LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20721, 14 November 1930, Page 10

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The dates for the next game shooting 3 seasons were fixed at a meeting of the s council of the Auckland Acclimatisation Y Society last evening. The season for - native game, which includes grey duel;, 3 black swan and spoonbill duck, will be i from May 1 to June 14. The dates for 3 imported game, comprising cock phcai sants and Australian and Cajifornian i quail, will bo May 1 to June 30. "lhe ' bag limit in each case will be the sam<> as last year; namely, 25 ducks and swans 5 and nine cock pheasants. There are no r restrictions on quail. : The issue of the Is 6d all-day tram L tickets will cease to-morrow. The decision to withdraw theso tickets was ' made by the Transport Board at a recent meeting, after a report had been received from the manager calling attention to 1 abuses on the part of the public. Cases had been reported by the board's inspectors of tickets being transferred from passenger to passenger, particularly from husband to wife. The Rangitoto beacon will soon be lighted L>y electricity instead of compressed acetylene. Tho laying of the submarine electric cable from Takapuna Beach to the beacon will be carried out on Monday, provided the weather is suitable. The cable is 4000 yds. in length and weighs 15 tons. One end will be landed at the beacon and the cable will then be takon across tho channel. There is no phosphorus in the poison issued by the Auckland City Council for the extermination of rats. About two years ago the council had reason to believe that the cause of a fire arose out of the use of a certain brand of rat poison and as a result tho City Council abandoned it. An official of the Auckland City Council said yesterday that j when chemically dissolved phosphorus was rendered impotent so. far as its fire-pro-ducing qualities were concerned and there was a number of imported poisons which, embodying this feature, presented no danger, except to tho rats. Decreases of a penny to twopence a pound have occurred in the retail prices for spring lamb. The revised prices arc; Leg and loin, Is 2d a pound; hindquater, Is Id; forequarter, lid. The transfer of the Tutanekai's complement to tho new lighthouse steamer Matai was so complete as to include even the ship's cat, affectionately known as " Blackic." The cat was for four years the mascot o? lhe Tutanekai, and so is well-acquainted with the port of Auckland, to which it returned on the Matai yesterday. Once or twice in the course of its voyagings tho cat has been missed, but sooner or later it always returned to tho ship. The Tokerau Native Land Court will conclude its sittings in Auckland to-day. The Court, which opened its session on Tuesday, has dealt with routine matters, such as applications for succession and partition orders, nothing of a contentious nature having been heard. A message from New York regarding trafficking in war medals and the assigning of definite market values to each draws attention to New Zealand's fortunate position in this respect. In New Zealand legislation passed after the Great War prevents, the sale of war medals in second-hand shop, inquiries regarding the sale of medals are stated to be seldom received. Statements have been made recently to- the effect that approximately one-third of the butter produced in New Zealand is consumed in the Dominion. Leading dairy merchants in Auckland do not agree with this view. They say that while the Dominion consumed about a third of its own production shortly after the war, there had since been rapid increase in production. To-day only about 15 per cent, of the Dominion's butter was not exported. As for the sale of butter in Auckland, it was estimated that only about five per cent, of the production of thu Auckland Province was consumed in the city and suburbs. Wool waggons enteiing Napier in the past few days have conveyed to city dwellers the news that shearing has begun. There is no fixed schedule of hours for the lorry driver when wool is being sent to the stores. The lumbering trucks stacked high with the most important freight of the year are met on the roads at all hours, early in the morning or late at night. The speed with which wool is now sent from station to store contrasts with the slowness of tho bullock waggons of 60 years ago. The high land values ruling in Wellington were the subject of comment in the courso of recent arbitration proceedings in that city. Sir Frederick Chapman, the arbitrator, declared that land in Dunedin was priced at about half what was demanded in Wellington. "When selling my house in Dunedin some years ago," ho said, "J got about one-third of the price 1 should have got. I collected as much in rent in Dunodin as I paid in rates in Wellington."

To call a jury together at (he Supreme Court for a case that, had been settler] and thereforo did not rome forward for hearing cost the country £ls, according to a statement made by Mr. Justice Reed in the Supreme Cmrt in Wellington this ■week. Tho case was 0110 in which the plaintiff claimed £1595 damages for personal injury while engaged on unloading work at the wharves, The case was settled by counsel on Friday night, and the registrar was notified on Saturday, 100 late, for any action to be taken in respect to the jury. Mr. O'Regan, for the plain - tiff, on Monday applied for a refund of jury fees, pointing out that though the Finance .Act of 1926 made it necessary to give tho registrar three clear days' notice of eases settled, that li.nl not been possible in this case, 110 suggested that tho Judge had a discretionary power. His Honor said that lie would have been only too pleased to grant tho application were it, not for the fact that tho calling together of a jury had cost the country £ls. He would have to refuse the application.

Some farmers in North Taranaki have already commenced making ensilage, evidently profiting by the experience gleaned as the result of the competitions showing that it is preferable to cut tho pastures early* if the. best results are to be ob taiued. Thero are some splendid pastures this year, tho result of the top dressing received of late years. With the unsettled weather, says (lie Taranaki News, it is probablfc that farmers will this year rlevoto themselves even more to tltcrn(iking of ensilago, which each year h.if beer, growing iu popularity as a wintci fodder.