LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18324, 14 February 1923, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Two large mails will be delivered at Auckland to-day and to-morrow. ■ The Manuka, which arrived at Auckland from Sydney last evening, brought 921 bags of Enclish. Australian, and Eastern mads for New Zealand. Of these, 204 bags are for Auckland and will be delivered to-day. The Royal -Mail steamer Niagara, which is due at Auckland from Vancouver at 1 p m. to-morrow, has for New Zealand 906 bags of mail, probably English and American. The Auckland portion consists of 247 bags. Thieves entered St. Mary's Hall, next to the Cathedral, Parnell, some time on Sunday night, it is thought, and stole a number of articles, valued at about £9, including a. large Morris chair and other chairs. Discovery of the theft was made on Monday morning. A collision between a motor-car and a bicycle occurred at the corner of Queen and Fort Streets about three o'clock yesterday afternoon. The rider of the bicycle, a boy, was not hurt, but his machine was somewhat damaged. A visit of inspection to the various works en the harbour front will be made to-day by members of the provincial executive of the Farmers' Union r An invitation to make the trip was received by the executive last evening from the Harbour Board, and the members will meet, the chairman of the board, Mr. H. R. Mackenzie,, at 10 a.m. Injuries to. the left eye and shoulder, the result of a fall from a trap, were sustained by Mrs. Beatrice Aitken, a resident of Archibald Road, New Lynn, in K.'iyber Pass yesterday morning. Mrs. Aitken was driving down the hill when her horse stumbled and fell, and she was thrown on to the street. The horse then bolted, but came to a stop in Newmarket, without any damage having been done. Mrs. Aitken was admitted to the hospital. The triennial elections of licensing committees will take place on March 13, nominations closing on March 3. The Parliamentary rolls will be used for the elections, and these will be closed next Monday. Persons previously enrolled who did not vote at the recent general election will be reinstated on the roll on application, provided they are still residing in the district. The three Auckland electorates form one licensing district, Mr. F. Evans being the returning officer.

A striking tribute to the Christmas number of the Auckland Weekly News is paid by the London Daily Telegraph, which says:—"Christmas in New Zealand, as illustrated in the splendid pages of the Auckland Weekly News special number, is a season of summer, and of summer in its golden magnificence, rarely paralleled in this hemisphere. As usual m this publication, the pictures in colour and half-tone are excellent. Tho photographer is favoured in all ways— subject, contrast; and tho printer presents his plates with fine craftsmanship. Sea, land, mountain, and waterfall are here, and portraits of beauties, dusky and Fair. It is an ideal holiday ground to which wo are introduced, scenery and tpoi-t abounding.''.

• A visit to the site of the proposed Arapuni dam is being made to-day by members of the Auckland Electric Power Board. The party, which proceeded to Frankton by last evening's train, will leave early 'this morning for Arapuni, via Putaruru. The return to Auckland will be made by to-morrow morning's Main Trunk express. To-day is the fourteenth anniversary of the inauguration of the North Island Main Trunk railway service. The first regular through train, which left Auckland for Wellington on the evening of February 14, 1909, consisted of five passenger carriages, a sleeper, two luggage vans, and a postal van. The train carried about 200 passengers. Unsettled, cold, and showery weather prevailed all last week in Central Otago, not at all like February, but perhaps with some advantages for the fruitgrowers, in that the fruit crop does not ripen too quickly. This season has surpassed all seasons for an output of fruit in Otago. January showed an increase of 84 tons over the same month last season, and fresh records continue to be put up each week. Much of the fruit has brought low prices, but, the rush being now about over, the market will probably steady. Large quantities are being consigned to the North Island.

The majority of the Auckland secondary schools reopened yesterday after the summer vacation. The enrolment of new pupils has become such a heavy task in most schools that this work is now done on days * before the session commences. The Epsom Girls' Grammar School continues to increase in numbers, and about 40 new desks have been obtained to meet the demand.

Netting in Lake Rotoiti on Monday night produced four boxes of fish. The haul for Friday last was six boxes. The distance traversed makes these catches a. poor commercial proposition and a doubtful gain in other direction's, says a Rotorua paper. Little splashes of humour often illuminate the prosaic proceedings at the Supreme Court. In a case between husband and wife which came before Mr. Justice Stringer yesterday, reference was made to a fur coat purchased by the husband for the wife, and the latter's counsel, Mr. Luxford, suggested that this had been given to prevent the proceedings. At once the husband interjected: "Oh, your Honor, that's Mr. Luxford's little joke." At once Mr. Luxford remarked: "I think your Honor knows that I never make jokes." ' This diclaimer was not permitted to go unchallenged, for his Honor replied: "I don't know, Mr. Luxford; I heard you make a joke in the upstairs Court last week, and," he added with a smile, "you. reprimanded for it." A ' petition in bankruptcy has been filed by John Hamilton and David Rufus Williams, commission agents, of Auckland. Bankrupts were previously in business under the name of Hamilton and Williams. The first meeting of creditors will be held on Tuesday. Valentine's Day falls to-day, but the observance of the occasion belongs to a past generation. It was on February 14 that in former, times in England, Scotland, and some parts of Europe each young bachelor and maid was assigned by lot a member of the opposite sex as a "valentine" for the year. This was a form of mock betrothal which frequently led to real engagements and marriages. In later years the practice developed into a habit among young people of exchanging sentimental caricatures or "valentines." It is many years since the observance of the day in New Zealand was allowed to lapse. '«' The matter of Government advertising was considered by the Auckland Advertising Club at its last meeting. It was resolved to write to the Minister in charge of Government advertising, the Hon. W. Downie Stewart, suggesting that, as the Government, in common with other adver* tisers, incurred considerable expenditure in newspapers and periodicals throughout New Zealand, it should take steps to audit the individual circulations of all publications, and that the newspapers should be required to publish . periodical certificates of their circulation. . Tenders for the erection of a football pavilion in the North Hagley Park, Christchurch, have closed, and will be considered at the next meeting »of the Canterbury Rugby Union. The building, which -will be in concrete, will be 60ft. long by 21ft. wide. The main dressingroom will be 55ft. in length, and at one end there will be shower baths and convenience*