LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 126, 14 February 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Sir James Allen, Minister of Defence, made a statement in Dunedin on Saturday night regarding the officers, non-commissioned officers, and men who had returned to New Zealand. Sir James Allen said the number who had como back to January 31 was 16,136. Of these 12,690 had been discharged or gazetted out, 309 were awaiting discharge, 1362 had returned to duty, 1399 were under medical treatment, and 54 had died.

Two slot telephones have been found to be altogether inadequate to copo with the demands of the public at the chief C'ourtenay Place tram station. It is quite a common sight to see both telephones in use, and knots of people waiting their turn to use thorn. To meet with tho demand the Department is now building a four-telephone bureau behind the waiting-shed in the reserve uoar the stopping-place. Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, tho first day of Lent. Mr. Joseph lladiield, who left here with a group of wireless men for India somo two years ago, is back again in Wellington, and resumes duty with the Post and Telegraph Department on March 1. Mr. ilnd(iel(jdias had his share of war experience. From Bombay he was dispatched to tho head of the Persian Gulf at the time General Townshend was forcing his way up the Mesopotamia valley. There the wireless men were attached to tho cavalry, and had to accompany each reconnaisance in tho desert, in order to keep in touch with headquarters. So they all became mounted men, and were called on for pretty continuous service. The heat, the flies, and the water were, ho says, worse enemies than the Turks. Mr. Hadfield suffered from a touch of the sun, dysentry, enteric, pleurisy, and rheumatics. From Mesopotamia ho was invalided to Bombay, where he spent two months in hospitals. _ From there he was sent to Alexandria, and after a few weeks there he was dispatched to Lemnos, where he caught the Aquitania for Englnnd. So largo is that steamer that she was able to take the wounded from eight vessels as big as tho hospital ship Maheno. Mr. tladlield spent a. further three months in hospital in England, and was thon sent back te New Zealand oh final discharge.

The Very Rev. Dr. Bcntoul, Melbourne, Chaplain General of the Australian Military Forces, Dr. MacFarland, vice-chancellor of tho Melbourne University, and Mr. William Gray, principal of the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Victoria, accompanied by tho Rev. Dr. Gibb, visited on Tuesday the military training cainp, Trenthani. The visit had been arranged by the military authorities, and the Camp Commandant received the visitors and gave instructions for their thorough inspection of the camp. The Australian visitors expressed themselves as delighted with the camp in all its various aspectsroads, drainage, sanitary arrangements, cooking, clothing, boths, and sleeping facilities. They seemed particularly impressed by the of the surgical, dentistry, and hospital arrangements, and by the institutes and modes of social recreation provided by the various churches and the Y.M.C.A. Chaplain General Rcntoul, who had visited officially the French and Belgian fronts in 1916-17, spoke in terms of the warmest admiration of tho heroism, skill, and discipline of the New Zealand troops and officers. Before tho war the Wanganui Harbour Board was paying 9d. per pound for blasting powder. To-day the price is Is. od., and (states the "Herald") it is very hard to obtain supplies at that figure. Tho Commercial Intelligence Department of the British Board of Trade is taking steps to prepnre a complete record of the representatives abroad of British firms. This record will be of great value to the trade commissioners in tho dominions and elsewhere in bringing local inquiries for British goods under' the notice of the manufacturers through their appointed agents, and will help also to avoid confusion and overlapping in the distribution of agencies. The chambers of commerce throughout the United Kingdom have been invited to assist in the preparation of the record.

I The run is on "NO RUBBING" Laundry Help, "GOLDEN BULE" Soap, and "GOLDEN I!ULE" Candles. Mrs. L. Kecd, Tiirnnaki Street.—Advt.

A penguin has made its home in the rocks of the eastern extensions mole at Timaru breakwater. It was a very bedraggled and sick-looking bird when it eamo up from the south one stormy day three weeks ago (states the "Herald"). Jt looked then a s though it would not long survive, but it found a fairly comfortable homo in a sheltered nook in the mole, where it gained protection from the wind and got the full benefit of the sun. It was observed, every day during its first week of residence in its new home, to venture out of the rocks and go to sea for a bath, and it appeared to bo getting weaker every day. Then it did not venture out for a week, and a search in the rocks revealed the bird moulting—a change- which it took very badly. Last week it appeared out again, this time resplendent in a now coat, of which it seemed justly proud. Now it leaves its rock-house home for tho sea every day, and never fails to return.

The Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) gave judgment yesterday on a preliminary point of law raised in the case of George Henry Thompson, of Wellington, against Herbert Henry Cook, farm salesman, Christcliurch. Plaintiff claimed £133 commission for work performed by him as agent for defendant in Wellington. The Court was asked to determine whether plaintiff must be licensed under the _ Land Agents Act before he had a right to sue. His Honour said that if the relation between defendant and plaintiff was that of master and servant, as letters put in implied, it seemed to His Honour that the provision of the Land Agents Act did not apply. Plaintiff did certain work for his employer only, and that did not bring him within the definition of a land agent, as laid down m the statute. _ His Honour therefore, held that plaintiff could proceed with his action. The question of costs was reserved until after the hearing of the action, which was fixed to be heard next Wednesday.

Mr. E. P. Rishworth took opportunity at Tuesday's meeting of the Petone Technical School Board to remove a misapprehension which he believed existed in the minds of some people. It was not, and never had been, he said, the intention of the Lower Hutt committee to cut adrift from Petone, which was tho parent of the Lower Hutt School. The Petone Board had greatly assisted the Hutt and the Hutt committee was very grateful. Mr. J. G. Castle, chairman of the Petone Board, said that personally he would rejoice if the Lower Hutt School progressed to such an extent that it required a board of its own. All ho desired was tho welfare of the children.

The now Infectious Diseases Hospital, now being erected on tho ridge near the existing institution which bears that name, is to have a water supply independent of the rest of the Hospital. ■ As the site of the new building is well above the service reservoir of Coromandel Street, it would need a pumping machinery set to force the wati'r up to the higher level. Rather than go to that expense it has been decided to draw supplies from . the service reservoir at Roseueatli, the water to he conducted along the Mount Victoria ridge by a two-inch main. Though the method is costly, it is under the cost of putting in another pumping set, besides which tho main might be utilised for other purposes apart from the Hospital. The Hospital Hoard is defraying the cost, which will approach the £1000 mark. At the Hospital the main will lead into a concrete reservoir that will hold 40,000 gallons (six days'' supply); so that if anything wore to go amiss with the main the Hospital will always have about a week's supply in hand. The roof-rain will also bo conducted into the concrete reserve tank. When the new building is ready the present Infectious Diseases Hospital will be set apart for diphtheria cases. ' Good Friday this year falls on March 29 and Easter Monday on April 1. The executive of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association at its recent meeting considered at length the question of land settlement. It was stated that sonic six hundred returned soldiers had settled on the land under the Government scheme, and up to tho present the percentage of failures bad been small. It was also stated that there was practically no evidence of any desire on tho part of returned soldiers to tako up poultryraising or fruit farming. The executive decided that before formulating further proposals efforts should bo made to obtain as much evidence as possiblo from soldier settlers upon any deficiencies in the present working, and tho general secretary was instructed to communicate with all settlers whose addresses could bo obtained, inviting them to supply such information. It was also directed summary of tho reports received should be submitted for consideration at the ■ annual conference to be held in Auckland in May. ,

Yesterday, says our Napier correspondent. Frank Rhodes, licensee of the Calouonian Hotel, Napier, was, on tlio petition of Baunatyne, Hunter, and Co., of Wellington, adjudged a bankrupt. Bankrupt is indebted to the petitioning company foi £163.

A. man who had earned a cheque on a station, and then enjoyed a jamboree at Queenstown, tried unavailingly to get a drink on the Earnslaw as she was crossing Lake AVakatipu last week. Enraged at the refusal, and declaring it was a shame that, though he had a pocketful of money, he was dying for a drop, he proceeded to revenge himself upon society by commencing to throw overboard the wraps that were left on tlio seats by passengers who had gone below for morning tea, and three of these articles were over the side before the steamer's men could intervene. Then came the question of reparation, and after the transgressor had thought over the options which tho law allows by way of satisfaction in such a case bo contritely paid £8 Bs. as the assessed value of the wraps which he had set alloat.

When a certain man who had just "done his three months' hard" stepped from the portals of Lyttelton gaol on Saturday, he was confronted by a sor-t'.oant-iuajor and a couple of military policemen, and presented with a notice requesting his immediate attendanco before a military medical board for tho purpose of ascertaining whether ho was capable of performing further service for his country in another class of work, viz., of lighting at tho front, ho having been drawn in a ballot during his incarceration in gaol. It is stated that this is tho practice now _ being adopted by the military authorities in t'ifo case of men who are in prison when they are drawn in the ballot, and wno are thought likely to be hard to (hid after being released, unless their prosonce is immediately secured before a medical board. No fewer than nine common jurors wore exempted by Mr. Justice Chapman from serving at the opening of the criminal sessions of the Christchurch Supreme Court on Monday morning. It was stated at South Shields (England) that in order to evade military service Charles Edward Millar, 27, a joiner, had hidden in a small front room for over two years, and had not left it during the whole time. He was handed to the military authorities, and his parents wero fined £2 10s. each for aiding and abetting. SMALL THINGS MEAN BIG PROFITS. And a small idea sometimes makes a big fortune for the lucky man who was wise enough to use I lie idea when he had it. Make your ideas earif-'a fortune for you. Send for splendid free Book, "Advico to Inventors. Henry Hughes, Ltd., Featherston Stroet, Wellington.— Advt.

"While men outside are struggling with experiences greater perhaps than even heroes-, of historv ever realised, wo are exiled," writes a prisoner of war at Itnhlcbon Camp, Germany, to Mr. Howeli, Director of Technical College, Christ-church. "'How strangelywo are feeling tho lack of contact with the world; the absence of new ideas, of new methods, is markedly apparent. Our conversational powers aro certainly degenerating: men cannot sustain a serious subject for any length of time. But, on the other hand, how interesting it is to study the changes of language, the growth of a definite idiom, the new value given to words, the introduction of peculiar constructions due to the constant interchange of several tongues. How interesting it is to study the psychological effects of internment— the peculiar influences exerted over some, the entirely neg"tive results on certain men, and the strengthening in every independent aspect of others. Adaptability to circumstances is a striking Feature, but the cheerfulness and dogged spirit which displays itself whenever burdens become heavier is even more striking. One thing, however, lias been much remarked on, and that is that the most contented aro those who are thoroughly absorbed in serious work, either in connection with their own profession or in connection with the control of the camp." A miner named Dennis M'Glennon got into difficulties in the surf at Waihi beach on Sunday, says the Auckland "Star," and was being taken out by the undertow when ho was rescued by Constable Heeps, who rushed into the water without divesting himself <n his clothiug. M'Glennon was in an unconscious condition, and artificial respiration had to be continued for over a hour before the desired result was attained. M'Glennon is a powerful swimmer.

A matter upon which, at the time, considerable public interest was centred was an operation, authorised by the Hon. J. A. Hanan, while he held the portfolio of Justice, upon a young prisoner whose conduct was held to be due to some pressure on the brain. In conversation with the Hon. Mr. Hanan, a "Southland Times" representative inquired whether the desired results had been obtained. The Minister answered that as soon as he was sufficiently recovered from the operation, the young man was removed to better surroundings. He is now in the Waikeria Reformatory, and latest advices report him in good health. Mr. Hanan ndded that it was yet too early to pronounce a definite opinion as to whether the operation would produce the results which were hoped for when it was undertaken.