LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 18, 22 January 1924, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Tho "Evening Post" Almanac for 1924 will be issued with "The Post" on Monday, the 28th January. Agents and the general public requiring extra, copies of "The Post" of that day should at once advise the publisher.

-JCnox Presbyterian! Church, Christchurch, which has been without a minister for over a year, since the retirement of Dr. Erwin, has decided to extend a call to Dr. A. Seymour, of Chalm-e.-s Church, Adelaide, who has preached at Knox Church for the last two Sundays, says a Press Association message from Christchurch. Dr. Seymour leaves for Wellington on Thursday on his way to Sydney. He is a Canadian, but has been in Australia since 1912, and in the Adelaide'charge since 1916.

The clearance of all pillar-boxes and letter-receiving boxes in Wellington City and suburbs will begin at 11 p.m. instead of midnight, as formerly, as trpm to-morrow.

According to a Press Association message from Wanganui, a proposal was made some time ago thatthe River Trust should purchase and operate Hatrick and Co.'s fleet of up-river steamers. A vote of settlers has been taken /on the subject, which resulted in the proposal being turned down by a two-to-one majority. In view of this the trust body has decided to drop the proposal.

The Director of Forestry has received word from the forest ranger of Waimarino stating that at the Magistrate's Court, Ohnkune, yesterday, a fine cf £10 was imposed on an official for allowing a fire to spread to the State forest at Wuimarjno. Upder the State Forest Act, 1921, it is illegal to light a fire without the written- permission of the State Forest officer, in a proclaimed forest area. The Director states that, owing to the present dry season, the lighting of fires1 in forest areas is particularly dangerous. The present, he said, was the only instance this season, so far as he knew, of a lark of cobperatipn with the authorities in respect to the preservation of forests ill proclaimed areas. ?

The following clause from the .Lower Hutt Borough Engineer's report shows that nuhis opinion the borough water is being wasted, and the efficiency of the hydraulic pumps and the sewage worksdiminished : ' 'There is an extraordinary demand at present for water, and it is being used in an extravagant manner. Residents are- not only watering lawns and gardens, but are wasting water upon them. If more individual watering was done, instead of pursuing wasteful methods, the hydraulic pumps at the septic tank could be. operated, but at present it is not safe to do so. The demand for the month was fourteen and a half million of water, and had-the hydraulic pumps worked as they should have for the whole twenty-four houre, the demand would have been seventeen and three-quarter million gallons. To pump this amount would be putting undue strain on the plant. Last December, with the septic tank pumps working full time, the total amount of water used was fifteen million gallons."

: "You will have to make out a very good case before your request can -.he granted. The moment you start meddling with harbour boards you are right up against difficulties." Briefly, this v.as how the Minister of Marine (the Hon. G. J. Anderson) replied to., a deputation from the Napier Chamber of Commerce which asked for representation on the Napier Harbour Board for payers of ships' dues and other dues. Because other places have this privilege, and because the payers' of these dues contribute: to the board's revenue, the chamber asked that' Napier should be treated in the same way. " You will have difficulties here," continued the Mmjster. "Your board has opposed it already. It is not a* easy as it looks to alter the representation. I got a lot of criticism in connection with your board last year, and I am not looking for any more trouble just now from Napier." Asserting that the chamber would have to make out a very good case, Mr. Anderson said that the argument against this representation was: ".Who are the payers of'dues? The • merchant is not; he simply passes his- dues on to the consumer." " These are not my opinions," said the Minister, • "but at J,he' same time they are hard to beat. /1 will see what chance there is of getting this clause through in the next session."

A sitting of the Native Land Court was opened at Greytown yesterday before Chief Judge Jones, with Mr. Kingi Tahuri as clerk and interpreter. The case before the Court referred to the question of relative interests or shares in which the Native owners were originally entitled to Wairarapa Lake. The title to this lake was investigated some years ago, and yielding to European desires, it was acquired l-> the Government. at. a cost of £2000, and suitable reserves were 'to be set apart for the Native owners of the lake. As time went on, it was found impract ticable to fix the reserves around the lake as intended, as meantime '''muchEuropean settlement, had taken place. A block, therefore, was acquired in the Taupa district, and was set aside for the Natives. In fixing the shares for this tne Natives objected to each person being treated as equally entitled, and petitioned Parliament.' As a result legislation was passed authorising the Court to define the- shares of the owners in the lilke property, with the object of applying the same to the land granted in exchange, known as the.Pouakani Block. On the ease being called, all parties desired an adjournment until Thursday next, which was grauted. Before doing so the Court gave an important ruling, holding that no fresh persons were to be admitted into the title, and that no person in the title could .be ejected. If any were found there to be without right, the shares of such persons might bs reduced.

The next step in conne'ction^witli the gigantic and fascinating proposal to ex posp and win the gold from the bed of the Kawarau ttiver will be made at the next sitting of- the Warden's Co.urt at Cromwell, when application will be made for claims to be field under miners' rights along the whole of the river from the mouth of the Shotover to Cromwell, telegraphs "The Post's" correspondent. The scheme is to work these claims when the water of the KawarSu can be shut off by the dam that is to be erected at Frankton Falls. When the claims are granted the scheme will be floated into a limited liability company. The gates that are to act as the clam are estimated to cost about £15 000 landed in Port Chalmers. The order for the gates will be cabled to England as soon as the scheme is complete in its organisation, and no delay is anticipated in regard to that matter. Plans and specifications are already in the possession of the builders in London, and the firm has given a quotation for the combination, s.o that on receipt of the cabled order ttia work can go ahead at once The gates are of the type known to engineers as btoney sluices." Stoney behi"' the uamtTof the inventor. The gates' will lift like a window to about 30 feet. The Money sluices type of dam is well proved. \lt, stood its big practical test at the Assouan Dam on the Nile, and has been tried with complete success at other places, notably on the Moo River in tfurwah. The gates that will be ordered for th£_Kawnrau are nearest in detail 'to those on the Moo lliver.

The Lower Hutt Borough Council has received _notice of the intention of the bcal police to enforce the bylaws relating to motor speeding and riding cycles on the footpath. ' "

The Postal authorities have received advice from Sydney that the Ulimaroa left at noon on Saturday for Auckland. She carries for Wellington 19 bass of mail from Australia and 5 parcel receptacles. ' •.'•■'

Each of the Lower Hutt Borough Councillors has been supplied by the engineer, Mr. Barnes, with a map of the borough, giving very full details of the streets, levels, and other information of value. Last evening councillors spoke very highly of the forethought of .the engineer in supplying the maps, which liacl required a cansiderabls amount of work.

A shark, no matter in what condition of health he happens to .!.)■■. is geneuilly a fairly formidable proposition in trie water, and it says much for the temerity of two swimmers ofa k.eal club that they entered the water at Lyall Bay yesterday and brought ashore,' barehanded, a shark about 'five feet in length. In justice to the fish, however, it must be said that lie was very sick, a:id could hardly'turn over when the young men caught him by the tail to /low him ashow . A shark' of any kind is a rarity at Lyall Bay, and theadvt:ifc <A this one created quitu a stir of-ex-citement, which, nevertheless, w.is not sufficient to deter the habitual swimmer from taking his morning dip. -Tim danger from sharks in the Bay is negligible. ° i

The.Defence Department y.ill biiii", out shortly a new issue of the Army List, which will contain some new ami interesting features. The issue which snould appear in February, will contain an up-to-date summary of the war service of all officers on the active list, and it will also contain a gradation list of officers of the Permanent Forces in a style similar to that of the Army J-.it t of the British Army. Some officers of the Reserve and Retired Lists may be disappointed to find their names omitted torn the list, but the reason in such cases is that the officers concerned have not reported as they are required to do once every year, in January. The-. Department finds it necessary to keep these lists, under constant revision, .and the names of officers who do not report are put on a Suspense List for Vine year. and after that are struck off if "no report has been received.

Australian medical experience with insulm, the new specific for diabetes, seems to be similar to that ii) New £kuland. Satisfactory results have followed its use. In the Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney there is now an average of fifteen diabetes patients' in residence. Before the advent of insulin, the average was five, and the deference has, therefore, some significance, especially as there has been a similar increase in all the other Sydney city hospital*. Confidence in the new treatment is not. however, to.be measured by the increase of patients alone. Many others are reported to- b e clamouring for. hdmissiurj. But admission must, of necessity, be icgulated by the amount of insulin available, and it is said that if the hospital authorities accepted all who applied they would have to increase their accommodation considerably;

: Approval of the desire of the Minister of Education (the Hon. C. 3. Parr) that in future school buildings shall be erected in wood/is expressed by the Dominion Sawmillers' Federation. In a letter to the Minister, Mr. A. Seed, secretary of the federation, 6ays : "At a lecent meeting of my executive, the matter of your then recent pronouncement respecting the merits of building in wood as against brick or'concrete' was men tioned by several members, and your action in this regard and in respect" to your endeavour to secure a reduction in tlie costs of school buildings met with -warm approval. I was directed, therefore, to convey to you the appreciation of this federation fpr the attitude yoij have adopted, and to assure you that this federation will strongly support every endeavour to secure any modification .in building requirements or specification, and utilise grades of timber that wilj effect this without in any way impairing the efficiency or life of the resultant building." :

The present year wil probably see quite a number of overseas steamers berth at Castlecliff wharf, Wangani.i River. At a meeting of the Wanganui Harbour Board oh Friday evening the chairman (Mr.' A. G. Bignell) said that advice had been received that the steamer Athpll would load at New York next month, and would have lfiOO tons of cargo for Wan&anui. He was hopeful that the Canadian Line of steamers would come to Wanganui, as they were a suitable size to work the port. A letter was next read from the British Imperial Oil Company, stating that previously they had doubts about sending their ships to Wanganui, but as the result of particulars received they would be prepared to send steamers to Castlecliff, upon completion of their store, provided the steamers did not draw more than eighteen feet. It was hoped to berth a vessel at Castlecliff in April. The chairman said the time was not far distant when all the oil'for the district would be landed ntthe Castlecliff wharf. Mr. Brijce: "Will it mean' cheaper oil?" The Chairman: "It.vyjll certainly save the coastal freight."

Remarkable improvements i:i the cable* system serving Aucklaniii have l)t«u brought about within the last . fevv months by the Pacific Cable' Board; principally by the construction of tflo new submarine cables between Auckland and Suva and between Sydney ;iiitf Southpqrl, and by the introduction ao t!ie Auckland station of the latest receiving and dispatching devices, states the "New Zealand Herald." Prior to the laying of these new cables much of ttie cable traffic from Canada to Australia was sent over the line passing through Suva, Norfolk Island, ;*njd Auckland, frequently causing congestion on the Auck-land-Sydney cable. By the new nrjangement the Auckland-Sydney section is left free for Now, Zealand traffic, the line via Southport being used for international traffic. Now that the new cables are working satisfactorily delays between Auckland and Sydney are prac-' tically abolished. In practice the average time taken by messages between these two points is 2£ minutes, although many messages go through in the remarkable time of one minute. A check taken by the Cable Board's "officers in Auckland has shown that messnges handed'in at the Auckland post office* can be delivered to the Sydney office in seven minutes.