LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3160, 11 August 1917, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Answering a request-by Mr. Vernon Reed that the Government should take over tho liquor trade during the war period, the Prime Minister said in the House- yesterday that the Government could not seo its way to the financial liabilities of the Dominion during the war period.

Sir Joseph Ward stated in the House yesterday that tho attention of tho banks had liecn drawn to tho state of the notes in circulation, and representations were being made to tho banks on ( the subject. Tho Minister of Railways, replying to the representations t>y Mr. R. A. Wrigift on the subject, said that he could not alter the starting of the 12.15 p.m. train from Thorndon on Saturday back to the hour of 12.30 p.m. He would have to make tho time much later if a change was to be made, and after careful consideration he had come to the conclusion that the hour of 12.15 p.m. would suit better than a later time. In the Magistrate's Court yesterday a second-hand dealei named. Jn'ne Hay vice was convicted of purchasing a pair of lady's hoots after G p.m., fined JJt, and ordered to pay costs. When the commercial travellers' concert party were doing their little Violet Day ' stunt' outside the Albert Hotel yesterday, an elderly lady, plainly dressed, approached the wngon and "handed up a rather soiled' envelope, which she said contained all that she could offer. When the envelope was opened it was found to contain the amount of d£l—all in threepenny pieces.

Ihe statement that artillerymen at ono of the military camps were required to handle manure in the "horse-lines with their hands was mentioned again in tho House of Representatives yesterday by Dr. Thacker (ChristchureirEast). " Dr Thacker said that after his earlier reference to the matter he had received a letter from one of the men stating that the order had been countermanded. Later the Minister of Defence (Sir James Allen) said he had received a renort to the effect that, the handling of straw with the ■ hands in the horse-lines was in accordance with Imperial practice. It was nossible that the straw had been fouled in some cases. An alteration. in the system had now been made. That the spirit of giving was in the people yesterday is proved by a rather touching incident which led to the raisin? of quite a large sum of money. Whilst a number of commercial travellers were scouring the city for .Red Cross money yesterday, a woman with a oaby in her arms apnroached one. of the flawbearers, and said that she had no money to give, as her husband, who had gone to the front, was now lying wounded in hospital. Before he had gone, he had given her a gold brooch, which she hecred them 'to sell as her offering to the Red Cross. The brooch was handed into the secretary last evening, and was put up for auction among the members :"JMo' in ..-El bids was the result, and it. was then decided to hand the brooch backto the generous-hearted ladv who had gi-"ii it t-o them to dispose of."

The Minister in charge of Munitions nnil Supplies, the Don. Arthur M. Myers, has received a letter from a well-known firm operating in flio Dominion, which mads as follows:—"We have, read wit'i Hio neatest interest yonr report, upon the Munitions and Supplies Department, of wliicli we have just been favoured with a copy. As one of the many firms who are in frequent touch with your Department, we should like to lake the opportunity of cordially endorsing your favourable comments upon the remarkably efficient manner in which vour staff has suddenly built up and reliably maintained an excellent organisation'. Our London office has frequently written to us in the most prarefnl terms of the assistance and cordial help always rendered to them and to New Zealand's interests by the High Commissioner's Department working in conjunction wilh vour staff. Tt is quite remarkable to 'find such immediate and coin-tooiis aid nlwavs available and offeri"? in these difficult Mid strenuous times."

'Flip Board of Trade is innnirin<r into the question raised by -Ifr. AY. H. Field as to whether or not there is a combine in existence operating throughout a large nortinu of the North Island having for its obiect the control of the bacon" and po-k industry. Replying to the question of which IFr. W. Nosworthy gave notice in tho House, the. Prime Minister said that no promise had been given by Sir Joseph Ward and himself to Bishop Cleary in England that Jlnrist Brothers would not be conscripted. The Attorney-General promises to make a statement to the House at an early dato on. the subject of the appointment of women police.

Replying to a suggestion that home service men should get concessions in railway lares, the Hon. W. H. Hemes made the following statement yesterday :—"The mutter referral to by "the honourable gentleman has already received very carelul consideration, nnd I regret that I cannot adopt the suggestion to grant unilormed men on home service employed by the Defence Department any concession in fares for railway travel. Concessions are made to soldiers who are members of tho reinforcements and to returned soldiers, and by reciprocal arrangement to Victorian members of the Commonwealth Expeditionary Forces visiting New Zealand. From the note appended to the question I apprehend that the honourable gentleman is under a misapprehension respecting the concessions granted by the Union Steam Ship Company. These are confined to members or reinforcements, returned soldiers, and soldiers, from Australia, and in this respect the arrangements of the Railway Department and the Union Steam Ship Company practically coincide." the annual report presented to Parliament on the public domains of New Zealand states tliat "steps are being taken to revoke the appointment of a number of domain boards. This course has been considered advisable owing to the lack of interest taken bv these boards in. their trust and their failure to comply with the law. The domains concerned will lie controlled by the Commissioner of Crown Lands until such times as loeaP hoards, who will take an active interest in the care of these places of public recreation, can be appointed. Inquiries are being made with regard to those domain boards that have not yet furnished a report for last year. Mr. P. C. Webb, M.P., will be tendered a welcome in the Kind's Theatre on Sunday evening by a number of labour, political, and industrial organisations of Wellington. • At the Trades Council, meeting on TJHirsTfty night a letter was read from TTre of Labour, deferring the mooring witli a deputation from tho councj_ -to "TTeal with the council s proposal r t a new law relating to apprentices. The council instructed the secretary to write to' Mr. Mnssey, pointing out the i -urgency of the case, and asking that the deputation be heard before the session had run much further, so that the proposals of the council would have a chance to be made into a law before the House closed for the. recess. '^u- Mayor of Petone, llr. . J". W. MJEwan, presided oyer n meeting of the wives- and mothers o'f Petone soldiers and sailors who are at the front. .\lrs. Corliss gave an address on "Women's Work ;n HibTTnr." and Kevs. Hruce Todif and E. TTvnns ndilresses on "Cheerfulness." Musjcal_ and elocutionary items were rcii(Teroii by the following:—Mesdnnies G. W. Russell (president of the Women's "Tuional Deserve), M/Bean, Rait.'M'Millan, .Wright, and E. Jones, and Misses Jjrilon, Knight, Part, and Ramsay. Miss >ivk presided at the piano." Votes of i.is.u'ks were passed to tile Havward Picture Co., and all who assisted.' ; Through the. agency of Sir Thomas Mackenzie, High Commissioner for ?,'cw Zealand, a. specially interesting exhibit mis just been added to tho collection at The Dominion Museum. It consists of a snecimen Military Cross, and one each oi Three different medals recently issued tor presentation on tho'field. These last aro classified respectively as "For Disliiißtiishetl Conduct in tho Field." "Pot iiravery in the Field," and "For Meritorious Conduct." and all are massive and exceptionally handsome silver medals.

A fine of JMO and costs was imposed by Mr. K E. M'Carthy, S.M., in the Magistral s Court yesterday on D. L. Burns carrier, Kilbirnie, for cruelty to a horee in working it while suffering from sores. J he case was brought by the Society for Ihe Prevention of Cruelty lo Animals for whom Mr. 0. S. Mazengarb appeared! Ihe animal in question was -uffering from a large raw sore under the collar on tho off-side and a smaller one on.(he near-side. The horse was driven by John, Bevgh, wlio was also charged with cruelty to the horse. The driver called the atlenfion of Burns, who is the cwner of the horse, to the condition of (he animal, but the latter said it could not be helped »« the work had to bo done. ri.M-i:-- •win.Mlte-l to the society's inspector. Contain Henry, that he knew of the condition of the animal. Tho driver of the horse, John Borgh, was convicted and discharged. George Dennis, manager of n Nothing factory in Auckland, was fined £19 ye?" terday at the Magistrate's Court for having employed an uncertificated reservist. ■—Press Association. . i A gang of youthful hurslars—H. E. Budgen, E. Honies. and If. Beavers— who?" vecent depredations had r.uazled tho Hamilton police, for a brief period, were arraigned at tho Hamilton Police Court yesterday morning on thirteen informations involving ;£o2 cash and .-£3B goods. The evidence showed that the youths had electric torches and a glass culler in their possession. The major portion of the stolen property had been recovered. Accused pleaded guillv. and were committed for* lenience at the Su-P'-finc Court at Auckland. Bail- was allowed.—Press Association. Private Coleman, writing from "somewhere in Franco' lo his brother. Mr. F. Coleman, of New Plymouth, encloses a cutting from an English paner, found in the trenches, saying, "We have received a copy of a. bright gallon set «s an instrumental and vocal trio by W. ■ F. Gordon, of Now Plymouth. New Zealand, and published by the 'Lyttelton Times.'' It is a stirring and tuneful number." . An amusing anecdote of the early days of the Thames goldfiehls was related at the jubilee gathering of old .Thames people by. Archdeacon Caldev the other day. "There was a very decent old chap," he said, "who used to come in from the Billygoat Range and spend most of his time in 'happiness' at the Thames. There was a barmaid at the 'mib.' at Butt's Corner, and when the old chap was in town she was always coining round to me. saying she wanted to be maried to him. I would ask her where he was, and she would renly that he was ou-t in the street, and that he was not presentable enough'. to bring inside. /Laughter.) When I remarked that she was surely not roing to marry the man in that state, she would say. 'Fe will not m.irry me when he is sober.' (Lauirhter.)' She tried that on three times with me. but she never got the old chap." (Laughter.) The opinion that the Maoris have done exceedingly well in tlie matter of voluntary recruiting was expressed by Chan. lain-Major Hawkins, late senior Anglican chaplain in France to the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, in the course of a special war sermon in Auckland. He said that 3000 Maoris had passed through the camps at Avondale and Narrow Neck, and others had enlisted in European units. Tu proportion to a population of about 4(1.000./this was a very good percentage, and was even better than if actually appeared, beca'we practically no voluntary recruiliii!' had taken place among the Maoris in Tarnnnki and Waikato because of an old prievance dntiii" back to the time of tri<> Maori War. The recruiting was therefore really in proportion to a population of fvom._3fl.flnn to -10.000. At the front the had earned an excellent name for their pioneering work.

Explaining the ■movement in Australia to gront relief to the survivors of the First Australian Division, who hive now been on active service for over 1000 davs. a Melhovirrie newspaper recently slated that over 100 volunteers had already senHn their names to the recruiting authorities in Victoria. In.most cases the men have aslced for guarantees that the soldiers they wish to relieve will bo brought back tn Australia immediately for an extended spell. T<t mu.s't, however, l>e realised that before any of the original Anzacs can be brought out of the trenches reinforcemenls must be made available in sufficient numbers tn fill, not only the places vacated Sir the men of- the Virst Division, but also to make good losses occasioned ny r.'.su.il(i"s in the field. The Auzacs cannot be withdrawn from the firjng-line unless tlie Australian unils are maintained nt their vroner fighting strength. Captain Of. .T. C. Dyetf, organisinsr secretary of the Victorian Tiecruitiug Committee, stated that. 0000 volunteers would have to be enrolled by the end of September, in addifTon to the ordinary monthly onnl.us of 7000 men. (o make nranticable the nronosal to bring bncli to Australia in time for Christmas all the survivors of the fir«l- rnnlinsent.Satisfaction in hats from Geo. Fowlds, Ltd., Manners Street. Great selection in shades and shapes, Bs. Gd. to 425. Stetson's start nt 2"s. (M.-^Advt.

A cable message of July 2C to Australian newspapers states that Captain .lacka, V.(J., an heroic figure of the A.1.F., has developed into a sound officer and tactician, and an inspiring leader. The men trust and follow him anywhere. New exploits constantly mark his extraordinary daring. He is continually scouting at night and bringing in valuable information. The present is the third time he has been wounded. He was scouting at dawn with two men in a dangerous quarter, near a wood, when he met a party of sniper.;, who fired a volley before they were seen. Captain .lacka was hit in the flesh of the thigh and fell. His companions fired at the scampering Germans and killed two of them. Then they carried .Tacka to safety. Though he has been only a fortnight in London Hospital, .Tacka has applied for early return to the front, and has declined work on the Stall. Captain Jacka's bar to the Military Cross was the result of intelligence work at Bullecourf. He was out on a dull, moonlight night with another officer, laying luminous tapes, designed to guide an attack, when he saw four figures moving. The two leaders reached the tape. .Tacka sent his brother officer to warn the Lewis gunners, then sneaked round the intruders, uncertain whether they were Germans until he was close to them. He tried to shoot an officer with his revolver, but the nipple was broken, so Jncka rushed the officer, struck him on the jaw and stunned him. Both Germans, paralysed with fear, surrendered and gave information on which the Australian artillery acted effectively. Jacka has proved frequently that sudden, hurricane attacks enable the individual, or weak forces, to succeed when thev are badly outnumbered. An Auckland soldier, writing from Syria, thus describes a portion of the country in which New inlanders have latplv been serving:—"Through the middle of all the broken land there miwt have been at n"e time a noble river. Even now a little water will show up for a f°w chains, but such instances aye few. Of course. V>y siukimr we obtain the precious fluid, and you can guess what Hiere must be there when you know that nerhans some thousand h'orsps are sunpliod, and very many more men and camels. A cauipl can go for five days without a drink, but it is 'advisable to water him prpry two da vs. He can put away 12 gallons, nnd at a pinch is said to drink eren 20. pallors. Being rery familiar with your Old Testament, you. are certain to" know.of the CTe'at number of cisterns,in Palestine. They are remarkable pieces of structure. Some are 100 ft. deeo, and on'e we came acrn=s was nuite 40ft. wide at the bottom, with n'llars to kpen the ton from fallin" in. The water stored in them is likelv. rain water. In some of them the Bedouins h»ve been accustomed to storo grain. The local farmers hare all left, and the splendid crops of barley.are coding to wa«te. If thev had played the 'square game we might hn'-o ljppn able to allow them'fn remain. The talk y"ii hear of the Arabs going to turn on the Turk is sheer nonspns» so far as.we are concerned here, but I fanev that further tin there are tribes who niav join us. When it is clear to the''Arab that the Turk is nmfeesh—nnUhed —it mav be that he will realise which side, of his bread is buttered." • ''

At the Supreme Court at Auckland William Williams was sentenced to two .veare' hard lahour, and declared to be an habitual criminal, on conviction of ha-ring committed a series of thefts. Patrick Collins, .for indecent assault, was ordered reformative treatment for a period not exceeding five .years.—Press Association. The following pupils of the New Zealand Flying School have qualified for the Royal Aero Club's aviator's certificates:— William George Mitchell, Wanganui; Charles Patrick Todd, Dunedin; Eric Norman Strain, Port Chalmers; Fredcrick Demulford Hyde, Hamilton: Trevor Dudlt'v Hall Alderton, .Auckland; George Clarence Hyde, of Tarr'as, Otago; Robert Hector Gray, Wellington. Thirtyeight pupils have now qualified.—Press Association.