LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2377, 5 February 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Tlie civil sessions of the Supreme Court open in Wellington on Alonday next. The list will be called over iu Chambers at 10 o'clock this morning, when fixtures will bo made. During the week ended January 31 punishment was meted out to 127 of the men iu Trentham camp for various offences, mostly for over-staying leave and being absent without leave. "A" Company, 3rd Reinforcements, headed tho list with 40 men punished; "13" Company, 3rd Reinforcements, wore next with 17. By a notice in the Gazette last, night His Excellency tho Governor, under Section 7 of. the Justico of the Peace Act, has ordered the remoral of tho name of Frederick Edward Norman Gaudin. of Auckland, from the Commission of the Peace. Detectives Dempsey and Tricklobank arrested a boy yostorday on a charge of stealing various articles valued at £3 9s. Defective Bailey arrested a man on a serious charge in respect to a .child. .

Mr. W. E. Smith, of the Dunedin railway goods staff, who wrote to Mr. Chappoll, the composer of "The Day," congratulating him on the widespread popularity achieved by his poem, haa received an interesting letter from Mr. Chappell, and also an autographed copy of tho verses, which have evidently been issued in leaflet form, in England. Mr. Chappell's letter is as follows:— "Dear Mr. Smith,— Very many thanks for your kind and appreciative letter. It is nice to know that one's efforts are not in vain. The lines have penetrated to every quarter of the globe, as is manifest from the letters I receive:Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, India, Australia, America, and Canada, and yours from New Zealand, besides shoals from Great Britain. I am proud' to think I have been able to do some little good in the world. Please accept enclosed copy as a small token of my gratitude for your kindness in writing.': Yours fraternally, Henry Chappell.' "So far as I can judge, this will bai a record month for the export of dairy; produce and frozen meat," said ' the* Prime Miuistor yesterday. "I know- 1 tho frozen meat companies are being inconvenienced by the shortage of ships,) but they should get a big relief this' month, I think, judging by the number of big ships on iho berth, and all the ships will do wanted; indeed, we would' be very glad to have more. I have re- 1 ceived replies from all the harbour, boards to my request that they should facilitate the dispatch of ships by allowing overtime to be worked, and all have agreed to ay proposals." A Press Association message received last evening from Feilding reports thati after a long spell of dry weather a> soaking rain is falling. According to our Napier correspon« dent, the Hawke's Bay A. and P. So< ciety has forwarded a further' cheque for £1400 to His Excellency the Governor, being the amount of subscriptions received towards the British and Belgian Relief Funds. Altogetbei £4200 has been forwarded by the so« ciety. Some time ago the secretary of ths. New South Wales Rughv Union wrote' to the New .Zealand Rugby Union enclosing an agreement regarding interchanges of visits between New South Wales, Queensland, and New Zealand teams. The agreement was signed by. the two Australian unions, and it was asked that the Ne,v Zealand Union should add its signature. In the terms of the agreement it was proposed that; Australian teams should visit New Zealand in 1915 and 1917. and Dominion teams should visit Australia in 1916 and 1918. Each tour was to consist of seven matches, two of them to he test matches. It was proposed that the net proceeds should be divided as follows: - 40 per cent, to the home union and 30-' per cent, to each of the other unionß.At a meeting of the Management: Committee of the New Zealand Rugby Union held a few nights ago the proposal was discussed, and it was decided 1 that no definite action be taken in _ the matter at present. It was also decided to inform the New South Wales Union that owing to the very, changed conditions of Rugby as the result of thai war, the New' Zealand Union thought it was improbable that any interchange of visits was likely. . The slaughtering, freezing, and meat preserving works in Wellington are reported to be very busy at present. The" quantities of stick treated will constiI tute a record. The stock is in' eood condition, and ouite up to the usual stanI dard, according to the Labour Depart* ment's monthly report. The' Conciliation Council will sit- at Napier on Saturday to hear the Motor Mechanics' dispute. At a meeting of the Wellington Central Branch of the National Reserve last night, a question asked Colonel Porter,C.8., president, was whether, if a man became a member of the National Reserve, his life insurance policv would ba vitiated. In replying. Colonel Portec said that he did not see how a policy could be vitiated. The National Reserve, not having been called out. was on a peace footing. Colonel Robin haa; definitely stated to bhn that the Heserve now was on a peace footing. A member present pointed out that * clause of all insurance policies made tno' policv null and void if the insured person was killed by the enemy during war. Colonel Porter said that he thought legislation was being passed in England to the effect that insurances should not be vitiated by the fact that the insured had gone to the front, was further pointed out that msnranca companies were meeting th® lea^, e . v charging an-extra £5 per £100. Colonel Porter: "Really I cannot say what t-na position is. I have been soldiering and not dealing with insurance. Brigadier Bray, of the Salvation Armr, will conduct Sunday's meeting at the Trcntham military camp. The Wellington Swimming Club hava decided to hold a carnival at Te Aro Baths on February 20. A team, oF swimmers is coming down from » Bay, and the Christchurch men wh® ■ will be on their way home from the New Zealand championship carni\alji« compete. The right to hold the Aria* Cup will bo contested by the centres represented at the gathering. Among the latest contributors to the Salvation Army Emergency ar ' d ,,Jj a * Relief Fund are:—Wilson Bros., Herald" office, Auckland, £100; Lane and Walker (Ashburton), & 0 i ( M ' ss j;;; M'Lean (Ashburton), £2o; A F™nd (Ashburton), £10; Rangitikei. Masonio Lod"e, £5 55.; Auckland Racing Club,.£5 55.; Ensign and Mrs. Parke j* Wellington), £10; P. Smith (DaniKM virke), £10; Young Peoplo_s (Salvation Army) Hastings Corps. £10/s. ; Pwinle's Corps, Dunedin North, £21 15s? Mr. and Mrs. J. £100; Captain Smith (Auckland), toll, "Well-wisher," £30; E. Nairn O aipawa), £25; A. M. Myers (Auckland), £10 10s. The fund has now reached the sum of £5700. Such a simple combination as a cigarette left on a workman's bench and workman's apron thrown carelessly over it was responsible for the l'iro Brigade being called out at about squarter to seven last evening. Tlier« was much smoke much excitement buO no damage at all, except that the inof. tensive apron was badly burnt. m scene of the "outbreak" was the building at tho rear of Hannah's boot shop on the Quay. . An Alicetown resident whilst diggin" in his garden recently unearthed a relic of bygone times, in the shape: of a nair of ankle-irons, at one timer used, as well as handcuffs, upon convicts.

TESTING THE 1915 B.S.A. The B.S.A. Company is' a great b« liever in gaining first-hand inform,'itioiN concerning the,road conditions in thd countries where B.S.A. motor-cycles aro used, and Mr. D. T. Rennie, the firm'C tra vellinp representative, was recently eont to New Zealand to spy out the land v Messrs. Adams, Ltd., planned a trip for Jlr. Rennie which would demonstrate ths difficulties that beset tho New Zealand,' motor cyclist in quite a striking manner,\Vith Mr. G. B. Brown, Mr. .Rennie tooP a B.S.A. 4}h.p. single-cylinder motor< cyclo three-speed countershaft near (o( course) and side-car from Christchnrcl' through Arthur's Pass to Otira, Kumara, Murchison, Nolson, Blenheim, Glenhopo. Seddon, Kaikoura, Waiau. and Ilartmer SOC miles, all overland. The trip was A toueh one, but the B.S.A. and side-can (weighing SOOIb. with passengers), cama through magnificently. The capabilities of the 3-speed gear were fully demons strated, and so pleased were Messrs. Adams, Ltd., with the result of this gruelling "try-out" that they cablcd trebling their standing orders . for B.S.A. motor-cycles. A small shipment has just arrived, and prospective purchasers should order early. Adams, Ltd., Christchurch, Palmerston North, and. Wanganui. Agents: Sutherland and Rankine, Wellington; Tourist Motor Co.* Hastincs.—Advt*

The visiting boys from Australia made an early start yesterday morning by journeying to R-ona Bay by the-7.40 a.m. ferry. Ou arrival.at that place they were met by their host, Mr. Wm. Allan, president of the Y.M.C.A., who had kindly arranged for the conveyance of the boys by coach to his summer residence. After a few words of welcome, Mr. Wills, of Rona Bay, very kindly guided them through the bush upon his property, the boys thoroughly enjoying this part of their outing. On returning to Mr. Allan's house, Mrs. arid Misses Allan provided morning tea, during which a few songs were sung by the'visiters. The lads returned by the 11 o'clock boat, and proceeded direot to the Town Hall for the civic welcome. In the afternoon they were shown over the Wellington Woollen Mills and the Gear Meat Works, the Gear Company providing afternoon tea. The boys left liy the Maitai in the evening thoroughly pleased with their short stay in Wel- ' On various occasions during the past 'year or two interesting finds have been made in the subsoil beneath the streets of Invercargill, and in almost every trench cut in the carrying out of the drainage scheme there have been found evidences of the dense growth of vegetation that preceded the coming of settlement, states the "Southland Times." ' Samples of green lignite were found_ in Dee Street when the pipes were being laid for the Grand and Club Hotels drainage, and later the. contractors for various drainage works encountered fairly heavy timber in'the cutting of trenches. In a trench cut in Esk Street last weak a similar experience befell the workmen, who encountered the roots of what must have been heavy trees. In the same trench the remains of a tree fern were unearthed in a fairly good state of preservation, a fact which brings home the realisation that Nature is only effaced with great difficulty. The damage done by the fire on the Remuera Estate, in the Bay of Islands, appears to be far more extensive and costly than had at first been' anticipated. ' After sweeping over the standing bush on the estate, ruining a large area, and' overtaking many sheep and , cattle, the flames continued their course over neighbouring properties containing a considerable extent of standing bush. The rain of Friday served as a check; the fire broke out again on Saturday morning with renewed vigour. A big fire has also occurred in the Puwera district. It was only by the foresight of settlers in the vicinity of the Dominion Portland Cement Company's works that they were saved from destruction. They had taken the precaution of ploughing a broad strip of land, which effectually prevented the progress of .the flames. . A gun that went off had a disconcerting effect in the Auckland Supreme Court. It was not the literal exploding of a firearm that caused the trouble, but one of the . prisoners bailed out quietly disappeared from the vicinity of the Court. His name was Patrick Gunn, and the Crown was "armed" with a "double-barrelled" indictment obarging him with theft from a dwell-ing-house, and with "firing" the premises in order to conceal the robbery. Earlier in the_ morning he had'been, seen, but on being called he was neither in ihe "inner" nor "outer" Courts, and high and low search failed to reveal the "missing" man; Later in the day Gunn's "breach" of the confidence placed in him by his bailors resulted in one of the unfortunate men being hauled before the Judge, and warned to produce his '"charge." Taking "stock" of the situation, the Crown Prosecutor found that although the afternoon was yet young, he could not proceed with further cases. Perhaps it would not be. well to saj; that the Court went off "pop"- or being apprised of this state of affairs. The Judge, however, commented on_ the waste • of. time. The bailors again ; failed to produce Gunn next morning, and were given further time for search.—Auckland "Star."

'An .active service post-card from '"somewhere k France or Belgium" was received at a recent meeting of the Auckland Education Board. It was in the nature of. an answer to a letter which the secretary had written to a former member of the board's staff or architects with reference to his resignation. The writer of the card'was Lieu, tenant W. H. Gibb t of the Black Watch, and it briefly intimated that he was quite well. An active service card is manipulated something like a ballot paper. There are a number of printed lines, and the soldier strikes out those which do not refer-to his case, leaving those which do. . The board decided to write, congratulating Lieutenant Gibb on his appointment to this famous regiment. Suoh a freak of nature as a white sparrow is seldom seen, but it is stated that, among the common herd of these generally dingy-coloured birds, several snow-white sparrows have been seen, recently in various partß of the Ashburton County, states the 1 "Guardian." One was noticed recently near the Alford, Forest Road. These birds are usually the pariahs of sparrow society, and seem to be treated by their . spotless brethren as either something above or something below the ordinary genus. Whichever way it is, they are almost universally shunned by the rest and livo a lonely secluded existence. The one referred to, however, was on good terns with his brown fellows, and was eating a hearty meal among them ■when seen. There is at present on view in Messrs. Howe and Sowman's (tobajoniats) win-c dow, Lambton Quay, a piece of plating from the hull of the s.s. Walkure, which vessel, it will be remembered, was captured by the French gunboat Zeelee in Tahiti. During the bombardment of Papeete by the Scharnliorst and Gnieseiiau a projectile fired from one of the big gims, after passing through the Zeelee, entered the Walkure, which, was alongside, and blew out • a large picce of plating. The plating was picked up a milo inland. A fragment of the shell which was found on the Walkure is also oil view.