LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 206, 20 May 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Tho Wellington and southern members pf tho Now Zealand Expeditionary Force belonging to returning draft ICO arrived by special train at the Thorndou station on Saturday afternoon. The Mayor (Mr. •T. V. Luke) and representatives of tho Defeneo Department and tho Returned Soldiers' Association received tho troops, and--tho Mayor, on bohalf of tho city, oxtonded a hearty welcome to the mon.

When appearing at tho Military Service Hoard on Saturday as counsel for a balloted man, who was unable to get nnyono to run his hueinoss wliile he wont to tho war. Mr. M. Myers remarked that there should be power to compel a number of porsqns engaged in one class of business to form a private company ro that mon who lind to remain behind could mnnage tho businesses. Tho chairman of he ward said that tho idea had been considered by tho Efficiency Board and tho military service boards.

Members of the Wellington City Council and tho city engineer visited the island at Island Bay on Saturday to see if tho placo could bo used in the disposal of nsh offal. Ono of tho councillors said afterwords that they found that there was plonty of laud for the purpose, and that n proposal might bo madfl to go in for digesters to convert tho offal into manure. It might also bo proposed to build a bridge from tho mainland to the island in connection with tho scheme.

Seemingly' the eight-hour iden. is not rigidly adhered to in Wellington. A milk vendor told the Military Service Board on Saturday that his dnily hours by continuous duty wero from 3 a.m. (o 9 p.m.—eighteen noure.

Some months ago Mr. A. P. Whatman, of Mnsterton, had half n ton of eels, which wero captured iii W.iirarapa Lako, frozon and seut Home. Tie lins now recoivod advice that fhe eels jirrived iu good condition.

"They have quito n battalion of dentists here," says a Dunedin lxicruit iu a letter written from ono the training camps. "Great workmen they are, but they seem to tako a delight in taking out as many teeth a3 possible. It is deadly to see youths with 2G and 28 teeth takon out at ono sitting, and you can't arguo tho point, either. If they say they are to eomo out, out they come. It ia all by painless. Of course, you don't feel them, but tho after-offects on eomo aro deadly. I havon't had my turn yet, and I can tip you I'll be glad when it is over." When a recruit is first medically examined as to iitness, the fitato of his teeth does not bar him from boing passed, if ho is otherwiso sound.

Tho famous caso in which tlio Maoris claim the l)cds of tho inland lakes of New Zealand will (says nti exchange) bo argued early in Juno, probably tho 10th, before Judge Wilson, of tlio Native Land Court. Tho plaintiffs will bo represented by Messrrs. F. Earl and C. P. Skerrett, Iv.C.'s, while tho Solicitor-General will appear for tho Government.

Writing ;n tho "Pall Mail" Gazette," "Tho Clubman" tells a Blory which, lie snys, has lwen going the round of the naval ports. At a cot-tain jinvnl bnse tho Commander-in-Chie£ evolved a theory that tho oil patches which often rise to tho surface when depth charges uro exploded do not .liecsssarily come from a stricken TJ-boat, but may be generated by the high explosives in the depth eliargu itself. To lest this theory, hu went cm! ont day on destroyer with a number of anti-submarino exportfi. The first charge was exploded nt a conaidorablo depth below water, nnd nothing happened. The next ono was touched off about 20 fool down, and mire enough up came a perfect (leln«e oC oil. But while the Cominan-dcr-in-Chicf was still chuckling over this vindication of his pet theory, the destroyer captain observed that tho .speed of his boat was falling oIV, and just then tho engineer rushed on deck in n fine fronzy. The second depth charge, it transpired, had blown a hole in 11k- duslroyer's oil tanks!

Tho collection taken up at I lie Newtown Zoo yesterday in aid of the /toological Society's Animal Fund produced J69.

The "Otago Daily Times" states that ;in interval of Iwo hours only separated l.ho receipt l.y a Mosjiel resident of a cablegram from his son; dispatched from Walton-on-Thames, intimating thai, he was leaving for Now Zealand, and a telegram from the same boh announcing his arrival in tho Dominion. 'Iho cablegram which was transmitted under the "E.lMt." regulations, iras lodged iu England on April 1.

Tho warehouse lately in tho occupation of M'Eldowney Bros., on Jervoie Quay, has been leased by that firm for ft period of ten years to the New Zealand Picture Supplies, Ltd. Tho sublessees ivill tako possession on June 1.

It is proposed to erect a convalescent ward for soldiers ae nu annexe to the Masterton Hospital. The Mayor (Mr. Coradino) has given notice to move that tho sum of ,£SOOO bo voted by the Patriofcio Association towards tho ward.

It has been decided, 6ays tho Auckland "Herald," to invito representatives of trade unions to attend tho forthcoming provincial conference of the Farmers', Union.

Speaking of the New Zealand Division in France, Colonel Plußje, who has iust returned, said, according to the "Herald," that when the recent Somrne offensive started it had just completed fivo weeks' training and recreation behind the lines. The men vere in eplendid condition when they left to resist the great German push. One battalion inarched SS miles from tho railhead to tho trenches and went straight into the fijht without a rest, and the men conducted themselves most gallantly- Such a font of endurance, ho said, was noteworthy. The New Zealnnders filled a four-mile gap at a most critical time, and undoubtedly had done their shim in holding the Germans.

Coal is beginning to roach Christcliurch from tho Mt. Torlcsso collieries at Broken River, on the Midland Railway. These collieries, situated on the Canterbury side of the dividing range, ai'o tapping'a coalfield that was first discovered very many years ago, but that could not be utilised except for local purposes owing to the lack of railway communication. A substantial eeam of coal outcrops, and settlers in the immediate neighbourhood used to got their coal for tho labour of hewing and carting. Tho mini; now being worked is capable of a daily output of 50 tona, and is expected to be producing 150 tons n day by the end of the present month. Ail" incident that would havo been amusing, hud it not ended seriously for four men, is recorded by a soldier writill" from ono of the camps at Home to his parents in Auckland. He relates how something went wrong with tho engine of an aeroplane, and the pilot was compelled to como down. "A big crowd of Tommies gathered round tho machine," he states, "and after tho pilot had repaired the trouble, he got half-a-dozen of them to' hold tho aeroplano while ho started tho propeller. Aβ soon aa tho Tommies heard Iho buzz of the blades they let ?o, and before tie pilot could got'in the machine was going round and round the paddock at about forty miles an hour. Several attempts were made by the pilot to get on board, but he was unable to do so. Unfortunately when tho machine began to move it bumped into the crowd of Tommies and knocked them down like skittle-nins. Our company was putting on their coats after physical drill, and when wo saw the aeropiano coming straight for us we ran for our lives. Finally one of tho wings caught the ground, and the plane turned over on its back. About a dozen men were lying on the ground, and of these four wero so seriously injured that there was not much hope for them."

An extraordinary caso of family neglect of education was brought before thcOlago Education Board in a report from the truant officer. There- are .no fewer than U children in tho family concerned, which belongs to the Sutton district, and only one of the 14 has reached as far as the fourth standard. The individual records show that the oldest, a Ind 21 years of age, now at the front, has passed only the second standard; the second, aged IS, passed the second standard, the third piissed the fourth, the fourth and fifth passed the third, and the sixth, aged 15, passed the second. These five latter are .ill working at home. Of the seven of school age, tho oldest a girl aged 12 years and nine months, has passed tho second standard, and jione of the remaininpr six has passed any standard at all. Tho youngest of the family is three year* old. ' The father was recently brought More two Justices of the Peace, who commented in strong terrns on his'imiazintr indifi'erenco to his children's welfare, and expressed regret that they could impose no penalty as defendant lived l>nyond the prescribed distance of Ihipemiles from tho school. The caso was adjourned, however, pending the next sitting of 'a Magistrate in the district. In the meantime tho father has promised to makft application for, a capitation grunt for driving his children to school, and to send them regularly in future.

A. number of alterations to tho timetablo of tho Eastbourne ferry service, niacin necessary during' tho overhaul of steamers, are advertised in this issue.