LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIV, Issue 20983, 11 March 1938, Page 8

LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS

Prohibited Imports An Order-in-Council issued with last night's Gazette prohibits the importation of used or secondhand saddlery and harness, and cattle and other animal rugs and covers, save with the consent of the Minister of Customs. Canned Beer The Dunedin Star, recently in port at New Plymouth, carries its beer in cans. Bearing the appearance of brass polish tins, the cans contain about half a pint of beer, and are sealed with crown tops. The mam advantages, as were pointed out by an officer of the ship, are that the cans do not have to be returned, there is no danger of broken glass, and the cans are small and easily carried. And Then She Fainted In the members’ stand at Te Aroha races recently, a member of the fair sex showed great excitement when Jonathan ran home a winner in the big race, and she had cause, for she was holding five £1 tickets. Eagerly she awaited the announcement of the dividend, and on hearing it called she subsided to the floor in a faint. On reviving, her first remark was: “Did I hear correctly?” Jonathan paid almost a third of a century. - Auckland’s Public Debt A statement concerning the total loan liability of Auckland was n\ade to the City Council by the Mayor, Sir Ernest Davis, when the report of the City Sinking Fund Commissioners was presented. Sir Ernest said that on March 31, 1937, the total loan liability of the city itself, exclusive of agency loans such as tramway and electricity indebtedness now the concern of other authorities, was £5,053.488. Against this there were accumulated sinking funds of £917,153, leaving a net indebtedness of £4,136,335. Shipping Doyen's Death There recently died at Cardiff, at the age of 84, the doyen of British shipping circles, Mr Hillary Marquand. He was escorting his niece, Miss Edith Roberts, of Hewling Street, Timaru, who was staying with him, when he was knocked senseless by a passing tram, which probably hastened his death. His estate is estimated at upwards of £250,000. Tire firm of Marquand Is of long standing, having had the honour of escorting the King on his visit to Guernsey in 1190. Theft From Church Quantities of vegetables, fruit and jam which had been used in the harvest. festival ceremony at the Manurewa Methodist Church on Sunday, and which were estimated to be a small lorry load, were stolen from the church on Sunday night or Monday. The customary sale was to have been held on Monday night and, until the first customers arrived, it was not discovered that the most valuable part of the stock had been taken. Only marketable produce had been taken. A large number of flowers with which the church was decorated, and an electric urn valued at several pounds, in an adjoining room, were not touched. Naming of Rudolf Glacier The Rudolf Glacier, which has been mentioned many times in connection with the recent tragedy in the Mount Cook region, was named by Von Lendenfeld after Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, and son of the Emperor Franz Josef. The full name conferred by Von Lenderfeld was the Kron Prinz Rudolf Glacier, but it is now known by the shorter name. Franz Josef, Emperor of Austria from 1848 to 1916, was greatly interested in the Mount Cook region, and in the ’9o's presented 12 chamois to the New Zealand Government. The progeny qf this herd has now spread more than a hundred miles to the north of the Hermitage region in which they were liberated. , Paternal Prerogatives While a general discussion on the employment of boys in shops was being heard in Conciliation Council in the grocers’ dispute at Wellington, Mr E- Gray (Kaiapoi) related a recent conversation he had had with a representative of the Department of Labour. This representative, on seeing Mr Gray’s son in his shop, had asked what wages Mr Gray paid him. “Nothing,” was the reply. He was then informed that if his son was e\en observed on the premises a breach was being committed. “I then offered to pay my son £4/15/- a week,” said Mr Gray, “and the representative then asked me what I would charge my son for board and lodging. My reply was ‘£4/15/- a week." ” A Friendly Dolphin Napier has its own “Pelorous Jack"—a six-foot dolphin which meets incoming and outgoing lighters working in the roadstead and guides them to and from port. Darting and twisting ahead of the lighters, the dolphin rarely shows more than its back, but its presence is betrayed to the watching men by the swirl of the water several yards ahead of the lighter. At first the approach of the lighters to the dolphin was regarded as a mere coincidence, but coincidence soon became an established custom, and it Is rarely that a lighter goes out to work in the roadstead without the guidance and company of “Pelorous Jack.” Sometimes, growing tired of leading the way, the fish will venture close to the sides of the vessel and swim along within a few feet of the bow, but it is wary enough not to approach too close—not that it need fear any danger from the men.