LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20597, 23 June 1930, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Yesterday was the 19th anniversary of the coronation of King George V. In honour of the occasion the warships in port at Auckland were dressed in bunting. To-day is the 36th anniversary of the birth of the Prince of Wales. Tho naval units will again dress ship and a Royal Salute of 21 guns will be fired from the naval base at Devonport. Tho day will not bo generally observed as a holiday, but there will be no sitting of tho Supremo Court. Two football players were admitted to the Auckland Hospital on Saturday afternoon, but in neither case was their injury serious. Head injuries were received by John Harding, aged 24, who lives at 14, Ligar Place, Grafton, when ho was playing in a match at St. Heliers, wliile John McDermott, aged 18, of 187, Church Street, Onehunga, received internal injuries in another match.

A fast voyage from England is being made by tho Shaw, Savill and Albion liner Tamaroa, which will arrivo at Wellington from London and Southampton to-morrow afternoon, according to her wireless advice. If she arrives in tho afternoon, she will beat her own record of 31 days 16 hours actual time from Southampton to Wellington, tho steaming time being 30 days 18 hours. On that occasion she did not reach Wellington until 9 p.m. on the Tuesday*.

A sneak thief was activo on the waterfwmt on Saturday morning. Tho steamer Clansman, which arrived from Russell on Friday evening and berthed at tho Northern Wharf, was visited at an early hour and several small articles, the most valuable being a watch., wero stolen. No money was secured by the thief, whose total haul was worth only a few pounds. About the same time several tins of meat were'taken from the launch Iranui, which was berthed at tho King's Wharf opposite the Clansman.

The rush of motorists to rogister their cars is now over and the registration office will be moved from the Wellesley Street post office to its normal place in tho Chief Post Office to-day. Registrations of motor-vehicles, up to Friday afternoon, numbered 17,396, an increase of approximately 1200 compared with tho figures for the corresponding period last year.

The condition of Mr. William Stafford, who was removed to the Auckland Hospital from the People's Palace on Thursday in a state of collapse, was stated last evening to be still serious. Mr. Stafford collapsed outside the building, and was given a bed. Ho was lator found unconscious in his bedroom and was ordered by a doctor to the hospital. A male leopard to replace the one which died at the zoo some months ago has been ordered from London by tho Auckland City Council. Inquiry is also being made for specimens of the red flamingo and tho scarlet ibis.

As the result of investigations into a burglary at the shop of F. R. Hutchinson, cycle importer, of Pitt Street Buildings, Karangahapo Road, two boys, aged nine and 10, were questioned by the police during the week-end. The two boys will be brought before'the Children's Couijt on Saturday.

V6ting papers for the election of a candidate to fill the vacancy on the New Zealand University Senate aro now in tho bands of members of the district Courts of Convocation. Papers are to b® returned to tho registrar of the University of New Zealand, Wellington, by July 11. Mr. A. K. Turner has been nominated by Auckland graduates, and there are three other candidates.

The possibilities of sodium chlorate for controlling the growth of willow trees in watercourses is being investigated by the drainage branch of the Lands Department. Sodium chlorate has proved an effective poison for ragwort and certain other noxious weeds. Most of tho flooding troubles which occur in the smaller streams are duo to willows, which not only cause direct blockages but also tend to raise the bed by their root action. Tho Kaitaia River, before the drainage scheme was carried out, was badly overgrown with willows. It is believed that an effective poison would simplify and cheapen tho task of coping with willow growth in many watercourses. Professor T. H. Easterfield, director of the Cawthron Institute, has given an opinion that sodium chlorate should be effective, and tests in its uso aro to bo made in the Auckland district.

For some years past the record frost for Hastings has stood at 14 degrees, but last Wednesday night this record was broken, with a reading of 15 degrees. An exceptionally cold night gave a good indication of what was to follow, so people were not surprised oa rising on Thursday morning to find the ground covered with a white mantlo as if it had been under a fall'of snow. Many household taps were frozen and with tho coming of tho sunshine burst pipes were frequent and plumbers had many calls made on thoir services. Eight degrees of frost were registered on tho previous morning at Gisborne, this being tho lowest temperature recorded since June, 1926, when there were frosts on 12 consocutivo days, tho heaviest being 10 odgrecs.

Tho member for Mataura, Mr. D. McDougall, whoso original methods of speech gained him a cortain distinction in the last session, has not a very high opinion of Parliament, judging from remarks mudo by him at the annual luncheon of tlio Southland League last week. Ho said that men who were used to hard

work felt quite embarrassed when they got into Parliament, for they had to practise boing lazy, lie went on to relate how lie earned the title of tho "timekeeper of tho House." Ho had expressed his disgust on many occasions at tlio unlimited extension of time granted to loquacious members. One day a fellow momber had told him ho could put a stop to it by shouting out "No" when the question of extending time was put. "Thereafter," said Mr. McDougall, "I would shout out 'No' every timo a man asked for extension, and I havo stopped many prominent members."

In the course of a discussion at a meeting of tho Hawko's Bay Acclimatisation- Society regarding tho deor menace Mr. T. Pickett, in his report on the recent conference at Christchurch, stated, amid laughter, that a suggestion was made to introduce leopard? into the Dominion. "That would mean a lot more 'spots,' " said Mr. J. H. Edrautidson. It was remarked by another member that if this was done it would probably be necessary later to import elephants in order to hunt tho leopards. At this stage the discussion, which was becoming rather involved, was dropped.