LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 June 1925, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Auckland Acclimatisation Society has resolved to write to the Minister for Internal Affairs drawing attention to the poaching of trout at Rotorua and at the southern end of Lake Taupo and asking that the ranger be requested io obtain a conviction as soon as possible.

"I never saw anything like it!” said Captain Goodyear, of the Ripa, which vessel arrived at Picton on Tuesday from Wanganui. ’’The seas were—well, dangerous; but we hugged the coast to Kapiti, and then came straight over, the old hooker bucking it well.” "These instructors will tell you much about the way towards increased production, but let me tell you, that until you farmers stay away from the saleyards more your fences and drains will always be needing attention.”—Mr Bennett, at the opening of the Farm School at Manaia.

"What is a pedestrian?” queried counsel in the Supreme Court at Auckland on Monday. ”A careless person!” came the reply from the chief traffic inspector, who added, as an afterthought, "as a rule.”

It is rumoured (says the Clutha Free Press) that tlieije was something in the nature of an attempt at lynching at Tahakopa the other night, when a wellknown citizen of that busy little locality came near to being "pushed into the river.”

"The value of a motor-car depreciates to the extent of 50 per cent, as soon as it gets dirt on it,” stated a creditor at a bankruptcy meeting at Auckland, when the disposal of a car was being discussed. "Its value drops £5O in two weeks, at any rate,” commented, another creditor.

It ig given to few to reach 100 years of age. Mr. George Robert Drew, who died at Brookside, (near Christchurch), was 101 a few months ago, and unt'l three weeks before his death he was in good health and in possession of his faculties. For very many years he was a baker at Sumner. On his 100th birthday Mr. Drew went into Chri’Stchnrch to have a look at the place, wliiph he first knew as a rambling village.

A large number of people—mostly motor car owners—bent on procuring benzine and oil at prices well below the average of market values,, attended the Ruction sale of Cyrena benzine at Castlecliff. The bidding was brisk, and the prices obtained figured from 4s 6d a tin to 3s 9d—-the latter price being fairly representative of the minimum. In all, some 5000 cases fell to the thud of the hammer, while a large quantity of empty cases, sold for the purpose of kindling w’ood, met a somewhat enthusiastic market.

"I would like to ask the engineer if he has ever unearthed concrete pipes that have been in use for a number of years,” said the chairman of the Stratford County Council (Mr. E. Walter) at Saturday’s meeting of the council. On the engineer replying in the negative, the chairman said he had received a great surprise recently when he inspected an old concrete pipe and found the outer surface pitted and eaten away in a surprising manner. The engineer (Mr. J. W. Spence) remarked that there had been a controversy over sewerage pipes in the Akaroa county, where concrete pipes had collapsed. Councillor Davis said the chairman’s remarks opened up a big question. "Yes,” said the chairman, "I was under the impression that when we put down concrete pipes they were there for a lifetime. The engineer agreed to examine the pipe, which, although in ordinary earth, had been eaten away as though by the action of some acid.

Is football the chief national industry? asks the Auckland Star editorially. We are led to ask this by the suggestion from Westland that the All Blacks of last year should tour one island, and the All Blacks of this year the other island, and that at the conclusion of the tours they should play each other. Let us consider for a moment this year’s programme of “big” matches. There are the usual interprovincial games, of which, owing to the increase in the number of unions and tlie improvement in communications, there are a larger number than of old. A .Sydney University team has just completed a tour of the country. A New Zealand team is in Australia. A New South Wales team is to tour the Dominion All this, it must be observed, is in one code of the game. Now it is proposed, first, that last year’s New Zealand team should play this year’s, and then, actually, that both teams should tour the country before this A foreigner might ask if the athletic youth of New Zealand ever does any work. To turn football into an occupation, even under a strict amateur rule, is to do a serious dis-service to players.

Discussing the difficulty local bodies were experiencing in securing loans for public works from the Government, Mr. J. B. Murdoch (chairman of the Hawera County Council) remarked on Saturday that they would have to seek loans from the insurance companies and the Public Trust Office, Councillor C. J. Hawken said that if the Government borrowed another £50,000,000 to lend to* local bodies they would spend it all and it was a good thing to “cut it out.”

The New Plymouth Citizens’ Band was greeted with a very encouraging attendance at a recital given at the Breakwater yesterday afternoon, in spite of the doubtful nature of the weather. Included in the programme were the following numbers:—Hymn, "Maggie”; March, “Washington Greys”; Selection, “Lurline”; Laughing Trombone, "Winning Hit” (soloist, E. Feek); Air Varie (sacred), "Eventide” ; Cornet Solo, “Prince of Poland” (soloist), S. Lowe; Fantasia, “Plantation Melodies”; March, “Salute the Brave”; Hymn, "Bradford”; National Anthem. A collection taken up for the band funds realised £4 12s 3d. The financial difficulties with which local bodies are frequently faced were illustrated by the clerk of the Hawera County Council (Mr. J. W. Harding) when the council was considering estimates on Saturday. A total rate of Ijd in the £lOO capital valuation was struck, and the clerk pointed out that interest and sinking fund on loans previously raised would account for about Jd of this, while the hospital levy would take a further id, so that of the l£d only about Sd would remain for the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges and the other work of the county. In proposing the toast of "Her Majesty the Cow” at the smoke concert of the North Canterbury Dairymen’s .Association at Ohoka on Friday, Mr. E. Parlane said inter alia: "The cow is man’s best animal friend, meek-eyed, gentle and generous, mother of the whole bovine race and foster-mother to the human race. Queen of the brute creation, long may she reign. Day and night, year in and the year out, she works for us, receives no pay and asks for none, only her board. There ig not a home in the whole English-speaking world but into which she brings comfort with her abundant gifts.”

A licensing committee in Canterbury has had under its notice the complaint of a commercial traveller who had been charged 9s for bed and breakfast by an hotelkeeper. The chairman of the committee remarked that the committee had no statutory power to fix the charges made by proprietors of licensed houses, and if a man wanted to stay at a leading hotel it was none of the committees business. It is stated that there is *a tendency in centres where there is only one licensed house for fancy charges to be made. At one centre a traveller said he had been charged 5s for a cold tea.

"I believe now that we have definitely established the first oilfield of importance within the British Empire. In fact, on the geological work done by the staff engaged in the operations in New Zealand, we have established perhaps one of the greatest fields in the world. I think that we have sufficient evidence now to lead us to hope that the culmination of our effort? will be a great success. The area of the field is vast, probably 40 by 100 miles.” These words were used by Mr. Brouc, of Sydney, in conversation with a Sydney Morning Herald reporter following the recent blow-out. of gas at Moturoa bore. The blow-out is regarded by Mr. Broue as an auspicious proof that pressure and values are present in the highest degree in the Taranaki field. v

The introduction of ferrets, stoats, and weasels to make war on the rabbit has, perhaps, been a good move (says the Wairarapa News), but what is to happen to the importations when rabbits in their immediate vicinity become scarce. A shooting party recently was spending a few days in .Hawke’s Bay. On the first day, a number of ducks fell to the guns, and as usual a few wounded ones managed to swim away. The next day, to the amazement of the guns, they saw a dead duck floating on the lagoon with a ferret on its ’ back voraciously feeding. A dessert of lead completed the ferret’s lunch. The incident naturally lead to a general discussion on ferrets and their habits, and one shooter vouched for the fact that he had actually seen a ferret catch and eat an eel. Other shooters from both North and South Islands state that the depredations of ferrets, stoats and weasels on native bird life are causing the gravest anxiety.

The delegation from the Wellington City and Suburban Highways Board of Control which recently inspected the surfaced roads in Taranaki held a meeting on Wednesday, to consider a draft of their report. It is understood that the members of the delegation are undisturbed in their faith in bituminous hot-mix for roads that carry heavy traffic, but they also think that there are ways and means of surfacing some of the less important highways with a thin sealing coat or by the penetration method, which would make the money at the disposal of the board go further than it would were the original thicknesses of hot-mix adhered to throughout the scheme.