LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18172, 18 August 1922, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

' Trie Moeraki sailed from Sydney for Auckland at gtsoon yesterday,, states a Press Association message from Sydney.

A party of 20 unemployed, all experienced rock and bush men, will be despatched from Auckland this morning to relief work on the road that is being constructed across the Cororaandel Peninsula from Tapu to Gumtown. About 65 men are already engaged on the road. The total number of relief workers in the Auckland district is about 300, the majority being in the Waikato. Though the strawberry beds on the North Shore are backward for this period of the year, owing to the cold and dry winter so far experienced, the warm rains during the last few days have had a beneficial effect. The young PlantsTow\ decided tendency to develop Srowfh/which had been considerably reSrded by the weather conditions. From now on/ good growth should be experienced though the shortage of young Plants this season will, doubtless, result ma lesser aggregate crop, than usual.

The need for a more frequent and quicker suburban service on the south railway line was urged at the last meeting of the Manurewa Town Board. It was decided to make representations to the authorities on the subject. More protection should be given to the public against quackery, eaid Dr. R. Tracy-Ingliß at the sitting of a committee of the Board of Health in Auckland yesterday; He gave particulars of a case in which he said a working man was paving tho whole of his wages to a quack for the treatment of an incurable disease of which he subsequently died. Moreover, anyone had only to go down the aty to sec the number of people going to quack establishments. He had been informed bv a lift-man that from 200 to 300 people daily visited one of these establishments. The element of faith-healing was so strong in many of tho diseases supposed to be treated "that quacks generally had nodifficulty in finding . people who would swear to cores. Also, they often succeeded by diagnosing a complaint, euch as cancer, from which the patient was not suffering, and then pretending pto effect a cure.

The sale of 200 tons of cargo salved from the wreck of the Wiltshire was continued at the King's Wharf yesterday. There was a large attendance throughout the day and bidding for many lines of goods • was brisk, ...

An eighteen-year-old girl was prevented from throwing herself into the harbour yesterday afternoon by the prompt action of two passers-by. She appeared in the Police Court shortly afterwards on a charge of attempting to commit suicide. The case was deferred for a week. '

The tree-planting activities of the City Council are now being extended', and greater attention will be paid to trees already planted in streets of the city. The Mayor, Mr. J. H. Guneon. stated yesterday that, unfortunately, much "destruction oS trees was still taking place The council, he said, could only appeal for the assistance and co-opei-ation of all citizens in protecting trees and other public property. Of late, there appeared to have been a lapse in this matter.

An election to fill the vacancy on the Waitemata County Council, caused by the resignation of Mr. A. H. Dillon, representative of the Kumeu riding, will be held on Thursday.. Two candidates are standing for' the seat, namely,. Messrs. Robert Glasgow, of Taupaki, and F. C. Sanders, of Huapai. A third candidate was nominated, but his nomination was informal, as it had been signed by a ratepayer, who had not paid his rates, and was. therefore, not entitled, under the legislation of last session, either to nominate another person or be nominated himself.

•The present condition of pasture lands in and around Auckland indicates that the coining season will be a good one for the dairy farmer, provided that that most important factor, the price of butter-fat, imffers no downward fluctuations. " With the exception of one or two heavy frosts, the winter has been an exceptionally mild arid favourable one.for farmers, and never have pastures and stock looked better than at present," remarked a well-known dairying man yesterday. He predicted an early summer, and plentiful supplies of milk,. although possibly these favourable conditions might not continue, as a good winter was frequently followed by a long, dry summer. With regard to the price of milk, there was little probability of any reduction: the present price, 6d a quart, had been maintained through thfr past summer and winter, and was a penny a quart lower than that charged in Wellington. The whole question, however, depended entirely on what the farmers could get for their butter-fat.

A young married woman, Mrs. Elsie Mav Frieder, died at the residence of Mrs. Imrie, 75, The Drive,' Epsom, on Wednesday. A doctor was unable to certify the cause of death and a post-mortem -examination was ordered. An inquest will be opened this morning before Mr. J. E. Wilson, S.M., coroner.

The lack of a sense of responsibility by children to their parents, and, conversely, the lack of parental control or of any effective home influence, were commented, upon as prevalent and serious evils by Dr. W. H. Parkes, giving evidence before a committee of the IJoard of Health - yesterday. These conditions were largely* responsible for the proportions assumed by the social evil in recent years. Dr. Parkes gave an instance of tho carelessness of young girls regarding their responsibilities to their parents. In an Auckland home the mother had been seriously ill for some time, and, on- the first day that she left her sick-bed, protested when she was ordered back to bed that she must first wash up the dishes. The doctor suggested that her three daughters, aged 15 to 20 years, would surely perform this duty, but the mother said they had already gone out for the evening, and as they worked in town during the day, they always declined to do any housework.

The prosecution of two young people who -were found by night in the shelter shed at the New Lynn school was mentioned in the House of Representatives vesterday by Mr. F. N. Bartrum (Grey Lynn), who' asked tfye Minister for Justice whether the Government would amend the law so that in future the statute dealing with rogues and vagabonds would not be invoked to.drag the respectable children of respectable parents into Court in order to satisfy official curiositv as to what constituted night and day.. The Minister's reply will bo furnished at a later date.

The two victims of the motor-car accident at Devonport pn Saturday evening, Mr. Justin Graham and Mr. Jack Boyian. are stated to be making very satisfactoiy progress. Mr. Graham sustained a fractured thigh and a broken leg, while Mr. Boyian suffered a severe concussion and scalp injuries.

When motoring in Turakina Valley, Mr. S. A. Cunningham, captain of the Turakina football team, met with an accident, telegraphs' our Wanganui- ■.correspondent. His motor-cycle skidded and he was thrown heavily, with the result that he sustained a broken ankle.

Shags arc very numerous on the T,ukituki River, in the vicinity of Waipukurau. A few days ago a flight of approximately forty of these birds was observed on the river, and before a shot could be fired five trout were secured by the shags. Unless energetic action is taken fishing will soon be non-existent so far as Central Hawke's Bay is concerned, states a local '