LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3006, 17 February 1917, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The' increase in the price of bread to s}d. per two-pound loaf delivered in Wellington'will be'considered by the Board of Trade, but it does not appear that the action of the bakers contravenes the understanding implied l when the price of wheat and Sour were fixed. The two-pound loaf is still to' bo obtained over the counter lor od., and the extra, halfpenny probably does not cover the cost of delivery. Drivers' wages and horses' feed are more ex-' pensive than they used to be,-and Wellington happens to b? a particularly eexpensive town in which'to arrange for house-to-honse delivery.

Delegates from the coal-miners are to meet the representatives of _ tho Coa! Owners' Federation in Wellington on .Wednesday.next, to discuss the demand, of the; men for a .new agreement. conditions the men are asking for are statedjto involve, if granted, a heavy, addition to tho cost of ctial; The' men are seeking an increase of 17_i per cent, on the present rate of Mr miners working on tonnago rates who aro unable to earn the average of 14s. Id. per shift, and for alterations of existing conditions involving, _ acooriSng to the mine-owners, a reduction in output. .-Tho.'.miners proposo .also that there shall be a Dominion agreement in place of tho local agreements.

Three residents of Tinakori Eoad are to be prosecuted by the City Council on charges of having creaitedJ a danger to public health by allowing fly larvae to develop in manure stored upon their premises. It is an offence under the by-laws to permit the breeding and distribution of the bouse fly, with its unpleasant habits and noxious, germs. The prosecutions.will be tho first of the kind in this. city. '.

A deputation representing the City Council and other interested local bodies will wait upon the Minister of Public Works on Tuesday afternoon regarding che proposal for a hydro-electric scheme to-supply current-for Wellington. ' 'Tho'Minister of Public-Health (the Hoii. (Sr. W." Russell)' visited Welling-' ton Hospital yesterday afternoon to view the ground concerning which the board has been making certain proposals to the Department. The board is considering the possibility of erecting a diphtheria ward adjoining the infectious disease ward, and they have made application to the Government for the exchange of a piece of the] Hospital land for a piecc of the Mental Hospital block, on which they desire to build the proposed new ward.

War regulations are being gazetted by . the Government shortly to enable the Government to djjal with "go slow" tactics adopted by certain sections of the workers. The regulations will make any attempt at limitation of output an offence against the law and thus enable the State to deal with offenders. The Hon. Sir James Allen, Actmgl'rime Minister, referring tt) the newregulations, stated yesterday that it would be ruinous for New Zealand if any body of men was allowed to attempt to limit output. Not only would it be ruinous to New Zealand, but to the men themselves. It was useless for them to expect to improve wages by such methods, and the only way we were going to win the war was by maintaining the highest standard pf efficiency. Otherwise we might go down before the .more vigorous races. "In my opinion," said Sir James Allen, "the working man is more deeply interested in the question than anyone else. Iho only way he can maintain his superiority is by his efficiency." Mr. Cobbo intends to move at the next meeting of tho Harbour Boaid.--"That Parliament be asked to amend Sections 96 and 97 of the Harbours Act, 1908, in the direction of permitting harbour boards to increase harbour dues and other charges on ships owned or partly owned by persons who are or who have at any tune been natives of countries at war with treat Britain during tho years 1914 to 101' - An inquest concerning the death of Walter Whiterod, who died at the Hospital on Tuesday, was held yesterday morning by Mr. \A. &• Riddell, S.M. A verdict was returned that death was due to wounds'that deceased inflicted upon himself while suffering'from the effects of liquor. ' '' ' ' •

'A start lias been made with', the wood-blocking of that strip of Courtenay Place on the northern side of the plantation opposite tho section junction This has been one of tho dustiest corners of Wellington fijr years past, and it) is hoped that the extensivo street surface improvements that arc being made -in- that locality, will have tho effect of checking, the Jiuisance..

A man named Robert Carlton Gray, who was arrested at Woodville on Thursd'ay 011 several charges of theft, and brought to Wellington, made a bid for liberty just as he was about to enter the gaol. He broke away from the constable and remained at largo until he was re-arrosted yesterday at Upper Hutt, and re-conducted to \\ ellington. During this week a conference of senior school inspectors, from oie various education districts has been meeting in Wellington and, has given consideration to several important features of tho education system.; Tho work of the conference is expected to be comploEed to-day. Tho chief matter placed before the inspectors was the improvement of tho syllabus. Pho conference has discussed and adopted .a number of recommendations, which "will •be considered by tho officers of the. Dopartinent. The conference at a, later stage gave some attention to matters of administration connected with tho work of the inspectors. : ■ Wrong thinking caused the war, and only right thinking can .bring it to an. early finish', consequently Wellington grocers are to be commended for giving the "Thinker" ' J\ota-book : tree with ■every' Is. package of "No Rubbing". Laundry Help— Advt.

The war bonus allotted this year by the New Zealand Insurance Company to the members of its staff is at the rate of 10 per cent, on salaries under £300 and 5 per cent, on larger salaries. The 'employees of the Wellington Corporation held tl.eir annual picnic at Day's Bay yesterday, 'lhey were favoured with pleasant weather, and had a'thoroughly enjoyable outing.-flic Town 11 all offices were closed for- the day. • The Waterside Workers' Band will play at Lyall Bay to-morrow afternoon, commencing at 3 o'clock.

The Mount Hector Track Committeo met at Greytown on Thursday evening,, when the Tourist Department wroto approving of the plan of a hut to be erected in the Tauhcrenikau Valley. Captain Vosseler wrote enclosing -a douation of' £1 Is., and Mr. A. S. Murie also sent 10s. towards the..expenses of the committee.. Mr. W. 11.. Field, M.P., wrote, promising to urge the Otaki Committee to push on wnh the work of clearing the track on the Otaki side, and thanking the committee for allowing a grant to be expended in this work. The tenders for the erection of the hut-in the Tauhcrenikau Valley were put off until this evening, when Messrs. D, P. Loasby, A. Murray, and M. Maxton are to deal with them.

A man named J. W. Boweu, residing at 234 Willis Street, was yesterday admitted to the Hospital with his right leg broken.' It appears that he sustained the injury through falling from a coal cart on the llailway Wharf..'

An old boy of Christ's College, who is now engaged in scientifio work .m connection with the war, recounts the following experience that befell his laboratory assistant, now a corporal in. the Royal Scots:—The corporal fell 'wounded in the thigh when his regiment entered a German trench on the Somme on July 1. The Huns recovered the position, when a big Bavarian, seeing the Scot alive, violently, clubbed the,man on the ground leaving him apparently, dead. There he remained until the trench was retaken by the British on July 14, who at once sent a burial party to clear the ground. The hardy Scot, badly wounded as he was in the tliigh and body by the Bavarian, his steel ■ helmet having protected his head, had for fourteen days laid low during the day time-amidst continuai fall of • shrapnel and other dangers, securing food and water at nights from the fallen around him. He was first reported to his old 'employer when in Aberdeen hospital, ,and he lias now fully recovered.

Messrs. Baldwin and ltayward; patent attorneys and consulting engineers, of 215 Lamhton. Quay, Welling-"-.ton, I report that recently. theyyacted_ as agents in filing the following applica-. tions for letters patent of New Zealand:—N. 1: D. Burke, Auckland 1 , ad-: liesive composition; 0. K. Sargent, Auckland, sack stand; Makanisk Verhsted, Norway, tin opener; \V. B. Johnson, Carterton, motor-car; J. Brambley, Auckland, overalls; Otto AVaschatz, Richmond, building slab; W. I. Comer, Te Kuiti, body armour; Poninghouse and Mills, steam silencer; J. Day, Sydney, . reinforced plaster; G. E. Iviiich, Quirindi, closet pan; G. Holford, Christchurch, pelorous; A. Lyell, Wellington, mechanical motion.