LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 21068, 30 December 1931, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The Herald will not hp published on Friday next, New \ears Day. I'or the, convenience of advertisers tho Queen Street office will be open between 5 p.m. and JO p.m. on that day. A Chinese has been arrested by the police in connection with the theft of jewellery from a display window of the Victoria Loan Company on Sunday evening, and he will appear in tho Police Court this morning. The, thief made a sm.ill hole in the glass pane and is thought to Iftve abstracted the jewellery by means of a piece of wire inserted through the hole. Important papers in connection with the Auckland Lawn Tennis Association's current championship tournament were in a. bag which war. stolen from the, motorcar of Mr. R. I?. Hardy, president of the association, on Monday evening, and although of no value'to anyone except, the association, they have not been returned. The papers included a week's correspondence, entrance forms and official badges, and their loss has entailed 011 Mr. Hardy a. very great deal of extra work. The bag, which also contained a coat of a new suit, and about one pound's worth of change, was stolen while the cur was parked in Wyndham Street. The cordial welcome accorded (he Aci/klanh Weekly News Christmas number by recipients in other lands is indicated by a, cable message, received by Mr. W. A. Boucher, of Spedding, Limited, from Oakland, California. Tho cable reads:—''Annual received; have looked forward with keen interest for this yearly." Several stingrays have been caught in tho harbour in the past few days. Yesterday a fairly large one was captured by Mr. ,J. McGrane, of Stanley Bay, fishing 111 the harbour about midway between Mechanics' Bay and Calliope Dock. Earlier in the week fishermen in a dinghy off Ornkei landed a. good-sized, specimen, and .1 smaller one was captured by Mr. E. W. Daniels, of Stanley Pay, in midstream a few days ago. Mr. Daniels, who recently secured an octopus, has had many queer catches. Fishing off North Head at the week end he, hauled up what appeared to be a mass of seaweed, and found that, it was a crab using underwater growth as a camouflage measure. The end of the strawberry season will be earlier than usual this year if the appreciably lessening supply at the Auckland City Markets yesterday can be taken as an indication. Prices generally were lower than the previous week, but last Wednesday's demand was particularly brisk owing to the approach of the holiday period. Yesterday's prices ranged from 6id to Is a chip. The spell of hot weather is reported to be ripening the fruit very quickly, and, if present conditions continue, the season will close shortly.

Shortly after he had placed his motorcycle in its garage, last, evening. Mr. James Sager, of 98, Williamson Avenue, heard the engine of a motor-cycle running. Becoming suspicious, he went, to tlie garage and found that, his machine had been taken. Tho police were informed but, no trace of the machine had been found at an early hour this morning.

This week has been a universal "stand do.wn" week so far as schemes for assisting the unemployed are concerned, but; work will be resumed by the various local bodies next week. Men will report back 'to their old. jobs according to the arrangements made with the foremen when they ceased work before tho holidays. The old basis was two days' work a week for single men, three days for married men with less than three children, and four days for married men with three or more children, but, the reduced funds will not permit of this full scale being adhered to, and a certain porportionatc rationing will have to be adopted.

The parching of grass as a result of the spell of hot, dry weather has increased the. danger from grass fires. Yesterday fire brigades were called out, to extinguish two outbreaks, one in Middleton Street, Remuera, and the second in Kelmama Avenue, Heme Bay, which threatened to become serious. Both outbreaks were extinguished before any damage to property had been done.

Motor camping is always popular at Muriwai, and at the present time many campers are enjoying the surfing, fishing and other attractions there. The camping population is fully as large, as was the case last year. The, road has been much improved in recent years, and now has a good surface all the way.

Ihe Malson Line, steamer Ventura, which is due at Auckland fi»rn Sydney on Saturday morning, will be withdrawn for overhaul when she reaches San Francisco. Her place in the, transpacific service will be taken bv the company's new 22.000-1011 line Mariposa, which has been built for the service and is to leave San Francisco for Auckland 011 February. 2, bring due. at Auckland on February 20. The Mariposa, however, will return to San Francisco, via Australia and the East, on her maiden voyage, without making a second visit to Auckland as is now done by tho three, .steamers engaged iri the service. Rolorua has seen a large influx of visitors during the holiday season. Hotel and boarding-house proprietors stale that business has shown a great improvement when compared with that, done during the corresponding period last, year. In some, instances applicants for accommodation have had to be refused.

"We ought to be paid 9s a day, (he same as unemployed single men," said Mr. W. P. Spencer, jocularly, at a meeting of the Waimakariri River Trust, when a letter from the North Rakaia River Board was being considered, reports the Christchurch Press. The letter suggested that the trust should support the. request of the board that members of local bodies should be allowed expenses involved in their attendance at meetings or work* inspections. Mr. R. O. Dixon said that in the earlier days of the province his father, who was a, member of a good many local bodies, used to give up a great deal of his timo to (hem and never received a penny for his services. "Those were, the had old days," remarked Mr. Spencer, in moving that ihe loiter be supported. "Oh, 110, the bad days are to-day," replied Mr. Dixon. Mr. Spencer's motion lapsed for want of a seconder.