LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17294, 18 October 1919, Page 10

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The Auckland portion of the Australian mail, which reached Wellington by the Westralia, arrived by train yesterday morning, and was dclive.ed dnHng the day. An Australia 1 mail, consisting of about 25 bags, is due to roach Auckland from Sydney by tho Moeraki to-morrow. It will he delivered on Monday. A second Australian ' lail is due at Wellington on Mondov by the Riverina. Sin? has about 21 bags for Auckland. A Fiiia.li mail arrived by the Ami;* yesterI day morning, and "as delivered later. A mail from islands in the Eastern Parifij is due bv the Flora this evening. The Royal Mail steamer Niagara, which is d'_e from Vancouver on Wednesday, has on board about 1000 bags of European and American mail. Injuries caused by the explosion of a detonator necessitated a schoolboy nan ed Glyn Thomas, aged 12, who resides at Albany, being sent to the hospital last evening. One hand is badly lacerated, and it is .nderstooil that two fingers vi i'l have to be amputated. His face is also injured. No 1 formation as to how the accident occurred is available. An incipient tire was located in a cupboard in the back of a building near the comer of Queen and Swanson Streets at 8 o'clock last evening. The city fire brigade was called out, but it* services were not required. During the afternoon the Parnell Fire Brigade received a call to Mr. W. Prater's house in Manukau Road, where a lire in a chimney was likely to prove dangerous, arming that the building has a .shingle roof. The fire was extinguished without any damage being done. To-J.iy is the 25th anniversary of the passing of three important Acts by the New Zealand Government. These measures are the Advances to Settlers Act, the Lands for .Settlements Act, and the Shops and Shop Assistants ActNo less than four overseas steamers of a total gross tonnage totalling 31,579 sailed from Wellington for London yes- ; te-day. They are the Tainui, Port Hacking, 1 Port Melbourne, and Waiwera. All efury j cargoes of New Zealand produce, which probably amount to 40,000 tons. The Custom? Department at Auckland was recently notified that the rates of exchange on money other than £ s. d., in payment of goods imported to New Zeaj land on or after November 1, were, tor Customs purposes, henceforth to be taken at the rate in force at the time the goods were exported. Advice was received from the Controller of Customs yesterday that this regulation will not now come into I force until February 1. I The usual variety of interesting reading matter is included in the supplement issued with the Herald to-day. The literary pages include items by several well-known writers. Matanga's contri--1 ution this week is " The Wake of the ; Admiral." dealing with the traditional j British love of the tea. "Old China" is : the title of an article by Frank Morton, I and An Auckland University, by H. W. i Segar. M.A. Maurire Hurst contributes ; an interesting sketch dealing with houses i and home-building, and Major C. Merit jan article detailing his experiences with ! conscientious objectors at the front. Merj cutto's column of Local Gossip, and J. DrummondV weekly compilation of Nature Notes, complete 'an interesting front page. I The supplement also includes a diverse I and entertaining selection of reading i matter, photographs, and cartoons. j Representatives of local bodies which i met yesterday to consider a scheme for the improvement of the main arterial roads, had something to say also regarding the suburban railway services. An Ellerslie Town Board representative suggested that the Government should be 1 urged to restore the pre-war time-table. After a brief discussion a resolution was carried that the Minister for Railways be asked to take action in the matter of "' speeding up" the suburban services, and to provide more trains. One of those present ventured the opinion that if the main roads were in good order between Auckland and Hamilton, the railways j could close down, as the goods traffic by the former would be so much more rapid and cheap. The preparation of a petition to Parliament asking for the. restoration of the pre-war reduced passage rates from Home for women and girls for domestic service, which was decided upon by the City Council on Thursday evening, has ■been undertaken by-Mrs. E. H. Maguive and Miss "K. Melville," on behalf of the council. Copies of the petition, which is on similar line* to one framed by the Poverty Bay women, will be available for signature at the Town Hall, Young Women's Christian Association Rooms, the Women's Club, and other suitable places in tin city. Giving evidence at an inquest in conn?ctiou with a fatal accident whi. h occurred recently in the Auckland Harbour Board's quarry, on I-Ungitoto Island, Mr. W. T. Newton, inspector of quarries, said he was strongly of the opinion that, in view of the dangerous nature of quarry v irk, there should be some means of communic: ting with the mainland from the island, in case of accidents, and he succested that a. recommendation be made to the Harbour Board to that effect. The coroner, Mr. J. t. W ; i'oii, S.M. replied that he had had oecasio. previously to make recommendations on the subject to the Harbour Board, but they had bad no effect. "The hoard, he said, did not er.em disposed to spend money in that way. When the advi'ability of obtaining the co-operation of the Good Roads Association was being discussed at yesterday's meeting of local bodies' representatives the chairman of a town board district remarked that the members of that association had never sat on local bodies and been compel!'. 1 to try and make roads out of nothing. It seemed to him that they had not helped the kocal authorities in the past, and now they were standing up and saying, "We want good road?." It was decided to invite members >: the association to a further conference, to he held at the end of November. A request for the release of an internee at Featherston camp was made recently byMr. T. Blood"'orth, secretary to the Amalgamated Society 01 Carpenters and Joiners, of which body the man i,> qi.\SLion is r. memher. Mr Bliod .'"orth or.iph.Tird that 'lie Government '"■ >-.tinu"d to lioid the. man in custody, notwithstanding the long interval since the signing of the armistice and the Peace Tre-aty. Further representati'tis on the subject, were made a few days ago, 011 account of the serious illness of the internee's wife, who is. an Knglishwoman, and the Minister replied that the man would be released from Featherston yesterday on parole for a month. The ballot taken by the- Auckland members of the Waterside Workers' Union in connection with the federation scheme to take over the stevedoring work on New Zealand wharves, and 11111 it mi a 1 cooperative basis, lias bt-ei: concluded, and the sealed panels sent to Wellington. Another ballot was held at the Fame time to select delegates to attend the coming federation conference at Napier. The de'=>gates chosen were Messrs. Noakes. Faxland, and Dana.