LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18275, 16 December 1922, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The sudden arrival of the fire brigade caused considerable excitement in Queen Street about half-past eight o'clock last evening, the thoroughfare being particularly crowded at thetime. The call camo from Milno and Choyce's building, where the, short circuiting of an electric wire had caused the automatic alarm to ring. No damage was done.

The weather at Auckland, which haa been noticeably hot for some days, was close and sultry yesterday. The dull, hazy sky in the morning was followed at mid-day by light rain, which cooled tho air somewhat, but the conditions remained oppressive. Tho barometer, which had been steadv at 30.00 in. since Sunday, fell after mid day on Thursday, and last night it registered 29.80 in.

A railway employee, Mr. William Buckley, aged 27, was injured while shunting at Penrose yesterday afternoon, and was admitted to tho hospital about 5 p.m. Mr. Buckley, who is a married man, residing at Penrose,' sustained a crushed foot.

The train which left Auckland for Papakura at 9.45 p.nj. yesterday was overcrowded to an extreme degree. The train was a long one, but all the seating accommodation was taken, and in many of the carriages thero was not even standing room. Tho platforms were blocked, and in some cases tho carriage doors could not bo closed. Much discomfort was felt. Tho crush was increased at Newmarket, when more passengers struggled on board.

A Fijian died of consumption on board the mail steamer Niagara on December 7. when the vessel was between Honolulu and Suva, en route fe Auckland. Hf» was buried at sea the same day.

The Christmas holiday traffic on the railways commenced in earnest yesterday, the first day on which excursion tickets were issued. The morning express from Wellington was exceptionally heavy, while ilhe two which loft for Wellington in the evening, at 7.10 p.m. and 7.40 p.m. were both well filled. The 9.12 a.m. train to Thames, Wai'/i and Cam bridge carrird a large complement of passengers, and the 10 a.m. limited express to Rotorua was fairly crowded wlien it left Auckland, and it picked up numbers of passengers at Frankton and Hamilton. Tho other trains during the <Jav were all well patronised,' the suburban service being particularly heavy.

"In public examinations we have dispensed with the Public Service Entrance," said Mr. 0. T. Major, headmaster of King's College, at the "Speech Day" celebration last evening. Boys passing that examination, he added, never availed themselves of the offers of Government positions. Tho standard did not fit in with the matriculation course. The examination was held too long before the close of the term, and altogether there seemed no valid reason for sending boje forward.

Yesterday's rain will have a beneficial effect on the strawberry beds, but more rain will bo necessary to save some of the beds from early exhaustion. Supplies at present are being well maintained and prices in the shops range from about Is to Is 4d per box. The three or four days of hot weather experienced at the beginning of the week have had a detrimental effect on the bedfl ? a proportion of the formed fruit being practically broiled by the heat. If showery weather is experienced before Christmas the prospects before growers will be materially changed for the better. If the weather remains dry, however, a quantity of the berries now forming will docay without ripening.

The mere failure to keep a property clear of noxious weeds, according ■to a legal opinion received by the Takapun* Borough Council last evening, renders the occupier of such property liable to prosecution ; a.nd failure to clear the land of noxious growing after service of notice by an inspector constitutes another distinct offence. The council is therefore advised that it is justified in proceeding against landowners without necessity for issuing any notice. At present the district iai without any duly-appointed inspector. It was, howover, decided by the council to give instructions that proceedings be taken in the most glaring cases discov- . ered within the borough.

In urging the establishment of a strong protective tariff for New Zealand industries, the Mayor, Mr. J. H. Gunson, indulged in some plain speaking to members of the Karangahapo Business Mew's Association yesterday. " We want a tariff which will be not merely a medicine," he declared, " but a nourishment, a protecting wall behind which the country can carry on a thriving industrial life. We aro at present sending away our raw material and receiving the finished article back at high prices, instead of keeping it here and making these things ourselves. Then look at this senseless importation of motor-cars from the United States, this piling up of an enormous indebtedness to another country, when we could do business with England instead! We seem to have no policy in these matters in New Zealand. We had tinned American fruit on this table €o-day, as if our wonderful fruit-producing districts of Hawko's Bay and Nelson aid not exist. We pav out large sums of money to the United States each year for tinned fruit and similar products, and the conditions aro such that one may well ask, " What is the Government doing for the Dominion's fruit industry."

The intention of the trustees of the Dihrorth Institute to erect a modern hostel to accommodate boys who have passed through the school and are attending the 'Grammar School or Technical College, was announced by the chairman) of the board, Archdeacon G. Mac Murray, at the annual prize-giving ceremony last evening. The chairman said that it was necessary to have this accommodation and make more room for the boys now attending the school, and to that end it was hoped to commence building operations next year.

The present dairying season at Morrinsville has been remarkably successful, and] all the factories in the district are running to full capacity. The cows have done well, and there has been a welcome freedom from disease among the stock. The season is now at the flush, and the quantity of milk and cream ocing received, at the cheese and butter factories is greatly in excess of that of previous years The weather has been very favourable, although rain is now needed, and there has bei?n a good growth of succulent feed throughout the season. The hay crops have been exceptionally heavy, and oereals promise well. Many of the early crops of soft turning did not "take," and the areas had to be sown again. Except for the market prices, which have allowed for advances on a conservative basis only, the dairy farmers of the Morrinsville district have every reason to-be pleased with the season and its prospects.

A statement of assets and liabilities has been filed by James Aloysius Walsh, flaxmiller, of Ohinewai, who was recently adjudicated a bankrupt on his own petition. assets are shown at £636, this sum being made up of stock in trade valued at £60, book debts £21, and a surplus ovor securities of £555. Bankrupt's liabilities to unsecured creditors are £731 9s 6d, and to secured creditors £1295. The securities are estimated to produce £1850, and a deficiency of £95 9s 6d is therefore shown.

Slight though they have been, the rains experienced in Otago Central during the past fortnight have worked a change that is almost magical. Green grass is now to be seen where before there was a growth looking dry and parched. The etock look to be in the best of condition.