LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2884, 23 September 1916, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL

' \ .— —« ; v The following ruling by the Director of Medical Services is promulgated in Orders:—"The rule is that soldiers are to bo treated in public hospitals. If emergencies arise necessitating the calling iu of a doctor, then the .medicines prescribed are paid for ! by the Department, but an authority must be attached to the vouchor before payment can bo authorised." When forwarding claims to District' Headquarters, applicants should note that the prescript tions of the medical officer must, in all cases, be attached to the voucher. Tho out-patients' department of tho Hospital will bo closed on Monday (Dominion Day). Urgent cases, howover, will he treated at tho Hospital. The disbandment of four additional rifle- clubs has beon approved. Tho clubs concerned are tho'To Kapu, I'on<jaron, Marinm, and Minaknra Defence Jliflo Clubs. The services of tho Remuera ■ liillo Club (Auckland) have been accepted. Tho disbanded clubs'are in the Wellington district, where- the enlistments for tho Expeditionary Forces seem to have hit the rifle clubs hard, .

The enumerator for the Wellington Census District is Mr. N. E. M'lsaac, a momber of the staff at tho Chief Post Office The district covers the Mutt and Makara Counties, with the interior boroughs, and it lias been divided into thirty-one sub-districts. The distribution of tho schedules in the City area will bo commenced on Monday, October 9, and tho sub-enumerators, who are mostly members of the postal service, will complete their work by Saturday, October 1-1, tho day before the census date. Definite rules have been adopted regarding the pay of New Zealand soldiers • lield as prisoners of war. Whilo a man is a prisoner his pay must, of course, accumulate. If lie rejoins his unit it is not given to him until it has been decided whether a Court of Inquiry shall be held. If an inquiry is Held, and the judgment is that the man .was captured through liis own neglect or misconduct,, tho man will draw none of nis unissued pay. If the Court finds him guiltless, ho gets his back pay. Allotments of pay; will be paid until the man is found by tho Court to have been captured oy his own neglect or misconduct. Separation allowances will bo paid until the man is discharged from the Expeditionary Fores, whatever the decision of' tho Court.. ... . Recently the British Council of tho Y.M.C.A. decided that in view; of tho magnitude of the association's war activities a man should bo chosen to tour the world with' the special commission of co-ordinating and organising the associations in tiio various countries, so as to produce the highest possible • efficiency in connection with the Y.M.C.A. war activities. Mr.' Virgo, national field secretary of the British Y.M.C.A. National Council, was the mail chosen lor the unique- task. Mr. Virgo arrives in Auckland on Sunday, and will tour tho Dominion during the next fortnight, and will deliver a series of lectures in the various centres. In tho Magistrate's Court at Christchurch yesterday (says a Press Association telegram), James Boyne was fined £20 and costs for selling milk containing JKS per cent.' of' water. . Housewives who may have been cherishing a hope that the price of butter would fall will not be encouraged by the news that the Commonwealth Government has fixed the price of butter for the Australian cities at Is. 4d. per pound wholesale, and. Is. 6d. per pound retail The' Federal authorities'-made an effort to check the rise'in the: price of dairv produce, but it appears that they have been unable to keep the rates down' to pre-war levels.-' 'Butter'has been scarcer .in Australia than-in New Zealand, according to .recent reports, and the producers protest that even at Is.. 4d. per pound they-are- receiving less, than market-value.,- ............... ■ : On Thursday evening'the'Trades rand Labour Council discussed ..the matter of delay in securing awards' from'the Court of Arbitration, and'the secretary . was instructed to ;apply, for a more prompt delivery of new. decisions. During the last-thirteen years,-says our Napier..correspondent,, the amount of levies from local bodies in Hawk'o's Bay towards the Hospital Board have increased by-about 1200 per cent. .In 1893 the levy on the County Council alone-was about £500.' Now it is over £6000.- .;.'-. • The following extract -from Imperial Army Orders is reprinted in New Zealand General Orders:—"His Majesty the King has been graciously pleased to approve of the colour of the riband suspending the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal, which heretofore has been crimson, being altered.to crimson with white edges. The new riband will be taken into wear by all officers, warrant officers, non-commissioned officers, and men who are in possession of the medals and are now serving." ''A--question has raised tralia "as' to whether ' shearers"'and slaughtermen coming to New Zealand will bring themselves under the compulsory clauses of the Military Service Act. 'A communication has been received from the £Tow. Zealand Government agent in Sydney (Mr. W. R. Blow) in reference to the matter, and a reply has been sent to him that ho defi'uite time is fixed the Military. Service, Act during which people ' may remain in Now Zealand before becoming liable for service. The test is residence in the Dominion, and mere casual presence in New Zealand for a temporary. and special purpose is not residence within the meaning of tho Act. Visitors to New Zealand, therefore, do not become subject to military service unless the circumstances are .such as to show an intention to remain in tho country permanentlv or for an indefinite period, lhis: information has been communicated bv Mr. Blow to' the "Worker" Labour "paper, published in Sydney, in order that shearers and. slaughtermen; coming to the Dominion for the com--in? season may bo assured that they will not, by doing, so, come under tho Military Service Act. It is honed, savs the Hon. G. W. Russell (Minister of'lnternal Affairs) -that this information will lead to the usual influx of shearers and slaughtermen; whoso services aro so necessary each season to keep up the pastoral and -meat-freez-ing industries of. the country.;' At Thursday evening's meeting of the Trades and Labour Counoil, the State Labour Department was severely criticised for alleged go-slow methods respecting complaints by unions of breaches of award. Members ,of the council stated that they knew of case upon case in which complaints had been hung up indefinitely, and they,, said that it seemed to.thorn that the Department was more concerned for the welfare of the employers than for the welfare of the employees. The council instructed its secreted to collate a I the facts relevant to this subject with 'a view to,action being taken. K. lecture was delivered to officers of the garrison of Wellington last night -oq ouai Joogjo uu 'uuuraoig .lotujy; A'q fore he came to New Zealand saw service with the British ."contemptible little Army" in tho earlier stages of the war. His subject was the main r tenance of communications, in modern warfare.. Major Sleoman explained 'briefly why some of the older methods of "Morse signalling with flags and lamps wore impossible. , Nowadays, the tclophono was the universal means of communication 1 between battalion and brigade, and between brigade and division. He explained, also, methods of keeping up communication when the telephone"failed or was not suitable. Wireless, he said, was used scarcely at all. • It was not suitable except at long distances, and was generally less reliable and less easily, manipulated than telegraph or telephone by wire) It was used, however, by aeroplanes, which carried a trailing aerial. They could not receive .messages, although they could send back messages to their own headquarters. Major Sleeman detailed many of the improvements made as the need for them arose in the means adopted for protecting and keep-: ing up of telephonic communication even m places where wires were liable to be broken by enemy fire. He also had somo interesting and amusing episodes tor elate regarding spies, who dared a groat deal to intercept messages. ' . Tho Chevrolet Motor Company. ; is tho first to 6iipplv a complete motor-car, with full equipment, for' a price within reach of tho man or woman of modorato means, and thoy deserve the wellearned popularity they havo attained throughout tho world, and especially in this country. The largo production, about 200,000 annually, enables this magnificent, and complete automobile to bo sold in any colour'and finish at a price from J1255. For further particulars, write or ring up ' THE • DOMINIONMOTOR VEHICLES, LIMITED,-' G5 Courtenay Place, Wellington,—Advt, ■

At the Supreme.Court at 10 o'clock •! this morning, Mr. Justice" Chapman will pass sentence on John Alfred Shirley, who pleaded guilty in the Magis- , trate's Court on Wednesday to the ; theft of petrol from Mr. J. E. Fitzgerald's garage, also on Alfred James Taylor,"who on the same day pleaded guilty to the theft of llcwt- of scrap copper'wire from the Post and Telegraph Stores. . Tho arrival in Canada of' a collection of 8000 samples of Austrian and Ger- j man products, forwarded-by the British Board of Trade,, was announced this' week in a cablegram published from Washington. The message added that the Board-of Trade was making several such collections to he sent to the Dominions, in order to form a world-wide trade combination -against Germany;' On being referred to in Auckland the British Trade Commissioner in New Zealand, Mr. 11. W. Dalton, said tho cablegram seemed to him to be somewhat misleading. The position was thai when tho war started the Board- of Trade commenced collecting eneniv-ftiado articles, gathering ■• from 8000' to 10,000. These were placed on exhibition in London, and subsequently in all the industrial centres in Britain. It was, he thought, this collection which had now been sent to Canada. The exhibition showed tho nature ol! the ■ articles' which Germany and Aus-. tria had been producing and delivering, and their prices. In Britain a. point had been made of gotting .the ■ working people to inspect the exhibit. They had never previously understood - what the enemy countries had been..', doing,' nor bow much the co-operation of the workers with the masters was necessary to'their own well-being and that'of their country. ;..-...: In'tho course of a letter to the secretary'of the Auckland Orphans' Club,Sir Charles'P:'.Lucas,'who visited' New Zealand a few years ago in the capa- ' city as one of tho Commissioners on behalf of the .'.British Government, says:—"The ''Orphan's are (indeed-doing their duly In sending so many of the cliib to fight for the Empire. I fear the New Zealanders have lost many of their number, as we have all lost, but their work will never be forgotten as long as there is a British' Empire! an d the cause is steadily going , wards ultimate success. 'The overseas' '- soldiers aro now,: I .think, as much at home in London as the ' Londoners ■■ themselves, . and it will seem ''quite strange, when :: peace comes, not to' meet,them in the : streets. I passed a '■■ very fine New Zealand hospital atWal-- ' ton-on-Tliames the other-day, and the convalescents were-much'in'evidence.'' The..New, .Zealand .War Contingent Association .has decided .'to. publish a fortnightly'..paper, under the IJtle'.of " ' 'The Chronicles. of the New. Zealand ' : Force."' ' '..Writing to '• the Mayor Auckland, . Mr. : .Clutha-..." N. Mackenzie,.the editor of the'paper,' states .'.that the.primary'object'of the- ' publication is to keep the people/in • New Zealand in closer touch with all that. is going on' iff" connection with 'the New Zealand troops in England, their progress'while in-hospital; news in regard to admissions and discharges, social.and personal items, and.generally as fax as possible to report all" that is haprjening concerning hospitals, clubs, canteens, and. hostels. The various, works of .the''association will also'be reported upon, and New Zealanders will see in what direct-ions contributions aTe- ' being expended. Literary articles from '" the troops will complete the pages, and Mr. Mackenzie claims_ that the paner should prove a very jolly one; • • The paper is to .be. sold as nearly..as-pos-sible" at cost price, namely;'sixpence, but if there is any .return it is suggested that if should go to a fund for the benefit of returned soldiers. The date of publication is to be so arranged that the.-papers. wjll just catclv : the outwardbound American, mails, so; that hospital 'reports .will reach New'^'Zealand■ as quickly as possible. .^.Vr"'.'.-". ".jC/ ■ Yesterday-: mprning.-the' Mayor, madea. stafement.to tie." Press,, giving., par-... ticulars'c-'f -, the. City;,'Fjigineer!s : 'scheme.' forjinkingupthe City .with Wellington Terrace .by. means-' of an inclined lift. Mr. Luke said that a big. viaduct will be constructed leading from the top of the plantation (known ae. Jacob's. Ladder) to tho junction-'of Boufcott and . Church .Street's—at a point, where Seddon House now stands. The pillars, braces, and horizontal members of this viaduct will be of reinforced concrete, .'. designed to give great strength and'.utility, and also by. reason of the concrete covering, to reduce to a minimum charge upkeep on l accoujit of weather effects on the superstructure. Practically the viaduct will be one for all ■ time.. In design it will not bo an eyesore,- but in conformity with the surroundings, since modern engineering skill ensures that such structures are. by no means unsightly. Tho length of the viaduct will be five .chains and the .height attained about 150 ft. ( The gradient will-be one;in 2.36, or practically 100 per cent, greater than the gradient of the Kelburn tram, which fs 0n0.in.,5. .The. viaduct/will carry two lines of rails,' so tbat-two cars may boused. These will be;co-ordinated so that the .down car will assist jn hauling the up ear, thus, 'reducing to a.great extent the power required for the opera-,. tion of the; system,, and providing.a continuous service. Electric . power from the tramway cowerrhouse .will be provided for the. winding gear, which will be controlled by one man at. the., head of the line. At the base terminal. ; will bS a waiting shed and a small booking office. ..'-. .The Riverina from Sydney ' should, arrive hero early on Monday morning, ■ and will leave on Tuesday at-5 p.m., arriving in Lyttelton early on Wednesday morning, connecting with the first express for the south..