LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3048, 9 April 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Some buildings on the Empire Farm, Racecourse Road, Lower Hutt, were destroyed by fire yesterday. The farm is owned by Mr. J. Handel, late of the- Empire Hotel. Mr. Mandell is at present in tho south.

An outbreak of typhoid fever is reported in the Lindis district (states a Press Association telegram from Dunedin). One fat ill oaso has occurred— a man aged 33.

Edward Redmond White, a sergeantinstructor at Feaiherston, now on final leave, was fined £10 and costs by Mr. 'M'Cafthy, S.M., at Dannevirke, for. assaulting a man .76 years of age while in a fit of rage arising out of a domestic dispute over a ball, which had been accidentally kicked on to the section of the man assaulted. The Bench said the assault was quite unjustifiable.—Press Association. ■

Some years ago a natire of Invercargill, Mr. John Ponieroy. gave demonstrations in New Zealand of an explosive bullet of extraordinary power, which ho brought under tho notice of the War Office.. Since then (says the "Southland News") he has travelled abroad, and has brought out several inventions. When war broke out he left for England, and it is stated that the explosive bullet has been used with grsajj siiccess agamet raiding Zeppelins v

An. extraordinary accident occurred in tlio Otira tunnel on Friday afternoon, Jiearly resulting in tho death, of two men. A party of excursionists from Christchurcli was visiting tho Bcaley end of the tunnel., and four of tbem went in on a. trolley, which curried an acetjlono light. Tho exciivatiou has proceeded' for a mile- arid a half from tho entrance, and it has a down grade of 1 iu 33. Tho light went out after the party had proceeded some distance, and in tho resulting confusion, the trolley got out of control, and started to run down the slope in tlie darkness. Two of the men jumped off. The other two dashed towards the rocky, "face" at ever increasing speed, and they would have been killed but for tho fact that the pumps were not working on tlie holiday. The inner end of the tunnel formed a pocket where water had colleoted, and tho pool brought the trolley to a standstill. The men were' submerged to their shoulders, and were nearly drowned before a rescue party reached them. s Speaking at the Coachbuildere' Conference on Saturday, the Mayor of Wellington, (Mr. J. P. Luke) said he believed that the horse-drawn would very nearly disappear from the roads after the war. The tendenoy in that direction had 'been noticeable before the outbreak of hostilities, and since then there, had been an enormous expansion in the machinery _ of motor production and a very great improvement in types. The. petrol market would become normal when the navies and armies ceased to make huge demands, and he looked forward to the time when kerosene would be in general use as a motor fuel. A local engineer was among the inventors who were studying the problem of how to use kerosene in light motors.' The president of the conference suggested that unless the owners of motor-cars were protected in some fashion they might not get much advantage from the- substitution of kerosene for petrol, since the price would be determined by certain big interests.

' On Thursday last the dead body of a newly-born child was found in the tramway waiting-shed near the Thorndon Railway Station. At an inquest held before Mr. W. 6. Riddell, S.M., on Saturday, medical evidence was , gvien that the child was still-born, and a verdiot was returned accordingly-

A most unusual and exceptionally pretty sight, which was. immensely enjoyed by the people of. Karaka. and Worser Bay, was the appearance in tho harbour of a large school of porpoises. When they oame in, no one knew, but their evolutions as they made their way down the entrance to the Heads were, intensely interesting. Tho water was perfectly smooth, ■. and the leaping vanguard, as it surged tip and down, was at first. mistaken, for a wave, but as there was no climatic reason just then for waves, it was soon concluded that the ; visitors were porpoises, and the occasional black gleam, as the sunshine caught a flying blaok body, out of water, confirmed that «ipw.' '■' ' .

Major-General Sir A. - ( \V. Robin, Commandant of the Forces, was the guest of the Coachbuilders' Association at a dinner on Saturday evening. He mentioned that in his younger days he had been a coachbuilder himself, and had handled tools at the bench. The Commandant took the opportunity to thank the coachbuilders or the Dominion for the assistance that they had given the Defence Department iu the quick dispatch of work during the war.'

'At Dunedin on Wednesday Sir James Allen gave a deputation the following examples of disabilities for whioh men had been turned down in the Military Camps in Naw Zealand during 1916:— 25 cases of tubercle, 43 of epilepsy, 27 of unsound mind, 73 of ear disease, 17 of asthma, 42 of appenjwitis, 25 of heart disease, 43 of striofcure, 15 of rheumatio fever, 33 of alcoholism, 32 of neuritis, 24 of neurasthenia, 46 of gas-, trio i disease, 61 of hernia, 77 of flat foot and other deformity, and 112 cases of old injury. :

Exporters in. the South Island _ are protesting that they have not received a fair'share of shipping space in the April allocations. They_ nave urged the Shipping Committee in Wellington to reconsider the position, and give the South Island an.- increased share of the i available space. One shipper said on Saturday that nothing definite had , been arranged, and negotiations were still proceeding. The trouble was not so much with the 'April shipments, because the Easter holidays would tend to lessen the difficulty this month. But if a similar small allooation were made for May, there could be no doubt that serious trouble would face the South Island freezing industry. The negotiations now proceeding were to endeavour to prevent any such crisis.

The Coachbuilders' Association on Saturday carried a motion inviting district branches to co-operate in arranging for the conduct of the businesses of members who might enlist in the Expeditionary Forces..

The Hon. iW. D. S. Mao Donald, who has been.- ja the South. Island conducting a campaign in the wheat districts, with the object of inducing farmers with wheat lands to make as big sowings as possible of wheat in the coming seed-time, returned to Wellington on Saturday morning. Mr. Mac Donald addressed some twenty-five meetings in the oottrse of his tour, and at nearly all of these meetings resolutions were passed pledging the farmers present to use their best endeavours to put in inoreased areas of wheat in order to supply tho needs of the Dominion. The next season's crop is to be taken over at the rate of ss. 10d. per bushel. Some of the wheat-growing areas in North Canterbury have been very heavily punished by the drought which has during the last two years prevailed in different parts of New Zealand, But even here the-farmers promised to do their best.

The famous sledge, dog Oscar, which was used by Sir Ernest Shackleton's Ross Sea party, and three other- sledge doge from the same source, have been presented to tEe Weffington Zoo, and sllould form an' attraction to visitors to the gardens at Newtown Park during the holidays.. Another recent addition is a little dog, which was a mascot of one of the New Zealand drafts, and has "seen service at GalKpoH and also in the trenohes at Aimentieres (in Northern France).

When nominations olosed at noon on Saturday, the following had been nominated to represent the suburbs on the Wellington Harbour Board:—John William M'Ewan (nominated by B. J. H Burn, (J. W. Brigham, Eliz. Steele, F T. Moore, B. P. Bunny, H. C. Hale, M W. Welch, 'A. Gadeby, J. G. Hill,, and H. Findlay); M. W. Welch (nominated by Arthur Gadsby, J. ,W. M'Ewan r William Brown, and John Cotton); J. E. Fitzgerald (nominated bv W. Hildreth, J. M. Whiteman, R. W. Short, W. H. Harris, A. W. Newton, and E. M'Kenzio. v

The annual session of the 'Loyal Orange Institution of' New Zealand was opened iff Dunedin on Saturday, 100 delegates being present. _ The district reports showed that solid- work had been done, notwithstanding that many members were serving at the front. The membership was more than maintained. By the vote of the ladies' lodges, it ,was decided , to defer the formation of a Ladies' Grand Chapter.— Press Association. Beattie ie Hard to rub out it' conies to making big sales of "No Rubbing" Laundry Help. Hi> is » champion o£ th? ■£•■- '- . r" ' -'■•< one of the pep ■ : -i; '.f ! "■ ' •' free with every Is. packet oi ".No iulJhing,"=rAds& ... ■

Details in support of the recent allegations as to tho sending of physically unfit men into camp have been forwarded to the Minister of Defence, Sir James Allen, by Mr. C. J. Parr, M.P. In three cases in which if; is alleged grave hardship has arisen, it is stated that the men concerned wero passed'as fit, notwithstanding the fact that their own doctors had declared that they would be useless at the front. It is assorted that after a few weeks in camp these men all broke down, and that they have returned to their homes, where they are endeavouring to regain their former health. "Tho men," says Mr. Parr, "in sqme cases have had to pay their own fares back from Trentham, which seems unfair. I have just learned that for the future the medical examination is going to bo much more strict. I hope this means that no more impossible men will be passed." Rangers O'Neill and Leonard have returned from their, visit to Martin's Bay and Big Bay, on the West Coast of Otago, where thoy spent four weeks. The rangjers wero instructed to make -the trip for the purpose of reporting on tho timber resources of the locality and tho skiftahility of the land for settlement. The result of their visit has been embodied in a comprehensive report, which is to be forwarded to the Minister of Lands.

The police havo been investigating a case of wanton destruction of a house and contents at Kurow belonging to Frederick StefEan, a Tyrolese Austrian. Mr. and Mrs. Steffan were absent at the time motoring with a soldier.relative on leave from camp. Windows, crockeryware, mirrors, and furniture were broken. The furniture was also damaged and the floor strewn with flour. Later the police arrested two married women named Hardy and Pratt on a charge of committing the damage, which is estimated at about £100. An unusual feature (says the Diinedin "Star") is the fact that Mrs. Pratt is the. wife of the local constable) who was absent from the district when the offence occurred. Steffan is a well-known New Zealand guide, and an expert bushman.- He has been in New Zealand for many years. With his experience of bush work ho was engaged some years ago to assist Detective (now Sub-Inspector) Broberg to hunt down the murderer Ellis in the back country of the North Island. He also recovered the body of the.late Mr. Andrews, who was lost in the bush while deerstalking in the Martinborough district. Andrews's life was insured for £10,000, and a reward of £400 was offered for the recovery of tho body, dead or alive. The officer, in oharge of the Dunedin Citizens' Defence Corps has received" the following letter from Sir James iAllen. in reply to a ' communication dealing with war pensions :—"I have received your letter of March 28, re- 1 commending that soldiers who are sent into camp and who Break down in course of training and are discharged should be eligible for a pension under the War Pensions Act until suoh time as they are fit to resume their ordinary civil occupation. I snail be_ glad to. bring the request before Cabinet when an amendment of the War, Pensions Act is being considered."

The Hnntly Miners' Unionj at a meeting-held on Wednesday evening, elected Mr. George Bowen as president and Mr. S. Freeman as secretary, to take the places of the officials arrested earlier, in the neelt. ' •

The time produces, or is .reputed, to produce, the man it needs. The occurrence of a mice plague in Victoria has produced a. crop of experts who are prepared to deal with the trouble off liand (says the Melbourne "Age"). The mails received by the Victorian Wheat Commission have increased proportionately. One of the Commission's cosrespondents suggests simply going tack to Cats will kill mice ■ and the correspondent—a lady—suggests what, ia effect, wonld be the mobilisation of metropolitan niousers eligible for active service. They could be entrained (in truck loads) .to the mice aSected areas, with "some ; good Samaritan" to see that the force was properly provisioned —and then simply turned loose. 'A! minor suggestion is to obtain all the supplies of sulphur in Melbourne, and to sprinkle every wheat stack liberally. One of the experts is more secretive. He knows a sure thing, but he does not give it away. He has applied for a contract to rid all the stacks of mice, and ho. undertakes'to do it by himself within a fortnight. He doesnot give a hint as to his methods or his terms.