LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2302, 9 November 1914, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The postal authorities advise that tho s.s. Itivorina, which left Sydney on Thursday for Auckland, is bringing Australian mails, and also a- small English mail via Suez. The Wellington portion will come forward by. the Main Trunk express to-morrow.

A movement is on foot in the four centres of New Zealand for university students snd ex-students to organise as many as possible for service in -the supplementary contingents of the Expeditionary Force. Many students and those who Lave passed through the university are already on active service, but others could' not make it, convenient to do so-owing to pending examinations. A little later on they may find an opportunity to serve their country wherever called upon •to do so, when their special training in engineering,, electricity, and medicine should make them valued members of any force. The Registrars of the University Oollog?* »ro in charge of. enrolment lists in e&cl of the centres*

It is not generally known that the Ohurch of England has a war hospital at work in tho north of France. It is organised and" equipped' by the Church Army, serving under tho French Red Cross, with the sanction of St. John Ambulance Association. Funds towards the upkeep of the same .are raised by donations given in England, and its work lies amongst the British and Allied wounded.

On Friday last as a man named Jack Smith was coming out of the Pier Hotel he was struck on the head by Morris Owen Pritcliard. Smith fell like a fog to the ground and became unconscious. The police received word of the affair, and Pritcliard was. subsequently arrested. He appeared before tho Magistrate on Saturday, charged with assault,, and pleaded guilty, stating that ho had been struck lirst. Pritcliard was fined £2 and ordered to pay medical expenses. £1 Is.' ,and witness's expenses, 45., in default seven days' gaol. A strange specimen of a human being with a thick black shaggy beard and wild-looking matted hair, appeared before Mr. D. G. A. Cooper, 8.M., in ■ the Magistrate's. Court on Saturday morning, charged with stealing 16 scones from Percy Beavis, a baker, and with being a rogue and a vagabond. The man's name was Gottfried Charlson, ancl he pleaded that he was very hungry at the time.'. From the statement of the police it appeared that Beavis was a real' \ agabond, that he was ravenously hungry when arrestod, and that he was not mentally strong. Recently he had walked from some place in Ta'ranaki to Wellington. "Men leading the' life he is leading are Usually eventually found : dead in the scrub," commented Inspector Hepdrey. The Magistrate convicted and discharged accused on the charge of theft, and gave him six months' gaol on the other charge—"to pull himself 'together/' said the Magistrate.

"I have just lived through the most tragic night of the war," writes Dr. Charles Sarolea, the "Daily Chronicle" special correspondent in Antwerp. "For the first time .in history a great civilised community has been bombarded from the sky in tho darkness of night. Ccuut Zeppelin, whom the Kaiser called the greatest genius of tho century, has performed the greatest exploit of his life; He may well be proud of his achievement. He has mangled and slaughtered non-belliger-ents, men, women, and children. He has thrown bombs on hospitals where tho Belgians wore tending Gprniafci wounded; he has staggered 'humanity.''

When -the work of providing Oriental Bay with _ a marine parade worthy of tho name is gone on "with, it is not proposed that the cycle track which .forms an extension of tho asphalt footpath on the harbour side of Clyde Quay shall be continued past Fitzgerald's Point. As the road in Oriental Bay will bo 100 ft. wide, it is not thought necessary to prqvido a cycle-track. Besides, ordinary cycles aro not' much in favour just now, and as tho public are in the habit, of walking on the Clyde Quay'track it is not used by motbr-cycliste, who prefer tho free roadway. The work of continuing the asphalt path in Clyde Quay between tho baths and the point is now being done. Tho wall that is proposed to be erected in Oriental Bay' when funds are available will be a rubble wall—piled-lip boulders—faced with six or eight inches of 'good concrete. Hubble .walls with cemented joints have proved to be an ineffective protection to the foreshore. Many years ago ono of tho little bays witliin Evans Bay was treated in that fashion to.protect the roadway,but to-day only two or three yards of the wall are left standing.

Mr. E. A. Wright, Reform candidate for the Suburbs, speaking' at Paremata on Saturday night, said that Sir Joseph Ward had'been entertaining tho people' of th'is"couiitry to an interesting visionary prpgramrno of railway development. "A T ow," said Mr. Wright, "if ever a Government has taken" up that matter it iß.the Reform Party. In' fact; tlie Opposition have become alarmed—not at the proposed expenditure, but. at the fact that the official programme of the Government as laid down when completed at the end of four years will have done more for internal development, for the safo and rapid transit of passengers and'freight, than tho old Liberal Party had attempted to do in twenty-one years; It is admitted by those wbo visit New Zealand from other countries that tho railway system is an antiquated one. It a splendid body of artisans, mechanics, and men engaged in railway operations. Bui they nave to deal with obsolete machinery, obsolete rolling stook, while' they are handicapped, in many other-ways." It was all very well'for Mr. Millar once to say that our railways compared favourably with those in Australia. Anyone who" knew that country treated such a statement' with incredulity; They could no.t, of course, in a new country like this compare with the Old Land, where a teeming 'population demanded' a network of': services, running at express speed, every hour of the day. But there was no reason whatever, why a vast improvement' should not take place in' our railway services, and the policy of the Government would enormously accelerate that desirable consummation. Sir Joseph Ward had said that the progress of the railways under construction was too slow. But what had his party done while they were in office? Everyone knew the way works had dragged on and promises remained unfulfilled. Now the days of Taihoa had passed—we had a live environment. '

There are certain matters in dispute between the City Counoil and the Eastbourne Borough Council with respect to the proportion' the latter borough should pay towards the upkeep of the Williams Park in view of the.benefits that accrue to the borough through its. ownership and controlof the farry steamers. Duchess and Cobar. Tho borough has agreed to pay a certain amount, which- the Reserves- Committee of the City Council deem inadequate for the benefits .received, tout these are paid to be discounted by the faot that it is open for anyone to run steamers betwfjen Wellington and Day's Bay whenever it pays to.do so, and the borough's T''erry 'Board holds that in acceding te any further demand it might be paying, for dues the expenditure, of which would benefit others who contribute nothing. ' The whole question was discussed by tho Ferry Board and Reserves Committee in. conference on Thursday last, and it is 'hoped that an arrangement satisfactory to both parties will be the outcome.

Writing from Wellington. Terrace, J. F. Hirst says:—lt is interesting to know that throughout tho present South African orisis the Free State burghers have kept their heads clear and their hearts right. Ono of the first men to offer his services to General Botha acted as field cornet in *the Boer War, while another was "Voorman" (always in the lead) to General 0. J. Smuts. One of the most prominent Dutchmen in the Free State, a Hertzogite, offered to raise a corps for active service in German South-West Africa, while Mr. Theo. Ferreria, a Btauich Hertzogite, wrote saying: "Only twelve years have passed since we lost our independence. Notwithstanding there is not a man amongst ns to-day- who would wish to see tho Union Jack trailing in the-dust. . . .We recognise the tremendous advantage of having England as aii ally," The drill halls at tho principal South African towns and cities have been besieged by men eager to go to tho front, the majority of whom were of South African Dutch birth.- Another interesting fact is tho avidity with which the coloured races offered their services. Over 5000 Indians offered themselves to Dr. Ahdurahman, the wellknown Indian leader. Zulus and Basiifas on the Itand were no less eager to light. Most of tho men claimed a wide knowledge of Gorman Sputh T West Africa.

A short sitting of tie Magistrate's Court on Saturday morning was presided over by Mr. D. G. A. Oooper, S.M. Apart from two other cases, only seven' first offending inebriates were dealt Ivith. Five were formally convicted, ivhile a naval man was handed oyer to the naval authorities and 1 a trooper toji the military authorities to be.dealt with. In the course of his political speech the other evening at Wakanui, Mr. G. Sheat, the Reform candidate for Sol-* wyn, professed that he was able to calculate to within a bushel or two what the harvest was likely to turn out, and he claimed that on one occasion he had guessed correctly the average yield in Canterbury. Ho predicted that the wheat crops in Asliburtou this year would not yield above an average of 20 bushels to the acre.

Residents of Riccarton,' states a contemporary, have lately had their'pa-' tionco and their patriotism tried by the exhibitions of loyalty of an enthusiastio son of the Fatherland. Not only did this patriotic German fly his country's flag from his orm. roof,' hut on the occasion of a Prussian victory he has run up. as many as four flags. Naturally Riccarton people were incensed, and they conspired among themselves to check the exuberance of the Prussian, spirit in their neighbourhood. Two nights ago about half a dczen young fellows," taking advantage of the cover afforded by the darkness, scaled the garden wall, climbed oa the German's roof, hauled down, the flags, and burned them on the front lawn before the gaze of the exasperated and bewildered occupant of the k-uso.

Early on Saturday morning the portable engino 6hed used in connection with tho Petono sewerage, caught fire, through benzine fumes rising' while tho attendant was filling the tank, coming in contact with a. iamp hung on the wall. The flames were promptly extinguished, but not before.the watch-, man's hands Qitfd been severely burnt. The monthly report of the officer in charge of the Auckland Labour Department finds that trade appears to bo/ satisfactory in the circunjstances. The working population does not seem to"be. disposed to.ho panic-stricken, and the state of business in dressmaking,' millinery, and retail, clothing and ' boot trades shows that, despite the ivar, Auckland womenfolk are freely buying their frocks and frill:;,' whilo'"menkiiid are not disposed to forgo the summer suit and lighter outfit for the coming hot weather. The prevailing' feeling in business circles, says the report, is' that in the present circumstances during the month has been satisfactory. * The fact that "French's contemptible little army" helppd materially to prevont the triumphant march of thV Kaiser's forces on Paris has roused au; intense hatred for England in Germany.! Lecturing at the Urania Hall, in Berlin, Professor Bucken, the philosopher, declared .that the English are Germany's "most repulsive" enemy. In England, he said, tliero is only a very thin intellectual Burfaco under which the national. character immediately' appears. The, Englishmen might bo called Pharisees for their hypocrisy, but perhaps" the Pharisees were not so bad as tho Englishmen. The Japanese had behaved ■ like ruffians, but ho who incited one to ruffianism'was'worse than the'ruffian Hmself. Germany's war was a"waragainst the English mentality, which must hurl tho peoples of Europe into' an abyss, therefore German seriousness and. German profundity must rise against it.

The anti-British campaign is proceeding gaily (says the London "Daily. Mail.") The "Lqkal Anzeiger" and the "Taglicke Rundsehau'' of September 8 publish the following quotation from a private- letter: —"Ono would not believe it possible that a civilised nation ivould wage war in the shameful way that tho English do.' Every English soldier has m. his equipment a sort of seaman's knifp, .to one side of : which 1 is' fixed a bent thorn, 'of over'' a finger's ; length. With this thorn tho fellows tear ' the flesh of tho wounded. In battle they entrench .themselves in several lines, one behind tho other. When our troops advance to tho assault tho first line hoists the white flag and lifts its hands as a sign that it surrenders, and when our men approach they are received by the second line with rapid fire and machine-guns. It is a noble nation I" Englishmen will be amused to hear of the new usage devised by the German Press for the familiar pick for rejaoving stones from horses' hoofs.

In accordance with the instructions of the Hon. the Minister of Internal Affairs, it has been decided to issue monthly an abstract of the principal statistics of the Dominion, on somewhat similar lines to those published by the Commonwealth Statistician in Australia and the Government Statistician in New South Wales. The. first issue is for last month, and contains the latest statistics, available at time of going to press, to the end of September. In addition to the tables given, it is hoped in the future to. include abstracts dealing with' other phases of New Zealand statistics, Grown lands, land transfer transactions, etc. No particulars are included as to current imports and exports. L Monthly figures for these, beginning with. January last, have been issued in the formof supplements.' It is proposed to continue the issue of these supplements until the particulars are available for inclusion in the abstract for the month following that to which they refer. So far particulars as to exports have been issued up to the end of August, and as to imports to the end of March..

- "I see'that the old trouble—dysentery—is affecting the troops at the front," writes Mr. Henry Walton, an ex-naval man. "The chief cause of dysentery is bad water. I know what it is to suffer.from the complaint, as I 'bad it off and on for years, having contracted it at tho mouth of the icl-low-River in China. I have seen two buckets of mud taken from the bottom of a tank when it was emptied, and when one is aware of. the nltlt that goes' into a river in. China, leay« alone tho dead bodies, is it any wonder there is dysentery, when .precautions are not taken to purify the water P The cure we always found effective, and which I sent to Lord Roberts and Admiral' Seymour, is as.follows: Boil a quart of new milk down tn a pint, then add a teaspoonful of oatmeal and boil five minutes longer. When it is glutinous pour into a basin, and dissolve in a piece of lard as largo,as a hen's egg, and add a teaspoonful of pepper. Two doses taken at broakfast will always effect a cure. Often the first will do it." ,