LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2869, 6 September 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Postal authorities advise that the s.s. Moeraki, which sailed from Wellington on. August 31, . carrying Australian and United Kingdom mails, via Suez, arrived in Sydney on Monday morning.

The British Trade Commissioner (Mr. R. W. Dal ton) intends to start upon an official tour of the Dominion at the end ,of next week. He will leave in l the first instance for Auckland, and afterwards travel south, devoting! a month or six weeks to each island.

Reporting from Samoa, under date September 4, Colonel Logan gives the following particulars concerning the' health of the garrison:—Sorgoant Butler, convalescent; Corporal Gramcs, suffering from tonsilitis: Private Knox, carbuncle; Private Reid, carbuncle.

Referring yesterday to''tho. question of future Ilcinforcemcnt drafts, the Minister of Defence remarked that at the present time there aro _ probably enough men of the iirst division in tho country to keep up our Reinforcements for tho next seven or, eight months. Ho emphasised that those who want to see New Zealand fulfil her obligations, aad those who want to escape compulsion and witness the triumph of the voluntary system in tho Dominion, must use every effort in their power towards getting all our Reinforcement drafts filled up. "The Recruiting Committees," said Mr. Allen, "have done very good work in tho past, and if they keep going and aro joined by other workers, I have no doubt of success in getting men without applying compulsion. There are plenty of men to come and there should not be any difficulty in securing enough men for tho next few months. Recruiting ■ committees are just in the stage now that the Army is at the present time. They havo got a grip of things and must keep going. The same remark applies to New Zoaland, as elsowhere. If the numbers aro kept up tliero is no doubt about the finish."—Press Association.

At a meeting of the Savage Club Committee, held 1 last evening, it was resolved that'the'profits from the "ladies' night," to be hold at the Town Hall on Saturday, September 30, be divided equally between tlio Soldiers' Christmas Gifts Fund and the War Relief Association's Fund.

Tho Wellington Rugby Union has decided to assist in tho sports bodies' effort to raiso .Christmas cift funds for the troops. It is the idea of the union to nut on a veterans' match, and it is considered that if such noted players of other years as V. Wallace. F. Roberts, and others, can be induced to play, the event; will result in a handsome swelling of tho fund.

Councillor A. li. Budd intends to move at Thursday's meeting of tho Onslow Borough Council'".That tho City Council and Railway Department be written to drawing their attention to tho bad stato of tne approaches to Lambton and Thorndon Stations, and especially of the crossings at Davis, and Bunny • Streets, during wet weather, and urging that some improvement be effected SO that travellers by train may reach the city in comfort." Councillor _J. G. Smith mil roovo: —"That this council appoint a epeoial committee to approach the Wellington City Tramway antnorltios, with a view to arranging for improved tramway facilities to and from tlio Tliorndon Station." •

A paragraph iu tho report, published yesterday, of the meeting of tho War Relief Association, stated that tho expenditure amounted to £100 per month. 'I'lie figures quoted should havo read £1000 per month.

. There was a curiously interesting and entirely accidental meeting of four "old boys" of Cheltenham College, England, in tho Town Hall Recruiting Offico tho other day. The four gentlemen in'point were: Capt. W. M. do R. Barclay, Dr'. H. A. De Lautonr, and Messrs. H.'B. Bridge (of Wellington), and F. Fulton (of Dnnediii), whose aggregate ago reached the respectable total of 278 years. Messrs. Bridgo, De Lautour, and Fulton wero at Cheltenham in the very early 'sixties, but Captain Barclay was there years before' that, in Dr. Dobson's time. Ho loft tho College for Sandhurst in 1857, and obtained his commission in the Army at that institution as long ago as 18-59.

"lii; the carpenters' shop wo found a fair number of students, one of whom was a lady," stated a report presented to the Technical Education Board by a visiting committee last night. "She could handle tho tools all right, though being left-handed seemed to be somo disadvantage. Tho lady is not a builder's apprentice." "I would say that no man, unless ho could pass some definite examination, should be allowed to practice as a builder," said Mr. W. H. Bennett at last night's meeting of the Wellington Technical Education Board. "At present anyone who can push a saw or drive a nail can pose as a tradesman. . . . It is _ the system that makes (lie master-builder one of tlie worst remunerated members of tho community, taking into consideration the amount of brain nower and labour ho has to put; into his work." Tho'Minister of Railways (the Hon. W. H. Berries), in company- with the member for the district (Mr. R. A. Wright), visited Plimmerton to inquire into requests made from tho districtfor a loading bank and a road deviation at tho railway station. Thoy wero met by Mr. Galloway, menibeh of the Hutt County Council. The Minister said that he believed provision had been made for the construction of the loading bank, and that the work had been authorised. Also, lie believed that the Department' bad purchased the land for the shortening of the road to the station. He promised to give Ihe matters attention. Two tourists, Messrs. F. Vosseler and Sergt. Flanagan, of Wellington, crossed from Grey town to Otaki, via Mount Hector, on August 31, save our Greytown correspondent Tho trip was made in excellent time, notwithstanding the Inrge ciuantity of snow on the mountains. Thoy report an excellent trip. I

Honourable citizens! You are hereby notified that all reputable grocers stock "No Itubbing Laundry Help," for washing clothes clean inthoiit rubbing or ininry.—Advt.

The socond annual meeting of the General Council of Education commences at 10 a.m. to-day, in tho Parliamentary Library Building.' The council is an advisory body consisting of 17 members representative of every phase_ of educational work and administration, and makes > recommendations to tho Government upon methods and developments in national education which it is desirable to introduce into New Zealand, upon matters concerning_ the provision of facilities for education and upon tho co-ordination of the work carried oil by tile various bodies controlling education. Among tho subjects to be discussed specially at this meeting are: Agricultural education, the differentiation between the education of girls and hoys, medical inspection, tho establishment of certain district high schools, the co-or-dination of examinations with the vietv of avoiding unnecessary duplication #»nd securing economy, the constitution of oducation boards, and secondary school certificates.

It is understood that the trial of the Natives who wero arrested in company with Rua, at Maungapohatu, will be proceeded wtili tbis session of tbe Auckland Supreme. Court, and that it will probably commence,this week (says an Auckland paper). When asked if thero would bo as many witnesses for the defence in tbeso charges as there were in the Rua trial, Mr., J. R. Lundon (counsel for the defence) stated that' he thought there would be moro witnessos this time, as the tribe was at I present in tho throes of a tangi, 'and tho.v might oonsider it fitting to conclude the ceremony with a tribal excursion to Auckland on such excuse as the Supreme Court case would offer.

Some interesting items , from a statement of expenditure under the head of war expenses account were supplied by the Hon. James Allen, Minister of Defence, in Auckland. The figures given show the expenditure for tho quarter ended June 30, 1916j and are as follow Kxpenses of camps and expenditure on recruiting, £26,500; purohase of equipment, including boots, clothing, wagons, carts, etc., £251,000; forage, £29,000; hospital ship Maheno, £11,300; hospital ship £32,800; medical, including fees, equipment for hospitals, field hospitals and ambulances, , surgical instruments, comforts, etc., £40,700; pay to troops and allotments, £238,350; rations, £92,003; transport of troops, including charter of steamers, meals, and fares of men, freight, etc., £251,000; expenditure under Section 6 of tho Public Revenues Amendment Act, 1915. comforts for wounded soldiers and the relief of distress in Belgium, £29,400. -These figures are approximate. A statement of war expenses from the beginning of the war to March 31 last, presented to tho House by Mr. Allen a month at?o, rovealed a.total expenditure of £8,015,315. 1

Probably one of the most cheerful men aboard the steamer Arawa, <vhicli arrived with ' returned soldiers this Week, was Sergeant "W. Woods, who was Minded in both oyes by a bullet in an engagement at Gallipoli about May 10; 1916. Sergeant Woods enlisted at the outbreak of the war with the 10th, North Otago', tnfantry, and proceeded to the front with the Main Body. His spirit wa« undaunted by the terriblo injury h0;T0ceived. He proceeded to Great Britain and entered the home for blinded soldiors at St. Dunstan's, Regents Park, which is under the management of Sir Arthur Pearson. Sergeant Woods hero became an expert masseur, and now holds tho certificate Of the Incorporated Society of Trained Masseurs, tho highest distinction obtainable in tho profession. He later /spent six months in tho Middlesex Hospital and is now a thorough qualified masseur. "Woodaoy," as lio is affectionately called by his returned comrades, won the hearts of all oh board by his cheerful spirits, and his work as a masseur was sp'ocially commended by Dr. Marshall Macdonald, tho medical officer in charge. Throughout tho voyago ho had : twelve patients, who aro now well on the' road back to health as a result of his ministrations. Sergeant Woods is escorted by his sister, who has been employed at Home as a nurso among the wounded. In her capacity as escort to her blind brother she bolds tbo official rank of sergeaut. A recent big rally in Dunedin in con« nection with the patriotic bottlo-gath-oringi scheme by school children was tremendously successful. Those controlling affairs at the depots arc quits unable 'to tell yet tha oxaefc number gathered; they were simply inundated with bottles, bottles,. bottles. The children entered into tha thing with great-enthusiasm, and in the middle of the afternoon 8.0.5. signals wore sent out by several schools for lorries to clear away tho accumulated bottles. Kaikorai, to name one, had at 4 o'clock 7000 waiting to bo moved,! whilo Christian Brothers' tally was soma' 5000. Port Chalmers School has notified that their contribution to the scheme is 17,000 bottles. At tho depot is a collection of curios really worth viewing. Prominent amongst| it is a huge green bottle with, a holding capacity of .12 gallons, and this is surmounted by a thin little phial, with a Din-head stopper, that would not' hold nearly so many drops. Another most interesting exhibit is a large glass retort and a receiver. ■ These hare a Jtist-ory. for they were imported in the early days by a I syndicatc for tho purpose, of testing the ground at Harbour Cono, which was' considered to be gold-benrilig.

Mr. F. Mcadowcroft (chairman) presided at a meeting of tho Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, held at the Central Chamber of Commerce last evening. It was announced that, since last meeting the following donations had heen given Mr. A. M. Johnston, £1 Is.; Mr. V. Jensen, 10s. fit],; Rov. J. R-. Oilasson, E!. A. Holmes, Mrs. M. Eiclielbaum; Mrs. J. Duncan, ss. each; Mrs. Dumhell, 2s. fid.; "A Friend," 6d.; total. £2 14s. fid. Tho reason for the smallness of the amount was accounted for by the illness of tho collector. Tho bank balance was reported as £7 !)s.