LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 1967, 26 January 1914, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The weekly English and Australian mails arrived in Auckland yesterday by the Mahcmo in time to connect with the Main Trunk osprcss. Thc-y will arrive hero this a-ftoritooii. None of the expert motor-cyclists who nctually witnessed at close range tho fatal accident at the Palmerston North motor-cyclc races oil Thursday last, which resulted in the death of Mr. Harold Plimmor, are able oven to form a theory as to what actually caused the ill-fated rider to swerve from tho track ft» he did. and smash into the fence. All sorts of reasons have been advanced us tlio possible cause of the tragic event, but all have beei'i swept aside as impassible or unlikely, ft was at- first surmised that tho handles may- have stuck, * but this oil examination of tho machine was set aside,, and it could not have been the engine, which was still iailing evenly after the ryele was thrown back on the track, and continued to do so until .one' of the other cyclists shot i!: off, A sad eircUmsuutoo ill c-rmiic-e----tion. with (he accident was; that Sir. I'limiwr h;ul promised his wife that it Would lie. his last race, never iintfcipat-■iiiK'-.thal it Would be so in the most tragic-sense "of. the words.- . The Now Zealand Defence Foroo General Orders slate that it, has been derided by Cabinet that no' further claims for 1 the New Zealand War .Modal are to bo acknowledged after March 31. 191-!. . .The new Hah-ation -Army : all at ■Lower Hutt, where a corps has 6«iy rccenUr . beert established, -vill .fcs ofipncd \ mi by Btts»dior CarauchMl. Divisicoal Comasuticr. ..-. 1

The.ebb and flow of the breakers <tf the;, brinyj; considcrj/neithor. business nor ' plcasure^KiuiSHheii'f : vagaries,.' as a nappy.littlo' picnic party '.found to'.Kilieirj:}; cost?jf yesteiclay 1 forenoon in -of:,, the.; vicinity..,. of tiio Oriental ii:»v•• Kiti»U.• A party' of three iadiwsj tatting I :advantage ot,the glorious sutnmcri'iiav/had sought repose and enjoyment on the foreshore oi one of Uicnuinorous. bays, ami, with such delicacies as pastry,.■■ dainty .sandwiches, and the inevitable t<?apot, laid out temptingly on a handy rock, were blissfully surveying the V beauties of a .perfect seasido vista. Disaster, however, in the shape of a large inwafd-bound steamer, loomed unseen. Turning the point, it made a good sight, ploughing its way through the motionless sea, causing in its wake tho usual swell. It was this that caused tho trouble, Coming in slowly, but none tho less surol.y,<ind gatliering . nTOinentuiu on its way , the roller at' last reached the happy picnickers. Without as moment's warning the wave broke high over the rock oil which reposed the delectable eatables, carrying all Iwt'oro'it. Pastry, sandwiches, and teapot wore claimed by the destructive swell, and ft picnic party that showed promise of such enjoyment Was ruined.

;■ One of the heaviest of.the northward hound Main Trunk trains that lias left here for soilio time steamod out of Thorndon Station last evening,. There wore, no few-cr thau thirteen carriages, aiid these ineludod four slcepiiift-cars, in which eighty berths were made up. Tho passengers w'ei'o composed mostly of • people returning home from tho faces, and officers bound for tlio military camp at Cambridge. Forty officers were,bound for Cambridge in this connection. Other passctipors on tho train included Sir Joseph t\ard, MajorGeneral Godl<?y, Captain Estcourt, and Colonel Bcauoliamp, This is tho tooftV* iost single service train that has left Thorndon station during the Christmas season. During the earlier part of tho Christmas season, however, it must bo ' romemhorcd the service was duplicated, and this, of course, distributed the train loads more equally,'

v According to the Government Statistician, the population ef the four ecntres at th© beginning of this mbnth is estimated as follows Greater Auckland) 109,110; Greater Ohristehurch, 83,872; Greater Wellington. 72,892; Greater Dunedin, 66,081. The figures for Wellington do not, of course, include the population of Pctone add Lower Hutt, although they do ineludo the population of Onslow, parts of which borough are rather less easily accessible. In.eluding Petiino and Lower Hutt, WcllitSfrton would rank second in the list. Wellington hits the host death-rate figures for the year. Fdioffing are the rates per 1000 of .mean population ill the cities Auckland, 9.13; Welliivyt-ori, !).13; Oliristfiliureli, 10,34: Duiiedin, 10.43.

Public libraries committees are notified in the Gazette that in order to share in the vote of £4000 given "by Parliament for distribution among libraries, claim? must lie received in due form by the Secretary for Education on or before January 26.

The "books" of a tradesman produced at ft meeting of creditors at Christchurch "Press") were a culiar collection, but the system of book-keeping as explained during thecourse of tlie. meeting, was still nloro peculiar. Although the tradesman had a bank book, ho did not piit all the cash lie received through it, nfir did ho always draw cheques when ho paid accounts. His "books" were so kept that except to the tradesman himself (and some of the creditors doubted whether he understood tlleni) they were well-nigh unintellifjibte. Consequently, the hank book was nat of much assistance in attempting to unravel matters. Thei t inost 'fjpßUii^ilt'' jsrodilced'coiisis'fed.of.\f wo.loiif; strips of straivbr.nrtl on which slips of fiaper were pasted.' On this were recorded tho daily transactions of the business. When one list was lilled up, another was

started, any accounts unpaid on the first list being transferred to tho second and the first thrown away. It- was little wonder that the official assignee and three gave up in despair tho task 6t trying to straighten things out.

The ballot f-or the election of officers for the Wellington Tramways Union for 1914 closes to-morrow. Messrs, A. IV. Ward (treasurer) and W. 0. ftoot (secretary) have been re-elected unopposed, and for president Messrs. A. liemioH and M. Whelan have been nominated. Two vice-presidents arc required,, and Messrs. R, Audoraon, W. Knot, and C. May-all have bean nominated. The balancis-sheet to bo presented at tiio animal .meeting shows cash assets to the credit of the union at £183.

Major-General Godlcy left last night for Hamilton, where he will act ti« .indue of the staff, tour - of Territorial officers, to he- hold tin's week. Tins "Dominion drive," as it is called, will lie can-Mil out on a war footing, except that the troops will be absent. There will be two armies, the l'ed and tho Blue, ami the operations will extend all over the district between Hamilton and Cambridge. Over 100 officers will attend the operations, which will continue Over several days.

The value of gold entered for export during 1913 Was £1,459,499, as against £1,345,131 for 1012, It eamo from the various districts in ilio following, quantities Auckland, £833,92.81 Marlborough, £5944; Nolsan, £2642; West Coast, £317,246: plage, ■ £307,232 j iiiv known, £250;. But even the phenomenal production of some mines in tins Northern fields over a long period of ,V«ars has not yet brought 'the total for the district up to that' credited to the districts of the older ficldii, Tho total value of gold entered for export from ApriM,.lßs", to December 31, 1913, was .£8.2,053,543. Of this total Otnfro clii.ims £29,415,434; West ■ Coast, £23,209,630; Auckland (Thames, Ooromniidel, and Olunoftmri fields), £22,203,.i 39; Nelson, £6,860,415; Marlborough, £360,189; Wellington, £706; Canterbury, £387.

"raftiMrns" sooop the pool in THREE DAYS' TRIALS ATCHMSTCHt'RCH. One of the strongest points about the "Triumph" motor-cycle is the toiisisteitcy of its performance. Other ''long suits" of the "Triumph" are reliability and economy. We are in the happy position of being able to offer abundant. proof <Tf these assertions. Last year when the result* of the Korth Canterbury' Motor Cycling' Club's annual reliability trials were worked out it Was found that the "Triumph" riders wore first in tjio private owners' class, first in the trn<lo class, first in the petrol consumption test, and first in the teams' competition, sweeping the board. In tliis Year's trials, run on January Ist, 2nd, and 3rd. over a 40Siiiilfl route, including tho steep bill <-,( OkninV Bay, and the Jsig-zti|?, with the roads in bad condition, there was <i of twenty-seven iidefs, and all tho leading makes tri motor-cycle were represented, There were no fevver than nine of those bss twin-cylinder machine?, \Ve have been told recently that those are wigMf economical oil petroi, but, on this occasion, the "Triumph" Upheld the honour »f the single-cylinder brigade by getting lowest iwirfll consumption, Toil see this time uie.ro was an cflkial teat for petrol coiisiunption. The res-iilt board runs us follows:--Private Owners' Class— V, ('DuefiHiaii, "Triumph," ij H. PoaMe, "TrUimpii," 2. Trade Class—F. HaWorlhl "Triumph," 1; 0. B. Drown, "Triumph," 2; ,1. H. Michael "Triumph," i). Teams' Competition—F. Hnworth, t5, li. Browii, and .1. it. Michael, "Triumphs," 1. Petrol Consumption—F, Hawarth, "Triumph,'' 1. It is unnecessary to point the moral or adorn t.ii» tale. Tliero is a big nhipwient of tho latent '"Triumphs" arriving shortly, and intending purchasers will be well ftdvitcd to book their orders esrly. Adams, Ltd., Sigh Street, Christchureh i Depots at Palmersten North and Wang#* i nui> also Tourist ijfltor C 0,,. Ra.ttin.isi Utti 6uth.#rl.attd and Bankdne, Mercer I M"cUluft<jn,-Advt. .

The total value of imports and exports at tho_ two chief ports of tho Dominion, Wellington, and Auckland for tlm year 1013 were as follow, tho figures for 1912 being shown in parentheses;—lmports: Auckland, £6,610,155 (£0,398,533); Wellington, £6,354,528 (£5,390,423); exports: Auckland. £4,02i1,74t) t£3,381,038); \VcUiflgta«; £5,322,808 (£4,632,4'25). _ The port of I/ytteiton ranks next in importance, with imports slightly overthree millions in value, and exports a little less than three millions.

lii view of the strike aiid tlm disturbance it cansotl in business, a table published in the Gazette showing the business of the Savings Banks in the principal towns in tlio last quarter oi lns.t year is interesting. In tho following centres there was an excess of deposits over 'withdrawals Auckland, £©,62(5; Blenheim, £484; Chrislchurch, £18,860; Gisborne, £7719'; Napier, £13.032; New Plymouth, £7834; Thames, £362: WaRKauui, £9711; Wellington, £28.203, Iliero was an cxccrs withdiWnlfi )u the following offices:—Dmtediai, £23,077; Grcymouth, £7258; Hokitika, £1869' liivercurgiil, £W,()W; Nelson, £45*4; Osmaru, £3099; Timarn, '£6550: Wettpart, £12,342. Altogether the deposits in the quarter ali over New Zealand amounted to £2,745,732, and tho withdrawals £2,6(2,484, The corresponding figures for 19J.2 -Were not nearly so good Deposits, £2,596,054; withdrawals, £2,683,237. ' Following was tho total postal revenue in the several postal districts of the Dominion in 1913;—-Auckland, £84,168; Wellington, £81,710; Christ, church, £44,053: Duncdin, £34,3,32 Wanganui. £25,1*4; Napier, £22.326; invMcargill, £10,026; Timaru, £11.972; Gisbofnc, £9395; Now Plymouth, £8910; Thames, £8348; Nelson, £6632; Grey, mouth, £5183 ; Blenheim., , £4742; Oaii> aru. £4681; WeStpOft, £2632; Hokitika, £1819. The National Provident Fund Depart, ment has secured a suite of offices in the new huildlitg of tho To Arc brau-ii of tiro Bank of New Zealand, at th« corner of Cuba Street and Maivneii Street.