LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2396, 27 February 1915, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Postmaster-General announces that he has been able to arrange with the London nd Egyption Post Offices for the acceptance of Soldiers' Gift Club parcels. Such parcels must addressed to the officer commanding a regiment and must be superscribed "Soldiers' Gift dub." They may contain separate packages addressed to individual members of the Forces, and the whole parcel must be postage_paid according'to the tariff already published. This concession may also be used for gifts to members of the Force at Samoa. The postage for the whole parcel is:-—To Egypt, not exceeding 31b., Is.; not exceeding 71b., 25.; not exceeding 111b., Ss. The greatest length of parcels must'not exoeed 3ft. Gin., _ nor tho greatest length Mid girth combined 6ft. Maximum weight, 111b. To Samoa: For the first lb., 3d.; for each additional lb. up to 131b-, lid.; forest additional lib. between 131b.' and 281b., Id. The greatest length of parcels must not exceed 3ft. 6in., nor the greatest length and girth combined, 7ft. Maximum weight, 281b.

An early morning visit was paid yesterday by a party of detectives to a bouse in the City where one Philip George Bernard, alias Walters, alias Thorpe, alias, and better known as "Snowy" Gill, was believed to be sheltering. Gill got his sobriquet of "Snowy" from the fact that his hauls very fair, but yesterday morning, when the police disturbed his slumbers, his hair was raven black, and his fair skin had been. darkened. On January 6 this prisoner escaped from the Wanganui lock-up, and since that time the police have been looking for him. It was Detective Lewis who discovered his hiding place, and when. he made the arrest he was accompanied by Detectives Andrews, Dempsey, and Cameron. The prisoner was subsequently .brought before the Magistrate in the Police Court charged with escaping from lawful custody, and remanded to appear at Wanganui on Wednesday next.

The following nominations have been reoeived by the returning officer for the Hutt electorate (Mr. F. London) for the Licensing Committee:' Messrs. M. W. Welch, John Cotton, H. E. Ryder,, and John Cudby. The only, member of the present committee >is Mr. J. W. M'Ewan, and his nomination paper is expected to bo handed :n this morning.

Applicants have been approved and contracts will shortly be signed for the erection of a further batch of eleven workers' dwellings at Taitville. When tho work is put in hand there will be twenty-five dwellings completed or in course of ereotion ait Taitville during the financial year, in addition to two completed at Island Bsy, and three authorised for ereotion at Petone. The Workers' Dwellings Board will shortly bo calling for tenders for tho erection of three dwellings at Petone. Contracts have just been signed for seven dwellings on rural allotments at Fairlie: also for sis dwellings at 4 Waimate and eight at Oamiiru. Arrangements are now being mad© for dwellings atDunedin, Christcbu'rch Ngaruawahia, and Tauranga, and rural workers dwellings of a new design at Carterton, lne total for-the financial year, with those commenced, will be nearly two hundred, thirty of tho number having been erected at Wellington and Petone.

The title "Royal" as applied to the Wellington Clipral Society carries with it its obligations. This, struck one member at the annual, .meeting last evening, and on his motion it was decided to commence every concert witli the singing of the National Anthem. Exhibition was taken nt last evening's annual meeting of tho Royal Wellington Choral Society by some speakers to another musical body, ■ whose name was so much like their own that Borne confusion' had already arisen in that respect. The chairman (the Hon. J G. W. Aitken) stated' that they could' not register the title of Choral Socioty. The name of their society was the Koyal Wellington Choral Society, and it was always announced as suoh.

With reference to tie Licensing Committee elections, nominations for. which close to-day, the Dominion secretary of the New Zealand Moderate League states that, it is not the intention of the League to nominate a ticket for same. Tho Oentral Executive, after considering tho position, had decided to reoomuiend the various branches not .to nominate new candidartos unless there were strong reasons for desiring a change in tho sittiiig committees. It was felt that : the public expense and disturbance ,of an election contest on this occasion should bo_ avoided. The League committee has in view, among other Teforms, tihe reaonstitution or the licensing authority and hopes t-p devise a method whereby Licensing Committee eleotions will become unneoessary, - At Thursday evening's meeting of the Wellington Trades and Labour Council the secretary (Mr. L. M. A. ?« den) prosoilted the balance-sheet for the La bour Day demonstration, showing a net profit of £174 os. r^ half of fcln's amount (£B7 os. 6d.) had been handed over to the .Mayor's War Distress Fund, and the Trade* HaU Budding Fund.

' The members of the Harbour Board who will retire in April by effluxion aS time are: Messrs. 11. Kekber M.P* R. A. Wright, M.P., A. H. Hindniarsh, M.P., and J. Trevor, representing Wellington. City; C. W. Jones and H. L. Nathan (payers of dues on sliips): A. U. Kennedy (payer of dues other than an ships); C. 15. Daniell and A. Marfan . lane (Wairarapa); Maurice Cohen, ana John Cobbe (Manawatu); D. J. Watson, and J. W. M'Ewan (Wellington Suburbs and Hntt County). Mr. J. "• Harkness, representing the Govormnent,- • holds office until April, 1917.' . The mombers of the Gilberfc-Snllrvaa Opera Company which has just completed a successful tour of New Zealand left for Sydney en route to Melbourne by tho Moeraki yesterday. Owing to an alteration in the arrangements in Australia, it was found neoessary to cut Dunedin out of tho tour altogether, which fact was deeply lamented by lovers of light opera in the southorn city. ... At yesterday's meeting of the Govot- *" nors of the Wellington College and Girls' High School the resignations of Miss Mabel Salmon, of the staff of the High School, and Mr. J. B. Mawson, assistant master at the Wellington College, were-received and accepted with regret. Mr. Mawson is resigning in '• order to go to the front.

The element of scare las not been created among the Australian public by the threatened submarine blockade by the Germans. Messrs. Thos. Cook and Son report that all the passenger liners leaving Sydney are' well filled, and berths are not easily obtained bv those, steamers included in the March timetable. It was imagined that the passenger season between Australia and England would be influenced detrimenby tho war and the blockade threat, but such is not the case'. \ The Orient liner, time-tabled to leave Sydney on March 10, was well filled over a fortnight ago. • '

There is little doubt that the Dickie stamp-vending machines are a jive coovenience to tho public. Three of_ theSs machines have been doing duty in the main entrance to tlie General Post Office for 6oipe .months past, and the results are quite satisfactory. Purine the period between May 16 and February 25, the three maohines have sold 131,040 penny stamps, a total value of £546. ,The monthly sale averages at>proximately 14,570 stamps. '

The effects of the,war on German food supplies and prices are but now becoming apparent, and it is certain that the winter will s*ie'-the greatest economy in the use of the existing food supplies. By tlie middle of November vegetables had practically disappeared from the public markets; even the lentils and beans are scarce and poor in quality, while peas are not to be had at all. Fruits are rare, and many are out of the market. Potatoes, which are a very important item in German food, hare reached oppressive prices, owing to the large use of them for distilling petrol, or rather spirit, for motor-cars. The rise in grain prices was such that tho Federal Council had to set a limit on them. Tlie prices thus fixed were as follows on November 19, three months ago! —Wheat, 75..1 d. per bushel (it has reached 7s. 2d.); barley, 6s. 9d.; and rye, 6s.

What surely must be a record for ' work of the kind has been established by a small boy in Christchurch in connection with the sports carnival held at Lancaster Park, says the Christchnrch"Pross." Impressed with the need of the Belgians, this youthful enthusiast set out to sell tickets. On Thursday he astonished the secretary by calmly asking for another 220 to sell* His/rft* cord was then looked into, and waa found that already he had sold 860. These figures are oorrect, and are not merely the efforts of a commercial traveller in drawing the long bow. ine lad's success "oil the road,' however, seems to make his destiny plum—any lad who can sell 1000 tickets of any show is {ore-ordained to bs a traveller*

There is evidently some slight confusion about the Renesis of the suggested New Zealand Board of Tradd and Industries, which has bßen jeforred to as a newly-formed body with headquarters in. Christchurch. According _to Mt. H. F. Alien, of Wellington, the body referred to'is not the _ "baby"; of an industrial corporation m Otoisfcdhurob, but one which emanated from Mr J. B. liawience. the president or the Industrial Corporation of New Zealand, the executive and headquarters or which, are in Wellington, one suggestion to form a New Zeateod Board or Irade—and so far it is little more than a suggestion—is to come before the Corporation for confirmation or otherwise at its next meeting,

At the annual meeting,of the Royal Wellington OhoraJ Society it was "decided to form a roll of honour, on which will be inscribed the names or members and honorary members of the society, who have gone* to, or may go to the front.

In commenting on the balanoe-shee? of the Royal Wellington Choral Society, Mr. J. R. Barley said that it seemed to him that the Belgium Belief -Fund concert was more' a benefit for tne soloists than it was for the Belgians. According to the • balance-sliest the expenses in connection with the concert referred to amounted to £124 12s. 3d., whilst the'total receipts were £112 Bs. 6d. The fees for soloists engaged for the concert totalled £91' 7s. 6d. Towards tho close of the meeting a moWon was carried suggesting t° toe incoming 'committee that it should endeavour to safeguard the interests of the •society as far as possible m respect to benefit concerts.

The Southland Patriotic Committee yesterday allocated £250 of the Belgian Relief Fund to the Salvation Army Belgian Belief Fund through Sfcaff-Oaptam H.P. Sharpi representing Commissioner Hodder. Miss Thompson, of Leniiel, has al6o donated £100.—Press Association.

At Monday's meeting of the Petone Borough Council, Councillor Anderson intends to move: "That subject to reasonable accommodation being available for sports bodies and tho Trotting Club the council's representatives on the Hntt Park Committee be instructed to support the application of the Hutt Valley Trotting Club at present before that committee for the use of the park for trotting purposes."