LOCAL AND GENERAL
"April 25 will he a notable day in Now Zealand this year and every year," said tho Acting-Prime Minister (Hon. J. Allen) nt the Anzac Day gathering in the Grand Opera House last evening. "May I express the hope, and the firm belief, that Anzac Bay. this year will see a united New Zealand people? I have every reason to believe that the differences which have existed of late in this country will bo banished from our midst on Anzac Day.'/ The Minister's remarks were greeted with applause.
Yesterday (St. Gcorgo's Day) was observed as a holiday by the Public Service and banks.
A Suva cablegram reports that Carbett's butchery was burned down on Saturday night.—Press Assn.
When reviewing the question of food supplies at the annual meeting of tho Masterton branch of tho Farmers' Union on Saturday, Mr. Hugh Morrison had something to say on the "go slow" policy. Mr. Morrison stated that the men who went into camp sacrificed their health and wealth, and many made the supreme sacrifice, that of giving up their lives for their country. The soldier was doing his duty, but what tvero those doing upon whom devolved the supply of foodstuffs? Were they making any genuine sacrifice? Upon the shoulders of the farmers.rested a grave responsibility in this time of stress. Were they bearing it as they should do? Some were heard to remark: "How can I increase the production when.the ranks of farm labourers are being depleted by the army?" That was not tho question to ask. Each farmer should get down to work himself and assist his neighbour to do _ his work. AVe must' sacrifice something. Why not our pleasures? Let us show some patriotism by discarding our "go slow" policy and each individual get right down to work. That was the only , way we could see this thing'through and retain our liberty. :
The director of tho Wahgamii Observatory declares that tho comet now visible to the naked eyo is not Wolfe's comet. Tho latter is very faint, and not in the same portion of the heavens, although visible with a large telescope at tho same hour. Mr. Ward adds that credit for tho discovery of the strange comet appears to bo due to Dr. Hector,, of the Hutt, Wellington, who first reported it. —Press Assn.
At the next (Napier Harbour Board meeting, says our special correspondent, Mr. A. E._ Jull, president and will again rnovo tho introduction into Parliament of the Napier Harbour Board Empowering and Loan Bill, and Sir John Findlay, M.P., will he asked to take charge of it. ; ;, .■-..
Mr. A'. Hall Skelton; hi' reviewing the case for tho boot trade and for certain men whose appeals wero being; heard, at Auckland recently, said the time had about come when the conditions of labour in this industry wore getting so critical that it was approaching the margin where trespass was. made on the highly skilled labour—the essential men. Thel ■question was now as to the possibility, of the industry carrying on with necessary men or the factories having to close down owing to the taking away of those men. There was an exhaustion of the supply of children'sand women's footwear, and •all the houses were depleted, while the ordinary business man's boot that had cost 255. would soon b eup to £2 155., in consequence of shortage, and then they would not be obtainable. He would produce the 'list of a well-known English firm to show tha,t out of 200 lines of imported footwear wholesalers and retailers could not procure 170 lines, and tho other' 30 lines were restricted to oue gross every six months. In short, there was going to a serious boot famine, and the prices would be such as had -never been-heard of in New Zealand before. .
"Apropos the war loan campaign,'' writes the London correspondent of the Auckland "Star," the following from a provincial,paper is a tribute to the. Prime Minister's eloquence:—"Mr. Massey, the New Zealand Premier, who is known as 'Farmer Bill' at homo, so impressed a meeting at Swindon that two farmers there said they would put in £5000 each."
' , "The War Office had to go to Hornchurch to find out how to hustle in hub building," writes the London correspondent of an exchange. "The best record it had had for an Armstrong No. 3 sectional hut,.was three hours,, but when tho sapient War Office descended on the New Zealand Convalescent Camp it discovered—and "by prac-. tical tost—that our men did tho complete job in one hour 28 minutes. And these huts are composed of forty, sections, and mako good, comfortable, buildings. There are 45 now being put up at Grey Towers. The -work is in charge of Lieut. -Fisher and Sorgt. Thurlow. and in their hands Grey Towers Camp is not only 'comfy' but pretty, spado work, lots of it,' being put in in the grounds to make ah already pretty : spot more beautiful. It will be a picture in tho coming spring and summer. Codford men fire taking to th& spade, too, but their ideal is the early potato." . I . : A gathering of about a dozen all told, including speaker, chairman, audience, and Press representatives, was all that assombled at Karon last evening : to be addressed by the Mayor of Karori (Mr. B. G. H. Burn) on the financial position of tho borough. Mr. Burn said ho. did not know whether to take.it as a compliment or otherwise, but assumed that as there was' such a small number present the ratepayers in the borough wero perfectly satisfied with tho way things wpro. being carried out by the council, and did not even bother to come along. ' But ho remarked that it struck him that if it had been announced, that there was going to be a meeting m connection with the raising of the doe tax, or any tax, the hall would havo been packed.
An election to fill the vacancies on the Roseneath School •Committee is unnecessary, as only the required number of nine nominations came to hand; Tho new committee consists of Messrs. C. W. Bear, P. W. P. Bullock, W. J. Gaudin, T. J. Ladd.lL A. Lines H. M. Morrison, W. H. Tolan and H. It. Vanborrsura, and Mrs. E. Low. : Tho following resolution was carried unanimously at a meeting of Waingawa freezing works employees, held on Saturday: "That owing to the enormous price of footwear, a letter bo submitted to tho Hon'. Sir James Allen, Act-ing-Prime Minister; of New Zealand, with a view to finding out the reason for this exploitation, whilst thousands of hides 1 are being stowed away in the various freezing works of New Zealand."
Mr. .7. K. Fitzgerald has written to tho-Minister of Defence as follows:— "It has beon represented to mo that there are in camp upwards of 300 ratepayers and residents of the City of Wellington who are on the rolls for tho forthcoming munioipal elections, and I would be pleased to know if the Defence authorities would make it convenient for these men to exercise their votes. I may add that the number of men so entitled to vo'to could bo. easily ascertained by consulting tlio main and supplementary rolls."
In the courso of a letter to Mr. W. H. Field, M.P. for Otaki, the Minister of Internal Affairs (the Hon. G. "W. Russell) says: "With reference to the erosion of the Waikanao River, and to the desirability of the formation of a, river board to deal with tho matter, I have to inform you that if a petition signed by a majority of the ratepayers in the area proposed to be constituted' a river district is presented, I will favourably consider tho constitution of the district, provided, however, that such district takes in all the lands on both sides of the river that are, or may be, affected by. any proposed protection works. I feel convinced' that if a river district is constituted, the County Council should be the board of such district. You are, however, doubtless aware that a county council has- already power to undertake river protection, .Section 148 of the Counties Act giving a council power to construct public works within or without tho county—'public work' meaning, among other things, the protection of land from encroachment or destruction, by sea or river. I have given this whole question careful consideration, and while I am convinced of the' necessity of some action being taken to prevent the further erosion by the river, it is not a case in which the Government can take any aotion."
By a curious coincidence the term "colonial" as applied to the self-govern-ing Dominions overseas jvas referred to last month by two of the leading representatives of those Dominions now m London. _ Mr. Andrew Fisher, ■ High Commissioner for Australia, speaking' at the S-oynl Colonial''lnstitute,'and ho did not know how that institution came by its name, although he presumed that, like most of us, in its infant days it had small say in its christening. "But," he added, "you will permit me to say just this; the Australian, the Canadian, the New Zealander, as I have known him..lays no claim to be called 'colonial.' " Mr. sey, Prime Minister of New Zealand, speaking'at University College on tho subject of the future relations of 'the Mother Country and the oversea Dominions, said: "Personally Ido not object to the use of the'terms 'colonial' or 'colonist.' "
The following interesting note appeared in the London "Evening Standard" of February 1:—"I was talking to-day .to a prominent Anglo-Colonial who has just returned from a lengthy tour of our principal Dominions, where he made' several speeches on the war. 'New Zealand,' he said to me, 'is the gem of our Crown. ' I don't believe, there is a single able-bodied man left in the colony—all have responded to the call of patriotism. Australia also is nobly doing a big share, and would do more were it not that the political situation out there is now somewhat mixed. But that will, straighten out in time, and then we shall see. very many more transports setting out from; Sydney, just as we did in the earlier; days of the war, Canada, however, is somewhat of a mystery. Some 50 per cent, of the'people there have given their all, sous, brothers, fathers, and money, but the remainder appear to take only a lukewarm interest in the war. In my speeches I was able to assure theni of the wonderful part taken by the Mother Country, and so. was able to silence all criticism. Canada, I am certain, will yet prove truo to herself.'" .
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Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3061, 24 April 1917, Page 6
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1,772LOCAL AND GENERAL Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3061, 24 April 1917, Page 6
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