LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 224, 10 June 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

ihe Thirty-ninth Infantry Reinforcements were reviewed at Trenthaui Camp on Saturday morning >by the ActingPrime Minister and Minister for Defence (Sir James Allen) and the Commandant of ths New Zealand Forces (Major-General Sir Alfred Robin). The official party included Colonel C. M. Gibbon, 1.0.5., Chief of the General Staff; Colonel Tate, Adjutant-General, Captain 1). T. Bryan, Assistant-Military Secretary; Colonel H. R. Potter, C.M.G.; Camp Commandant; Colonel Miicdonahi' C.M.G., Chief Infantry Instructor; Major Sweelzer, and Captain Luckham. The Reinforcements, which were under the command of Major Ferguson, made a sood showing in tho revioir and march past.

What was apparently an attcmat to burn down tho Courthouse at Hulls w m discovered by a passer-by on Saturday night, says our special correspondent. Constablo Wilson, who lives in the vicinity, was called at once, and about a dozen buckets of water duelled the outbreak. Investigation shows that a deliberate attempt had been made to sot firo to tho building by means of a licht placed between the rear wall and the tank stand. There is little doubt that but for tho prompt action taken the building and contents, including the Court records, would have been desl.rov«l. There is no duo to tho perpetrators of the deed.

A rare phenomenon has been noted in the north-eastern sky in the nppcaranco of a slar of first magnitude. The position is right ascension 18 hours It minutes, declension o,degrees Dil minutes north. The magnitude of the celestial visitor is over 1, and it is situated between the constellations Aquila and Serpens, above tho bright star Altair.

Tho Wellington sittings cf tho Arbitration Court will comiaeiu.ee on Juno 17.

| There arc still no firemen in Wellington prepared to accept work in tho stokehold of the Union Steamship Company's Pateena, and as a result of her not being able to sail considerable inconvenience is being caused at Wellington, Nelson, and Picton, more particularly the lastnamed town as no passenger steamer, except tho Pateena of course, calls there. On Saturday as tho Anchor Company's Wellington-Nelson steamer Nikau niado a daylight trip, a call was made at Picton, taking about 70 passengers who had booked by tho Pateena on Friday. Tho Anchor Company's Jvaitoa will as usual sail for Nelson at 5 p.m. to-day, and Messrs. Johnston and O. will dispatch the steamer Blenheim for Havelock at 8 p.m., giving an opportunity for passengers to reach Picton if Hie importance of their mission warrants the trip by going overland from Havelock. The Union Company are still hoping to engage the six firemen necessary, and in the meantimo tho other members of tho ship's company aro standing by. Somo complaints havo been made regarding delay in the medical examination of balloted reservists. Business men feel that it is a hardship to bo kept waiting for. several hours at the place, of examination, and they suggest that definite times should be appointed by the examining lward. The military medical authorities l'cel that complaints of this kind are not well founded. It' may bo inconvenient for a business man to wait at the barracks, but the reservist concerned ought to remember that ho is called on military duty. Ho is a soldier for tho day and ho will receivo a soldier's pay. The examination of recruits is necessarily a slow business, owing to the necessity for makiSK complete and accurate records, and the'shortage of medical men makes it particularly important that the time _of the doctors should not be wasted waiting'for recruits j who arrive late. Experience has shown that, very many men cannot, be relied upon to arrive at a specified hour. Tho present system is to call one lot of men for the morning and another batch for tho afternoon, so thai, no man, unless he has travelling to do, is required to give more than half a day' to his medical examination. At the monthly meeting of tho Featherston County Council, held on Friday, Councillors Q. Donald and A. C Pearce were appointed to represent the council at a conference to bo held at Palmerston North on Juno 20, in regard to the proposed formation of a hydro-elec-tric power league. Tho areas concerned in the movement aro Wellington, Manawatu, Wairarapa, aud a portion of Hawko's Bay. An inquest was held on Saturday morning by Mr. W. G. Riddell, S.M., into tho cause of death of Henry Rayner, aged 71, who dropped dead in Ballanco Street on Friday afternoon, liayner was a retired farmer, residing near Carterton, and came to tho city about a fort-, night ago.. Henry Rayner, son of the deceased, said his father's health had been fairly good considering his age. He came to town for a holiday about a fortnight ago. and stayed, at Miramar. Dr. Kington Fyft'e, who made the postmortem examination, expressed the opinion that death was due to syncope and advanced heart disease. Tho Coroner returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence. Tho octagonal tramway waiting shed at. the Seatoim terniiuus, which was gutled by firo some month* ago, still stands a gaunt and blackened ruin, with its centre open to all the rains that fall aud tho winds that blow. Seatoun residents who havo to use the placo these winter nights complain of the delay on tho'part of the Miramax Borough Council in restoring tho sited, or at least in making it weatherproof. To add to tho inconveniences that exist, the place is not lighted up and the slot telephone (removed after the fire) has not been re-1 placed, In Saturday*!? Dominion appeared a cutting from a Gisborne paper, being a roferenco at a Harbour Board meeting there concerning a deputation which was said to have waited on the Minister cf Public Works with reference to harboui' improvement. Everyouo at tho meeting professed ignoranco as to the personnel of the deputation, aud could not Uecall the instance at all. On inquiry at tho offico of tho Minister it was learned by_a Dominion representative that the Ministor was waited upon in Gisl>orne on Jannary 25 last, when the matter of harbour improvement was. mentioned by the chairman of the Harbour Board (Mr. John Townley)'. Thoso present on tho occasion included the Mayor .(Mr. bherratt) and Mr. Reynolds (chairman of tUe County Council). In the Supremo Court on baturday morning His Honour Mr. Justice Hosking heard an application for alimony pendente lite mado ag.xn.st Marshall John Donnelly, ex-licensee of the CitJ Hotel by Hughena Jessie Donnelly. AH. M Mve7s, with him Mr. G Watson, apP eared for the applicant, the indent being represented by Mr. J. J. M Grath. Pending the disposal of a coming siml for judicial separation or the farther order of the Court, His Honour mado ail oX/hy consent that 30s. per week bo n'id to the petitioner for the maintenance and support of the daughter this sum to bo i addition to the already ,"Sled upon amount of per week to b? pad to the wife. His Honour intimated tout the allowance could not be regarded as in any way a standard for penimncnt maintenance, if such lie allowed. ~. . • i, 'A returned Duncdin soldier pa jsiW tribute to the bravery ot Sergeant "Dirk" Travis, on Invercargil soldier who'went awaV with tire Mam **. The returned man says that wlicn no hard he stories of tho many deeds said to have been done by Sergeant Travis he had some doubt as to their truth When, however, ho saw Travis 1 ' out amongst the shell hole* in No Man's Land in broad daylight to search the bodies of some dead German soldiers for anything that might prove of use to his intelligence departmenthis officer had askeu him to go out at ni»Ht—tho returned man was quite convinced. Travis, on this occasion was not fired on by the enemy, but failed to discover anything on the bodies except some'revolvers. The dead Germans were evidently, members of a special raiding nartv and did not wear identification (W Later, when a Gorman raid took place Travis and another sergeant stood up oil tho parapet, and threw bombs. The Sotithlander has an abiding faith that ho will not be shot, and (toes not ever wear a steel helmet. He has a roving commission, and is most highly thought of and trusted by his oiheers Travis has been awarded, the D.C.M. and the M.M.

Iniuries of a serious nature were sustained by Dr. G. J. Saunders, of Johnsonville, in an accident early on Saturday morning. Dr. Saunders was called about a a.m. to attend a patient at Tawa Flat. After leaving the ease ho entered his motor-car and was in the act of turning round to commence his homeward journey, when suddenly the car overturned at an embankment, . and he was thrown out. His hip was dislocated nnol he also received injuries to the head. Assistance was obtained, and Dr. Saunders was brought to Wellington and conveyed to the Thorndon Private Hospital, Davis Street. According to information received laid last night Dr. Saunders was progrt ssing sa'cMactorily. •V public wclcomo was accorded at the Kin".-) Theatre last night to llr. 11. E. Ilolfand, the newly-elected M.P. for Grey. There was a very large attendance and Sir. E. Kennedy presided over the meeting. Speeches congratulatory to Mr Holland were made by several speakers' In tho course of his reply Mr. Holland extended his thanks tu the gatherjji„ f or the heartv welcome accorded him and outlined the main incidents eoiinerted with th:> election campaign, the result of which, he churned, was n .-rc-it viciorv for Labour. He also erilicUe'd tho policy of the National Goverument.