LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3004, 15 February 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The enlistment of men under or over military age is to be discouraged even nioro firmly than in the past. Group officers have been directed to initiate proceedings against any men who mako a false declaration regarding their age. The men aro liable also for obtaining money under false pretences, in the form of a day's pay, if they succeed in attesting as a result of their falso declarations. The military authorities aro strongly of opiiiion that tho enlistment of men under twenty yoars of ago is undesirable. Generally speaking, the lads have not tho stamina to face tho conditions of modern warfare. The plight of the Wellington Technical Collogo, in respect to accommodation, referred to last year as a scandal, has been accentuated instead of abated since. The school opened its doors to day scholars oil Monday, and such was tho rush for enrolment, according to Mr. La Trobe, that the school register now.contains 40 more names than it did at any timo during tho past year. It has not been deemed advisable to refuse scholars at a tune when searchers after technical knowledge should bo encouraged, but a very gravo problem faces tlio board iu having to accommodatethem somehow or other. Tho strongest appeals have been made to tho Government about tho matter, hut so far nothing has been done.

Tho Wairarapa Presbytery has, says; our Mastcrton correspondent, appointed a hfd.v to carry on the work of homo missionary, at Ekotahuna. This is said to he tho first appointment of. tho kind made in Now Zealand.

Very little sickness exists in the the training camps at tho present timo. No epidemics havo secured a footing among recent drafts, and very few serious caseti of illness have been reported among the men in training during the List few weeks.

According to the "Otago Daily Times,", subscribers .to telephone exchanges havo lately toon surprised at receipt of charges, ou tho weekly dockets served upon them ill respect of bureau fees for telephone connections for which they asked but did not obtain. Until lately it was tho custom of tho Department to cliargo no feu in a case whore a subscriber asked for communication through a sub-exchange, hut failed to receive an answer. A recent Departmental regulation, however, requires that tho fee shall bo collected in evory caso whore connection is made with a distant exchange, whether nu answer ia obtained or not. Tiio reason assigned by tho officials for the now departure is that tho samo amount of tho time of tho exchange operators is occupied in civins attention to a connection that proves abortive ns with ono that is effective, and that tho Dopartmont is therefore entitled to be paid for the sorvico. ,

lii tlio Supreme Court to-day, His Honour J] r.. Justice Chapman will hoar a short, divorce case, sentence three prisoners and preside over the retrial ol' Ohiirles Henderson on :i charge (.r assault. Kxoe.llpnt progress is being made will) Uiu leclauiauou work nt, llio held ol J'lVajis Bay, where. at a rainimniti cost i.lie. corporation is building up some line hrond acres lor recreative purposes in the future. Tho latest lielj) that isheing given this work is the depositing in Mic shallow waters of the hay of the spoil from the- site of tho new firo hriRjiiio station at. the top of Constablo Street , . At the present rale of progress it should not ho long before tho seaward alignment of Kiihiruin Park is extended to the South Kilbirnie side of tho .Park area. The blackberry season is now in full swing in the Upper Hiitt, Akataniwa, and Kaitokc districts. Last Saturday and. Sunday tlio roads were, lined with motor-cars, traps, brakes, and otlier veliieles, while their passengers risked tho thorns of tho brambles in their finest of tho berries. 311 sorts of implements are used to bring the higher branches within roach. Tho most favoured appliance appears to be a long stout polo with a largo nail driven through its upper end. This nail can bo hooked on to the brauclics, which aro then easily pulled dawn.

Regarding Hbo letter of "W.F.C." hi Monday's Dominion', referring to the Molesworth obelisk in the. Basin lieservo (which the writer states is another monument altogether), it can only bo said that what appeared originally was taken from the uiiuules of the Wellington' City Council, which should ho a fairly accurate guide to the history of tho'object. Mention is mado in tho letter to somo of the "plates" being missing. There are no platos in the Molesworth obelisk, which consists of ii number of cast-iron pillars, supporting a cupola, or dome. Confusion may have arisen ia taking _ the obelisk and fountain as one object. Originally the obelisk was to have been erected at Pencarrow Head, at tho instance of Lady Molesworth, to tho memory of her husband, which purposo was abandoned on the Government deciding to erect a lighthouso at that point,. Tho subsequent act of placing a fountain in the centre of tho obelisk may havo been done as a memento to the late Colonel Wm. "Wakefield, who perished in the Wairau massacre in the carlv forties.

The "So Long, Letty" Musical Comedy Company have l>eeu experiencing "tiio slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" on tho East Coast. Tho company was to have gone on from Gisborne to Auckland last Saturday, hut as the "hold up" had interfered with tho running of tho boats, there was nothing doing, bo on tho Sunday they had to coiuo back to Napier. There they stood a, chance of being further hindered, but the employers gave the company permission to employ what la T hour was necessary to handle the .scenery and effects. Thisiwas done in wet weather under great difficulties, but m the end the outfit caught the express to Palmerston North, and went on to Auckland, well content to he out of the storm area. '•

The Public Works Department staff are holding a picnic at Day's Bay today, and all the officers of the Department that can possibly he spared from duty have been given leave to attend.

The Mastcrton County Council has, says our correspondent, no recommendation to mako in regard to the suggestion of tho Petoue Borough Council that tho pay of Dominion soldiers should ho increased. Thol Mauriceville County Council has treated tho suggestion similarly.

Sir Ernest Shackleton has intimated that tho Antarctic exploring ship Aurora, which has been through such strange and perilous experiences in unfrequented waters, will be thrown open for public inspection on Saturday and Sunday next. A small charge will bo made for admission, tho results of which will be forwarded to the widow of the late Captain Mackintosh, who disappeared, and was never seen again after venturing across some broken ice in M'Murdo Sound, on the Antarctic barrier.

The Army has an unsentimental way of announcing a marriage. The following notico is published in Orders: "With reference to the notico published in the New Zealand' Gazette No. 4, of January 11, 1917, 'appointment of officers for duty with the Now Zealand Expeditionary Force hospital ship Malicno, No. 3 charter, , for tho words 'A. M'Kcnzio' read 'Annie Draper, nee M'Kenzie. , "

In conversation in Christchurch the Hon. J. A. Hanan, who .knew tho lato Hon. Dr. 11. M'Nab lor many years, stated that his colleague's natural ieserye and modesty hid many generous actions. One of theso camo under Mr. Hanan's notico some years ago. In a country district, in Southland, he met a young blacksmith, who.was studying text' books of Latin grammar and mensuration. Mr. Hanan. was somewhat surprised to discover tho young fellow's occupation, and asked Jiiiu what aim ho had in view. . He replied that he intended to educate himself with a view to improving his position. Mr. Hanan told him that to reach his goal it would bo aiecessary for him to go through a university course, and that he had some high hurdles to surmount. Later, Mr. Hanan mentioned the incident to Dr. M'Nab, who expressed a wish to seo tho student. Finding him earnest and steady, ho arranged to pay his univorsity fees and to help him financially in other ways, in order that ho might pass his examinations. That action, Mr, Hanan said, was only one of many of the same kind to Dr. M'Nab's credit. The Canterbury Aviation Company lias received advico of tho shipment of tho first of the three aeroplanes ordered, and it is hoped that the other two will shortly follow. The company has also purchased a Bleriot machine exhibited in Cathedral Squaro recently. This will bo used for rolling only, as it is considered hardly suitable for a tuition machine. The erection of the sheds to accommodate the machines, also workshops and quarters for the pupils, will he commenced immediately. It is honed that_ the Flying School will be able to begin its operations within two months.

At a recent meeting of the Ougo Military Service- Board in a southern town, the chairman (Mr. Widdowson) took occasion to explain tho full r..oaning_ of "conditional exemption" from military service as applied to appeals from coal-miners. "It has been foiiiid," tho chairman remarked, "that it is a common practice among tho miners to work considerably short of full time, this custom being facilitated by tho high rates of pay now. current in the industry. Tho board desires to announce that in future any exemption from military service will be strictly conditional upon full time being regularly worked; and that any slackness or intermission in regular hours will be instantly followed by the cancellation of the exemption, the miner at fault being at onco called into camp. Tho object of tho exemption is to keep up the utmost plenitude of .supply, and unless this is loyally carried out tho performance of military service will be forthwith substituted for service in the mines."

Wrong thinking caused the war, and only right thinking can brills it i« an early finish, consequently Wellington grocers aro to bo commended for giving tho "Tliittkor" Note-book free, with every .Is. package of "No Bitching" Laundry Hnlp.—Advt. For Summer holidays you'll need a pair ot cricket trousers, Ss. (id., 10s. 6d., 15s. Gd., to 235. 6d. for sound quality, at Geo. Fowlds, Ltd., Manners Street— Advt,

Hy mail this week Mr. William | M'Bcnth, of Whanguroi, received word that his sou, .Private C. .M'Beath, had been awarded tho Military Medal for bravery i" tho field. An enclosure from the High Commissioner wns worded as follows: —"High Commissioner's Office, Strand, London, November 12, 1916.—Pear Sir, —I observe with pleasure that His Majesty tho King has awarded you the Military Medal for bravery in the field. Will you permit;, me to oiler you my heartiest congratu-' hitions on tho honour you have so well named? —I am, sir, yours faithfully, Thomas Mackenzie." Scant details of the action for which the decoration was conferred are contained in a private letter from Private 0. M'Beath to his father. Althougn. not making much mention of his own performance , ; tho writer states that out of their company only three men were left, consisting of tho Adjutant, Captain, ?nd Private M'Beath. They were- engaged in sniping, and had l to shelter in an old gun emplacement. They could not move from tho bivouac for three days. From this it may be gathered that the- three survivors were in great peril, and their bravery in hanging on was duly recognised by the higher command. Private M'Beath enlisted in Auckland, and left ivitji the Fourth Reinforcements. We are becoming used theso days to hearing of marvellous.feats accomplished 1 by airmen of tho Allied nations, and of some of the enemy's fliers, too: but an exehango tells of what would come as surprising news to many—tho accomplishments of a Chinese- airman, a young man of thirty, f3ie son of a rich Shanghai merchant, who is. flying soiuewhorn in France. It seems he went to Franco to learn flying before the war, and as soon as war was declared ho offered his services to the French Government and was sent to Arapnnc. Recently he was returning from a scouting expedition and was attacked by six German airmen, but, despite tho fact that tho canvas of his wings was holed like- lace, ho pot safely back. Since that experience, bo has been in several actions, aul has to his credit the bringing down cf two German machines.

Au Australian writer says tliat_ Australians should try as an experiment what tho Germans are enjoying of necessity. Berries from asparagus plants are being used as a. substitute for coffee. The berries are not gathered until they arc ripe and red. They are then well washed and dried, and left until quite hard. The report goes that the beverage brewed from the roasted and ground berry is really remarkably like coffee.

There is a very cordial exchange of seeds, shrubs, plants, and' trees between the Dunediu City gardens and thoso of Great Britain, Canada, and South Africa, says tie "Star." In exercise of this very pleasant spirit, which is common to true gardeners the world over, Mr. D. Tannock, superintendent of tho City Reserves, during a visit to Queenstawn, collected seeds or tho varieties of alpine plants, particu-' larly celinisio and the choicest kinds of s'enccio lyallii for distribution to tho botanical gardens at Kew, Edinburgh, Dublin, and Cambridge. Indeed, tho system of exchange obtains between Duuedih and all tho famous gardens of thow Old Country, Canada., South Africa, and sevoral foreign countries. Mr. Tannock says that New Zealand alpine plants are highly appreciated abroad, and prove hardy in many places where one would scarcely expect them to thrive. A recent number of the

"Gardeners' Chronicle" contains a glowing description and a fine illustration of a noble specimen of senecio laxifolius. Dunedin receives m exchanges trees, shrubs, and r/lants. Re,cently an interesting collection was received by Mr. Tannock from tho Canary Islands.

Tho Kyal Commission of Inquiry into the condition of the rolling etoek on the New Zealand Government Railways will sit at the Parliamentary Buildings on February 19, 20, and 21. An advertisement of interest to intend&l%| NiwaSu appears in this issue.

Tho silent flexibility of the Hudson Super Six is a thing to marvel at. This car is without' exception the most 6ilent car on the road. Corrfect balance and weight distribution, together with a coach-built body and an ideal springing system make the Hudson Super Six the eaeiest riding car on N.Z. roads. The Dominion Motor Vehicles hnvo the latest model on view at 65 Courtenay Place, and will bo pleased to demonstrate to you-if you will call, • 'phone, or write them.—Advt.