LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2789, 6 June 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Tho reception to the returned New Zealand soldiers from England by the Athenic has been postponed from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. to-day. The funotion will take place at the Town Hall.

Friends of passengers who will arrive by the 'Athenic from London this morn ing will have to procure passes from the offices of Messrs. Levin and Co., Customhouse Quay, if they are desirous of going on the wharf. Next-of-kin passe 9 for friends of returning soldiers are issued at the Base Records Office. Tho Athenic is expected to arrive in.the stream at 8 a.m., and will berth at the Glasgow Wharf between 9 v and 10 o'clock this morning.

Wellington's new ferry wharf will be used by the Lyttelton-Wellington ferry steamers for the first time to-morrow, when the turbine steamer Maori will berth there.

According to private advices received in Wellington there has been another land slide in the Panama Canal.

Reporting under date June 5, on the health of tho troops at Samoa, Colonel Logan says:—Pte, Grant is suffering from synovitis knee, and Pte. Eeid from lymphangitis. Both are convalescent.

The Telegraph Office advises that on and after Saturday, June 10, the following offices, whioh romain open on Saturdays until 9 p.m., will in future close at 8 p.m.:—Ashburton, Blenheim, Dannevirke, Feilding, Hamilton.. Hawera, Marton, Reef ton, Rotorua, ana Thames.

No case of infantile paralysis has been reported in tho Wellington health district for several days.

In addition to £223 10s. 3d: nlready_ acknowledged as contributions to the Sailors' Comforts Fund, two further donations have just been received by the sec retary of the Navy. League, from Mrs. J. M. Richardson (>fil Is.) and Mrs. J. P. Firtli (£1). Further subscriptions would bo welcomed.

A piece of ambergris, estimated to he worth .£50,000, is floating somewhere on the Pacific Ocean, new- the Queensland coast (says an exchange). The schooner A. P. Coates was making for Puget bound when Captain Morris sighted a low-noat-ing object a short distance from the vessel. Suspecting that- it was ambergris ho sent tho second mate with a boat and crew to investigate. A heavy swell was running at 'tho tiDiG» and darkness was fast approaching. Tho second nmto overhauled tho object just at dark, and he said it closely resembled ambergris. Unable to signal tho captain to work the ship near, he managed to get two nauufuls of the drift and returned to the schooner. Next morning it was not to bo seen. Captain Morris turned the sample over to chemists, and it proved to we pure ambergris of a very high grade. J. he small amount the mate had grabbed was disposed of for .£4OO. Ho estimated the size of the drift to be 14ft. long, 15m, wide, and Sin. thick. At the price obtained for tho small lot, this drift is easily worth .£50,000. Ambergris, which )s a morbid secretion of 'the whale, and is used in perfumery, commands from «5 to ,£l2 an ounce, and there is a steady demand for it.

A young soldier who went from NewZealand to Egypt relied for his correspondence on two anxious and loving ladies—his mother and sweetheart. The mother's letters reached him regularly at the rate of one,a week, but by the end of a year he had received only two from his fiancee. Many a thought this cdst him. Was she growing cold towards him ?' At last the doubt was solved. On returning to camp aftor a spell at a distance the mailman brought in a bag of letters and parcels. The fellows crowded round expectantly, and, .amidst much laughter that concealed the general disappointment, the whole mail was for the lover from his loved one—11" letters and packets in a batch.

Solid progress is being made on the eastern end of the Okaiiukura-Stratford railway, says-an Auckland paper. Work on the combined railway and traffic bridge over the Ongarue Ifiver is now in full swing, and the structure will eoou bo an accomplished fact. About SO men are employed on the Okahukura tunnel, and since the recent strike everything is going well. A fair number are also engaged on general construction work to Matiere, whilst a sub-contractor is making excellent progress with the smaller tunnels en route. The wholo of these, including tho big tunnel, have now been pierced, and tile contractor in now engaged in the bricking work of the smaller holes. The bricks are locally made, being manufactured at the Public Works Department brick works at TuJma, and are of splendid quality. A tram-lino is noiv being constructed between these works, aud the station yard site at Matiere, a distance, of about five miles, which when completed will to a certain, extent relieve, the heavy traffic on the main road.

At the Petone Drill Hall last evening the monthly corps parade of the St. John Ambulance Brigade was held, under Superintendent Hislop, About sixty members, including several ladies, attended. Ail interesting course of squad drill was carried out, and Assistant-Corn-niissiouer Seed delivered an appropriate address during the evening.

It was observed that White Island was unusually activo on May 25, and Colonel Wan! accordingly measured the height of the steam column rising from tho island with his theodolite. Tlie height proved to he the highest yet recorded—viz,, 9370ft—mid the width was'approximately 2l)Mlft., about tho full width of the island. The previous highest measurement' obtained by Colonel Ward was 9020i't„ on May 2!i, 1914. It is a coincidence that these two measurements wero taken on almost the sniiie day of the year, and it is also worthy of iiote that October is a favourite month for unusual activity at tho island. On October 3, 1880 (the year of the Tarawern eruption) 7550 ft. was measured, on October !), 190G, 8000 ft., and on October 10, 1910, G2l3ft. .

Hrisk demand continues for "No Rubbing Laundry ITelp." 'l'he Is, package contains sufficient for seven weeks' ivash. in£. Contains nothing injurious. .£lO guarantee. Wm. Campbell, Limited — Advt. '

A Boot for comfort—Glaco Kid, no toecap, 245. (kl., 265. Gd. Geo Ltd., Manners Street,—Advt,

The thirtieth annual meeting of the New Zealand Alliance will commence this morning in St. John's Schoolroom. Kepreseutatives will, bo in attendance from various parts of the Dominion. The Rev. R. S. Gray, president, will be in the chair. The one public function that will bo held this year will be in the Town Hall to-night, which will ho of an entirely patriotic character. A large tea meeting under the title of "Allies' Tea" will commence at 5.15 p.m. Between 20 anil 30 of the churches of the city_ are eacli supplying a table. The patriotic meeting will commence at 7.45, over which the Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke) will preside. Patriotic resolutions will be submitted, patriotic songs will he rendered, and the entire net proceeds of both tea and meeting will go towards the .£3OOO Soldiers' Fund, which Hit W.C.T.U. of the Dominion is raising.

The annual conference of.tlic New Zealand Beekeepers' Conference " will be opened in the Esperanto Hall, Lainbton Quay, to-morrow. It vill extend over three days.

An evidence of the increased prices that have resulted from the war is afforded by a circular that has been issued from St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London. In regard to provisions it is shown that in London beef lias advanced from sd. to !)d. per lb., mutton from sd. to Bd., pork from Vid. to Is., bread from 10s. (id. to l(is. per cwt., Hour from 28s. to -Ills, per sack, eggs from Is. 2d. to 2s. 9d. per dozen, bacon from BJd. to Is. per lb., milk from Oldto Is. per gallon, and tea Is. 2id. to 2s. Id. per lb. As to fuel, house coal has gone up from 1 19s. lid. to 28s. lid. per ton; and firewood from 3s. to (is. per 100 bundles. In drugs and dressings. the. tremendous advance can be gathered from the following few items:—Acid accto salicyl Is. SJu. to 455. per lb., acetone Gd. to £s., ammon. broin. 2s. to Bs., atropine sulph. lis. 3d. to 83s. por oz., cocaine 4s. •lid. to 15s. per oz., dextrose 2s. lid. to 9s. per lb„ saccharum 17s. (id. to 51s. per cwt., sodii salicylas Is. 2Jd. to 20s. per lb., theobrom. sodii sal. 12s. to 80s., so<iu bromid. Is. lOd. to 75., phenacetin 3s. to 585., saccharin 19s. Cd. to 655., zinc osid. 295. 6d'. to 90s. per cwt. In glass waro, generally speaking, thero has been an increase in prices of 100 per cent. Instructions have been received by Mr. John H. Pagni, Auckland, consular agent for Italy, that the Italian military laws prohibit the enlistment for service in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force of unnaturalieed Italians resident in the Dominion. Such Italians are liable to be recalled for service in the Italian Army.

Registration cards received at the eleon Defence Office show that quite a numbeV of recruits have seen, service in somo of the' well-known Imperial regiments. Occasionally, however, _ a recruit lays claim to something more distinguishin,;. Last week, for instance, the ing officer turned up a registration card showing that a would-be soldier, 56 years of age,- had served two years in, tlio German Navy.

"A custom that is becoming common in Arfterica, and one which we might profitably' follow in New Zealand,' said Mr. W. B. Leyland to an Auckland reporter, "Is the 'spring-cleaning" of cities, as well as houses." Mr. Leyland said that when he arrived in Vancouver he saw the following notice posted in street cars and in all public places: —"Clean up, paint up, plant flowers; make your city beautiful, a joy to yourselves and to the strangers within your,gates. Although Vancouver was suffering from severe commercial dcpressioiCat that time, ho was surprised to sec, two months later, on his return visit to the city, the results, of the spring-cleaning, painting, and flower-planting. Many other American cities visited by Mr. Leyland had also been "spring-cleaned," and he concluded by saying, that after what he had seen he was convinced that wonderful results could be achieved. The extra effort once a year to make tho city beautiful was not too much to ask of tho residents of any centre.

At a meeting of the committee of the Christchurch Beautifying Association on Friday the competitive designs sent in foi- the improvement of Cathedral Square and the report thereon of the assessor (Mr. S. Hurst Senger) were considered, and it was decided to accept the recommendation of the assessor, and award the first prize of >625 to Messrs. Hart ReeceV of Christchurch. The' second prize of .£ls was awarded Mr. Roy Lovell Smith, of Christchurch. A.special prize of .£5 was awarded Mr. Leslie Coombs, of Dunedin, and another 'spocial prize for excellence of draughtsmanship was awarded Messrs. Salroond and Vanes. In all, seven competitive designs and one noncompetitive design were received, All the designs will be on view to the public at the Art Gallery on Monday. The a<r cepted design provides for ,a colonnaded shelter shaped like a D, the portiou fronting the Cathedral being slightly concave, and the western portion being Gemi-circular. At the northern and southern ends of the front portion are round buildings surmounted by domes: the one at the north end being devoted to a ladies' room and parcels office, and the one at the other end to office and inspector's room. The body ol the D is 'laid out in gßrden plots, tho existing trees being preseryed and seats being provided. It is suggetscd that the Godley statue should be removed to . a triangular island about the middle of the semi-circle on the western side.