LOCALMND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2351, 6 January 1915, Page 4

LOCALMND GENERAL

Cabinet Ministers are returning from their Christmas holidays, and the Government are now carrying on business as usual. All through the holiday season the Hon''. H. D. Bell and the Hon. W- Fraser remained in Wellington attending to matters of urgency.' The Prime Minister came back from Auckland on Monday, and a Cabinet meeting was held yesterday. The usual routine of'the work of the Government will now be resumed:. ;

/.After having been in search of tho missing Antarctic trawler Endeavour, the Government steamer Tutanekai arrived at the / Bluff at 3 a.m. yesterday. The Tutanekai left Wellington for the Bluff at 2'p.m. on December 26, and arrived at tho, southern, port at 2.30 p.m. on Monday, December 28. She left there at 4.30 a.m. the next morning for Macqiiarie Islands, and other islands off the New Zealand coast, and returned to the Bluff as stated.' No signs of the missing vessel were discovered.

Mr. R. Breen, seoretaiy of the Divnedin Political Labour Representation Committee, telegraphed to the Prime Minister on Monday, says a:Press Association telegram, urging him to exercise the power conferred under Section 237 of the Legislature Act and declare Mr. Munro's election for Dunedin Central valid. The Prime Minister has replied stating jihat he is advised that the matter referred to does not come under Section 237 of the Legislature Aot.

In the course of an with a Press representative, says a Press Association telegram from Dunedin, the Hon. J. Allen', speaking on finance, said that already the'two million war loan had been floated with the assistance of the British -Government, also the 3J.-million loan to redeem a portion of Fir Joseph Ward's loan coming due. These loans had been raised at 3J per cent., but at a discount, the price of issue being £95. These loans will therefore cost 4 per cent., including redemption in 1\)28.

The warrants appointing Messrs. 6. Hunter, M.P., and Mr., T. H. Davey a Commission to report upon the apph-; cations for new totalisator permits to be issued under the Bill of last,session have been'sent to those,two gentlemen.. They will commence their inquiries next week. ■■■■'/.'

A doll presented by Miss May M'Laren| of Masterton, to the Belgian Fund, was, says our Masterton correspondent, auctioned at the Tauherenikau rac"es, and again -at the Masterton Town Hall, and realised the magnificent .sum of £115. '

The following are leaving Greytown on January 6 to join the 4th Reinforcements:—Messrs. J. T. Young, Maryborough ; A. C. Boyd, Martinborough; H. Shackleford, Featherston; T. M. M'Cook, Featherston; H. Philps, Featherston; Hi. A: B. Cooper, Featherston ; Wm. M'Culloch,. Featherston; R. J. Brannigan, Greytown; H. A. Brett, Carterton. In the course of a letter received from England :by a Wellington resident a curious coincidence is related. A Wolsh lady decided to adopt a Belgian orphan child, and called at one of the homes whore they are housed and selected one. It 6eoms that the little girl chosen had a little sister from whom she would not be parted, so finally the lady from- Wales decided to adopt both. When she undressed the elder child at night she found a- locket which proved beyond any doubt that the children were those of. her own sister, who had many years before gone to Belgium, but of whom she had not Heard for some years - > ' Extension of the Constable Street tram lino is a work which it is intended shall be commenced very soon now. The Order-in-Council has been applied for, and plans for the work aro before the Government. As soon as the Order-in-Counoil is granted, the work of excavation and filling of portions of the route via Crawford Road will bo proceeded with. , Letters of thanks for Christmas com--1 forts for' New Zealand troops at Samoa, Somes Island, Trentham, and forts, were received by the Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke) on his roturn from Napier. The gonorous gifts of oitizena and others, and particularly for 1000 cigarettes given by Mrs. Kenway to the. men at Trentham, have been much appreciated. From Sydney, Melbourne, Launcestou, Christchurch, and other civic bodies the Mayor has received season's greetings to the city, the Mayor, and Councillors.

The Students' Conference at W T aimat6 closed its sittings on Monday. The <Sarap w<M5 to break up to-day, but it is to be folio ived' by a Leaders' Confer* ence, which lasts till Friday. The closing meetings were of a. particularly impressive, nature, especially the last devotional service conducted by trie Rev. fi., ft. HftrrUi—Prasfi Association,. J

; . , „ The Westport Coal Company's ou(w& put for the twelve ■ months ending on 6. December 31, 1914, 'was 645,530 tonis 7&. cwt., compared with 621,904 tons_ 19 «' cwt. in 1913, tho year of the strike,. ; says a'Press Association telegram. In . 1912 the company's output was 026,366 .5 tons 7cwt. The Westport-Stockton Com- •/, pany's output for the year was 149,633 £. tons, compared with 93,331 tons in 1913. £| Writing from Thursday Island, ,the yl Rev. Dr. W. E. Macklin, who recently M visited New Zealand, tenders his con- I; gratulations to the Mayor (Mr. J. P.fe Luke) upon tho city's tram service,,the % system of rating on unimproved values, and also on the good city administration. Dr. Macklin states that he pur«j poses lecturing on what he saw in NewZealand, and has already obtained lantern slides and data generally of tho Dominion, and its cities. i

Peculiarities of voting are seen in! every election. The recount in the' Marsden electorate revealed some speci-i mens. Six papers were spoiled by two! literal interpretation of the respective' ~ injunctions: "Strike out the top line."The would-be electors struck out the' very top line on the paper and the very, bottom line, thereby simply deloting a. line of voting instructions and leaving the actual proposals untouched. Some papers were disallowed because, the elec« . tors had written their names on. them. One enthusiast inscribed the word "Class" against the favoured 'candidate's name, and "Rats" against the other. "Massey" was the_ inscription. on one paper, no mark being placed .! against the name of either candidate. *' "To —— with tho booze" was anotheii Jf line. Sharks of large size are reported to* bo numerous in Lyttelton Harbour at! present. Around Akaroa also .these' creatures are said to be rather plenti- , ful this summer. The "Akaroa Mail"' 'l states that Mr. W. Stewart, fishing at? •% Akaroa Heads, caught a. nine-feet shark..; | He was fishing for hapuka, S ■the shark on his line. He brought if> : * to the surface and harpooned.it. :'■.. In response to an invitation from the l ! * editor of the London "Daily Chron-1 icle" to send "a message of Imperial'!, fellowship and support for the MothepJ 5 Country," the Prime 'Minister (thai '; Uight Hon. W. l'\ .Massey) sent the] following New Year messago to thati < journal:—"As British . citizens, News £ Zealanders commence the New Year! '; with perfect confidence, feeling certain 5 that the spirit which lias consolidated 1 ' ,, J and strengthened the Empire during }' 1914 will continue to animate the dif- 9 t'erent members of the great Imperial *. family until the whole world realises <, that in peace or war we stand together, £■ ready and willing to defend to the last | our glorious heritage of freedom, and! : % that we consider no sacrifice too great' '. to maintain the honour of our race, and; - which will enable us to keep faith with; ';■ our Allies." • ~!■' VS Captain Neilsqn, of the'hospital ship' '

ttomiia, wnicn was minea on wnioy. has been awarded the bronze medal or , the Royal Society for the Prevention •- of Cruelty to Animals. Captain Neil- \ son, after leaving the ship in the' last 'i lifeboat, returned to the wreck, and' 5 rescued from the bridge, on which ; the; d waves were dashing, a small black kit- ■* ten. .-. ■ / . X A When the matter of volunteering fop | the front was put to the men now serv«. v ins at Samoa, sSys one of the soldiera j who returned to, Wellington yesterday',- 1 the question was not "Who will go ttf \ tho,front?'" but "AVho will stay at .£ Samoa?" Out of the -whole garrison,; a it is stated, only forty men volunteered S to remain in Samoa. When the Vot- » ing was taken the men did not know that they were to go first to Egypt, hut were under, tho impression that they] would bo going straight to the front. " j No fewer than eight men have leffij from one Masterton station to 1 do eer-ij vice under the.flag. -.! ?

The Premier of Not South Wales' ," recently had; Ms attention directed by;' ■; the Agent-General, to.numerous cases £ of wife desertion, men emigrating fromi** England to Australia and disregarding their, family obligations. Upon receipt! of Sir T. Coghlan's 1 dispatch, police! investigations were instituted in thai State,, and the Inspector-General -re-i ported as follows:—"As the Agont-Gen-eral observes, the ovil has now reached . large proportions, and with these desertw ■■' ing husbands and fathers, and the large; number of English criminals now serv-j ing sentences here, we have some most< undesirable additions to our populations It may, therefore, be considered that' the time has arrived for some action,' as suggested by the Agent-General tos .be taken." The Agent-General in his';, dispatch wrote: "As far as I can see,| the majority of these oases of desertion!! have, been'quite deliberate, the inten-J tion to desert being in the. minds of| these persons before leaving this coun-j try. In many cases these individuals! pose as single men, and marry Aus-t tralians, this inflicting injury- and), wrong upon our women." The Premicr.j was informed that the police have graced a number, of these deserting hus4 bands, and compelled them to cojitrw bute to the support of their wives. The Inspector-General is of the opinion thatl no very great difficulty lies in the way of devising effective means to compel the deserters to accept their responsi-O, bilities, and his -representations haver been sent on to the Federal-Govern*) ment. ' •?

The circumstances under when upon! advance: to the peerage the- present J First Lord adopted the title of ''Lord; Fisher Kilverstone" are .interesting,! writes Sir Henry Lucy in the "Sydney;/ Morning Herald." men, 60 years ago.t lie was midshipman, a gentleman nam-' ed Vavasour visited his ship, and inter-i viewed the captain, with desire to in-/ terest him in a patent recently obtained for an improvement in navalj gunnerv. The captain was unsympathetic/not to say sceptical. The muM 6hipmite, who chanced to be on dutyJ in attendance, perceiving the value of* the invention,- boldly pointed it out.* He was sharply reproved for unseemly! interference. But upon reflection the* captain, his oyes opened, saw the value} of the new departure. He brought it, under the notice of the authorities, and\ in the end it was adopted by the, A<W miralty. Messrs. Armstrong recogms-J cd its value, and offered-to purchase} the patent for a colossal sum. Mr.l Vavasour stood out for a partnership in? the great concern, had it conferred upon) him, and, retained it to the end_pf his/ life. He never forgot the midsnipnuMwho was the founder of his fortune,/ When Lord Fisher's son was born he. became- his godfather, bestowed upotf him, among other things l Ins name, and; when he died left him his seat in J.orj»' folk, with a big estate and a sum ok money earmarked to build a new mavj sion more. in keeping with its manjr broad acres.. • ' t