LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Thames Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 20365, 21 July 1938, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Air Mail Beaches London. The Chief Postmaster at Thames advises that the air mail despatched from Auckland on July 4, via SydneySingapore air service, arrived in London on July 17. Sales Tax Yield. Sales tax collected during May amounted to £273,087, a decline of £10,194, compared with the previous month, and a reduction of £.36,701) compared with May, 1937. Support For Paeroa. In view of the extension of electric power to the Thames Coast, it was decided to support the move being made in Paeroa with a view to having a resident engineer of the Electric Power Board resident in that town, Cauliflowers Scarce. There is a scarcity of cauliflowers at Invercargill at present, and the wholesale prices for a sack of the vegetables are ranging from 14/6 to 20/-. Cabbages also are in short supply. Hardest Frost This Winter. On Sunday morning Christchurch experienced the hardest frost this winter, 15.4 degrees of frost being recorded by the Magnetic Observatory. The second hardest frost of the year—lodeg.— was recorded on Saturday. Too Wet For Gardening. Local gardeners are finding the continuous Avet weather a considerable handicap to their operations. Particularly is this so in the vegetable section. A few days of bright, sunny weather would work wonders amongst the plots, but in the meantime there is little or no growth in the soil. Thanks For Assistance. A letter thanking the council for the assistance to settlers who suffered as the result of the disastrous floods on the Plains some weeks ago, was received from the Hauraki Plains County Council at this morning's meeting of the Thames Chamber of Commerce Council. "Run For Congress." "In America we say 'run for Congress' where you say 'stand for Parliament'," said Professor B. G. Alex andcr, manager of the negro debating team which is touring the Dominion. "Perhaps it is because of the way wo go after things over there," he added. Sunspots Visible. A large group of sunspots, about 130,000 miles in length and 88,000 miles wide, is at present situated near the centre of the solar disc. The component spots arc large and lie close together, while eight other smaller groups of spots were visible at the end of last week. Coast Road Electricity. Mention was made at this morning's meeting of the Thames Chamber of Cimmerce Council by the president, Mr. K. S. Hetherington, of the position reached in connection with the reticulation of the Thames Coast Road with electricity. He stated that it was expected to complete the final canvass in the near future. Sandy Powell Comes to Thames. Thames Theatres have concluded arrangements whereby they will screen three Sandy Powell productions. The first, "Leave It To Me," which is the latest of the series, is booked for tomorrow and Saturday at the King's. "Leave It To Me" has just concluded an excellent run in Auckland, and, from reports received, the picture is a riot from start to finish. It is confidently expected that the film will prove a box-office success in Thames. Demoralised Animals. An Empire Press Union message from Calgary says: Mr. D. McC'owan, a naturalist from the Banff National Park, in the Canadian Rockies, claims that wild animals are being demoralised and softened by civilisation. Black bears, he says, prefer "panhandling" along the highways for cake and sweets to rustling a normal bush living. Hawks, who prey on gophers, sit on poles along the highway waiting to feast on littlo animals that may be crushed under the Avheels of cars. It is easier than hunting. Old Revolver Found. Believed to be a relic of the Maori War encounter which took place at Pa Flat, to the eastward of Central Park, Waipukurua, an old revolver has been unearthed in tho grounds of the District Iligh School. It is suggested that tbc revolver may have belonged to an officer of the 65th Regiment, which was stationed in the district from 1860 to 1864. Although the hardwood of the stock is still preserved, the weapon is in a rusted condition, and the bullet chambers are missing. Business in Thames. As exemplified in our advertising pages to-day, business men in Thames are alert and flourishing. Reports from various stores indicate that trade is steady and, with tho advent of Spring, will improve still lurther. The volume of advertising carried to-day is an indication of the confidence in their goods and prices of the local tradespeople, and a ready response by the buying public is anticipated. Tho "Thames Star" is the assured medium, reaching as it does the greatest number in a position to respond to advertising.

Arrivals and Departures, The number of persons permanently departing from New Zealand during May was 464, compared with 326 immigrants intending permanent residence, according to tho monthly Abstract of Statistics.