LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20982, 19 September 1931, Page 10

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

A slight improvement in the condition of John Stanley Denton, aged 19, of 380, Queen Street, Onehunga, who was admitted to the Auckland Hospital in a serious condition on Monday afternoon, was reported by the hospital authorities last evening. Mr. Denton received severe head injuries as a result of a collision between his motor-cycle and a motor-car. Poultry thieves have been active in the Otahuhu district during the past ten days or so, and the premises of several residents have been raided. In all it is calculated that about 30 head of poultry have been stolen, the loss being suffered by fiye different owners. One visit was made to a small run in the East Tamaki district. Other raids Have been made in the town itself. From the signs left in one of the raided fowlhouses there is reason to believe that the fowls have been killed before being removed. It is also thought that a motor vehicle has been employed by the marauders. Investigation is being" made by the police. The Jewish Day of Atonement will commence to-morrow evening, and will end at sunset on Monday. The Day of Atonement is the most sacred in the Jewish calendar, and Monday will be observed as a close holiday by the Jewish community, and Jewish business houses. Services will be held in the Synagogue tomorrow evening and throughout Monday. A gor.se fire on a vacant section in Sale Street, Ho wick, gave the local volunteer brigade its first practical test yesterday morning. The firo had been lighted to burn off the gorse, but the flames became out of hand, and the high wind caused them to spread until there was a danger of several small cottages on adjoining properties being ignited. The brigade turned out promptly, and had the firo under control before serious damage was done. The water pressure obtainable was considerably lower than it should have been. A decision to support a movement for an amendment to the Rating Act providing that when the State acquired land, either through purchase or through the default of mortgagors, it should be liable to pay local rates on the same valuation as if the properties were privately owned was made at a meeting of the Waitemata County Council yesterday afternoon. It was stated that the failure of tho Government to accept liability for rates had resulted in considerable loss in revenue to a number of county councils. Four boys, aged about 13 or 14 years, reached Waimauku yesterday morning in a railway truck. When the train arrived they scrambled out of the truck and ran away in tho direction of Muriwai. Some time afterward a farmer met the boys and they were questioned about their movements, with a result that it was decided to detain them until the Ilelensvillo police arrived. From time to time in recent years ministers of the Presbyterian Church have been in the habit of arranging a "retreat" at which some days are spent in fellowship and devotion and considering their common problems. Arrangements are in hand for holding such a gathering from October 5 to October 9 at the Y.W.C.A. Holiday House at Blockhouse Bay. It is anticipated that upward of 20 will take advantage of the gathering. Exception to the inclusion of a clause in the Auckland War Memorial Museum Maintenance Amendment Bill, now before Parliament, whereby the Helensville Town Board is to be relieved of its responsibilities as a contributor to the upkeep of the museum, was expressed at a meeting of the Waitemata County Council yesterday afternoon. The council felt that it was not right to upset the method of apportioning the levy among local bodies and it was decided to formally protest. A similar resolution was passed by the Manukau County Council earlier in the week. A start has been made with the demolition of the clock tower in Cambridge. The roof of the tower has been removed, and workmen are employed in pulling down the supports of tho clock. A move is being made in Whangarei to secure an art union for the district. The primary movers were the Municipal Band and the Whangarei Cricket Association and later the Whangarei Tennis Club expressed a desire to participate, and tho A. and P. Society has now made overtures for inclusion. The application is in the hands of the Hon. A. J. Murdoch, who is placing the proposal before the Minister of Internal Affairs. " I feel that I can with confidence appeal to motorists to support the principle of regional planning," said Mr. M. G. C. McCaul, chairman of the Wellington branch of tho Town Planning Institute of New Zealand, at a meeting of the Wellington Automobile Club. " They of all people can most readily realise the community of interest between different districts in tho matter of roads and transport. A motorist from his general knowledge of the roadway system, or rather the lack of roading system of this country, can realise how much money has been wasted on roads owing to the omission of prior exhaustive regional planning. With tho expert guidance of the Town Planning Institute, tho country can spend less money and get more for it." A slight improvement in trade is reported by leading builders in Christchurch. They state that a few houses are being erected now, although not long ago this branch of the business was at a standstill. It was said in the Arbitration Court in Wellington recently that tho building trade was showing signs of brightening up in Christchurch, but men who were seen this week were of opinion that this statement probably referred to the Regent Street contract and the High Street Post Office, together with the new office block in Hereford Street. However, quotations were lower than they had been for years and there was a fair inquiry regarding houses. The possibility of Tima.ru being selected as the locality of a rubber factory, the promoters of which are now seeking' a suitable site, was referred to in a special report presented to the Timaru Borough Council by the electrical engineer. The report was tho outcome of conversations the engineer had had at Christchurch, during which it was stated that there was a probability of a rubber factory commencing operations in New Zealand and that the promoters of the company were looking for a site for a factory, tli'o chief requirements being low rates, cheap electric power, and a plentiful supply of artesian'water.