LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17890, 19 September 1921, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

ai. An elderly man, Mr. William Gregg Boorman, was found dead in bed on Saturday morning at the Grand Hotel. The •deceased, who was an American citizen, had lived in New Zealand for some years, and was interested in some building contracts at Hamilton. He visited Hamilton on Monday and returned to tbe Grand Hotel oh Friday. On Saturday morn : ng his body was discovered as stated, death evidently having occurred during sleep. An inquest was held on Saturday evening, before Mr. J. W. Poynton, S.M. Medical evidence was given that a post-mortem examination revealed that the heart was seriously diseased. A verdict was returned that death was due to heart failure. Two English mails will be delivered at Auckland this week, one to-day and the other to-morrow. The former, which arrived at Wellington .via San Francisco by the Tahiti on Saturday, will reach here by the Main Trunk this morning. The latter will arrive by the Maheno o-morrow morning. Heavy traffic, both inward and out ward, was handled on the Main Trunk line during the week-ehd, all trains being well patronised. The special inward express Tun in connection with the third test match at Wellington, arrived at Auckland shortly after 4 p.m. yesterday, and brought in about 200 passengers. The train left Wellington at 10.15 p.m. on Saturday, fully loaded, but more than half the passengers disembarked at Taumarunui, Frunkton, and other centres. The usual outward Main Trunk express last evening was exceptionally heavy, carrying nearly 600 passengers, a number of whom were unable secure seating accommodation. The train comprised six fij|rt-class carriages, eight second-class. and two sleepers. The Pakuranga Hunt Club's race meeting, held at Ellerslie on Saturday, was to some extent marred by wet weather, bufe rain did not fall until well on in the afternoon, and the attendance was unaffected. The leading event of the progr|mme, the Hunt Club Cup, was won by Dr. A. McGregor Giant's mare Koura, and the victory was received with much enthusiasm. The trophy which formed a portion of the prize was presented to Dr. Grant by Sir William Hemes, who paid a warm tribute to the fine sporting spirit displayed at all times by Dr. Grant. A striking feature in the afternoon's proceedings was the record field of 42 contestants for the Sylvia Park Handicap, and the spectacle in the straight was highly impressive. During ihe 1-vv Inc sum of £47,300 was passed through the totalisator, which is £1579 below the machine receipts at the meeting held in May last. The need for a boat harbpur for pleasure craft was emphasised by Mr. T. h. Thompson, commodore of -the Victoria Cruising Club, at the North Shore Yacht Club's distribution of prizes on Saturday evening. He said the agitation for a boat

harbour had been going on for many years, but despite this the yachtsmen of Auckland had not yet been able to secure shelter for their craft. " The members of the present Harbour Board," continued Mr. Thompson, " are now, very sympathetic toward the scheme and, whatever site is offered, let us accept it unanimously." The necessity for a boat harbour, he added, was clearly demonstrated a few seasons ago, when a number of yachts and launches, valued at £2000, were driven ashore and smashed up during a heavy gale. Pleasure boats were still exposed to the same danger. A Taoranga fishing party made a good catch on Thursday last, securing in a single haul 30 dogfish, 4o dc/.en mullet. 10 dozen schnapper, and 14 dozen of other j varieties.. They also caught three large I sharks. A day's treat is "to be given to orphans in Auckland about Christmas 'hiio by the Auckland Commercial Travellers and Warehousemen's Association. The scheme was discussed at a special meeting of the association on Saturday evening, when it was state! theie would probably be over 600 children to be catered for. Mr. H. D. Heather opened the *übs';iiptiou list with a donation of £5. • A Queen Carnival contest to provide funds for the formation of grounds at the Vauxhall school was concluded on Saturday evening, When Joyce Wilson, daughter of Mr. James Wilson, was declared elected. The function took place in the Y.M.C.A hall at the Narrow Neck camp. The sum of £562 has so far been raised by means of the carnival. The Queen Coronation ceremony, to be held at the end of October, will augment this sum. Prefects' badges were presented during the evening to five bovs and five girls of Vauxhall School by Mrs. H. H. Watkins, wife of the cl.'.irruan of the school com'mittee. Authority is contained in the Gazette for the raising of a loan of £6000 by the Thames Harbour Board for the re erection of the Turua Wharf. The Whangarei Borough Council is also authorised to borrow £700 for the purchase of a reserve. It was stated by the Minister for Lands, Hon. D. H. Guthrie, in Wellington last week that no reduction had been made in the maximum amounts that might be advanced under the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act for the purchase of sections and the erection of dwellings. A suggestion that there had been a reduction had been published in Chrstchurch The regulations, said the Minister, provided for £250 for the purchase of a section and £900 for the erection of a dwell ing. He suggested that the Christchurch wroVh rf l ref ,r 1° Certain eductions .which had recently been recommended to him by the Advisory Board in cases where it was considered that the amounts recommended by the Land Board were in excess of what was warranted, when the applicant s income was taken into con sideration. In such cases applicants unadvised to modify their proposals, both in their own interests and in the interests of the State. In no case had a recommendation of the Land Board been reduced where is was shown that the applicant was in a position to meet his obligations. During operations at the Hangatiki Lime Company's property workmen discovered in limestone the impression of a huge foot, believed to be that of an enormous prehistoric animal, larger than and distinct from the moa. The impression is that of an elongated foot, with four toe, almost parallel, and a thumb-Hke. toe It has been likened to a human foot Fur ther discovery was made of a large i m . print resembling a cats foot. Unfortunately this was badly broken when excavating, and rendered valueless \ l,ttl« distance from the last discoverv tie skeleton of a moa was discovered T'lifoi tunately the bones were carbonised, and the specimen crumbled. Pickpockets have been busv of ] a t e at the Courtenay Place tram terminus in Wellington. Attention to this matter was drawn by Mi-. L. McKen/ie, •,( ■, 5Sh 8 H° f ,\ ha CitY CVm "- 1 - H stated Sf„ ;T mform «J "f five persons who had had their purses stolen at the terminus, and it behoved people to exe c.se every care. The Mayor said "the pohce had the matter in l lajld . and we * doing their best to stamp out the evil. The illegal sale of cigarettes apj>e.irs to be an extremely profitable business avoiding, to a deputation of New Zealand tobacconists, which waited on the Actin,--Minis, ter for Labour in Wellington last week ' Various instances of large sales by ~„,' : ectioiiers and others who did most of their trade alter nours were given, hut the must striking came from a Turanaki representative. A restaurant keep,,- of the' district, it. was, .-tated, had been prosecuted for s,A\ ing cigarettes, and had admitted ihat nelwecn the time ...f rccrivin.' t |„, „ ' rminh and his appearance j u (jjun, he had sold £40 worth yf tebe«op t