LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2315, 24 November 1914, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Tiie Riverina, from Sydney, berthed at Auckland at noon yesterday. She brought 340 bags of European, American, and_ Australian mails. The southern portion is due this morning. The postal authorities advise that the s.s. Ulimaroa, whioh sailed from Sydney at 2 p.m. on November 20 for 'Wellington, is bringing Australian mails, and is due here to-day. The Telegraph Office that the 'Pacific cable route is now _ working through, and they are accepting ordinary deferred and week-end oable messages under the restrictions now in force-for such messages. The Court of Arbitration will 1 sit in Wellington on December 8. 'A witness in a case at the Magistrate's Court yesterday observed an artist at work at one of the tables sketching him. He evidently objected, for he immediately inquired of the Benoh if Court sketching were permissible. "I have no power to interfere with that," replied the Magistrate decisively. V The Hon. Jamea Alien, Minister of Education, yesterday afternoon visited the Island Bay School and inspected the accommodation for the infant department, regarding its improvement, of which, an application for a grant has been made. The Minister was impressed with the necessity that existed and promised to give the matter his .serious consideration. ' So anxiouß are the members of the Hataitai Ratepayers' Association '(which includes many .residents of Oriental ; Bay), as to what the City Council intend to do in the way of improving the bay, that a large deputation waited on the Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke) yesterday afternoon for the purpose of seeing the proposed plan of the works as designed by the City Engineer. They were informed that the plan was not completed, but were given a general idea of tho proposed wall (rubble faced with cement) that is to follow the trend, of the foreshore of the bay ; with a semi-circular projection opposite Hay Street, where it is proposed to erect a band-stand. ■ No guarantee could be given as to when the work would.be done. It all depended on the money N available, and at present the financial outlook was necessarily not very bright, as far' as carrying out big city improvement works was concerned. The case of 0. E. Hickoy v. the Clement Mason Cinematogaph Co., Ltd., a claim for £177 alleged to be owing, was to have come on for hearing before His Honour the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) yesterday mornning, but the taking of- evidence was not necessary. By consent of tho parties a decree was made for the matter' to be referred to the Registrar for the taking of accounts. Mr. W. Perry appeared for the plaintiff, while Mr. A. W. Blair acted for the defendant company.

A young man named Frank' Wood, a member of tlie Expeditionary Foroe, fell into tho clutches of tho Police on Saturday evening. He appeared in. Court yesterSay to answer three charges— drunkenness, resisting the police, and using obscene language. On the first' charge he wss convicted and discharged, on ti\o second he was fined 20s. or threo days, and on the third £3 or ono month. - . The Dominion Bazaar, in aid of St. Joseph's Parish and School, will open at 7.30. p.m'._ to-morrow at the Palais de Danse, ■ Vivian Street. Her Excellency the Countess of Liverpool will perform the officinl opening at 8.30 p.m. An attractive programme of vocal and instrumental items has been arranged. Tho New Zealand Natives' Association Band will be in attendance. The bazaar will remain in progress for ten nights, and on the concluding night (Decembor 6) tho grand.art union will be drawn. Last evening moil who havo volunteered to go to tho front to reinforce the New Zealand Expeditionary Force were modically examined at the Drill Hall. More men are needed, as the Minister of Defence has pointed out, and others desiring to join should apply to tho Group® Commander, at the Buckle (Street Drill Hall. One of tho great reasons why reinforcements are necessary for a modern forco is that i men'inust-bo relieved in the fighting line, for under tho strain of continuous fighting they would break down and become unfit.

Applications for registration under tho Architects Act, 1913, closed with Sir. W. Beauchamp Platts, secretary of tho board, yesterdaj*. Between 250 and 300 applications wore received, and those will be considered' at a jneeting of tho board on Thursday,,

The movement in aid of tho Belgian' v Christmas gift fund is being taken up ■ with much enthusiasm. The idea has appealed so muoh to Messrs. Stephenson and Linley that they are organising a procession and open-air concert in aid of the fund to-morrow afternoon, when all tho members of the Royal Pantomime Company will take part. The procession will start from the Brand Opera House at 12 o'clock. It will proceed along Manners Street, Willis Street, and Lambton Quay to the Post Office Square, where the first concert will be givon. On one lorry tho tab' leaux of Britannia and her Allies will be staged, and on another will be a piano and the comedy members of the company will give their best songs. It is expected that the efforts of the company will result in a substantial sum 1 towards the Belgian Christmas Fund< . A man was arrested by Detective Bailey yesterday on a charge of obtain-, ing £4 10s. from James Mullany' by, means of false pretences on November 6 at Napier. He will appear in the Magistrate's Court this morning. A' Press Association telegram from.' Dunedin states that a prisoner named > HDermott, serving a sentence of five years' imprisonment at the local reformatory, escaped into the bush while working in a sand pit at Otatara to-day,. Search is proceeding. The Kilbirnie Company (No. 42) of Senior Cadets, under Lieutenant It. N. Nimmo, held a daylight parade on Saturday last, the company being over, 100 strong. The newly-formed bugle band, under Sergeant Phillips, was a great success. It was presumed that an enemy had landed at Island Bay, end the boys were advanced in skir-, trashing order to counter-attack them.' Some very interesting manoeuvres were executed afternoon. The boys thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and the day ended with a grand charge, after whioh they were rested and provided with refreshments. Good progress is being made with; the settlement scheme under which the; Government is opening up gum lauds'; in North Auckland in areas or 25 acres,intended to be developed as farms. The object aimed at is to enablo men! of limited means to gain a footing on the land, and in view of the actual and prospective development of the fruit - export industry it is considered that the gum land settlements should prove highly successful. Tenants are allowed to occupy the sections for five ' years rent free and afterwards will have the option of acquiring the freehold on easy terms. So far fifty sections have been dealt with under thel scheme and another block of So sections is ready. Four surveyors are available to locate areas when the Kauri Gum. l ! Lands Commissioner (Mr. R. P. Greville) advises that the blocks are required. Twenty thousand acres of glint lands will be ready for settlement bjr March next. Preaching at Vivian Street Baptist Church on Sunday evening, the Rev. E. Herbert Hobday, referring to tha death of Lord Roberts, said the Empire was mourning the loss of one of her bravest sons and' most brilliant captains, the splendour of whose achievements had won for him a niche , in tho gallery of tho Immortals. Al-* though the greatest of commanders, he; was ever a comrade. The soldiers loved him. Ho was the Army's idol. Re-j luctant-ly enough he had had, in his'; closing, years, to fill the role of pro-4 phet. Ho saw clearly what most of u»j were too blind to see, namely, the men- j ace of German militarism. Lord Rob-; erts had lived long enough to see his>j predictions fulfilled, ana also longj" enough to see the kaiser's vaunting; ambitions. assured of ignominious faiUj lire. Ho died as heroically as if he hadj fallen in the fighting line, for he spent; his latest breath in encouraging his be-, loved troops to triumph. His death!; would prove a greater stimulus to recruiting than all thei speeches, ho woven eloquent, of public orators. His death! would yield our arms a sacred vitality; and quickened enthusiasm. Earl Rob-i erts was pre-eminently a Christian gen-: tloman. Ho bathed his sword irtHeaven. He was "very sure of God." : He never turned his back, but marched;! breast forward; never doubted clouds-' would break. j A Bpecial meeting of the City Cocuk; oil,, in committee, was held yesterday;' afternoon, to oonsider the changed conditions in the tramways and electrical, department, brought about by the death of Mr. S. Riohardson, City Elec-' trical Engineer. A report from • the.' Tramways Committee was before thoj council, and after discussion it was de-., cided to adjourn the matter till thefordinary council meeting on Thursday* evening, when it will be ' set down early* on the order paper. i

Speaking at the Presbyterian Gen*, eral Assembly at Dunodin last week, Mr.' J. Q. W. Aitken, of 'Wellington, said:—v' "Do we as a Cnurch, do we as Chris-* | tians,. our Bhare. of respond-.. liility for the present warP I more and I more realise, day by day, that if the Church of Christ had lived, and waa| living, as a Church should lire; thia ; war would never have taken place. Wo are frequently hearing of • the responsibility of the German Emperor and, the , German people for bringing aboufcj this w;ir, but I maintain that I, per-ti sonally. and every other member_ of thaj Christian Church, have a share in that, responsibility, for if the Church through** out the world had. lived up to the com-y mands of Christ, the state'of affaira-j that led to this war would not haves' been possible." .

The Royal Choral Society haa made; I .' its final arrangements to give a per-, formanoe of "The Messiah" ill thaj Town Hall on Friday evening, December) 18. It will be learned with no littlej interest ihat the society has made ar-i rangements, through Messrs. J. _ and, N. Tait, for the services of the eminent baritone, Mr. Peter Dawson. This vo-i enlist has held a good jjosition as $ concert and oratorio baritone in Eng-v land for ten years past, and is about tqj. tour New Zealand with a concert com-<i, pany under the Tait management.

A me-eting of Wellington South resn dents "will lx) held in the Newtown Lk brary this' evening ■to formulate scheme for the railing of funds foa the British and Belgian relief works. -

Tho aale of rifles and ammunition toil' Defence Rifle Clubs from the Defencq Department has been suspended.

Municipal golf lints cannot be estab-, lished on the Town Belt until certain leases expire. Ab a preliminary step toi tho starting of the schome, the-Oityj Council has given notioe to certain, torn ants to. terminate their leases. <■