LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18458, 23 July 1923, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

A young 'man; Mr, Melvern Reid, who resides in Birwood Crescent, Remuera,, received a severe kick on the leg while j playing football in the -Domain: on , Sat-, urday- $ After receiving 'attention ; from fa. : member of the St. John ; Ambulance Association, he was removed to the hospital,, where he was >und to have sustained rather severe injuries to his knee. A mild excitement was occasioned in Surrey ■ Crescent, Grey Lynn, on Satur-1 day i' morning, by the 'misadventure ,of \aj motor-bus. :It skidded \ some 20ft. across the slippery surface of the street, and: crashed against a cast-iron verandah support which was broken into several pieces. A crumpled mudguard was: the, only damage sustained by the bus. There was an attendance of about, 10,000 at Ellerslie, os Saturday when the | Franklin-Matamata .": combined meeting was concluded! ; The leading event, the ) Matamata Handicap, was won by Mr. W. Casey's gelding Bute Sound. During the day the.sum of £42,01510s was passed through the totalisator, making a grand; total of £70,897 10s for Hie meeting. -\ The improvement in the weather yesterday was responsible for a.? renewal of activities on the part of the amateur gardener, • whose lot this winter has been a particularly trying one, owing to the succession of wet week-ends. The bright sunshine of yesterday, however, besides bidding him to hope, wort far towards assisting him to combat the -~i innumerable garden pests. Similarly, the vr ice of the lawn mower was once more hoard in the land, and many a rank overgrowth of grass was , cut ' down and the surroundings of: many suburban homes made.to once more look trim and neat. ~;. Applications for employment received last' week by the Auckland Labour Bureau, numbered 189, of which 120 were classed as "fit for heavy work." As usual, the list represented almost every class of occupation. .'. The number of labourers seeking work was 140, although 50 of the applications were for light work only. During the week, 14 men were placed in positions, eight with the Public Works, and six in private employment. The number of applications was slightly lower than in preceding weeks, this being considered due to the improvement in weather conditions and activity in the local building trade. The Main Trunk express which left Auckland last evening was a heavy train, carrying about 500 passengers. It consisted of five first-class carriages, seven second-class, a ladies' carriage, and three sleepers. To-day is the ninth anniversary of the presentation to Serbia of the Austrian ultimatum, which,, following on the assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, led to the outbreak of the Great War. Despite its unreasonably mandatory terms, the Serbian Government accepted the ultimatum with very , slight reservations. Austria, however, pressed for her -full pound of flesh, and on July 28, 1914, declared war against Serbia. Germany immediately supported her ally, declaring war against both France and Russia, and on August 4, Grea>t Britain, failing to receive satisfactory assurances in answer to her demand that the neutrality of Belgium should be resnected, threw her might into the tremendous struggle that convulsed the world for over four years.

A motor-car, which was recently taken without authority from : the garage of Mr. W. Hobbs, O'Neill Street, Claudelands, was found a few days ago in Collingwood Street, Hamilton. , A girl aged 15 has been missing from the residence of her parents, at Remuera, sinco last Wednesday. , She is described, as being a tall, well-built girl, .with fair curly hair. At the time of her disappearance she was wearing a dark red overcoat with fur trimmings, a black velvet ■ dress and a brown velour hat. Any person who cam information-'' regarding the movements of the missing girl are requested to communicate with the police. The Paeroa-Pokeno road is almost impassable in one part to any form of wheeled traffic at present, writes the Herald's Te Aroha correspondent. From Pokeno to the end of the metal the road is good, but from that point to near VVaitakaruxu it is in a very bad 'condition. The mails will probably be carried by pack-horse for a few weeks to come. By 26 votes to 10- the following remit, moved by Miss E. .Melville, of Auckland, at the Municipal Conference, was adopted: "That the Municipal Corporations Act, Section 42, and the local Elections land Polls Act, 1903, Section 39, be so amended as to provide for councils to fill all vacancies occurring on such councils, provided such vacancies do not exceed two in number at any one .tim&" Mr. •G. Baildon, on behalf of Auckland and Palmerston North, moved: "That the Motor Regulation Act, 1908, Clause 12, be so amended as to ' compel an annual registration and the payment of an Annual license fee for private motor vehicles, and that such annual license be , fixed on the weight, horsepower, and carrying of the vehicle." The remit was lost. ■' The newly-laid bituminous roads in the Tamaki West Road District are greatly appreciated by motorists and others. As. evidence of this, it was reported at the last meeting of the Road Board that over 700 motor vehicles had passed through St. Holiers on the preceding Sunday. The question .of imposing special restrictions on heavy traffic, as well as the matter of excessive speeding at present taking place on the main St. Heliers and Kohimarama roads, is to be dealt . with shortly j by.'the board. . \ ■

' It is difficult to get any ; definite information yet relative to the _ sheep losses by snow, but what information is available seems to be rather reassuring (says the Otago Daily Times). It was at first reported that Teviot station, which is controlled by the Lands Department, had lost heavily, but Mr. McGill, the manager, has advised that, so far as can be ascertained, no sheep are likely to be lost. The mild weather prevailing at present will doubtless bring about a rapid thaw, * and many sheep considered to be lost may be got out. The storm would, however,' appear to have been veiy severe in some localities, and the temperature was unusually low. This was particularly the case at Arrowtown, . where 32 degrees of frost were registered. ;'' A petition was presented to Parliament last week, on behalf of James Campion, formerly of Okirae, of Fordell, and now of Hastings, sheepi'armer, asking for compensation to meet an unusual case. , Mr. Campion, bought an area of land which was supposed to total 11,308 acres, and a survey found it to be 741 acres short of that area. Petitioner claims the the mistake was a result of carelessness .in the Survey Department, and he says he has been advised he cannot recover at law, though the department admits the shortage. . ."■' The question of fire-fighting equipment was discussed at a recent conference between the Tamaki West Road Board and the volunteer fire brigade. It was decided that a motor truck be obtained, the purchase price being ; £500. The funds for this object were obtained from the recent carnival. The 'draft regulations governing the holding of the proposed Royal Agricultural -Show provide that the council of the. society;,'.may'; arrange with any registered A. and P. Society for the holding of a Eoyal Show on its ground, provided the society shall have . paid anf annual contribution of 2 por. cent, of the subscription of. its financial members to the funds of the Royal Society; that the accommodation for stock :iis : satisf; and '; that the association undertakes to provide ; a minimum prize-money of at least 2 £1000 for; championship classes. Every effort will be' made that the shows will, alternate between North and South )i Island, and between ceafereft within each island.