LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2674, 21 January 1916, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

TlieHospitnl Ship Marama has either left Egypt or will leave Egypt very scon for England full of sick and wounded men. This information was given by the Prime Minister yesterday, contradicting a report that the Marama Has returning New Zealand Mr. Massey could not say « bother the Marama would be sent back from England after arrival there. That was a matter over which the New Zealand authorities had no control.

The tuberculosis medical officer of the | Wellington Hospital (Dr. Basil Adams) reported to the Hospital Board yesterday that during the last ten days there had been a considerable increase in the cases of advanced consumption, and there was now no further accommodation available for such cases in the hospitals. Verandahs and balconies were being used to their full extent for patients. The cases were not suitable for the Otaki Sanatorium, as they would upset the treatment there. It was necessary that something should be done to provide temporary accommodation. Dr. Platts-Mills suggested the erection of hutments, similar to those at Trentham camp, and the chairman (Mr H. Baldwin), Dr. Platts-Mills, and the chairman of the .Hospital Committee (Mr. J. Smith) were appointed a committee to see to the provision of the accommodation required.

The price of bread has been raised in Wellington to 4J per 21b. loaf. At this price bread stood for some considerable time, but when eleven weeks ago the price of flour had dropped to £11 10s. per ton, the halfpenny was deducted. . Since the price of flour has risen until it is now from £13 10s to £14 f.0.b., and difficult to obtain even at these high prices. Such, at any rate, is the master bakers', statement of the position. The prospects of a reduction in the price of flojir are not consideredgood. It is highly improbable that we shall have more than enough New Zealand wheat for our own requirements, and this means that the price of New Zealand wheatwill approximate to the cost of wheat imported from Australia. In view of the fact that the Commonwealth Government has sold 200,000 tons of wheat to the British Government at a price of over ss. per bushel f.0.b., it may be taken that this will be the standard price of Australian wheat for export this season, Australian flour is now quoted in New Zealand at £13 16s. 3d., net demand draft.

Mild excitement was caused at Trentfham after the Cup race yesterday when some flooring boards gave way on a platform of the stairway leading to . the top of the . main grandstands A crowd was descending the stairway at the time, but the boards did not colUpse entirely, and no one was injured. The' boards had apparently decayed as the result of a leakage of water from a defective pipe, but the supporting beams* remained jntact. Repairs are .to be effected before to-morrow's racing.. The Wellington Hospital and Charitable Aid Board were yesterday advised by the Wellington Investment, Trustee, and Agency Company that'they held for the board a bequest of £150 176. lid., under the will of the late L. G. Mackay. The secretary was instructed to suitably acknowledge the bequest, and to take the necessary steps to have the amount paid into the board's funds.

A conference _ has held between the representatives of the Hutt and Petone Boroughs, for the purpose of fixing thehalfrholiday, for.< the ■ combined district. ' Mr. J. W. M'Ewan (Mayor) represented Petone, and Councillor Ball, Lower Hutt. In accordance with instructions received _by the delegates from their respective councils, the statutory half-holiday was fixed for Saturday, and comes into force on March 1.

At next week's meeting of the Wellington Harbour Board Mr. W. Cable intends to move: "That the engineer Go instructed to arrange with Me-srs. Clark and Standfield, consulting engin-. eers, London,' for the preparation of the necessary working drawings for a floating dock of about 1000 tons lift ; ng power, as outlined in the general design submitted by them."

Mr. W. Lewis, who is well-known to those frequenting" Thorndon Baths, is continuing with disinterested zeal his self-imposed task of teaching those who are desirous of learning the art of swimming. A device,'- consisting of two metal floats coupled together with a leather strap, has been invented by Mr. Lewis, and has . proved of considerable help to his pupils at the baths.' .It serves the purpose of giving the. novices confidence, and they make more rapid progress. , Mr. Lewis will give lessons to the general public at Thorndon Baths .from 6 to 6.45 on week mornings and from 2 to 4 o'clock on Saturday afternoons.

The Minister of Defence stated yesterday that he hoped that tTw new camp at Featherston would be occupied early nest week. There would then be still some finishiug-up work' to be done, but the mova would be possible. The MThister said that in addition to the permanent camp at Featherston there would ■ bo a tent camp within easy distance for other troops. Provision liad to be made for for a time, and the capacity of the two permanent oamps was 4500 each; Some of the surplus 3000 would be accommodated in the tent camp to which he had referred, and the others elsewhere, possibly at Rangiotu. The city police state that ' they are conducting a- cleaning-up campaign in Wellington. The effort is being directed against whatever undesirables are known to be about the place. Yesterday morning Jeremiah Brosnahan, whose appearance in the Magistrate's Court was said to be a result of the campaign, was sent to prison for three months on the testimony of the police that he was an undesirable without satisfactory means of support, - that lie noted suspiciously in crowds, had been seen endeavouring to rob partly-intoxi-cated men, and devoted much unwel- . .come attention to _ soldiers. Brosnahan, who styled himself'a flaxmiller, t'wo months out of work, said that lie had enlisted, and was waiting to go into camp in February; but Mr. Cooper, S.M., said that he would not get there, and remarked that the soldiers had enough to do to compete with the likes of Brosnahan in town without having him amongst them in camp. An industrial dispute affecting the saddlery trade was investigated. by the Conciliation Commissioner (Mr, p. Hally) and a Conciliation Council yesterday. The assessors for the applioant nnion wero Messrs. H. Chapman, G. Archer, and H. Heap, and for the employers, Messrs. W. Wiggins, jun., H. f\ Evans,, and P. R. Russell. Mr. E. Kennedy appeared as agent for the union, and Mr. W. A. W. GTcnfell as agent for the employers. The union asked for a 48 hours' week, with overtime at the rate of time and a half, and pay at the rate of £3 12s.per week, instead if the present hourly rate of Is. •2d. pet' hour. An all-round increase was' asked for on rates of pay for women' workers and apprentices. The employers offered the terms of the expiring award. Tlio demands were considered in committee. Agreement was reached on practically all clauses except those governing wages, but it was not possible to confirm anything, as sections of the dispute have also to be investigated at Napier, Palmcrston, and Wanganui. For men who appreciate a good bow tie we would recommend an inspection of our stock of "ready tied," or 'to tie," at la. and la. M. Geo, Fowlds, Ltd., Maujuum Street—Advt.

The "Wellington Hospital and Charitable Aid Board yesterday decided to. place orders' for a Tullis shirt warher and a foul linen washer. ■ ' A deputation from the Nurserymen's Conference will wait upon the Prime Minister this morning, and will urge the necessity for the registration of uurserymen and the bringing down of the new- Orchards Bill, which has been agreed upon by nurserymen and fruitgrowers. Provision for a certificate and nomenclature board will also be urged, also protection for raisers of new- varieties. The question of technical education as discussed by the conference will also be raised. There is a scarcity of teachers in the' Hawke's Bay Education District, according to the '"Hawke's Bay Herald." paused to some extent, 110 doubt, oy the number of male tcachers who have gone on active service. The Ednr.aijon. Board is :>.t present in need of ihirtjfour teachers (headmasters, assistant masters and sole teaclicrs), besides pupil teachers and probationers for various parts of the district.' "Out of the whole of our wool produce only 4 per cent, is manufactured into woollen goods in New Zealand. We should be xble to manufacture iialf the wool of 'he country. If we d:d this we should have some two more towns of the size of Dimcdin." T'pus said Mr. J. B. Laurensqn jt the Industrial Conference at Christchurch oil Wednesday "The farmer," lie said, "has the best end every j,ime. On machinery imported' he pays only Is. 7d. per £ L(=o. Yet, were I to import a sheepskin or a bag of flour, I would have to gay heavy duty. And yet he says Lv'i; lighting ihe world's markets. 1 ' The Christchurch "Evening News" publishes -the following-Some four years ago a German commercial traveller, Mas Kruge, on asking Mr. J. B. Lauren son for an order, was refused. He took this refusal in bad grace, and threatened Mr. Laurenson, saying: '"In. 1914 the Kaiser will speak about this prohibition of German goods from behind his German guns." This was heard by Sir. Le Cren and others ia the office, and was then laughed it. In Mr. Laurenson's opinion, he said on Wednesday at the Industrial Conference at Christchurch, every German • commercial traveller was, nothing hut a spy. ' Hokitika District High School gained five Junior National Scholarships in the results just published. Of these, one boy, Johu Charles Forsyth, was first in the Dominion with 609 marks, and another, Bayard E. V. Parliam, was , fifth with 588 marks. • . There are three engine-drivers in the

employment of the Wellington Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, and Mrs. T. M. Wilford, at yesterday's meeting of the board, - advocated that theso men should, notwithstanding the fact that they were getting award wages, be allowed a fortnight's holiday annually on full pay. The request fell on somewhat, unsympathetic ears, Mrs.. Wilford being informed" that by coming under the en-gine-drivers' award rate of wages, the men had forfeited the right to. c the consideration asked for. . A sensation was caused at the Taranaki Street Wharf yesterday morning when a four-wheeled bread van end horse, belonging to Mr. W. H. James, baker, of Lower. Taranaki Street, went over the end of the wharf. The horse and van were standing near Wirth's Circus entrance, and some of the elephants were working near by. Suddenly the liorse took fright, and bolted. He had a clear run in front of him, and dashing through the wharf gates Continued his mad career along -the wnarf and over the extreme end in a flying leap. Cart, horse,, and tlie 'oad of bread immediately disappeared. A few minutes later the bread began to float on top of tho water, but the horse and cart remained at the bottom of' tfie Harbour till they were fished, out later in tho afternoon. Our new experiences in military affairs are attended by interesting and novel inoidents (writes our Sydney correspondent). For instance, there is the case of Michael O'Donnall. _ This man, a great enthusiast in military work, was, at tha beginning, of the war, a captain in connection with the cadets under the compulsory training polioy, and held the position of Area Officer. Ho wanted to enlist for the front, and, according to his own statement, resigned his captaincy arid joined for the front as a private. He was soon put to the work of drilling other recruits, and found to his chagrin that he was being kept at this job, as a mere private, while men whom he had drilled went ahead and gained promotion. So he left West Australia and went to South Australia, where he enlisted again under the name of M'Pherson. His aptitude and ability quickly came under notice, and he had been made a sergeant-major and was getting along nicely, when he was recognised by a West officer, who gave information to the authorities. He was tried by court-martial on tho charge of having enlisted under a false name, but was acquitted. However, on the application of tho West Australian authorities, he has been sent from Adelaide to Perth for another, trial by court-martial on the charge of having absented himself without leave.

At the meetin? of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board yesterday, Mrs. Wilford mentioned tl'ftt the board's upholsterer was paid £2 10s. per week and found his own. machine, whilst the rule in tlio trade outside was that upholsterers were paid £8 6s. per week, and tn& employer found tha machine. The matter was deemed to be one worthy of consideration by the oommittee.

A chango is to be introduced in the administration of the Education Department. Applications aro now invited for a Secretary to the Department, who will have control of the business and financial side of the administrative work, leaving tho Director of Education, the professional head, to devote all his attention to tlm professional side of the head office control. Tho office of Secretary for Education is to be abolished, and; there will under the new arrangement be a definite division between the business and professional branches of the Department.

We have received..a copy of an oldtime story of tho North Queensland canefields, "Tussong's Ghost," written by Mr. E. M'Burney ("Alick Flax"), which has been published in Australia in aid of the Disabled and Helpless lieturned Soldiers. Tho story was written about 1897, and claims to be a realistic sketch of North Queensland when sugarplanting with South Sea Island labour was in full swing. Tho net proceeds of this publication are to be given by the author to the Australian Red Cross Funds.

■ Manual activity on a big - scale is prevailing just now in the Waitakero nills (says the Auckland "Staa - "). It is connected with the construction of the hig dam at Nihotupu, which is to conserve a quantity, of 540,000,000 gallons of water for the supply of Auckland residents. The dam is being orected immediately above' the big waterfall, which is 110 ft. in height, and the dam itself will be nearly 150 ft. above stream level. The length at the top will be 520 ft. At the bottom : the thickness of the dam is 104 ft., and at the top 12ft. Above the weir level piers will be erected to carry the roadway, which, it is ultimately hoped; will serve as a portion of the tounst track extending from the present motor drive up to the Nihotupu reservoir, across the dam, and thence to the West Coast Road. .The dam will have a surface area of 36 acres, and the catchment area will be 2200 acres. As the contract time is three years and a half, the work should be completed in 1919. "I think that it is a wholly unnecessary evil that a boy of fourteen years of ago should be employed in a "hotel, especially if he has only passed the Fourth Standard," said Sir. H. W. Bishop, S.M., at) a sitting of the Juvenile Court in Christchurch,, when a boy was charged with the theft of £1 cash'and a postal note of the value of 10s. The thefts were admitted. Chief-,-Detective Herbert said that the' lad was employed as "buttons" in a hotel, and the money and the postal note were taken from letters he. had been given to post. "I strongly disapprove of a boy being employed in a hotel," continued Mr. Bishop. "It is not that the employment is not good enough, but it is the class of people with whom he associates." The Chief-Detective said that the system of "tips" that prevailed was bad for young boys. The Magistrate administered a severe caution to the bov, and strongly advised the father to take him away from such employment. , Tho offender was convicted and. discharged.

"I must have been in bed an hour when I was awakened by an awful crash," wrote the wife of a "Tommy" at the front,- the letter being quoted in the "Daily Dispatch." "I knew it was them Zepps. ' There was another terrible bang. I took my clothes off the chair, shoved them on a hook, gripped baby, and ran down stairs to the eel-, lar. Dear ——, you must not blame me. It was horrible, I wondered why baby didn't cry._ I looked at the dear. Dear —> —, it> was a good job he had' a strong nightie on. 1 I know you'll forgive me. If you only knew what I went through. I had bung baby upside down on the wall by the hem of his nightie, and was nursing the big pillow with Jace frills.' The poor .kid. . ~, The jfiyor of itarori (jifr. -B. G. H. Burn) has received, through the ./Mayoress of Wellington (Mrs. J. P. iuke),the following ■■ letter. from Mrs. ■A. Haughton tamert, secretary of the Fund for.Belgian Relief: — "24 Buckingham Palace, Road, S.W., November 27, 1915. Dear Madam, — .-Will yon allow, me to thank you, and /through you all the , ladies' of Karori, /'.Wellington,'New Zealand, who have ;,been so good as to send us such useful garments for the Belgian", refugees. We noticed the threepenny bits and the 'crackers with pennies, which will give 'great pleasure to the children, and we are particularly glad of the short-coated outfits', baby jackets, and clothing which were also included in the valu-

able present. I cannot tell you how grateful we are to New Zealand for all the help,_ both in money, in food, and,in clothing, she has sent to us. May I ask you to take charge also of these letters of tljanks which are from our Mothers' Club? This was part of a. consignment sent for our women who had suffered .and were suffering through .the. war. I can assure you that the .gratitude is very real; it has made the .mothers and-our people realise as never .before that our overseas Dominion is .quite as British as Loudon! The par'cel was received per B. H. Burn. With many thanks from us all." . One of the letters received from participants in tho relief sent says: "I am sending this note of . thanks for the nice parcel of clothes which I received, which was very useful, and most thoughtful of our New Zealand friends to think of us in such a'friendly manner." Another letter of thanks concludes: "Food

is very deaT, and there is not much money loft for clothes." For some time past the Telegraph Department has had in hand the entire reconstruction of the telegraph line between Gisborne and Napier, states the "Poverty Bay Herald." The new line, which is being erected-upon the metallio,circuit system, and replaces the old iron wire with an up-to-date copper installation, will considerably improve both the telephonic and telegraphic facilities between Gisborne and Hawke's Bay. The metallic circuit enables both services to be conducted along the same lino simultaneously. Tho work is being spread over a period of four years. In the summer of 1914-15 a start was mado with the erection of the Gisb.oraeWharerata section, and last summer another link was added by the new line from Mohaka to Napier. Material is now on tho ground and a start is shortly to be made with the Wairoa-Mohaka section. Mr. Shrimpton,, district telegraph engineer, who has arrived overland from Napier, is now arranging for the final seotion, Wharerata-Wairoa, to be, undertaken next summer.

At the head of the Mangakaliia Valley, Messrs. Fin] ay son Bros, are still carrying on largo timber operations at Nukutawhiti, where some forty men are employod, reports the "North Auckland Times." The kauri area is well up the mountain, where some twelve dams are being used, for driving out Che massive logs, of which 100 are weekly consigned to the main stream, where at present some 3000_ are awaiting a fresh to sweep them into tidal waters. The work of transporting the legs from the stumps to the Mangakaliia River is of some magnitudo, as after leaving the highest dams the.v reach a receiving pool, from which they are whimped over a spur in which the cutting alone cost £1000, and are then again driven down till they reach the .base. Already the contractors have expended Csooo' on tho workings and expect to Cose operations in the course of aujther year.

It was stated b v v Lieutenant-Colonel Stoneham in Dunedin (according to a Dunedin paper) that although tlio 12th Iteinforcemonts left Duncdin seven pen short, tho deficiency had increased to .12 by tho time tlio force had arrived at Wellington. The only reasons that could be advanced for the disappearance of these men were either that they had left, the .train to get a drink and missed it, <.r bad taken the opportunity to get a cheap trip without the intention. <vf serving.