LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19214, 31 December 1925, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

There will be no publication of the Her ax i> to-morrow. New Year's Day. The office will be open to-morrow evening from five o'clock to ten for the receipt of advertisements for Saturday's Hkaih.d. The second day of the Auckland Trotting Club's summer meeting was held yesterday at Alexandra Park, Epsom. The chief handicap event, the Summer Cup, was won by Messrs. Jack and Stewart's horse Prince Pointer. The classic event, the New Zealand Stakes, was won by Mr. J. R. McKenzie's horse Great Biiigen. Investments on the totalisator totalled £58,874 10s, compared with £63,333 10s for the corresponding day last year, a decrease of £4459. The arrest was made yesterday of a man who is suspected of being concerned in the Remuera burglaries on Tuesday. Ho will appear in the Police Court today on charges of theft of articles from Mr. S. H. Agar's house in Ascot Avenue, and of a bicycle from Mr. C. J. Mahon's house. The bicycle has been recovered. Members of Parliament had a long talk last session, which ran for 14 weeks. A Wellington resident who has an itching for facts and any amount of time at his disposal, has been delving into Hansard to ascertain how far the speeches would reach in single column and how far the lines would go if placed end on. In column the speeches would cover 44,378 in., or 1232yd5., and line to line they would string out for 887,560 in., or 14 miles. If the speeches were worth 5s per inch, which some of those who hoard them runV doubt, the total value would be £11,094. The mystery surrounding a £lO note which a Christchurch tram conductor found among his takings has been solved. A lady, who was taking a troop of children for a stride trip, has explained that she. gave a £lO note in mistake for a 10s note. The note of larger denomination has been returned to her. The long-looked-for telephone line between Nelson and the West Coast is now Hearing completion. The copper wires for this circuit have been erected as far as the Gowan River. This has enabled a temporary service to be established. The new wires' have been joined to two of the old telegraph wires between the Gowan River and Murchison, and during normal times the circuit is open between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. for telephonic communication between NelsonMurchison, Nelson-Westport, and NelsonReefton. In the event of interruption to telegraph lines on the East Coast route the telephone circuit is not available, as the wires are then required for telegraph purposes. It will be a few months before the service is permanently established. The new service is proving a great boon and is being largely used by the business community. A far-sighted policy has been adopted by the Birkenhead Borough Council with a view to minimising accidents from increasing motor traffic. This is in the direction of rounding off difficult street corners. So far this endeavour has been successful in respect to Verran's corner at Birkdale, at the top of Waipa Street, and at the Bus Company's property fronting Hauraki and Onewa Streets. It is intended to approach owners of properties in respect to several other corners. From the police point of view the holiday season has been fairly quiet. There has been no more than the usual number of street fights and assaults, but so far nothing of a serious nature has taken place. It is expected that after the holidays a large number of motorists will appear for breaches of traffic by-laws. Timaru fishermen, who frequent the Opihi River, while fishing at the mouth recently, secured a remarkable bag. For about half a day's fishing the party caught 66 fair-sized cod, a groper 4ft. in length and a shark measuring sft. 6in. Cod were very plentiful, and the line was seldom drawn in with fewer than two fish ou it. At least one family iu Napier did not experience a " dry " Christmas, although festive season celebrations were unattended by that cheerfulness which is said to accompany an over-indulgence in Yuletide moisture. This family resides in a two-storey dwelling, the bathroom of which is located on the upper storey. Before retiring for the night the mother went to the bathroom and turning on the tap found that the water supply was cut off. The next act in the little drama opened at 4 a.m. Christmas morning, when the father awoke to the sound of running water. Further investigations told its own tale. In turning on the tap and finding no water forthcoming the lady of the house did not turn off the supply. In the hours that followed the bath overflowed, the water flooding the bathroom and slowly trickling through until the floor of the lower storey was covered with water. Needless to say, Christmas Day was ushered in with a certain degree of mixed blessing. It is understood that the opening of the Balclutha Hospital is likely to be considerably delayed owing to the failure of the water supply. There is only a few inches of water in the tank at the present time, and the well is practicallydry. There has been talk of sinking another well in an endeavour to find a permanent water supply, but the clement, of chance will enter into such a proceeding very largely. It requires more than the five loaves and two fishes to feed the multitude at Ratana. Load upon load of provisions went out from Wanganui and the wholesale and retail houses spent a busy time right up to Christmas Evo attending to tho requirements of the Maoris. In addition, supplementary supplies of the wellfattened pig were brought down the river. Provisions were also sent in truck loads from tho Auckland district and some were even brought from Blenheim. In an endeavour to warn children of the danger of touching live wires, tho Southland Power Board has made arrangements with tho district Education Board by which directions, written in clear and simple language, will be read by teachers in all schools in Southland For the first time for years the Ficton freezing works are working between Christmas and New Year. The Marlborough farmers, with the low prices this year ruling for mutton, seem to be averse to shipping down to Christchurch, and are forwarding to the local works. If the present killing continues throughout the season Picton bids fair % reap the money which has formerly been spent out of tho district. The liner Kent is at present in the port, loading 13,000 carcases.