LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2639, 9 December 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The postal authorities advise that the s.s. Manuka,. which loft Wellington on December 3 with Australian mails, arrived at Sydney on-Tuesday afternoon. _By Order-in-Couricil gazetted last night, exportation of all goods to the Netherlands without tho consent of the Minister of Customs is prohibited. The trouble will the crew of tho Westralia was settled yesterday, and the. vessel sailed for northern ports at noon: The required three men were found for the stokehold after some little difficulty, and the crow was satisfied.

The Wellington Co-operative Waterside Labour Employment ' Association has received a communication from the Now Zealand Waterside Workers' Conference at present sitting here, asking -for a conference to discuss hourg of work, wages, and conditions of labour.

The Minister of Defence has received the following telegram from the Officer Commanding the New Zealand Base at Alexandria: "One thousand one hundred and eightv-seven cases of comforts have been landed at Suez, and the same "number have reached Alexandria. Of the above -mentioned as much as possible, namely, i 3400. leather coats— 106 coses—for men belonfcinsr to Poverty Bay, 34; Marlborough. 11: 10th (Nelson) Squadron. 34; 12th (Nelson) Company, 6; Field Artillery Brigade, 21for use dnrina tho cold Veathor— and four cases of firelighters, have been dispatched to tlie front by means of supply ships. Remainder will bo sent by earliest opportunity."

A visitor, from the countrv at the back ,of Wanganui states .' that the summer so far has been remarkable for extremely broken weather. It rained nearly every day in November, and whilst it was good for the grass, which was knee high in many plnces. the continual wet woatlief had delayed the shearing considerably. One farmer who sheers about 2000 sheep usually got tftrough the job in fine weather' in a week, but this Year it hnd taken him six weeks to get throush.

The students of 'She Wellington Technical High School enthusiastically responded io the appeal for contributions to the New Zealand Expeditionary Forco Gift, Tobacco Fund, under, the direction 'of iheir teachers. .Subscriptions and donations were obtained, a boxing competition held., guessing competitions and sales of (lowors aud work resulted in the sum of £88 7s. 6il. being raised. The following i 3 a ; detailed list of the amounts handed in by the various classes :-A. £20 14s. 4d.; B, £7 4s. 6d.; C, £4 4s. 2d.; D, £10 4s. 6d.; E, £5 18s. 2d.; F and G, £4 14s. 5d.; H and fC. £12 6s. 4d.; An, £15 os. 6d. ; Miss Williams's Class. ;E5; staff, £2 IBs.; office window collection box, 7s. 7d.; total, £88 7s. fid. \

Captain George of the 67th Battalion (Western Scots) 'Canadian Expeditionary Force, is a son of Mrs. Alex. J. Willis, of Wadestown. He joined the_ battalion as a private, was in 7 vited to sit for a commission, and passed with such'success that he was requested further to qualify,' For'a captaincy. Til's he did, and ho is now in training with the battalion at Victoria, British Captain Willis also designed the Regimental Badge, which is specially emblematical'of Canada.

A Hamilton message, published in a northern exchange states tEat the Kirikiriroa Eoad Board decided to support the action of the Raglan County Council in not employing" single men eligible for military service.

Tlie New. Zealand Federation of Labour ' recently circularised Labour unions, asking them to make a publio declaration against conscription. The appeal (it is stated from 'the north) las not been favourably received bv organised Labour, as a whole. Tlie Eden branch of tlie Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners lias adopted the following resolution,: "In reply to the Federation of Labour's appeal condemning conscription, ive, the Eden brancli of the .Amalgamated Societv of Carpenters and Joiners, wish to place on record our support in favour of conscription as the only moans of making each man bear his; responsibilities."

Not content wiffi stealing shrubs from Central Park, it is said that some vandals have been taking .cuttings from the climbing rose plants that are doing so well on the bank that flanks the tramway track through tlie park. It is evident that someone was operating quite skilfully recently on the most promising shoots, probably after i»ark. as several of the uncollected cuttings were found lying oti' the footpath tho next day. "If I hod my way." said a city official, "I would give Uio guiity I party fourteen days—without tho option !"

Christmas is fast drawing near. The women folk 6hould inspect our stock of nicely-finished silk handkerchiefs, with initials, at 2a, Gd. and 3s. 6d. Goo I'owlds, Ltd., Manners Streot.—Advt.

A. proposal io raise a loan of £)SOOO for a park at Taradale was at a/ poll taken yesterday defeated by 72 votes to 64. ,/

Tho shooting competition in .connection with tho Petone unit of .the National Reserve, was continued fast evening, tho results to date being: No. 1 squad (14 ai?n) 775, a\ erage'6s.3; No. 3 squad (13 men) 747, average 57.4; No. 4 squad (14 men) 721, average 51.5. soldiers' room is tp boast of a billiard table, presented by a local resl* nent, says our Grey town/ correspondent, llie room is now well patronised. ltecniiting activity/was general all oyer England. during. jjjy visit," 6aid Mr. G. Wright, of Epioni, who returned to Auckland this wpek from a trip to the Old Country. "I could not help noticing the comparativoi scarcity of men in London. There was tho same tremendous crowd which I noticed on a visit to the metropolis six ycarj previously, but London now seems to be a wty of women,' There is no doubt, however, that/many of the young men are shirking. I was present for somo time at a recruiting meeting which was conducted in Trafalgar Square continuously throughout the whole of one day, and only ten men responded to tha appeals mado by many eloquent speakers.

The attitude of a section of the Labour Party in Britain in regard to the war was referred to in Auckland by Mr. H. D. Vavasour, of Blenheim, who returned to the Dominion by the Remuera. "1 visited many of the larger cities in England," said Mr. Vavasour (according to an exchange), "and soldiers were undergoing ■ training everywhere, but the general consensus of opinion appeared to he in favour of conscription, it being recognised that only by this means oould those who- are hanging back be made to do their duty, I am of the opinion tha.t," conscription would have been introduced ere this but for the bitter opposition of a section of the Labonr Pn.rtv. The Government is keeping the matter in the background as much as possible just now, but I believe, from.what I saw of tha attitude of tho peonle in genernl. that the Government mil be comnplled to come to some decision at an early <1 n fo. Meanwhile recruiting meetings are being held, and the men- are urged to givo l thnir services volm'tir!!?."

According to an_ Australian snMier, the mpn at GnlHr>oli are not now allowed to bathe during fh«* day time at Au1 'The Turks uwxl to vrnit until there was a crowd of the bovs m." he said, "and then they'd land a cnunle of slipllr in the middle of them, bovs would come'out of thft watkr for a while, hut thev were soon hack again, the stonned them from bathing in the day tinie."i

An elderly man, named John Swaysland, a drover, residing in Featherston, died suddenly on Tuesday. Deceased was unmarried, and was well known as a horse-trainer several years ago.

Owing to the Reinforcements using all .the targets for musketry shooting on Saturday next, there will he no shooting for the local men at Treutham.

Three Gorman prisoners of war were brought to 'Auckland from Samoa' by the Talune on Sunday evening. Tho prisoners were in charge of a guard comprising Sergeant E. M'Kean, Lauce. Corporal D. Owen, Farrier-Corporal W. J Palmer, and Private R. T. Nelson,, all of the Samoan Relief Force. Tho names of the prisoners are Ernst Heidor, Wilhelm Hoensoll, atjd Theodore Bren» ner. Heider, a clergyman, is a middle. fijied_ man,, and worked at one of tho mission stations in Samoa, under tlia auspices of the London Missionary Society ; Haensell, a man about 30 years' of age, was engaged a» a.planter; wliila Brenner, a man'described by the "Herald" as of/a deoidedly Teutonic'type, and aged about 35 years, was employed on the roads in Samoa as an overseer. It was stated that no direct ohnrgs ■haß been preferred against any. of tho prisoners, whose deportation and temment in New Zealand, however, hava evidently been 'considered advisable by the military authorities at Samoa. Tha men comprising the prisoners' guard re. ceived instructions to report to military headquarters at' Wellington, and arrived here yesterdav to do so. •

Mr. Gerald Griffin, the Irish singer and comedian, proceeded to Hutfc yesterday afternoon, where be enter* tained the children of the Lower Hutfc Convent School. ■ In the evening ho went on to Trentham, and sang before a crowded hall, much to the pleasure of the soldiers. On returning to town he was entertained by the Hibernians of Wellington. Mr. Griffin leaves for Sydney by the TJlimaroa to-day.

Messrs. Aubrey Gualter and Co. pufc the well-known Haywards property up for auction yesterday afternoon. There wore 192 acres of grass lands offered, and prices gradually rose from £50 to betweon £70 and £80 per acre, at which prios the property was withdrawn by the Haywards Proprietary. One small block h&s since been sold to Mr. G. B. Styles, of Haywards, and another to Mr. E. Holmes, of "Wellington, tho prices ranging from £100 to £125 per acre.

• Colonel Reakes, Director of Veterinary Services and Remounts, acknowledges, on behalf of the Defence Department, the patriotic action of Mr. R. J. Dngg, Lake Meadows, Fenthorston, in donating to the Wounded Soldiers' Fund a cheque of £6 10s., being a portion of tho amount due for grazing horses.

Mr. S. George Nathan offered two properties for sale at the Chamber of Commerce yesterday, the first being the property now occupied by tls-o Colonial Carrying Company, situated in Customhouse Quay, having a frontage of 60 feet by a depth of 100 feet. Bidding started at £260 a foot, and reached £275, at which price the property passed in as the reserve had not been reached. Tho second property was Mrs. Bateson'a property 'at Trentham. This was also passed in, the reserve not being reached. Eibth properties are now opon for private sale.

Those in search of a really silent aivj bcn'ifcifully smooth-running motor-oar of mo'StnTe price would do well to inspect tlie shipment of 8-cylinder Kings just landed d.v the Dominion Motor Vehicles, 1 Ltd., at the D.M.V. Garage,.Tory Street,' A demonstration run oannot fail to impress one with the remarkable power and smooth running of the car. Telephone for particulars, or, better still, oall and see it for yourself to-day.—Advt.