LOCAL AND GENERAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22743, 1 June 1937, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Thieves Break Into School The Kowhai Intermediate School at Sandringham was broken into during the week-end. The headmaster's office was ransacked in a search for money, but the thieves did not find any. The Court o! Review The Court of Review has somewhat altered its plans for next week. It will commence sittings in Auckland on Monday and will sit for the next four days if necessary. It proposes to sit in Whangarei on Monday, Juno 11. False Fire Alarm An engine from the Central fire station answered a call to the premises of Gordon and Gotch, Limited, in Gore Street, City, a few minutes after nine o'clock last night. There was no fire, however, the call being caused by a mechanical defect in the firm's privateline. Recorder to Sail On her return to continue repairs to a defect in the Doubtless RayNorfolk Island cable, the cable steamer Recorder will sail from Auckland at three o'clock this afternoon. Moored in Hobson Bay, the Recorder is loading a mile and a-half of cable from a punt. Hawthorn in Flower The surprising appearance of hawthorn blooms on the leafless hedges in rural districts near Auckland is probably ilue to the vagaries of the weather experienced recently—cold gales followed bv extreme humidity having produced the phenomenon. The Howers are scented and the nioro forward are sotting fruit. Telling the Truth "Do you realise that you will have to tell the truth'" asked Mr. .Justice Fair, when addressing a juvenile witness, a Maori boy, in the Hamilton Supreme Court. "Do you know what will happen to you if you do not?" "Yes," replied the boy. "li 1 do not 1 will go to gaol." "He seems to have a good grasp of his obligations, at any rate," commented His Honor. Air Mail Delayed Delayed, and arriving at Sydney on Saturday, a flav behind schedule, air mail which left London on May 15 lias missed the connection across the Tasliuiii. The Mariposa, which arrived at Auckland yesterday, left Sydney on Friday. Unless a cargo vessel sails from Australia for the Dominion in the meantime, it is not expected the mail will reach here until next Tuesday, when it will be brought by the Maunganui. Growth of Mount Roskill Progress of the Mount Roskill Road Board since its first meeting, held in a barn on August 7, 1868, was revealed at the annual meeting of ratepayers of the district last night. At that time the annual revenue was less than. £56, levied on 27 ratepayers, whereas to-day 2900 ratepayers provide a revenue exceeding £25,000. Population figures during the period have advanced from 214 to 7150. Weather Station in Wilds One of the most remote weather stations in New Zealand, and the second highest above sea level, is conducted bv Mr. H. F. Chaffey on the Upper Takaka River, Golden Bay, Nelson. Mr. Chafiev and his wife, who are both elderly, have lived for a number of years in the wilds at a height of 2700 ft. above sea level and the only means of access to their home is over a mountain track. Mr. Chaffey is interested in a large deposit of asbestos in the region and has named his house "Asbestos Cottage" after it. The only higher weather station in the Dominion is that maintained at the Homer Tunnel works in the Hollyford Valley, the altitude of which is 2750 ft. Home Savings Bank Boxes

No fewer than 22,000 of the Post and Telegraph Department's special "home savings hank boxes" were bought last year for children and others using this means of saving money, and no less than £150.000 was invested through this method. Handling such an amount meant, it is estimated, 62,000 transactions at Post Office Savings Bank counters. During the year a new type of box was secured from a British manufacturer, who has designed a box with a grip on the money slot, thus preventing a coin being withdrawn although it has been inserted only half-way. Notes can be inserted in tight rolls through a hole alongside the coin opening.

Employment Levy To escape the penalty for not paying their employment levy within the month of May, thousands of Aucklanders yesterday made special visits to city and suburban post offices. In the Chief Post Office nine men were kept very busy all day attending to as many queues, which at one time in the morning joined in tho doorway of the special room set aside for the work and extended into the corridor. Even at quieter times there were more than 70 persons in the room, and the Post Office elevator had one of the busiest clays the operator could remember. All the suburban post offices at which inquiries were made reported that an exceptionally largo number of levies had been paid. Storehouse ol Music The magnificent scope of the library of 950 musical recordings which, with a radio-type gramophone, have been presented to Victoria University College, Wellington, by the Carnegie Corporation, was revealed when an inaugural talk was given at the college by Mr. Gordon Short. A number of recordings were played for the first time, Mr. Short's selection including Stravinsky, Constant Lambert, Bach, and a number of examples of the earliest church music. There were present members of the University Professorial Board, heads of city schools and representatives of musical societies. Professor F. F. Miles' on behalf of tho professorial board, expressed appreciation of the Carnegie Corporation's valuable gift.

Auckland's Example "I think Auckland's example in paying for stoats and hawks to be destroyed is one which could be followed by Wellington," said Mr. G. G. Kelly, at the annual meeting of the Wellington Acclimatisation Society. "It. has been suggested that it would be unwise to offer bonuses in Wellington until all other societies did tho same, because tho local society might be paying for vermin destroyed in contiguous districts," ho said. "Even if we do get cheated a little, the national importance of the work will offset tho loss, and tho Wellington society's reserve fund of £3OOO will not bo impaired." Members admitted that Auckland had done yeoman service in dealing with the vermin problem, and recommended that the work be undertaken by the Wellington society.