LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21281, 7 September 1932, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS

Waikato Spring Lambs The first spring lambs of the season to be offered > in the Waikato met with a keen demand at the weekly Frankton stock sale yesterday, one pen of six from Rukn.hia averaging 27s 6d. The lambs were in good condition.

Relief Worker Injured A married relief worker, Mr. Roy Alexander McMilne. aged 51, of 114 Grey's Avenue, City, suffered a strained back when he was attempting to lift a light truck on to a line, at. the Railway Department's scoria pit at Wiri yesterday morning. He was brought to the Auckland Hospital by a St. John ambulance, his condition being reported as not serious last evening.

Wages Tax Liability Advice from the Audit Department that the wages tax was payable on wages or salary received after May 1, 1932, although earned prior to that date, was discussed in committee by the Rangitikei County Council yesterday. It was finally resolved that a protest be lodged against the Crown Law Office's interpretation of the Act and that the matter be held over in tile meantime.

Photograph of Governor-General An autographed photograph of the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, has been received by the Auckland police authorities from His Excellency, who recently inspected the Auckland police force. The photograph, which will bo hung in the police barracks hall, bears the inscription : "Presented by His Excellency Lord Bledisloe, Governor-General of New Zealand, on the occasion of his visit of inspection to the Auckland police, July 18, 1932." Kerosene for Sweetpeas

Amateur gardeners who try all sorts of methods to protect their peas from marauding birds learned a, new method at a meeting of the Canterbury Horticultural Society last week. After a lecture on " Seed "Growing," by Mr. A. K. Wilson, a member revealed that before planting his peas he soaked them in kerosene for 24 hours. He said that the birds refused io touch them, they appeared to come up quicker, and the germinating qualities were not interfered with.

Norfolk Island Bating "At Norfolk Island, ratepayers have the option of paying their dues in cash or in working out the amount, and the annual working out of the rates is treated as a huge picnic," said Mr. F. A. Jarrett at a. meeting of the Mount Albert Borough Council last evening, during a discussion on a proposal to allow ratepayers to work out their arrears of rates. So popular was the system afc Norfolk Island, he added, that if an increase in rates was announced, it was greeted with enthusiasm, as it meant merely an extension of the community picnic.. Fate of Steamer Rimu The dismantling of the coastal steamer Rimu has been completed and on Monday .and yesterday the vessel was alongside Prince's Wharf where all tho internal fittings were loaded into lorries and taken away for scrap iron. Nearly all the iron and steel of any size was first broken up on board, the engines being shattered by small charges of gelignite. The vessel i? now a mere shell and the only remnants of the machinery left on board are the boilers, which were not worth dismantling. The Rimu will probably be sunk at sea, but there is a possi bility that the hull may be used as a breakwater at the Great Barrier Island. Offences by Cyclists The need for some adequate method of identifying cyclists who offend against by-laws was stressed, by Mr. ,T. B. Congalton, town clerk of Mount Albert, in a report received at a meeting of the Mount Albert Borough Council last evening. Mr. Congalton said the traffic inspector had stopped 26 cyclists for riding without lights within • the last, nine weeks, and on inquiring at the addresses given, had found that in 18 cases the name was unknown. The iospector had reported that the only action he could take was t!o obtain a rider's name and address, which was practically useless, as in the majority of cases fictitious names and addresses, were given. A Hardy Race

The Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, was in happy mood at Saturday night s final demonstration concert that marked the close of the 1932 festival of the Wellington Competitions Society. After regretting his inability to open the festival, through absence from Wellington, His Excellency expressed admiration for the enterprise and energy of the management committee and the extraordinary vitality and perseverance of the competitors and adjudicators. "It is a puzzle to me/' concluded His Excellency amid laughter, "how any adjudicator could, survive the task of judging no less than 64 comic recitations at one session. However, it, shows the hardihood of tlio great race to which we belong." Bellblrds In the Waitakeres

Evidence is not lacking that the bell* birds which were secured by the Auckland Zoological Society in February last, from the Little Barrier Island sanctuary and liberated in the Waitakere' Ranges have not disappeared, but are in the bush area where they were released. The caretaker of the Huia dam, Mr. K. Thompson, reports that several times recently he has seen a couple of bellbirds some four miles from the dam. They were feeding on bluegum flowers. The secretary of the Zoological Society, Mr. T. W. M. Ashby, remarked yesterday that the report was considered very satisfactoi-y, since it showed that even in winter the birds were obtaining a little nectar in addition to the insects which made up the re3t •of their normal diet. , Additions to Zoo' Several new exhibits for the Auckland Zoological Park arrived from Sydney by the Maunganui yesterday. They comprised a consignment of animals and birds, obtained by the City Council frdm the trustees of the Taronga Park Zoo, Sydney, and included a pair of great red kangaroos, a pair of great wallaroos, a West African patas monkey, a pig-tailed monkey from Java, a female Australian satin bower-bird and a small collection of blue budgerigars, or love birds. All the animals and birds are young and arrived in excellent condition. They were taken from Queen's Wharf to the zoo yesterday and placed in special enclosures. A female great grey kangaroo, intended as a mate for the animal already at the I zoo, did not arrive by the Maunganui, [ but is to be forwarded at ft late? 4»t«s