LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19196, 9 December 1925, Page 10

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The supply of strawberries at. the Auckland city markets yesterday was very good and the lowest prices of the season to date were realised. The fruit was of fine quality and brought from lOd to Is lJ>d a chip. The Captain Cook variety realised from Is 5d to Is 9d a chip. Although the season was late in starting the strawberries have made wonderful progress and the supply and quality are now as good as in previous years.

A motor-car parked at the waterfront end of Albert Street had its right front wheel and mudguard badly damaged by a City Council motor-bus shortly before three o'clock yesterday afternoon. The car, owned by Mr. H. T. Burton, of Malvern Avenue, Mount Eden, was drawn up in the space provided in the middle of the street, a short distance above a barricade which closes a few yards of the street. A very narrow space was left and all vehicles had to make a wide detour to pass through. The bus, driven by Motorman F. Harvey, struck the front of the car with its back wheel, bending the right front wheel of the car right over and smashing the mudguard. The Auckland sitting of the Arbitration Court will commence this morning. It is expected the business for the Court will take until the end of next week. An interesting fact associated with the berthing of the Aorangi and Wainui, the largest and smallest vessels of the Union Steam Ship Company's fleet, at Prince's Wharf on Monday is that Captain R. Crawford, commander of the Aorangi, was at one 'time master of the Wainui. His first command in the company was the small steamer Kawatiri, not the present Kawatiri, and from her he was promoted to the Wainui. A certain amount of criticism has been voiced in the commercial community at the continuance in force of the War Regulations {irotecting returned soldiers from the ordinary legal processes for the reecovery of debts. The council of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce decided yesterday to ask the Government to revise the legislation on the ground that it was now unnecessary, and that evidence was available that certain few individuals, to the detriment of the commercil community, were sheltering under the benefits which the legislation conferred. "Christmas slocks are better and cheaper than they have been for years past," was the comment of an Auckland housewife yesterday in recounting the joys of a busy morning's shopping. Her satisfaction with what the shops are offering seems to be generally endorsed, with the result that retailers are already experiencing a solid foretaste of the Christmas rush trade. Fine weather has also attracted people into the city and it appears as if this year a considerable number will obey the traders' request "to shop early." Certainly those who are already filling gift and provision requirements for the festive season are able to choose from an unusually wide range and in that respect are stealing a march on the last-minute shoppers. There are now only a little over two weeks left before Christmas, and it may be expected that, with fine weather, the volume of purchases will increase every day until the final hectic rush on Christmas Eve. "You have no right to make an arrangement to have your case heard before a particular magistrate," said Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court yesterday, when a solicitor asked to have a case adjourned until to-day, as he had arranged for another magistrate to hear it. Mr. Hunt said he did not want to hear the case, but he wished to make it clear tht it was a wrong practice to arrange for any particular magistrate to hear a case. Counsel said he had gone for advice to a magistrate, who said he could hear the case to-day. "It; is a bad practice to go to a magistrate for advice," said Mr. Hunt. "Anyway, I adjourn the case and it can be heard by another magistrate."

A suggestion was made at a meeting of the Wellington Winter Show Association that an Empire exhibition be held in Wellington in 1930. The idea was commended by the chairman, Sir John Luke, and it was decided to leave the matter in the hands of the association, which will give it careful consideration.

"It's a very wrong practice, but it, is the custom of land agents to make out two separate documents when arranging an exchange of property." So remarked counsel in the course of a civil action in the Hamilton Supreme Court yesterday when commenting on the evidence of a witness.

"In judging the efficiency of a farmer," remarked the Hon. R. F. Bollard at Stratford the other day, "I always look how he keeps his fences and gates. If a farmer sees that his fences and gates are kept in order you can bet your life that his farm operations are generally well superintended. Now that is where the Taranaki farmer comes in. Everywhere I have been here I have not seen one farm where tho fences and gates have been neglected. I noticed also that the Taranaki farmer docs what the successful Waikato farmer does not fail to do—-he keeps the patch near the gates well earthed. Cattle like gathering at gates, and the man who spreads a lot of earth near his gates in summer time will keep the entrance to those gates clean during the whole of the winter."

The Canterbury provincial buildings in Christchurch were inspected by the Prime Minister on the occasion of his recent visit to Christchurch, in company with members of the Beautifying Association. At the close of the inspection, Mr. Coates stated that it was the intention of the Government to replace the iron roof, now red with rust, with slates, and in time to rebuild the wooden section in stone, according to tho original architectural design.

Woolly aphis is especially prevalent at Waipukurau, and has attacked trees of all varieties. It has been noted that chaffinches have done excellent work in combating the pest, and many trees have been saved tho ravages of the aphis through the activity of these Useful birds.

Fifteen Chinese residents of Nelson have donated £6l to the Nelson Hospital Board. In acknowledging the donation, tho chairman of the board said that the Chinese residents made very little use of the hospital. There had not been one there for two years; and when they had b«sen there they had always paid the full fees without question.