LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18295, 11 January 1923, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

'■} '-. —-> —...' Last week's advance in the price of beef at the Westfield fat stock Bale was maintained yesterday. Extra choice .ox sold up to £1 7s per 1001b., choice and prime, from £1 4s to £1 6s? and ordinary up to £J 3s 6d. Prime young cow and heifer beef, brought from .. £1 to £1 ss, ordinary cow beef 15s •to 18s. Extra heaw prime steers realised up to £13. Competition for mutton was keen, with a further rise in values. Heavy prime wethers sold up to £1 16s, an increase of 4s od. Other classes brought from £1 5s to £1 13s 6d. Heavy prime ewes realised from £1 8e 6d -to *£1 lis, others from £1 Is to £1 Bs. Fat pigs were yarded in large numbers. They met with a good demand ; and last week's rates were sustained. Extra heavy baconexs brought from £3 12s to £3 16s, and ' heavy baconera from £3 Is to £3 10s. Choppers and heavy porkers sold up to £2 10s. The Main Trunk express which left for Wellington last evening was an exceptionally heavy train, and carried about 600 passengers. The express was made up of 14 passenger cars, two sleepers, and two vans, a total of 18. The train was 15 minutes late in leaving owing to an unusually heavy mail. The train timed to leave for Papakura at. 7.18 p.m. consequently did not get away until 7.32 p.m. The weather was somewhat changeable at Auckland yesterday. The early morning was dull and overcast, and rain fell from about 9 a.m. to about 11 a.m. The which had been from the north-west then changed to the south-west, and the weather cleared. The afternoon and even- | ing were fine, but the change of wind to southward caused a noticeable fall in the temperature. The barometer, which had | been very low and erratic before and during the holidays, has been exceptionally ! steady since. It rose to 29.90 in. on January 3, and remained practically steady at that reading until nearly midnight on Tuesday, when it fell slightly, the reading throughout yesterday being 29.85 in. Tho ship Ben Nevis, with about 160 passengers, arrived at Auckland from London 43 years ago to-day. The vessel rounded the North Head in charge of Pilot Burgess as the church bells were ringing on the morning of Sunday, January 11, 1880. The voyage from the Downs occupied 100 days. The Green Lane railway station was entered by a thief or thieves some time between 11 o'clock '■• on Tuesday . night and 6 o'clock on Wednesday morning. Nothing was taken. When the staff arrived on Wednesday morning a window was found to have been forced open, and there were traces that an attempt had been made to open the safe. Today is the 77th anniversary of the capture of the Ruapekapoka Pa at the Bay of. Islands from the Maoris by the British troops under Colonel Despard and the friendly natives under Tamati Wakanene. The 58th Regiment took part in these operations. The capture of this pa brought' Hone Heke's war to a close. Two accidents occurred on board the Union Company's steamer Waihora, which arrived at Dunedin last week, when she was en route from Singapore, Samarang and Bunbury. One of the sailers developed a bad case of sunstroke after the ship left Samarang. The weather was extremely hot, and the man was working about the decks, wearing only a soft hat as a protection from the fierce rays of the tropical sun. His neck was exposed, and he suddenly collapsed. He was unconscious for about three days, but recovered before the steamer reached Bunbury. A fireman met with a serious mishap when the Waihora was eve days out from" Bunbury. He was cleaning "a furnace when a mass of flame suddenly burst out of the furnace door. The man had practically no, chance of escaping, and he-was badly burnt about the arms, face, and head. He received first aid at the hands of the officers, who did everything ' possible to alleviate his sufferings. The man was in a very bad way for several days. When the Waihora reached Dunedin he was sent ashore to receive medical treatment. Many complaints were received from tourists when «the most southerly post office in the world, TJlva, Paterson's Inlet, Stewart Island, was closed. However, this office has again been opened under the control of Dr. James Hunter, and will remain open for the tourist season. This act by the Post and Telegraph Department will meet with the approval of the large crowds that visit the Island during the season, and who enjoy posting a card in this quaint little post office nestling on the shores of Ulva. Fifty-nine applications were received by the Newmarket Borough Council for the position of clerk of works in connection with the erection of the new municipal buildings. The number was reduced to three by the special building committee, and last evening, the council made an appointment. The kea bird, which is regarded by many as a deadly enemy of sheep and lambs, is not so regarded by everyone". These birds were at one time fairly common in the Mount Cook district, but they have been shot down considerably. A few were seen by the members of the Tararua Tramping Club during their visit to the Hermitage. They are very amusing birds at times, for they will slide down the snowy roofs on their tails, striking some most laughable and ridiculous attitudes. Although they have such an evil reputation, the guides at Mount Cook, . who have been acquainted with them for years, cannot call to- mind ever having seen them attack a sheep or lamb, and they with others are disposed to regard this belief with a great deal of suspicion, in spite of the fact that rewards are offered for the destruction of these birds. A well-known Wellington sportsman mentioned this week how expensive it was to go deer shooting in Scotland; and said it was impossible to get a shoot for less than £500. For that sum one could pay all expenses of the trip to New Zealand, obtain a license— at the mostand getas good deer shooting, as he wanted. In Marlborough the license only costs 15s. In fact, many people do come from England for the deer shooting, and also for the trout fishing, which in New Zealand is as good, as in any part of the world. Haymaking operations, which are usually carried out ■on a large scale in Temuka, are being delayed by the show- . ery weather. Farmers are also getting anxious about their standing crops, which are showing signs of becoming discoloured. . During the past year 6.577,000 gallons of water were supplied to the Newmarket Borough by the City Council, an increase in consumption of over 250,000 gallons, compared with the previous year. The ! total quantity for 1921 . was 6,323,000 ;■ gallons. A working bee of parents of pupils attending the Mount Albert Grammar School has been formed with the object of improving the school grounds. The workers will commence at 8 a.m. on \ Saturday, and it is hoped that the grounds, which are at present in a very i rough state, will soon be made fit for : playing purposes. At the sale of fruit stands in Wellington this week one of the Indians went up ! to the office counter and put down a £100 ! note to pay for his purchase. Another ! who had purchased one of the best stands i drew' a fruit bag from his.pocket, which ; on being turned out, proved to be' full of I JBl, £5 and £10 notes, aggregating a eon- . I siderable sum. -