LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3049, 10 April 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The demand for the suspension _of Territorial camps during the war period was supported strongly by delegates to'the Coachbuilders' Conference at 1 yesterday's meeting. The president (Mr. George Dash) 'said'it..was.a'fact that hundreds of teams were idle on the farms because young men who had not gone to the war' had been required to undergo Territorial training in accordance with arrangements made in peace time. • It would be far better to abandon ,the camps and confine -military training to the men who bad joined' the forces. , Civilian workers should be left at tljeir, employment until their, turn came for service. A delegate mentioned that when a Crimean veteran died recentl}', the Defence authorities took seven apprentices out of one shop on a working day. to attend, the funeral, a compulsory parade being called for the purpose. This ho regarded as a serious and unnecessary interference with 1 industry. _ The conference carried a motion, in favour of the abandonment of Territorial parades during the .war period. ' ■"The Board of 'Agriculture went to sleep the, day after it was appointed, and has never ivoke lip," said Mr, E. Gallicfian at yesterday's conference of the New Zealand Poultry Association. An unusual case of .the recovery of lost property occurred recently when a'number of unclaimed bicycles and other lost property was being removed from. the v Palmerston police station, to a local auction mart for the purpose of being disposed of. As the bicycles were boine placed in the mart one was claimed bv a person in the room, and being able to establish his ownership beyond doubt, the machine was handed over to him after it had been missing for about two years. "An apprentice who has worked hard at the bench all day does not feel disposed to attond classes iti the evening, and I have some sympathy for him," said Mr: W.- Ferguson, chairman of tlie National Efiiciency Board, at the Coachbuildors* Conference yesterday. Mr. Ferguson explained that when he was a boy ho had spent four, very unhappy years working hard in an engineering shop all day and studying at night. He would not care to face such a period of,strain again, and he fully understood'the desire of, the lads to have some time for relaxation after their day's work. He would like to see an increased effort on the part of employers to provide facilities for their apprentices' to attend technical classes during the day. The loss involved in sparing an apprentice for an hour or two was not great, and the advantage to. the industry in the production of better craftsmen would be marked. Speaking at the Now Zealand Poultry Association's Conference yesterday, Mr. J. B. Merrett stated that the district, of Potaluma (in California) ; had an output last year of. 13,000,000 dozen eggs. "Think of ij>—l3,ooo,ooo dozen, more than is produced in the whole of New Zealand, and that from a district about the same size as tho Hutfc Valley!"' 'As showing how the staffing system of the Otago Education Board has been interfered with of late, mostly by tho war. it is stated that 103 teachers are at present in appointments that are not their own—relieving, temporarily promoted and so forth. Wellington, merchants deserve a -word of good cheer for their untiring efforts to keep all grocers well supplied with the famous "No' Rubbing" Laundry Help, popularly, known as the abolislier of slavery; 6doz. Thinker Note Books free with, every case of thp genuine "No Eijhbiag"=Ady.t,

- One of the pasßed by the Coachbuilders' Conference yesterday draws the attention of the National Efficiency Board to the use_ of shipping space for tile transportation of alcoholio liquor at a time when there is a shortage of space for essential articles. One delegate stated that importers of goods urgently required by tho-people of New Zealand had found it impossible to secure space on steamers that were bringing to New. Zealand largo quantities of beer and whisky. Another dele-, gato mentioned that lie had experienced very great difficulty in sending an important consignment of iron plates to a West Coast coal mine, although space had been found on Kbe steamer for a whole shedful of beer. At tlio united conference of the Auckland and middle districts of the Churches of Christ in New Zealand, helod at Auckland, the following [resolution was carried unanimously:— "That this conference, representing forty Churches of Christ, again affirms its conviction that the Government of New Zealand should stop the sale of strong drink during tho war." "Competition is usually tho life of trade, but that did not perhaps apply to tho disposal of eggs. If there was concentration, and the sale of a circles eggs were entrusted to one agent instead of many—(Mr. Simson: "There are fifteen in Wellington')—the grower must benefit," said one speaker at the Poultry Association's Conference yesterday. Mr. Finn, commended the organisation in existence in ChristchuTcli,. whero the committee, meets every Friday eveningi to fix the price of eggs. That was how it should be, and _ he. held that what was done in Christ church could be done in Wellington. The story of a he&rtloss desertion of a bride elect is told in Napier, says an exchange. Tho wedding was to have taken place a few days ago. All arrangements for the ceremony were well in hsvnd„ &nd an hour before the appointed time, the bridegroom,_ who is a returned soldier, borrowed his prospective mother-in-law's bicycle to go,on a small' errand. The bride and the attendants and the impatient minister, after' a considerable wait at the church, were, obliged to return to their- home in great disappointment, the bridegroom having failed to put in an appearance. He is believed to have pawned tihe cycle .at a .well-known dealer's, and then made good his escape, for he has not since been Been or hoard of.

Tho prospect of employing Women in , the coachbuilding industry during the : war period was' discussed at yesterday's, meeting of the Coachbuilders' Conference. The. president (Mr. George Dash) said he had no doubt that much of . the work doue in the coaohbuilding factories could bo undertaken by women if preliminary training were given. He believed ' that it would be'possible if necessity arose to release some men for service in the field by taking women into the factories. • Mr. W. Ferguson, chairman of the National Efficiency Board, was present, and he mentioned that,up to the present time_ women had shown a distinct disinclination to come forward for work of.the kind. His suggestion was that when a man was going to the'front he should be invited to nominate a woman from his own family to hold his job to the .best of her ability during his absence. The man ought to be given facilities for instructing the woman before his departure. This arrangement would 1 prevent a feeling arising among the men that they were being supplanted in their industries by women, and it would have ' its . advantages in other directions. Mr. Ferguson asked the coachbuilders' to give /their attention to the idea, and_ see. what steps "could he the direc-tion-indicated. , There was an immense crowd at the football match, at which the New Zealanders beat Franco, after a strenuous game, by 40 points to nil.—Press Assn. • "What is a fresh egg?" was a question put to the delegates attending the New Zealand Poultry Association s Conference yesterday by Mr. Brown, the Government expert. He maintained' that in connection with the stamping of eggs'it would have to be clearly de-. fined what a fresh egg was. 'He could define it, perhaps, if he had half an hour to think over it, but-it was not so simple a' matter as it seemed. A bad egg is not a fresh 'egg," said one delegate, "and when eggs were bad they should bo stamped Bad -1 (Laughter.) Mr. E. Gallichan saw there was a sign exhibited in a. shop once Tvbich Tead—"Fresh eggs, 2s. la. dozen; new-laid eggs, 2s. Id. ; eggs. Is. Bd.'.' Mr. Pratt (Auckland) said that it frequently happened that chilled eggs. out in the winter and' sold' as "fresh eggs."' Speakifi" at the Conference, of the New Zealand Poultry Association yesterday, Mr. H. W. Childs (Kaiapoi) 'said that as far as cakes ajid pastry were concerned, tlioy had not teen affected so far by the nicreaso of prices in war time. If eggs could be obtained at 2d. per dozen it would not make tho slightest difference to the price or the course of his lenten. address to business people the Bishop of Auckland referred pointedly to i the prospeot of an Allied victory in Palestine. Regarding Jerusalem, His Lordship spoke of tho lack of water, which had always proved a factor in the fall of the ancient Biblical capital to evaders He considered that this shortage would no doubt mark any siege of the. place. Jerusalem was one of the oldest fortified towns in the wo,rid, and its captare was made difficult by the lay of its surrounding valleys. The speaker believed that it could be taken/easier by the sea than by land. '