GENERAL NEWS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16146, 26 February 1918, Page 6

GENERAL NEWS.

All tho Canterbury rivers were reported clear yesterday, cxcept tho Rangitata, which was fishable.

"You may comment as strongly and as_ often as you like on a public man," said Mr Justicc Chapman, during his summing up in a libel action yesterday, "but before you do so you must have facts, and mako certain of your facts. Comment without facts, or with perverted facts, is. no comment."

The question of instituting a superannuation fund for employees cf the City Council was raised again at last evening's meeting of the Council by Ci". Taylor, upon whoso motion it was decided to discuss the matter at tho next meeting of the Council. As the result of some further discussion, tho question was ro-opened, and it was dcciced, owing to pressure of business, to postpone discussion till the meeting in the second week in Aoril.

"Challenged" was a very frequent greeting for the juror whose name was called when tho jury in the libel action. Beath.and Co., Ltd. v. the John Bull Newspaper Proprietary Ltd., was being selected at the Supreme Court yesterday. Counsel is allowed six challenges, and the threo counsel engaged used their full powers, with the result that 18 jurors had to stand down. The caso was tho first of tho local civil sittings, and there was the usual crop_of applications for exemption from service on the jury, the excuses ranging from deafness to the fact that a pawnbroker had no_ on e but himself to look after his business. All the applications, six in number, were grantod.

It i.j anticipated that tho pedestal of i the Godley statue will be completed and 1 readv to receive tho statue ui about a ! week's time. Arthur's Pass advised last evening that it was raining heavily and steadily from tho north-west ._ The Bealey river was high, and rising. The Abattoir. Reserves, and Market Committee reported to the City Council last evening that it is arranging to meet a deputation from tho Dairymen's Association to further discuss the block system of milk delivery before any definite action is taken. Ouv I/ur.edm correspondent telegraphs that in order to save putting The env to tho heavy expense of holdin'* tho licensing election next month, the suggestion has been made that the temperance and moderate parties should coniuromi e—two members to bo selected l'v each, and that the fiath be selected i'y the Government. "There is no greater fallacy in the world than tho old saying. 'There is no sentiment- in business.' " said Mr F. Wilding. K.C., in the Supreme Court vesterday. ''Bus' -ss is full of it- Sentiment is everywhere. What is it that sends our brave boys to ihe front, that leads our gallant ladies to Bed Cross work, but sentiment? Everything that is good and noble in the world rests on sentiment." Owners and occupiers of property whore hedges are encroaching on the footpaths are to bo notified by advertisement by the City Council that they must be trimmed within fourteen days, or proceedings will bo taken. Tho Council decided upon this course last evening upon tho recommendation of its Works"and Sanitary Committee. The committee stated that it also found that thcie wero many hedges at street corncrs which obscured tho view and rendered traffic dangerous, and tho committee trusted that the owners of these hedges would assist the Council by liavj jug them lowered to a reasonable height i front the ground. Tho continued absonco from liis homo of Mr A. J. Thompson, late clerk of tho Court at Queenstown, is causing great anxiety to his friends (says yesterday's "Otajro Daily Times"). Some months ago Mr Thompson suffered a serious nervous breakdown, and for some timo ho lias been subject to fits o? deep depression, losing for the time all sense of locality. Ho left his homo on Sunday week to visit a friend at St. Clair, and since then he lias been completely lost. In appearance Mr Thompson is of medium stature, had very fair hair, wore a dark suit, a brown overcoat, and a soft grey felt hat. Observant citizens will have noted that recently there has been a dismantling of several stone erections in different parts of the city which wore originally intended and for many years used as lamp-posts. Some of the stone has come in very handy in connexion with the removal and re-erec-tion of the Godley statue. As difficulty was experienced in getting suitable and similar stone from existing quarries, the stone from these old lamp-posts has been used, as it is if the same kind as that of which the pedestal was constructed, and will lenlace some of the original stone which had begun to "peel" off. In time the stone from the lamp-posts, which has been, of course, freshly dressed, will "weather" to tho same colour of the older stone. Tho funds required by the City Council for tho operation of the Electricity Supply Empowering Act liavo up till now been obtained from the Sanitation Empowering Act account, and no debentures have bcecl issued. Reporting to the Council last evening, tho Bylaws and Finance Committee stated that it might, however, bo necessary to issue debentures to enable tho Council to continuo making advances. The Act provided that the rate of interest payable in respect of debentures issued under tho Act was not to exceod 5 per cent. It would bo impossible to issuo debentures at that rato of interest at present, and the committee recommended that Parliament be asked to amond tho Act, making tho maximum rato of interest 6 per cent. This could be done by inserting a clause in the Local Bill now being prepared dealing with one or two other matters. A legal question of some moment was broached by Mr C. Thomas in 'uhe Magistrate's Court yesterday, before Mr T. A. B. Bailoy, S.M. Mr Thomas appeared for plaintiff in a claim for use and occupation. Soon after the opening of the case the Magistrate said that he did not foel justified in adjudicating upon a legal point raised. Mr Thomas contendod that if a question of title arose it could only rise incidentally. and tho Magistrate would have jurisdiction to determine it. The question of title was only relevant so far as it tended to prove or disprove tho existenco of an express or implied agreement of tenancy. It might,, in the circumstances of any particular case, be relevant, but it was not the issue of the action, and was merely incidental to it. Mr Thomas quoted legal authority in support of this statement. The Magistrate said that ho would postpone decision upon the point until Monday next. 'A feature about tho British dependencies in the Pacific that has several times been remarked upon is the wonderful way in which the inhabitants have responded to the call to duty. There has been no need for the stimulus of recruiting agencies. In most of these outposts of Empire there is scarcely an eligible man left. This is the case in Papua and the Solomon Islands, and in Norfolk and Lord Hotfe Island. Lord Howe Island, with a population of less than a hundred, who lead an Arcadian life, has set a splendid example. Nino of the young men—that is. the whole of those eligible for active service—have gone to the front, and one has made ire supieme sacrifice. The islanders are naturally proud of tho patriotic record established. By reason of its being east of the 154 th meridian of east longitude, the limit of tho jurisdiction of the Governor of New South Wales, Lord Howe Island is especially mentioned in the Constitution Act as a .dependency of the State, though it lies, as a tiny speck on the broad bosom of the Pacific, over 400 miles away.

A number of moa bones, concerning which a controversy raged years ago botwosn tho late Captain \'v. Hutton and Dr. H. 0. Forbes, a one-time curator of Canterbury Museum, have been presented to tho Canterbury Museum, by Mr F. W. Stubbs of Geraldine. The fossils, which are tlie remains of leg bones, belong to an earlier date than that of any other moa bones found, and it was upon them that Captain Hutton established one of the many species of the moa, which he named Anomalopteryx Antiquus. Members of the species belonged to a group of small, thick-set clumsy moas standing three or four feet high, allied to a speeies whoso remains are found near Tnkaka, >"elson. Captain Hutton planed the bones as belonging to the Upper Miocene or the older Pliocene period, Mr E. Speight, Curator of the Museum, agreeing with him, but Sir Julius von Haast assigned them as far back as tho early part fif the Tertiary Era. The bones were discovered beneath a lava flow at Timaru by Mr Stubbs many years ago, when he was employed by the Harbour Board there. The gift is specially welcomed by tho Museum authorities," particularly for tho fact that _ although the Museum has a splendid collection of moa bones, it has few type specimens. Recent additions to the Canterbury Museum in addition to the moa bones given by Mr Stubbs, include a collection of tokens presented by Mr A. R. Bloxam. a collection of coins given by Mr G. Scott, a copy of the "Whitehall Evening Post," of 1759, containing an account"of one of the victories of Frederick the Great, the gift of Mr E. J. Bell, Antigua street, Sydenham, a grass mat, made by the natives of Zanzibar, and presented by Mrs G. M. Ross, and badges of the Samoan Expeditionary Force, and a German njival officer's badge, given by Lieutenant Stevens.

At Snckburn vesterday morning, two more P"P lls of the Canterbury Aviation (itialiiiod for their tickets the? hei'in- Y\". o. Si:cl ti/unedin). and -J. E Russell (Auckland). Colonel Chaffey , iiid Major Morrison acted as observers. , Both candidates took very good cert!- j flving well in a varying easterly Vl Y„.l ' Among those present were Mr and Mrs H. i'\ Wipram, and M- and Mrs Russell <Auckland'. hortwhr*pupils liavo now passed through t.io Vrosh regulations have been issued iji connexion with permits to rollout m the «iireel? lor patriot'.- muds. hen it is intended to make a collection, it is necessarv first to obtain the approval of the Minister of Internal Affairs l>efore asking the Mayor to issue permits to individual collectors. In the case of funds already established, such as the Peel Cross Society and the Scottish Women's Hospital, it is ncccssarv to s'ibmit to the Mayor the names of all "the collectors before permits are issued. An item on the receipts side of the balance-sheet presented at the annual niecting of the Christchurch Golf Club last evening, showed revenue to the extent of over .£6-5 from the grazing of sheep on the links. The captain, Mr S. K. Sleigh, said that no other matter, probably, had evoked so much controversy in" the committee and amongst the "club members as the question of whether shoep should bo allowed io graze there or not, but the speaker was of tho op'nion that the results had more than proved tho wisdom of the step. (Applause.) In addition to tao rcvenuo thus derived, the presence of the sheep saved the labour of at least one man. The Ladies' Emergency Committee of the Navy League in London, in a com; munication thanking the committee ot the Canterbury (New Zealand) Branch for a remittance of £700 for the benefit of Royal Navy prisoners of war in enemy countries, states"'The case of prisoners is a very pressing one. and with the greatly increased price of groceries, etc., and the scarcity of money it becomes increasingly difficult every month to raise the necessary £2000." A circular gives particulars of the way in which money received by this committee is expended. Every Pcyal Navy prisoner in Germany receives three 101b parcels in the fortnight, tobacco or cigarettes, and bread (from Berne) weekly, and £1 pocketmoney quarterly. As parcels rarely reach prisoners in Turkey, a weekly payment of 10s is made to each prisoner there. With this he can buy food to add to prisoner's fare. But as provisions are very costly in Asia Minor (tea is 18s a lb), a £1 parcel of foodstuffs is despatched monthly to each man. The expenditure comes to £1 Is a week per prisoner, exclusive of clothing. The committee informs Mr Boyle, the president of the Canterbury Branch of the Navy League, that assistance is urgently needed, and Mr Boyle states that subscriptions or donations may bo sent to the local office of the Navy League.

Want a Truss? Let Loasby ft you. Large assortment just landed. Why suffer? Come and "ask Loasby about it." Advice and medicine, Jte 6d ; children, 2s. 1

Eyo Strain.—Persistent headaches are in most cases the result of muscular eye strain. Have your eyesight scientifically testod by Walter J. Watson, D.8.0.A., London, of Watson's "Jewellers" Limited. Glasses aro only recommended when absolutely necessary, and are prepared in neat and becoming rimless designs. 6

Sit for those New Year portraits today. Do not put it off any longer—and be snro they aro made by Steffano Webb, Petersen's Buildings, High street. Tele. 1989. 8

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