LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Waikato Times, Volume 92, Issue 14267, 19 January 1920, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

There is a better market for smiles than for frowns.

As the result of tlm recent rains, mushrooms have made their appearance in various localities. The Athcnic has sailed from Plymouth for Wellington with 280 New Zealanders aboard. The annual conference of the Methodist Church of New Zealand will take place at Auckland this year, commencing on February 26th.

Last month 91 Chinese arrived in New Zealand, of whom four were females. The departures numbered 12, and two of these were females.

The importation into New Zealand of the book, entitled, '-The New Unionism," purporting to be written At, by Andre Tridbn, and published at £ Now Vork. U; prohibited.

Bananas were practically unobtainable in Hamilton on Saturday! The shortage should be met by the arrival of two cargoes of island fruit in Auckland to-day. The Navua is expected to bring 16,000 cases of bananas, <md the Talune 1800 cases. A boy named Eric Jack Cawte, aged 11, of Pukelaha, fell on a stake on his father's farm on Saturday, and received injuries to his abdomen. He was removed to the Waikato Hospital, where he is progressing favourably. The sugar shortage still continues acute, and supplies for domestic use are difficult to obtain, except in small quan'tities. The prospects of laying u;> a store of home-made jam fotf winter use are, to the average housewife, remote. The controlling bodies for the Waikato and Raglan licensing districts are Hamilton Borough Council and Eaglan County Council respectively. Mr C. A. Young, S.M., has been appointed chairman of the former, and Air E. \V. Burton of the latter body, and Mr IT. J. Dixon clerk to both. It is notified in the Gazette that the restriction imposed by section 42 of the Military Service Act, 1916. upon reservists under the Act who desire lo change their names has been removed. This does not affect the position of alien enemies under the War Regulations, who will still require to obtain the consent of the Minister of Internal Affairs.

"Concrete for house building is only in its infancy," remarked a Wanganui builder to a newspaper representative. In normal times concrete was much cheaper than wood. All builders had their own design of box, but experiments were being carried out with a box of patent design, a local innovation, which, it was considered, would tend to materially decrease the cost of construction in concrete. While at the Horowhenua JBliow; Mr Massey spoke on a subject of interest lo settlers in that district, namely, the hemp industry. He predicted a bright reaction from the war time depression. Freight charges were going down, he said, and during the last fortnight it had transpired that a very important increase in the price of flax had taken place at Home.