LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20098, 8 November 1928, Page 10

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Two young men, a Swiss and a German, slowed away on tlio tramp steamer Hannington Court at Jquique, Cliilo. They hi<| iti one of Die lifeboats and were discovered two days after tlie steamer had sailed. When the vessel reached Auckland yesterday afternoon tho two stowaways were handed ovey to the, police. Tliey will lie, put on hoard the vessel again before she resumes her voyage to Sydney to-morrow.

Motorists will appreciate an improvement being effected by the City Council ori tne nortli-western corner of the St. Stephen's AvonuivFarnell Road intersection. 'Jo improve the range of vision the council acquired portion of tlie residential section at the corner, and the fence is being set, back The kerb-line will not be se' back at present, but it is the ultimate intention to do that.

Reference to inexcusable neglect, by tcaclicis in certain city schools of the propel vent'lation of school buildings was made in a letter received by the Auckland Education Hoard yesterday from the Education Department. Tho department suggested teachei s should be instructed regarding the matter, which was an important one. "The department is quite right," said the, chairman, Mr. A. Burns. It was decided to issue circulars on the matter to teachers

A special "Conic to Church Sunday" will be observed in Devonport to commemorate Armistieo Day next Sunday. Tho Mayor, Mr. E. Aldridgc, will attend tho service at Holy Trinity Church, where tho Boy Scouts will parade. All denominations are requested to hold similar services, and tho same hymns will be sung in ajl churches.

Tho acquisition of the land at the foot df Station St rent, on which t lie City Council lias now sot a value, ns the first step in the provision of the new traffic outlet through Morrow Street and Crowhurst Street, was decided upon by the Newmarket Borough Council at its meeting last evening.

After 2't years' scrvioc in the local coastal trade the Northern Company's steamer (lael has been sold to the Karamca Shipping Company. She will be used in tho West Coast service in place of the l'aoroa, also an ex-Northern Company steamer, which was wrecked on Hokitika Bar in June, 1920. Built at Auckland in 1904 the Gael was first owned by the .McGregor Steamship Company, which afterwards merged with the Coastal Shipping Company. Subsequently the combined company's fleet was taken over in 1906 by the Northern Company and since then the Gael has been constantly used in the trade to liauraki Gulf ports. Sho is a wooden vessel of 95 tons gross.

" 1 am not going to take on the censorship of ncispapeis," said Mr. A. Burns, chairman of the Auckland Education Board, yesterday, when the Birkenhead School Committee wrote drawing attention to the prevalence of American spelling in newspapers and suggesting the board should point out the matter to tho papors. Mr. H. S. W. King said the question was one of education and American spelling should not be brought to tho notice of children. As no specific examples were supplied tho board decided not to fake action.

Evident ly fright cried by tho noises antl Hares made by crackers on Monday evening, a large retrievei dog swam out from Dovonport and took refuge aboard the cable steamer Iris. The dog must have displayed remarkable agility in climbing on board, because the only foothold was provided by a gangway, the. bottom of which was a foot from the water. The retriever was found in a cold and shivering condition by a watchman.

So that he might be sure of enjoying his Christmas dinner, a resident of Wanganui, who left for London last week forwarded a Wanganui lamb to his relatives in England. "It will be much nicer," lie said, "to sit down to Christmas dinner knowing that the lamb is from Wanganui and of the best quality."

The problem of the new potatoes and green peas has yet to be solved.

The usual "run" of -elvers ban been noticed in the Mukuu River recently, and old residents state that an unbroken string was coming up from the sea for a couple of days last week. It is the biggest seen in the last 20 years. The young eels are from lin. to 2in. in length and a milky white. I.iko their older brethren they have remarkable longevity out of water, living for two days or more out. of their natural element.

Further developments in the (laxmill industry in the Mannwatu district, which is held up at present, owing to the refusal of tho union to accept the 10 per cent, wage reduction recommended by the Conciliation Commissioner, should take place shortly. The owners, who met at Foxton last Saturday, says tho. Manawatu Times, have applied for a sitting of tho Arbitration Court to consider varying the award so as to validate the 10 per cent, reduction, also to consider matters in connection with automatic scutching.

Fish arc still reported plentiful in the South Canterbury streams, despite tho large baskets that have been taken on and since the opening day. hi some instances it. may be said, states a Temuka correspondent of a Cbristehurch paper, (hat fish were too plentiful, with the result that. what is commonly termed "fish hogging" has been resorted to. In one case a man is known to have secured 75 fish in one day, a fair percentage of tlieni being over 21b. in weight. Mose of these "hogs" use the creeper, and it is probable that the use of the creeper will be prohibited altogether. The. offence, of "hogging" is a dillicnlt. one to detect, as men have been known to fill their basket in the forenoon, return home for a meal at mid-day, and repeat tho performance in the afternoon, and again at night after tea.

■ Is there any sign of the depression in the timber industry on tho West Coast, passing over ?" was tho question put to a well-known sawiuiller in Greymouth last week. "Yes,".lie replied, "the white pine trade is now improving and there seem to bo bettor prospects ahead, while tho removal of the embargo on the export of red pme to Australia is another favourable development. We are now filling Australian orders for 30.000 ft. of red pino, but Australians require only first-class timber. Thcro is, however, some demand for second-class timber in Canterbury. The slump in the industry on the West Coast has been a trying experience for all millers. For the past 16 months my loss has averaged £SO per month, hut we have had to face that and keep going in order to maintain our connection with customers.