LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2413, 19 March 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

* Two Chinamen, alleged to have been smuggling opium from ono of the boats ill the port, were arrested at the Railway Wharf last night by Customs Officer A. H. Boland. The arrests took placo within a short time of one another. The men will appear before the Magistrate's Court this morning. . Detectives Cameron and Anderson yesterday arrested a man on a charge of deserting from the s.b. Romuera. in September last. Complaint was made to the Auckland police yesterday, says a Press Association telegram, that further damage had been done in Queen Street by the slashing of windows with a diamond. Examination by the police of the windows in the vicinity showed that no fewer than four plate-glass sheets had been more or less seriously damaged. In ono case at least it is expected that the window will have to be replaced. The voluntary action of the nurse 6 and sisters on the Wellington Public Hospital nursing staff in contributing one day's, and in some eases two days', salary per month for six months to the British and Belgium Relief Fund, has met with the appreciation, and approval of the members of the Hospital Board. With a view of extending the market for Japanese goods in New Zealand, the commission, which has been in Australia for some weeks will visit New Zealand. _ The commission consists of Mr. Jisflei Miura, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce in Japan, and Messrs. Y. Nishida, T. liitahama, and M. Ohtaui, well-known business men. They will arrive in Wellington by the Ulimaroa on March 30, and proceed to Christchurch the 6ame day, returning to Wellington on April 'J, and -leaving again on April 7 for Auckland, where they will remain until April 13, returning thence to Sydney. While here they will be pleased to give any information to those desiring to open business relations with Japan. The Post and Telegraph Department is to be given formal notice that City Council will not be responsible for the payment of long-distance communications from public vehicle stand telephones. An interesting record showing the number of men on active service from their iron-works has been printed for John Lysaght, Ltd., who have extensive dealings in New Zealand. From the firm's works at Bristol, Newport, | Scunthorpe and. Wolverhampton, 1449 men have gone on active service, and 67 from the office staff, over a quarter of the total number of the employees of the firm. At the outbreak' of the war there "were 416 men of the firm in the Reserve or Territorial Forces, and on the appeal for recruits for Lord Kitchener's new army 1100 immediately came forward. The firm has promised that all those men who left on active service would have their positions kept open for them on their return, and also that an allowanoe of 10s. per week is to be given to the wives or dependents of the men away. Among the visitors to New Zealand at the present time is Mr. Hedley Thompson, formerly of Gisborne, but who has been working as an engineer at Parsons' big works in the Old Country, and is now pretty generally known m engineering circles as the inventor of the "Thompson transmission." This consists of a new, economical, and direct way of transmitting the power from the motor to the wheol-shafts of & motor-propelled ve'hiclo. Mr. Thompson, /who has already demonstrated his patent by means of a working model to the Chief Railway Engineers and the City Engineer (Mr. W. H. Morton), gave an address on his invention before the annual congress of the New Zealand Society of Civil Engineers at Dunedin last week. A railway coach driven by the Thompson transmission has been running in-South Africa for some time' past quite successfully, and it is understood that it is to be adapted to one here by the Tailwav authorities. Yesterday afternoon the Wellington Hospital Board decided that authority should be given for purchasing a motor generator for charging accumulators, motor ambulances, and for X Rays. St«{>s are to be taken by the City Council to acquire the necessary land to give access to the Wallace Street tram terminus from Wright Street. Land at Onepu Road required for carshed purposes has been purchased by the City Council for the sum of £1600. This was announced in the Power Stations and Tramway Committee's report last night ' The Minister of Defence was asked in Auckland if the garrison at the forts would be reduced now that the Dresden had been sunk. "I hope so," Mr. Allen replied. "We have reduced the garrison recently, and I hope the reduction will be considerably increased now that the German cruiser lias gone to the bottom, where she ought to be. The liitel Friedrich is in an American port. That leaves the 6ea absolutely free, and is a great relief to us all." —"Now Zealand Herald." Mr. Meredith Atkinson, M.A., director of tutorial classes at the University of Sydney, and Mr. D. Stewart, secretary of the Workers' Educational Association, both of whom have been touring the Dominion in order to further the interests of the association, returned to Sydney on Tuesday by tho steamer Kiverina. Hall's Turkish Baths are to be purchased by the City Council, the purchase to bo completed in terms of tho former resolution passed, viz., to' pay £1500. Provision is to be made to carry on the undertaking temporarily as a municipal due. The council agreed to this last night on the recommendation of its Finance Committee. Last oveuing a general meeting of tho Wellington Central Chamber of Commerce was held, when the report of the executive on the work done since tho annual meeting was received and adopted. Mr. J. Read, secretary of the United Federation of Labour, states that tho principal question of the Congress of Labour to be held in July will be the way in which the war has affected labour in the Dominion. A taxicab driver, convicted for using obscene language on a. public taxicab, is to be severely, cautioned by the City Council and advised that if any further offence against the by-law is reported against him, the council will not again deal so leniently with him. A few days ago a lad of diminutive stature pioked up what looked like a dirty piece of paper' at a street corner in Gisborne, and handed it to another boy. Just then Mr. J. H. Bull, headmaster of the Kniti School, came along, and, on examining the soiled piece of paper, discovered to liis intense surprise that it was a £50 bank note. On inquiries being made at the local banks, it was found that the note belonged to a local resident, who had reported its loss. Restitution was made, much to the re-, lief of the owner. The sequel occurred a day or two later, when tho headmaster of the Kaiti School had the pleasure of handing to the lad who found the note, a bank pass book showing a credit, of ;'-'4 10s., and also delivered a shining half-sovereign to the boy to expend immediately in honour of the event. The little fellow, whose honesty thus started Inm out early in life on the road to fortune, is one of a family of nine, -tho eldest of whom is 13. Tenders were last night accepted by tVo City Coijncil as follow: —Abattoir refuse. I lie Wellington Candle Company; slaughtering of stock at abattoir., Isaac Syfces; Watt meters, T. R. Baillie and t.'o<

The Maori pas in, the Wanganui district have been visited by the Health Inspector and as a result a number of Maori huts have been condemned as unfit for human habitation, and a trained nurso with special knowledge of the Maoris is to bo sent to visit all the pas. Regulations under the Iron and Steel Industries Act, 1914, are published in this week's Gazette. The total number of persons arriving in New Zealand during the month of February was 3717, anu the departures 341.0. Three street lamps, one each in Pio ton, Somerset and Waterloo Avenues, are to bo erected by the City Council. As approved by the Medical Superintendent, after considering reports from Dr. Platts-Mills and Dr. Hardwick Smitli, two sisters are to be appointed on the nursing staff of the Children's Hospital, Wellington, one for the surgical and the other for the medical patients. The latter sister is to be sent for a period of six weeks to receive instruction at the Karitane institution, according to the methods approved by Dr. Truby King. The Medical Superintendent recommended that, should this be adopted by the beard, the Matron should select a sister for the medical ward of the Children's Hospital at once, so that the sister may be trained at Karitane, and be ready to take up her duties as soon as possible flft-er the departure of the present sister in charge. The Hospital Board has resolved, also, that a system be established of following up cases of infantß (malnutrition cases) discharged from the Children's Hospital, and that in conheotion with this anendeavour be made by the 'board to utilise the services of the Plunket nurses; and further, that Dr. PlattsMills, the Medical Superintendent, and t'he chairman of the board arrange with the Plunket Society accordingly. The Trades and Labour Council ara to be informed by the City Council, in reply to their complaint that workers' tickets are not accepted on the car which leaves Courtenay Place for Lyall Bay at 7.3 a.m. that this car starts from Karori, and that Courtenay Place is treated as a terminal point a 6 far as the acceptance of workers' tickets/ is concerned, but that under the new timetable which' will come into foroe on March 22, the Lyall Bay cars will start from the Botanical Gardens, and that workers proceeding to Lyall Bay will bo able to avail themselves of_a car leaving Courtenay Place at 7.35 a.m. Talk of a jjossible war tax in New Zealand was indulged in by the president of the Central Chamber of Commerce (Mr. C. M. Luke) at last evening's meeting of the Chamber. Mt. Luke said that he did not think that the small wage-earner, or the man with, a small salary, could be expected to pay much (if anything) by way of war tax. Those men paid tax already in the shape of the increased cost of living. He was confident that the Government of the day would discover who could afford to pay, and levy tribute upon them. Those who had enjoyed large increases in trade should bear the principal portion of the tax. Mr. Luke remarked, in terms of apmpciation, on the actios, of Mr. P. A. M'Hardy, mentioned in yesterday's Dominion. Mr. W. Tonks again waited on the City Council last night in regard to the widening of Park Road, and brought with him his engineer (Mr. Gerald Fitzgerald) and his solicitor (Mr. T. F. Martin). The council heard the deputation, but subsequently resolved:' "That the question of widening Park Road be not reopenedj as provision ia being made by the City Engineer to have the work carried out in accordance with the'council's former resolution." Last week fewer skilled workers applied to the Government Bureau than at any time since tlie war began. Of 75 unskilled labourers who applied. 52 were assisted to jobs with private employers. The greater number of these men were sent to the west coast of the South Island, where there appears to be a shortage of hands. At the end of the week the total number for whom wcrk was required was 28. The Department has authority in hand to send 20 men to Government works. The results of analysis of the milk supplied to the Wellington Public Hospital were reported 'to the Hospital Board yesterday. The reports were to the effect that in no instance wera preservatives found, and all the samples were fresh milk. In one instance the milk was below the standard in fat, and this case will be the subject of a prosecution. In two other cases it was almost certain the morning's milk had been delivered in the evening. A new custodian's cottage iB to be ereoted at the Karori waterworks. Provision will be made by the City Council on next year's estimates to meet the cost. Letters of thanks are to be forwarded by the City Council to the following donors of gifts to the zoological collection:—Mr. Panting, one young wild pig; Mrs. Gibson, one Muscovy drake. The Gisborne, Invercargill, Napier. Masterton, Dunedin, and Taranaki Chambers of Commerce have written to the Wellington Central Chamber of Commerce supporting the city body s proposal that New Zealanders should purchase British-made goods.