GENERAL NEWS.

Shannon News, 20 December 1921, Page 4

GENERAL NEWS.

The Stratford Town Hall was the scene of a large and very enthusiastic gathering on Thursday evening, when ex-pupils of the Stratford District High School and citizens of the town and district combined to do honour to Mr F. A. Tyrer,, the retiring headmaster, who has presided over the school for the past 30 years, and made it one of the leading educational institutions of the Dominion. Mr Tyrer was presented with two addresses, one from his

ex-pupils and the other from the people of the town and district, and a cheque for £IOO from the ex-pupils. . The Superintendent of Housing reported that during the 12 months ended November, 1920, roughly 5000 houses have been built or were being built in the various cities, boroughs, and town districts of the Dominion, in addition to which many improvements and additions wei# made to existing dwellings. No reliable information is obtainable as to the number built in the country or rural districts; no dduM the shortage, does rot exist in these districts to any great extent, but it would be reasonable to assume that in all at least. 6000 houses were built throughout the Dominion during the year. After allowing for fires and demolitions, estimated by experts at about 1330 per annum, there should he a net increase of 4670 houses during the year. The increase in the, population of New Zealand during the same period was 30,000, for whom, at H persons per room about 4000 fiveroomed liomses would be required. It would app.ear, therefore, that the number of overcrowded houses Ts rot quite as great, as it was in 1916.

“The crj minal statistics for 1520 sho\V an extraordinary number of cases of homicide, there being thirteen cases of murder and thirteen of manslaug'nter,” states the Commissioner of Police in his annual, report to the Nlinister-in-Charge of Police. “There w/ere also eight cases of attempted murder. It is impossible to assign any reason for such an extraordinary number—no common cause in the conditions of the people can be discovered which would account for it. 'The circumstances in which the crimes were committed Indicate that they were riot' preventable by any police measures. As many of the crimes were committed with firearms, it is believed that the operation of the Arms Act will eventually, titough not immediately, reduce the number of fatalities due to the criminal use of firearms. The skill am L ability displayed in detecting soi ne of the murder cases, which v cere of 'an exceptionally difficult nature, show that we have in New Zealand a police force which may compar e favourably with any similar body ini the Empire.” ,