AUCKLAND HAPPENINGS.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 13 June 1918, Page 3

AUCKLAND HAPPENINGS.

[From Our Own Correspondent]

Auckland, June 10

THE KING'S BIRTHDAY

The appearance presented byAuckland on the 3rd certainlyfailed to suggest that a world-war was raging, and that the fate of Empires trembled in the balance. The .weather was fine, the streets were thronged with the usual holiday crowds. The boats bound for the seaside resorts were crammed with picnickers, and there was a record attendance at the races, £66,519 going through the totalisators, making the total investments for the two days (Saturday and Monday) £125,972. The cutting out of the race-trains by the Railway authorities does not appear to effect the attendance at Ellerslie and the other suburban courses in the slightest degree, People -who formerly travelled by train now travel by tram, 'bus, "trap," and motor-car. And if these vehicles were not available they would doubtless walk. A motorcar filled to overflowing with "sports" of a certain type en route for the races is an edifying spectacle. One car-load of these men passed me on Monday at break-neck speed. A valuable dog was run over and killed by this car, but the " sports " didn't so much as glance back. A bystander remarked to me: "It would have been just the same if they had run over a child — they wouldn't have stopped." I don't suppose they would. They might have missed a " dividend," you see. Bon Reve, by the way, the winner of the Great Northern Hurdles, paid something worth while, apropos of which an advertisements in the " personal " column in next day's " Herald " amused me: "If the gentleman who collected dividend on |Bon Reve for lady at Ellerslie yesterday will kindly leave the money at' Herald ' office he will oblige." Wonder whether the "gentleman" obliged ?

A BIG DEAL.

The purchase by the Farmers' Union Trading Co. of the Laidlaw Leeds concern was a big thing.1 The Laidlaw Leeds business was a mail-order one, and the most successful venture of that kind the Dominion has known. I am told on the best authority that, it had an annual turnover of some £280,000. Mr Robert Laidlaw has been appointed, manager of the combined "businesses —and will have his hands full.

THE WILY HUN.

Writes .my Wellington colleague : " A story told by the Hon. T. M. Wilford, in the course of a lecture in this city a night or two ago, excited both interest and amusement. After the FrancoGerman war, Mr Wilford told us, thousands of mustard-pots . designed to represent a swine's head, with a spiked helmet, were sold in France. The German Government professed to be highly indignant, yet all those mustard - pots were actually manufactured in Frankfort! Although the Huns thus exposed themselves to ridicule and contempt they didn't care a button! All they looked to was the material gain, and the getting back, by a ruse, of some of their lost trade." They will doubtless resort to similar tactics after the present war.

WOMEN DRINKERS.

It was popularly supposed in this country that the women's vote would kill the drink traffic. That was a long time ago. It hasn't killed it yet. So far from that a good deal of tippling by women is indulged in, at all events in Auckland. The r,eport just submitted by the police to the Licensing Committee at its annual meeting showed that at one suburban hotel 150 women are in the habit of drinking daily, while 180 women patronise another hotel daily, and 100 a third house. Beer is the favorite refreshment, ;*t seems, triere being, according to the hotel-keepers, very little "spirit consumed, and very little drunkenness. The police admit the correctness of the latter statement. As to the drinking of spirits there ; is hardly likely to be much-of JtHa^fcconsidering, that a. measure of whisky or gin • containing about half; a -w.-ineglassful, oi' a:little more, retails at 9d now. By the way, thers.. has been a further rise in,the price of case-whiskies during the last two days' Wellknown brands now cost 11/6 per bottle. Four years ago they were worth 5/-. The war is doing more in the cause of sobriety than all the temperance reformers have been able to accomplish ! A WEATHER PROPHET. An old farming friend of mine, down for the Conference, and not yet returned^ to .the: wilds of the Waikato, was .discussing the weather with me yesterday, and

incidentally the name of Mr Clement Wragge cropped up. " I don't quite know," said my friend, " how Mr Wragge arrives at his forecasts, and I know nothing of what I may call scientific meteorology. But I have made a close study of the weather and the seasons for nearly forty years past, and I predict that the present winter will.prove an exceptionally fine one, comparatively speaking, that is. ARam we shall have, of course. But there will be less of it than usual and there will be a good deal more sunshine than usual. Make a note of this, and see whether I am right or not."

MONEY IN VIOLETS

An Aucklander who has recently returned from a • trip to Otaki states that the Maoris there are running violet-farms with conspicuous success. One of them has between 3000 and 4000 plants and proposes to increase the number next season. He sends 1500 blooms to Wellington daily to one consignee, has a standing order for 6000 blooms a week to another, and could'place an order for 4000 blooms a week with another if he could supply them. Flower-farms have long been in evidence in England, where they are generally run by women. Properly conducted they are very profitable undertakings.

SALT

.; Salt is one of the things,that have considerably .increased in price in. Auckland since the war started. This reminds me that years ago a company was formed in this city to manufacture salt by evaporating , sea - water. Rangitoto, the triple - peaked mountain in Auckland harbour, and which overlooks the city, was selected as the scene of operations, but the scheme fizzled out, owing, it was thought, to the competition of imported salt. But now the position has changed. Australia has prohibited the export of salt, and. shipments from the Old Country arc few and of small account. Probably if a syndicate were formed here to produce salt now, or one was formed in any suitable locality for the purpose it would prove a big success.. Here's a chance for the company promoter ! : ;

NEW ZEALAND'S

INDUSTRIES

Those who, like myself, attended the address by the Minister for Internal Affairs at the Town Hall the other .night,, on "New Zealand's Industrial Position to-day and its Future,'" were much impressed. Vast areas of land,, said the speaker, still lay idle""in this -Dominion, and many of our industries were as yet practically undeveloped.' For many years the balance of trade had been in favour of this' country, and after we had paid* for our impurts we had still somel £10,000,000 to receive from these to whom we had forwarded outproduce. Another interesting point was made by Mr Russell in referring to New Zealand's former trade with Germany, In 1914 we sent Hun-land nearly, half a million's worth of goods, comprising wool, kauri gum, scheelite, etc. The year before war broke out Germany purchased one^third of our scheelite —to make ammunition with which to; fight; tire British Empire.