LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 40, 10 November 1921, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Postal aufllorifiee liave received advice from San Francisco that the s.s. Waihora, which sailed from San Francisco on November 5 for Auckland, has on board for New Zealand, 308 bags of mail, including 179 parcel receptacles. Yesterday’s weather was distinctly freakish. A blustery Musty early morning turned to driving rain before 6 a.m„ but at 9 o'clock the. sun stiuggled through the grey smother, and coon asserted ito right io shine unobserved. At 2,30 p.m. tho wind suddenly veered round to the south, a bank of black clouds piled up over Cook Strait, and at 2.40, though 'the sun was still shining upon the city, hailstones as large as peas descended lor a lew minutes, bouncing from tho wood blocks, and striking the windows like small pebbles. Beyond a dense dust storm in Jervois Quay there was no further development, as the threatened storm rolled away northward beyond the distant Orongorongos. One observer stated that st 2.40 p.m. th© barometer reading was 29.09, tho lowest since the morning of the Springlioks-New Zealand Test match in Wellington. The industrialists who have been so much in evidence at the Town Hall during the last ton days showed unusual industry yesterday in dismantling the temporary township which had been set up to display New Zealand-made goods. All ‘those who went out of their way to participate in the exhibition appear to agree that the effort has been well worth white, and should go a long way towards training the public of Wellington to appreciate the manufactures of the country. In many instances orders for goods had been received from new clients solely on account of tho display, and most of the exhibitors expressed their belief that an annual exhibition of tho kind would go a good way towards weaning the public from the imported article. The exhibitors bore the whole of the cost, which will be about X2OOO.

A middle-aged man named John Joseph Watson died suddenly at 1 p.m. yesterday of the Metropolitan Hotel. Death was due to heart failure. It is not likely that an inquest will be held. Referring to the house shortage, Mr. G. Mitchell, M.P., states: "The last census shoived that the average yearly increase in the population of Greater Wellington was 2G66 people. At tho average number of persons per house it would take 592 now homes to house them, or a total of 3552 for six years. But we have only built 1788 houses in that time, leaving a deficiency of 1764. Add a minimum of 300 houses which should he destroyed in the interest'of public health and decemey and we have a total shortage of 2064 houses since 1916. It was expected that a considerable improvement would have been shown last year, but only 348 houses were built, adding 244 to the deficiency. The high cost of labour and material and the shortage of money, together with tho general uncertainty, had deterred enterprise. A substantial cheapening in the materials, method, and construction of houses was urgently required." That dairying' pays with the right stamp of cows is proved by the experience of Mr J. Peterson, of Clifton, says an Invercargill paper. On October 3, 1920. he purchased a cow for .£l5 and by tho following October her milk had v’ielded 4401 b. of butter, besides supplying the house. Forty ppunds were sold at Is. 9d. per lb., and 4001 b. at 2s. per lb. Two pigs were reared on the skimmed milk, rotiresenting .£6 rich. The return from' this cow represented quite 4160 for the yenr.

The Kaikorai Band, which has been competing at tho Ballarat competitions, returned to Wellington by the Riverina yesterday. ’The numbers were entertained at lunch' by members of the Wellington Waterside Workers’ Band, and left for the south by the Wahi no in the evening.

A sale of .£lOOO was made by the Wellington Co-operative Building Society recently, and brought .£37 per cent., which is approximately 5> per cent, interest. Previous sales of appropriations have realised somewhere in the vicinity of Jl4-G per cent. Tho same evening an by ballot was made, and Mrs. A. Hay was the successful member who drew the marble. The now and substantially-built infant school at Eastbourne has been completed, and will be formally opened at an early date. The actual date has not yet been fixed. Th© new school, which provides for the maximum light, sunshine, and fresh air, will l>o a boon to tho district. It is situated on its own area of land, opposite to the State school, and being of brick construction should serve Eastbourne for many yealrs to come. An innovation is tho dispensing altogether of desks. The little ones each have a small lift-top table, and a tiny armed wooden chair, solidly made, the various parts being screwed (not nailed or glued) together. This means that the cramping of children in various stages of development in a desk of uniform size is done away with altogether. The now seating arrangements are to be extended to all schools in time.

A case that had been partly heard in Gisborne came before Mr. Justice Sim in the Supreme Court hero yesterday. Application was made on behalf of the executors of tho wills of Wireinn Pere and Hetekia To Kani Pere (of Gisborne), that a transaction in reference to a block of land, valued at .£2OOO, should bo declared a mortgage; a deed of reference to tho matter having been drawn up in 1905. The defendants, F. R. Hall, J. W. Nolan, and J. Clark, all of Gisborne, contended that the transaction was a deed of purchase. His Honour reserved his decision.

At the annual meeting of the Acclimatisation Society it was reported that there were plenty of rainbow trout in the upper reaches of tho Orongorongo stream. Mr. H. D. Drummond wrote from Wainui discrediting the statement and saying that he had got one of the men on a survey party to keep a sharp look-out, and he had reported that ho had seen none. Members of the council were inclined to believe the original report,and that the man in question could not have penetrated to the head waters of the stream 30 miles away from the Wainui.

At a meeting of the New Zealand Dairy ‘Association the following payments for butter-fat supplied to, the association’s factories during October were announced: —For butter-making, first grade Is., superfine Is. Oid. For cneesemaking, Is. Id. For milk powder, Is. Id. For tho previous month tho payments were: For butter-making, first grade Is. 51d., superfine Is. 6d. lor cheese-mak-ls. 6d. For milk powder, Is. 7d. Reporting to the monthly meeting of the Wellington Acclimatisation Society last evening, the secretary (Mr. C. I. Dasent) eaid that fishing licenses had already yielded X 869 this season which meant that over 900 ’icenses bad been issued. This was a greater number of licenses than had ever been issued in one season before in his time, wnich meant in all time.” That docs not bear out some of the newspaper comment wo have been reading,” remarked the act-ing-chairman (Mr., Wiffen). Sir Thomas Mackenzie is to speak on tho fostering of New Zealand s industries at Levin on Friday evening, when the town will inaugurate a made-in-New Zealand” shop show week. The New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association has sent the following cablcin reply to that received from Field-Marshal Earl Haig:—"Nmv'ZeAland soldiers thank you, and join an silent tribute to Empire’s glonousdead.-(bgd.) General Russell, president.