LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16582, 15 November 1921, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

According to a Press Association telegram from Greymouth, the State coal mine was idle yesterday, and no work will be done to-day. The standing charges on the Trainway Board’s ’bus that runs to the Bromley Cemetery amount to £lll n year. At last evening’s meeting of the City Council Councillor H. Hunter said he thought the ’bus was only used on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Councillor j. A. Flesher said that that was so, but standing charges continued throughout the week. Councillor A. M’Kellar suggested that the council should provide a service bv fitting seats into any electric vehicle that could be soared for use at the time required. That idea might prove more economical. It was decided that the matter should l>e referred to the Finance Committee. There was an omission in the minutes that were laid on the table at last evening’s meeting the City Council. Councillor F. R. Oocike poined out that, when a deputation on October 31 asked for support for 4*ie Concert Chamber proposal, he asked whether it was not a reflection upon the musical societies that the vote for that hall at the recent poll was as small as it was. He wanted that question to be recorded in the minutes. Otherwise, the public would blame the council for the lack of a proper concert hall. He wanted the minutes to show that it was the fault of tho musical societies, of the parsimonious ratepayers, and of the editors of the newspapers. The co ' iric^l had provided the opportunity by holding a poll. It was decided that the question should be recorded in the minutes. Last Saturday was the ninth anniversary of the discoverv of the bodies of Captain Scott. Dr Wilson and Lieutenant Bowers, the last surviving members of the British Antarctic Expedition, who, after reaching the South Pole on January 18, 1912, met with disaster, owing to terrible blizzards, after starting on their return journey. PettyOfficer Evans died on February 17, and Captain Oates on March 17, the latter leaving his tent to meet- his death in a. blizzard, hoping thereby to give his three comrades a better chance. Captain Scott’s last diarv entry was dated March 25. The bodies were found by a search party on November 12. The news of the tragedy was brought to New Zealand by the Terra Nova, which arrived at Oamaru on February 10, 1913. “ Jazzes and those sort of things that people seem to have gone mad about in recent years,” was the description applied to modern dances by Mr Justice Stringer in the Supreme Court at Auckland on Friday, states the •* New Zealand Herald.” At the time the Judge was dealing with a divorce action, in which it had been stated the wife owned a hall, which she let for dunces, and his Honor prefaced the remarks quoted by saying that apparently she was dependent for part of her income on her ability to play tho music for the dances. An Australian boxer, who at one time held the heavy-weight championship of the Commonwealth, died suddenly in Auckland a few days ago, states the Auckland “ Star.*’ This was Harry Nathan, a man between fifty-six and sixty years of age, who arrived here about two monihs ago on n business trip- After having bepn down town he complained of feeling ill, and his friend H advised him to see a doctor, but he refused. His landlady went in t/o see him at 8.15 next morning, and he was then all right, but when she went hack an hour later she found him dead. Deceased was very well known in athletic circles in Australia, and had acted as referee in several of the big boxing matches in Sydney. Evidence of how little New Zealand is known in many parts of t-he United State a of America was given by Mr P. W. Peters in the course of an address at the Napier Thirty Thousand Club meeting, when he said that during his recent tour of the States questions in regard to this country were put to him as follow : “ Tell me what part of Siberia New Zealand is in.” “ What train did you arrive by?” “Is it anywhere near Natal ?” “ Are not the Zealanders and Zulus the same?” A Boston lady informed him that she had been arranging for a holiday trip to New Zealand, but had been told that there was not enough food there for the islanders. “We are one of the great unknown Darts of the world.” added Mr Peters. The dreaded fire blight has not yet made its appearance this season among the commercial orchards of tho district under the supervision of the Auckland branch of the Department of Agriculture (says the “ Herald”). The offi cer in charge of the horticultural section of the Department in Auckland, Mr J. W. Collard, stated that evidently the cutting down of the hawthorn in the district had done much to check the spread of the disease ; it was rather early to assume that it had checked it completely. He added that the first blight was prevalent ampng the hawthorn trees and hedges of the suburbs, notably Kemuera. Elierslie and Parnell. Two cases had been reported in the Avondale district. The existence of tho disease so close to the commercial fruit growing area was a decided menace to the orchardists. He attributed the immunity of the commercial areas from blight thi s season to the fact that hawthorn had been gazetted a noxious weed by the Waitemata County Council, enabling the Department to have tho hawthorn cut down where it was deemed necessary. A persistent and comprehensive campaign against hawthorn was essential if the commercial orchards were to be preserved. The people interested would have to choo.se between hawthorn and the fruits that wore menaced by the fire blight.

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