LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20794, 10 February 1931, Page 10

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The shortage of cigarettes among .the men of the naval squadron has been relieved, Commodore Geoffrey Blake advised Commander Nelson Clover, of H.M.S. Philomel, last evening, in the following message: —"Please convey to the president of the Auckland Navy League our most grateful thanks for his kind message and also lor the generous gift of cigarettes. Through the generosity of other communities all our wants have now been satisfied."

In reply to thousands of inquiries about the Hawke's Bay earthquake number, the publishers of the Auckland Weekly News announce that the publication will be available to the public early to-day. Intending purchasers will be able to secure copies after 8 a.m. at the New Zealand Herald Office, Queen Street, and at the establishments of all the leading .booksellers. For sending the issue overseas the first mails are by the Aorangi to-day and by the Taranaki. The latter, a direct mail, will close at noon on Thursday, and tho postage will bo one penny if sent by the Taranaki.

When tho invasion of tlio Town Hall by a, crowd of unemployed men occurred yesterday afternoon an aged woman whose business had taken bor into tho City Council offices rushed toward an official with arms outstretched and a terrified cry of: "Save me! oh, save me!" Before the astonished officer could pacify her tho frightened woman had found refuge in the typists' room. Four tins of benzine, valued at £3 4s, were stolen from a quarry owned by the City Council in Windmill Road, Mount Eden, at the week-end. The tins were removed from a shed, the door of which was forced.

Mushrooms are plentiful in the Wanganui district at present, and some persons report that they found more than they could carry home. A small party gathered 701b. of mushrooms in a little over two hours the other day and they met with a ready sale in the city. An unemployed man cycled several miles into the country and gathered several cases of mushrooms. He sold them and pocketed over £1 for his morning's work.

An insight into the trials and tribulations of the officials responsible for the registration of unemployment was given at a recent meeting of the Blenheim Unemployment Committee. The chairman mentioned that on the registration form ono person set forth the number of his dependants as two, and later it was found these two were himself and his wife. Another, peAaps well meaning, stated that he had three dependants, and it transpired that two of these were at least 25 years of age.

At the fortnightly stock sale at Gore last week there was not a single head of cattle forward, while only four pens of sheep were on offer. The sale was completed in less than 20 minutes, which must be something like a record for the yards. Several district farmers who have attended the sale regularly for very many years stated that they could not recall an occasion upon which there had not been some cattle, either stores or fats, on offer. Under ordinary conditions offerings of stock would now be gradually increasing, but up till the present this year the opposite had been the case. With the low prices ruling district farmers are taking practically no interest in the sales. Recalling the harrowing days experienced in the Nelson province in June, 1929, and realising what might have happened to its city had the centre of the Murchison earthquake been a little nearer the town, Nelson peoplo are particularly distressed and shocked by the terrible calamity which has befallen the towns and peoplo of Hawko'a Bay. Even in the .smallest settlements in the district relief funds have been opened and resolutions of sympathy passed. >

Perched precariously on the runninghoards of motor-cars, dogs travelling in this style have ceased to attract interest, so common has the sight become, but recently something new in the carriage of dogs was witnessed in Invercargill's main street. This was the appearance of a dog seated on the carrier of a bicycle ridden by a man. Despite the limited seating space and at times a bumpy journey, the dog seemed to be thoroughly at home, and enjoying the relaxation from travelling by its own efforts.

A portion of a catch taken from the Waiau River by four anglers was on display in Invcrcargill the other day. The catch consisted of 70 trout, apparently sea-run, and their average weight was 51b. The heaviest specimen weighed 14£lb. when cleaned. The fish were in excellent condition.

An unusual position which has arisen in connection with the manufacturing section of tho General Engineering Award was mentioned by Mr. 11. F. Barter, representing tho engineers' union, when applying for a fixture in tho Arbitration Court yesterday. Mi*. Barter said tho Minister of Labour had notified tho Labour Department that tho award governing that section had expired six months after being made. As a result, according to tho Minister, proceedings could not bo taken for several alleged breaches of tho award. The matter will bo heard in the Court on February 19.

An application for authority to take specimens of the gull Larus bulleri for the purposo of investigating reports as to their being responsible for the destruction of a considerable number of trout fly was mado by the South Canterbury Acclimatisation Society, but has been refused by tho Under-Secretary of Internal Affairs on several grounds, which wero enumerated in a letter received by the council of the society last week. The Jotter slated that when a specimen of the bird was previously submitted for examination it was found that the small fish that had been disgorged by the bird were young trout. It was not considered that anyone would argue that the birds would not feed on trout if they could obtain them, but there were various questions which presented themselves for consideration. It was understood that the birds could obtain fish only in shallow water and it would be seen that the worst period as regards trout destruction would be when tho fivers wore low, when other birds could also get the fish. There was also tho very important questions as to the benefits of the Larus bulleri from an agricultural point of view. Taking all circumstances into consideration, it seemod as though there were many features which had to be considered and eyen assuming the bird accounted for a number of trout, there was nbundant evidence of benefits conferred by the eating of grubs.