LOCAL AND GENERAL
According to tho careful observation and deduction of the Govorument Statistician the following increases in prices of commodities essential to life had taken placo in Wellington in February since July, 1914:—Groceries, 42.11 per cent.; dairy produce, 27.43 per cent.; meat, 34.77 per cent. Taking the three groups together the increase in Wellington amounts to 35.83 per cent. The biggest increaso in tho cost of these three food groups has taken place at Palmerston North, where the increase is set down at 42.42 per cent. That is the only town in tho Dominion where tho increase is reported to h/,vc exceeded 40 per cent. In tie other thrco metropolitan centres the rises are as follow:—Auckland, 30.55 per cent.; Cliristclmrch, 30.89 per cent.; and Duncdin, 37.33 per cent. In the House of Representative!! yes-i tor Jay Mr. J. V. Brown (Napier) <ravo notice to ask tho Minister of Defence whether tho Government, in view of the condemnation of General Robin recently expressed by Sir James Allen in connection witli the Motuihi scandal, intends to remove General Robin from Commander of the ForeosP There -will bo no l'quor legislation during the present short session of Parliament. When carriers were removing furniture from a cottage at Arch Hill, Auckland, which had been occupied by John Morgan, who died in November last, tliero were found a picklo-bottlo containing 486 sovereigns, also £130 in gold, notes, etc., in a handbag, and £20 ill silver, wrapped in paper, under a harmonium. Deceased was believed to be in necessitous oircumsjaiicos. His wife has been in flic Coslloy Home for two years.—Press Assn. Mr. J. V. Brown, member for Napier has given notice to ask the Minister of Defence whether it is true thai, the Government has been persuaded to release Mr. Scbloss fnm Somes Island • and will they explain why after over three and a half years of war Mr. Schloss was interned?
Fti Trent liani Camp orders Iho Camp Commandant expresses his commendation of Lhe prompt and energetic action of a party uf sappers from Ik. X.Z. Engineers Uemfureoiiienis, in saving and recovering from the, flood waters of the Unit Itivcr on Sunday stores, etc.,"working in cold water up to their waists for the greater pait of tho afternoon. 'flic efforts of Xo. •M,022 Sapper A. J. Johnston and Xo. 5(5,126 Sapper L. V. How are specially commended.
In connection with ..tho verbal resignation of Mr. 11. lialdwin ns Mayor of the Lower Mutt, tho borough clerk (Mr. YV. Nicholson) has ascertained from Die council's solicitor (Mr. E. P. Bunny) that such a notification is not legal unless it is followed up by handing in the resignation in writing, a course which, so far, Mr. Baldwin has not pursued. Clause 26 of the Municipal Corporations Act says: "Tho I Mayor may resign his office by writing under his hand delivered to tho Town Clerk, and in such case, or in the case of tho death, incapacity, or ouster from office of the Mayor, his office shall become vacant, and the council shall forthwith proceed to elect another Mayor in his stead, who shall hold office until the Mayor elected at the next annual election comes into office." The argument, therefore, is that tho Mayor may resign in writing, but is not given tho option of resigning by verbal notification. It is understood that Mr. Baldwin has been persuaded not to follow up his verbal resignation with a written endorsement pending a settlement of tho little trouble. In a pastoral letter, Archbishop Wright, of Sydney, says: "The,need of anti-shouting legislation grows apace with tho return of wounded men. Soldiers are tho lirst to demand it, and to express astonishment at the apathy and selfishness which permits men who have bled for their country to be victimised by temptations to drink. I hope that those who raised the petition before will renew it again, until legislators arc compelled to listen and not to scorn." The Defence Expenditure Commission, presided over by Sir Robert Anderson, will proceed to the Featherslon Camp this morning and later w'l! sit at Trentham Camp to examine matters of administration, rationing, the, disposal of refuse, conservation of food, etc. The Commission is due to hear further evidence in Wellington next week, and will sit at tho old Tarliamentary Buildings at 10 a.m. on Tuesday next. Mrs. Boden, on behalf of the Ciippled Soldiers' Fund, has received £68 15s. 6d. from the Wellington Orphans' Club. At a meeting of the Lower Hult branch of tho .Protestant Political Association a resolution was unanimously passed protesting against the action of tho Minister of Customs in censoring and refusing admittance to Now Zealand oE certain Protestant literature, and asking the Prime Minister to cause the embargo to bo removed and the. literature admitted. A. Press Association telegram from Oamaru states that a. resolution on similar lines to the foregoing was unanimously passed last night. A number of letters to the Editor are unavoidably held over owing to pressure on space. A London cable messago to tho Australian papers states that Cluing Ling Soo'was accidentally shot during a performance at tho Wood Green Empire Theatre, and died from his injuries. Chung Ling Soo appeared in New Zealand some years ago, and, in the ordinary courso of events, ho would have been here again soon, as ho was under contract to Fullers' Ltd. for a tour within the next fow months. He was a most remarkable man, a conjuror of raro morifc, and, it is said, notwithstanding_ his successful posing as a Chinoso juggler, was an astute Scot.
A petition from Mr. P. G. Dalziell, of Wellington, solicitor, was presented to the House of Representatives yesterday by Mr. J. P. Luko. The petitioner suggested that for the- sake of national efficiency generally, and for other kindred aims, "provision may be made- during the present session of Parliament whereby an opportunity may be afforded to employers and employees in each public servico or occupation whether controlled by the Government or by private individual*, to devise some method whereby the human energy and property involved in that service may bo efficiently used in the public interest." Mr. Dalzioll set down a number of other ideas "for the co-ordination of industry, the full realisation of national resources, the elimination of waste, the regulation of competition, the_ co-ordination of relations between Capital and Labour, and tho achievement of a common national aim in lieu of unregulated business «v----alry," During a heavy fresh in the stream caused by tho big rainstorm during last -week-end tho bridge over tho Horokiwi Stream was washed away — for tho third tune within twelve months. The cause of last Sunday's wash-away is said to have boon owing to the banking-iin of tho waters behind one of the wings of the old bridge, which had not been removed from the bed of tho stream. A correspondent points out that this bridge is essential to motor traffic through to the Mana<watu, and as its destruction has not been marie known to tho public many motorists havo left Wellington for the country beyond the point named only to find on reaching Horokiwi that they could not proceed further. Our informant stales that though a local resident had informed him tiiat a temporary bridgo could be laid down in a day, the bridge will not be repaired until about April 15, and he complains that, owing to tho inertia of the Hutt County Council (which lias jurisdiction over tho district), the main artery for motor traffic through to Palmerston North and Napier is blocked.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19180411.2.18
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 173, 11 April 1918, Page 4
Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,262LOCAL AND GENERAL Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 173, 11 April 1918, Page 4
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Dominion. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.