LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18566, 26 November 1923, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The City Fire Brigade received a call shortly before noon yesterday to a house in Millias Street, Grey Lynn, where a barrel of tar, which was being boiled, had become ignited. The outbreak w?s extinguished before any damage was done.

The Arbitration Couri will open its next Auckland sitting on December 10. The list of matters to come before the Court is not a heavy one.

A young man, Mr. Ormond Cordes, was thrown from his motor-cycle in Manukau Road on Saturday evening. He received injuries to his head and face, and was taken to the hospital in an unconscious condition. He was reported yesterday to be making satisfactory progress. Mr. Cordes, who is a motor mechanic by trade, resides at 37, Esplanade Road, Mount Eden.

The weather at Auckland during the week-end was very boisterous, the wind blowing strongly from the south-west, in exposed parts with the force of a gale. The sky was dull and threatening at times, but the weather remained fine. The barometer, which had fallen to 29.G5in. en Fuday evening, remained steady until Mid-day on Saturday, when it began to rise slowly. Last night the reading was 29.90 in.

The Otahuhu Club's Spring Meeting was concluded on Saturday, and attracted to Alexandra Park an attendance estimated at 19,000. The racing was of a very interesting character, and the leading event, the Liverpool Handicap of £1000, terminated in a deadheat between Mr. P. Riddle's Sheik and Messrs. McKendrick Bros.' Blue Mountain King. Both horses were bred in Australia, and they were driven by their respective' owners. The sum of £64,448 10s was passed through the totalisator, which gave a grand total of £114,784 for the meeting, compared with £104,977 10a last year, an increase of £9806 10s.

Dame Nellie Melba's great interest in the movement to encourage singing in the schools has been illustrated in a striking manner. The prima donna has forwarded to the management a cheque for the purchase of 1000 tickets for seats at Miss Stella Power's opening concert in Auckland, to be distributed among the scholars of the various girls' colleges, girls' secondary schools and convents.

During the motor-cycle races at Avondale on Saturday a competitor, C. Goodwin, had to be 'assisted off the track at the conclusion of the 12 mile handicap, and was attended to by tho members of the St. John Ambulance. The roughness of the track had given him a sever*, shaking and had caused the carburetter control to slightly injure his hand. After a little attention he recovered.

A delay in the tramway service of about half an hour was occasioned on Saturday afternoon about three o'clock by the breaking of an overhead wire in Karangahape Road, near the Grafton Bridge. Considerable inconvenience was caused to numbers of people proceeding to various sports and other gatherings due to start about that hour.

A petition in bankruptcy has been filed by G. Hill, share-milker, of Cambridge. The bankrupt estimates his assets at .T7O Is 7d, while his liabilities, all to unsecured creditors, amount to £5195, leaving a deficiency of £3124 18s sd.

Few of the residents in the Mount Eden district realise that probably some of their gardens ato on the sites of old hot-pits or geysers. Mr. W. H. Atack, manager of the New Zealand Press Association, who is now in Auckland, recalls the fact that in 1377 and again a decade or so later, he saw from the summit of Mount Eden the circular marks of sinter showing up clearly against the grass and indicating that geysers or blow-holes had once been in operation. No such sinter rings are now to be discerned Mr. Atack says that in the seventies Mount Eden was entirely free of houses on the Onehunga side.

The 18ft. patiki Mawhiti and the 14ft. square-bilge boat Continuance capsized in the harbour on Saturday afternoon. Both boats had entered for the Devonport Yacht Club's races, the mishaps taking place prior to the start. In each instance the crews were picked up by passing launches, none the worse for their experience.

A problem for geologists is represented by the large stone which to-day lies at the southern end of the Mareretu tunnel on the North Auckland railway. Round and smooth like a monster cannon ball, and weighing about a ton, this stone was met with almost half-way through the tunnel. How it came to be buried some 50ft. or 100 ft. deep is hard to explain, unless by the theory held by some that it was precipitated from the sky as a meteorite.

Persons proposing to enter an apprenticeship under the Pharmacy Act will, according to a regulation published in the Gazette, be required to produce evidence that they have passed section A examination or have received a certificate of exemption under the hand of the Pharmacy Board, or have passed Jfche matriculation examination of the University of New Zealand.

In the opinion of tho Wairarapa Automobile Association, it is desirablo that the Government should establish a motorcycle patrol branch, so that "the danger of vehicles running on the roads without lights can bo more adequately dealt with. Tho matter is to be discussed at a conference of North and South Island motorists at Chris'tohurch on November 30.

A Blenheim orchardist states that the grass grub attacked and destroyed two acres of strawberries, making a clean sweep except for just one small patch. This new phase of the grub's depredations was fraught, with great danger to the industry. The grub, it was also noticed, was attacking the leaders on apple trees.

The recent action taken by the authorities in regard to the supply of petrol which legally can be stored, has bad a marked effect so far as the Christchurch City Council inspector's office is concerned, Since Monday approximately £100 has been' paid in license fees, in sums ranging from 5s to £6. The stream of callers has attained such dimensions that it has been necessary to chalk the route at. tho city treasury* to the correct counter for making the payment of fees.

Only five days remain for the payment of land tax, as the ? 1 days of grace allowed under the Act expire on November 30. The payments are coming in fairly well from the different parts of the country, states a report from Wellington.

Ten miles of lupins on the sandy wastes near Himatangi, Fox ton, till the air with sweet perfume, and furnish the bees with stores of honey. An Australian visitor, whose business was the extraction of vegetable oils on a largo, scale, secured a quantity of lupin send for experiment.

According <<> a letter received by the liutt River Board some damage is caused to the banks of the river by people- who go fishing. It was stated that the damage was brought about through digging for worms. It was decided to issue a warning on the matter, the chairman, Mr. W. T. Strand, remarking : '" The banks must not he nibbled away for the purpose of catching worms."