LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2326, 7 December 1914, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

. An Australian mail is due at Auck- • land from Sydney by the HuddartParker steamer Riverina, to-dav. The southern portion is duo in Wellington by the 6.26 a.m. Mam Trunk express to-morrow. Tlio mails, which left Wellington oa November 12, per R.M.S. Maatai, arrived •in San Francisco, en route to London, on December 3, one day late. The mails which left Wellington on October 24, per s.s. Moeraki, and connected with the Naples dispatch per R.M.S. Osterley,arrived in London on December 3. The mails which left Auckland on November 3, per R.M.S* Makura, arrived in London, via .Vail- , couver, on December 3. One day this week the Department' i; of Labour will throw open for publics view the twelve workers' i dwellings erected in Highbury Road. 'Taitville. The houses have been erected for purchasers, and the Department hopes to - commence another dozen very shortly. Through the medium of the Wellington Patriotio Society, the sum of £40 was oolleoted la6t week for the purohase of bino<Alars and other service requirements of the supplementary detachment of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. The White Swan Brewery Company, of Napier, is forwarding by boat leaving' Napier to-day a piano for the use of the Second Expeditionary Force reinforce-' ments. Ag this gift is one direct to the. men, it has been arranged to place it on the troopship in the men's quarters. A. memorial tablet erected to the memory of priests of the parish who have died was unveiled in St. Mary of the Angels by Archbishop O'Shea at II . o'clock Mass yesterday. The Rev. Father O'Connell was tho celebrant. An Onehunga tradesman (states a oontemporaiy) is now in a position _to estimate the value of the law in helping him to collect long-standing accounts. Some time ago •he obtained judgment against a debtor for £13 and £3 costs. The debtor was ordered to pay the total amount of £16 at one shilling per week. The creditor congratulated himself upon getting the order, and remarked that jt would only take six years and eight weeks to liquidate the account: Since then, however, he has discovered that the order of the Court holds good only for one year, so that to get all his money lie will have to apply for a renewal of the order each year, at an , annual. cost of £1 155., made up of Court ooste and travelling expenses for the debtor. If all goes well and the Court favours each ■ application for renewal, the account should be liquidated in 16 years and 48 weeks. As all costs will be added to the original debt of £13, the debtor under this process will pay £44. Under an amendment of the Act, passed last session, tiro debtor may apply to the Court at any time to have the order varied, which will be granted if he can satisfy the Court that he is no longer able to pay Is. per week. Some person or 4 persons_ Unknown: were responsible for causing much damage to Messrs. George and Kersley's shop front late on Saturday evening; Yesterday morning it was discovered that a large plate-glass window ' facing Lambton Quay had been smash- : ed and two show-cases, situated on the Panama Street side of the shop, aad been broken. Several articles are missing from the window and show-cases. At the open-air performance by the Waterside Workers' Band at Newtown Park yesterday afternoon the sum of £3 13s. 6d. was collected for the Wellington Zoological Society's fund. This amount was made up of 631 coins. , Compared with November, "1913, 1 states the. Labour Department in its l latest report, there has been rather more' than the usual number of applicants seeking employment during, the present period.. About .20 per cent, of fchoso calling are fitted for the heavy Work that tho Department has to offer. Since the commencement of the war the number' of applications of all classes has declined from week to week. The lowest total, 65, was recorded for the week ending November 21. ■? The tiumber of men assisted by the Department was 242, comprising 89 married and 153 single. In addition, 13 wives and 14 children were assisted to join their relatives. Of those assisted 141 were Bent to private employment,, and 101 to Government works. The _ men ' came from the following localities:—, North Island, 67; South Island, 38; Commonwealth, 24; Great Britain, 105; other parts, 13. The callings represent. ( ed were: Farm hands, carpenters, ho« tel workers, painters, and general la*, bourers. * . • i . A ballot is to be taken on December 16 and 17, probably on the wharves, for i the election of officers for the Wharf / Labourers' Union. The positions to be: filled from the nominations sent in aro | those of secretary, assistant-secretary,; and treasurer. The positions of presi- j dent and vice-president _ have, alreadybeen filled by the re-election unopposed j of Mr. F. uurtioe (president) and Mr.j A. Blaok (vice-prcsiaent). The night; before the ballot takes place the ad-; journed annual meeting of the union will; be held, at which will bo presented the; balance-sheet after it has passed, through the hands of the auditor. According to a Press Association tela*; gram received last - night, the Timaru ! Committee of the British and Belgian; Fund have already remitted £4000 and have £600, which'they are trying ta make up to £2000 before Chrsitmas. A large amount of interest was centred rn the church parade at Hokitika yesterday. The Territorials who , have been encamped for the past week, at the racecourse were joined Dy a con-.; tingent of national reserves from Grey- • mouth, who arrived by special train, and these,'with the members of the local corps and the Kok'atahi mounted men, joined forces and paraded, to the various churches, accompanied by a Greymontli band 3 in the afternoon tne whole of the men fell-in at the race- • course and were addressed Dy Colonel Chaffey.-—Press Association. The Government has under offer fourfarms in Carterton for workers' cottage purposes. There are about twelve applications for sections. Carterton, correspondent. A Press Association' message from; Napier states that an organised house-.: to-house canvass and Btreot collection . on Saturday, together with an open-am fair on the Marine Parade in the evening, resulted in over £800 being coK lected for the reliof of distressed Eel* gians. . '