LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20271, 3 June 1929, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

An increase of one half-penny per quart in the rgtail price of milk was introduced on Saturday. Can-delivered milk is now per quart, and bottled • milk 7d per quart. An increase of one penny has also been made in the price of small cartons of cream, with dorrespondingly higher prices for larger cartons. A similar increase in prices of milk and cream was made one month earlier last year.

The touring party of 300 Canterbury and West Coast farmers, about 85 of whom are accompanied by their wives, will arrive in Auckland from Rotorua this evening. The visitors will spend to-mor-row and Wednesday in Auckland, and will leave on Thursday for Palmerston to visit the Massey Agricultural' College.

Extra pressuro of water provided when tho brigade was suppressing a small fire in Union Street resulted in a valve being blown from a six inch water-main in an alleyway off Albert Strept shortly after 1.30 p.m. yesterday. Before tho supply could be cut off a largo volume of water escaped and found its way down Customs Street as far as Queen Street, where it flooded tho roadway. Apart from a hole in tho pavement no damago was done. An increase of 28 in the number of unemployed registered at tho Government Labour Bureau in Auckland is showu by tho figures for tho week ended on Saturday. There were then 1127 men on the bureau's books, compared with 1099 on the previous Saturday. Of tho number 947 were classed as fit for heavy work, whilo 180 were suited for light employment During the week positions were found for 21 men, compared with the 107 men who were placed in work during the preceding week.

Tho offices of the Dovonport Borough Council were entered by a would-bp thief in the early hours of Saturday. The till was smashed, but it was empty, the cash having been locked in tho strongroom. Entrance was gained through a window. Some office drawers, which had been emptied by tho staff before tho promises were closed, were also searched, but nothing was removed.

Plans for tho new classroom at Avondalo South school, to be built on the openair principle, were considered on the ground by tho executive ol tho Open Air Schools' League on Saturday afternoon. Members of tho league were present at the invitation of the School Committee, and a site for tho new building was chosen.

Only two calls were received by tho Hamilton Fire Brigade last month. Trifling damage was done at tho one fire to which the brigade was called.

It is unusual to find big-game fish in any numbers during the winter, but fish arc still reported to be plentiful off Cape Brett. Major G. A. Holdsworth, an English sportsman, had good success last week. On his first day,, off Piercy Island, in tho launch Reliance, ho landed a mako weighing 1801b, Tho fish put up a good fight for an hour. Tho next day out Major Holdsworth was successful in landing another mako weighing 3811b.

Accommodation at tbo Lodge, Whakapapa, at the week-end was taxed to the utmost, states the Herald correspondent at National Park. Over 70 people spent the week-end there. A party of 27 members of the Auckland Alpine Club arrived early on Saturday morning. The weather was line, but the snow was not plentiful.

The volume of goods traffic from the West Coast to Canterbury through the Otira tunnel last week totalled 14,247 tons, which is a record for any one week since the tunnel was opened in August. 1923. For the corresponding week of last year the tonnage was 11,667, and the weekly average during the past year was between 9000 and 10,000 tons. The large increase in the volume of traffic during the past few' months has been duo to exceptionally heavy consignments of coal and timber being brought from the West Coast in consequence of supplies from Australia being affected by labour troubles. During the week ended May 18 the volume of goods brought from the West Coast was 12,558 tons, compared with 10,958 tons in the corresponding week of last year.

For many years Southern Maoris have been endeavouring to obtain from the Government compensation for the Ngaitahu claim to a large portion of the South Island, and a commission has recommended the granting of £354,000. A great number of meetings have been held with the object of coming to some arrangement for the disbursement of the compensation, but finality has not yet been reached. The matter is being advanced a further stage with a sitting of the Native Land Court at Kaiapoi, and a big meeting of Maoris will be held shortly at Tuahiwi pa. It is probable that Sir Apirana Ngata, Minister of Native Affairs, will be present at this conference.

During the recent heavy rain in the Wairoa County a portion of road at Ohuka Corge, on tho main road between Wairoa and Waikaremoana, was washed completely into the river. Iho Public Works Department formed a new road by cutting further back into tho hill. Tho difficulties confronting the engineers in doing this can well be imagined when it is stated that the hillside is solid rock, and had to bo blasted away.

A quantity of free firewood for the poor of Wellington is to be provided through the activities of tho local Rotary Club. At a meeting of tho a Wellington City Council last week the club applied for tho uso of a vacant section on Thorndon Quay. There tho Fletcher Construction Company had agreed to set up a couplo of saws, and it was proposed to cut up a lot of treos. The Mayor explained that all tho necessitous people who wanted tho wood would only have to call for it.

"Teachers got any amount of concessions as it is," declared Mr. A. W. Jones, of Southland, at tho Education Boards' Conference in Wellington recently, when a suggesting that tho department be requested to withdraw the regulation which required doduction of holiday pay in tho case of teachers who had been obliged to take leavo of absence without salary was beforo the conference. "Teachers only work on 200 days of tho year and they enjoy three months' holiday Holiday leavo at present is very liberal and I do not think wo should rush into theso things so lightheartedly." A word for the teachers was spoken by Mr. T. Forsyth, Wellington, who expressed tho opinion that the averago man did not work as hard as tho teaqher. Tho conference adopted the amendment.