LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 122, 9 February 1918, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Sir Joseph Ward, PostmasterGeneral, yesterday received from the High Commissioner a cablegram stating'that the-mails lost on the Andania, when she sank in tho Knglish Channel outward bound, included' 21 bags of letters, 3D bags of newspaper .Mid hooks, and 181 bags of registered parcels, all of which were for Wellington. The correspondence was posted approximately between January 23 and January 25.

The outbreak of measles at the military camps appears to' have sub,tided. Fresh cases have practically cnased to come forward, and it seems that the .prompt measures taken by the medical officers to isolate the patients and the eoutacts have proved successful.

The concentration of the Thirtyeighth Reinforcements was completed at Troiitham Camp yesterday when tho Auckland draft went into camp. The troops are enlisted for general service, and to-day tho work of selecting men for the Mounted Rifles, Specialists, and other branches will he begun. After tho selection has been made those 'chosen will bo transferred to Featherston, whilo the infantry will remain at Trentham.

It is an offence under the city bylaws to give a dog a bath in a watertrough, and publicity was given to this fact in the Magistrate's Court yesterday, when- Isaac Dill was convicted and- discharged by Mr. S. E. M'G'artby, S.M., for such an offence. At the Y.M.C.A. meeting in the Council Chamber on Thursday, Briga-dier-General Sir Robert Anderson told the story of an old lady who used to visit one of the military hospitals with "goodies" for the boys. They liked the good things she brought, but were not smitten with her quaint attentions otherwise. The old hands ■ used to snuggle up in their beds and pretend to sleep when they saw her coming, advising the new patients to entertain the old lady. One day she approached tho cot of a man who had been badly knocked about the head, so badly that his bandages only left a slit for the eyes and one for the mouth. "And were you wounded-on the head?" asked the sympathetic, inquirer. "No mum," said the soldier, "on the ankle, but the'bandage slipped 1"

Mr. S. Turner, F.R.G.S., has made the' first unaided ascent of the Footstool. The Footstool, which' adjoins Mount Sefton, is 9073 ft. high. In Mr. Turner's recent effort to climb Mount\ Cook from the Tasman side without a guide, ho reached a height of 11,700 ft. He is still hopeful of being successful from the Hooker bivouac.

■Owing to the-level" of-the. ivater in the Morton dam. at Wainui having fallen some inches below the'by-wash, the Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke) states that it-will-be necessary for householders and others to.exercise .a. little care in the use of water. There is no need for any alarm, as a downpour of rain, would alter the. situation, at once, but February is", our driest month, and naturally as one dry- day- succeeds another the drop in the level, of the water in ..the dam must. Become greater (owing to the configuration of the dam)'. All that the Mayor, would do is .impress ou people, who. are .apt, to be careless or lavish in the use of water to exercise' a' little more ''discretion : ' iff the interests' of: the city as -a-; whole. ;.-..•■ Military :Affairs.!.Committee -of Wellington is cabling Home today £1000—£500 tor Hastings-Havelock-Clive Hut" and £500. . for. "Knox Naval Hut," making ten Church Army Huts subscribed for during the last seven, months.

Property-owners who have not paid their rates for the period of the last half-year should take notice that the council is advertising that 10 per cent, will be.added to all rates unpaid six months and fourteen days after' 1 the issue of the demand. The Eating Amendment Act of 1910 provides for the imposition of the'-lO per cent, from the date of the issue of the demand, so that as all demands are not issued on the same day it is for the individual to ascertain by reference to his demand when it was issued and how he stands regarding the imposition; : ■'■:

. Lieutenant John H. Hines, who has been awarded the Military Cross, is the only-son of Mrs. M. Magee, of Eemuern Road, Auckland. He was born in Sydney, and educated' at the Auckland Grammar School, and was later in several insurance offices it) Auckland. Prior ...to enlisting •he was engaged in insurance agency work in. Suva, and loft with the Thirteenth.., Reinforce-, monies, as second-lieutenant, being in. charge of. tlio. gighallinp:...Corps. ■ While in England' he was detailed for. specialtraining, and was for.' seven ■ .montlis acting as signalling instructor on Salisbury Plain. From there he went to France, where, lie fractured his wrist while dispatch riding. He was wounded in the right thigh on December 3 last, and is now in.hospital .in England. Another recipient of the Cross is Lieutenant H.' St. A. Murray, a son of Mr. H. Murray, of Avonside, Christehurch. and -a'prominent athlete. He was the champion hurdler of Now Zealand for five or six years, and held the championship of Australasia for one year,' winning the ribbon when the meeting was held at Hobart. Lieutenant Murray went away in the Australian Engineers in June, 1916, and has been in France since October of the same year.

Mr. J. B. Moody, while driving in his motor-car at Day's Bay, pulled off the road on to the beach,. turned. Ins.car seawards, and went in for a swim. , A policeman noticed the ear, which carried neither headlights not tail light, and. Mr. Moody was charged in the Magistrate's Court yesterday before Mr. S. E. M'Carthy.-S.M., with not having lights on his motor-car showing in the direction in which he was going. M*. A. W. Blair, who appeared for defondant, explained the position of the motor-car, and remarked that it must' be obvious that the defendant did'not intend to drive his car into tho sea. The car was not in anybody's way, and was well off the road. Tho case was dismissed. _, ' The executivo of the New Zealand Returned Soidiers' Association met in' Wellington last .night. . The' pioceedings were not open to the Press.

The Nelson hop-picking season is approaching, and the officer in charge «f the women's blanch of the Labour Department is now registering hoppickers. Applications for labour from 'growers are boing received. There will bo-no special steamers this year, and. it will be necessary for pickers to secure berths in good time. Adults without children arc preferred, and no children of school age will be accepted by the Labour Department: It, is hoped that only persons- who are certain to accept work \vill_ register their names, as growers are liable to suffer severe, loss if tho people who have undertaken to pick for them do not make an appearance. The Dunedin wool valuation which took place this week disclosed excellent quality, tho wool generally being in much better condition than on the previous occasion (says the "Star"). The prices all through were thoroughly satisfactory, the'clean-scoured ■ cost being no more than last year, notwithstanding tho wool being valued higher in the grease. Owing to the increasing attendances and the lack of accommodation at the ladies' portion of tho Te Aro baths, it has been found necessary to curtail until further notice tho hours for girls under fifteen years of age to between 5.30 a.m. and 4.45 p.m. . This course is -rendered'necessary in order to. allow adults admission after -business hours. Tho Auckland Tailors' Union has received the support of the Labour Representation Committee in its opposition to tho new award 'which permits the introduction of'the teams system (says tho "Herald"). ' It is understood in the south that Mr. J. Hunter, a well known Christchurch barrister, has been requested, and has agreed, to appear for the dofence at the trial of .Eggers for the West Coast murder. Mr. Justice Chapman will take tho criminal session in Christchurch. "NO RUBBING" Laundry Help, Is. "GOLDEN RULE" Soap, Is. 3d. ' "GOLDEN RULE" Candles, Is. Heal for family use. • ' J. W. Smith, Taranaki Strcet.-Advt. . -A .good, washing...vest .enables one to keep cool and yet tidv. Our prices run ss. lid., 7s. Cd., 10s. fid., lis. Gd. Geo. Fowlds, Ltd., Manners Street.—-Advt.

A letter from a Waitara resident was read at a meeting of the executive of the Auckland Patriotic and War Relief Association, asking if tho association had any fund open for the benefit of prisoners of war in Turkey or Germany. Tho chairman, Mr. J. H. Gunson, read a letter from the secretary of the Advisory Board, which stated that Colonel Gibbon, Chief of the General Staff, had reported that the High Commissioner in London had formed a New Zealand Prisoners of War Department, taking over the work formerly undertaken by the Central Prisoners of War .Committee, on behalf of New Zealanders. Tho newlyformed Now Zealand department had thus taken control of all New Zealanders who were prisoners of war, whether civilians or soldiers. All money or,ders in connection with the purchase of food or clothing for New Zealand prisoners of war should, therefore, be forwarded, to the High Commissioner, and not to the Central Prisoners' of War Committee, as in the past.

A friendly application of considerable interest to holders of fire-risk policies and insurance companies was heard by Mr. Justice Cooper at the Supremo Court in Auckland, when Lichtenstein and Arnoldson, kauri gum merchants, of Auckland (Mr. Ziman), sought an interpretation of a clause in a fire insurance policy which exempted the company from liability for diunago occasioned to property by its own natural heating propensities or fermentation. The respondent was the South British Insurance Company, of Auckland (Mr. Tunks). The facts were that a fire occurred in a considerable quantity of kauri dust stored in bulk in tbo appellants' premises. Tho outbreak, believed to bo duo to natural heating, damaged a comparatively small por-' tion of the kauri dust, but a great deal of damage was done by water used iii suppressing the fire. The' point referred to the Court was whether the i% surance company was liable for.damago done by water to dust which was not damaged by fire. After hearing argument, His Honour reserved judgment.

Four more pupils of the Canterbury Aviation School qualified for their certificates on Wednesday,, their names being W. Gordon' Rich, R. L. Ronald'sony. and J. E. Royds, air of Christ-, church, and David; G. Gregofie,' of Pahiatua. Ail four candidates made excellent flights, each attaining . an altitude of .1000 feet or more.' jNone of the.four has been in. the school more than a month, and Gregorie, who has set tho school record in respect to progress, bad had only sixteen days' train.jng. This last batch'of .certificates brings the total gained' by pupils of the school to thirty-six."

At the Pukekohe Court, before Mr. W. Wilson, S.M., an interesting case was heard to determine "what is-a horse race?" At Tuakau on January 10 a sports meeting, was held. Two races were for horses in which the horsemen in one case had to dismount half-way, and each drink a bottle of hop beer; and the other at half-way dismount., light a cigarette, then gallop, back to the winning-post. The sports were held for charity. The local committee were now charged with having held an illegal race meeting. Mr. Ostler, counsel for the defendants, held that the final result of the races ; depended on the quickness of the riders fa dismount and drink the hop beer, also in lighting a cigarette; that it was not necessarily the'best horse to win. The winner of the hop-beer race expressed tho opinion in evidence that his horse , was not the best, but. his ability to drii.k' quicker was the element of his success.- The Magistrate .held that Sir Robert Stout's decision in the "walk, trot, and canter race." recently, bound him to decide that the races were illegal, but as the evidence pointed in the hop-beer race to other elements than the spaed of the'horse, lie (ii'Cide'c!.to dismiss it. . ette" race' he dismissed as trivial.

. A. report deserving of some attention from employers generally, was.presented .to the Auckland Patriotic Association executive by Mr. R. E. Fenton, chairman of tilt) discharged soldiers' employment department, of the association (says tlie "Star")'. The was as follows:--"!, regret to say thatnlie number of unemployed men on our list has increased considerably, there being now nearly one hundred names, though a large proportion of these have come on since Christmas. There appears to be rather too much retrenchment amongst employers, looked at from my point of view, so many positions hitherto filled by men being filled by girls and boys, or.not filled at all, when a vacancy occurs. For instance, 'one discharged man, who had been a storeman for a grocery firm, who had been told he could return to liis job, was told that the position was now done away with, tho work being done by the counter hands. Many employers also; through thoughtlessness probably, ad-' vertise a job that would very Well suit a returned man, instead of first ascertaining whether one could be procured here.' Of course, the returned men can and do apply for these jobs, but they do not get the same chance as they would if applying through this agency. Some firms have been very good in taking on returned men, whenever pos-' sible. ' .. ."'

A sum of £5 damages was given against a Masterton firm of bakers on Thursday for having fatally injured a dog with their motor delivery car. The whole of the officers of the Wairarapa Caledonian Society have been, elected without opposition." Mr. Dun-, can M'Lachlan is trie president for the coming year. • • "If a piece of bread a couple of inches square were discovered in a rubbish tin at Sling Gamp," said a returned soldier, "there was as serious an inquiry as though it were a plug of dynamite!" . Legal points of some interest, wero raised in ,the case in which Nicolas Bergs, carrier, of the Upper Hutt, was charged in the Magistrate's Court yesterday, before Mr< S. E. M'Carihy, S.M., with supplying soldiers with liquor. The liquor vas supplied to invalid soldiers at Lowry Bay and at Williams Park. Plain Clothes Con : stables Tricklebank and Russell stated that they saw a soldier obtain a bag and carry it into. tho bush. ' They followed him, and while talking to him two other soldiers came up. The bag contained three bottles of beer, which the defendant said ' he. gave.,to. the .soldiers* Mr- E, P. Bunny, who appeared for Bergs, contended that the invalid men were not members of tho Defence Force, and were merely receiving medical treatment in a military hospital.' Further, if they were hold to belong to the Defence Force tho liquor was supplied for consumption on the premises where it was supplied, which was not an offence against the regulations. Bergs gave .the liquor to tho meiv Tho Magistrate reserved his decision.'

An urgent appeal is being T.i.ade by tho Wellington Zoological Society for money to purchase a tieer and a black panther to add to the Zoo collection. The Tramways Band will «ivc a performance at Newtown Park to-morrow afternoon in aid of the fund to purchase, the animals.

What is the nationality' of_ a man whose father was a German, his mother a Dane, and who himself was born in Denmark and had lived for many 3 oars in New Zealand. This was a question that came up for solution before a meeting of the executive of the Christchurch Oversens Club. The case was further complicated by the fact that the man himself didnot know his nationality, although his father had been a naturalised Britisher. The executive decided that the solution of the question was beyond' its power, aiid : resolved to await tho decision "of a higher authority. v

A visitor to Quoenstown amusing himself last week by trying to do a bit of trout tickling in the creok, was jokingly advised hy a passor-by to look out lest an eel should snap at his hand, states the Dunedih "Star." Barely had the answering laugh found utier- ' since when a huge eel thrust forth its head and seized the tickler's hand, severely lacerating three iingers and the palm. The man bound'up the hand as well as he could, rushed into town, borrowed a pitchfork, and went back and threw up tons of the creek bed. at last finding and spearing the assailing eel, or one very like it, and hanging it in the willows. The/eel measured nearly five feet, and weighed 13lbi In the night the man's : wounds looked so serious that he had to get a doctor to attend to the hand.

Messrs. Baldwin and Raywara, of 215-217, Lambton Quay, Wellington, patent attorneys and consulting engineers, report that recently .thoy acted as agents in filing the following applications for letters-patent of New Zealand:—G. Tewgaiti, Grcytown, machino sheep bhears; W..L. Ply, Wellington, rims for holding -pneumatic tyres; T. E. Woqdroffe, Penrose, cushion for hewing machines; T. E. Wociclroffc". Penrose, holder for .music; J. Hume, Auckland, tobacco pipe; T. E. "Woodroffe, Auckland, holding leaves of music; 0. Jensen, Sydney, construction of toy animals; H. Gardner," Te Aroha. plate-rack drainer-; H. B. Murphy, Waikanae, Sax-treatinc: process; J. G. Newman. Milson's Point, crown corks; C. W. Durnford, Soiithalt, electric motor