LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18630, 11 February 1924, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Complaint has been made of the manner in which the school authorities make changes in school readers, without warning. This is stated to cause not only unnecessary expense to parents but also heavy loss to stationers who often have large stocks of all standards of readers left on their hands. A suburban stationer stated that the losses through the changing of reading books nullified all profits on other school requisites. If changes were necessary it was suggested that warning should be-given to stationers, before they were made. A dense haze enveloped the city and suburbs on Saturday afternoon, the atmosphere being permeated' with smoke from bush fires. A pretty sight was afforded at sunset, the smoke serving as a screen through which the sun could be viewed. As it dropped behind the distant hills it tipped them with a beauty particularly pleasing to the eye. An exceptionally heavy express was despatched to Wellington last evening. During the holiday weeks, two expresses have left each evening, and yesterday marked the return to the normal time-table, which provides for only one train. The 18 passenger carnages on the train were nearly all filled. There were three sleeping cars. The express carried about 600 people, 200 of whom were for Frankton and intermediate stations. The number of unemployed men on the books of the Labour Department on Saturday was 152, against 145 for the previous week. Of this week's total, 87 were classified as fit for heavy work. Forty-six labourers sought employment, most of whom were capable of doing heavy nork. The list also included 17 handymen, 16 horse and motor drivers, 14 clerks, nine shop assistants and salesmen, and nine engineers, fitters and turners. During the week, 20. men were placed in private employment, and. fivo with the Public Works Department. The theft of the sails of the keel yacht Maybelle was discovered on Saturday afternoon, when sho was boarded by her crew for the cruising race to Kawau. The yacht was moored off Judge's Bay, and the complete suit, mainsail, staysail, and jibs, had disappeared'. A meeting of the Devonport Borough Council will be held on Wednesday evening, to consider plans for the reorganisation of the business routine in the council's office. " I am certain there are a number of interesting sights on Rangitoto Island, of which visitors to the island are not aware, on account of their being off the track," remarked Scoutmaster Knowles -it the opening ceremony of the Devonport Boy Scouts' whare at Rangitoto Island, on Saturday afternoon. "Now that the Scouts are established on the island, and available at week-ends and holidays, the boys will act as guides in conducting visitors to the places of interest, particularly to the caves, formed of huge scoria boulders, which, up to the present, appear to be little known." An area of 34 acres near To Awamutu has been taken under the Public Works Act for sites for dwellings for employees of the Railway Department. The prosecution of works in various parts of the Tauranga County is being actively pushed on. A number of road contracts are now in hand, and at a meeting of the County Council yesterday three more were let. The- new engineer, Mr. Woodward, intimated that further tenders will be called aC an early date. Some excitement occurred on the wharf at Gisborno one night last week, prior to the departure of the Tuatea. A man who had been imbibing not wisely but too well, endeavoured to board the vessel over the side. The distance proving somewhat greater than he had anticipated, he missed his step and fell into the water between the boat and the wharf. He was soon u. difficulties and was seen to be swallowing a good deal of water. Sergeant Dempsey, who was in plain clothes at the time," acted with commendable promptitudo and endeavoured to assist the victim out of the water. Finding that he could not get a good grip of the man ho jumped into the water and supported him until both were assisted out. The rescued mail was later sent to the hospital for medical treatment.

During the cricket match between New South Wales and Wellington on Saturday the Wellington batsman, McGirr, gave a display of forceful hitting toward the close of his innings, which added 92 to the home team's total. On one occasion he drove Mailey clean, out of the ground, the ball striking a tramcar which was turning into Adelaide Road.

Three members of the scientific party which is at present engaged on the exploration of the Chatham Islands, returned to Christenurch last week. They were Mr. G. E. Archey, M.A., assistantcurator of the Canterbury Museum, Mr. C. Lindsay, also of the museum, and Mr. E. F. Northcroft, B.Sc, of Dunedin. The other members of the party, Messrs. Maxwell Young, F.C.S. (biology), H. D. Skinner, 8.A., Dunedin (anthropology), R. S. Allan, B.Sc, Otago School of Mines (geology), J. Warwick, M.A., Government palaeontologist (fossil life), and W. Martin, B.Sc, Dunedin (botany), will return by the next steamer. An illustration of the spirit animating the British seamen was given by Viscount Jellicoe when unveiling a war memorial to officers and men of the Marine Officers' Institute in Wellington. " I well remember a visit that I paid early in 1918 to the* Crystal Palace, where officers and men of the mercantile marine were being trained to man the ships of the mercantile navy," he said. " I came across men who had been torpedoed three, four, and five times. One steward had been in four ships which had been torpedoed, and I asked him why he, a steward, was being trained in gunnery. 'Well,' he remarked, 'I am doing it to be able to get some of my own back.' That," said Viscount Jellicoe, "is the spirit which _ the officers and men of each sea service showed during the war, and which will keep the Empire's flag flying so long as the Empire endures."

The adoption of the policy, in the Railway Department, of compulsory retirement of. officers after 40 years' service, caused the circulation in Wellington of a rumour that the principle would bo applied generally to the Public Service. "The general principle operating in the Public Service is compulsory retirement at the age of 65 years," said the Commissioner, when consulted on the matter. "There is a voluntary retirement, after 40 years' service, but it is obviously impracticable to retire an officer compuisorily after that period. As a general principle, such an officer may be not yet 60 years of age, and it is a question whether the interests of the Public Service would be served by his retirement, particularly if he were a specialist. There is no hard and fast rule, if the officer is rendering good service."

In spite of the vigorous hcuse-building activities that have prevailed at Waipukurau during recent years, there still exists a demand for rented houses which cannot be met. A residence that receritly became vacant had 18 prospective tenants on its trail in 24 hours.

A peculiar acpident happened at New Plymouth recently. The tyre of a small motor-lorry hurst, the wheel became detached, and, running with considerable force on to a footpath, struck a woman. The wheel hit the lower part of one leg, and though it did not cause, any serious injury, : the impact gave the woman a severs shock.