LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17964, 14 December 1921, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

■ Matters in connection with; the new tariff; Were discussed' by the committee of the. Auckland Industrial Association yesterdajy; when the report of. the deputation; that was sent to Wellington to interview Ministers on the subject was presented. The question of reciprocity with Australia was reviewed, and;the association decided that, in view of.Mr. Massey's proposedljvisit to Australia for the purpose, of going into th\s subject with 1 the Commonwealth authorities, the Industrial Corporation of New Zealand be urged to endeavour to get permission for a representative of that body to accompany the Prime Minister for the purpose of washing the interests of New Zealand's industries.

The godwit shooting season will open on January 1, and will last until the end of March. The godwit is a migratory bird, and it reached New Zealand rather earlier than usual this year, arriving here at the end of November. The prospects for the season are considered to be Very good, numbers of birds having been seen on the banks of the Manukau Harbour. The shooting is dono on the banks of harbours on both coasts of the North Island, as far north as Hokianga, and as far south as Tauranga, The buds generally leavo New Zealand about the end of March, but they have been noticed hore as late as May. Building by-laws, it is stated, are being 1 evaded in the Manukau County by an ingenuous scheme. Owners of land are not semitte5 emitted'to build on sections smaller than •acre 1 . It often occurs, however, that a man holding three-quarters of an acre or more of land will receive permission to build. He erects the house on one corner of his section, and, it is alleged, sells the house with an area smaller than the prescribed J-acre. The Manukau County Council is taking steps to stop this practice. 1

Two of the secondary schools in Auckland will hold their annual distributions of prizes to-day and to-morrow. The presentation in connection with King's College will be held at eight o'clock this evening in the Town Hall concert chamber. The Girls' Grammar Schools will also hold their combined presentation of prizes this evening, the function taking place in the assembly hall of the boys' school, Mount Eden, at 7.45. _ The Mayoress, Mrs. J. H. Ounson, will present the prizes. The presentation in connection with the_ boys' school will be held to-morrow evening at 7.45, in the assembly hall. The Hon. Geo. Fowlds will present the prizes. The extent to which the value of hides is. affected by branding was discussed by the provincial executive of the Fanners' Union last evening. Letters from interested firms and organisations affirm that even branding with tar spoiled the grain of the leather. Several members were inclined to be incredulous an to tho damage done by tar branding, but in regard to fat cattle it was stated that the brand bruised the carcase. One member said be had not branded cattle for years, but he received nothing more for the hides on that account. Further inquiry is to be made.

A quantity of dredging machinery intended for use in the Lands Department's drainage operations in various portions of the Auckland district has been coming to hand by recent steamers, the latest instalments being on board, the Whakatahe, which is now discharging at the Queen's Wharf. The shipments include two oil driven steel hnjl dipper dredges of one and a-half yards capacity. The machinery is, a portion of that ordered in America by the chief drainage engineer, Mr. J. B. Thompson, during his re'eent visit.to that country.

A -seVen-year-old' boy, ■ son -of' Mrs. L. Rogers, of Edendale RoW,"Kings!and,.has been from his home since ten o'clock yesterday morning. The lad is j w s h,s age ' Btnd haa fair h ai r and blue eyes, He was wearing a cream jumper and grey tweed trousers, but no hat, ,

The lack of sanitary measures at Buckland's Beach, at the mouth of the Tamaki. River, has aroused some comment, and in view of! the fact that the resort is becoming verv popular the Manukau County Council has appointed a committee to go into the matter. Seaside residences are now being, built at Buckland's Beach in large numbers, and it is considered necessary that every house should have adequate sanitary arrangements. The condition of Miss Iren e Smith, of Whangapoua, who was severely injured, in the throat while on a visit.to Deep Creek,'Onerpa, on December 3, is now greatly improved. Miss Smith was thrown from a horse, and a stick she was carrying penetrated her throat.

A proposal for an extension of. the borders of the Leamington Town District concerning which representations' have been made to the Minister for Internal' Affairs, Hon. W. Downie Stewart, by Mr. J. A. Young (Waikato) has received, sympathetic consideration. The, Minister, writing to Mr/ Young, states that as the proposed extension increase the area beyond the statutory two square miles legislation would be necessary before the addition could be made to the town district. He had accordingly arranged for the insertion of a clause in the annual Washing-up Bill, and if this were duly sanctioned the question of extending the boundaries would be further considered. A confirmation service was held in JSt. George's Church, Papatoetoe, on Sunday, by the Anglican Bishop of Auckland, Dr.' A.W. Averill. About 20 candidates'wero

Recognition of an achievement of the Auckland lady swimmer, Miss Violet Walrond, while visiting England as one of-the"New Zealand representatives at the Olympic Games,- was formally given last evening at the conclusion of ithe Parnell Amateur Swimming Club' 8 carnival at'the* Tepid Baths. The chairman of the Auckland Swimming Centre, Mr. A. I Fernandez, presented Miss Walrond with the certificate won by her for coming third in the Sutherland Swimming Club's long distance amateuir swimming championship, swum. over a fivemile course between ' Kew Bridge and Putney. Miss Walrond covered the distance in 76m 225, .

An amusing interlude occurred in the Dunedin Police Court the other day, during tho hearing of a case in which' a person was charged; with allowing a cow to wander on the railway line. Evidence in support of the charge was given by a railway ganger, and as he .concluded his statement, the magistrate,' Mr. Bartholomew, caused merriment by remarking that he had received-a letter from the defendant stating that she had bought the cow from • the ganger, and found it very hard to keep the animal off the railway line. The magistrate! "Did the cow contract this habit'while she was in your possession?" The witness caused a renewal of the laughter by • den vine this soft impeachment with a decree ol emphasis that scarcely seemed to be necessary, but th e magistrate wag evidently a little sceptical, fdn he merely imposed a nominal penalty., ■

Ail unusual charge under tho Christchurch City by-laws was preferred in the Magistrate's Court on Friday against a taxi-driver. Defendant wa ß charged - with having refused to comply with a-request, to take an injured man to the Christchurch Hospital. Evidence was given that he was asked to go to the back of the. railway station, wHero a man was injured. H e ' referred the person: who-made 1 the request '.to another driver. ■ Defendant i pleaded not .guilty, 1 and said he had a job to go to at the.time.' The magistrate Mr, Wyvera Wilson, Ordered'defendant to psy the costs, 19s< He said-.that when men iplted for hire the -public had .rights, and defendant should have acceded to tho