LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2587, 8 October 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Post and Telegraph, Amendment Bill, introduced into Parliament yesterday, makes provision: for fixed deposits in the Post Office Savings Bank for amounts of not less than £50 at a maximum rate of 5 per cent, per annum.

The 7th Reinforcements were review, ed at Trentham yesterday by the Governor, who was" accompanied by tho Commandant of the New Zealand Military Forces >and other officers. The troops made a very good showing.

-The High Commissioner's office has Hover been so ivell organised in all departments as it is to-day, said Mr. J,- B. Reid, of Elderslie, who has just returned from a viist to London. "Mr. (Jrabb, tho 'head of the Stock Department, is particularly obliging to all purchasers of stock," said Mr. Reid, "and spent the whole day at the docks when niy horses were being shipped. I do not know that New Zealand has -ever boeu better represented in London than il> is to-day."

Tho M to 7, Petitions Committee reported in the /House yesterday on a petition for a remission of tlw sentence of imprisonment for life passed on Al'tf.e Parkinson. Tho committee recommended that the petition bo referred to the Government for favourable consideration. ,

One of the clauses in'the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Bill, which has been introduced in Parliament-, contains a provision to allow any worker who lias been refused admission to nji industrial imion to appeal to the' Judge of the Court, or (at tho option of the appellant) to any Magistrate exercising jurisdiction in tho district in which the appellant resides.

The Japaneso _ steamer Sliingo Maru arrived at Napier yesterday morning with 11,800 toils of. phosphates. In the course of a brief interview, tho captain said that Japan had sent some olhcers, but no men, to-Russia. Japan's trade had, since tho. war, increased by 300 or 400 per cent.

Candlos furnished the only light at tho meeting of the Miramar Borouga Council- last evening. The electric current had boen cut off on account of tho engines needing attention.

At a- meeting of the Wellington Master Bakers' Association held last evening it was decided that _ tho _ present prico of flour, taken in conjunction with tho prico which had been paid for stocks now on hand, did' not warrant a reduction in tho prico of bread,

Mr. W. Nosworthy read in tlio House of Representatives yesterday a letter signed "Britisher," which lnvd appeared in. the "Tarariaki flerald," and in which tho following questions were asked:—(l) Ms the Government aware that a certain enemy alien residing jn Taranaki has made use of his liberty to write, print, and circulate a pamphlet which reflects upon the _ honour and good faith of one of our Allies, and if it carried any weight might seriously om bar rasa our own nation? (2) Is the Government aware that despite the absolute embargo upon private correspondence between British territories and tile countries of the enemy of their own' Civil Servants has been passing communications through the mails by way of a neutral country, and quite, recently offered so to transmit letters from a. person in New Plymouth to a person in Austria?— The Prinie Minister said he had not seen the- letter referred to and had not heard of it before. It was very unfortunate that letters like 'it should _be allowed to appear, without. the signature of the writer. It seemed to him to be decidedly mi-British to make an attaok from behind a- hedge ifi that way, He would refer tho matter to the Aliens Commissioner, and he hod no doubt ho would mn,ke full inquiry into theallegations. The people connected with the newspaper should have to pi-od'jee the write}'. - Reference to tho need for w milk depot at Wellington Railway Station and for .better regulations for tlm carriage -of milk 'by, train, >'as• made in the House yesterday, by Mr. W. H. Fiold. The Hon. W. H. Herries said that so far as he was aware a location for a depot at Wellington had not yet been agreed uponj but in the proposed new station «laborate v provision was made in the plans for the handling of milk. . It was; hoped that milk might be carried on the railways in some better way in future, as soon as arrangements could bo made. It was possible that some iuconvenicnce would be caused to those tending milk by rail, because-thoy • would be required to send milk only by certain trains.

A' protest 011 behalf, of the: twelve hundred frontiersmen who have enlisted in, tho New Zealand -forces was made iu'the House yesterday by Mr.7'J.--A.. Young. He said-that each frontiersman ' carried a badge,- registered at 'the head- v quarters, and no matter in what part of the world he was, this badge served to. establish his identity. When the men were in Egypt, however, the military authorities insisted thai the men should romove tlioir badges, and would under no circumstances permit.-pipni-. to be worn;' although the men prized them-' highly. Did the Minister approve : of this? The Minister- said that, was;a matter entirely under the. control pf i'he military authorities. : He , understood that tho badges ..wore- small and inconspicuous, and he could see 'no reason why' tho frontiersmen should not bo permitted to weav. them.

"My cabin mate on the Arabic," said Mr. Aubrey ttualter, of Wellington, yesterday, was Dr. Ernest Woods, of Chicago. When getting, up the morning after we . sailed and the last' day of the Arabic afloat, I chaffed him with being, lazy, as ho lay.back luxuriously in his bunk. He replied that be worked very hard ashore, but was always lazy at sea. Then I left him to go to breakfast; and I suppose he, dropped- off to sleep again'. His laziness,- poor fellow, cost him his'life.r He was a Chicago doctor, and had been helping our men as a, surgeon in France."

■ In reply to a question asked yesterday by Mr. Anstey, the Minister of Defenco stated that, muoh as it might be regretted, there was no' ammunition to spare .for the;,use of rifle clubs. Every round of ammunition that was manufactured was urgentlv required elsewhere. Personally, ho greatly valued the/services of the rifle club's, and he was sure that riflemen would recognise that in the circumstances thoy could only wait until tjie demand of the military authorities, eased off.

At the examination of . candidates for a surveyor's license held in September, and conducted by the Federated Surveyors' Boards of Australia and New Zealand, twienty-oiie candidates- presented themselves in New Zealand. Of these, Mr. Stanley Owen Esam, of Auckland, gassed the examination; while Mr. James Henry Adams, of Thames, Mr. Frederick , iidward Wallace Mace, of Napier, Mr. Martin Herbert Braithwaitc Burrell, of Auckland, and Mr. Arthur Lancelot Hamlyn Hay, of Buncdin, completed their examination by passing in the astrononiy and geodesy papers.

The lighthouse on Karori -Rook in Cook Strait is now completed, and the light will be exhibited'.on Wednesday, October 20.' The light will be an unwashed acetone acetyleno flashing light' of 2790 candle-power, and will be exhibited at a height of 65ft. above the sea, and should be visible at a distance of fourteen miles. It will show'a flash of half a second, with an eclipse of 3J seconds.'

A troopship can hardly be said to be complete without ( a piano. AVo havo been informed that ono.of the vessels oil which our soldiers are to make their voyage to the front is without such, an instrument, and the men are naturally j desirous that the omission should be made good before the vessel.sails. The people of Wellington will no doubt see ! that this very' reasonable wish is riot disappointed. Soldiers must sing, and a piano must be regarded as a necessary luxury. , ; ' . ■ A farewell smoke concert wais tendered by the Wellington Hockey Association to its secretary, Mr. A. A. Bennett, last evening. Thero was a good .attendance .of members' and''supporters, and a lengthy toast list was honoured. On behalf of the Wellington Ladies' Hockey Association, Jin Manning presented Mr. Bennett with a case of, pipes, and the members of the Wellington Hockey Association presented him with a travelling bag, suitably in'soribed. Mr. Bennett leaves for s New Plymouth shortly. Recently Captain J. R. Henderson, who had been a member of the permanent staff of the Defence Department at Wellington, and who left with the Otago Infantry Battalion of the Main Expeditionary Force, was arrested "and .taken back to Dunedin from Egypt and sentenced to a year's imprisonment for theft of Departmental funds. ' A largely signed petition was presented to Parliament asking for a remission of this sentence, and the Petitivns Committee of the House of Representatives, to which it was referred, yesterday referred it to the Government for -favourable consideration.

Tho proprietors of Banks' College aro offering five scholarships, tenable in any Department, for competition among t'ho children of soldiers.' • They liave also decided to give free tuition to incapacitated soldiers who desire to tako tip clerical or professional work. Application forms may bo obtained from tho Director, Mr. li. Amos, Woodward Street.

Tho Factories Amendment Bill (No. 2), introduced in Parliament yestreday, exempts milk-condensing factories from the ovortimo clauses of tho Act l during the summer months, namely from- November Ito February 28,"in tho next succeeding year.

''Miss Stella' Carol may have sung 'Tipperary' in the boat in which she was in," said Mr. Aubrey Gualter, a survivor of the Arabic, who returned to Wellington yesterday, "but I never heard her, and I never lieard of any passenger who heard her 'sing tho song. Tho conditions were hardly favourable for sncli an exhibition."

Shags are playing havoc . with the trout in the upper reachos of some of the Wairarapa rivers, Shooting parties will probably be organised to make a raid upon the nests in tho gorges. It may not be generally known that the Wellington Acclimatisation Society pays Is. 6d. for overry pair of shags' feet handed to the curator of the Masterton hatchcries.

Several petitions have been presented to Parliament during the session praying for relief for Friendly Societies (igainst the alleged unfair competition of the National Provident Fund. Reporting on. one of these petitions yes> terday the Public Petitions Committee recommended that it should be referred to the Government for consideration, with a view to co-ordinating the work of the Friendly Societies and the Nafcional Provident Fund, both which performed valuable • services for the (State by granting such assistance to the societies as would enable them to embrace a greater extent of the Domini ion's social insurance functions; To ensure this the-committee also recommended that a conference of the.socie> ties with the Government should, be held at an early date, and that the evidence taken before the committee should be printed and circulated.

The Whakatu; Freezing Company has. commenced this season's work, and tho Pakipaki and Tomoana works are expected to start towards the end of the month.