LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3192, 17 September 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Tho spring agricultural school for teachers, which has been held in Masterton during tho last fortnight, has been brought to a close. Before dispersing the-teachers paid a warm tribute to tho instructor, Mr. A. C. Cumming. Tho House of Representatives w.ill hold the first Monday sitting of the present session this evening. The second reading of the Sale of Liquor Restriction Bill is to be taken on Tuesday evening. Cabinet has been considering the question of pensions and allowances to tho Second Division during the week-end, but the proposals may not bo ready to lay before the House for some'time yet. The Minister of Defence, referring to the curtailment of tho training period in the case of certain recruits, ■ stated it should bo clearly understood that no man was sent into the firing line until he w.is considered by the responsible officers to be fit. Somo men had left New Zealand before they had completed the training period, owing to shortages and other causes, but these men completed their training _ elsewhere. Naturally some men acquired the necessary training quicker than others. The Minister added that he did not think there would bo any reason for the curtailment of tho training' period in New Zealand in tho future, as shortages woro now being made good. In July of last year, prior to sailinß for Canada for the final tour of the Dominions Royal Commission, Mr. J. R. Sinclair, of Dunedin, the New Zealand representative, intimated to tho Government his intention of making no further claim for travellinfr allowance, ho preferring to treat the final labours of the commission as war-timo l'mpiro work Mr. Sinclair has been warmly thanked by tho Government for his patriotic action, which as amounted to the saving of no less a sum than j£1231

1 lfis. lOd. Tho mobilisation of tho Thirty-fourth i Reinforcements will commence to-mor- ! row, the infantry and engineers entering camp at Trentham and other branches of tho service at Peathorston Camp. Prom now onward throughout tho summer months the infantry will remain at Trentham for the first few weeks • of their training, and will not go to tho segregation camp at Tauhcrenikau. The shortage in the camps is rapidly being made up, and it is expected that, very shortly it will have completely disappeared. At tho Magistrate's Court on Saturday, before Mr. D. G. A. Cooper, S.M., two first offenders for insobriety were each convicted and discharged. The' winter just passed through is looked upon as one of tho Lest, if not the best, ever' experienced in the Naseby district. There was very iittlo snow or frost. The number of years in which mining has been continued uninterruptedlv in Naseby aro so few that they could bo counted, on the fingers of one hand. Ploughing in some parts of tho plain has been continued all the wincer, and stock are looking.well. Boxing tournaments are becoming popular events in tho military training camps. An especially interesting series | of contests is expected to take place at , Trentham next Thursday night, when another tournament is to bo held. The Mahuta monument unveiled at Morrinsville last wook lias a concrete base about 15ft. x 15ft., with a smaller base, Bft. x Sit, on a solid block of granite. The monument is of marble, beautifully wrought. The statue, which is' life-size, is of splendid workmanship, handsomely sculptured, and true to typo. In the King's hand is a huge taiaha, the favourite fighting weapon of the Maori in past days. 'On the four sides are-inscribed tho ancestors of Manilla, giving the pedigree right back to the days when his forefathers landed in New Zealand from Hawaiki in tho seven canoes. At the rear of the monument stands the newly-erected Maori Parliament House. Tom Jones, residing at 11 Pipitea Street, was yesterday out shooting rabbits at Makara. when he accidentally received a gunshot wound in tho right hand. He was removed to tho Wellington Hospital. In a bitter gale in the North Sea le-oc-ntly the bulldog of H.M.S. — ran, to the side to bark at a dog m a passing fishing boat. It was snowing hard, the decks were covered with ice, and the dog slipped and went overboard. It was nt°onco obvious that the l dog, a great favourite, would drown; each wave threw it on its back as it tried to swim, and tho spindrift and broken sea inado it dangerous water for oven -a good £wimmcr. But Midshipman Sydney-T.Warr-Buckler at once jumped overboard fully dressed and swam back with the dog to a rope thrown from the shin. Both were none the worse. The midshipman has now got the silver medal of the Royal Society for tho Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. An eloquent appeal for funds wherewith to place the Anzac Club and Buffet in London on a sound financial footing was made at His Majesty's Theatre, Auckland, last week by Miss Ada Reeve, on the occasion of her first appearance in Now Zealand. The English comedienne dwelt upon tho value of the institution referred to, in affording to New Zealand and Australian soldiers on furlough in the Teat metropolis a meeting place, and an establishment where they might always rely upon, a welcome and indulge in desirable recreation. In Australia, said Miss Reeve, sho had been successful in raising .£II.OOO for the club, ohe confessed that she was ambitions to bring the total to £15,000 whilst on her tour of the Dominion. The money must-be raised if tho Anzac Club was_ to bo maintained, and sho was determined that it should' he. „,,.,. The exceptional mildness of the winter has had a notable effect on orchards in : and aronnd Alexandra (says the "Herald") Tho weather has been jml that could be desired; with the result that growth of all descriptions is well advanced and is in a much more forward ' condition than at this timejast season. ' Pruit trees which are beginning to bloom show splendid prospects of good crops of ' all fruits, and growers anticipate that ■ if they escape late frosts they will have 1 a real good season. Strawberries will i be scarce, as many growers have plough- < ed up the ground which formerly rtcw this fruit, and aro substituting tomatoes, ; as they consider this fruit will show better financial results. • 1

Mr. J. A. Frostick, in conversing with a Christchurcli "Sun" representative on Satnrdav respecting the reconstruction of the National Efficiency Board, expressed his keen regret at the decision of tho chairman of the old board not to accept offico in the new organisation. Mr. Frostick expressed his high appreciation of Mr. Ferguson's able and judicial mind/ and said that, he regarded Mr. Ferguson's decision as nothing short of a disaster.

The Fentlierstou Camp Trumpet Band, which is noted for ils_ excellent playing, gave n thoroughly enjoyable concert at tho Wellington Hospital grounds yesterday afternoon. A large number of persons listened to the music, and the amount collected was £i'i 3s. Gd., the largest sum that has been cullected at any performance on the grounds. Oil Saturday afternoon the baud paraded the streets,'nnd it will piny on its way to Ljmbtnn Station this morning.

Brighter weather calls for brighter clothes. Inspect our welt-cut best material suits at 705., 80s., flOs. George Fowlds, Ltd., Manners Street.—Advt

The institution by tho Bishop of Wellington of the Eov A. W. Payne, M.A., as first vicar of tho new Kclburh district took place yesterday at the churchroom of St. Michael and All Angels.

A young man named Thomas Jones, icsiding at 11 Pipitea Street, met with an accident while out shooting at Makara yesterday. His gun waa discharged accidentally, and tho shot injured his right hand soverely. Ho was admitted to the Hospital last night. It is reported from England by tho latest mail that a Fronch court-martial has sentenced to death a Finnish officer named Michaelsen and Marguerite- Zelle, 'tho divorced wife of a Dutch officer, for espionage Zello is a well-known Japanese danseuse, whoso stage name is Mata Hari. Tho trial of Mata Hari .created _h sensation. She w.us arrested months ago 'for espionage in connection with the 1916 Allied Bpring Inquiries showed 'that eho was a mystical serpentine Hindu ritual dancer, who attracted fashionable Parisians to tho lleuse Grimet and the leading theatres. She was ono of Germany's most skilful spies. The woman was oleverly defended at tho trial, but tho court-martial was unanimous. When sentenced to deatli Mata Hari muttered:

"It is impossible—impossible!" She is now in the cell at Saint Lazaro prison, which was occupied by Madame Steinheil (the Red Widow, recently married to Lord Abinger) v;hilo she was being tried for murder.