LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18896, 19 December 1924, Page 10

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The following telegram of welcome was sent to the Governor-General, Sir Charles Fergusson, by the Auckland Chamber of Commerce " The Auckland ..Chamber of Commerce, on behalf of the commercial community of Auckland, extends to you a hearty welcome to the Dominion, and wishes you a happy and successful term of office." Sir Charles has replied expressing appreciation of the chamber s message.

A two-horse waggon, owned by Messrs. G- Shaw and Company, overturned in Courthouse Lane yesterday morning and deposited a load of cased goods in the roadway. The accident was due to the front axle swivelling too far while the vehicle was being turned in the street. A broken trace pole was the only damage sustained.

The Parnell and Retnuera Fire Brigades turned out at 11.45 a.m. yesterday to a fire at 22, Dilworth Avenue, Remuera, caused by the ignition of half a tin of benzine, which had been left standing by the copper fire in the wash-house. The benzine was being used for cleaning clothes when it suddenly caught firo. A woman engaged in washing was severely burned about the hands and face. The fire was smothered with a wet sack before any damage was done. The house is owned ljy Mrs. Mander and occupied by .Mr. A. L. Spence. The City Brigade received a call at 10.50 last evening to a house in Grant Street, off Victoria Street, Owned by Mr. Ijrnund and •occupied by Mr. Sutton. The fire was caused by some curtains coming in contact with a naked light, but was extinguished before the arrival of the brigade.

The victory of the Auckland Grammar School cricket eleven over Christchurch Boys' High School was announced at the school prize-giving ceremony last ovening by the headmaster, Mr. J. Drummond. The news caused great elation and deafening hand-clapping. Later in the evening, the Hon. C. J. Parr congratulated the school on the result. " You've certainly wiped the floor with Christchurch," he said.

An inquest, concerning the death of Mr. George''"James' I 'Augur,' who died in the Auckland Hospital on Wednesday as the result of injuries received while blasting at Penrose on the previous day, was opened before the coroner, Mr. W. R. McKean, S.M., yesterday. Formal evidence was taken and the inquiry was adjourned.

A petition in bankruptcy was yesterdayfiled by Joseph Mercer,' mechanic, of .132, New ton Road. A meeting of creditors will be held on January 22.

The daily reading of Scripture passages and of the school prayers was upheld by the headmaster of the Auckland Grammar School, Mr. J. Drummond, at the prizegiving ceremony last evening. He said the practice had been readily accepted by parents and pupils, and no pressure, direct or indirect, had been exerted by the school authorities. He believed it was easily possible to retain this strong influence for good without interfering in any way with the religious beliefs of parents or pupils. No one would deny the need of inculcating in the youth of the present generation reverence , for what was best in life, and the recognition of higher ideals than the pursuit of pleasure or material advancement.

Regarding the efforts made by the railway authorities in Christchurch to recapture the transport of the wool clip, Mr. H. Chapman, district traffic manager, stated that there had been a gratifying response from the farmers, and though the railways were not conveying all the wool they were getting quite a quantity that in recent years had been transported by road.

Rabbits appear to have multiplied with unsual rapidity in Canterbury this season, and in all the river beds and other waste lands, as well as in hillier district, there are abundant evidences that swarms of young , rabbits are threatening potential loss to pastoralists and farmers.

Harvesting operations are becoming more general daily in Ashburton County, and in the warmer parts of South Canterbury, oat crops being already in stook in many places, and apparently an earlier harvest than usual is in sight. There is, however, a good deal of unevenness in the ripening of the crops, as it is a common sight to see half a paddock in stook, with the remainder still fairly green and uncut. Farmers, particularly in some districts north of the Rangitata, are finding it advisable to pill the reaper to work at the earliest possible moment to save their -oatS front the small birds, which are very numerous this year.

"If parents- won't take care of the children, and fail to bring them up properly, then the State must step in and take a hand," said Mr. If. Y. Widdowson, S.M., in the Juvenile Offenders Court at Christchurch.

Christchurch retailers are dismayed at the number of applications that have been received of late for trophies, picnic prizes, and other donations, One man declared that ho took a census and found that on some days more canvassers came to the shop than customers. "We don't mind applications from people who do a public service, like the Salvation Army or St. Saviour's Orphanage," ho said, " but we do object to demands from bodies which have no association whatever with the business concerned."

The breaking of the rescue line at North New Brighton on Sunday serves as a reminder that some irresponsiblos are ! not above tampering with the surf reels | that are lol't on the beach, says a Christ - I church paper. About a month ago, when ! an inspection of the material of the New

j Brighton Club was made, one of the lines ! was found to have been cut thiough and j wound back on the, reel. the serious I consequences that might result from a | broken lint- were only too plainly shown | in Sunday's happening.

" 1 can see great possibilities in the i future of Southland, and I have been parj ticularly struck by the spirit of >nI thnsiasm among the people, said the ! Hciii. A. D. McLeod in a speech at the I Bluff last week. " There is nothing that I spells more success to a community, continued the Minister, than solid enthusiasm among the people themselves. For the last 10 or 15 years Auckland has been eliided by the rest of the Dominion for receiving more than its share of the good tilings going, but the progress there has been solely due to the fine spirit shown by all sections of the community for their province. 1 am very pleased tr> see that you have the same enthusiasm at this end of the Dominion, and 1 only hope that you will continue to progress witn the same rapidity as you have done since the last time 1 \isited your district."