LOCAL AND GENERAL

Chronicle (Levin), 6 April 1946, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

i y Penalty For Firing Bush One hundr'ed years ago, states a correspondent of the Forest and Bird Protection Society, setting fi're to any scrub or bush in New Zealand was more seriously regarded than it is to-day. A notice in the New Zealand Gazette early in 1845 warns that "any person setting fire to ferri, or wood, or bush, ' m'aliciously , is liable to t'ransportatioh," apparently to one'of the Australian convict stations.'. Gift From Admiral Mountbatten A Samurai sword, taken from a Japahese officer, who had surrendered, was presented to the • Prime Minister (Mr. Fraser) last evening by Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten on behalf of the South-East Asia Command, of which he ,is S.upreme Commander. Lord Louis .said that the gift was in appreciation from the South-East Asia Command of the help £hat New Zealand had given the command during the war. New Zealand rugs weTe presented by Mr. Fraser to Lord Louis Mountbatten and Lady Mountbatten. Mascot of Battalion "Maadi," the dog which was moscot of the New Zealand Maori Battalion through the latter part of . the Desert campaign and in Italy is dead. He had dodged bombs, shells, I and bullets for two years, but he j approached too close to the heels of j a cow on his custodian's hopie on a J Gisborne district farmr-^'Maadi" ; returned to the Dominion with the j battalion as a veteran in the Domlinion Monarch in January. He was | the favourite of the unit from the jtime he joined the battalion at ! Gazala, and his end will be mourned j by many Maori soldi'ers. j Food for Britain I * "We feei that the Government should be stimulated to taking its i courage in both hands and coiiipelljing New Zealand to do what all of j us want to do," said Professor J. A. ) Allan when he presented a motion : to a meeting of the Pr esbytery of j Dunedin on the subject of the Domi inion's assistance to the starving | countries of Buroge. It was not ; n'ecessary to persua'de the people of the desperate plight of'the millions of people, he said. They wanted to : help, and they looked to the Gov- | ernment to decide upon the compulsory measures. That was t£e only way to ensure really effective assistance, and it was also the only way to ensure equal sacrifice. The : motion was carried without disj cussion. i Legal Costs for Land Saies j A decision to ask the New Zealand Counties' Association to t'akc up the question of having the high legal costs invofved ip puttu^g r through small land tf^nsactiohs v^v-as made at a meeting of i the Rangitikei Couiity Couricil. The l council defmed small trahsactions j as those valued at £50 or less. The I discqssion started when an offer of ! £9 for an acre of disused council i property, previously a nretal pit, was received from a ratepayer. The applicant had suffer'ed loss through stock falling into the pit and was prepared to take it over and fenqe it. "The legal costs in the transfer would be £18 or £20, which is a great deal more than the velue of the area," said Mr. V. Smith. Putting the transaction through the Land Saies Court would cost £3' 3s, and it was "absurd that the procedure should be so expensive," he said. Tlie clerk, Mr. F. L. Nicol, recalled that when the council sold a metal pit near the Rangitikei racecourse for 1/-, the legal costs were £3 3s. Stray Cat Nuisance Enquiries abo'ut cats. at the Waitangi Estate reveal .that wild cats are numer'ous in that vicinity, and are likely to beco.me a menace to native birds in the new lorest planting's, states Forest and Bird. Some time back there were many unwanted cats in and around Kaikohe township and the resi&ents Hit' o'n a novel way to rid themselves of the surplus cat population. A Chinese vegetable vendof living ifi that (hstr-ict used to visit Paihia regularly, ^nd it appears th'at' his Kaikohe customers 'Used to give hihi the un wanted kittens to take away and dispose of as best as he couid, and he apparently took !mo.st of them to Paihia while o,n his rounds and. drop.ped them th'ere; Iri' the course of a few months thq inqrgase became apparent ahd it was eventuaily found out h'ow this came about,. ahd steps were takeri to stop the practice; nevertheiess, the Paihia birds will for a long' time pay the prfce of the residents' fqolishness. One' cat e'xtefmihatbd eVer^ in'cilvidual of a unique species of wren on Stephens Island som,e years .ago-