LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18742, 23 June 1924, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Three large overseas mails by different routes will be delivered at Auckland within' the : next two days. The Kent arrived from Liverpool yesterday with 606 bags of letters and 355 bags of parcels from England for New Zealand. The Royal mail steamer Niagara is due this afternoon with 657 bags of English and American h mail for,. : . New Zealand. The Marama, due S here ; from Sydney about, middav to-morrow, has 107 bags ; of Australian mail, 203 bags of English, and 11 bags from; the East for this port. ./ ! Several calls < ; to minor outbreaks of .fire were received by various fire stations daring the week-end. ; A smouldering piece of ' rag, Which • had evidently 1 been emitted from a nearby chimney, was the : cause of the Remuera , and Parnell Fire Brigades being summoned 'to the residence of Mr. P. H. Upton at ■ 67, Remuera Road, about five o'clock on Saturday evening. .The! rag, which had fallen on the tiled roof of a garage, 'was removed before any damage had been done ; Calls were received by the City Fire' Brigade at 10.30 p.m. and 10.32 p.m. yesterday. I The first was to; a rubbish ; fire at the rear of a * shop in PonKonby Road, and the other to ■ a chimney fire in a house in Cobden Street. Both 'of these outbreaks were suppressed without damage being done..

An interesting brass coin or token has been unearthed in Taranaki: It-is about the size of a shilling; but nearly double the thickness of a two-shilling piece. On both sides appears the lettering "Thirty-' six Shillings "in capitals but there is no date or any other, mark to indicate when it was issued. . It was found in Mr. A. Baldwin's garden at Manutahi, and had no doubt been buried for many years, as it is much discoloured. ,

There was a considerable improvement in the weather at : Auckland during the week-end, after the showery weather experienced for some days. Very little rain fell on Saturday and yesterday fine weather prevailed. . The barometer, which had been steady at 29.90 in. from noon to midnight on Saturday, rose steadily all yesterday - and last night the reading was 30.20 in.

The man who escaped from the Auckland Mental Hospital, and was recaptured on Thursday after five days of liberty, was returned to the institution on Saturday. He' had 'been arrested on a charge of stealing a watch and chain' a pendant and a matchbox, of a total value of £7 10s, the property of Hugh Byrne, and was charged with the . offence at the Police Court on Saturday, before Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M. The magistrate . adjourned the case sine die, and ordered accused's return to the asylum. , '• The number of applications for employment received by the Labour Department last week showed a decrease of 28 upon the. previous week's 'numbers. ;Those classed as fit for heavy work numbered ; 153, while those fit for light work only were 39. Of the former class labourers were again in the lead with 60 applications, the next in point of numbers being engineers, fitters, arid turners, 18. During the week 24 applicants were placed in private employment; two cooks were the only ones placed in Government employment. ■ • >~■/,' .., ■ ■ ■ :, f Edendale Road, for - a considerable stretch, is a veritable hive of industry, a small army of workmen being engaged in the re-construction of- that, thoroughfare, together with its preparation for laying the tramway track.. .In addition, workmen are busy, shifting the 1 gas and ' water mains to meet the changed conditions of the roadway. Despite- the bad ' weather, .good progress is being maintained. The approaches to the new ■ Kingsland overbridge- are rapidly- pro- , gressing., ~ - '

An exceptionally long "Main - Trunk express left Auckland at 7.10 m. . yesterday, consisting of 13 passenger cars, three sleepers, <• and the Ministerial car, besides the usual postal and guard's Vans. It was estimated that over 500 passengers travelled from this station, and it was expected that more would join the ; train at Frankton. i y • At a meeting of the Wanganui Hospital Board last week a donation of £100. to the Taihape Hospital was received from an Auckland lady, who desired her name to be withheld from publication. ,It was stated that the ■ donation had come at a most opportune time." Sixteen stevedores who , were working on the Rimutaka in the roadstead at Wanganui recently took an unexpected trip. On account of the heavy seas runnng they could' not return to land, and they were taken on to Lyttelton, the next' port of call. , ■ The lambing season in the Rangitikei district has opened early. There were several lambs in Mr. George Shannon's Southdown flock last week, and their numbers were increasing daily. . "' . ■•,

j A railway carriage window on the New Plymouth express, which was accidentally broken by a lady while lifting her bag from a rack, was a source of amusement to the other passengers a few days ago. Deftly drawing the blind the lady and the mishap escaped the notice: of the guards for 100 miles. When discovered the passengers 1 were .'. closely questioned, but no one j could remember who did the: damage until the lady pulled. out her purse and asked. " How much?" I Lately portions of wreckage •■; consisting of pieces >of Baltic pine planking, |which had, apparently formed part of a ship's hull, have come ashore near Hokitika. Judging by their heavy coating of marine growth,' they have been in the water a long time.

1 The question of disinfecting vehicles used for public conveyance has aroused some 'interest in Ohristchurch ', of late, and inquiries have been made aa to the attitude of the Railway.;: Department on. the matter. , When the point was; referred to Mr. H. Chapman, district .traffic manager of railways, he stated that so far as he knew there was no railway regulation concerning the subject, but his department strictly observed the Health Department's stipulation that 1 all ; cars used for the conveyance of infectious cases should be specially disinfected before they were again used for the conveyance of the public. . Of course, he said, often consumptives and other persons suffering from, infectious diseases travelled by rail unknown to . the department. Provision was made to prevent infection in such : cases by the regular and systematic cleansing of the cars. All',; railway carriages were regularly : cleaned out and disinfectant was added to the water that was used. f .

; There is quite a flutter of excitement among church folk in Wellington \ as the result of a recent . judgment by Mr. Justice Sim, who ruled that Sunday-schools are ratable by local bodies. The view generally : held previously' was that Sun-day-schools came under the heading of premises used ■ for religious purposes, which are, according to the, Municipal Corporation Act, immune from rating. , The imposition, of rates will, according ;to church authorities interested, be a serious burden; on the finances of such institutions. Representatives of/ all the denominations which conduct Sunday-schools intend to wait upon the' Prime Minister this week to urge him : by legislation to continue the immunity, from rates such institutions have hitherto enjoyed. ,:. i