LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16178, 15 March 1916, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Although 19 more vessels arrived at the Port of Auckland during the fortnight ended March 9 last than in the corresponding period of last year, there "was a decrease in the actual tonnage of 32,511 gross tons, Ibis information was contained in the report of the harbourmaster, submitted to yesterday's meeting of the Harbour Board. In calling attention to it the chairman, Mr, H. D. Heather, remarked that it was an indication that smaller vessels were now visiting the port, the larger ones having been withdrawn.

I A record in the breeding of pheasants has been established by the Auckland Acclimatisation Society this year. At last night's meeting, of the council, it was reported that 220 birds had been, reared and distributed, another 40 had been allocated and were waiting to be distributed, 68 others were ready to go out, and 30 were in the chick stage—34B birds in all for the season. Four golden, pheasants and three silver pheasants had also been bred. As regards the 38 pheasants lately imported from .England by the Kuinara, it was stated that they were the best the society had yet received from Home. Forty of the besb young birds had been retained at the farm for future breeding, and there am also on hand 36 adult birds already usedi for this purpose. ' '

Tlio body of Mr. Waring Maberley Tothill, who was drowned near the Blowhole, West Coast, on. Saturday, while fishing, was found on the beach at Piha yesterday afternoon. It will be brought to where the inquest will be held.

The plans of the new city markets to be erected on the waterfront by the City Council were approved by the Harbour Board at its meeting yesterday. When the plans were produced they were accompanied by a report from the board's engineer, Mr. W. H. Hamer, to the effect that there appeared to be no objection to the construction of the buildings as shown. The chairman, Mr. H. D. Heather, urgad that the formal matter of approving the plans should be agreed to at once, as the council wished to proceed with the' work without delay. Members agreed that the new market buildings were to be anything But "shoddy," and tho plans went through without any discussion.

A seaman named John Rai appeared before Mr. F. V. Frazer, S.M., in the Police Court yesterday on a charge of deserting from the steamer Pakeha at Dunedin. The accused, who had been arrested in Auckland by Constable Brady; admitted the offence. It was stated that Rai joined tho Pakeha at Glasgow. He was a good seaman. Since his desertion he had joined the steamer Rakanoa at Auckland. The owners of the Pakeha had found it necessary to replace Rai in Auckland at increased cost. The ex-! penses incurred by his desertion amounted to £2 7s. The accused said- he had money coming to him. He was accordingly convicted and ordered to pay £2 7s expenses. j

The complaint of tho Auckland Acclimatisation Society as to the smallness of the fines imposed in certain cases for breaches of the Animals Protection Act was once more discussed at'last night's meeting of the council of the society. Since the. previous. meeting letters had been sent on the subject, first to the Minister for Justice, who referred, the ! society, to the Minister for Internal Affairs,', and then to the Minister for Internal Affairs, who replied that the matter had been referred to the Minister for Justice for his information. It was pointed out by the Minister for Justice that if the complaint was simply that the penalties were not adequate, he had no power to interfere, and the proper remedy was to have the Act amended. A's it was stated that in one case a magistrate had ordered an offender's gun to be returned to him after it had been seized by the society) it was decided to write again to tho Minister for justice, calling his attention to this phase of the matter

■ A letter has been received by an Auckland friend of Private Bertram Mackenzie, a well-known resident of Onerahi, Vfhangarei. Private Mackenzie left New.Zealand with the sixth reinforcements of the Auckland Infantry Battalion. He was six weeks in the firing-line at • Qallipoli, and went through the campaign uninjured. He found life in the. trenches very interesting and exciting, and enjoyed "the experience. At the time, of writing Private Mackenzie was stationed, in the desert in Egypt. The work , was strenuous, a great deal of the men's time being taken up in route marching across the heavy sands. Private Mackenzie said he had enjoyed good health throughout the period he has been on active service, and was well and happy when he wrote.

The ketch Kerer'u, on which a fire occurred while the vessel was lying at the King's Wharf some weeks ago, ha? been sold by tender. The hull has been purchased by Mr. G. Nicoll, and the gear and fittings by Messrs. T. M. Lane and Sons, Ltd. The price paid has not been made public, and so far neither purchaser has decided what use will be.made of the respective purchases.

For some months past the Catholic people resident at Northcote and Birkenhead havo been working to provide themselves with a church in the district. The movement originated with Father Furlong, of Devonport, who is in charge of the parish, and the parishioners set to work to raise funds for the purpose of carrying out extensive alterations to the building formerly known as Gladstone Hall, which is Church property. The work has now been completed. The new church has seating accommodation for about 2SO persons. The ceremony of consecrating and dedicating it will take place on Sunday next Monsignor Mahoney officiating.

The damage caused to the roads in and near the city by the continued use of nar-row-tyred vehicles, was the subject of a communication from the Newmarket Borough Council, which was read at the meeting of the Epsom Road Board last evening. The .letter stated that in order in secure some measure of protection the Newmarket Council had decided to hold a meeting for the purpose of drafting a uniform by-law for the protection of all local bodies who consider traffic of this nature destructive. The co-operation of the board was sought, and Mr. T. E Wood was deputed to act for it at the" meeting.

A resident of Martinborough, in the Wellington Province, states that never before has there been such a "season for fruit in the district, and never has he witnessed so much fruit gob* to waste. It was impossible to consume it in the district, and the prices were so low in Wellington that it did not pay to take it to Featherston, and then rail it to the capital. It has been suggested that Martinborough residents with a surplus of fruit might advise the 1 military authorities at Tauherenikau, who would doubtless devise means of conveying it from the orchards to the camp,

A diversified, and interesting series of photographs is published in to-day's issue of . the Auckland Weekly News.; ' A splendid view of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, will no doubt command attention in view of Germany's declaration of war on that country. In connection with the German offensive at Verdun an interesting photograph appears, illustrating the manner in which the French soldiers make their counter-attacks. A variety of other photographs from war areas are published, each of more than passing interest. Topical cartoons will also attract attention. Among the miscellaneous subjects is a handsome page of photographs relating to the production of wool, New Zealand's most valuable industry. These photographs are particularly interesting in view of the fact that the value of the wool export from this Dominion has considerably increased since the outbreak of war. Another interesting page is devoted to farm scenes from the rapidly-rising Taumarunui and To Kuiti districts, in the King Country. There is also a splendid panoramic view of a fine dairy herd on a farm at Te Kuiti. The wide range of interesting pictures contained in the number merits a laTge share of attention.

The question of appealing to the public of Auckland for money for the relief of Russian prisoners in Germany was briefly discussed at a meeting of the executive of the Auckland branch of the Victoria League yesterday afternoon. A small committee was set up, and empowered to make the preliminary arrangements. Another meeting is to he held on Friday, when the question of the mode of appeal will come under consideration.'

Fourteen opossums have been received by the Auckland Acclimatisation Society from the Wellington Society. In accordance with a promise made some time ago, they are to be forwarded to the Ohinemuri Society for liberation in that district.

The manner of the death of Trooper Harry Burrage, 3rd, Auckland, Mounted Rifles, has been described by SergeantMajor F. A. Haliday, in a letter received by the last mail. Trooper Burrage was formerly employed in the Herald printing works. He was orderly to Captain Wyinan, and was killed on July 27. Sergeant-Major Haliday states that he was assisting to erect a bomb-proof shelter, and bullets were falling thickly round him and those working with him. He was struck by a bullet from a machinegun, and died within two minutes. This happened at about mid-day, and at nightfall his body was carried to the burial ground by some of his comrades, and laid to rest.

Evidence for the defence was heard in the Police Court yesterday in connection with the five charges of assault, and one of trespass preferred against James Johnston (Mr. J. R. Lundon). The case arose out of a scuffle which took nlace between the accused and a number of racecourse detectives at the last Bllerslie race meeting. It was alleged by the witnesses for the prosecution that on the day of the races Johnston was suspected of illegal bookmaking. Several racecourse detectives accosted him, and asked hint to accompany them. He told them to bring a policeman. It was said that accused resisted the efforts of the detectives to forcibly eject him from the course, and he bumped them with his head. Counsel for, the accused questioned the authority of the racecourse detectives to interfere with his client.' He said that their authorities were not produced at the time they accosted I the accused. Counsel quoted' authorities in support of his contention.' Evidence -was, given at, length by the accused?and others that accused did no illegal betting'; prior to the approach of the detectives. He did not know who the detectives Were) , and he told them to get a policeman. The magistrate, Mr. F. V.'Frazer, reserved Ms decision, - ; - .'

Very few of the men -.took part in the Gallipoli campaign shared, in the making of every chapter of its,story.. :one : of those, who landed on the famous" April 25, and remained ;on , the peninsula throughout, was■ f Signaller, Herbert H. Wittner, of Audklandjof the 4th, Howitzer, Battery. Writing to his father, Sir. zL. ..WittneTj.he states that recently the names of those who' had been oh the • peninsula continuously .from the landing, till 'the evacuation were taken,.and the list numbered only 16. He forwarded a. photograph of a group, comprising 10 of these veterans, gathered round their Christmas' dinner, and remarked that he was fit andl, well. ' ; '. ; : i

The following return dealing with cooperative labour', employed ;: during, the month of December on railway works in which the Province of Auckland is particularly concerned is supplied by the secretary of 'the Auckland Railways League •'— Kawakawa-Hokianga, 66; North Auckland Main Trunk, Kirikopuni Southwards, 3;. Kaiwaka Northwards, 225 Whangarei-North Auckland Main Trunk, 194; Waiuku branch, 91; Huntly-Awaroa, 29; Waihi-Tauranga, 58; Tauranga-Te Maunga, 13; Maunganui-Taneatua, .202; Gisborne-Motu, 42; Napior-GisDorne, Gis-horne-Wairoa, 56; Napier-Wairoa, '20; Stratford-Main Trunks east end 63, west end 152; Raetihi-Main Trunk, 58; Opunake branch, 35'; total, 1307, as against 418 for the South Island; grand total, 1725. Roads: Total/North Island 1052, South Island 346.

An Auckland soldier, writing from Cairo, where he is in hospital, says :— "The feeling about shirkers is very keen here just now, for We have received papers: stating that a large number refuse to enlist under any circumstances. These fellows are scared of their skins; why don't they send their, sisters to fight for them? I suppose they run away with the idea that we are fond of the business. I don't think I am, but it has to be done, so why not get into it? I am just as fond of taking the girls to tea or to the pictures as they are, and so are the other boys here, but I had to make some sacrifices. Why cannot they? Anyway, most of the remarks passed here on the subject are unprintable, and when some of the conscripts arrive they will hear all about it."

Tho dairying season in Taranaki has been a record one, but considerable difficulty has been experienced in getting shipments away. For instance, in South Tarahaki over 20,000 crates of cheese havo been delayed, but a shipment of 10,000 crates, valued at fully £50,000, will be made this week, leaving still 10,000 crates in store. The estimated total value of shipments of dairv produce from Taranaki for the past week was about £86,000.

A deputation of settlers from the Papa* toetoe district waited upon tho Manukau County Council at its meeting yesterday with respect the formation of the OrereMiranda Road!' It was stated that when property was first taken up in the district it was expected that the necessary access would be provided. The settlers had subscribed £250 towards the cost of this road, which was urgently seeded before the winter set in, on condition that the work was proceeded with as soon as possible. The council decided to subsidise the settlers' contribution on a £ for £ basis, the latter expressing their willingness to be specially rated to obtain the money necessary for the completion of the work.. ' •■ ■■'■