LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 28, 28 October 1919, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Colombo-Si ilgapore cable is interrupted. Restoration is expected in three days. Tndian traffic is subjected to heavy delay. There are evidently some counterfeit Bank of New Zealand J!I notes- in circulation in the Dominion. Last week a tradesman in Eltbani found nmonysc hia takings one of tho counterfeits. H is stated to he a rather poor imitation of tho genuine thing in that it has no "face," but is an excellent replica of the back of a .CI B.N.Z. nolo printed on both 6ides of parchment paper The price of vegetables is high, and it has been suggested that the profit, is not all going to tho producers of these food commodities. The member for Otaki (Mr. Field) in the House last night, drew the attention of the Primo Minister to a statcmenl to this effect made recently by a, small farmer in Mie Jjevin district, who had. planted four acres of cauliflowers, and received from liis venture a net return of lid.! This farmer suggested that the high prices wero not duo to profiteering, but. were the cost merely of faulty iy/ganisation. Mr. "Field- asked the Mincer to see whether Hie Board- of Trade might not make some inquiries with a view to improvement, of the organisation, and so cheapen, the price, of vegetables to the people. Mr. Massny said that lie had noted the remarks of the producer referred to, and lie would have pleasure in referring tihe matter to the Board of Trade. A tramway accident occurred near the intersection of Elizabeth and Brougham Streets on Sunday afternoon. One car, loaded with passengers for Lyall Bay, .had pulled up at the optional stoppingulace in Brougham Street, when another car. following bohind, crashed into it. The back apron and glass screen of the front: car wore broken, and the front part;- of the rear car sustained serious damage. One of the lady passengers, Miss Harding, who was sitting on one of the outer- seats, wns thrown out of the car on her head, and had to be attended to by Dr. Pnlmer. A ninetcen-month-old child named Shirley Milne Robinson died suddenly ati the home of its parents, 10 Orchard Street. Goldics' Brno, at noon yesterday. The child had been under the care of several doctors, but as they were not prepared to give a certificate of death an Inquest will be held. A small quantity of strawberries was offered for sale at. the Auckland markets on Eridrvy, and high prices were realised, choicest camples selling for us much us 2s. lOd. a "chip." The. recent cold winds have had the effect of checking the plants and delaying the crocs for fully n. fortnight. It is exuee.texi that it will be another fortnight hefore any great quantities of berries appear on the market. Preliminary work is being carried out in connection with the raising of the ITnion Company's coal-hulk Selwyn Craig, which sank off Chelsea on October 5 with about 900 tons of coal on hoard. A diver has been down several times examining Ihe hulk. During last week the Auckland Harbour Board's 80ton floating crane lifted her masts out, and livoufiht them to Auckland. It is houed to raise the vessel very shortly, and in the meantime the spot lias been, marked bv a green buoy. At Petoue there has been for many veers an area of land acquired by the Government for u worKcrs' settlement, to bo culled tho Wilford Settlement, but there seemed to be no demand for the land, and it lias lain unoccupied, paying no rates to the local body for many years. Mr. Wilford, in the House of Representatives lasti night drew the attention of the Minister to the fact that last week forty of those sections wero olfered at auction, and all of them wero sold either tinder the hammer or after the auction. He suggested to the Minister that a hundred of these sections should bo olfered forthwith. Mr. Guthrio said that tho Department had held on to these sections for a long time, at considerable loss. All the time the Department had been anxious to disposo of them, and ho was glad to hear thati now there seemed to be good prospect of doing so. As soon as arrangements could he made more of tho land would be placed on the marker. Medical certificates aro frequently produced by women who come to Court to get an order for mniutenanco against their husbands. Tho certificate usually states that the woman in question is unfit to work for her own living. Two sisters produced such certificates on Friday nt the Auckland Magistrate's Cou.rt, and one legal gentleman remarked, "We all know the value of a doctor's cerlificato," whereupon his brotbers of the Bar smiled in company. The name of a highly respected medical gontleinan was appended to one certificate, but the doubting lawyer roniarked that made no difference in'his opinion as to the value of such a document. A correspondent writes: "It is to be sincerely hoped that the meeting of Miramar Borougli ratepayers on Wednesday evening will approve of the proposal to tako a poll on tho question of amalgamation with tho city, if it is only to mean a bettermont in tho fine weather tramway services to and from Seatoun. Tho 5.20 p.m. tram from Seatoun yesterday had every sent occupied, and 28 pooplo were standing before the car left. At the optional stopping place nt the top of Dundas Street were 17 people waiting for the car, but as it was al--1 ready grossly overcrowded Hie car did not stop to pick them up. Another bunch of golfers awaited, tho car near the links. Some of them wero able to scramble on—tho rest had to wait. The car was packed until Courtonay Place was reached. Now, as most, of the people on that car paid sd. or Od. there must have been a good sum of money taken, hut it was at the expense of the comfort of 30 per cent, of those on board, whilst the inconvenience of lliose left stranded at Seatoun must have been most irritating." Serious losses to farmers have been causod in the Northern Wairoa district by an apparently new disease that has made its appearance among cattle, writes the Northern Wairoo, correspondent of tho "New Zealand Herald," reports indicating that some farmers have had their stock reduced fully 50 ner cent, by deaths. A curious feature is that animals apparently in the fittest condition, seem most, DHsilv to fall victims to this scourge. Denlh usually follows soon after the first indications of anything being wrong are observed. The only nolieenhln indication is. in fact, that the animal, after sitting down, is enable ngaiu to rise, owing lo weakness i'> 'he hindquarters. No recoveries have been reported, and one former lost 31 r-nv.-s. nut of a herd of |() . solely as a result <-f Ihe complaint, livery effort li.t» been made by the farmers | 0 trace the cause of the disease, hut without any real succes-?. Some attribute it to the eating of certain grass, but no ovidenen has vet been adduced to prove this theory.

Lovers of Ihe homely broad bean will regret to learn that the beautiful but energetic bumble bee. is likely to cause the crop to be a, failure this year, says the Auckland "Star." The reason is that luc bee punctures the blossom to extract honey, with Iho result: that the llmver withers ami drops oil', which means no beans. One farmer states thnli an area he planted will practically not yield any beans this year, and in private gardens, similar damage is being done. "Parents must, not cvndo their responsibilities by sending their children to Court instead of coming them-elvcs," said Mr. iWilson, S.M., at a sitting of the Auckland Juvenile Court, on Saturday morning. The Magistrate said lihat lie would not hear the case in the absence of the parent, and it was therefore adjourned in order that a summons might be served on the father of the child concerned. Respecting the paragraph referring to the "go-slow" policy at the coal mines arising out of a report submitted to the ■Wellington Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, Mr. I'. Castlo (chairman) states that the coal' supplier* in Wellington have taken umbrage at tho paragraph as reflecting on them. Mr. Castle wishes ns to state that nothing of the sort was intended, and the firm supplying the hospital had kept the institution well provided, and at a reasonable price, which they need not have done as there was no price stipulated in (ho arrangement. In Tun Dominion paragraph ihe words "in the mines" were added in order to make clear the meaning of the coin in i ttco's recommendation. The second annual festival of the Wellington Competitions Society will commence at the Town Hall on November G. Over ISOO entries liavo been received, and the festival will be the largest ever held in the Dominion. Intending members who desire to avail themselves of the privileges offered by the executive are advised to make early application for their tickets, as only a limited number will bo issued. Phonetic similarity in names was the reason for a mistake Mr. James Ames mado in respect to the name of tlio occupant of the Duke of Edinburgh Hotel block, prior to the first hotel being erected on that loeatijm. Mr. Auks, through the medium of an article which appeared in The Dominion: last week, stated that the old carpenter's shop on 'the corner was that of the late Mr. Compton, when tho proprietor was really a Mr. Le Compte.