LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2958, 22 December 1916, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

His Excellency the Governor came up from Christchurch yesterday morning to meet the hospital ship Maheno, and paid a visit to that vessel soon after she berthed at the King's Wharf. He went south again last evening. •

The sum of £12.708.108 had been expended by New Zealand in connection with the war up', to October 31 last. In giving a statement on the subject yesterday tho Acting-Prime _ Minister stated tha.t the sum named did not include interest and sinking fund on war loans, nor war pensions, all of which items were paid out of the Consolidated Fund; nor did it include some adiuatments which tho New Zealand Government might yet have to make with the Imperial Government. These might amount to £2.000,000 or. more. Of the total of £12,708,108 the items representing expenditure for war pur■ooses total £12,637,633 7s. 10d., tho balance'comprisine £50,438 19s. 7d. for Belgian relief, £136 10s. for New Zoaland R*lief, and £20,000_ Appropriation Act, 1914.—Press Association.

By Ordor-in-Cbuncil gazetted the importation of the following American publications is prohibited:—"Atlanta American," "Atlanta Georgian," "Boston "Chicago American," "Chicago Examiner," , "Los Angeles Examiner," "Los Angeles Bferald," "Morgan Journal," "New York American," "New York Deutsches Journal," "New York Evening Journal," "San Franoisco Examiner," "San Francisco Sunday American," "Sunday Georgian," "Cosmopolitan Magazine," "Good Housekeeping Magazine, "Harper's Bazaar," "Hearst's Magazine," "Motor Magazine," "Motor Boating Magazine," "Ross's Magazine," "Bull" (illustrated newspaper).

Advice has been received by the Base Records Office from >»he Commonwealth Department of Defence that No. 5392 F. Frasei-j 11th Battalion, Australian Imperial Forces, was admitted on November 21 to the 3rd Australian General Hospital, suffering from trench feet. The recorded next-of-kin is Mr. Albert Fraser (brother), Now Zealand. The incompleteness of this address renders it impossible for the authorities to notify Mr. Fraser of his brother's disability, and anyone knowing the address of Mr. Albert Fraser is asked to communicate it to Base Records Office as early as possible.

Tho Pension Department announces that owing to December 23 falling on a Saturday this year, instalments of pension (old ago, widows', military, miners', and war) falling duo on January 1 nest may be paid on any date from Friday, December 22, to' Thursdayi February 1, both days inclusive. This instruction does not apply to Imperial ponsions.

The period of grace allowed the 63 balloted men who failed to present themselves for medical examination in Group 6" (Wellington City and Suburbs) expired yesterday. Thirty-nine of the men were still unaccounted for, and they will bo the subjects of further measures.

The Defence authorities announce that 135 recruits are required at onco for the Maori Reinforcements, which are in training in Narrow Neck Camp, Auckland. Further drafts of 90 men each will bo required infthe first week of January, February,. and March respectively, to complete the March, April, May, and June R-einforcements.

The sum of £2200 was cabled to London yesterday by the executive of tho Belgian Children's Christmas Fund. A further contribution of about £300 will bo sent by cablegram to-morrow. These two amounts make tho sum raised by the eastern suburbs by their fair at Kilbirino last week. Tho Hataitai Committee announce that £400 2s. 9d. was the sum collected by the workers of its district.

The export of the following chemicals is prohibited by Order-in-Council: — Custic soda, caustic potash, carbonate of soda (soda ash), bichromate of soda, silicate of soda; sodium sulphide, sodium sulphite, sodium nitrate (Chile saltpetre).

The importation of gas mantles of other than British manufacture is prohibited by Gazette notice.

A complaint about persons throwing broken bottles and tins on the Seatoun beach was received by the Miramar Borough Council last evening. It was decided to reply that the council will take action in Court if information is given against persons known to have committed this breach of tho borough's by-law.

A Tress Association telegram from Grcymouth says that an authentic report states that of the final mile of tho Otira tunnel four chains have been driven, and that if ample labour was available the tunnel could be completed in twelve _ months. With tho workers at hand it could bo completed in eighteen months, and trains running through in loss than two years.

A fire occurred at 3 a.m. yesterday in a furniture workshop occupied by Mr. "White, and_ situated at the rear of a shop occupied by Mr. J. Mooney, in .Tnckson Street, Petono. The fire was discovered by the nightwatchman, who aroused Mr. Mooney and then cave the alarm. Mr. Mooney organised a bucket brigade, which bad the fire nractienllv under before the arrival of the brigade. The damage dnno amounted to only about :C3 to the building, which is owned by Messrs. Short and Chapman, and about £5 to the stock',

Some interesting information relating to .New Zealand soldiers who have returned to tho Dominion from active service was given by the Acting-l'rimo Minister yesterday, says a Press Association telegram Irani Auckland. lie stated that up to the end of November last a total of /57U officers, nofl-'.'oni-missioncd officers, and men bad returned. Of these, LO9l had at the date named gono back to duty. The total discharged, or in the case of commissioned officers, only gazcted out to tho reserve, was (3080.

"There are men who have been called up for active service under the Act who have not yet presented themselves for medical examination before the Military Service Boards," said the Hon. James Allen at Auckland yesterday. "There may be some accidental reason, but I desire to 'mpress upon these men the necessity of coming up for medical examination. We do not want to exeroise compulsion on any man, but all must carry out their obligations under the law. They ought not to try and escape their duty. It should be a point of honour with them to present themselves in the appointed quarter when they are called up. Men, too, who have received instructions to mobilise—that is, to go into camp for training—ought to consider it an honour to go. I trust that no man will fail to present himself at duo date. Hero, again, we aro bound to carry out the law, and try and find the men who do not go into camp. I hope there will be no necessity to trace any, of these men, but that they will all come forward of their own free will." -

A significant report from Dr. Ferguson, Dean of the Medical Faculty, has been received by tho Otago University Council upon the results~of the medial intermediate examination. The report suggested that while there was apparently considerable uniformity in the term examination standards iu ohemistry (inorganic and organic), physics, and biology, the only inference that could be drawn from tho results of the intermediate examinations was that there was not the same uniformity of standard among the examiners of the New Zealand University. The report was received, and the Medical Faculty was asked to report on. tho. matter.

The date of holding a Hospital Conference to consider the question of the co-operative purchase of'hospital supplies has been fixed for Wednesday, January 10.

Some comments upon the German offer of peace terms were made by Mr. 0. J. Parr, M.P., in the courso of an address at the Central Mission Hall, Auckland. "I think," lie said, ''these terms constitute a clear admission of German failure. For two years the German people have teen assured by the Kaiser that a glorious peace and hugp indemnities could be obtained by Prussian arm's. And the . significant thing is that, after being told all this, the German people are eager for even such a peace as has been proposed. It is oasy to read between the lines. The big financial interests are .weary of finding money for a hopeless war, and the great masses of the people, particularly in Austria, are short of'food. These are the things that caused the peace offer."

The -Trained Nurses' Association wrote to the Wellington Hospital Board yesterday, expressing . surprise that when the ex-matron of the Wellington Hospital retired she was granted a sum of only £160. The association, suggested that a pension of not less than £100 a year might have been granted, and that it would be desirable to consider the establishment of a superannuation scheme for nurses. The communication was formally received.

Speaking at yesterday's meeting of the Wellington Hospital, Board, Dr. Valintine (Inspector-General of Hospitals) remarked that the suitability of Otaki as a place for a consumptive sanitarium had been impugned by Dr. Basil Adams, tho AVellingtou Hospital Board's expert on consumption. "Having knowledge; of other parts of the Dominion," said Dr. Valentino, "I say I don't know of any other part of the Dominion more suitable for consumptives. And I know the whole of the Dominion, whereas' others, who criticise, know only portion of it. lam sorry to have to mako these remarks in Dr. Adams's absence, especially as he is ill, but I consider them necessary because 'when I went to Otaki the other day the matron told me that since Dr. Adams made those remarks the demand for admission to the hospital had considerably fallen off.".

Asked for a statement as to tlie Harbour Board's position, with regard to the motor ambulance to be provided, Mr. C. B. Daniell (chairman) informed a Dominion reporter yesterday that the motor had been ordered long since, and was expected to come to hand in about sis weeks' time. The shed for its reception, was already erected at the foot of the Glasgow Wharf, and arrangements wero in hand to provide for the ambulance being handled at any time of the day.or night. Asked as to why tho board had not fallen in witH the City Council's central station idea, Mr. Daniell said that he, wished to do so, but the proposal put forward by the Mayor was not a business one—tho board was to provide tho motor-ambulance and provide £200 a year for its upkeep. As far as lie could seo, the city was only to provido a place to keep it in. That, he considered, was not a fair proposition. Mr. Daniell made it clear that the board's employees would have first claim upon the ambulance, but that would not prevent it being _ used in any emergency in case of accidents in the city adjacent to the waterfront.

Christmas greetings are acknowledged from Powell River Paper Co..(Canada}, Goldberg Advertising Co. (Wellington), Messrs. John Chambers and Son, Ltd. (Wellington), Cowan and Co.. Ltd. (Wellington), United Insurnnco Co., Ltd. (Wellington), Jno. Mill find Co. (Wellington), the. Telegraph Messengers (Wellington), the General Manager and staff of the head and branch offices of the. New Zealand Railwnvs, and Messrs. F. T. Wimble and Co., Ltd. (Sydney), ond are heartily reciprocated by this office.