LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2939, 27 November 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

the Postal authorities advise that the s.s. Niagara, which sailed from bydnoy at_3 p.m. on Thursday for Auckland is carrying Australian mails only, the Wellington portion of which is due by tho Main Trunk train tomorrow The s.s. Wanaka, which sailed from Sydney at noon on Tnes-. day for Auckland, is carrying Australian mails only, the Wellington portion of which is also due by the Main Irunk train to-morrow. "I think a strong protest should be made against the rum ration given to our boys in the camp. After a recent parade a rum ration was served out to the men, and my boy was tho only ono of all to refuse it, and he was roundly laughed at by the othors. We give our boys to the Empire, hut I object to my boy being damned by the Government."—Rev. F. Rule, of Christ-church, at the Presbyterian General Assembly on Saturday. Yesterday morning an ordination service was held in the Sacred Heart Basilica, Thorndon, when the Revs. Minogue, Cullen, and M'Laughlin, students of Holy Cross College, Mosgiel, were raised to the priesthood. The ordaining nrelate was His Grace Archbishop Redwood, and he was assisted by Archdeacon T)evoy and Rev. Father M'Manus, while' the 'Bev. Father Hurley was Master of Ceremonies. The new priests will be attached to the archdiocese of Wellington. Early on Saturday evening a motorcar which was being driven along Constable Street side-slipped when avoiding a tramcar, and overturned completely at the side of the road. The ..occupants, a man and two boys, were under the car, but they escaped serious injury. The man received some slight cuts and the lads were bruised and shaken. Tho second instalment of the war bonus was paid to many of the Civil Servants last week. In this connection one low-salaried officer appears to have been harshly treated. He recently enlisted, and .was accepted for service. He will enter camp next month, and has given notice of his resignation accordingly. When the war bonus was distributed' last week he received only one-third of the full amount, and was informed that he could not receive the rest, since ho was about to leave the service. - The bonus, it was explained, covored a period_ extending beyond the date fixed for his leaving the service. If the man had said nothing about his enlistment he would have received his full bonus last week, and could then have resigned when he pleased. But as things stand his enlistment has involved him in some loss. Many people find a 2s. grade tea the most suitable for everyday use, and those who do so are advised to test tho superior quality offered in the 2s. grade of Desert Gold Tea. No other brand orfers such splendid value and delicious flavour at tho price. Other popular Desert Gold prices aro Is. 10d., Is. !td., and Is. Bd.—Advt. Merchants report brisk- demand for No Rubbing Laundry Help in Is. cartons Tor washing clothes clean without rubbing or injury. New Tlen.land women are delighted with it.—Advt.

The Pacifio Cable notify that owing to the large influx of international traffic, the acceptance of cablegrams for tho week-end service to Great Britain has been suspended. Messages to Canada or United States, and E.F.M. telegrams, are not affected. The Salvation Army Band played in the Hospital grounds yesterday. A collection taken up in aid of the institution realised £3. "We don't want to erect memorials and regard them as the only result achieved after the war," said the Rev. G. Castle at the Church of England Men's Society meeting at Palmerston North. "Our aim should be to make a better Dominion, a better nation, and a better civilisation. This is what our men have gone to fight for, and we should see to it that we secure these cohditions in our own country." The neglect , of many'-'MiloiS parents to register the births of their children has proved a source of considerate inconvenience to several Maori soldiers in arranging for tho separation allowances to which their wives are entitled in respect of their offspring. One condition of the granting of the children's allowance is the production of birth certificates, but in many cases these cannot be produced, owing to the fact that the law in regard to registration has not been complied with. The law provides that unless children born since 1913 are registered within the prescribed period they cannot subsequently be registered. The matter was brought before the Minister of Dei fence at Mercer last week by a depu- | tation of Rotorua Natives. The Hon. | A. T. Ngata suggested that the certificate of a Judge or official of the Native Land Court should bo accepted in lieu of the birth certificate. Mr. Allen said that probably this suggestion would meet the difficulty. AH that was desired, he said, was proof that the cases were bona fide. The fervent patriotism, of the Arawa Maoris, whose headquarters are at Rotorua, has long been a household word (say tho Auckland "Herald"). During the present war they have responded so freely to the great call of the Empire that the tribe is now just about depleted of its eligible young men. Tho spirit of the tribe still strongly aniamtes the breasts of the old men of the tribe. One of their rangatiras, Mita Taupupok, a greyheaded holder of the New Zealand war medal, approached the Minister of Defence at Mercer on Friday, with a request to be sent to tho war. He was reminded that' he was not now so young as when he shouldered his musketunder tho banner of tho "Great White Queen" over half a century ago. His answer was ready: If he could no longer fight he could "look after the prisoners." If Mr. Allen was unable to tajfo the chief at his word he at least was able to appreciate the motive of his offer, and he warmly congratulated the old warrior on his patriotic sentiments. "Where would we have been were it not for the Presbyterian Church ?" said Mr. Taylor (a Clinton elder) at the Presbyterian General Assembly on Saturday. "It was the Presbyterian Church that settled tho country in the South, and would any of you—l refer more particularly to the elders—be so well off wero it not for the Church, which was based upon the teachings in the Shorter Catechism? That catechism had taught them all te think all round a question before answering. Ask an Englishman a question, and he ■will give you an answer off-hand, but ask a Scotchman a question, and he will first want to know why you asked the question." (Laughter:) A poll _of ratepayers in the hydroelectric within the Featherston County, on the proposal to raise a loan _of £12,000 for tho construction and installation of a hydro-electrio system, resulted—For, 51; against, 1. The aluiuni and graduates of the Glasgow University are invited to attend a meeting of the Glasgow University Club, to be held at Godber's Rooms, Cuba Street, at 5.15 o'clock this evening. |