LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 93, 12 January 1918, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The cup presented by the Camp Commandant at Featherston for the best-kept lmts and lines has been awarded to the Thirty-fifth Specialist Company for the week ended Saturday, January 5„ Further particulars of the incidentof "breaking guard" at - Trentham Camp show that the affair lacked tho element of sensationalism which earlier reports conveyed. One of the four escapees has sinco surrendered to the camp authorities. The sentry was not, as was at first stated, bound and gagged, but was rendered insensible by a knock on the head from an opening door. "I object," roared an elderly defend-, aut, named Jim. Ashby, in the Magistrate's Court yesterday, when asked if ho would consciit to an adjournment for a week, requested by the solicitor for tho complainant, a-very old man. Ashby was charged with assaulting Francisco Saroge, and in support of his objection Ashby said to the Magistrate (Air. S. E. M'Carthy): "I. assaulted | him, but, mind you, under provoca: j tion, sir; and I don't want to.come here again." The case was remanded for a week. 1 ..

Two Chinamen named Yip Wall and Charlio were convicted in the Magis-

trate's Court yesterday by Mr. S. E. M'Carthy, S.M., for working in their market gardens at Miramar on Sunday. Yip Wall was engaged thinning out carrots and Charlie was picking peas, some of which he had sold,' when the two w : ere observed by a constable. A fine of 20s. and costs was imposed on each, the alternative being seven days' imprisonment.

Landlords who let houses at weekly rentals may, through carelessness, make themselves liable for breaches of the Stamp Act. There were two cases heard yesterday which-illustrate the point. A. D. Duncan, who had ahouse let at 15s. per week, received! six weeks' rent, or 905., in ono lump, and entered this in the tenant's rentbook as six weekly payments of 155.. It .was pointed out by Mr. C. W. Wilson, who appeared for the' accused,. that there was no guilty' intention,, j

and quoted the law bearing on the lmbjcct. There t were two charges against Emily Kate' Miller of a similar character, but in her ease there were two houses let at 12s. a week each. Tlio Magistrate reserved his decision. 1

Tho widow of a discharged soldier who had selected land and had since

died appeared before the. Otago Land Board to urge that she should bo accorded all the privileges to which her husband would have been entitled if he had lived (says the Duncdin

"Star") The hoard expressed sym- | pathy with the widow's position, and promised that representations would he made to tho Government with the view of meeting her wishes. Tho position which has arisen appears to bo one that, has not been provided for in any existing legislation. Tho soldier referred to 110 doubt entered into obligations relying upon the assistance to which ho was legally entitled under tho Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act. widow now finds herself saddled with all his responsibilities, and yet she is unable to obtain assistance

through the channels to which heHmsband would have had access. Tbe-caso is certainly ono that calls for consideration, not only because of the merits of tho application, but because it is almost certain that other eases of tho sort will arise,

By an Order-in-Council gazetted last night, Hayes Street, Brooklyn, is exempted from tho provisions of the Public Works Act.

Owing to the abundance of feed in he lakes and rivers of the thermal disrict (says the Auckland "Herald"), a lonsiderablo improvement has taken ilace this year in the condition of the ainbow trout. Good fish have been aken from Lakes Rotorua and Rotoiti, nd in the river at Okere. Fish arc ileiitiful at Taupo, and in many in tances in better condition than at this imo last year., Anglers report tha' iwiilg to the cool weather fish are 110 ising to the fly as freely as usual, bu t is anticipated that excellent spur fill bo obtained later in the season I'he Waikato River has provided sonn ■xcellent rainbow trout, but owing ti lie abundance of feed they can onl. 1 ie taken as the reward of much paticn effort. The fishing in the Winganu liver is also reported as being,patch; ip to the present time.. The Auckland Presbytery lias resolv >d: "That in view of the Assembly' lecision that no minister called up b; (allot for military service shall lie ap >ealed for except when ho is consider id by the Presbytery to be absn'utel; issential to the Church's work, !-iiat il 'lew of the present shortage of minis .ers —a shortage mudi more likely tc io intensified than remedied —and ,1 r iew of tlio sacrifices and readjustment: .hat every loyal individual altd organ sation is constrained to make in thesi lays of national peril, the Presbytery ■ecognising that it must meet the pre ;cnt situation, even at the sacrifici if its pre-war standards of efficiency ihall inquire immediately into the pos libility of amalgamating adjacen .'harges for the period of the war, thi: investigation to concern especially tin iity and suburban congregations; .m< •hat a committee be set up to considci :he whole matter and report at the nex neoting of the Presbytery." The sum of £6000 was handed to tin Red Cross fund in Auckland on Tues lay by the committee which organise! ind managed the Commercial Travel ers' .surprise packet effort on Decern jer i 9. This does not represent tin ;otal benefit which the fund will re :eive as the result of Surprise I'acke Day (says the "Ilerald"), as it is esti natcd that when the returns havi seen completed a further £1300 will bi jaid over, making a total of £TSGO. The increaso in- the price of iroi swing to war conditions was brough jefore the Mount Roskill Road Board Auckland, at its meeting held thi: iveck by Mr. Henderson, engineer. Hi ;aid that when the board's presen von reservoir was constructed abou' ; hreo years ago the iron cost £12 10s ?er toil. The same class of iron is nov CSS per ton. ' In a certain institution in Hawke: 3ay some little time ago (states a Na)ier paper) the chairman of the Hos jital Board was showing round a doc or who had been sent up by tlio Pub ic Health Department at the requesl if the Hospital Board in order to gin hem the benefit,of his acjvice. At tin inclusion of the tour of inspectwi ;hc chairman remarked: "Now, doctor 'ou have seen the condition of. tin vholo institution; what do you adviw is to do?" The doctor remained sil nit, but plunging his hand into hii joclcet produced a box of _ matches vhich lie handed to his questioner. "Ours is the only profession," saic :ho president (Mr. Bridge) at the an mal meeting of the New Zealand Sur ■cyors' Institute in Auckland, "that ii isked to tender one against the othe or work. The council has approaehei ;ho Public Works Department to havi ;he tendering done away with, but ha ieen answered that there is alwayi ;ood response, and that therefore it s Satisfactory. This is to say, that then ire always to bo found amongst u; :hose who aro quite ready to cut oil mother's throats in the nsatter _o jrico. 'I appoal to all surveyors to giv< iho institute their help in bringing ti in end a state of things that certain]; loes not improve the status of the sw •eyor." There appeared beforo, the Firs Auckland Military Service Board oi iVednesday Dr. Frederick N. Spcncei uid Dr James L. Will, of the sfcal if tlio Auckland Hospital, who recent y returned to New Zealand from ac ive service. Dr. Will explained tha mth had received letters from tin Jovcnmient Statistician, .stating tha heir names had been removed from tn< Expeditionary Forco Reserve. The; mderstood, therefore, that they wer xempt. Tim chairman said that a ar as the board was concerncd onl; neu wounded and invalided, and win ind received their discharge, were ex nipt, and lie therefore failed to sei ,ipon what "rounds the Governme'i Statistician declared these nien to b exempt from the reserve. Some men it known, were balloted for whei thev'should not be in the reserve, am

that, of courso, was a mistake, but in this instance" what the board wanted to know was why the men were exempt from the' reserve. Major Conlan said it was inconceivable to him why ' the Government Statistician should .havo written, as he did:' Thero were 'contradictory statements, by one of which the Statistician said these men were drawn up by ballot and gazetted, and their names, numbers, and other particulars' sent to the Defence Department; while on the other hand the Statistician wrote fa; the appellants telling them that they are not reservists. ' flio chairman said that if the appellants stood out as a matter of right, the hoard would have nothing to do further ; but, if not. the board would have to consider the wisdnin of sending tliem on service or of retaining them in Is e\v Zealand. Reszardiiw the exemption as it stood at »re. c »nt, ho did not see the noint at all. The appeals were adib»rned. . „ " The Hon, W. D. S. Mac Donald, Minister of Agriculture, speaking at Ashburton on Tuesday, said that since the beginning of the war to the end of December last New Zealand had_ sold to the Imperial Government £J0,000,000 worth of foodstuffs and wool. That proved what a tremendously productive country New Zealand was. Th« production, indeed, was more per head in this country than in any other in the world, but, great as it was," it could' be increased.

Unless disaster has overtaken it in later days (states a London .paper), there stands in, Jamaica a tombstono bearing tho fallowing inscription: "Here lieth the body of Lewis Galdy, Esq., who died on the. 22nd of September, 1737, aged 80. He . . . settled on this island, where in the great earthquake, 1672. bo was swallowed up,

and by the wonderful providence of God. by a second shock,- thrown out into the sea, whore he continued swimming until he was taken up by a boat, and thus miraculously preserved. . . ."

Some discussion took place at a. meeting of the Canterbury Patriotic l'uml oil the question of a proposal to make a grant to a returned soldier to enable him to join the Flying School at Sockburn. Several members sym-

pathised with the.young man,-but expressed tho opinion that such a grant would bo for the purpose of making him fit to bo a soidier again, and it was 'purely a duty, of the Government to train men to make them fit io he soldiers. It would be a different matter altogether were ,the grant nill'elv for the purpose of rehabitating, the soldier. ' Various other opinions were expressed, and eventually it was decided that while sympathising-with the applicant in his desire to enter the school, tho executive was of the opiti- . ion that it was outside the scope of the fund to make -a grant to enable him to do so.

The Parisian fashion of dining in thd public highways has ■ been adopted (though in somewhat degraded form, it must be - admitted), by at least on 4 child in Cliristchurch (says tho "Press"). This infant, though not attired in a costumo which could bo termed stylish, or even eminently respectable, was observed in one of the cross-streets in the north of Christchurch, seated 011 the outer edge of tho pavement, dangling his legs in the gut- ' ter,'and'having on his face a look of trrimy- contentment. Beside him, on the'pavement, stood an. egs»-cup, having in it a decapitated egg; from which ho was extracting moutlifnls with the aid of a spoon, while on tlie other sido'of him, oil the surfaoo dust, lay a piece of bread, nrobably buttered . side downwards.' Thus, tho midday meal was lieiiic; consumed. People ought to' be aware "that under the War Regulations they ara obliged to furnish they may possess concerning reservists or soldiers when approached' by a constable. ' In order to give publicity to this matter the police proceeded against Loiiise Priestly, a boarding-bouse-keeper, for failing to give information to Constable Russell respecting a soldier! Mr. H. J?. O'J/cary, who appeared for the defendant,' explained that at various times soldiers stayed at her house, and again and again loafers had. come to the houso and inquired after soldiers, with tho object of sponging on them, and-when the policeman called. Mrs. .Priestly assumed that it was a'case .of a loafer (the constable being in civilian clothes), and. told him a falsehood. Then, when he. disclosed the fact that he was a.constable,' she did not like to go back on her statement. She was convicted and fined 205., • and ordered to pay costs'7s. ■ Wharf licences have . been withheld from Messrs. W. T. Young and Howell, secretary and assistant-secretary, respectively of the Seamen's Union, who lately served terms of imprisonment for offences under the War Regulations, and protest against this has been made by, some of the Labour bodies. A deputation representing labour unions waited upon the Defence Minister yestprday, to make an appeal on behalf of Messrs. Young and Howell, but the interview, at the request of tho members of the deputation, was not open to the Press. AYriting from England to the "Railway Review," Major D. Barclay, 8.D., of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, formerly of the railway service, states' Notwithstanding the disabilities caused by tho war, railway travelling is fairly comfortable. The running of dining-cars lias ■ been . discontinued on most.of the lines, but the passengers appear to willingly submit to any" little inconvenience, and make tho best of the existing facilities—viz., luncheon or tea baskets, and the station refreshment rooms. '" A great many trains have been cut out, stations temporarily closed, and in ■ somo. instances unimportant branch.line's have had traffic suspended for the _ time being. .On nearly all the railways women are being fairly, largely used to take the place of tlio men, and it is somewhat astonishing to notice the expert way in which they handle even the heavier classes of passengers' luggage. There are still some good fust trains running, and you can get a run. of a good many miles without a stop."

Application is to be' made to the Public Trustee by tlie Palnicrstoa North Hospital Board for a loan of £55,000, to enable considerable additions and alterations to be made to the.local hospital. •All the elements of a tragedy were present in an accident which happened iir the Clyde Cromwell Gorge on Saturday morning, last. Two lady •visitors from Dunedin set out to drive to Cromwell. The horse-was.a quiet and reliable one, and _ all went well until, they, were ascending the lull at Gibraltar," when , through ■ thp sudden breaking of a trace, horse, trap; and occupants were precipitated' over tlio bank —a drop of about 20ft. y lO ladies had miraculous escapes, getting off almost unhurt, but the .animal was so badly injured that it bad to be destroyed,— I "Dunstan Times." In the earlier part of Monday evening, a five-seater Dart motor-car, the property of Mr. Mclrtn, of the Invcrcargill"Tourist Co., was being driven back from a hire to Clifton (says the "Southland 'limes"). Ml'. l'agaji.of tlio Tourist Co., was at the wheel when suddenly he was assailed by a blast of smoke and ilames from the engine, which seemed to have somehow caught'firs underneath. The body of the car was completely destroyed and two of the tyres burned; but the chassis seems fairly .sound, also the engine. The machine was" a 1917 model and had' been only ten liiontßS on the road. . . ■

A. young woman, who stated that she was connected with a. station in the west of New South Wales, ■ somewhere in the Diamentina region, .showed m Kin" .Street, between George and litt Streets, Sydney, how she could, handlo liorses. .Two which had . become startled had. made a 'dash 'along * the ■street. The. visitor was waiting for a tram, when, she noticed the "horses, 'which were attached to a T.-agon, make their run. The street_ was crowdcd, j and realising the situation, she ed from the footpath to the road, and with another leap secured/the reins Then giving a hard tug she swerved the' frightened animals and brought tliem to a standstill. The act was witnessed by hundreds of people, u ho, when they realised what the youug Woman had done, cheered lustily, ibe 'driver- had left the turnout in charge of someone while he entered a shop. He was unable when lie taw the horses ! moving away to reach them in time r to prevent them from bolting, but lie followed, and . was agreeably surprised when they were pulled up so quickly, and by a woman, too. He was profuse in his-thanks, an'd remarked, "Well, you ? nusfc lm<nv something nboufc horses to do-what you ha\G done." "Oh, don't you trouble about life,"' replied the young woman../ 'Out on the Diamentina wo think nothing ot stopping a runaway or two almost every minute of the da.y, and as lor tossing a bullock by a twist of the tail —well, that's just as easy to me as removing'a slip-rail. But I want to tell you that I broke my.gingham, ana I suppose you'll oomc. through "with another?'' "Oh, yes. miss," replied the thankful-driver, "you may have two ginghams for the trouble you have saved me."

| Tho "tent campaign" run - by-.: the Salvation Army in Lower Cuba Street continues to draw large congregations. In fact, tho meetings have been so successful throughout week/that Staff-Captain Burton- has been - requested to continue the campaign for a further period. To-night, at • 7.15, a largo open-air meeting will bo held in Dixon Street, ;and at 8 p.m. a service ivill be held in tho tent. All day Sunday Colonel and Mrs. -M'limes will lead; Tho morning service will bo hold in the Vivian Street Citadel, tho afternoon and night services being held in the tent. ' Extra seating has been provided, but those desiring a good seat in the evening service are requests 'ed to be early to avoid . disappointment.

Toothbrush drill, introduced in a climber of the South Australian State schools last year by Dr. Gertrude Halley, particularly among the infant classesj is being gradually extended (slays' the Adelaide Dr. Halley is hopeful of having it adopted in all tho schools she; recently visited in the Port Pirie district, and has also suggested that it should bo started in the "schools recently taken over by the Government from Lutheran control. Toothbrush drill is. firmly established in some' of' the large infant schools in the' metropolitan area, and.- there is said to'' be already a marked improvement in the teeth of the children. Teachers: have'.informed Dr. Halley • 'that there are not so many, complaints about toothache, and that many _ tiny bpys and girls ■ seem to take -quite a pride in the appearance of theirteeth. The methods adopted for keeping tho brushes differ among the schools. _ At .some each child carried a brush in a little linen bag, and at others racks are provided, with no two brushes touching; and care is taken to see that' each Jittie.one always gels his or her own brush. The aim is to prolong the life of the. first teeth, -to give the. teeth the opportunity to •' grow in a clean mouth, and at ; the same time to inculcate ;tho -habit of caring for. the teeth in view of their greatimportance in relation to general physical fitness.

The returns of. the cases dealt with in the Auckland Police Court in connection with charges of -drunkenness show that in all there were 1220 convictions for drunkenness last/year, as compared with 1521. convictions the previous' year. For the first eleven •months of the year .the .decrease was gradual, 'andin proportion, .with, the decrease in such cases which set in at the commencement, of. tho .war, but it became decidedly more marked in December,, the first month of-the operation* of the 6 o'clock closing law.. In that month the convictions for drunkenness " were twenty less,. than theywere the. previous December. The deduction which .might fairly be drawn from the figures, say?-, the _ "Star,' seems to he that the anti-shouting legislation had very little effect' in the matter of decreasing the number of drunkenness cases in the city, but that the early, closing of hotels had a decided effect' in this direction.

The following letter, : signed ,F. Wotton, appeared in the Sydney "Daily Telegraph" of December 29: —Permit. ' ine to draw attention to a remarkablo fact', in -the. entering of Jerusalem by General. Allenby in a peaceful manner —i.e. without firinc a shot into the city. • The word ' 'Allenby'-' is a com■\bination of three.Hebrew words, with • extraordinary significance. "Al" means "God."- "Len" means or "dwells," ■ while means, "with me." Thus;.ther,word . "Allenby" signifies "God lodges with me." Truly, this is .significant ,of the. release of Jerusalem by the God of Israel, and brings to lisht .the prophecy of ,Isaiah (as Handel's "Messiah" . opens)— ."Comfort, ye, mv people; speak so •comfortably to. Jerusalem,, and say unto her that her-.-warfare is -accomplished, that her. iniquity is. pardoned. " And as Daniel declares that • "God rules in .the kingdoms of men, and giveth it. to whomsoever He ..will," it must, indeed, be gratifying to Jews to know that He has gitvn -the British ' Umpire preference of such an accomplishment, and hns restored peace to Jerusalem by a general bearing such a remarkable name. Information was,, received on Saturday afternoon last that Lieutenant James • William - Hugh Bannerman, formerly editor and manager' of the "Bluff Press," had died of wounds iu . France on December 23. He was the eldest : son of Mr. W. Bannerman, of. the Bank of New Zealand, and was. born at Ophir in May of 1887. Ho passed through the primary school course at Invercargill, ■ and then went to. the Otago High School/where ho took a great interest in the . Cadets, . this "leading' to' his'tiking ; up' with. Territorial: matters, 'to'. which/ho applied'himself. with; energy and; success. Ho went away as; lieutenants with the Twenty-ninth Reinforcements. widow is left with.two young children. . The deceased soldier was a representa-tive-cricketer, having played for both Otago and Southland, and is the -author of that useful compendium known to followers of tho summer pastime as "History of Otago. Representative Cricket." To the newspaper men of the Eolith Island the deceased was very favourably known, and by them he was much respected for his sbi.ity and his personal qualities.