LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXVI, Issue 18016, 3 November 1920, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Second Regiment Band of Timaru returned home yesterday from the Ballarat Eisteddfod, where they competed in the A Grade contest. It was the only New Zealand band present, and took first place in the sight reading test and the quickstep. E. Schnack secured second in the soprano solo, H. Osborne second in the B flat cornet, and second place was also secured in the septette, and first in the trombone.

The Rev. A. J. Grigg, 8.A., pastor elect of the Gonville Baptist Church, will arrive from Auckland by this morning’s train.

An American car owner claims to have found some advantage, notably in obtaining a reduction in fuel consumption. by the simple expedient of connecting a length of small bore copper tubing to the the radiator and lending it into the induction pipe. He, thereby, gets a small quantity of water vapour intermixed with the explosive charge passing into the cylinders.

Another “confidence” man, a trickster with a new trick, has been given his dues, for he was sent to goal by Mr F. K. Hunt, S.M-, recently for nine months, which term is to be followed by a period of reformative treatment not exceeding two years. Chief-Detective Ward stated that M'Grath had called upon three housewives and introduced himself as a representative of the electric lighting department of the City Corporation. He then explained that A correspondent writes to the Otago Daily Times: “I saw a striking illustration of the suction power contained in the tentacles of an octOpus. The Shahristan was preparing to steam away from the Victoria wharf, when I noticed an octopus on the flat surface of one of the blades of the huge propellor which was protruding very much above the level of the water. As the'propellor revolved I expected to see this monster washed off, but, to my amazement, it clung on for at. least five minutes before it relinquished its Jiold.” A judge, with tears streaming down his face, sentenced a fellow judge and friend, named Harburger, at, the Innsbruck (Switzerland I tribunal to (liree years’ penal servitude. Harburger had been found guilty of embezzling large sums of money entrusted to his care, chiefly by Austrian and Tyrolese landowners, during the war. His dowrffall was due principally to tjie extravagance of a wife much younger than himself, and to speculations on the Bourse. The two judges shook hands in court before separating, while their wives shed tears.

We understand there is a prospect of the dredge Rubi Seddon being at work hereby the end of the month. The agreement for hiring has been completed, and the dredgemaster. Captain Simpson, lavs for th Wst Coast to-morrow. The crew will probably go down on Monday next, ; and will bring the Rubi Seddon up ito Wellington, where she will be ! docked for overhaul. This, it is exI pected, will not take more than a few days, and immediately the vessei has been “passed as fit’’ she will Ibe brought, on to Wanganui and placed in commission. Some rather unhappy shots at the spelling of New Zealand place names are made in a Vancouver newspaper which records the motoring experiences of recent visitors to this country. The motorists were at Invercargie and also at Invergallcar. They went through the Otero Gorge, which is not so surprising as the Bowler Gorge, but New Zealanders will be pleased to know that the party enjoyed both. Another New Zealand Mecca is referred to as Nelson’s Cross, wherever that may be. There will be less difficulty in identifying the tourist resort referred to as the Uytoma Caves, and the pleasant town of Pictou, which is reached by crossing Cookes Strait.

certain faults in the fittings in the houses had led to fusing of the wiring, and proceeded to make an inspection by producing a screw-driver and investigating the hot point fittings of the electric irons. There the ( “fault” was found, and he explained that an adjustment of the iron would correct it, and accordingly carried away the iron to the "City Corporation’s repairing shop.” By those means M'Grath had Obtained three irons, one of which was valued at 37/6, and the others at 42/6 a piece. The three irons had been recovered. “You have a bad record,” said the Magistrate, “and I am going to put you away for just as long as I canNo, you cannot pay a fine.” House-hunting is still in season, says a Wellington paper. Although there are threatened decreases in the cost of wearing apparel, houses in Wellington continue to soar in price, and places that were considered to be outrageously dear at £l2OO a year ago are now bringing £l6OO to £lBOO without much difficulty. The one great difficulty that faces a purchaser is to get rid of the occupant when the bouse is bought, even though the new owner may need it for his own use, and many little comedies, interspersed here and there with scenes of more serious portent, are being enacted almost daily between landlord and tenants without the assistance of the Court- In one recent case the new owner of a house, after giving the tenant what would ordinarily be considered fair notice, “took the bull by the horns” and seizing a favourable opportunity, placed some of his furniture within, and formally “took possession.” With the tightening of the financial strings, sales of property may not be so readily arranged as hitherto. During,. Saturday and Sunday hundreds of people visited the new Government cottages at Miramar, prospective tenants with a view to purchasing for the most part. Several of these houses will shortly be available for occupation. Steadily declining sugar prices in the United States (says a New York dispatch of August 21) has seriously upset the calculations of speculators who believed that prohibition would increase the demand for sweetened non-alcoholic beverages and confections, and who set out to buy up all the available supplies here and abroad regardless of cost. As a result, several American sugar dealers are facing ruiu, and if prices drop much lower there will be a rush to unload which will precipitate a crisis. Prohibition has not brought about the expected increased demand for soft drinks and sweets, probably because liquor is still flowing freely for those Avho have the price, and sugar contracted for abroad at 1/ or more per lb. is reaching a market where it is selling at 8d or 9d per lb., and with expectations the price next week will decline to 7d. A few months ago American housewives found it impossible to obtain sugar at any price because of artifl-. cial shortage, and they have now learned economy in the use of the staple. The great American beetsugar crop will soon be available, when prices are expected to approach the pre-war level, and would-be profiteers are at their wits’ end to escape at even 25 per cent. loss.

A jxiragraph which appeared in yesterday’s issue in regard to shoaling at the entrance of the' harbour indicated that there was a discrepancy as between two reports by the harbourmaster to the Harbour Board by stating that westerly weather in one instance and southerly woath.-r in another instance, affected the scour of tho river. Captain -Mclntyre stales that his reports to the Board referred in both instances to southerly weather, and that the word ■'westerly," w/iich appeared in yesterday’s issue, was not used by him in his report, and therefore is incorrect.