LOCAL AND GENERAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21453, 29 March 1933, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Island Fruit Arrives Good supplies of Island fruit arrived from Suva by the Karetu yesterday. The shipment included green bananas and oranges, the latter being placed on the market yesterday. Slack Day in Police Court No criminal or drunkenness charges were preferred in the Police Court yesterday. This was the second day within a month that the charge sheet had been blank and only the third occasion in the 15 years' experience on the Bench of Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., that there had been no police charges to hear. The only matters disposed of yesterday were several summons cases in connection with default of maintenance. Tram Shelter Sheds " I am of the opinion we are putting up far too elaborate shelter sheds and that something much simpler and less costly will meet the requirements of tram users," said Mr. G. Grey Campbell at yesterday's i meeting ot the Transport Board. There were at least three or four shelters which should be erected before the winter, ho said. If, was decided to inform the Mount Albert. Borough Council, which asked that a shelter bo erected at tho junction of New North Road and Woodward Road, that construction would be commenced if designs were submitted and the costs were shared. Wholesale Boot Repairs Some idea of the magnitude of the operations of the boot pool carried on by the Auckland Metropolitan Unemployment Relief Committee can be gained from the fact that during the past three weeks 562 pairs of boots and shoes have been received for repair at tho Hobson Street depot. Tho work is done by unemployed boot repairers who are on the unemployment register and the leather and other materials are supplied by the committee. Relief workers only are entitled to make use of this service and the charges are fixed to cover little moro than bare cost of materials. The pool has been responsible for providing on an average six bootmakers with permanent employment. Meat for Relief Workers The meat, pool operated in Karangahape Road for the benefit of the families of relief workers has been disposing of approximately 20001b. of beef and mutton each week for the past few months. The bulk of tho supplies has been drawn from the stocks bought by the Unemployment Board over a year ago when prices were very low and it has been held in cool store. It was stated at a meeting of the Metropolitan Relief Committee yesterday that these stocks were now almost exhausted and provision would have to be made for further supplies if the pool was to be continued during the coming winter. It was decided to ask the board whether it would be possible to arrange for the purchase of adequate supplies of meat to satisfy the demand. Long Subscriber of Weekly News " The Auckland Weekly News has been sent by my people to England for more than 54 years," writes Mr. W. Brentnall, of Mokau, in reference to a recent statement by a reader whose family had taken the publication for 53 years, with a break of some time. Mr. Brentnall states that he could not tell the exact number of years of subscription, but the period ho mentions is conservative. Actually, he believes that his people sent the Weekly News to England each week for about 30 years, and, since their death 26 years ago, he has been posting the paper regularly to England. Tho subscriber adds that, on many occasions, he has received letters praising the Weekly News, and stating how much clearer tho photographic work was than that in English journals. Gifts for Relief Camps Numerous requests for playing cards and suitable reading matter arc being received by the Auckland Metropolitan Unemployment Relief Committee from men in the relief camps in the Auckland district. When some of the requests were mentioned at a meeting of the committee yesterday it was stated that an appeal made last year had resulted in good supplies of these materials being forwarded to tho depot in Hobson Street. The committee decided to make a further appeal for used packs of playing cards and for books, magazines and other reading matter. It was reported that a number of gramophones had been bought at a sale, prices ranging from £1 downward. These would be suitable for sending to the camps, the men already supplied with gramophones having expressed their gratitude. Nearly a Farmer There was a citv-dweller at the ram fair at the Show Grounds, Christchurch, last, week who is now congratulating himself on having escaped a profound embarrassment,. He was attracted to the side of tho ring in which the stud rams are offered and assuming a farmer-like attitude with his arms draped across tho top of the rail, began to absorb as many of the details as he could of tho mystifying business of buying and selling sheep. The auctioneer struck him as being particularly well worth watching and so closely did ho watch one of the fraternity that after an exciting minute of shouting from the rostrum, he found himself in possession of a fine Southdown ram, and the price the auctioneer was demanding was 14 guineas. The little man strenuously denied that he had bid anything at all, and, muttering something about sheep farming on an eighth-acre section, left the ring, with the auctioneer's uncomplimentary remarks stinging his ears. Cricket in West Indies Speaking on tho keennesß of cricketers in various parts of the British Empire, Mr. D. R. Jardine, captain of the M.C.C. cloven, told the boys of Andrew's College, Christchurch, that the statutes of the British West Indies afforded a good example of what cricket meant to the people there. "If you studied the statutes of that country you would find that 'cricket may not be played with more than 200 players on each side,' " said Mr. Jardine. "This is a sound law, -for it shows that tho people there are so keen that cricket played by elevens does not satisfy them The whole village must join in. I know of one occasion when tho star bowler of one side took 54 of the 99 wickets. Then there was another occasion when the losing team became dissatisfied both with the umpires and tlie members of the. victorious team. Both sides and tho umpires had gathered after the match to celebrate the victory, when fclie losers took up stumps, bats and anything they could lay their hands on, and a terrible free fight ensued."