LOCAL AND GENERAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23221, 15 December 1938, Page 14

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wet Year at Hamilton The rainfall at Hamilton for the mouth to date is 4.Coin., as against the average of 3.38 in. for December. The rainfall for the year to date is 56.9 in., as against the annual average of 46..'Win. The year's total to date is now over lin. in excess of the heaviest year's fall for 21 years. Legal Vacation The office of the Supreme Court will close for the Christmas; vacation on December 23. and will open again on January 4. The Inst sittings of Judges in Court will be held on Monday, and they will not resume again until February 1. Offices of legal firms will be closed from Friday, December 23, to Monday, January 9, both dates inclusive. Lighting at Devonport The additions and improvements to street lighting to lie provided by the Devonport Borough Council have been approved by the Waiteinata klectiic Power Hoard, according to advice received by the council lasi night. It was stated that there was no apparent reason why the bulk of the recommendations should not. be put into effect before next winter.

Bequest to Bowling Club A bequest of £SO to the Stanley Bowling Club has been provided in the will of Mr. Harr.v Arthur Purser, of Auckland, whose death occurred on November 21. The gitt is to be used in reducing any outstanding liability incidental to the purchase of the club's real property or in effecting permanent improvements to it. The value of the estate has been estimated for purposes of probate at under £25,000. Courteous Tramwaymen

Appreciation of the courtesy ftxtonrlcrl by trannvav inotormon to pedestrians using authorised crossings in Queen Street was expressed at a meeting of the council of the Automobile Association (Auckland) last night by Mr. H. W. Bullock. He said that since representations had been made to Mr. A. E. Ford, manager and engineer of the Auckland Transport Board, there had been a ready response by tramway employees. Unusual Site for Nest

Officials at the railway station have been watching with interest the activities of a pair of blackbirds which chose one of the young native trees standing on the lawn beyond the end of the main concourse as the site for a nest. The nest is now completed and one of the birds is sitting on the eggs. Although adjacent to the busy platforms and less than Csf t. from the ground, the nest is well concealed by the thick foliage of the tree and the birds appear to be quite undisturbed by the bustle and noise of the station. Fires in Auckland "During the time under review, from November 16 to December 7, the brigade has responded to 66 calls, of which 29 wore actual fires," stated the report of the superintendent of the Auckland Fire Brigade, Mr. W. L. Wilson, presented at the meeting of the Auckland Metropolitan Fire Board yesterday. Of the calls received '26 proved to be false alarms, seven of them being malicious. A variety of causes of fires was given, in one case being children playing with fireworks and on two occasions children playing with matches.

Large Railway Cuttings In the duplication of the Main Trunk railway line for the full length between Auckland and Hamilton some heavy cuttings close to stations are being made. One of the largest was the elimination of the tunnel at Mercer by the removal of the hill above. One of several chains' length and an average depth of about .'soft. is being made at the northern approach to the Pukckohe station, while this week work was also started on one over 100 yards long and about 35ft. deep at the southern approach to the Tuakau station. Here the route is also being straightened.

Dominion Butter in England The preference for New Zeatand lamb by English householders and the difficulty in purchasing New Zealand butter at the retail shops in Great Britain were commented on by Mr. Edmund Cross, who returned to C'hristchureh recently from a trip abroad. He said that the popular verdict was that New Zealand lamb could not be beaten. In buying butter, however, if a person asked for New Zealand butter-, the retailer would invariably try to sell "Empire" butter, which, Mr. Cross understood, was a blended commodity. "Although we send a lot of butter there it is very hard to find it on the market," he said. The cost of living at Home was generally lower than in New Zealand, with the exceptipn of meat. It was not uncommon to find a leg of mutton priced up to 9s, he added,

Fast Air Travel An example of the facilities for fast travel afforded by aerial transport was contained in reports submitted to the Automobile Association (Auckland) last night by the touring manager, Mr. .It. E. Champtaloup. He said that 011 Sunday night lie returned to Auckland alter inspecting holiday touring roads in the north. On Monday afternoon and evening he attended a conference in Christehureh, and following an interview in Christehureh 011 Tuesday morning, lie returned to Auckland, inspected several roads and signs in the Manukau county and was in the association's office in the city by 'I p.m. the same day. The touring managed also stated that in the course of his flight back from Wellington lie was able to observe and report on the progress of constructional works on several highway deviations in southern districts.

Police at Political Meeting A reply to a protest by the Bluff Borough Council about the presence of additional policemen at a political meeting at Bluff, at which the speaker was Mr. J. Hargest, M.P., was received at a meeting of the council from the Commissioner of Police, Mr. D. J. Cunimings. The letter stated: "I desire to inform you that the officer-in-charge of the district, by reinforcing the police at Bluff for the occasion was only following the practice invariably adopted by the police for all important political meetings. In this case there were rumours of possible trouble, and had this occurred, and had the local police been unable to cope with it, they and the department would have been open to severe criticism. The police have found b.v experience that in most cases it is not local residents who cause disturbance at political meetings but irresponsible persons from outside who have not attained voting age. Provision has always to be made to meet, the possibility of disturbance by individuals of this type. 1 can assure you that 110 affront to the citizens of Bluff was intended and that a similar practice prevailed throughout the Dominion."