LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2774, 18 May 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Tlie estimates of the City Engineer for the current year were not available for consideration by the Finance Committee of the City Council at Tuesday afternoon's meeting. The estimates of the Libraries, Forestry, and Reserves Committees for the year will probably bo laid upon the table at this evening's meeting of the ! council, and will be considered, together with the Engineer's estimates, at the next meeting of the Finance Committee. Tho Director of Base Records lias received advice from the Commonwealth Department of Defence, Melbourne, that tiro soldiers, named R. J. Coppell and ,F. Lorin, of the Australian Imperial Forces, have been killed in action. t The next-of-kin of these soldiers are said to bo residents of New Zealand, but cannot be located Kt tho addresses recorded in MelIxmrnc, and information on this subject will J,e gladly Teceived at tho Base Records Office, Wellington. It was asserted in the House yesterday afternoon by Mr. J. Payne (Grey Xynn) that Dr. Hotop, a member of the New Zealand Medical Corps now doing camp duty, had two brothers fighting in the German Navy against the Allies. The Hon. J! Allen: That is not so. Mr. Payne: It is so; and I can supply proof of it. The efforts of the Fish Hatchery Board to introduce turbot to New Zealand waters have so far met with a gratifying measure of success. Experiments have been carried out at the l'ortobello (Dutiedin) hatchery for about three years, and practically all the fish brought out have made excellent, progress. An important step was taken by the board on Monday, when about 150 of the fish will be taken to sea and liberated at a spot where it is expected they will have every chance to mature.. ! ' A. striking tribute to the Prince of Wales is paid by Captain Kendall, one of the Primitive Methodist chaplains who has been at the front, and is now serving temporarily at a Midland camp. "At a certain village," said Captain Kendall, addressing' a local audience, "is a line of cottages, and many a time the Prince of Wales has slept on the floor of one of these humble homes. Over the other side of the road is a beautiful-old mansion, but tho Prince would not go there, preferring the miner's cottage. I havo seen the room in which the Prince slept, and the Frenchman who lived there knew who his guest was, and told, mo he did not givo a bit of trouble. I havo seen the Prince 'doing his bit.' He was often in danger, for he went where the boys went. I am very proud-of tlio Prince, and glad to be able to tell you this about hini." At Duncdin on Monday, a military prisoner, who had been sent back from Egypt, was sentenced to oho month's imprisonment on a charge of vagrancy. Ho was described a3 a "waster." The Minister of Defence has written to tho Mayor of Dunediii regretting that he cannot hold out any prospects of one of the Reinforcement drafts being dispatched from Dunedjn. Commercial travellers are hauling' in storekeepers' orders 1 for No Rubbing Laundry Help with commendable zeal, because it lightens woman's toil on washing day6,—Advt.

Tho Daylight Saving Bill, or, as its author prefers .to call it, "The Definition of Time Bill," is once more on the order paper of the House of Representatives. Mr. T. K. Sidey gavo notice of the Bill yesterday. Mr. ]]. Newman has given notice to ask the Prime Minister whether it is tho intention of the Government to give the House an opportunity this session of expressing an opinion on the question of tho curtailment of the hours for the sale of alcoholic liquors, and also on wliS; is known as "shouting" or "treating" in hotels during the period of the war. Writing from Salonika under data February 12, Lieut.'-Colonel Hatpin has intormcd tho Napier Patriotic Committee that a case of jChristmns gifts from Napier forwarded from Alexandria arrived in the harbour at Salonika a few days previously. But he regretted to say that a nre broke out on the ship on tho night of arrival, and tho gifts, together with a large quantity of other material for the hospital, were completely destroyed. Tho writer added that while the gifts had Men destroyed, tho kindly sentiment which prompted the givers was appreciated. Messrs. J. H. Bethune and Co. held a property auction sale at their rooms yesterday afternoon, when they sold, under instructions from the Public. Trustee, a six-roomed house in Aro Street, No. 129, standing on land 18.7 perches, for w£4so. Tinder instructions from the Registrar of .the Supreme Court, they sold to Messrs. Ballinger Bros, a block of land in Ali'cotown, containing 1 aero and !I2 perches, tho purchase price being JEIOO. When the matter of an application for a rehearing of a case at Danne'virko came before Mr. S. E. M'C'arthy, S.M., tho other morning, His Worship pointed out that it must not bo taken that persons could be oxcused from attending drill simply by going co an officer and asking for leave. "That won't do," said tho Magistrate. "'This Act has to be administered so that the service required will fall equally on everyone." Tae application for a rehearing was adjourned for a fortnight. The Auckland Returned Soldiers' Association Committer has arranged for a reception committee to meet all boats and trains with returned men on board and to point out the advantages of. the Soldiers' Club. "Welcome cards" will bo printed for distribution to returning Auckland men. The committee has also decided to write to tho-Mayor and citizens of Albany thanking them for their kindness to men proceeding to the front and to men invalided home, and to draw tho Auckland City Council's attention to the statement that eligible single'men,, are being engaged for municipal work. • Tho committee resolved to protest to -tho Defence Department against the injustice of not giving a man's character on his discharge, also against the d<day in forwarding discharges.

The head office for New Zealand of tho Shaw, Sarill. and Albion Company have received advice to the effect that tneir liner Waiwera is to leave Almost immediately, in ballast, for Cape Town to pick up the salvaged New Zealand and Australian cargo from the s.s. Bangitira, which, was recently stranded near Caps T<i« n. The cargo will be brought on to New Zealaiul and Australian poi'ts. Preaching at the Christchurch Cathedral on Sunday night, the' Bishop of Waiapu (Dr. Sedgwick), in the course of a powerful sermon, compared the present war to a special visitation from God on a frivolous and unthinking nation. Ho was particularly severe upon the callous and thoughtless way in which the people of New Zealand were still living, and said it was clear- that ,we as a nation were so little chastened and humbled by the war that wo were quite unfit for victory. He declared that the commercial morality of the community was at such a low ebb that a business man told him that it was. impossible for a man to live a straight life and succeed commercially. The Dominion also showed its unchastened attitude towards a higher, life by the stand it had taken against the Bible in Scats schools question; in the shameful prevalence of the gambling spirit, .which was worse now even than before the war; and in the apathy and supineness of its attitude towards the drink question—a question which had been tackled in ' a manly manner by all the rest of • our Allies. Summing*" up the situation, Bishop Sedgwick said he concurred with a speaker at the Synod, who declared that we were not yet fit for peace or victory.

At the Secondary Schools Conference yesterday, Jlr. T. 1). Pearce moved: "That tiiis conference deplores the creation of small secondary schools of a denominational type as ail unnecessary interference with our free, national, and secular system of education. further, it expresses the hope that the Minister of Education will do (everything in. his power to, discourage such establishments by withholding from them all privileges that rightly belong. to the national schools." Mr. l'earce said that ho moved accordingly on behalf of one who was uuable to be present. Members would have observed the growth of the schools referred to in the motion. These schools might endanger the freedom of the teachers, inasmuch as religious difficulties might arise when transfers were being made. Mr. Beyau Brown regretted the raising of the subject. It was for the conference to endeavour to do "away with any rights these schools could claim. Secularism in the schools was'nothing to be proud of, and lie hoped the motion would be defeated. The motion was lost. The amount advanced for fruit-pre-serving purposes by the Government under the Fruit Preserving Industry Act, 1913, during last year was ,£ISOO, making the total amount of advances outstanding at March . 31, 1916, X 11,200. There have been no defaulters under the scheme. At the sitting, of the Anglican General Synod in Christchurch, when Mr. A. B. Koberton's motion to obtain certain information from census returns was under discussion, the Bishop of Christchurch remarked tliat census information concerning the religion of enrollersWas very unreliable. 'Many people did not attend church, and on the census returns those people were in the habit of putting themselves down as members of the Church of England. In support of this statement, the Bishop of Nelson said that the last census returns for the district of Nelson showed 32,000 Church of England, while the diocesan rolls showed only 26,000.'