LOCAL & GENERAL

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 40, 10 November 1937, Page 4

LOCAL & GENERAL

WHite Butterfty. The white butterfiy does not appcar to be so plentxful this year as in forjner suminers, and offlcial opinion is that tbe parasite liberated by the Oawthron" lnstitute has been dojng good work in destroying the butterfiy. Compamtively few have been seen in Haetings and epvxtona so far, but more May be expmed to put in an appear- . ance as the weather becomes warmer Bltten by Katlpos. Workmen eUgaged on sand-flxation work at Bottle Lake, Christchurch, have been bitten by katipo spiders, So grave is the aanger Of attack by theee deadly insects, which are particularly thick this scason, that tkd men have been' supplied with leather gloves, and ant.'idotOs to the poison are kept on tlie job. Jfrompt attention has minimiscd the effect of 1he bites, but it is; understood that. One or two.pf the men have been off work for sonie time through them Birds' Tbreatened Extinction. .The threatened' extinction of the giteen New Zealand parrot, the kakariki, is causing naturalistg considerable Concern. Of approximately the same size as the blackbird the parrots were familiar figures in bueh and reserves -a few years ago, but now they are to be t'ound only in remote parts of New Zealand. A concentrated move for the preservation of these paTrots is under the ccnsideration of nature lovera.

BroKen Insulators. The Hawke's Bay Eleetrie Power Board has decided to offer £1 reward for inforraation leading to the conviction of any one res'ponsible for the breaking of insulators in the Maraekakaho district. A section of the engxneei's report, presented at yesterday's meeting of the board, pointed out that seveial had been broken neat t,he sciiool, and it was decided to instruct the secretary to get in touch with the head teacher there, in case school children were responsible, and also to ofi'er a reward. Brldge cpnstntctiom BSihething "new in bridge building was xtjvealed yesterday by the removal o|' portion of the wooden casing round thp concrete-work on- the new traffic bridge in course of erection at Waipukurau. The approach to the new bridge at each end will be curved, so that the completed structure will take the form of a letter S. To counteract the tendency, therefore, for fast-trav-elling vehicles to go off at a tangent yrhen rounding the bends, the bridge has been built with a camber at one side where the curves are greates't. This type of construction, although familiar in Toad making and on speed tracks, must be somewhat novel in bridge construction. otahuhu Electorate. According to staleraents made tnis week, the present Labour member for Hauraki, Mr C. B, Petrie, will seek re-election for the new Otahuhu elee torate created as a result of tho partitioning of tbe?original Hauraki electorate by the report Of the North Island Bepresentatives Commission. His opponent at the lant election, Mr W. W. Massey, Ihe National Party candldate, stated that in the event of re-en-tetJng the politics! field he would contest the, new Hauraki electorate. At least three naines have so far been mentioned as likely candidates in the Otahuhu electorate. They are Mr S. W. House, of Mangere, Mr A. C. Trous* daie, of Pakuranga, and Mr A. * E. Moore, of Eaet Tamaki.

' 'Waiata Poi." A unique broadcast from Germany wae heard in Hastings on Sunday eveniug. The programme was intended for Australian and New Zealand lisfeners and included a number of Maori songs sung by a* German chdir with orchestrat accomvaniment. Those who are familiar with Maoti music were intrigued by the treatmOnt of such well known songs as "Waiata Poi," and "Waiata Maori," $ung in English by German artists. "Waiata Poi," which is supposed to be siing in a spirited manner, representing the rhythm of the poi dance was given a dirge-like tempo and any Maorife who might have been listening in to tke 1 broadcast must have amuaed by this interpretation of one of iheir. favourite songs. It was quite apparent that the German artists had xYonld have known that this descriptive song should be taken much faster. Wages of Shop Juniors. The payment of half-yearly increases of wages to junior workers under the Shops aiid Ofiices Amendment Act is cldimed to be a source of injustice to erdployees by the Associated Chambers Of Confmerce. A remit passed By the annuhl conference of the chambers in Timaru stated that this provision prevented the empJoyers from rewarding merit, and dcprived many boys and girls of employment. The conference reS'jived— -"That this conference point out the injus'tices being perpetrated by the application of a provision unde* the Shops and Offlces Ainendment Act, fcfuction 8, for the payment of halfvoariy increases of 4/« up to a; rainimutu of £2, for all junior workers on the ground ' that tke provision (1) mahes it impracticable for the omployer' to reward merifc in' excess qf the statutory rgte, and (2) it deprives mahy young boys and girls engaged ae measago boys, ofiice juniors, etc., ot their emplpymeut, because it is found uueeonomio to. pay tkem the statutory niinitnum for the work they are.: do* mg."

Judglng of Gardeus. 1 Visits of inspeetion will be made next week by the judges to the residences of those citizehs in Hastings who entered into the best-kept garden competition organised by the Hastings and District Progress League. Entries totalled 24 for the competition and the rules provide for tfie judges to inspect the gardens in November and again in March.

No Liability. When native owners of property at Waiohiki claimed that, as a compensatiou for having built towers on their land, the Hawke's Bay Electric Power Board should supply power free of Charge, the secretary manager of thq bOard,, Mr H. H. Wylie, was asked lo mvcstigate tio position. At yesterday's meeting he told members that hec, had found out that the board could not be held liable under the Act, because the complainants had . not lodged their complaints within 12 months of tho time th6 towers were built. Highways Lighting. When the matter of remits for the Munu'ipal Association ,'s conference came up at che meeting of the Dannevirke Borough Council, the Mayor, Mr E. Gibbard suggested that one be sent recommending the Municipal Association to ask the Government to pay their proportion of the cost of lighting tne lnain highways, in the same "way as the rnain Highways Board provided for the mamtenauce of highways. Councillors suiiported the Mayor, and it was agreed to lorward a remit on the lines mentioned,.

Loss of Elingamite. Thirty-five years ago yesterday, the Elingamite, a Huddart Parker steamer, ran ashore on West Island of. the Three Kings .Group and 45 of tho 136 passenger3 and crew of 59 were lost. Dense fog was over the sea at the time, and the vessel sank 20 minutes after striking the rocks. A lifeboat with 37 passengers and 17 of the crew reached the mainland, while 89 other survivors were. picked up by the steamer Zealandia and eight rescued from a raft by the H.M.S, Penguin. Bullion, valued at £17,320, carried by the vessel was never recevered. £17,000,000 Wool Oheque. The past wool season was the best for niue years, according to the annual report of the Departniont of Agriculture. From saies in the Dominion of 663,798 bales a total of £14,903,257 was realised, while, on an estimated sale of 80.000 bales* sent direct to London, a further £2,000.000 was obtained, making a total of approximately £17,000,000. This Compares more than favourably With the 1935 and 1936 totals of £4 401,010 and £9,840,427. A feature this year was the abnormally small difference between the fmest and coarsest lines of wool. Foreign Air Mail. Last:minute facilities for catching mails for abroad ate offered in the establishment of an inlaid air mail service to connect ; with mail steamers leaving Auckland. This may be availed of by "Hastings residents next week for an inland air mail which closes at Hastings at 6 a.m. on Monday, November 15. Letters in this mail for Great Britain, Iteland, Europe, Canada, U.S.A.,* Fiji, Japan, Hoholulu, and Samoa, at the usual inland air mail rates will connect with the 7.50 . a.m. plane to Palmerston North, to reach the Monterey at Auckland, Christmas letters for Great Britain may be sent by the mail, which will arrive at London on December 12.