LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20761, 2 January 1931, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

A flight from Masterton to Auckland was made yesterday, by two sisters, Miss Ailcen Barton and Miss Elspeth Barton, of Masterton, who arrived at the Mangere aerodrome at 5.30. The aeroplane was piloted by Miss Aileen Barton, who is an enthusiastic member of the Masterton Aero Club. She expects to return by air with her sister to-morrow.

The last day for the payment of the first instalment, 7s 6d, of the unemployment levy was Wednesday, and a large number of payments was made at the Chief Post Office. In the afternoon there were long queues of men waiting turn to pay the levy, indicating that an appreciable proportion of those liable had left their obligation to the last possible moment. Under the Act employers are liable to a fine not exceeding £2O if they employ seven days after December 31 any man who has not registered or paid his first instalment of the levy.

Twenty men have been detailed under the special Christmas unemployment grant to start work at Northcote this morning. Tho men will be engaged in formation work in Milton Road and on tho extension of tho municipal recreation reserve. They will be under the supervision of the borough overseer, Mr. J. E. Mays. A grocery store owned by Mr. G. Knights, in Oranga Avenue, Onehunga, was broken into on Wednesday night and about £3 worth of tobacco was stolen. Mr. Knights left his shop at 11 o'clock and returned early yesterday morning to find that the front door had been forced.

In view of the resignation of Mr. E. Aldridge as Mayor of Devonport, a meeting of the council was convened on Wednesday to elect a successor for tho balance of tho term. However, there was no quorum, and another meeting to deal with the matter will bo called early in the new year.

The daylight limited express from Wellington was three-quarters of an hour late in arriving at Auckland last evening. The delay was caused by fire-box trouble in the engine at Pokeno. Owing to minor crossing delays between Pokeno and Auckland the express was unable to make up any of the lost time. Except for a slight shower last evening, no rain fell on the clay roads between Warkworth and Maungaturoto yesterday. Traffic proceeding to Auckland on the northern roads was reported by the Auckland Automobile Association patrol to bo very heavy yesterday afternoon, many camping parties returning after tho holi days. A large number of cars also travelled north. The motor-camp at Epsom is being well-patronised, while the favourable weather has been attracting many motorists to the beaches near Auckland. No serious mishaps have been reported, although somo motorists havo experienced difficulty in negotiating the Razorback Hills, at Bombay.

Although the rainfall of .81in. in Auckland last month was exceptionally small, it was not a record for December. The driest December recorded during the 74 years that records havo been taken was in 1897, when tho rainfall for tho month was only .13in. Other dry Decembers and tho rainfall for the month were:— 1885, .55in.; 1886, .25in.; 1891, .94in.; 1894, .20in.; 1895, .99in.; 1899, .34in.; 1909,.79 in.; 1912, .81in.; 1915, .54in. The record wet Decembers and tho rainfall for the month wero:—l9l6, 8.59 in.; 1922, 5.61 in.; 1907, 5.15 in.

Although the Hamilton motorists' camp, situated at the southern end of Victoria Street, on tho banks of tho Waikato River has been opened for only a fortnight this season over 150 cars have parked there for one night or more. Tho camp is equipped with showers, gas heaters, and other conveniences, and is much appreciated by motorists. Since tho camp was opened threo years ago 950 cars have been parked in tho area which is controlled by the Hamilton Borough Council.

When tho Manawatu cricketer N. Gallichan tvas given his first turn with tho ball in tho Plunket Shield match, latoi in Otago's second innincjs on Saturday, many of the spoctators apparently considered that he had been unduly passed over by the Wellington captain, T. C. Lowry. There wero ironical interjections and applause when the change was made. Ga'lichan's third ball took a wicket, and Lowry, who was fielding on the long-off boundary, was subjected to more barracking by the spectators in his vicinity. "Why didn't you put him on before, Tom ?" called out several voices. Lowry went over and replied: "They can't all bowl at once." However, a wag capped tho incident with the remark: "Is ho in for his singing!"

A fine spirit has been shown by some of the families in Christchurch who were to have benefited from the Rotary Club's effort to bring some Christmas cheer int-o the homes of the poor. Advice is sent out to these families beforehand that they are to receive a hamper. A Rotarian who has been assisting in the work states that he had heard of about half-a-dozen instances of these hampers being declined, with a recommendation that they be given to more deserving cases, ns the breadwinner of the family had obtained some work recently.

So strong was the heat of the sun at Westshore, Napier, last Sunday afternoon, that it caused the glass container on the top of a petrol bowser to break, with the result that the attendant, who was serving a customer at the moment, was deluged with the contents. The glass container may have been fitted rather too tightly, and little allowance made for expansion, and the effect of the cool petrol coming up from the sump may also have been a factor in the mishap. Fortunately, there were no naked lights about at the moment, otherwise the consequences might have been far worse than a disabled bowser pump and the loss of a quantity of petrol. Campers on the coastal road near Kaikoura saw an unusual sight on a rocent afternoon. A large school of porpoises was seen about half a mile off shore. The school was estimated to be two or three hundred yards in length, the porpoises at the head of the column leaping high into the air as it moved forward. The school, when first observed, was travelling northward, parallel with the coast; it then went south again, and finally inado off in a northerly direction. On the shoreward side of the school could be seen a number of sharks, which appeared to be playing havoc with the porpoises.