NEWS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14829, 21 November 1913, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY.

All the Canterbury trout streams were reported clear yesterday morning.

The pfottire of "The Shadow of the Ctosb," introduced into Christchurch by Mr Edwin Kilpatrick, and shown in the studio next Ballantyne's. is attracting considerable attention, and was viewed yosrorday by largo crowds. The pointing is certainly a mysterious one. Mr Kilptrick will hold contin nous receptions throughout tho season from 1 to 5 o'clock.

. Justice I>onniston -will settle tibe civil hst at 10.30 a.m. to-day.

The "Wellington branch of tio N'aTj I«eaguo has been notified that H.M.S V s m, ?• is no: at acting as & drill-ship, such work is oeint; carried on only by the l'yramus, no.vat Auckland.

Tho Wellington Hospital Board v»terday received a cheque for £000 from the solicitors to tho «>stato of the lata \\ill:a:n Findlay. The bequesi carfieg .1 Govonr.iwit suU-idy of IQs in the £t, so that institution benefits to the extent of £750.

The annual celebration of St. Andrew's Day by the Canterbury Cale* douian Society will take place on Saturday, i*hh inst.. and this year will take the form of a supper party, pro. sided over by the president. Mr John Connal.

At n largely-attended mooting of tho Christohurch branch of the Post and Telegraph Association, called to consider the deadlock with the. Public Service ConusisMunors and U»i delegates at the recent Conference, tho following motion was.passed unanimously:— "'That this branch recommends tho delegates to use their best endeavours to get tho findings of the. Conference before the Commissioners, even if it, v cans tfie withdrawal of tho resolution, and to use every conciliatory means possible.' .

About 10.15 last night the residents near the fire brigade station. Lytt«|. ton, wore startled by the ringing of the firobell. The tolling, which was very irregular, and not very loud, was sufficient to Mimtnon a number of firemen to the scene. Tho police station Wing just opposite, the unusual ringing was noticed, and a constable, Tmrrving across to the bell-tower, discovered a man in a drunken condition talf-way up the ladder, amusing himself by pulling the copes, by means of which the bell was rung. He was taken-to tho lock-up, and will appear beforo the Court this morning.

The annual meeting of tho South Island Bands Association was held at Itirercargill yesterday. After the annual report had been adopted (says a .Press Association niessago) several" delegates subjected tho executive to adverso criticism in connexion with tho trouble which arose over tho appointment of a judge for the present contest. Notice of motion had been given to remove the headquarters of tho Association from Christchurch to Dunedin. but as the necessary 31 days' notice had not boon civeu, it was ruled out of order. A motion was then carried that the meeting should adjourn till January 22nd at Dunedin. The officers for the year wero not elected, and no further business was done.

The barbarous action of some persons in distributing specially proparoa nails over the roadvray with tho object of injuring horses used by the special constables was referred to at Tuesday night's meeting of the Society for the prevention of Cruelty to Animals at Wellington. Inspector Seed explained that the nails were prepared in such a manner that when thrown down the sharpened ends remained pointing upwards. If one of these. penetrated a horse's hoof it would be almost an impossible thing to extract it, and a, yaluablo animal would be permanently injured. Casea had been reported to him by private citizens of horses being maimed, and there wero also othur cases that had come under his own notice, but he had not been able to catch any of the perpetrators. Malici- • ously wounding horses in such a manner was an offence, the punishment of which was imprisonment for five or seven years. It was a brutal and - bolical thing, and he would do all in, . his power to bring offenders to book. These sentiments gained tho entiro ap». ~ probation of members of tho committed-.'

Two specimens of rainbow trout t&aS were extraordinarily unlike in si«),"aV though shoal brothers, wore exhibited to members of the Linmean Society in Sydney last week by Mr D. G. Stead, the Now Sooth Wales fisheries expert. They were both yearHriga and came from the hatchery at Prospect, near Sydney. One may have had a fortnight's start out of hia egg over the other, but which one Sir Stead could not say. One weighed 1 l-16oz, and was nearly 6in long, and the other weighed 18JOZ, and was about loin Jong, Never before in Mr Stead's experience has such an abnormal development of trout occurred at Prospect. The two fish were , typical of many others, but the astonisbinc thing was that the largest fish was the size and weight of many three-year-olds which were stripped of their ova this year. About a year ago -Mr Stead placed outflow valves in the ponds at Prospect to provide for the water being run off from the bottom and not only from the' top. This may have had something todo with tho improvement in certain ■ fish. The usual size of yearling is about fivo or six inches. Mr Stead says that the improvement in trout culture and development in the cultivation of Murray cod and yellow-belly may be looked for.

The following letter, -which has been received by the secretary of the Society for the Health of Women and Children from the Children's Bureau of the United States Department of Labour, gives come indication of the importance attached to the work'of the New Zealand Society. The letter, which is dated Washington, October 15th, reads as follows:—"The Children's Bureau is exceedingly interested in obtaining all the available infonna- ■ tion concerning the methods of your society in carrying on. the welfare work for babies. The results of your campaign have boon so striking that itw felt that wo should be acquainted with as many of the details as possible in, order that they may be referred to by tho agencies engaged in similar work in this country. Any points dealing with the organisation of tho society and its operations will be appreciated— instructions to nurses, methods of training, tho area which itie practicable to cover by the activities of a single nurso of a welfare station, standard of finance sheot used, and any • other details which would be helpfol. ■ In a previous letter wo asked to be supplied with a certain number of copies of your last report. It is poe- , siblo that in the response to this letter somo of tho points referred to may W covered. With much appreciation or the achievements of your society, itonrs -• very respectively, Lewis Henarn, «*- ---ing-chief." ■"

It is a matter of common knowiefe* that, whether fay coincidence or «*<?" wise, the march of the missionary »» porno of tfa« South Sea Islands bb» been followed by a gradual » tho number of the native inhabitants. l>r. Itamsay Smith, of Adelaide, in ■ lecture delivered last week, P r ° vlded w reason for this depooulation. He sp"*? of tho ravages of "what ho t 6l "™** tropical iangour, bringing about poor digestion and fever. '-The natives or tho South Seas arc an active race ana are not lazy, as some P^pte think," he remarked. "In the past, the missionary has sometimes, oome alonfi and stopped tho religions dance* and other energetic observances wniefl have prevailed -imong the natives tor hundreds of yoars, with the rerolt tha, it has meant elimination, l.nia has been recopnised now, and mueionaW are bejrinnini? to trouble the people lees with 4bbaih observance* and aro not interfering so much wjth their ordinary activities. They am them to do honest labour— looking after «ws and pigs, coffee plantations, and so He mentioned the cw of one island, which had been considered to be tne naoßt and free from aleohcJ. and asserted tfcat in thortr yeara the population had docreased W one-tonth of what it had Tha* instance rato some idea of thc . d * n v»lt of intorfcrinr'with customs which haa bacomn onjjrain'"-' in tho nature w* native race. "The best thing to a° would bo '.o lot the natives alone, added tho doctor.

The Dunedin Trades and Labour Conncil hns decided to recommend unions to support Mr J. A. McCullough »* tho workers' representative on the Arbitration Court.

The SUite Advances Bill and the Hauraki Plains A.t Amendment Bill wero put through their final stages in the Legislative Council yesterday afternoon.

The St. John Ambulance street collection, which was fixed for Saturday, 29th inst., and for which permission ivas obtained from bis Worship the ■Mayor, has been postponed, in view of tho" unsettled industrial conditions.

At the Divorce Court at Thinedin ycswrda.v. decrees nisi were granted ]n the cases of Violet Mary Heazlewood v. Joseph Arthur Heazlewood, desertion, .in'rl Mntilda Duckworth v. Thomas Duckworth, desertion.

As a result 01 tho circular letter written by Mr Edgar F. Stead in condemnation of the English mallard, the South Canterbury Acclimatisation Society yesterday decided to breed no more of these birds (they have reareil about 150 thi.-i season), and to dispose of those they have, on hand. Tho Society decided to breed the native prey duck and teal in confinement instead of the mallards.

The ballots of the raemtwrs of the Christchurch Tramway Employees' Union on the questions of affiliation to the United Federation or Labour and lo the Social Democratic Party resulted in both proposals being negatived. Of 230 papers sent out 198 were returned. The voting on the question of affiliation to the U.F.L. was: —For SO, against 118: majority against liS. On the question of affiliation to the S.D.P. the voting was —For BS, against 110; majority Igainst 'J'2.

Among the pa.%engere by tho Uliniaxoa ior Sydney yesterday were thu members of the Genee and the J. C Williamson Comic Opera companies. Chatting with a reporter, Mr J. Farrcll, manager of the latter company, said that neither company was taking back to Sydney any of its effects, all being left behind in New Zealand, r.;ost of them at 'Wellington. When tho Comic Opera Company appeared at Christchurch. it had in use the first set of "The Sunshine Girl," ant! parts of "The Belle of New York" and "Quaker Girl , ' sets. Really, however, neither company had suffered through the strike, and the Lyttelton Strike Committee had allowed them to ship their personal baggage. The Lyttelton Strike Committee had, moreover, stated that it had no objections ot tho Comic Opera Company shipping tho scenery it used locally, but stated that if this trerft done it- Trould only lead to trouble on the other Ride.

Walter J. Watson, D.8.0.A., London, Expert Optician (near Kineaid's). Accurate Sight-testing and Spectaclefitting, Repairs to Frames and broken Lenses matched. Charges moderate. 8

Some very special lines procurable at either of Messrs Armstrong's stores to-day: Women's coloured or black lace hose, Is pair, somo very choice linos of neclcwear at English cost, a sample purchase, priced at 10$ d, Is, Is 3d upwards; a great -selection of coloured ribbons, 6 inches wide, 7{d per yard, in all shades. 1

;'Salo of Humber Motors. 3Jh.p., 3-epeed, £75 new. Free engine, £57 10s new. 2h.p., fixed, £37 10s new. 3Jh.p., 3-speed, £50. 3Jh.jp., fixed, £45. Sucklings Garage, Worcester street. • 2 Dr. Van Slyke, Specialist, Eye, Ear, Throat, and Nose, has removed to the Dominion Buildings, opposite Square and Broadway's. Telephone 744. 6 .Wβ would recommend our gentlemen friends to view the season's styles in shirts' at Messrs Armstrong. They have Silk, Tennis, Neglige, Cricket,,in fact, any make, at wonderfully low prices. , 2

Nothing is utilised in manufactxiring Thomson's Lemon Syrup which does not come, up to tho highest standard of purity. It is pure, wholesome syrup, far above - the ordinary for quality. Makes healthful, refreshing drinks at smallest cost. All grocers. Ford and Mirams, agents. 8

Christmas is coming! . If you havo gifts for despatch to friends abroad, notify the New Zealand Express Company Ltd. They will call for your parcels and forward them by mail steamer at cheapest rates in the surest fashion. Telephone 206. 5