LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19218, 6 January 1926, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

There was little slackening of railway passenger traffic yesterday. Three trains were despatched for Wellington in the evening, and all were well filled. The outward expresses for Wellington, Thames, Rotorua and Whangarei also had good patronage, the Whangarei train iu particular being crowded. Inward expresses brought full quotas. The ordinary express from Wellington met with consider- ' ablo delays on its journey, and did not reach Auckland until after nine o'clock, : two and a-half hours late. The recent spell of dry weather has tended to have an adverse effect upon second-bed strawberries which are now , on the market. Prices at the city markets yesterday ranged from 9d to Is a chip for good grade berries, which, however, were not up to the quality secured from the first beds before Christmas. The berries in many cases are much smaller and have lost the richness in colour and taste that was a feature earlier in the season. However, the wholesalo demand is good, and sales arc still ready in the shops. Takapuna is learning, in the present dry weather, to appreciate tho small but efficient fire brigade formed by the Borough Council last year. Every day for the last week the brigade has received one or more calls to grass or scrub fires in different parts of the town. On Monday the brigade turned out four times, and was the means of checking fires which had spread threateningly near to residential properties. In keeping with the season, the geysers at Whaka have put in good and useful work, says the Rotorua Chronicle. Pohutu never disappointed, giving four or five shots in tho day. Owing to tho clear atmospheric conditions some of the displays were wonderfully beautiful and tourists were delighted. The Auckland Returned Soldiers' Association advises that at the recent sitting of tho War Pensions Appeal Board in Auckland, which concluded on December 18, a total of 43 cases was set down for hearing. Of the number the association was asked to assist in 20 cases by the appellants. Compared with the last sitting in September, at which out of 67 cases the association was asked to assist in 21, this shows a very gratifying increase and proved that the assistance the R.S.A. was able to give was being more widely appreciated. Of the 20 cases, seven were dismissed, one was adjourned for. further evidence until next sitting, and 12 were upheld. Included in the assisted appeals were five attributability cases, all of Vthich were successful. There was a pronounced Aurora Australis in Rotorua on Sunday. The southern sky was filled with light and long pale shafts of white went up from horizon to zenith. The shafts slowly swung across the sky, pointing to north-east, and turned to the north before dying away. It is an unusual time of the year for such occurrences. The Plunket Shield match between Otago and Auckland at Eden Park concluded yesterday, the home team winning by five wickets in spite of a great effort by the visitors to stave off defeat. N. C. •Sneddon headed the list of individual scorers, compiling 131 not out in fine style. Otago won the shield last season, but so far they have been defeated twice this season. Canterbury, who proved too strong for Otago, but collapsed against Wellington on a wet wicket, play Auckland at Eden Park at tho end of this week. The frost on New Year's morning was very severe in certain localities, says the Rotorua Chronicle. In the neighbourhood of Clayton Road, potatoes were blackened out. Many suburban gardens had 1 pumpkins, marrows, tomatoes and potatoes cut down. Wherever the shelter favoured a frost deposit everything susceptible was wiped out. Coming on a very late season, the snap is disastrbus. The growth in the work of Beresford Street Congregational Church lias necessitated a comprehensive building scheme that will be commenced at an early date. During the past two years the church has made 1 great strides, and over 700 children now attend tho Sunday-school classes. Many new organisations have also been formed. In view of the shortage of accommodation arrangements have been made to hold the evening services next winter in the Majestic Theatre, which has accommodation for 2000 people. Mr. W. Gemmell, who recently came from Dunedin to be musical director of the church, has already taken in hand the formation of a largo choir. It is intended to push on with the building scheme early in the year, and as a start a commodious hall will be erected in Beresford Street to house the Sunday school and various other organisations. A telegraph message boy, G. E. Carpenter, aged 14, of 78, Lincoln Street, Ponsonby, was admitted to the Auckland Hospital yesterday morning suffering from concussion and shock through being ' knocked down by a motor-car at the foot of Parnell Rise. Tho boy was delivering a number of telegrams when he was struck by tho car. He was still only semi-conscious last evening.

New Zealand, and especially New Ply- j mouth, has endeared itself to the British bowlers as the most English of all the Dominions in which they have travelled. In paying a tribute to the beauty of New Plymouth, one of the bowlers said that Taranaki resembled Adelaide in South Australia, very much, both places appearing to havo similar landscapes and people. The fact that New Plymouth with a population of about 16,000 had six bowling greens constituted a record for the population, said Mr. L. Husband, captain of the Scottish section of the visiting British bowling team, at the civic, reception at New Plymouth. In his home town, with a population of 40,000, there were eight greens. An innovation in the methods of transferring fat stock from the farm to the freezing works as far as the district is concerned has been started this year, when a considerable number of lambs have been conveyed to the works in motor-lorries. The lorries are fitteJ with a double deck and hold over ICO lambs. Although it may not be cheaper than droving, there is a considerable saving in final costs owing to the short time the mobs are on the road and the small number of seconds that are registered on the killing sheets. Mr. H. Williams, of Waiomoko station, recently had over 1000 lambs conveyed to the works by this method, and had only three rejects. Practically the whole mob was classed as firsts.