LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2481, 7 June 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The steamer Riverina is duo at Auckland to-day from Sydney, with 298 hags of European, foreign, and Australian mails for New Zealand.

To give Wellington people every possible ch.mco of concentrating their whole attention on the carnival on Saturday, all the football, hockey, and kindred field sports fixtures were declared off.

Jlessrs. Walsh Brothers' locally-built swi-plano made several very successful flights yesterday, travelling altogether about 60 miles, the longest flight about 21 miles. On three occasions Mr. Walsh carried passengers, ono who accompanied- him on otio of the longest flights being a "New Zealand Herald" reporter. The machine in full (light 'travels at a mile a minute,—Press Association.

In a leaderette of Saturday's issue dealing with tho question of enemy, alien subjects and their treatment by! tho Government, the name of Dr.' Sandctein was mentioned in connection with tho action of the Government ' in. refusing to recognise any change of nanio during the war. Wo ore informed that Dr. Sandstein's late father was of Polish origin, naturalised as far back as 1857, and was resident in Ghristchurch (until the time of his de. cease) over forty years. The late Mrs, Sandsfcein was purely English, and tho Doctor, as also the rest of the family, wero born and educated in Christchurch. Dr. Sandstein, _ wishing to place his services at the disposal of the Empire, having volunteered for medical service at the front, and wishing to avoid possible complications m'bearing a foreign uamo, changed that name slightly, so as to Angliciso it, henco his application for a passport from the New Zealand authorities in a name other than his original cognomen.

A united memorial 6ervioo was held by the Lower Hutt Churches last evening in tho local Town Hall, to those who had fallen in the defence of the Empire. Tho Mayor (Mr. H. Baldwin) presided, and there was a good attendance. An apology was sent by, the Rev. J. M'Caw (Knox Presbyterian), and addresses were" do livered by Major Kirlc and Mrs. (Adjutant) Green (Salvation Army), Revs. W. Beckett (Methodist) and A. L. Hansell (Anglican). A collection was taken up during the evening in aid o£ the Sick and Wounded Fund.

Tho attention of holders of recestf privileges to the General Assembly Library, Parliament Buildingß, is directed to an advertisement appearing in this issue concerning the closing, etc., of the library to the public.

Application is frequently made through the Navy League for enrolment in the Navy. The Naval Authorities have advised the local hon. secretary of the league that "while there are at present no separate New Zea» land naval forces in thd names of applicants for the service are being recorded for future use as necessary. At present no entries into H.M. Imperial Navy are being made in these waters; such entries are made only on personal application in England. 'Any persons, however, who are desirous of joining the Commonwealth Naval Forces should apply in writing to the Captain-in-Charge, Garden Island, Sydney, for particulars of entry."

A little girl ■ who approached a mail on Friday for a contribution for her collection-box was told in vile language to go awav. A policeman was informed of this, and the offender, a man named Henry Spencer, was arrested. He appeared in the Magistrate's Court on Saturday, and was fined £3, with' witnesses' expenses, Bs.; in default one month's imprisonment, for using obscene language. On the charge of drunkenness he was formally convicted.

"Their conduct was simply scandalous," said Inspector Hendrey, referring in the Police Court on Saturday morning to two men named Wm. Almond and Edward Wilson, who were charged with having behaved in a disorderly manner while drunk in Cuba Street on Thursday last. The Inspector said that the two men had been an absolute nuisance to the community for some time past. On • Thursday night their disorderly behaviour consisted of jostling the passers-by in Cuba Street, and eventually their conduct became so bad that they were arrested. Both men had previously been before the Court on' various charges. The Magistrate imposed a fine of £3, in default one month's imprisonment in Almond's case, and £2, or fourteen days' imprisonment, in Wilson's case. "Will you give us time to pay?" asked one of the accused. "No I" replied His Worship. The City Engineer's \ ordinary estimates for the current year will be considered by the Finance Committee of the City Council to-morrow afternoon, and will be submitted to the full coun« ■ oil on Thursday evening.

Special parties of entertainers who may wish to visit Trentham Camp may take advantage of the new arrangement made by the Mayoral Committee with the General Manager of Railways (Mr. E. H. Hiley) by securing signed orders from eithor the Mayor or Town Clerk, This will enable them to travel in firstclass carriages at second-class rates' by the train which leaves Wellington at 6.14 p.m. on Tuesdays arid Thursdays, and leaving Trentham at 10.10 p.m. In view 'of the doubtful state of tie roads for motoring, the privilege is likely to be taken advantage of hy many who are interested in the entertainment of tho men' in camp.

Complaint was made to the Carnival authorities on Saturday that two girls been seen taking money from col-lection-boxes. The alleged offenders wero not traced, howevor.

The staff of the Record Branch of the Defence Department (temporarily, accommodated in the Buckle Street Drill Hall) have been working at high pressure and oftentimes far into ine night for the past month dealing with tho heavy casualty lists. Personal files of every man in the Expeditionary Forces are kept by the Defence Department, and on receipt of casualty cablegrams the' aext-of-kin of each man mentioned therein, has to be searched out from tho files, and telegrams dispatched immediately. AH manner of inquiries from anxious relatives pour into the office, and are attended to with due dispatch. The staff of the Records Department is under Mr. Broadfoot and Captain Vine.

The Napier Borough Council is applyin" to the Trustees of the estate of the late Mr. E. W. Knowles for a grant of £10,000 for a free library. Archdeacon Harper, preaching at St. Peter's last evening, dealt with the subject of Prussiaiiism, and alluded to what he termed tho unfortunate saying that New Zealand led the world, It" wns wrong to shriek that history had no lessons to,teach us, and yet he had read in one of the daily newspapers a letter.in which the writer had bluntly declared that history was not required. "We have got our own," the .writer said. This opinion was held by a number of people, and the Archdeacon trenchantly critioised it. While New Zealand had much to be proud of, it had a very great deal to learn from the Old Country, where enormous sociaj, problems were being grappled with— and successfully grappled with—by tliq w/hole community.