrs. Fa« Keegan of Taneatua. and H. ft* , Powell, of Herekino. The election will i - axed for a day ' about a week before «' 1 seat becomes ,vacant. _'.:■■■ ' ,l *^^^ ; -The- Conciliation . Council, under toe esidency-of Mr. T. Harle Giles; has a - busy tune ; ahead, a . number of dispute S S med - The Auckland Tibir V™ 18 - Uniou .dispute will occupy f,' of the council, on Monday|aiii tbe nurserymen ? and landscape gardenets' dispute on Thursday next, The.Auck and slaughtermen's dispute in relatioa h& S Uld Freezifl g Company will ts ; 1 heardonFehruary-10. All the above *> > S? wrll be taken in the commissioner'* s worn, government Buildings, at 10.15 ■uates have ■ not yet been fixed for fk» . of disputes concerning the -AaA- „ j Loal d Cargo Workers' Union, th. \ Htangr Goal Miners' Union, »d *» '■ «*Piaa Uniaw ■ ' - ""V-w