LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVII, Issue 4927, 18 January 1926, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The new road to the railway station was opened for traffic on Saturday morning. His Worship the Mayor being the first to go over the new highway after the barriers had been removed.

It te s.tated tha.t 17,000 gallons of sea water an hour are being pumped night and day from the foundation work on the old Thames Hotel site in Queen Street. Auckland.

Mr J. DI Crawloro, who was picked up hi an unconscious condition on the Puke Road on Thursday night, is still an inmate of the private hospital.

Very hot weather conditions continue locally. Yesterday afternoon heavy rain fell in the town, but more would be welcome.

Ten Waihi motorists will be charged in the Waihi Magistrate’s Court tomorrow with having failed to produce motor drivers’ licenses when requested to do so. Two or three others will appear on different, chargee'. With the exception of one case all the informations have been laid by the police.

The Waikato Times understands tiiat Mr E. H. Nbrthcioft, on behalf of Mr Dynes' Fulton, chairman of directors of the New Zealand Co-operative Da.iry Company, has issued a writ against Messrs English and Luxford, accountants, of Hamilton, claiming £lOOO damages for alleged breach of contracti-

on Thursday last, about midnight, a local business man found a person in his shop. After making a hurried explanation and a quick exit the intruder, seeing a car in the street going to Waihi, asked for a lift and was safely conveyed to that town, where he entered _a chemist’s shop. Some money had been left in the cash register in the front shop, but the fa£t that the machine had not been tampered with, and no goods appear to be missing, suggests, that the visitor was disturbed almost immediately atter entering the premises and decamped. The police were able to get a full description of the mail, and are now well on his track and hope to run him to earth.

Tuesday’s thunderstorm on the southern part of the Plains produced an unexpected flood of short duration. Practically np damage was done, although the' Waitakaruru-Morrinsville road at Torehape was rendered impassable for a short time .through being covered with logs a,nd debriSl Not for many years has the Torehape creek been po high. All the' outlet drains in the neighbourhood of Kaihere were taxed to their utmost.

A peculiar accident happened at Kerepeehi on Thursday evening. Phillip Innes, son of Mr A. Ji. Innes, was driving a motor truck when he collided with an electric power pole as a result of endeavouring to see, through the vents at the side of the bonnet, if the fa,n was working. The truck was only slightly damage;!, but the impact broke an insulator and a wire became detached. The wire rested against the pole and eventually burned its way' right through.

At the Paeroa Magistrate’s. Court, before Mi- j. H. Salmon, S.Mi, this morning, Robert Stevenson sought a variation of the maintenance order for £2 a week issued on M,ay 1, 1923, in favour of his wife, so that the money could be paid to the Mental Hospitals Department, Wellington. Tlie order was varied so that the mother of Mrs Stevenson receives 10s a week for the child, and .the Mental Hospital Department is to be paid £1 10s a week.

The War Office meat contract for the Mediterranean forces has been given exclusively to Australia. It consists of 450 i .tons of beef and 75 tons of mutton for Gibraltar, 1020 tons, of beof and 180 tons of mutton for Malta, and 540 tons of beef and 60 tons of mutton for Port S.aid, for JanuaryMay delivery. Tlie ether countries which tendered for the contract were New Zealand, South Africa, and South America.

Householders throughout New Zealand wili ha.ve an onerous task to perform in a few months’ time —the filling in of a census, paper. Just when the next census will be taken has, not been announced, but as the last one was in 1921, and the, law requites l an enumeration every five years, the work, must be carried out again in 1926.

“People like you are a danger to the community. You will be fined £lO. Have you got your license on you ?” “Yes.” “Very well, then ; ha,nd it in. You won’t need it after this, as 1 ain going to take it away from you. v The above dialogue 'occurred between the Magistrate, Mr C. R. lOrr-Walker, and Guy Nlcholspn . in. the Magistrate’s 1 Court, Wellington, when Nicholson was charged with exceeding the speed limit of 12 .miles an hour at Koro. Koro, and with driving a. motor-cycle in a manner dangerous to the, public,

The total births registered for the areas of the Dominion during December amounted to 1074, against 1086 in November, a decrease of 12. Deaths in December were 507, an increase of 33 a,s compared with the previous month. Of the total deaths, males contributed 256 and females 251. Fiftycue of the deaths were childteh under five years of age, being 10106 per cent, of the whole number. Thirty-nine of these were under one year of age.

The January “Aussie,” just to hand, is crammed from cover to cover witli bright pictures, stories, and. verse. Tlie leading artists and writers from Australia, and New Zealand contribute of their bes,t to this issue, making it a. rea,Uy memorable one for the commencement of the year. The New Zealand section is always interesting, and the monthly features, the literary page, and the N,Z. Women’s Section sparkle with bright paragraphs. Other new features complete a magazine that is just as interesting for outdoor a f s well as for indoor reading.