GENERAL TELEGRAMS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 222, 13 January 1911, Page 5

GENERAL TELEGRAMS

BANKING RETURNS. By Telegraph. —Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. The banking returns for the past quarter show deposits to total £22,503,317, and advances £19,053,388, being an excess of deposits of £2,909,929. In the corresponding period of last year, the deposits exceeded advances by £1,988,074. A JURYMAN FINED. Auckland, Thursday. When a citizen is summoned as a juryman at an inquest the law compels him to be present, and a defaulter is liable to a penalty of' £5. It is not often that jurymen fail to appear, but the coronei (Mr. T. Gresham) had a case to deal with a few days ago which was the first case of this kind Mr. Gresham had experienced. The man in question refused to come to the inquest, and in spite ol a warning that he would be fined he failed to appear. Then he refused to pay the line inllicted (£1), but when he was informed that it would be increased to £5 he stepped down and mildly paid £l. THE TOURIST TRAFFIC. Auckland, Thursday. The tourist traffic during the Christmas and New Year holidays was probably a record. While no definite returns are available it seems, according to a local tourist bureau, that it was at least 80 per cent, greater than last year. Passages were booked for all parts of the Dominion. The Rotorna traffic was something enormous, and trains and bqardinghouses were taxed to their utmost capacity. The floating population at Rotorua during the holidays has been estimated at upwards of 3000, and even still it is somewhat difficult to secure accommodation there. Never before have the tourist offices experienced such an exodus of Aucklanders. In the face of this comes the information that hotel proprietors and boardinghouse-keepers state that their accommodation is as fully taxed still as was the case during the holidays. CONTIXGENTERS' OFFER. Auckland, Thursday. It is probable that a deputation, representing men wuo served during the South African war in the New Zealand contingents, will wait upon Majoi-Gen-eral Godley, when that officer is in Auckland, the object being to offer their services as a separate corps in the Defence Forces. It will be remembered that a similar offer was made some time ago to the Government, but nothing definite was decided, probably on account of the proposed change in the Territorial system of defence.