LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17337, 8 December 1919, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

About 2000 bags of overseas mail arrived at Auckland by the Dutch • steamer Van Cloon on Saturday evening. Most of it was European and Eastern mail, taken to Sydney, via Suez, by the P. ~ and 0. steamer Morea. and the balance was Australian mail. The Southern portion of the mail was sent South by express last evening. It consisted of over 1400 bags, and filled three vans. Another Australian mail is due from Sydney this morning by the Maheno, and will be delivered to-day. Two English mails are now en route to New Zealand. One is due at Wellington by the Moana next Friday, and the Auckland portion should arrive by train next Sunday morning. The other mail is due here on the following Wednesday by the Niagara. The continuation of dry weather is diminishing the city water supply, and economy in its use is advisable. The Deputy-Mayor, Mr. A. J. Entrican, states that the level of the water in the Waitakere dam is now lOin below the spill-way, and that to-day a second pumping shift is to be put on at the Western Springs. The City Council is considering the ipatter of restricting the use of water in garden hoses. For street watering as much salt water as possible is being used. The Main Trunk express train for the South left Auckland last evening with nine passenger carriages and two sleeping berth cars, all the accommodation being occupied. A heavy mail for the South necessitated the addition of two extra postal vans, making a train of 14 coaches. An accident occurred to Miss K. McCormack at Ellerslie Racecourse on Saturday, while taking part in the hunting competitions in connection with the floral fete. Miss McCormack Was riding a horse named Clinker. At the last of three fences the horse ran off, and instead of taking the fence proper leapt the side hurdles, striking the top rails. Miss McCormack received a bad fall. Subsequently it was found that no bones were broken, and that she was suffering from slight concussion. The lancing of an abscess in a lion's jaw attracted a large crowd to the Onehunga Zoo on Saturday Afternoon. After the animal had been driven into a small rectangular space in its cage a rope was thrown over its head. The lion roared and struggled in a vain attempt to escape. When the animal was firmly secured, a veterinary surgeon lanced the swollen jaw, the original intention of extracting a tooth having been abandoned. The operation was soon over, and the lion being set free, paced its cage emitting low growls. A washhouse on fire at 23, Grafton Road, resulted in the City Fire Brigade i receiving a call at four o'clock yesterday afternoon. The flames were quickly extinguished, and no damage was done to the house. The Mount Albert Fire Brigade received a call at three o'clock on Saturday afternoon to extinguish a burning barrel of tar in Emma Street. The passengers on the Dutch steamer Van Cioon, which called at Auckland on Saturday, are a most cosmopolitan crowd. They number about 40, of whom 15 are Germans, 2 Austrians, 2 Swiss, 2 British, 2 Chinese, 1 Russian, and the remainder Dutchmen. The German and Austrian passengers joined the vessel at Sydney, and are nearly all naturalised Brf'ish subjects. They are going to South America for business reasons, and have passports, allowing them to travel at will. An unusual incident occurred at an inquest in Christchurch recently An elderly man came forward to give evidence of identification. "You knew the deceased ?" the examining officer suggested. "I went to school with him." "And when did you last see him alive?" "About 25 years ago. I haven't seen him lately." But the witness identified the body. The total number of officers, non-oom-misaoned officers, and men of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force returned to £o anc * U P 40 November 30 last was 78,966. Of these 75,686 have been disfcttd gazetted out of the forces and 1449 have returned to duty. There is every prospect of there being a good crop of apples in Wellington this season, according to the report of the Department of Agriculture for November. Pears, peaches and apricots, however, are not being grown to any extent, but tomatoes are looking well. In the Kelson district useful rains fell during November, which to a great extent haVe made up fori the previous dry weather, except in the case of most berry crops, which have suffered considerably from want of rain at the right season. In the Hawke's Bay district a heavy crop of apples is expected, and other crops are also favouraWv reported on. It is said that all the timber mills in the Southland district are gradually gettine back to pre-war conditions, and the railways will soon be hard pushed to lift the timber; in fact, even now the Department cannot carry it away in sufficient quantities to keep the mills clear. The demand far exceeds the supply, and orders are being refused daily.