LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18887, 9 December 1924, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The house of the Rev. E. C. Budd was entered one day last week, and a. valuable gold watch, a pearl anchor brooch, and several other articles stolen. Entry was effected by way of the study window, which had been left open while the house was unoccupied for an hour or two in the afternoon. This is the fifth occasion on which thieves have visited Mr. Budd's residence. As the honorary secretary of the Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society, he has frequent visits from those who have been in prison.

About 200 of the immigrants who arrived by the Ruapehu on Sunday left for the South by the Main Trunk express last evening, under the charge of Major Greene, of the Salvation Army. They travelled by the second express, which lett at 7.40. There were about 170 passengers on the first express.

The condition of the tramway motorman, Mr. William Campbell, of Epsom, who was knocked down by a motor-car on November 30, is becoming gradually worse. Mr. Campbell has lain unconscious for ten days.

The Remuera and Parnell Fire Brigades received a call shortly after 9 a.m. yesterday to a gorse fire in a paddock in Arnev Road, Rcmucra. The fire was extinguished with little difficulty.

" There is a great deal of unemployment in England and constant talk of shortage of money," said Dr. J. Blackmore, of Christchurch, who arrived by the Niagara yesterday. At the same time, during public holidays, the pleasure resorts wero simply swamped with well-dressed, well-fed people who seemed to have no lack of money to spend."

During one week recently, 155 logs containing 162,000 ft. of timber, were carried on the . railway line from Donnelly's Crossing, Whatoro and Kaihu, to Mr. 11. S. Anderson's sawmill at Dargaville. Donnelly's Crossing, from which the logs came, is now a very busy.centre, as all the contractors are taking advantage of the fine weather- and good roads.

A rare occurrence took' place on one of the soldier settler's farms at Dumbarton, Otago, lately, when a cow gave birth to three bull calves, all healthy and strong. Up to the present the mother and off-spring aro thriving very well.

It is riot usual for peaches from Hawke's Bay to bo transported from Hastings to Wellington and other places till about a fortnight before Christmas. The present season, however, is so far advanced, that already consignments have been sent, tho first lot leaving' Hastings on December 1.

A silver button, dug up in a garden at Te Papapa, is occasioning the finder, Mr. W. Thomas, no little curiosity as to its identity. The letters R.A.F.B. embossed on it may, he thinks, have reference to a regiment of the Imperial forces which fought in the province during tho Maori wars. On the reverse side is the maker's name, Shand Mason, Blackfriars. The button was found about a foot below the surface, and is in an excellent state of preservation.

A resident of Tiniaru had ail exciting time witTi some stoats in his garden last week. His chicken coop . was robbed one night of 16 chickens, and he decided to keep a close watch with a view to detecting the thief, or thieves. The first night of his watch,.was richly rewarded, and with the aid of some. dogs and a gun, and by setting fire to some macrocarpa branches under which the . stoats had made their home, he exterminated a whole family of the pests.

• A peculiar incident,, that of the reappearance of a long-lost wedding ring on the Te Anau-Milford track, is reported by Mr. S. J. Gollett, of the Government Tourist Department, who has recently visited the Sounds on the West Coast. Mr. Collett states that one of the trackmen employed by the department, when making a new waterway, discovered the ring, and tho oldest ''inhabitant" on the track stated that he remembered faintly a honeymoon couple losing the bride's wedding ring many years ago and their distress over the matter. Unfortunately no note of the name or address of tho couple was taken. The ring was inscribed: "From John to May."

The champion mean mail will have to look to is laurels again, says a Napier paper, for some person in Waipukurau is after the crown. Owing to tho recent hot weather the men engaged on the sewerago construction work at Waipukurau have had frequent occasion to take a drink of water, a kerosene tin full being kept handy. Going into one place to replenish tho tin they were astounded to meet . with a refusal, the reason being given that the water went through a meter and cost money! The price of water is Is 3d per thousand gallons.

The Maoris who control the three and a-half acres of land in the neighbourhood of the Koru pah, says a New Plymouth paper, have intimated their willingness to hand over this area to be kept for all timo as a public reserve. This information, said Mr. W. H. Skinner at a meeting of the New Plymouth Tourist and Expansion League this week, was recently conveyed to him by Sir. W. Gray, the two natives who now control the area having told tho latter that they were quite prepared to hand over the land to Mr. Skinner for tho purpose indicated. The Koru pah, said Mr. Skinner, was unique in New Zealand and a wonderful example of a particular type of Maori fortifications.

A Tuapeka sheep farmer states that th' shearing season in that district is fully three weeks earlier than if was 15 years ago. This is attributed, not. to a cycle of early seasons visiting the district, but. to the introduction and spread of a new species of " bid-a-hid." Formerly shearing was never commenced before January, but owing to tho advent and early maturity of this plant farmers arc compelled to start earlier operations, as the burrs affect the value of the wool. The oldestablished variety of " bid-a-bid " has a brownish leaf with a small burr. The new variety has a bright green leaf with a large, burr, and it matures earlier than the older variety.

An important link of toad has been opened up between ho Waitangi Treaty f.t.ntion and the township of Pailiia, near tho Bay of Islands. It is quite short, being only about six chains from eud to end, but it is vary important, as tourists have not hitherto been able to get through to the historic treaty houso except by means of launches,'whereas now, the passage can easily be negotiated by motorcar. Though less than a furlong in length, the link was a difficult piece of work, as it has a depth of about. bOft. and runs through a cliff.