LOCAL AND GENERAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22402, 24 April 1936, Page 14

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Anzac Day Observance The Herald will not be published tomorrow, Anzac Day. For the convenience of advertisers the Queen Street office will be open to-day until 10 p.m. and to-morrow from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Objection To Hoardings The erection of advertising hoardings by the Railway Department on the edge of the path leading from Victoria Street, Hamilton, to the railway footbridge, was criticised at a meeting of the Hamilton Beautifying Society this week. It was decided to draw the attention of the Hamilton Borough Council to the matter. Fire on Power Pole Two machines from the Central Fire Station and one from Parnell answered a call shortly before eight o'clock last night to the top of Grafton Road, where a cable at the top of a power pole had fused. The outbreak was extinguished before much damage had been done and before there was any interruption in the power supply. Boys Return To Home The three boys wjio escaped from the Mount Albert Boys' Homo on Wednesday evening have returned, and only one of the five boys who have been absent from the home this week is still away. He is the elder of the two who were missed on Tuesday. The boy, who is aged 13 years, is small for his age, and has brown hair and blue-grey eyes. When last seen he was wearing a dark grey jersey and short trousers. Manurewa Rates Advice was received by the Manurewa Town Board this week that it would not participate in the allocation of the Government's special fund for the relief of hardship caused by the non-payment of rates in respect of properties mortgaged to the Crown. The Treasury's letter stated that, apart from the application being belated, the circumstances disclosed did not appear to warrant a grant being made. The Mercantile Marine A plea for greater recognition of the part played by the Mercantile Marine in Empire affairs was made by Sir George Richardson at the annual meeting of the Auckland Seamen's Mission last night. In that connection he said ho was pleased to observe that the Cenotaph at the Auckland Domain bore a symbol in recognition of the seamen of the mercantile service. He believed it was the only cenotaph which paid that tribute to those fine men. Deer Stalkers' Success Numerous red deer were found by two Otahuhu sportsmen who returned this week from a deer stalking trip in the Whakapapaite Valley, near Mounts Ruapehu and Ngahongatahi. A fyll week was spent in the district, over country at an altitude of fully 2000 ft. Four heads were secured, including one 14-pointer. Attempts to secure a magnificent stag, a 22-pointer, were unsuccessful, the variable winds preventing the party from getting within range of the animal. The sportsmen were enthusiastic over their trip. Domestic Burden The statement that he had 13 children surviving, and that all his sons but one were on relief, was made by a man who appeared in the Magistrate's Court at Palmerston North to answer a charge of failure to comply with a maintenance order of 10s a week for a daughter aged 19, who is in a home. He added that he had had one suit in 15 years, and received a wage of £4 3s 6d a week, out of which he had to maintain his wife, his mother-in-law, one son, and two grandchildren. The order was cancelled. Rabbits on Waterfront A colony of rabbits, which inhabits the scrub and long grass growing on the reclaimed land on the waterfront stretching from the Eastern tide deflector to the King's Wharf, apparently enjoys life in the security of an established yet unproclaimed sanctuary. As the use of firearms is not permitted within borough or city areas the rabbits remain practically undisturbed and at night continue to startle motorists who suddenly find them in the beam of their headlights when approaching the vehicular ferry landing. Fertile Soil "If I planted 'my walking stick in the ground and left it for a day or so, when I came back I am quite sure it would be a tree," stated Mr. C. J. fiyder, of Dublin, when commenting in Wellington on the fertility of New Zealand soil. Mr. Hyder, who has concluded a tour of the beauty spots of both islands, said ho was amazed at the marvellous growth to be found everywhere. He had been filled with envy at the sight of a workman removing soil to a depth of 6ft. from a section at Lower Hutt.

" Insult to Injury " For a seagull to catch trout regularly in a river is in itself an oflonco in tho eyes of an angler, but when tho bird selects tho wireless mast of tho chairman of tho Acclimatisation Society for a perch upon which to sit while consuming tho fish it is adding insult to injury. Mr. A. E. Deo, chairman of the Nelson Acclimatisation Society, roported that one particular seagull mado almost daily excursions to tho Matai River, where it caught fish, and then came back to his wireless polo to have its meal. It then showed its utter disrespect by leaving tho backbones of fish right at his back door. Wellington Traffic Signals

The installation of the new automatic traffic signals outside the entrance to the Queen's Wharf, Wellington, is progressing rapidly. The red, green and amber lamps have been erected. What attracts the most attention are the small posts carrying the pedestrian signal buttons. These posts, finished with a rounded orange knob, are curiously reminiscent of the world-famous Belisha beacons which have inspired so many humorous cartoons in the London newspapers. Attached to the posts, about a foot from the top, are neat white boards with a brass button in the centre, and carrying the legend "Press button: wait till traffic stops; cross quickly."

Poisoning and Game Poisoned pollard, one of the most approved forms of rabbit bait, is apparently being eaten freely by both pheasants and quail in the Wellington district, and there is some apprehension among tho game shooters about tho prospects of tho coming season. Pheasants and quail were becoming more plentiful than for many years, but when a Wellington sportsman visited the Wairarapa recently lie covered 2000 acres without seeing a sign of a pheasant and very few quail. He puts tho absence of the birds down to the fact that poisoning for rabbits had been done in the interim, and considers that the birds have fallen victims.