LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18707, 13 May 1924, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

AJbout 500 passengers travelled by the Main Trunk express that left for Wellington at 7.10 p.m.' yesterday. The train consisted of 12 passenger cars and two . sleepers, all of . which were well filled. ; ; A somewhat unusual, incident occurred in a Remuera tramcar yesterday . morning when a wooden panel above the inside of the rear door J became detached and, swinging on. the bell-cord- .which passed through - one- side, struck a passenger, inflicting a slight abrasion on his chin. The panel, to which; was attached an enamel plate, was sufficiently heavy to have caused a more serious injury to anyone less fortunately, placed than the > victim of this incident. The difference' between mortgages and debentures from an income tax-paying point of view was referred to yesterday at the final sitting of the Taxation Commission in Auckland, by Mr. H. W. Hudson. He cited the instance of a Queen Street property which changed hands for, he 1 believed, about £97,000, and the astute owners declined to accept a rr*rtg3.ge, but accepted debentures for the whole undertaking. Almost next door was a similar property which paid the ordinary mortgage taxes, the difference between the two coming to about £930. The Royal Commission on Taxation completed its sitting yesterday. The chairman, Mr. Justice Sim, with the other members of the commission, Messrs. W. D. Hunt,. G. Shirtcliffe, T. Shailer Weston and James Begg,' with the - Commissioner' of: Taxes, Mr: D. G. Clark, and the secretary, Mr. K. C. Ackins, left by the Main Trunk last night for Wellington, where final evidenco will sbe taken. The commission's report will be sent to the Minister for Finance, Mr. W. F. Massey, at the end of the month. . . Both the resident Judges will sit. to-day in continuance of the Supreme Court criminal sessions. Mr. Justice Stringer will try the case of John Andrew Fox, charged with manslaughter, and. Mr. Justice Herdman that ox Clyle P. Ludwig, Walter Barraclough, and Percy McGiHivray, charged' with horse and cattle stealing at Pukekohe, which stood over from the last sessions. A petition in bankruptcy has been filed by Alfred Ernest John Keys, boarding house proprietor, of Hamilton. A meeting of creditors is to be held in Hamilton on Friday. A builder in Waipukurau required one small special piece of '"Queensland timber for finishing off a. particular work. This being unobtainable m Waipukurau it was i necessary to get it railed from Wellington. The railage charged from Wellington to Waipukurau exceeded the, price of the invoice value of the timber itself. ; A jury drawn from, the panel summoned for last week's sittings of the Supreme Court was obliged to oontinue its service into the present week to complete the trial of Alexander Linton, - for forgery. Mr. Justice Herdman has therefore granted its members exemption from further jury service for six months. : Rugby football enthusiasts will learn with regret that V. Badeley, who was injured while playing in the All Black test match on Saturday, will probably retire from football.. Mr. Badeley has almost recovered from the effects Of , the concussion, , he sustained), : but he will ! remain in the hospital for a' few more '. days. ■."'.' . r The visit of the Fleet with the consequent gathering of crowds might naturally be expected to be seized , upon by pick-pockets as an opportunity to exercise their skill. The police are aware that certain reputed sneak thieves and other undesirables may be tempted to commence operations," and steps have,-: been taken 'to keep such under observation. ■ ' The small regard for public safety shown .by some thoughtless people is demonstrated by an incident at Taradale. The. main road is in course of repairs, and someone removed the warning lights placed on the obstructions arising from the work. , * In order to show her patriotism . an elderly lady who went out on a steamer at Napier to ' see H.M.S. Hood endeavoured to throw a bouquet of flowers aboard the battleship, but the distance was too great, the flowers falling into the water; The lady was greatly disappointed, but -her action had been noticed by some of the sailors aboard ' the Hood, and they lowered a boat and j recovered the bouquet, much to the donor's delight. A white heron has dominated the lakeshore ,at Ohinemutu, where it fishes daily with great ...success, quite undisturbed by spectators. Considerable interest is being' taken in the bird. : v : "There will be a great deal more , pork raised- in New Zealand this coming year than has been the case for some time past," remarked Mr. W. J. Poison; at a meeting of the executive of the New Zealand Farmers' Union in Wellington. ~ ■ , ; - ■% 7 . 1 Overcrowded conditions in the Kilbirnie (Wellington) School were the subject of a strong statement by a householder last ' week, to . the effect that the children had jess than 100 cubic feet of air space. In default of an immediate remedy, he urged that the comriiittee T had at least the right to 'demand proper school furniture. v He said that he knew of one case of a girl suffering from slight curvature of the spine through sitting at an unsuitable desk. :; ' • A further increase in the retail • prices of ' foods is shown by the Government Statistician's index figure for March 15. The increase was 11 points, due chiefly to higher prices for milk and- eggs. The index for the month was 49.63 per cent: above that for July, 1914. ; v . ; • : "An application "• for permission to issue to all pupils covers for ..the School Journal came before the last meeting of the Otago Education Board. The covers were to be issued free, the idea being that the advertisements. printed or. them would recoup the It ; was pointed out by the chairman and other members that the board should be chary as to . what was done in this respect.' For instance, the advertisements might - not be of a desirable character, ilt was further pointed out that a firm to whom the board had granted the right to issue - free exercise books to school children had . abandoned the project. The application was declined. The lack of a good rain in March and April will probably be responsible for & curtailment of the area sown in , this- year, states tho Osmaru Mail. The ground v .has been ' too hard for ploughing, and seme v farmers who > contemplated ploughing . and fallowing lea land with a view to sowing wheat have abandoned the intention. : Merchants report some orders for seed .wheat for winter sowing, but; the area will ,be . comparE.tiy.ely small, ; and ; a i great deal short of-the. average of even .the last, few years. Farmers very generally , are going ,to put - their trust in meat and ' wool. ; ' ; , , .