LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15931, 31 May 1915, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The f'Oth anniversary of the King's birthday ' falls on, Thursday, June 3. His Majesty has expressed a wish that this year Prigs should be flown, but that there should bo no reviews, salutes or other celebrations. The banks and Government offices will observe the day' as a holiday. The schools will also close without any ceremonious observation. A railway surfaceman named William Schefield was struck by a train near the Newmarket end of the new Paruell tunnel late on Saturday afternoon, ar.,L one of his legs and his skull wore fractured. Schofield had been employed in connection with the' relaying of a set. of rails at the city end of the tunnel, and after finishing for the day walked through the tunnel on the my to Nevviuarket. Just as he j emerged from the mouth cf the tunnel he was struck by an outward-bound train I which he apparently had not heard coming | behihd him. The train was not travelling I fast and Schofield was thrown clear of the ! rails. The injured man resides in ! Street, Onehunga. He was admitted to the hospital, where, at a late hour last night, ho was progressing as well as could bo c .peeled. So far the Union Steam Ship Company has not been able to arrange for a steamer to replace tho Maheno in the AucklandSydney service. The company, however, has tho matter under consideration, and it is expected that the name of the steamer selected will be announced in the course of a few days. The mail steamer Makura will leave Auckland this evening, carrying New Zealand passengers for Australia at ordinary inter-colonial rates. Tho Riverina will be the next steamer trom Sydney. She is due here on Monday, June 7, and will sail on the return trip the following day. The Makura will leave Sydney on Thursday, June 10, for Auckland, arriving here on Monday, June 14. and sailing the following day for way ports and. Vancouver. Considering the time of the year, Auckland is at present well patronised by visitors. The hotels and leading boardinghouses havo all recorded good ' business lately, and bookings far the week are heavy. Appearances are that there will be a large influx of visitors for the races.

A man named Frederick Hodges,' employed as a boilermaker's labourer by tho Senior Foundry Company, expired suddenly on board the steamer Manaia on Saturday afternoon. Hodges was working with several other men in the engineroom. when lie was seen to collapse. He was carried to the deck, but life was found to lie extinct. An inquest will be held at 9.30 a.m. to-day. Deceased was about 35 years of age, and was born in London. He came to New Zealand come years ago, and had been in tho employ of the Senior Foundry Company for the. past four years.

I Tho Canadian-Australasian mail steamer Makura is expected to arrive in the stream at Auckland at daybreak this morning from Vancouver, via Honolulu and Suva. The liner iB bringing 600 bags of European and American mails for New Zealand, and has about 100 first, second, and third-class passengers, who are booked to various parts of the Dominion and Australia. Her cargo for Auckland and for transhipment to other New .Zealand ports totals 930 tons, and consists of the usu:J lines .of Canadian; merchandise.' The Makura will berth, at the Queen's Wharf, and will sail for Sydney direct this ? evening.

...i, . ; " , ;• , Notification was received on Saturday by the official assignee, Mr. W. 8. Fisher, that Augustus -Tilby, of Helensville, fisherman, had been adjudicated a bankrupt. The first meeting of creditors in the estate has been fixed to take place on June 8, at Helensville.

The fractious behaviour of a colt" resulted .in serious injuries being received by George Hughes, who' resides in Arthur Street, Onehunga, on Saturday. The colt was being' broken in by Hughes, and the accident happened on the Manukau Road, along which Hughes was riding. Frightened by an approaching tramcar.Jie animal shied, and its rider, fearing a collision, threw himself off.As he was on the ground tho colt jumped clear of the tramcar and trod .on . Hughes, injuring him: in the abdomen. Hughes was removed to the hospital. He is an expressman, 23 years of age, find is married.

Reference was made by,the Prime Minister yesterday to the case of a number, ot soldiers who had been in the camp at Trentham and who had returned to visit Auckland. Some mistake, : said the Prime Minister, appeared ,to have been made in regard to their railway "fares. Soldiers who desire to. visit relatives or friends, and • who . obtain' leave for tho purpose, are allowed to make one trip both ways free, unless they overstay their leave. A number of the men who came to Auckland stated that .they had been called upon to pay the usual half,fare. That was not intended, and if the concession had not been granted to the men the money would bo refunded.'

Mails for the Waikato, King Country, Thames, and Rotorua districts will close at the Chief Post . Office at 9.30 a.m. after to-day, instead of at 8.45 a.m. : daily. (The new arrangement is for the winter months. , * • *

A Violent 'gust ol wind blew in one of tho large plate-glass windows in the premises of Messrs. John 1 Court, Ltd., at tho corner of, Queen and Victoria Streets, on Saturday morning. Tho window faced Victoria Street. A number of people were standing by at the time, and when the sound of breaking glass was heard they hurriedly scattered. Several had narrow escapes from ' being cut. Repairs of a temporary, nature /were effected shortly afterwards."

■ An accident occurred in Karangahapo Road, opposite the Bank of New Zealand, on Saturday night, a man named John Bergin, 64 years of age, being knocked down by a,motor-car. Bergin was struck by tho motor-car after he, had passed in front of a waggon with ,a' pair of horses. His right knee was injured. Bergin is a engine-driver by occupation, and resides in 30, Princops Street, Grey Lynn.

A Herald correspondent in Samoa says that the great drawback at!present there is the high duty on the real necessities cf life,' such as potatoes, .flour, plain meats building'material, etc. Everything is subject tb'a 12£ per cent, ad valorum duty on the invoice,, plus freight and an extra five per cent. For instance, at the present time flour costfi £18 10s per ton, but with freight £2, the extra five per cent., and 12} per cent on the whole, 'the landed price comes, to £24 7s' 6d .per ton. In addition" there is insurance, and the carting from the Cuatomshouse- costs 5s per ton. With cement the freight 'is 45s per ton. Duty also makes the price of horse feed very high, and horses m . Samoa cannot work unless they'get' imported food There .are other articles, remarks the correspondent, which can well stand a much higher duty than 12* per cent., but are taxed-in the same way as the.real necescities o.f lifo, -• .. » > ' •* * *

A large number of settlers met' at Runeimair oil Thursday' to' discuss; with <MrMcintosh. ''district railway ' engineer, the. proposed plan of alterations at Runciman station/ Miv Mcintosh said it. was proposed to reaio'"G the goods shed arid cattle yards' tV ilie eastern side of the present line, some few chains further south, while passenger trufcc would be diverted to the western .-.J It wad unanimously agreed j to endorse the plana as shown. As an j alternative Mr. Mcintosh said a central station to meet the requirements of both Runciman. and Druiy had been advocated by Drury residents, below Mr. Dickson e nursery, tut the suggestion found no favour, in the meeting. On the recommendation of Mr. Mcintosh it was resolved to forward a petition to headquarters expressing the wishes of Runciman people. The petition was drawn up and signed by those present. A vote of thanks to Mr- Mcintosh terminated the meeting. Motorists and drivers of vehicles will bo . interested to learn that the Huntlv Road Bocrd, having decided to metal the road I between .the southern boundary of the [ town district and the Taupiri Gorge, will put the work in ' hand at once. The Herald correspondent states that the ( metal has been, broken, a tender for curting has been accepted, and arrangements have been made for spreading, etc. The Gorge Road will be repaired, as also will the fence on the west side of the road. The Auckland Iron and Brass MoHders' Union of Workers lias passed the following resolution :— " That all members pledge themselves to refuse to buy German or Austrian made goods, and also to use their influence with' their female friends to ascertain the country of origin of goods bought." - The union took the view that | women are the largest shoppers, and that to interest them in an ind ~' -r ial boycott cf German and Austrian goods would make lor a more lasting peace. A man named H. Mehan, employed by Messrs. Farley Brothers, on their Otairi station, in the Huntervillc district, met with an accident which terminated fatally last week. While he was engaged making alterations to the homestead, the chimney fell. A brick struck him on the head and rendered him unconscious. Death intervened in about an hour. Deceased was about 60 years of age.

Among the correspondents whose letters have appeared in the Wellington newspapers within the last few days was one who suggested that unmarried members of Parliament should set an example by volunteering , for service at the front. This statement was brought under the notice of the Prime ' Minister, and Mr. i Massey stated that five members of his j party, not all of them unmarried, had in- • formed him of their desire to go to the ! front. Two of these gentlemen were endeavouring to arrange' pairs. One had I asked a certain Opposition member to [volunteer atao, in order, that a safe pair j between them might be arranged. Another landmark of early Gisborne in the r shape of' the old. Government*' Buildings, located between the post office and the new Departmental building, is about to'be swept away. •> The' removal 'of this old wooden building, which; has been ;in use f<#r many years,-, will not only remove an existing fire menace, but will make room for much-needed additions to the post office. / . .

A • question 01 considerable' importance to the dairying : industry , was; considered at Palmerston North 'by a large number of delegates Representing the various' daffy'companies operating in fch,e -Manawafcu district, , namely, the - adoption of some system of grading the milk and cream supplied to factories. Mr. Cuddie, dairy commissioner, was present, , and said that* in his opinion; payment for different . grades of milk arid' cream was the 'only remedy against the^.Bopply of inferior milk and cream. ■ In the. event of .such. a system being adopted,- it would be necessary to have an agreement between all companies in the district, so that no supplier whose milk or cream had been-'rejected, by any factory should be allowed to supply to any other'factory for the remainder of the season. It was"' generally recognised that since ..home separation was very much on the-increase jit was "Very desirable that a scheme ,for the grading of cream should be instituted, otherwise, it would be impossible to maintain the present high quality of New Zealand produce! > A resolution was eventually tarried ; that a form of' agreement bo .drawn up and submitted to a conference of. dairy companies' representatives, to be held during Winter Show week at Palmerston North. ■;>'<" - : - A,.

. The question..of' the bonus. for the discovery -of. phosphate deposits in tho Dominion ..was considered by. tho Board of Agriculture recently in conjunction with a valuable , report .from'tho/director of geological survey, .on the occurrence of phosphate rock in certain localities i' in New Zealand. It was decided to recommend that a larger bonus be offered. ' > :

■ The results •of the -investigations by the Commonwealth statistician, Mr. (i. II; Knibbs,. as .to variations in : prices of food, and groceries have been made available for ' tho month of April, 1915.. The aggregate result for the 30 towns covered by the investigations' • shows that prices were 13.2 per cent, higher -in , April of this year than in July last. The increase since the outbreak of war is greatest "in Queensland ; (21.3, per . cent.), followed bv Victoria (16.3), South Australia (14.'5) Tasmania (14.iL' and West Australia (10.3), tho, increase being: least in New South Wales ; (8,6 ppr cent.). The result of this is, of course, to reduce the relative cost of'food and groceries in-Sydney compared with other towns. Thus in July the cost in Sydney was 4 per cent, greater than in Melbourne, but. by April the cost was greater in Melbourne than in Sydney by 24 per cent.

The following examination - fixtures are | Gazetted Senior National Scholarship examination—formerly Education Board Senior Scholarship cxamination-on or abdut November 24, 1915,, and- following days. Intermediate examination for senior free places in secondary' schools and district high schools, on or about November 24, 1915, and following days. Junior Aational Scholarship, on or about Decern-' ber 2. and 3, 1915. Junior free place—including the examination for junior free places m technical school_o„ or about December 2 and 3, 1915. Teachers' certificate examinations, class C and class V on or about January 5, 1916, and/following days. Public Service entrance examination, on or about November 24, 1915 and following days. Public Service senior examination, on or about January 6 191 ft and following days. 7 ' 1916 '

L lt is the intention of the Government in I the near future to throw open 30,000 acres of land m -Hawkes BayTw ° thousand i acres at Porangahau will come. into the market m about two months' time. Soon afterwards 20,000 acres', adjoining the langoio settlement and on the . route of the East Coast Railway will be opened for selection and.still later 4000 acres of good grazing land at Tutira. .

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