NEWS OF THE DAY

New Zealand Times, Volume LI, Issue 11739, 29 January 1924, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

“The inspectors in Auckland are overworked,” said Mr H. S. Izard, president of the Auckland Fruitgrowers’ Council, at the meeting of nurserymen, “and we hardly , ever sec them. In fact they are engaged nearly all their time in the office tabulating outbreaks of fire blight. In the Henderson district we are paying an inspector to go round the orchards ourselves, and he is doing very good work.” Fire-blight was occurring year after year, and the Government was very lax about it. ,

The lady was short, stout, attired in a neat blue serge frock, and altogether prosperous cooking (writes the Auckland errespondent of the “Times”). She sat, round faced and happy, as the dulcet tone of Mr MoLiver, her oouneel, pleaded ‘her claim to maintenance in the Auckland Magistrate’s Court. “Your Worship,” he murmured, and his voice was low and full of tragedy, “my client is starving.” Then the dignity of the court collapsed as Mr Allan Moody interjected: “Yes, she looks it.” And the lady, amused as much as those in court, laughed heartily.

At a meeting of the Morrinsville Borough Council a suggested scheme for road improvement was submitted by the overseer, the estimate of cost being £18,630. It was decided to submit the proposal to the ratepayers. The principal items in the scheme include a bitumen surface road 18rt wide on tho two main roads to the borough boundary, and in the business area a full width bitumen road, concrete kerbing, channeling, and a footpath of mixed asphalt. Another item is machinery costing £2500. The engineer was authorised to prepare an estimate of treating all footpaths in the borough- with 2in of chips and tarspraying 6ft wide.

A hairbreadth escape from death waß tho astounding experience of a youth on the Papakura suburban train. As the train pulled in to the Auckland station ho projected himself feet foremost through the first window of the rear carriage while tbe vehicle; was still in motion. He landed on the platform, but the impetus of the train caused him to lose bis balance and pulled him down head foremost on to the permanent way, where to the horror of the temporarily paralysed onlookers all that could be seen this side of the rails was a pair of legs. Closer observation revealed that the rear wheels of the bogie oar had stopped a matter of inches away, and the youth crawled out unhurt and hurried off, his only injury being the loss of his lunch, which slipped from his grasp in the fall.

The fact that the Railway Department does not want increased traffic where tho three-section system of freights is in operation in the north Until the Portland-lluarau section has been completed and handed ever by the Public Works Department was emphasised ty the Hen. J. G. Coates, Minister for Public Works and Railways, when he received a deputation of Auckland business men and northern settlers. Complaint was made that under the three-section system tho settlers had to pay considerably mors for their goods than ordinarily would be the case, and that the railway was losing business in consequence. Mr Coates explained that the extra charges were to recoup the higher cost of completion caused by the use of tho line delaying its completion. He hoped it would he finished at latest by September.

Large consignments of stock continue to leave Hawke’s Bay, bound mostly for the King Country. One of the bovs in camp at Castlepoint got into difficulties in the surf mu, o.,uig to the prompt action of Mr David Speedy, who went in after the boy, and to the assistance of several i people who were on the beach at , the i time, he was brought to safety The proposal to hold a carnival at Te Ivuiti in tho near futuie lias been enthusiastically taken up by the Chamber of Commerce, and it has been dtcided to organise a monster carnival to conclude at Easter. "his decision was reached at a special meeting of the executive committee of the chamber. As a result of the recent rain the grass in the Wairarapa district is beginning to show growth <says an ex change). At Bideford the new grass has grown so well in the last few days that it would take a long dry spell to affect it. Bideford, however, has been well off for moisture compared with other parts of the Wairarapa. The defence that pheasants used to come on to his property and scratch up the garden was given by a Taupni farmer, Mick Tatavioh, in answer to a charge of having shot pheasant out of season. Tatavich’s neighbour reared some young pheasants for the Acclimatisation Society. They became tame, and one of them wandered into Tatavich’s property, and was shot. Defendant was fined £2 and costs. A snake story with unusual features comes from North (Rockhampton, says a Sydney paper. A brown snake, sft in length, appeared while two women were at afternoon tea. The proprietress of the house dashed into the bed room, and the snake-coiled itself inside a large saucepan. The snake was promptly imprisoned, and one ct the women sat on it until a man came along and dispatched the reptile. Repairs have recently been made to the bridge at Stony Greek, on tho Taupo road. A hole nearly a foot deep has been made in the metal in the middle of the bridge. A South Islander, who was touring with his own car, had the misfortune to strike this trap, and one of the front springs was broken. He had to wait until a car from Taupo, 50 miles away, arrived and brought relief. A plentiful supply of fish has been maintained in Auckland m the pastfew weeks. The long spell of fine weather has materially aided the various units of the trawling fleet to secure uniformly good catches, with the result that the local -market has been kept up to normal. All varieties cf fish have come to hand with satisfactory regularity. The gulf at the present time is said to he yielding very good supplies. A nine-year-old girl, who was staying with her parents at the Grand Hotel, Te Aioha, had a miraculous escape from injury. While playing with other children on a fire-escape which adjoins the balcony, she fell through the escape hole, the drop being about 30 feet. Three mcr. heard the faii and rushed to the aid of the child, who a short timo after being picked up coolly asked to be put down in order that she might see if she could walk To her delight she found that she was uninjured. Although strawberries are now off the Hamilton market they are still being picked by one grower at Morrinsville, Mr J. Gifford ; whose farm is situated near Morrinsville, has an acre of strawberry plants from which he has picked 4000 chips this year. They are of a local variety, the name of which is not known, and are excellent fruiters of vigorous growth. The crop had a setback owing to the spell of dry weather experienced before Christmas, but a seoond growth has oome away and is bearing well. Fifty chips of fruit axe taken from the bed three times a week. It is expected that fruit will be yielded for another three weeks. Last year strawberries were picked until the end of February. “They tell me at Home that I am the best advertising agent that New Zealand possesses,” said tho Prime Minister at the civic reception tendered to him yesterday, “but I think that is only a bit of flattery when my health is being proposed.” He referred to the very cordial reception given himself and his party in Canada. Tho Canadian Government and the Canadian railways had done everything possible for their oomfort; and he had invited those concerned to pay a return visit to New Zealand. (Apelause). He was glad to say that lanada and New Zealand were very good neighbours; and he hoped tliat all the countries of the Empire would always remain very good neighbours. (Applause). Auckland has been very backward in the export of applets, according to Mr H. S. Izard, president of the Auckland Fruitgrowers’ Council. In his opinion the drawback is due to the large number of varieties which are grown, and he considers that growers should concentrate on not more than half a dozen varieties. He states that an attempt is to be made to export a shipment of Willie Sharp apples to England by a steamer leaving Wellington about February 15th. Ibis apple was discovered by a chance seedling found by Mr Sharp, a well-known orchardist of the Waikato, who named it after his late son when the latter went to the war. It possesses a fine crispness, hut owing to its green oolour it had been difficult to sell on the Auckland market. Referring at yesterday’s civic reception to the Prime Minister to the fine name New Zealand has at Home, the Mayor (Mr R. A. Wright M.P.) said that Mr Massey had added to the lustre of that name during this last and previous visits, and had had the freedom of no lees than seven cities—London, Edinburgh, York, Cardiff, Bristol, Manchester, and Londonderry—conferred upon him. Mr Massey, too, had been the first colonial to exercise his rights as a freeman of the City of London by voting at the election of sheriffs there. He congratulated Mr Massey on having received from His Majesty the King a set of books and pioturee, descriptive of the history of Windsor Castle for a thousand years. In the course of his reference to the welcome accorded him, Mr Massey mentioned that he had received the freedom of ten citiss in all—the seven mentioned by the Mayor, and also Bath, Darlington, and Sheffield. He recognised, however, that he had received these honours simply as the representative of the Dominion as a whole. It was quite true that, thanks to the splendid behaviour of our soldiers during the war, New Zealand had a great name at Home, being, he ventured to say, the favourite Dominion in tho Empire at tbe heart of the Empire. The tourists who came here also helped to popularise New Zealand by telling the people there of the hospitality and kindness they received here; and he ventured to predict that the people going Home for the Empire Exhibition would have a very time as 'the result of the splendid impression given of the Dominion in the Old Country. (Applause.)

The first- chamber sitting of the year will take place toward the end of the week at the Supreme Court, when fixtures will be made in connection with the list for the civil sittings, which open early in February in Wellington. Wirths’ Circus has taken up its locale in Petone, where a short stay is to be made. Hundreds of excited children, accompanied by their parents, were to be seen last night converging from all directions to the magnet of attraction, the big white tents covering the sawdust ring. A hoy of 14 got into difficulties while swimming at the Hamilton Lake, and was sinking for the third time when Mr Charles Jackson, of Hamilton, the only adult near at hand, went to the lad’s assistance and -brought him to the shore. The hoy was unconscious by this time, but revived after artificial respiration had -been resorted to. Sixty hoya from the Lower Hutt Boys’ Home are just completing an enjoyable holiday at Castlepoint where they have been experiencing the delights of fishing, swimming, and rabbiting. They are in the best of health, no sickness having occurred. During their stay ai Castlepoint 20 Tinui boys acted as hosts. Carrying a baby in her arms, « married woman, mother of seven children, appeared - at the Taihape Court on Friday to answer a charge of shoplifting. The accused visited a shop at Taihape, stole a dress, and when arrested at the Taihape railway station she was found wearing it beneath her other one. The magistrate convicted accused, and ordered her to come up for sentence if called upon. “And I might add that the takings at the gate since January Ist exceed £2OOO. There have been wonderful attendances,” said the Mayor (Mr J. H. Gunson), in presenting a report from the Auckland Parks Committee touching the Zoological Gardens forth© nine months ended December- 31st. The report showed that the record attendance was on Boxing Day, when the takings were £lB2 14s 6d. From December 20th to January 20th inclusive the receipts at the Zoo were £2005. and the attendances 35,767 adults and 17,353 children. Auckland is probably one of the sunniest cities in New Zealand, and the readings taken every morning at the observatory in Albert Park reveal some interesting facts in this connection (states the “New Zealand Herald”). Last year, despite the long and rainy winter, there was a higher average <rf sunshine, and in four months—January, October, November, and December—there was not a single sunless day. The record is much better than that for 1922, when there was only one month, August, in which the sun shone every day. Although the records are not yet complete the beautiful spell of fine weather experienced in Auckland lately indicates that January, 1924, will have a fine sunshine total when the daily readings are taken at the end of the month. Survey parties sent out by the Public Works Department are at present engaged in making trial surveys for the contemplated extension of the railway beyond Rotorua, with Taupo as its ultimate objective point. The surveyors are understood to be exploiting three possible routes, striking through the gorse behind Whakarewarewa. Just now they are damped in the vicinity of Waiotapu. As the first 18 or 20 miles of the proposed extension will he of special importance to the Government, as providing the means of carrying to the market the output of the Waiotapu forest plantations, now considerably advanced in. the initial period of their productive stage, the inhabitants of Rotorua see reasonable grounds for hoping that the railway will be placed under construction within a year or two.