LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2659, 3 January 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

English and Australian mails —a thousand bags—arrived in Wellington oil Saturday by the Huddart-Parker steam--1 er AVimmera from Melbourne and Ho- ' bart. Tlio Union Company's iMoeraki., i which is due here from Sydney this , morning, brings Australian mails only. On Saturday a youthful crew on board - the sailing boat Illinois put off from the Petone foreshore, intending to have a cruise around the harbour. Before the craft had gone far' a sudden squall capsized her. The Nomad, however, was upon the scene, and the youthful navigators were quickly rescued, noiie the worse for their unexpected bath. Firemen belonging to the crew of the Majfturika did not muster at the appointed time in sufficient strength to enable the vessel to leave oil her special trip to Lyttelton on Saturday evening. The full complement of men was, however, secured within . reasonable time, and the Mapourika sailed about an hour later than was originally intended. The secretary of the AVanganui Patriotic Committee lias received the following letter from Mr. P. Sliaw (care of Sargood's, Dunedin), which, speaks for itself : —"Dear sir,—l am in receipt of your letter of December 18 advising me that I have'been successful in drawing the fourth prize—a section of land— m your great art unfon. Now I have the greatest pleasure in handing this section back to your committee, to be disposed of as follows: The proceeds to be divided equally between the AVanganui Patriotic Society (or.such fund as you may decide), and the Otaco Patriotic Commitee. When settled, if 'you could post a cheque for the half proceeds to, Mr, J. J. Clark, Mayor of Dunedin, I shall be obliged," Reforing to tlie cable message to the effect that much pro-German matter is appearing in the Japanese newspapers, Mr. T. .6. Dawson, of Wellington, who recently returned from that country, states that tlie reference did. .lot apply t«, t;lie better-class papers that are printed in English, but there was one paper printed in Japanese only in Osaka —the big manufacturing centre—that was printing'articles which had a strong | pro-German flavour. It was a very widg-ly-read and powerful paper, as could be seen from the manner in which the other papers copied its news and articles. There was little room to doubt that German gold was at work through the East in rospoct to Clio Press. * 'Messrs. J. and N. Tait have engaged the -well-known war correspondent, Mr. Ellis Aslimead Bartleti, to give a series of lectures in Australia, and New Zealand, commencing in Melbourne next month. _ Mr. Bartlett has seen many stirring incidents during the Dardanelles struggle, and he is reported to talk well, and to_ have an engaging platform manner. His lectures in Australia will bo limited in number, and will be illustrated by 6ome unijjue photographs not hitherto exhibited in public.

"As long as the war lasts,"- said the Minister of Public Health, the Hon. G. W .Russell, to an Auckland "Herald" representative, "the various health resorts—Hanmer, Rotorua, and tho new convalescent homes at Pukeroa, near Rotoroa—will be used for the primary benefit of the sick and wounded soldiers who may return to the Dominion. These will have first call over the accommodation at tho resorts. After the war, however, it is proposed to make tho sanatoria a part of the hospital system of the Dominion." Mr. Russell went on to say that he meant that any persons from any public hospital in the Dominion would be able to go to either Hanmer, Rotorua, or Pukeroa to complete their cure and to receive, if they wished, the benefits of'the thermal springs. He added that if this were done the new convalescent • home at Pukeroa wGuld.not become a "white elephant."'

The following is an, extract from a letter from an officer of the Australian forces, who is at present on furlough in England,'to his mother:—"lt is hard luck for you and fatlier that all three boys have had to come, but if you were over liere you would know how every man is needed. It is more thau a parents' war—it if* everybody's war —the mother's war, the father's war, • the young married man's, the wife's, the baby's—we are all in it to stop the Him. And -this is as it should be.. It must be, so that -the next two generations may •have no war, and so that the Empire' even stays alive."

The "animal fund" of the Wellington Zoological Society benefited to the extent of £9 12s.- Bd. by the collection at the "Zoo" yesterday afternoon.

Shopkeepers did record business during the New Year holidays, says our Napier correspondent. Altogether business during the recent holidays lias been better than ever previously recorded.

The Salvation Army, in common with other religious bodies, has throughout manifested an aetivo interest in the welfare of the soldiers in camp and at tho front, and at the Opera House last evening the ceremony of dedicating four chaplains to the servico of the New Zealand forces was carried out in the presence of a large audience. Ensign Garner and Staff-Captain Walls are about to leave on active servico at the front, and Adjutant Bla-din and Captain Green will in the meantime act as chaplains at the training camps. * Commissioner Hodder was the principal speaker and basing his address on a verse from tho second chapter of _ Timothy—"Be strong in tho Lord and in the power of His might" —ho cited examples of famous Christian soldiers, born leaders of men, who had brought lustre to tho British arms on many battlefields, and quoted, their notable addresses to the troops on tho occasion of their engaging with the enemy. One of our great sources of strength in the present struggle, remarked the Commissioner, was the firm, unwavering conviction that, our cause was a righteous one.

The cablegram which appeared in Saturday's issue announcing that the Sydney tramway workshops had_ completed fourteen cars for the Wellington 1 Corporation tramways was mentioned on Saturday to the Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke), who remarked that the message had no reference to the capital of Now Zealand.

At about midnight on Now Year's Eve a man named Walsh, whilst cycling to his home at Petone, with a motor-cycle near Ngaliauranga. A soldier froih the _ fort appeared on tho scene just in timo to remove Walsh from the track, before another motor-cycle came along with a side-car attached. A_ passing taxi took the injured man to liis home, where it was found that he was suffering from shock, and bad cuts and abrasions about tlio face and head. The motorcyclist was thrown, and considerably shaken.

The latest eight-cylinder motor engines represent the nearest approach to tho even running of turbine engines, and ono cannot understand the beautifully sweet action of the latest 8-cyl. cars until one has actually ridden iu one. The Dominion Motor Vehicles would be nleased to show intending customers the latest 8-cyl. King cars, a shipment of which hM just arrived.—Advti

A capital advertisement for the British and Allies' Patriotic Exhibition is being circulated through the medium of the Postal Department, which is stamping a proportion, of the letters that go through the local office with the v.ords "British Patriotic Exhibition opens Wellington February, 1916." This is the Exhibition which has been promoted by the Central Chamber of Commerce, and is to be held in the Town Hall for a week during next month.

In the assessment of income this year for income and war tax purposes, the 1015 Act provides that superannuation payments or deductions from salary are to be exempted up to a total of £100, in addition to the £300 exemption of salary, and a maximum reduction of £50 a year insurance premiums. On a great many of tho assessments sent out no exemption has been made on account of superannuation payments, for the rea--on that the details had not been supplied to the Tax Department. The de> duction will, however, be made on request, and even, if paid, will be refunded on application.

Residents of the Chatham Islands receive their war news from Wellington day by day by wireless. The messagesare sent over a distance of about 500 mUes. One of the operators at the tele, graph station on the main island types the messages with a type-writing machine, and then strikes off' copies with a mimeograph, and these are distributed to residents, who subscribe to the fund for obtaining tlio news. The ch&rgo ia ss. for about 200 words, and about ss. worth of war news is sent to the islands every day.