LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2771, 15 May 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

An English, via Suez, and an Australian mail will arrive in Wellington from Sydney by the Moeraki at 10 a.m. to-day. A similar mail is expected to reach Auckland from Sydney by the Mafcura this morning. The southern portion should reach Wellington by to-mor-row morning's Main Trunk express. The Hon. J. Allen has written to the itev. F. P. Read, Senior Chaplain to tho Forces at Gibraltar, acknowledging receipt of information respecting the members o£ tho New Zealand Forces who have been buried at Gibraltar. "I note," he ohys, "that you have had wooden crosses erected at each < grave, and that Mr. J. Maxted, secretary of the Canter, bury Committee, has consented to attend personally to such matters in the event of any of the relatives being desirous of having a permanent monument erected. . I shall esteem it a favour if you will con. vej to Mr. Maxted, on behalf of tho New Zealand Government, its appreciation of its kind offer." A seal was seen on Friday and Saturday basking on the Petone ioreshore, and scores of persons turned out to view the unimal, which appeared to havo undergone a severo buffeting in the recent southerly. The authorities at the Zoo were communicated with, and at midday on Saturday two men from that Institution arrived at Petone, with tho necessary equipment, to eifect a oapture. The strange visitor, who kept continually taking to tho water and coming ashore, cunningly kept out of sight of the wouldbe captors. Yesterday morning, howevor, ho chose a nioro quiet area, and, whilst enjoying a nap, was surprised to suddenly find himself surrounded by a large crowd. This tinio tho men from tho Zoo were able to secure tho seal with very little difficulty, by placing u cage over it and rolling it over. Tho seal did not appear to mind tho operation. A resident who for years had been c-annectea with whaling and sea!-fishing described the animal as a grey seal, similar to those that abound near Alaskaj Tho seal was taken in a vehicle to the Zoo, as a donation to the institution, from Petone. Commercial travellers aro hauling in storekeepers' orders for No Rubbing Laundry Help with commendable zeal, because it lightens woman's toil on wash- , ing days.—Advt.

Tho number of recruits enlisted at Petone last week was 25. This is exclusive of several. who volunteered in .the city, but are Petone residents. i

Lieut. Stenhouse, U.N., of the Antarctic exploring ship Aurora, referring to the diet forced on them during tho long drift in the ice-pack ifrom August, 11115, until March, 11)10), said the seal steaks were not at all bad. The idea was to cut the steaks, off • and bury them in snow for three or four days to remove the rankncss, then boil thorn in hot salt-water. Then they had steak and kidney (seal) pie, and the cook thought no end of his curried seal—(laughter)—which was really horrid stuff, (ltonewed laughter.) Still, it was fresh meat to those on board, and kept away the scurvy. Scurvy was a dreadful thing in the Antarctic—scurvy an insanity were the two big bogies. Men who only lived from day to day, and had not much to think about other than their daily job, were apt to become melancholy and uiocxiy very quickly under such conditions as they experienced! but tho Aurora was lucky in having a couplo of naval A.B.'s, who kept the men in good heart. By the way, the ship's carpenter, who did splendid work throughout'under terrible conditions, was, said the Lieutenant, now in Peatherston Camp. (Applause and cheers.)

According to ' letters received from Egypt, most of the Hew Zealand troops who were leaving for France were' provided with tiny little French-English dictionaries, the careful study o£ which Would enable them to make their ordinary wants known in the land of the Gaul. As the result of the change of quarters, it is anticipated that letters to arrive will be interlarded with French words and phrases, instead of Arabic, as • Las been tho case for over a year past. ■

Scarlet. fever is still very prevalent in Christchurch (says, the ' "Lyttelton 'Times"), and. in some of the country districts in this province.

It was quite inevitable that at least oiie.of- tho civil engineers at the annual conference, held in Christchurch, would have a "fling" at members' of local bodies. One delegate said that experience had taught him the difficulty of persuading country members of local bodies to adopt modern-methods -where any outlay is entailed, a remark that drew an appreciative smilo from the- assembled engineers. At tho Anglican Synod in Christchurch, Canon Mayne read a question standing, in his uamd as follows-.—"Are the Bishops of the province amenable to the canons of the General Synod and to the canons of the Diocesan Synod over which they respectively preside? In other words, can a Bishop override the laws of the- Church of the Province of New Zealand?" The Primate (Bishop Nevill) replied that, he had at first given instructions that the question should not be permitted, but ho had finally decided to allow it. In reply, lie had to .state that the Bishops were amenable to the. canons of the. General Synod and to the regulations of the Diocesau Synods. Canon Mayne thanked tho /Primate for his courteous reply.

A terrier at Lyttelton is evidently of. a roving disposition,, and has a penchant for visiting other ports. Some timo ago he went on board a collier and travelled U« Newcastle, and subsequently Brisbane and Sydney. At. the last-mentioned port he went ashore and was "reported" nliss-. ing for some'-weeks. To tho great surprise of tho people who knew him, lie turned np at Lyttelton in another steamer. It is stated that he often takes a trip in the coastal steamers, and never fails ultimately to return to Lyttelton.

Speaking at the engineers' dinner in Christchurch on, Friday night, Mr.. It. W. Holmes, the president, said' that the staff of engineers in the Public Works Department numbered eighty-two, of whom thirty-two had gone to the 1 front, but, vrith the exception of nine yvho had gone in tho tunnelling corps, all of them had had to go as privates. He maintained that properly qualified engiueers were better fitted to officer the corps than cierks. . The chief engineer from Lake Coleridge had gone away as a Bapper. His own son, a trained electrical engineer, had had to go away as a _ sapper. Mr. Anderson's eldest son, a trained engineer, had had to go as a private in the, infantry. Tet two New Zealand engineers who had been travelling; at tho outbreak of yvar had offered their services at' Home and had been accepted us officers-in-the' Boyal Engineers. The British Government had shown its desire to have trained engineers by accepting over 1500 members of tho institute as engineer officers in Army or Navy. Many of tho young engineers in New Zealand had come to him asking him to use his- influence to get them commissions, .but he had failed. With two exceptions, all the engineers were in the ranks, and were lieing utterly wasted. If the war continued the engineers would be vraiited, but there would be no reservoir to draw on.

At the Anglican General Synod on. Friday night, when amendments to Title 8,. Canon V, yvcre under consideration, a member remarked that parochial districts were parishes in the making. Ml. James Henderson said that there were parochial districts of fifty years' standing in New Zealand. He thought many of these would never become parishes, especially as the experience yvas that yvheu some of those parochial districts vrere about ready for parish status they were cut in half, and the whole process had to be gone over again. . ' In driving fcrro-concrete piles recently at Gisborne, stated Mr. B. W. Holmes at the Civil Engineers' Conference in Christclnirch, no fewer than 110 blows to each inch gained irere required, and over 10,000 blows were needed to drive a single pile. : • During tho hearing of a civil case at the Owaka Magistrate's Court on Wednesday a most unusual position was presented to the magistrate (Mr. H. A. Young), tho fact transpiring that a firm of Dunedin solicitors yvas representing both plaintiff and defendant. The magistrate manifested considerable surprise at such a peculiar occurrence, and it was some time before he w-as convinced that a mistake had not been made.

At the meeting of soldiers at the Invercargill Soldiers' Club on FWdayttfternoon, Private AY. Braxton moved that a visiting committee be set up each month for the purpose of visiting the.' hospitals to see if any returned soldiers wlho might be inmates required anything. The thoughtful suggestion yvas enthnfiastically taken up by those present, and the idea is to bo carried out.

During a discussion at the (General Synod on Saturday rm ruin's on Hie position of chaplains with the forces, a speaker stated that he deprecated the calling of chaplains by their military rank, and he was glad to know iiiat the Defence Department had just decided that tho rank should be dispensed witW; when addressing the military clergy. Tho simple title of chaplain only wGuld be used. "If a party in divorce remarries: between the granting of decree nisi... and the securing of decree absolute, that (person is guilty of bigamy," Mr. Justice Chapman in tho Supremo <~ourt at Auckland on Friday. The Oamaru "Mail" reports that, idjvring Mr. E: P. Lee's abser.ee from iWw Zealand, Mr. J. Anstey, member for' Vpaitaki, will attend to the requirements \ 01 the northern portion of the Oamaru el ectorate, and Mr. C. E. Statham, memlwr for Dunedin Central, will look after tto southorn portion. Negotiations in regard to tho price ctf 6ugar which were mentioned by th« Prime Minister in the House on Eritlay have not yet been completed, but Air., Massey states that ho does not anticipate! that there will bo any increase in price until ut least the end of tho present - year. Inquiries have been made by Mrs. A, Crawford, hwi. secretary at Wellington of tho Countess of Liverpool Fund, as to the proper method of addressing Dominion gift goods. Tho Minister of Defence (Hon. J. Allen) has informed Mrs. Crawford that the Officer Commanding tho New Zealand Base cables as follows-.-"Cift goods should be consigned to Suez, addressed to Gifts, Cairo." By a patriotic hure-drive at nanmer Springs, 221 hares were secured, nnd were taken to Culvcrden, where they were put into a cool storage van and sent to a freezer until such time as they can be shipped to Britain. Glado House, on the way to Milford SoMnd, has beon closed for the winter. As evidence of tho mild season which has been experienced thero tho manager informed a Southland Times" representative that a paradise duck was the possessor of a brood of eight ducklings, nnd thero wore two broods of grey ducklings. Every city worker can be protected against Winter's showers. We are showing 25-inch frame, horn, crook handle, silver-mount, gloria cover Umbrcllaa at 14s. 6d. Geo. Fowlds, Ltd,—Advt.