LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2298, 31 October 1914, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

His Honcmr Mr. Justioe Hosking will sentence several prisoners at 10 o clock! next Tuosday morning.'

Moving the usual motion in tho Houeq of Representatives yesterday apprecia-f tivo of the services of the Chairman ofi tlie Labour Bills Committee (the Hon. J. A. Millar), tho Prime Minister. paid a generous tribute to tho veteran La-i hour member of the House. "I under-i stand that Mr. Millar is retiring for aj time at least from active political life, 3 * said Mr. Massey, "and I think it is. opportune to say that there is no mait in who ha 3 been more use*' fill, and who is to-day more highly re<, spected and more worthy of tho confi/ dence of the people of this country* than the Hon. Mr. Millar."

' Tho disadvantages of extensive' circulation are brought home to us to-t day by a communication from Nelson.It seems that on October 27 we pub-i lished a report of a Court case, in, which "Alfred Robinson, of Nelson,"' appealed in polios custody under som&i % what unusual circumstances as the re-«} suit of a misapprehension on the part! of liis wife. Tlio case was ' adjourned,' and subsequently tho charge was withdrawn. .It happens that there are two Mr. Alfred Robinsons in Nelson, one of wfiora is a wall-known and esteemed bookseller of Hardy Street, and he has;" been wrongfully subjected to a good?; deal of annoyance on account of Nelsonreaders of our report of the Court pro-*' ceodings, assuming or professing. tof assume that he was toe particular Alfred Robinson referred to therein.-; Wo hasten to state that such was not the. case, and at the same time must extend our thanks to Mr. Robinson for' the tribute ho pays to our circulation in his town, which, by the way, Ee ha».. assisted to establish.

A question was addressed to the 'DeW' • fence Minister in the House of RepreJ sentatives yesterday by Mr. A. Harris regarding the pay of non-commissioned!) officers and men in the camp at Tren- ; tliani. It appeared that cortain of thef> men who had been receiving upwards, of os. a day according to their rank fori service in the forts had had.their pay] 1 reduced to 4s. a day on going into the camp at Treniham, and Mr. Harris; wished to know the reason. The Min* jster said .that the reduction in pay/. if such had been made, was a mistaken mado without his knowledge. The rule? <vns that men coming into camp as re* cruits received the lower rate of pay fors a, month, but this did not apply toV trained men who had already been ma-t bilised for_service in the forts; "A friend in need," put in an unes* pected appearance in the case of a youth), charged in. the Magistrate's Court yes--terday morning with travelling on the*' Wahi'ne without paying his fare, 13s.'6dj The lad, whose name was Thomas Phillips Kennand, said that he had the! nionev some days ago, but had lost it, and that he belonged to Auckland. The' latter portion of his tale was proved by the fact that he had in his possession an unused railway ticket to Auckland. So that inquiries might be made, the. Magistrate remanded him. Barely had!' the youth left the dock when a friend' who had recognised the lad in Court informed the police that he would pay, the amount of the boat fare, 18s. 6d, In view of this the hoy was -immedi*, ately discharged. .• ' A donation of 82 dozen eggs haß been; thankfully received at the Wellington: Hospital' from the Marlborough War/ Fund Committee for the sick soldiers utf the Military Hospital.' . ' ] In December next Wellington will: receive another visit from the ■' New* South Wales school teachers' cricket,, team. • The team -should arrive in' tha City on December 22 or 23. It will play a match against the Wellingtonteachers on tho day following that on, which it arrives, and will leave for Marli borough on December 20. , A girl named Grace Prime, aged nine,, met with a severe burning accident Thursday evening, says a Press Associa-.; tiou telegram from Levin. She was at*-' tending a rehearsal of a child's part at the Church of England Schoolroom,.and! ( was wearing a jacket of wadding-like; material. On leaving the schoolroom a; match was thrown thoughtlessly in the air by a lad, and fell on the jaoket. ; There was an immediate blaze, which, was soon-extinguished; but the girl ft face and hands 'were severely burned* The sufferer is in the Otaki Hospital.

■How much holiday should a school child have? Mr. H. A. Parkinson raised this question at last ovening Sf meeting of the Wellington Educational; Institute. Mr. Parkinson said tha\ university students considered-that thej!< could not work more than sis months; of the year, secondary school managed to work nine months, but,primary school children had to work fop ; from ten to. ten aud a half months,, Was that a right proportion? He ha* 'his doubts, and thought that the maw ter should be inquired into and inves* tigatcd in a scientific spirit. Child psychology had made great strides, and very useful information as to how long children should work was surely) available to those who would inquire.. There was, Mr. Parkinson added, also, the question of whether school holiday:* should be the same throughout the; country. In Nelson, for instancy schools were closed during the hop-picK-inn; se nson. Then thore werei jfte dairy, in'e districts to consider. Should tnj children in these districts have.six 9* seven weeks' holidav, or should thoy, « view of the fact that many of then had to work very hard at milking cows, receive nine, ten, or even up to twelve, weeks' holiday?

Wlien the case njcainst Jack Dillimore, a seaman, charged with wounding am other seaman, was called in the Magi* trate's Oonrt yesterday, morning, thff police explained ' the injured seaman Martin Belharrio was still in the nital and would he there for some; weeks. A 'remand was accordingly granted. __

In tho course of his remarks as ohaarInan at the annual meeting of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals held last evening, Mr. V. R. Meredith said that in cases of cruelty to horses brought before the Court they had reason to believe that in many in- . stances the employer, sheltered himself behind the employee. In making that . statement ho was sure he. would be supported by Mr. Webb (honorary solicitor to the society). The inference conveyed by Mr. Meredith was that a man was given a decrepit horse to - do work that it was .past doing,- and tho employeo ihad to exercise cruelty at times _to got .'through the day's work or suffer the alternative of dismissal.

Whilst proceeding along'the Timaru Road on Wednesday morning, Mr. Arthur Cook, organiser for tho Shearers' lUniou.'mot with aiiasty motorcycle accident. _ He had left Waimato for Kaikoura, and was travelling at a speed of about eight miles an hour, when a dog rushed out at him. In trying to out-distance tho dog, Mr. Cook put on extra speed, but the animal caught the machine, and Mr. Cook was. thrown heavily' to tho ground, receiving an ugly wound several inches long on his forearm. ' to Waimate, where the wound was. • dressed 1 and stitched.—Obristchurch "Sun."

: An unusual accident happened to the iutward train with a long rake-of empty wagons, leaving Westport last week. When opposite Carey's farm, Birchfield, the locomotive struck a-bull'which was lying between the rail 3. The animal was mangled and thrown off the road. The -forepart of the engine was derailed—two wheels only remaining on tho rails—and ploughed along the permanent way a distance of over a, hundred yards,.crossing a small bridge. A gang of men was immediately dispatched from town. They worked hard all night replacing the locomotive fend repairing the lino, but it was not until the following morning that traffic was resumed.

At the Church of •England Synod for the Diocese of Christchurch, which closed this /week, the following resolution was.carried on the motion of Dean Carrington and Mr. Bevan. Brown, headmaster of Christchurch Boys' High School: —"That in view of the approaching election, this Synod impresses upon all members of the Church in this diocese their duty of voting with regard 'to the paramount importance of the Bible-reading iii State'schools question, and urges them to so act that the will of the people in this most important matter shall, be ascertained."

The question of collection at Sunday concerts was fully discussed at a meeting of the Sports . and Entertainment Committee —which is arranging for the Professional Orchestra's concert to-mor-row night, in aid of the Mayor's Patriotic Fund. It was reported that at a concert held last Sunday evening, and at which a particularly line programme of music was given, over seven hundred three-penny pieces were put in the plate, while the total collection hardly averaged twopence a head. ItWas_ resolved, after considerable discussion, that the public should be specially appealed to remove the slur on the Wellington public, and that they should be asked to contribute at least ono shilling for the front seats, and sixpence for the. back stalls. It was-point-ed out that the Professional Orchestra and other musical bodies were doing a great service in dispensing elevating and educational music to the masses on Sunday evenings, and were worthy of far greater support than has been accorded them in'the nast.

Verification of the account given by 'Alfred Robinson, charged with, wife desertion in the Magistrate's Court on Monday last, came when his name was called in the court yesterday. Robinson had drawn £2 from •• the, bank at Nelson and- had come to Wellington, on a seven days' holiday. Here he had \been horrified to find r that his wife had laid a charge of wife desertion-against. Km, beiiig led into the belief by Dame Rumour that her husband was endeavouring to get away. Chief-Detective Brobei-g explained yesterday that-Rob-inson was in Nelson, and that the charge against him had been withdrawn by his wife. The charge here was accordingly also withdrawn.

'.At last night's meeting of tho WeiTechnical Education Board a letter was received from the Education Department giving tie list of successful competitors, .from the Wellington Technical for the national competition, 1914. The results were most 'satisfactory, eleven awards being obtained by the, 30 students who entered. The following is the list of successful competitors:—Book prize/ K. M. Ballantyne (shaded drawing of figure from the nude). Commended; K. M. Ballantyne (modelled head from-life); Evelyn Dawson (shaded drawing of tyees from nature); Teresa Fama (design fpr damask serviette); Isabel- H. Field (shaded drawing of tree from nature); Mary Green (shaded drawing of head from life); AY. N. Isaac (anatomi-cal-study of legs); Florence Pritohard (design for border of damask tablecloth). ; Edith M. Key worth and M. Paund (both anatomical, study of legs).

In reference to the Shops and Offices ■Amendment Bill- which is liow before Parliament, the impression has apparently got abroad that the Bill proposes to' compel all shopkeepers (other than tobacconists) who sell tobacco, cigarettes, etc., as a side-line of their businesses to close their shops at the same hours as tobacconists. The Bill does not make this provision. The Act already provides that tho sale of tobacco, cigarettes and cigars in shops kept by storekeepers and others shall cease at the hour at which tobacconists' shops are required to close. The Bill further provides that every shopkeeper who sells tobacco will require to take out a license and pay a small fee for same, and in the event of his being convicted for a breach of the original Act, as above mentioned, for having sold tobacco after the hour fixed for tho closing of tobacconists' shops, the conviction will be endorsed upon his license. Power is also given in the Bill to the Court to cancel tho license of any such shopkeeper for such period as It thinks fit..

"I believe that our | district institutes are too big," said Mr. H. A. Parkinson last evening at a meeting of the Wellington Educational Institute. It was so in Auckland, he added; so much so that the institute there was split into a number of branches. Tlie Wellington district, too, was too big. He thought that the New Zealand Institute should be recast on tho lines of the National. Union of Teachers in England, under which every little locality had its own body., where it was a matter of geographical locality. Applied to New Zealand this would mean about thirty bodios in the North Is- . land: JWollingten City, Horowhemia, ManawatUj Feilding, Wairarapa, and so on, all with-their own bodies. Such a scheme, he contended, would give more life to the institute,'and, make its work more effective and mote valuable. A deputation of Waira'rapa school teachers- (Messrs. F. L. Combs and D. E. Leslie) waited on the Wellington District Educational Institute last evening, and asked that the Wairarapa branch should bo allowed •to elect two representatives of its own at tho annual conference of the New .Zealand Educational Institute. At present tho Wellington District Institute sends six delegates to the conference, but no branch has. special representation. The idea of the Wairarapa branch is that AVairarapa should send two delegates, Manawatu one, and Wellington City tl.rcc.- As tho request of tho deputation "would involvo an alteration of tho constitution, the meeting, though favouring the idea, merely affirmed the principle of representation by branch. The matter will bo carried further at the first possible opportunity.'

The question was- raised recently as to whether the school teachers who joined the military forces some time ago were fully aware of what they had to expect in the way of salaries. At last evoning's meoting of the Wellington Educational Institute it was stated that inquiries had shown that (with one oxcoption). every teacher who enlisted had been made acquainted with the uosition before ho had entered "the ranks. A few had received the information after enlisting, but the majority had been given it beforehand.

Owners of live stock in and around Miramar, according to a solicitor's statemont in tho Magistrate's Court yesterday morning, -find it a profitable proposition to leave their stock at large «ii public property where excellent grazing can bo obtained, and accordingly they risk a tine. A resident of Karaka Bay, Mrs. Amy Fyffe, who recently had 21 cows iudulging in free grazing by the road side, was fined 205., with costs 135., for the privilege.: Mr. V. R. Meredith represented the Miramar Borough Council, who prosecuted.

Questions concerning the dates of term holidays were considered by tho Wellington Educational Institute last evening. On the .motion of Mr. W. W. Rowntrco'it was resolved: "That this institute is of opinion that the present arrangement of term holidays is not the best that can be devised in the interests of both pupils and teachers.". The matter of suggesting a rearrangement ivas deferred so that inquiries might be made by tho Management Committee of the institute.

The Master Bakers' Association of Auckland has decided to .increase the price of bread to''4id. per 2lb. loaf — (Press Association.)

When the House of Representatives was discussing last night a Bill to encourage the establishment of an iron and steel industry in New Zealand, certain members of the Opposition argued very insistently that it would be a very profitable undertaking for the State to undertake, and that no private' company should be. allowed to acquire it. Mr. J. H. Braciuey produced some in-" terestmg figures to show that State undertakings were not' always a success. Dealing with the establishment of coal depots he said that the Wanganui depot' mado*a profit of £70 12s. 3d. for the year ending March last; Wellington depot made a loss of- £212 Bs. for the same period; Ghristchurch dopot made a loss of £659 15s. lOd.; and the Dunedin depot made a loss' of £684 14. 2d. He said that it plainly showed that, in order to, allow the people in those towns to have coal" at a cheaper rate, the taxpayers in' other parts, where, there were no coal dopots, had to put their hands in their pockets to pay for the loss. Dealing with State coal mines he- said that tlie.Soddonvillo mine-showed a loss of £3493 14s. lOd. for the same period. The Point Elizabeth mine showed a loss of £9858. 7s. lid.; and the Liverpool mine £6396 10s. 3d. Where would the country be,_ he asked, if industries were nationalised to go on doing business like that?

A Pittsburg "Post" interviewer asked John Philip Sousa whether the war would not inspire some European-musi-cians to great composition. • "War,"' answered the composer-bandmaster, "never inspired great music. . The destruction of man by man is not' an inspiring thing: To me thia element of destructive emotion in humanity seems like' a mistaken experiment of Nature. The inspiring things are the natural, the inevitable things that are as Nature intended them to be.''

An ex-homo missioner (Methodist), Robert Henry Todd, came before Mr. D. G. A. Cooper, S.M., late yesterday afternoon, charged with failure to provide his wife with nisiatenance, 'and with persistent cruelty, Acoused, who comes from Doririistori, was remanded to to-day, bail being allowed in £20. Mr. E. J. Fitzgibbon appeared for 'complainant. ,_Mr. ?• ,W... Jackson, who 'appeared-' 1 for ' defendant, said to'tlie' Magistrate that an amicable settlement of the case would be brought about by, to-day. . ■

It is gratifying to know that importers in New Zealand —and in particular those dealing, in goods which hitherto have largely been manufactured in Germany—are taking advantage.of the rich store .of information to be obtained on all classes' of manufactured goods from, tho British Trade Commissioner, Mr. W.' G. Wick-ham. Chatting yesterday with a reporter, Mr. Wickham stated that the headquarters staff of_ this branch of the English Civil Service had been doubled sinco the outbreak of war, and the office accommodation, in Cheapside had been considerably extended. Should there be any merchants or importers of any class of goods which the war has affected, they could not do better than consult the Trade Commissioner, who is well posted on the manufactures of Great Britain.

Another batch <of shopkeepers had fines inflicted on them in the Magistrate's Court yesterday morning for Sunday trading. "Apparently they find it pays to take the risk," explained Inspector Hondrey. Two of those charged had evidently been influenced to some little extent by the previous week's fine, and had adopted ingonious though ineffective means to defeat the law. They were .two Assyrians, Massed Geor and Ernest Gabriel Loukra, his assistant. When Sergeant Kelly arrived in the shop on Sunday last he found a customer in the shop filling a bag from a plato full of chocolates. The idea was that, in case of the inquisitive intrusion of the police, Geor could say (and the plate would prove) that the sweets were going to bo consumed, on tho promises. Unfortunately Sergeant Kelly arrived at ' a critical moment. Geor succumbed meekly before the Magistrate yesterday, and iwas fined 205.. with costs 75.; his assistant showed a bolder-face, and in answer to a question as to how the bag entered into flio affair, said that, tho customer must have taken it from the counter when his back was turned. Loukra was fined 10s., with costs 7s. Three other shopkeepers, Kate Barry, Albert W.' Boniface, and Mary Amr Curry were each fined 55., with costs 7s.

A reported statement by Councillor Fletcher, of Wellington City, that tho Government were entrusting young and inexoerienced men with the work of valuing property, and that people were being unjustly taxed owing to these men assessing values too bicth, was brought under the notice of the Prime Minister in tho House hf Representatives yesterday. Mr. Massey sr.id he was not aware that any changes had been made in tho valuation staff in Wellington recently. As he had stated a day or two previously tho Government; were aframring for a commission to inquire, into the work of the Valuation Department, and the excessive valuations ollogod to have been mado in different parts of New Zealand. Cabinet had the matter under consideration that morning.,and had agreed upon the setting up of the commission, and also bad_ agreed upon the gentlemen to comprise the commission.

Tho balance-sheet of the Society for the Prevention ofi Cruelty to Animals, presented at the annual meeting last ovenintr, showed a balance to credit of £109 3s. Of the total rcceinfcs for the vear (£379 lis. 10d.) £100 was dtnateel by the Mac.irthy Trustees, £190 by subscriptions and donations, and £10 from tho City Council (two years' donation). Tho assets of the society or© set down as worth £123 3s.