LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 83, 2 January 1920, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A wireless message received from the New Zealand Shipping Company's Riniutnkft states that the vessel is now expected to arrive at Wellington on Sunday afternoon. The health of all on board is reported to be good. The actual cash of (he city tramwavs on New \ear\j l.vo amounted' to JM!)" ss. 2d.—X220 12s. 3d. more than the takings recorded on the previous New Year's •Eve, wlion tho city was recovering from the ravages of the influenza epjdcmic. A man named Clifford Searle, who resides in Hiropi Street, yesterday net with an accident in Coiirlcuay Place. H seems that about 1 p.m., whilo riding a motorcycle, he collided with a tramcnr and received injuries to his hack, lie was taken to the, Hospital. It was reported last evening that his_ hurts ivero not serious, and that his condition was quite satisfactory.

The attention of members of the Voluntary Motor Corps is directed to an advertisement iu this issue with regard to the arrival of the s.s. Rimutaka, with returned soldiers. Owing lo tiio holi- ■ (lavs it will be impossible to telephone members as usual, but full information regarding time and place of disembarkation will be published in to-morrow's papers. A full attendance of members is specially requested. to enable the returned men to lie conveyed to their destinations expeditiously. Considerable interest has been aroused by the appearance in Auckland Harbour of the French war sloop Aldebariin, which has arrived from Melbourne (says the "Herald"). The mission of the ship is in connection with certain secret wireless experiments. During the war the vessel tigurcd in .-■everai exciting episodes outside Odessa. Her guns helped during flic street fighting in the city, nnd also did useful work nt Datum. She carries over 100 men, who are now under the command of Captain Giraud, Legion d'llonueur, and Croix do Guerre, an officer who distinguished himself at the Dardanelles, and also in general torpedo-boat, work. The ship has come through (lie Indian Ocean to Melbourne, and thcnco to Auckland. She is expected to remain in the Pacific about two years, and will probably be seen at Auckland from time to time. During the race for the Oak Handicap at Alexandra Park (Auckland), <;n Tuesday,- there was a somewhat sensational incident. As the contesting horses reached the bottom stretch, a couple of furlongs after the start, Timbell and Rita. Galimlo collided, and \V. Orange, the driver of tho latter, was unseated. Rita Galimlo careered away after the contesting horses; but to the relief -of the onlookers nhc threaded her 'way to the front without mishap. Several efforts wero made to stop the runaway, but it was not until she. had completed soino three miles that she was secured. Tt was extremely fortunate that Rita Galimlo steered a i-nurso clear of the contesting horses, or there would probably have been serious results.—"New Zealand Herald."

Suffering frqtn a gunshot wound in the abdomen, n young returned soldier, Air. Walter Marr, who works on the c-x perimenla! farm at Ivaruakarau, fivo miles from Taupiri, was admitted lo the Waikato Hospital on Tuesday (slates an exchange}. In company with a friend and the manager of the farm, n-lio carried a pun. Mr. Jf.irr was walking over a paddock on tli? farm when they cumc across a young fleer with p. broken Icr. They srot the aninml as far as a hedge, intending to shoot i(, when it sprang lip and got entangled in the -wire. The manager then thought he could better kill it with an axe in this position, lint the animal _ ORain broke fit". and the mona<"r laid iho fun on the (r'oimd. Suddenly, however. I'm "im and Mr. Morr 1',., f.,1l i'i Ihe abdomen. TTp v.'it 11 'ninied'ile'v driven (n M'p mwi'v sHinn. nlneed n" a train, and rinvpvf'l lo (l>e hosnital. ,Tust before the hoiws were saddled up for the first evnt of the second day's racing of the Tnrnnnki Jockey Club's Cliristinjis meeting, a fire, occurred iu a eornei- of the outside slanrt. and fnTied by a stronr* wind the flnnvs soon l'f-pan lo pel ft hold of l lip slruehir". r ihp lire bryade was called, but in Ihe meantime a bucket brigade succeeded in exlinguishiujr the outbreak, very little damage being done.

A brief sitfing of the Magistrate's Court was held .on New Year's morning, •Mr. P. L. Holiings beirig mi tho bench. For insobriety, two liist offomlers, who failed to appear, wero each fined Ifts., tho amount of their bail. William Wilson, who was convicted of his second oll'ence, was fined 205., ill default 21 hours' imprisonment.

Probably with tho idea of celebrating New Year's Eve in the manner tl Might to be customary a man named Charte Henry Grant, seeing a jar of beer in a cart ill Lambton Quay, "lifted" it oil' the cart, but he was apparently not steady enough to hold the jar, for it slipped from his hands nnd fell on the ground and was smashed. Yesterday lie appeared in the Magistrate's Court before Mr. I', J,. Holiings, S.M., and was charged with drunkenness, with damaging a glass jar containing beer valued at l'7s. Gd., ami further with the <heft of the glass jar. For drunkenness ho was fined 10s., and on tlio second charge he was ordered to pay 275. Gd., tlio amount of tho damage, and on tho third charge he was convicted and discharged.

Great dilliculfy has been experienced by many strawberry-growers during fho presont season in getting pickers, stafi.'s the "New Zealand Herald." One Auckland grower considers that his output would have been fully 60 par cent, greater at Christmas time could lie have obtained the labour for picking. As things were, he and his wifo were picking all day, but could only gather about half the berries. In former years children gladly undertook fo pick strawberries during their holidays, but, from all accounts, they are not jjoarly so keen on earning pocket money this Christinas as on laving a "good time." The difficulty is experienced mainly by growers in tho country districts..fairly near to town, yet too far for arrangements to be made for city children lo ciu the picking.

The following nominations havo been received for positions oil tho executive of the New Zealand Educational Institute:—President, Mr. W. Phillips (nominated by Otago, Auckland, and North Canterbury); vice-presidents (two required), Miss E. A. Chaplin. B.A. (nominated 'bv Hawke's Bay and Westland), Mr. D. W. Low (nominated by Wanganui, Manawatu, and Oroua), arid Mr. ,T. E. Purchase, M.A. (nominated by Auckland); treasurer, Mr. A. Erskine (nominated by Aucklnml and North Canterbury). The elocHon will tako place nt the annual meeting of the institute to-day. The winter prospects in this district, from a dairy farmer's point of view, arc not encouraging (says the Eltham "Argus"). That, there will bo a shortago of hay is already plainly apparent, for paddocks that have been kept closed for hay are still almost bare. Tho carrot crop, usually so sure, is not up to tho average, being very patchy. Mangolds are fair, but not as good as usual. It will take a. lot of alternate hot weather and rain to bring grass along now. During the running of the 100 yards club handicap at the Unit Amateur Athletic Club snorts yesterday afternoon a boy named Leslie Larnach. resxling with his parents at Halnma Street, Lower Hutt, met with a painful accident. He was standing behind the finishing mark when one of the competitors who ivas unable to pull up immediately collided with him, the spikes of his shoo entering one of the feet, inflicting a severe wound. First aid was rendered and the boy was removed in a car to receive medical attention. The annual Catholic picnic which was (o have been held al Rcaloun Park mi Boxing Day, but which was postponed till yesterday, did not take place on account of the (oiinter-nttrnotion iu the Lyali Bay Carnival. The picnic has been entirely abandoned.