LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2544, 19 August 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Prime Minister stated yesterday that tho Trontham Camp Commission would not now submit any' interim report, as had been their intention. They would make one report only, and that report vould bo completed about Friday or Saturday of this week.

Up trill August 16 last the Government had purchased on account of the Home Government frozen meat to the value of £3,592,863. This meat conof 168,033 quarters of beef, 1,278,570 carcasses of mutton, ana 1,957,663 carcasses of lamb. Six ships are ntfw loading frozen meat, and four more are' to arrive this month.

The Minister of Internal Affairs (the Hon. G. AY. Russell) stated yesterday that m consequence of tho. number of eomplaluts that had been raised about tho sale of light-weight loaves of bread, the Government intended to enforco striflgently tho law governing this matter.

Hatching operations are well advanced at the Masterton fish hatcheries. About GOO.OOO brown trout ova and 250,0017 rainbow trout ova wero received from Canterbury, Hnkateramea, and Rotorua. Tho work of distributing tho fry is about to bo commenced. The Wailigawa, Ruamahanga, and Waipoua Rivers will first be stocked. ,

A canvass is being made in Masterton for subscriptions towards purchasing a set of silver-mounted instruments for tho Ruahino Regimental Band. A sum of over £100 has already been subscribed.

The Wairarapa Employers' Association, at a special meeting on Tuesday night, resolved that their Territorial employees be given alternate Thursdays and Saturdays for all-day parades. Thursday has been fixed as the day. for Cadet parades.

A novel way of assisting the local war fund has been adopted by the New Brighton Golf Club, reports a Christchurch paper. A. K. Hadfield, one of tho members, has presented a puiter.' This will be played fur periodically during the progress of the war, and each winner will have hi ? nan;o eng:a\ed on tho nutter. At the conclusion of the war those having their names on will play off for it. The entrance feo' is to be 2s. 6d. each match, and by this manner the club hopes to collect a fair amount of money., The whole proceeds derwed will bo handed to tho Red Cross Fund.

Tho following is a passage in a letter written by one of the Now Zealand Expeditionary Force to his wife:—"This is tho fourth letter I have written to you. Did you get them all? I haven't received any from you, yet, although I am not as there is a big shed at Alexandria full of mail bags, but no one cau be spared to sort them. Thero was a. lot of bags of mail put on tlio beach off the boat at tho Dardanelles, and a shell from tho Turkish guns landed among them, with, the result that hundreds of letters were floating about in. the Mediterranean Sea."

"Charley's Aunt" is to bo played by the Wellington Amateurs at the Grand Opera House next month in aid 'of one of the patriotic funds. Arrangements to that end are at present ■ being made by Mr..Norman Aitken.

There, is at present being exhibited in the window of Mr. Spear's (optician) premises in Willis Street a shield whioh has,been presented by Sergeant W. F. Watt to B Company, First Regiment National Reserve, for annual competition among the members of that company in shooting and attendance. Tho shield is artistic in design, the silver centre being encircled "by several miniature shields, all mounted on a polished oak background. Colonel Porter visited Mr. Spier's shop yesterday and commented on the pleasing design of the shield, and remarked that its presentation for opmpetition was an excellent idea.

"This was an exceedingly cowardly assault,'' said Inspector Hendroy in the Magistrate's Court yesterday, referring to the caso of a young man named Adolf, Neilson, charged with assaulting an old man named Thomas M'Ginnity. Inspector Hondrey explained that the young man had struck tho old man a blow, which felled him to tho ground. M'Ginnity was obliged to have. several stitches put in the wound he received. Neilson was sent to gaol for a month.

The call for workers at Trentliam Camp lia-s relieved the pressure of ■unemployment in Wellington, considerably. Last week, according to tlie Labour Department's report, was the most satisfactory period experienced for tlio past two months. Only scvonteeu applicants at tlio bureau were not placed. Of the number six were painters, -and eight were labourers, who were Tillable to undertake lieavy work. Of the men placed, thirteen were sent to private employment, and 72 were given Government work. In Cliristcliurch 77 .applications for work were received, and 29 were placed, all savo two in Government work. Most of tho 48 men left do not wish to leave Cliristcliurch. Of 109 applicants at Auckland, 13 found Government work and seven private jobs. The men unprovided for were almost all labourers. The Department has now vacancies for some 80 men on various cooperative works in the province, and in addition 20 bushnien are required for the Raglan district.

Three wall-known residents of tho Auckland district, eacli having a son in the Eighth Reinforcements who are to go into camp at Trent-ham next weelc, paid a visit to that camj) yesterday fot tho purpose of ascertaining tho conditions obtaining tliore. The visitors were Messrs. A. M. Barriball and S. T. Rositter, of Waiuku, and F. Prime, of Newton, They made a thorough inspcction of the camp, and expressed themselves as being thoroughly satisfied that their sons and other members of tho Eighth Reinforcements will have nothing to complain of. The camp cannot possibly be beaten," said tho throo visitors to a reporter on_ their return to town. "Every convenience and every comfort for tho men is provided. Tho accommodation, the sanitation, tlio drainage, food, and clothing supplies aro all excellent. As for tlie hutments, we- think there is nothing to complain about in regard to thcni. ' The three visitors stated that they wore more than satisfied with the camp—they were, in fuefci surprised at Uio pnccHciko gf tho arrqngeueabt ■ ■■

A further proof of the scarcity of writing material at Gallipoli 13 given by tho receipt ■by a Wellington resident of a tin postcard mado from the circular _ lid of .a bully-beef tin. Oil ' its polished surfaco was punched in little holes both address and message in very legible writing. Tho addross is superscribed with the words, "011 active service," and tho impression of tho postal stamping machine is also apparent.

I Tho Labour Department reports that the demand for general labourers in Wellington lias risen above tho supply. A considerable) number of men have been found employment on railway and road works, and there is still room for moro at somo of the camps. Tho call for workers at-Trcntham Camp has relieved tho pressure of unemployment in Wellington considerably. Last week, according to the Labour Department's report, was tho most satisfactory period experienced for the past two months. Only seventeen applicants at the bureau were not placed. Of tho number, six were painters and eight were labourerswho wero unable to undertake hea-Vy work. Of the men placed, thirteen were sent to private employment and seventy-two were given Government work. _In Christchurch seventy-seven applications for work wero received, and 29 wero placed, all save two in Government work. Most of tho forty-eight men left do not wish'to teavo Christchurch. Of 109 applicants at Auckland, thirteen found Government work and seven private Jobs. The men unprovided for wero almost all labourers. The Department has now vacancies for some eighty men on various co-operative works in the provinco, and in addition twenty bushmen aro required for the Raglan district.

Tho Hon. A. Myers, who is in. charge of the new Department of Military Sup: plies, .is still busily engaged in collecting the necessary preliminary information in connection with the inauguration of the work of this Department. Yesterday, in company with the members of the Supplies Advisory Board, Mr. Myers paid a visit to the Defence Headquarters, where they were met by General Robin. • Tho stores department was inspected, and the system of dealing with supplies generally was discussed, Mr. A. M, Adams, of the l'ublio Service Commissioner s Office, has been appointed secretary to tho Supplies Board.

In tho courso of evidence given before the Commission inquiring into tho proposed amalgamation of Eden. Terrace with Auckland on Monday, reports tho "Herald." it was stated that at a firo which occurred outside the city boundaries tho. city brigade had looked on, and had taken 110 part in assisting to extinguish the flames. When the Magistrate inquired the cause of this, a gentleman in Court ejaculated "Petty jealousy," and went on to state that the suburban brigades were jealous of tho city brigade. ' Tho Magistrate expressed his doubt as to the correctness of theso statements. Another gentleman present statod that in one instanco tho city brigade had arrived at the sceno of a fire outside its district, had put it out. and was about to return to tho station when tho suburban brigade riiado its appearance.

Some idea of the rapid development of the Hauraki Plains, from ■ a useless swamp into a flourishing dairying district, can be gathered, from the differI ence in the payments for butter-fat paid ! to settlers since the Government first opened tho reclaimed swamp for selection; TIIO Thames Valley Dairying Company first started operations in that locality four years ago, and in the first season about £1000 (a little less) was paid to tho settlers for cream. . The second year .the sum of £4000 (about) was paid to the Hauraki settlers. The third year brought the settlers £10,000, and last year tho sum of £23.000 was paid by the Thames Valley Dairying Company for' butter-fat supplied. The coming season; promises a; far greater increaso than any of tho previous ones. During the last few months numerous Taranaki and Manawatu fanners have bought farms in tho plains, and a large proportion of the newcomers < have brought large herds of cows into tho district with them. —Auckland "Star."

An unconventional troopship newspaper has come to hand from the company'on the Aparima on the voyage of the Fifth Reinforcements. The journal, which was printed at Colombo, is called "The Oil.v Rag," and . its editor was Sergeant Gerald M.'.Silvcr, of the No. 6 Howitzer Battery. The contents are varied and witty, and make an interesting addition to tlio now numerous troop-' ship publications. In making his debut, tlio editor says: —"Perhaps we would not be wide of the mark in saying that none of our predecessors have encountered difficulties of such magnitude as ours. With the proportion of horses and men on our transport as five to three, a eery largo share of our time has been spent in tlio holds and stables, where the conditions are certainly not of a kind l that stimulate journalistic inspiration. Further than this, our journey has been chiefly remarkable for the number of storms that we faavo encountered. a circumstance that has vastly increased our difficulties by effectually cheeking tlio outpourings of our poets."

Speaking at a meeting of the Wanganui Education Hoard last night Mr. D. Gutlirie, M.P., expressed the opinion that the Education Act, 1914, did not stand for the best educational interests of the Dominion. ,He considered that those responsible for framing tlie Act started wrong by building from the top instead of starting from the bottom and erecting an educational edifice to the credit of New Zealand. • A fpet that wjs apparency lost; sight of was' that Without primary training it was impossible to succeed. He considered we should-throw open the doors'of the university to every child in New Zealand. . . . He regretted that when the Bill was before the House the good work of men identified with education had been insufficiently recognised. Some of the proposals were little short of insults to' members of education boards. Tlio timo was fitting to express an opinion in the matter as it was within the. bounds of possibility that the question would como before tli'e House again and members of Parliament would have some idea of the feeling of tlio country on this all-im-portant question.—Press Association.

Admiration of the military genius displayed by General Joffro Was expressed by tho Eer. W. 6. Monckton during a lecture on' the war in Auckland. He declared that it ivas tho French General who was responsible for tho unique departure by lliarl Kitchener from lu's iron rule regarding interviews. Mr. Mouckton said that Joffro. learned that von Falkenhayn proposed to move a largo army from the Western front against tho Russians. To present this, Joffro resorted to a pieco, of bluff that was entirely successful. Ho persuaded Earl Kitchener .to give an interview to an American journalist, and though it was ovident that Kitchener did not make many of the statements attributed to him, lie did say that a groat attack was contemplated. Sir John French also gave a journalist warning of the attack, while Joffre himself confirmed tho announcement in a third interview. Finally ho sent a small French force against a strong Gorman position, and, contrary to tho traditions of the Allies, it surrendered. Upon these men, the Germans found orders mentioning the great attack. Mr. Mouckton said these reports wore taken seriously by tho Germans, and tho intended movement of troops was abandoned.