LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2381, 10 February 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Third Reinforcements from Trentham Camp and the Maori Contingent will i.e paraded at Newtown Park at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Those who are now- frequently perusing the municipal rolls 'in connection . with tho Saturday half-holiday petition, state that the City roll reveals a good, number of cases of double enrolment. A Dominion representative was shown a case yesterday in which a man was on the roll three' times. Pur Napier correspondent telegraphed last evening:—"A wedding was to have taken place at the Napier Cathedral this afternoon, but though the bride and her friends arrived, they waited in vain for the 'bridegroom, who 'was subsequently posted as missing."' "I see things happen here,which are worthy of tho Germans, and make me think lam in Belgium, wfote a Picton resident to the Wellington Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He asked if the society was represented in Picton, and is to be informed that, it is not, and that he should report cases of cruelty to the police.

Already well over two thousand electors have signed the Wellington Saturday half-holiday petition. One thousand of the names have been checked. About five thousand'valid signatures are needed to secure the poll on the guestion, and the secretary, Mr. A. W. Croskery, states that the/ association is quite certain of getting well over that number. Canvassers are "on the road," and signatures are coming in at the rate of 1000 per week so far. The following resolution was carried unanimously at a meeting of the_ Brooklyn Municipal Electors' Association held last night:—"That the Brooklyn Municipal Electors'_ Association concurs in the dissatisfaction expressed by the civio authorities at the awards of the arbitrators in fixing the renewal rents for the reclaimed land leases, and is of the opinion that the result is the greatest set-back ever received by the City of Wellington from business men." The motion is to be forwarded on to the City Council. An art union organised at Orongorongo, in aid of the Belgian Fund, was drawn yesterday, Miss Burden being declared the winner. i The Petone Fire Brigade will be represented at the Oamaru Conference by Assistant Foreman Gaynor. A team from Petone, consisting of Assistant Foreman Gaynor and Firemen Whitcher and Guthrie, will compete in the events. Writing to his people iri'lnglewood from Egypt, Mr. George Duffill says: "To-day is Sunday, and this morning ve . .fere trained into Cairo and were on duty liuing- the streets for the procession of the new Khedive. TVe had fixed bayonets, and every man had 20. rounds of ammunition. There were about ten thousand troops on the 'job, and it was a very imposing procession. First came a company of English cavalry, then a company of English Mounted Infantry, then a company of . Egyptian Lancers with their pennants. Their uniforms are blue slashed with silver bars. Following these was a company of artillery, and then came a carnage with the JOiedivo and Ministers. He is a fine-looking man. Following this oarriage was another lot of native lancers, more English troops, and then all the "big pots" of Egypt in carriages, and finally more troops. There are about 120,000 troops in Egypt at present, so that if the Turks will only come along we will be able to enjoy ourselves." Constable Allison, of. the Victoria policc, arrived here yesterday by the Sydney boat in response to a cablegram from thtrlocal police to escort back to Victoria the alleged international pickpocket, Arthur Williams. Willkms, it will be remembered, was arrested by i Detective-Sergeant M'llveney the week bofore last on a charge of,stealing £15 from Robert Lacey at the Moonee Ponds Railway Station. Bail ha 6 been refused to Williams, and after again appearing before the local court he will be escorted back to Australia, probably on Friday 'next. A trooper was responsible for some disturbance in Manners Street yesterday afternoon. It is allegod in the first place that he used bad language, and then Constable Gordine arrested him. The man is said to have violently resisted arrest, and eventually he was' conveyed struggling and fighting to the police station. He will have four charges to answer at the Magistrate's Court this morning: (1) Using obscene language, (2) resisting the police, (3) assaulting a constable, (4) damaging a constable s helmet. With reference to the discussiou which has arisen ill regard to the providing of a uniform for the • Citizens' Dofenco Corps (says the Christchurch "Press"), it is pointed out that the difficulty could easily bo solved by the utilising of the luimireds of old blue arid red uniforms of tho volunteer days which aro stowed away in tho Dofenco stores in an excellent state of preservation. The uniforms iu stock would l>e sufficient to cover all the requirements of the force, and the members would be saved the expense of purchasing a semi-uniform JjrJilßi if jyeMjag to-im. ora>.

Tlxis afternoon at 3 o'clock Lad# Word will formally open the Parish! Festival to be held for the next three days oh tho tennis courts at the rear of; St. Mary of the Angels] Church. Tha attractions of the festivals are to be many, and will include musical and concert programmes. The proceeds are to go to extinguish the debt on tho St.: Mary's Parish. Hie festival will continue until Saturday evening, when the art union in connection with the function will be drawn. A Whakataki resident lias received from a member of the New Zealand, force now in Egypt a piece of bark' from tho tree under which the Holy Family rested, and a frond of fern from the well from which they drank, during their journey across the desert, write® a Whakataki correspondent. He also states that ho had the opportunity o£ examining a Gliurka's kukri, or knife, like those which have struck so muck * terror into the German ranks. "When! you ask to see these knives," he says,; "tho Ghurkae draw them, 'hen cut* your finger before restoring them to thei sheath. Their belief is that, wheal drawn by themselves, they must draws ■ blood before being replaoed in tha' sheath." An interesting event occurred lasfi week at the scene of the famous Tnra«, Tura-Mokai engagement, remarks the Patea "Press," veteran J. G. Beamish, of Patea, being photographed with his ' sou and grandson whilst standing oil ■ the spot where ho was wounded in tha now historic fight. Veteran Beamish,, who lost a brother in the engagement*? was himself shot through the but continued to fight throughout tha--eventful night. The site of the re-«. doubt which was held by the troops dur-<( ing the night can still be plainly traced,,] .though the ground is gradually becom-4 iug levelled. • Some remarkable cases, involving,' curious physiological facts, at beset the authorities administering thai Australian. Maternity Bonus Act. One of these, 1 which necessitated advicfl being sought from a medical specialist*),presented itself recently. According to 4 the Melbourne "Age," a claim was re-<" ceivod from a woman for the bonus iffi' l respect of a child born. Being pro-' perly attested, it was paid. Within/ a few weeks the woman submitted 4 ■ claim for another child born to her one! month after. There was for this claim jj' complete documentary justification. ButS such an occurrence being thought & physiological impossibility, inquiries* were set on foot. The officers depute# to make them were assured by tho modi-, cal man who attended the mother thati two babies had been born, and a monthhad elapsed between the first and! second births. A specialist was consulted as to the .possibility of such an) event, and lie stated that he was awarei of such cases, hut they were few anc? far between. • He explained that the* infants were undoubtedly twins. The<' Department accepted this ruling and; paid only one bonus. The Hon. R. H. Rhodes, Minister hi Charge of Tourist Resorts, has just returned from a visit to Lake Waikaro* moana, where he spent two days with! the Hon. H. D. Bell looking over certain fine forest areas on the west margin of the lake, which, the Government contemplate acquiring from the Native owners as a scenic reserve. He also* visited Morose Springs and other places in the neighbourhood. Mr j Rhodes informed a reporter that he proposed to have plans drawn) for an addition- to the accommodations house at the lake, which is scarcely suf-j ficiently large for present Whether the building could be erected, now would depend on Cabinet's decision) as to whether funds could be spare® for this work. A request was made taj him by the settlers for a tourist tracks from the lake to Galatea,.and they esti-; mated the work could be done fori £3000. Some £8000 was voted for thia work, and spent in the days of the Sed-f-------don Government. Certainly he if a motor road could be made thews —and there was no obstacle except that| of cost—the route would be a most 5 , popular one, leading as it would Lake Waikaremoana to Taupo and Ro-i torua. The object of the settlers, how-; ever, was to have a stock road cleared!, by which they could get stock out to' Rotorua.. He was also taken to see fine natural harbour at Waikokopu»J which was extensively usod in the old . whaling days. Indeed, some of the try-j pots wore still on the shore. In order, to make this harbour available for shipJj ping, a wharf was being asked for oft the settlers in tho vicinity. An interesting letter from Sir JameSi Mills, K.C.M.G., reached Mr. Beauchamp yesterday. Writing front?] London, on December 18, Sir 3 inter alia, says:—"There has been 8$ further delay in the delivery of our ships under construction. This is 'ing to the difficulty now to get commer-j cial work done at any of the sliip-huild-jf ing yards or any works, large or as they are nearly all taken up witbs Government work, of which there an enormous quantity, not only m com nection with the of ers, T.B.D.'s, submarines, mines, am«< munition, shells, guns, etc., hut also repairs on a large scale from time t<j time to ships of the fleet, 'either irom internal or external damage. There is no choice about it, as the Government, has, in many cases, practioally commandeered the engineering shops, airi will not allow them to take outside* work. . . . A feeling of confidence is growing among those in - responsible positions in connection with the that the end is not- far off,_ and thatA ' when the winter is over, and it becomess. possible to drive the Germans back onS both sides within their own terntory a a and possibly encroach upon it a little,., the Germans will have to sue for terms, j as their resources of all sorts will be< depleted, and they will not carry on' the war with the .certainty of their country being seriously invaded, lr this, proves to be so, tho financial strain! will, ho much easier for a while, but, no| doubt, at a later period, when it is alfJ : oveT, there will le a time of eerionaj depression. We were all elated last; week over the naval successes at the ' Falkland Islands, and, agani, the acM i venture of our submarine in tlie Dar>< dauelles, but to-day have had a slap tqA ■ the face over the bombardment ot ourfl east coast by some German -cruisers,;/ which had found their way inw tlio* ' North Sea and escaped our patrote. Tliej ' incident is certainly a vexing one and, 1 will give the Germans something toi 1 crow about and buck up then' I*sopj6>J : but it cannot be taken vi ' as it cives no evidence that tnej coulafl ! bring their main fleet out to : our coast in earnest, or to cover thaJ ' landing of troops. ;

Reports received by the Labour Department from til over New Zealand disclose a satisfactory, state of affairs in trade and labour. Building trade -.workers are the only class of labourers who are suffering to- any extent from unemployment. There is still a demand for farm hands. V The Auckland Labour Bureau reports that" trade conditions have kept up remarkably well considering tho dislocation occasioned, by the -war. In some trades' an improvement has taken place since last'month. In the building trades, however, work is intermittent. There has been a demand for practical coal-miners. Thero are still over 100 men calling at the Labour Bureau for work, but some of these will not take employment on cooperative works in the country.. Good farm hands and milkers arc wanted. In Gisborne, the condition -of trade and labour, except in the building line, is said to have become normal again. There has been very little difficulty in finding employment for unskilled labour. A gentleman, who acoording 'to his own statements has been, or could have been, pursuing a highly remunerative profession, gave a few little interesting details of his ''business" in the 1 Magistrate's Court yesterday. The articles of trade, which he manufactured himself, were, ho explained, .broom-handles mounted at one end witn a certain cleansing apparatus which in' an elevated position would clean windows, and a reversed position 1 could clean and polish floors. "I cau make 15s. to £1 a week selling these articles," he declared grandiloquently. Perhaps the war had an effect on a thriving business, or perhaps (as was whispered in court) the proceeds of the business were sunk in the form of strong liquid refreshments;' anyhow the broomstick vendor was discovered by,a constable begging in Vivian Street and arrested. "A deliberate falsehood," declared the broken business man. The Magistrate, however, decided that the deliberate falsehood came from another source, and sent accused to pursue another occupation other than that of '"mounting" broomsticks for a period of e. month;

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals met yesterday afternoon, Mr. V. R. Meredith presiding. It was reported that the. following subscriptions had. been received: —Captain Cowan, £2: Mrs. A. Forrest, £1; J. J. Boyd, Mrs. R. Hannah, A. B. Fitchett, and'F. Harrison, 10s. each; J. Newton, 7s. 6d.; C.J.R., Mre. Stowe, J. J. Curtis, Mandel and Carr, H. F. Allan and Son, E. Johnston and Co., R.M.J., Quick, Ward; and ' Wylie, and N.Z. Fruit Distributing Co., ss. each; H. Miller, 45.; Mr. Hewitson, D. Purchase, E. Bull and Co., M'Arthur and Millican, Mrs. Ronayne, J. M. Savidge, Mrs. Port, H. Pike, F. H. Cannon, S. G. Nathan, A.J.L., R. Kennedy, N.N., J. O. Peacock, N.Z. .Poultry Industries, Ltd., and George Denton Estate, 2s. 6d. each; Mre. H. J. Hall t B. and F., Mrs. Trevor, and Mrs. Pntchard, '25.; A ■ 'Friend, Is. 6d.; Four Friends, Is. each; total, £10 10s.' ' An average of eighty boxes of butter • are at present being turned: out at the New Zealand Dairy Union's Palmerston factory. The highest^number, of boxes for any one day this year was 136. The dry weather is now beginning to affect the supply and in consequence the output of butter is on the ,Tlie matter of the proposed new road to Vogeltown came up, at a meeting of the Brooklyn Municipal Electors' Association held last night, and it was decided to assist the Vogeltown and Mornington "Associations as far as possible ip this direction, as the Brooklyn Association recognised that it was a 'boon to Vogeltown as well as-Brooklyn ..people. . It is reported' that a. narrow seam of coal has been found in papa rock within two miles of Taumarunui. The coal is hard and bright, and it burns . leadily. •• • : Last Wednesday there was a narrow escape from a double drowning accident at Sumner. At 11.30 a.m., about one • hour off low tide, when the water in the estuary was running out like a mill race, a little girl, nine years of age. Cissy Freeman, of Sydenham, walked into deep water between the Cave Rock and the"pier. She was immediately-in difficulties. A spectator plunged in, hut, being gripped by the drowning girl, was scon in trouble. Mr. H. C. Woodward, of Christchurch, although fully dressed, then went to their assistance. With some difficulty he secured the man and brought him safely to shore. Throwing off his coat, Mr. Woodward again went to the rescue. By this time the girl had drifted, some considerable distance, and the rescuer had a hard battle to reach her 'and bring her to dry land. Fortunattely, although only semi-con-, soious, she was soon lesuscitated, and, with' the exception of shock, suffered no ill effects. People who witnessed the occurrence declared that it was the pluckiest rescue that they had ,seen. In the "Egyptian Mail" of December 23 appears an advertisement for tenders to be sent to Headquarters New Zealand Division at Zeit'un for the daily supply of about three-quarters of a ton of cheese, one ton of butter, and one ton of jam, to commence from January 1 last. It is the only advertisement for tenders in that issue of the paper. The "Mail" announces that it is sold at o millemes (a small piastre) per copv, and the public is warned that more than this should on no account be given to the stores or the runners."You are not in uniform to smash policemen's helmets, but when you get to 'the front you may, smash as many German helmets as you like," was the comment of an Auckland Magistrate to a member of the Maori Contingent, who . was charged with being disorderly while drunk, and with damaging a constable's helmet. The accused was being taken to the railway station by his comrades. . He, under the .influence of liquor, resented their friendly help and finished his evening's outing by a fight with two constables, damage to tho extent of 12s. 6d. being done to one of their helmets. The ninth anniversary of the opening of the Catholic Cathedral in Christchurch was celebrated on Suuday. In the absence of : Bishop Grimes, who is still a patient in Lewisham Private Hospital, the Rev. Dr. O'Shoa, co-adjutor Archbishop of Wellington/ celebrated Pontifical Mass at 11 a.m., when there was a large congregation'.... The address was given by the Rev. Father Roche, Superior of the Redemptorist Fathers, Wellington, who appealed to the congregation to be generous and free tho church from its present state of indebtedness, so that it might be consecrated . and the work of the Bishop in the diocese consummated.