LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3107, 11 June 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A Press Association telegram from Sydney states that William Barnott, secretary of tho Amalgamated Minors' Association, and publisher of tho "Broken Hill Truth, , " has been fined JClflO for publishing statements likely to prejudice recruiting:.

'A largely attende'd meeting of South Canterbury teachers on Saturday protested against the resolution of the Canterbury Education Board condemning the payment of a war bonus to teachers anil Civil Servants. ]t was pointed out 'that the Railway Servants get a bonus ty Parliamentary vote, and the teachers suffer by the'high cost of living as much as other Civil Servants.—Press Assn.

Mr. Harold Beauchamp has received a reply from the Town Clerk in reference to the request made by him, on behalf of Wjulpslowii residents, for a tram ivaitins shed at Highland Park. The Town Clerk states thnl; the council cannot Bee its way to grunt the request.

Soldiers' Socks—khaki colour—in light or heuvy wool, Is. 6ii. and 2s. 6d., at Geo. Fowlds, Ltd., Manners Streefc.r-Advt.

The problem of settling soldiers on Iho land was discussed' at tho recent conference in Dunedin of the Returned Soldiers' Association, and it is also to be dealt with by tho Dominion Conference of tho New Zealand liVirmere' Union in July. With a view to obtaining first-hand knowledge of tho land on which the soldiers and tho conditions' of Bottloment generally, Mr. A. 1 , . Whatman, one of tho Farmers' Union representatives, and Mr. J. I. I'ox, manager of the Wellington Returned Soldiers' Club, aro leaving to-morrow on a visit of inspection of returned eoldiere' settlements in the Palmerston North, HartoTi, Daimevirlte, Taknpan, Nanier, and Wsinganui River districts. The lastnamed area comprises dO,OOO acres.

It is conjectured in usually well-in-formed political circles, , 6ays the Dun«din correspondent of an excKange. that Parliament, after transacting formal bueiness at the end of Juno, will adjourn, probably for a fortnight, to enable Cabinet (with the Prime Minister and Sir Joseph Ward present) to arrange the necessary war lesislation.

Mr. James ,A. Johnston has pone in for whaling in a thorough and extensive manner at Kaikoura,. says an exchange. Reward has como to him early, in tho shape of one of tho largest right whtiles c-ver captured in the-waters of the Northern Peninsula. Jt is a cow over 50ft. Ion?, in splendid condition, expected to yield well. Tho bone is over Vft in lensth.

Tho question whether a change shouM be made in tho calling up o f rcserviste when the Second Division is required was raised by the President of tho Auckland Chamber of Commerce (Mr J Burns) at a meeting of the council of the Chamber. The President said it seemed likely that if some action were not taken by the commercial community the Second Division would be called up in the same haphazard manner as that adopted in the calling up of the First Division. Some mean 6, he thought, 6hould be devised whereby the men least essential to the carrying on of tho Dominion's industries should bo taken first. Mr. T. H. Mnoky suggested that business firms should arrange their employees in schedules prepared according to the respoctivo importance of the different men's services. The President said that the most essential men certainly should bs called mpon last. A committee was appointed to confer on ths subject with the National Efficiency Board.

Tho fine estate of Nainai, formerly occupied by the late Hon. John Duthie, M.L.C., and later purchased by Mr. TV. H. George, has been acquired by the. Sisters of Mercy, Hill Street, and in a few weeks will bo in tho occupation of the Sisters as a Konian Catholic boys' school. For many years tho Sisters of Mercy conducted an orphanage in the grounds at Guildford Terrace, adjacent to the Basilica. Cramped conditions necessitated a change of locality, and some few years ago tho institution wae transferred to Upper Hutt, where an nresi of about 20 acres is in occupation. The institution was chiefly devoted to tho care of girls,' but since the war began it has lieen found necessary to pay careful 'attention to the claims of boys. The •irrowth of these claims has necessitated the present f=ter> in advance, and the Catholic Boys' School will open witli a roll of something lite 60 boys. Aβ the war goes on it is more tha-n likely that additional accommodation will bo required; if so, it will be provided on tlip flat portion,of the 17 neres which have been acquired. The pua-clia.se price was ,£3500.

Sir Henry Richards, Chief Justice of the United Provinces of Agra and Oitdh. is to bo entertained by the New Zealand Club to-morrow at luncheon. The guest will speak on, the important, topics of Imperial Federation from the Indian viewpoint, and the problem of Indian immigration. Members of the club are specially apked lo note a clianjro in the URiiial luncheon place, indicated iu our advertising columns. '■

Early in Maroh last Sydney rink, a lad aged 17, was a sailor on an oversea vessel, and while so employed he stole an accordeon valued at four guineas, the property of a returned soldier named John Bergman. On arrival in Wellington the lad sold tho instrument to a second-hand dealer for 255. On Saturday he appeared ill the Magistrate's Court, before Mr. L. G. Reid, S.M., charged with the theft of tho accordeon. He pleaded guilty and was fined 203. and ordered , to repay 255. to the secondhand dealer, from whom the accordeon had been recovered, also to report himself once a week to the TaTanalri Street police. The alternative was fourteen days in gaol.

Japan is now supplying sheet glass to glaziers in Australia and Now Zealand. Formerly our sheet glass came either from England or Belgium, mostly from the latter country, for in order to compete/ satisfactorily the KlMngtons, of St. Helens (the fojeniost manufacturers of glass in tb.B United Kingdom) established worts in Belgium. Up till a little over a year ago local importers were still able to get glass from Belgium (under a permit from the British Consul at Amsterdam), but that practice has been stopped, and merchants have had to seek elsewhere for supplies. Japan has now talcen up the trade in earnest, and one local merchant, who landed }80 cases recently, stated that the quality was every bit as good as Belgian glass. Japan is also sending us leather and "fate" leather gooda.

In tho Supreme Court. on Satuirday morning Hie Honour Mr. Justice Hoskiug granted a decree nisi in tho case Kuby Mabel Bell v. George William Sidney Bell, a. suit for dissolution of marriage on the ground of adulterr. Some extraordinary lemons have been grown by a resident of Epsom, Auckland (says the "Herald"). One specimen of the fruit plucked from a branch •which bore several others of like dimensions measured 21in. in circumference one war and 18iin. another. The weight was. 2lb. 6oz. When cut the Icman proved normal in every respect, savo for the extraordinary thickness of the inner or irlnto rind, which was fully 2in. in depth.

A 1/i'illiant scarlet mushroom, measuring nearly Bin. across, wns found in a Swanson orchard, beneath a clump of pine trees, by a young woman the other morning (says tho "New Zealand Herald"). She fortunately refrained from reassuring herself as to tho reality of her "find" by eating any of it, and promptly brought it in to the museum and; submitted it to the curator for' inspection. Mr. Chceseman at onco recognised it as a very line specimen of tho "fly" mushroom, fairly common in Europe|and other parts ef 'the world, and not unknown in Australia, but so far as he knows the only specimen of its kind that has been found in Now Zealand. Wishing to preeervo some record of this-unique donation, Mr. Chee'aeman requested Colonel H. Boseawen to make a water-colour sketch of it, and a beautiful reproduction of tho mushroom is now included in tho museum exhibits. For the benefit of any other findera of scarlet mushrooms, it may be mentioned that they are_ poisonous, causing a form of intoxication and sometimes delirium and death.

TJio GoTernment Statistician ad-rises that Herbert Mortensen, clerk, Kaiwarra, Wellington, who was drawn in the eighth ballot, is already a member of tho Forces, having left Wellington with tho Twenty-third Reinforcements.

The speaker at the Sunday night Labour meeting last evening was Mr. Montgoinrio Ballantyne, who read a lecture on "Town Planning and Public Recreation Facilities." Mr. Ballantyne- has collected a. lot of very useful information on this subject, and he made a very good selection of tho available matter for his address last night. The point he most stressed was tno need for playgrounds for tho children in the closelybuilt parts of tho New Zealand cities, and especially in Wellington, and he Trent so far as to advocate that the local authority should acquire land even in tho settled portions of the ciEy for this laudnble object. The only ' institution for the recreation of the people in Wellington which he was able to commend nt all wns tho Zoo, !>ut he took exception to the imposition of an admission charge. Hβ urged also that there should be no charge for admission to the periodical organ -recitals given in tho Town Hall by the City Oream'st. Other institutions, of which he said that Wellington was in great need were n free tepid swimming bath, a new museum, and a i'»w art gallery. By reference to lantern slides showing how these nffairs arc manligeil in towns and cities of England and America, tho lecturer was able to show his audience something of what is meant by town -planning,

Br. Bedford, of Duuedin, speaking ia the y.M.C.A. Assembly Hall yesterday, gave «n amusing illustration pf tue Kind of humour that characterises- our soldiers oven in the most discouragiiijj. circumstances. Ho had nover laughed «> much in hie life, ho Riid, as at the .sight lie saw looking over the ship's side at an Eastern port. Ono of tho soldiers got into conversation with a native boatman below, and began questioning him about his eyes, asking whether, he could move, them or take them out or not. He assured tho bewildered native that English eyes could be Temoved and put bacic at will, and suiting tho action to tho word he look out and triumphantly waved a glass eye. In a moment the man next him had removed a cork leg, Others quickly followed, till a whole row of artificial limbs and false teeth were being dangled over the ship's side. "The crowd of natives, gasping with astonishment, must have been thoroughly convinced," said Dr. Bedford, "that our soldiers were built of separable and adjustable parts." (Laughter.)

Sergeant Horace Fildes, who has just completed his final loave, has taken the opportunity during that time to finish the lifo and history and reminiscences" of the late Mr. Jamee J. Talno (his grandfather), who left London in 1839, at manhood's estate, for Wellington, contemporaneously with many of the well-known pioneers ol that time, and who came out under tho aegis of the New Zealand Land Company. The reminiscences in question embrace details handed down from 1685 (intermittently, it is true) of the Taino family's departure from the Netherlands. The more intimate recollections, however, commence from Mr. James J. Taine's boyhood and manhood in England, and his education in France at the Charlemagne College, until what was termed "the gloriouß three days' revolution" took place. In due coruse tho reminiscences will be published in. book form. Sergeant Mldes, before enlisting, was on the Chief Postmaster's staff, and is a son of the late Mr. J. G. Fildes, who was associated ivith the Bank ot NewZealand for many years as manager.

The ambulance units in trainins at Awapuni Camp were exercised in field operations on Saturday. The operations wero supervised by Surgeon-General Henderson (Director-General of Medical Services) and Major J. L. Sleeman (Director of Infantry Training).

A young man Darned R. Straiten, a resident of Taita, was admitted to the Hospital on Saturday night with a broken ankle. Ho suffered the injury earlier in the evening when setting out from his home on horsoback. It appears that the animal was restive, arid stepped on Mr., Stratum's ankle when he was mounting it.

Some sportsmen in South Canterbury have this season aEut ducks which, they believe to be a cross between the native grey iVnd the mallard. The hybrid is a bigger bird than the grey duck, but it is not so good for table puipoaes from the point of view of quality. At the Acclimatisation Society's reserve at Temnka may be seen a pair of ducks which are a cross between the mallard and the paradise. They are big, substantial birds, and quick enough on the wing to provide eood sport.