LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 143, 6 March 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The monthly summary of the work of the Discharged Soldiers' Information Department shows that 14,753 returned soldiers have been registered by the officers of tho Department. Of these 11,474 have been "disposed of," having either been found work by tho Department or signified that they did not wish any assistance. There are 1794 cases under action, and 1485 "not ready for action." This latter total includes convalescent men, not yet ready to go to work, and men not discharged by the military authorities.

"I would like to ask when the special committee on the milk question is going to report," said Councillor J. Uoclbcr at last evening's meeting of the City Council. Councillor C. B. .Norwood (chairman of the committee) said that the committee had held a num ber of meetings, and each ono had only served to show 'the enormity of the question. Ho personally had been given the opportunity of going thoroughly into the milk supply of Auckland, and it had opened his mind to possibilities. So far the committee had not been able to study the whole ques tion, but ho hoped to be in a position to report at the next meeting of th-> council.

Mr. W. J. Mahoney, chief clerk of the Hawera- Post Office, had a narrow escape from a serious accident when motoring to Waiiganui with a friend. When near Wostmere the car struck a blind culvert, causing it to capsize. Mr. Mahoney sustained a sprained ankle and some abrasions to the head.

Tho Fire Brigade received a call at six minutes past Jive last evening to 3G 'Moin Street," Newtown, where a motorcycle shed bn Mr. B. Seneloss's property was on. fire. There was stored in the slied a motor-cycle and side-car belonging to Mr. Henry Archdale and insured in the New Zealand Insurance Company for £75. The shed., motorcycle and side-car were all badly damaged. The cause of the liro is not known.

The City Council decided last evening that if tho residents of Wadestown will contribute a sum of £30, the corporation will bo propared to erect a tramways waiting shed at the Highland Park Estate.

Tho Now Zealand Natives' Association Band will piny selections .it tho Basin Reserve to-night at 8 o'clock.

Otio common form of summer sickness in children in Wellington this joiir has been in breaking out of sores, on tiie legs, arms, body, and, very often, in the ears, 'flic first iiuncalions are the sudden appearance of opon sums, which look Jikc abrasions of tho skin, but which commence to snperate unless treated. . They arc not painful, but aro apt to itch at night, and scratching them only spreads the trouble. A tonic and some healing ointment soon have an effect on the sures, which dry up after a few days treatment.

The mobilisation of tho Tliirly-mutli Reinforcements began at Treutham yesterday, when the Canterbury men went into camp. The Otago draft will arrive this morning, and Wellington and Auckland will mobilise at Trentliam tomorrow and Friday respectively.

The Thirty-sixth Infantry lteinforcenients will 'move from Featherston Camp to Trentham by route march early next week, leaving Featherston en Tuesday or Wednesday, morning.

A somewhat unusual case came before Mr. AV. G. lliddol], S.M., in the Magistrate's Court yesterday, wbon a settler in the north, named Bcveridgo Topp, a dairyman, residing at Avhitiaugii, was sued by Von Hartitzsch and Collins, 111 Taranaki Street, to re, cover £25 16s. 4d. alleged to'be the balance of account duo for work done. Mr. G. G. G. Watson, who represented Topp, stated that a mistake had been made in calling his client, who bad resided in the back-country for about seventeen years, and had never even beard of the plaintiffs. Ho had iii(Hinod nearly £25 expenses in coming to Wellington. Ho left Whitmngn last Friday, and would bo fortunate if ho reached his home by next Friday. It wbb pointed out to the plain tip some little time back that a mistake bad been mtido, but they preferred to go on with the case. Counsel submit ted tbat the only question to bo considered by the Court was the amount of expenses the defendant could recover from the plaintiffs. Mr. w . <*. lliddell, S.M., who heard the case, hold that tho defence could havo been taken at Coromandel, and the defendant need not have come to Wellington. Plaintiffs wero nonsuited, and defendant was allowed £8 us. costs. Mr. H. E. Anderson appeared for the plaintiffs.

Wellington is largely a study in contrasts. At Thorndon the Railway Department finds itself sorely hampered for room for the steady expansion that goes on irrespective of tho war or any other consideration, yet running parallel with the railway linee is the riiorn(lon Esplanade, a reserve which lias long ago fallen into disuse and neglect, ana which everyone knows must be taken over by the Department sooner or later.; At the To Aro terminus, one side of the northern end of Lower Taranaki Street is alive with building activity associated with tho erection or big warehouses for Messrs. John Chambers and Son and Inglis Bros. On the other side is the ■Tβ Aro railway station and yard, the latter now hip high in weeds, to the obscuring of the I mils, and the station itself is boarded up. One of tho platforms is being need as a temporary storo by the Army Service Corps. Alighting from moving trains and tramcars has been the cause of many serious accidents, and another was added to the list on Monday evening. Francis Hugh Boyle, Specialists Corps, Ftatherston Camp, boarded the second Wellington-bound troop-train, and travelled iu a covered-in wagon as far as the Lower Hutt, and then alighted and made for an engine-shed, where his father was working. Remembering 'that he had left a parcel in the train, he went back to get it, but the tram had begun to move out of the station. I Boyle got his parcel, left the wagon by i au end door, and stood on the brake preparatory to jumping off. His foot slipped, and he fell between the wagons. He tried to roll clear of tho line, but the wheels of one of the wagons passed [ over his foot, crushing the toes very sevorely. Boyle was conveyed to the Trentham Military Hospital, where his injuries were attended to. Boyle, in a statement made to a constable, said that the sliding-door at the side was crowded, and as his seat was near the end of the wagon he got out that way.

■ Mr T Ballinger mentioned, at tho meeting of the Technical Education Board last evening, the fact that a, committee of school teachers had been appointed to obtain subscriptions from school children for the Red Triangle war funds, the subscriptions being limited to 3d. In Auckland the scheme had resulted in over £900 being subscribed. The board consented to the Technical School children being invited to subscribe to tho fund, i At a meeting of the Canterbury Fruitgrowers' Association, Mr. <-. Thornton drew attention to the large margin between wholesale and retail prices of fruit. He had sold apples at the rate of lid. per lb at auction and had seen the same fruit retailed at 4d. and sd. a lb., which margin was far too large. He urged the association to try to obtain a closer and more satisfactory connection between grower and consumer, to the advantage of both. The chairman said that the Fruitgrowers' Federation was about to institute a fruit campaign, and intended to spend between 1-500 and £1000 in advertising. It was hoped to get results on the lines indicated by Mr. Thornton.

Few people realise what it costs the ■Wellington Cricket Association for the use of the Basin Reserve. At last night's meeting of the Cricket Association an account amounting to £87 10s. was passed for payment to the City Council for the use of the reserve for tho first half of the season; As was pointed out at the meeting it cost the association £175 for five months' use of the "Basin." No other association in Now Zealand paid so highly for cricket.

At last night's meeting of the Wellington Cricket Association, it was reported that the benefit match played in aid of the Athletic Park retention fund realised £16 3s. 6d.

At last evening's meeting of the City Council, Councillor M. F. Luckie called the attention o( the council to a statement made by the Mayor in reference to the proposed new reclamation at Thorndon, and the pending loss of the Thorndon. Baths. As a member of the Baths Committee he knew that sooner or later they must lose tho Esplanade and the baths, but he wished to know if earlier' action than anticipated was contemplated, • and whether the area to be dealt with immediately included the baths. The Mayor said that he had merely identified the work of the City Engineer with what had been done so far. The matter had come up at a recent meotin« of tho Harbour Board, and ho had supplied the city's side of the matter. A report had already been submitted to the council. ' Now they had to find out the mind of the Government. (A voico: "Tho mind of Mr. Hiley.") Tho Government was responsible for tho railways, and ae soon-as they got at tho mind of the Government they ivould tako stops to see what the city's position was going to bo. He realised that it would lie detrimental to the hoalth of the city to eliminate the Thorndon Baths without providing something to take its place. (A councillor: "It's in Wellington North!") They all know that ho advocated a substitute long ago. At this stage |tho matter Wias dropped—nimidst ;i I ripple of merriment.'

A minister of religion sot a splendid examplo in a country district of North Otago recently by working long hours daily in the harvest field, whore he stooked, led in, loaded drnys, forked to the stack, and excited universal admiration by his dexterity as a "crow." Ho has many countrymen south of the Waitaki who would be proud of his achievements if wo dared mention his name.—Osmaru "Mail."

The resolution which has been going tho rounds of the local bodies requesting the Dominion's representatives to the Imperial Conference to urge the retention by the Jinipire of the German colonies in the Pacific reached the City Couucil last evening. Councillor j. E. Fitzgerald wished to know if there was any doubt upon tho point. Councillor M'. F. Luckie said there was no doubt in their minds about what should be done but the great importance of the retention of those colonies might not loom &o large in the minds of our statesmen at Home, who may not be seized of tho true position. Counoillor L. M'Kcnzie said it would be a very sevious matter ■If Germany were to be allowed to resume control of Samoa and Njcw Guinea. The establishment of naval bases in thoso islands would be a- constant menace to Now , Zealand. Councillor A. E. Atkinson agreed that the hands of their representatives should be strengthened as much as possibleif only to show what a very important issue ' was at stake. The resolution was eudorsed, tho Mayor intimating that it was his intention to convene a. public meeting at an early date, in order to discuss tho whole;question.

Writiug from Palestine under date of December 26, 1917, a sergeant in the New Zealand Mounted Hides describes their Christmas Day --"Christmas morning dawned, showing a very cloudy sky, but wo had to pack up bright and early to do a twelve-mile trek back to our resting area, where we were to have a, week's rest after our six weeks' hard fighting. By 8.30 a.m., what previously looked like a camping ground was only an ordinary gully in the landscape. We were off on a journey that will live long in the memories oi' all those who made it. The ground for miles and miles, if hot under water, was so saturated that the horses sank up over their hocks, and we had only travorsed a few miles when the rain at iv paco practically unknown in Now Zealand. We had our rations, blankets, and everything wo possessed on our horses, and needless to' remark, everything was wet through. ■ We Uvaded, or rather our horses did, through these bogs and- ponds until about 3 p.m., eventually arriving on the much-cursed sand of last summer and tho preceding one. It was bitterly coLd, still raining, and we just erected our 'bivvioa' as best wo could, tossed in our wet blankets, partook or wet bread and cold tea, and spent the most miserable night I have ever experienced."

At last night's meeting of tho Wanganui Borough Council a communication was received from the Auckland City Council asking 'endorsement of a resolution protesting against handing back Samoa to Germany. The Mayor, in referring to this matter recalled that in 1898, when portion of Samoa was ceded to Germany, Mr. W. J. Napier, of Auckland, convened a meeting of protest. Leading people of Auckland, however, mainly to snub Mr. Napier, instead of emphasising the protest passed a resolution expressing the opinion that there should be no interference in matters of Imperial policy. Time, said Mr. Mackay, has proved Mr. Napier's foresight, and Auckland evidently now recognises the tact, me resolution was endorsed—Press Association. After a tour which he has just made of "the West Coast portion of his electorate, Mr. R. P. Hudson M.P. lor Motueka, is more impressed than ever with tho need for further opening of roads to enable backblocks settlers to obtain the fruits of their labours and increase production, states a JNelson paper,. Mr. Hudson is strongly of opinion that curtailment of expenditure in this direction is not only unjust to the settlers, but suicidal from a national point of view. There are men in the bush districts, says Mr. Hudson, who have to carry their cream out on horsoback in caii3 held on the pommel of the saddle. If the cans were placed on either side of tho horse they would be knocked off by the trees. Tho tracks were rough and broken, and frequently the horses have to plunge about in mud and slush up to their girths. A boot operator named Herbert Staples, who lives at ParneH, Auckland, was caught in a heavy rainstorm near Drury Lane on Monday afternoon, and took shelter in an old whare. _ Tho storm caused the roof of the building to collapse, burying him to such an extent that he was unable to extricate himself. His plight was discovered by two young men, who rescued him and conveyed him to the hospital. An effort is being made by the Marine Department to rehabilitate tho oyeter bods in the neighbourhood of Whangaroa Harbour, which have for somo reason in recent years, been exceedingly scanty in yield ae compared with those of the Bay of Islands, to tho south, or of Mangonui, further north. A few days ago a scow load of oysters-bearing boulders was taken from the vicinity of Russell and distributed in various parts of Whangaroa Harbour. It is hoped that the epat from these oysters will take possession of the Whangaroa rocks, and ensure a plentiful supply from the neighbourhood in future years.

The extent io which the "brown Tot" has affected the stone fruit crops may, says the Auckland "Herald," be gauged from the fact that one northern grower, who contemplated marketing .500 cases of fruit, was able to sell 20 cases only. Although the fruit showed no signs of disease when packed, upon the enses being opened at the market on the following day, the fruit was found to . be unfit for sale. Apples, as yet, have not been badly attacked, but quinces have suffered severely. The method of prevention is by spraying with bluestone in winter. Experiments in summer treatment aro being made.

The Fiji group was yieited by the recent cyclonic gale which was reported off the Australian coast, and reports received show that the island steamers were severely buffeted. One'vessel had her decks swept, and another which passed through an exciting experience, was three days late in reaching her destination. Flood rains caused considerable damage.