LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1626, 18 December 1912, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

' The postal authorities, ad-vise that American and United Kingdom mails via Vancouver arc- due in Wellington per Main Trunk express to-day.

The postal authorities advise that the s.s. t"lim.iToa, which sailed.from Sydney at noon on December 13, has on board an Australian mail.. She is due to arrive here to-day. "There's only one thing I know about balance-sheets—they balance very accuratelv. 1 don't know how it is brought about."—Dr. M'ArtlnnyS.M., in the Magistrate's Court yesterday. :.

The secretary of the New Zealand Federation of Hotel Workers' Association recently wrote to tho Minister' for Justice alleging that unregistered, girls were Using employed in tho bars of hotels and asking that the amending legislation 'in reference, to barmaids passed last session be put into operation, if it held; and that, as advertised in certain quarters, the Act was again faulty, for a test case to be taksn. The Minister for Justice (the lion. A. L. Herdmaii) replied that when in Auckland the matter, was brought before his notice nnd he had since instructed the Commissioner of Police to place the whole matter, lwforo the. law officers for consideration and report. .

Councillor M'Kcnzie has given notice of his intention to move rescinding the following motion r.as?ed by the City Council on Thursday last:—"That the council declined to grant permits to sell aerated or mineral waters on the Lyall Bay teach on account of ' the danger of broken bottles." Councillor M'lCenzie does not believe that this is the way to chock people breaking bottles on the beach.. He thinks that there should be. a by-law rendering anyone caught breaking bottles on the beach liable to immediate arrest. Now. •according to the resolution, no one could sell ginsrer beer out of a barrel or a jar to tho thirsty crowds on the beach.

Mr. Laracy, questioned yesterday regarding the recent trouble about ■ shearing ''Maggy" sheep, said that as 'managers were now giving tho extra allowance, no further hitch need be anticipated. Besides this dispute a. minor dispute aroso concerning the interpretation of the shearers' award in reference to shed hands, who, according to the award, must ba paid Is. per hour. Tho question then a.rose: Did or did not this hour include "smoke oh's"? The labour Department construed the clause and affirm that breakfast and dinner are not included in the day's work, but that "smoke oh's" are included, and are counted as working time.

"All our vouchors for the last ten years are in our office now," said Mr. W. T. Young, secretary of the Seamen's TFnion, when he was giving evidence in a case in the Magistrate's Court yesterday. "I wish everyone who came into Court could say that," was tho prompt reply of Dr. M'Arthur, S.M..

The city brigade was called to No. 81 Sidey Street, at S o'clock last night. One • room and its contents were severely damaged. The house was owned by Mr. ,T. T. Rash, of Hall Street, and occupied by Mrs. Anna Kitchen. There was .4150 insurance in the United Office 'on the contents.

Cigarette 6moking on the part of youths was strongly condemned by Judge Docker in the.Sydney District Court on December 10. The father of a lad was proceeded ngainst by the man to whom the boy was apprenticed ■on account of his not fulfilling tho conditions of his apprenticeship. In support of the defence, it was said the boy was sent on errands nt times. "This was part of his apprenticeship," said his Honour, "and no doubt it gave the lad an opportunity to smoke: The habit had a great hold upon the lad, and one. has only to koep one's eyes open to sea what the results are. CignVettes contain nicotine, which is very useful to some dispositions. Those who are excitable are soothed by it, and those who are not are made dull and listless, causing them to put off till to-morrow what they should', do to-day. I havji no doubt that the smoking habit, which this young lad contracted at an early age, has had a great deal to do with his unsatisfactory worlt, and it is a great pity that his father, who is a non-smoker, did not deal firmly with the boy." Judgment went against the boy's father.