LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17362, 8 January 1920, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

An unusually small overseas mail is being brought from Vancouver by the Makura, due at Auckland on Sunday morning. The vessel has under 300 bags, and this is thought to include only American and Canadian mails. The steamer Northumberland, which wag expected to leave Sydney yesterday, and is due here on Monday next, will probably bring an Australian mail for New Zealand. The output of cement is still greatly hampered by the coal shortage. For months past there has been very little production at Wilson's New Zealand Portland Cement Company, Ltd., and consequently some 60 men have lost their employment there and drifted into other trades. The remainder have on'.y been retained by putting the majority of them on construction work outside. The situation will be relieved when the supply of coal is in creased. Some large catches of fish were secured ! by the crews of the various yachts and launches during the Christmas and New Year holidays. The crew of the keol yacht Ilex • landed 15 dozen flounder and 20 dozen mullet at Whongaruru. Five dozen flounder and two dozen mullet were netted by the crew of the launch Daisy I at Manawam, Bay of Islands, and a very ! large haul of rock rod and barracouta was ' secured by the crew of tho keel yacht ; Niobe at Takatu Point, Fishing off j Cape Brett a well-known launch enthu- ' siast haulod in a huge hapuka, weighing 1501b, The crew of the launch Princess Pat also accounted for a large number of hapuka at Canoe Rock. The reclamation of about eight acres east of tho electric power station, which was put in hand by the Auokland Harbour' Board sometime ago, has been completed | and roaded and drained. The leases of the j sections into which the area has been divided will be offered to the public early in March. Work is now proceeding on a further reclamation of about 14 acres to the eastward, towards the Parnell wharf. The suction dredger is engaged upon this work. Prices for fat stock at the Westfield markets yesterday, when the sales were resumed after having been suspended for a fortnight during the holiday season, were about equal to the values realised at the last sale. There was a heavy yarding of all classes of stock, and the demand from buyers was keen. Choice ox beef realised £2 15s per 1001b. ordinary to prime beef fetching from £2 to £2" 13s, according to quality. Wethers averaged from £1 10s to £1 18s 9d, but a small pen of prize-winning sheep at tho show realised £2 19s a head. Ewes fetched from £1 Is to £1 15s 9d, and lambs from 18s to £1 12s. Good prices were realised for pigs, baconers and choppors fetching from £5 10s to £7 14s. The total number of cases of notifiable infectious diseases, exclusive of influenza, notified in the Auckland health district during the month of December was 176, as against 219 in November. There were 65 rases of diphtheria, as compared with 54 in November, 12 of the cases being in the city, 16 in the suburbs, and 37 in the country districts. Enteric cases showed a decline to seven from 20 in the previous month, and there also was a decrease of from 20 to 13 in scarlet fever. Measles showed a decline from 16 to 10 cases, and tuberculosis from 20 to 15. The scheme of, the Waterside Workers' Federation for taking over all stevedoring work on the waterfront at the different ports in New Zealand is being thoroughly gone into by the officers of the federation. In response to a circular on the subject issued by the federation, a ballot was taken at all branches in New Zealand in October last and resulted in the proposals being adopted. At the recent federation conference held at Napier a committee I was set up to make all inquiries and arrange details in connection with tho scheme. A national board of director was also provisionally appointed by t'le conference. A tribute to the able services rendeied by the curator of tho Auckland Museum, Mr. T. F. Cheo:seman, in bringing that institution up to its present high swndard. is paid by 'Mr. J. Dunning, in a utter conveying his decision to present the nuw war memorial museum with a number of North American ",bi;j game" specimens. The museum, in Mr. thinning's ODinion " compares favourably with the best, and is infinitely superior in skilful arrangement to many of the museums I have visited." An announcement of interest was made yesterday by the Commonwealth and Dominion Line, Ltd., to tho effect that I in future the steamers of the line will hive their funnels painted the colours of the parent companythe Cunard Steam Ship Co., Ltd. The colours are red with black top and three narrow black bands. The colours of the hulls of the vessels will, however, remain as at present, French tircy. The combination of colours should be most effective. One channel through which numbers of undesirable characters might enter New Zealand if a very strict watch were not employed, was demonstrated in the Police Court yesterday, when four seamen from England, two of whom, it was stated, had been " logged" on their vessel, were brought beiore Mr. J. E. Wilson, S.M., on a theft charge. After they had been ] convicted, the master of the ship said he did not wish them to come aboard again, j : indicating that it would not matter if, by 1 I imprisonment, they missed their vessel, 1 I " Oh, that ip very nice for you," answered j 'the magistrate, "but New Zealand hap- \ < pens to want these men even less than you j i do. I cannot prevent you from discharg- i ing them here, but I think you should i know (hat we have no room for them in i New Zealand." The men were not im- I prisoned. 1 The small rowing boat which was picked up by the steamer Ngapuhi off, , Karewha Islands, near the entrance to the I Tauranga Harbour last week, has been , > claimed by Mr Southgate, of Kutarere, j J in the Bay of Plenty. It appears that the j ' dinghy broke away from the Ohiwa Har- ' hour, and drifted to Karewha. ' Tho new military hospital buildings at i ] Pukeroa Hill, R-otorua, are now practically j i finished, and tl a contractor will hand ' them over shortly to the Defence authorities. It is expected that the doctor's ' house and nurses' quarters will be com- i ' pleted about the end of February. j ' Now that a constabulary force has been | established to carry out civil police duties ; at Samoa, the Samoan garrison, which | has been stationed in the territory since I its occupation bv the New Zealand Expeditionary Forco in 1914, will be withdrawn. The greater part of the garrison is ex- j pected to leave Samoa this week. < , The work of extending the Grafton Road J • storm water sewer to the seaward side of ]' the newly reclaimed land in Mechanic's j Hay has been commenced by the Auckland ', Harbour Hoard under the, terms of the i J arrangement with the City Council. The I . piles for the foundations of the sewer are i < being driven, and the ferro-ooncrete sec- I ; turns i f the sewer itself are being made ; ; at the north wall on the Freeman's Bay I, reclamation. These sections, which arc of considerable size, will he conveyed to j | Mechanic's Buy by the Harbour Board's I; floating crane. The cost of the work will l| lie divided equally between the Harbour j I Board and City Council. It is estimated that between 6000 and ! ' 80u0 Urns of spoil was brought down by ! ' the explosion of 15001b of gelignite on j , the Island of Moturoa on New lear's ' Day in connection with the extension of ' the New Plymouth Harbour works. l The proposed tour by the Mayor of Auckland and city councillors of street works in progress within the city has been | fixed for Friday, January 16. A separate f date, Tuesday, January 20, has been ap- 1 pointed for the visit to the Nihotupu t waterworks and other municipal interests in that direction. t