LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16969, 1 October 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS

A".; &A V «8 ;, quantity of i : overseas ;, mails arrived by the ; Makura yesterday. '; Owing to the ' late arrival of the ■) steamer the mails' were not sorted in , time for delivery in ' the city and -suburbs yesterday. : It will *U' be delivered to-day. The chief post office' was besieged "between : seven, and eight '; o'clock v. last evening by an unusually large crowd, composed . chiefly of relatives of Auckland soldiers anxious to secure letters addressed :to ' city districts in which there ; is.no afternoon delivery. •', For J upwards of an hour the portico of,the.building was crammed, as the inquirers awaited their, turn to ride in the lift to the first floor, whore the letter-carriers' branch is situated, while there was even .: an overflow that extended 7 out to the kerbing the footpath. ,(, j, The two. venerable trees_' on the route of Anzac Avenue, for the sparing of, which Miss: Melville : offered ■ a plea at a meeting of "tho;' City Council .'■ many months - ago, «id one of -which was planted by Anthony Trollope, the novelist, cannot escape sacrifice; in. the interests of progress. -: One of them,'' in point of fact,', was blown down in a gale early this year, but in any caso it,would have* had to go. STheothei? is in such a position that it must necessarily be removed. l , - ; A painful ■ accident -, befel Mr. A. Kennedy, chief officer of/the jTe.Anau, yesterday ' afternoon. 'He was struck, in '. the face by ;• 'a':; falling /of -chaff,Tahd/received injuries to hie mouth and chin fwhich necessitated his; removal to the hospital. ' /The first aerial mail delivered in Auckland," was made on Sunday, one of tho <?oaplanes of* the Kohimariima Flying School conveying h letters ? and papers to Motuihi Island from;the school. The journey occupied exactly 11 minutes. _ ?•.." A : butter , and cheese grading .■ conference will be held on Friday under the auspices of the Auckland ; executive - of ; the New Zealand Factory I. Managers' Association. The director of , the dairy j division, Mr." D. Cuddie, and: members of his staff, and a largo number of factory managers, are expected to be present. J 4 Cream grading conferences, arranged by the dairy division, will be hold;' at.Whangarei on Thusrday next and at Frankton Junction 'on Tuesday .next.- '! ■' *' i '

;Z A ? citizens' meeting 'to advocate / the proper } development of the Tongariro National Park as resort for holidaymakers, will : - he held'shortly.;; It will be convened by the Mayor /almost,immediately after his return to Auckland at the end of the weok from/ the trip on : which ho is. at present engaged.

; The total number of people who arrived at/the Port of •; Auckland from overseas during September was 905, f compared with 1708 ' for ■ the corresponding month last year, a deciease of 803. ;The departures numbered 203, as against > 423 in .September, 1917, a decrease of 220.

The r enlistment , of''young * men ' under military ; age ; sometimes leads to the names of these men being included among those called up for service, on account of having reached ; military notwithstanding tho fact that they' may have . been on active service for some' time. Among the names of > the First 1 Division reservists ;,; in the ballot list published on : September 19 apSearad that of David John Harvey, of übilee Avenue, Dsvonport Private vey; enlisted in the fifteenth reinforcements and was killed in action in France in 1917.

;. A : Z school of 37 b-lackfish became stranded at Hatfield's Bay, Orowa, during Thursday -night, Three others went ashoro at Waiwera. -It- is stated that some of the fish measured : fromjT6ft to 18ft in length./.- They were .discovered early on Friday; morning by the residents of the locality,, who .marked : them with I a view to boiling = down* the, carcases ; and extracting .• the oil. ; It is estimated that oil to the value of approximately £600 should ' be obtained from the stranded fish. Orewa was visited : by a large number of people during the week-end, when the boiling ' down operations were ;; being carried:on. ';'•-■%&'■ M v '/•'■./''• , ;■'..'' iZif/

Copies of his pamphlet, : " The. Garden of Dawn," were sent recently by Mr. A. P./ ; Cowie, 1 missioner to, Auckland, to ; Queen ; Mary f and Princess Mary. Mr. Cowie yesterday received letters of thanks from the Queen and Princess. > " f;Several applications from young women, for enrolment/ as flying .'pupils at Sockburn, have ; been received by the Canterbury Aviation Company. Although these applications cannot be entertained ; while the supply of candidates for the Air Force continues, it is regarded as certain that many women will learn to fly at Spckburn in the riot far distent future.

' Arrangements for the annual Red Cross " Our Day" appeal, whioh is to take place on October 18, were; to have been discussed by business men at the Chamber of Commerce yesterdayi ' but, owing to the small attendance the matter was deferred. Mr, P. H. Upton, wHo presided, expressed disappointment at tho small attendance, but said they must;;, not be disheartened on that account, for|the. provision of Red CrossZ-. funds was, above all things, the most important service that could be performed Jor our. soldiers. The necessity for funds was as great fas ever. Mr. Upton outlined the proposed assessment scheme, whioh, ho said, had proved most successful in the country; disti cts. The city would bo divided into sections, each of which would be allotted Jo various organisers. Rolls of honour, would be' prepared and each person' asked subscribe an amount ,in proportion' to hisSncome. The meeting them sat as a committee, and it was decided to call another melting .of business men on Tuesday next. if ■ ,; c ; ' '

- The Customs' dut; collected at the Port of Auckland during Septomber amounted to £71,852 lis 3d, Is against £50,921 16s lOd in ' September, 1318, an , increase of £20,930 ; 14a > 5d.; ;=Tie, beer ; duty,' collected last month totalled [£3793 ;2s Id, as compared <■ with £343.7 i 0.5s ■6d in * September, 1917,1 an increas o of £375 ;65.7d. Silver exported last : monti amounted to 13890*., valued 'at £259, as (against soz, , valued at £1 exported" in ?September,. 1917,' an : increase of "£2SB,:;vK/' ' '/■, . Z/Z,/-'