LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 254, 15 July 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Fire Brigade received a call yesterday to Willis Street, where a chimney in a dwelling-house caught tire, 'the outbreak was suppressed before any damage was done.

The small boy is provided for in Ihe new ll.utt liond by-law. It is provided that it shall be an offence against the by-law if anyone "wantonly or maliciously disturbs any inhabitant by I'lngiiig any door-bell, or knocking at any door of any house adjoining the road, or by blowing any trumpet or horn, beating any •Jrum or gong, using any oilier noisy instrument or ringing nny bell on the road."

A married man name'.' Tfobcri Caldwell, living at View Hand, Karori, viillnpsod suddenly ;,)I.T breakfast yeslerdny morning, and exniivd a few minutes later.' The deceased, who was about 85 ,'eais of age, tell forward on lo the tabic after finishing hit; meal, and it is supposed that deatn was due to heart failure An innuojt will probably be hold.

Taint has gone up considerably in prico owing to tlie heavy increase in the cost of while lca<l and oils, and ninny buildings in Wellington arc suffering as a result. It is estimated that the cost of painting any building to-day in Wellington is fully 100 per cent, higher than it was in tho first half of 1914. As there appears to lie no indication of any reduction in the prices of ingralionts necessary in tho mixing of good paint, tboro is a prospect that in many parts of tho city the "residential complexion" will not bo so bright and pleasing ns it was in happier days.

About 2000 persons want by train from tho Lambton Station to tho races at Trontham on Saturday, and 6omo 200 more from Petone and tho Lower Hut. There was a big rush for the train leaving at: 0.45, and nearly a thousand persons were disappointed, and had to wait till tho 12.15 train, or got to the course by some other moans of conveyance. About one hundred people were shut out from tho midday train. At the conclusion of tho races many patrons who rolled on tho trains had a dreary wait before they could get back to town.

The KUesmcre Kfticieney Committee dis r cussed last week their claims fcr the exemption of farmers. It resolved: "That the three cases now before the committee are typical of many such cases which must bo considered, i.e., farmers occupying good agricultural land, upon which (lie farmer docs as much as possible of his own work. Tf the first consideration is that men must be obtained, then men in these circumstances must go, but it production must lie kept up, then Uieso men should remain on their farms, on the undorstnndin? that they grow as much as they possibly caii of such crops, as arc necessary for food." It wc.s decided to forwnrd a copy of Ihe resolution to the Commissioner for tho Canterbury Military District, and to held over the'three cases in the meantime.

The Board of Trado has concluded its sittings in Dunedin. it will return next month to meet boot manufacturers and retailors in connection with the proposed scheme for standardising- footwear, both ns to quality and price. The lioard's scheme is well forward, as a good <loal of the groundwork has been covered bv inquiries already mado in Wellington, representative manufacturers having been summoned here, to meet tho board. Professor J. Macmillan Brown, of Cashmere, in the Juno number of the "Journal of tho Polynesian Society,, has an article on the islet of Riavaviu, or Vavitu, tho most southerly ot tho Austral Group, which lies about 300 miles south of the Society islands, and iust out of tho tropics. Tho population at the last census, in December, 1911, was 412, nearly one-fourth children. Males predominated amongst both children and adults. "Tho richness of tho soil," Professor Brown says, "and the easy harvest of the sea, make one think of thousands ns the natural capacity o tho island in the time of its ancient population, and thousands would be required to account for such luxuries ns tho great stone statues 1. found there and the great 'niaraes' 1 heard of. and it would have to be thousands well organised and disciplined." Oranges, tobacco., and other useful plants are grown all over tho island; the cofl'eo plant is so plentiful that it overshadows the ancient statues. Ho had .some difficulty in taking photographs of these, and the prints are speckled with spots of sunshine that straggled through the foliage of coffee ljuslies twenty feet high.

A Dunedin ironmaster, asked how the. trade arc getting on for raw material, said: "So far ns'we know there's not an ounce of iron ou the water for New Zealand. We are taping going by scraping up every odd lot, new or old, that can lse found in tho country. New Zealand never had such a clean-up of old iron. The rolling-mills lake all tho wrought and the foundries ".11 the cast, and between us wo are not missing anything worth cartage. The Minister of Munitions has been asked to try to get the Old Country to liberate a little, hut ?o far there is no response, and we are just scratching on from week to week,"

The "Lake AVakatipu Mail" reports very hard frosts last week, 20 degress of frost being recorded. The gums in the neighbourhood of the town furnish ample and striking testimony to the taste they have had of its quality. Sonic of the irecs in the mora exposed places hare been badly affected, and it is only tiina that will' tell whether they havo not actually been destroyed. Tho last occasion on which such a happening was recorded was fifteen years ago, when aTI the bluegums, largo and small, on tho lakeside were killed.

Some anxiety is felt in the back country (states the Waiau correspondent of the "Lyttelton Times") regarding tho nfifoty (if one of tho men working on Messrs. F. and J. Northcote's Whalesback run, where sft. of snow is lying. As soon a.s the snowstorm ceased the manager (Mr. Clark) and others, thinking the man would ho short of provisions, attempted to reach his hut. Ihey were una bio to get right to tho hut, but sent their dogs up, and though tho dogs barked, round tho door there was no sign of life. There is a possibility, however, that the man may have found liis way to the hut of a shepherd who lives further back; but no news has been obtainod so far.

, In mi article on the. oil-producing deposits of the Empire in "United Empire," tho Journal of tho Royal Colonial Institute, Mr. K H. Cunningham Craig writes of New Zealand as follows-.—"Oil-shales of very fair quality have been described and prospected in this Dominion. The percentage of sulphur in the crude oil has apparently been one of the chief difficulties to be overcome. J lie same difficulty has been experienced with llio Kimmeridge oil-shales of Dorset and Norfolk, and has been the subject of much experimental work. Tt is anticipated that a solution of tho problem will bo achieved eventually, awl will render available as a source of oil great quantities of material Hurt has at present to remain unexplpited.'

. Tho public inquiry into tho loss of the "Wimmora is to be held at Auckland, and Captain Fleming (Superintendent of Mercantile Marino at that port) has been instructed by tho Marino Department to make tho necessary arrangements.

Some time ago the president of the Southland League indicated that he was convinced that tho rabbit difficulty could be very greatly minimised by means of electric power, and in a conversation with a representative of tho "Southland Times" last week, Mr. Rodger said that a practical test of his suggestion had been made with very satisfactory results. He had consjgned to him a few days ago a dozen live rabbits, and through tho kindness of Mr. E. tt. Foster, the borough electrical engineer, and Mr. Crane, his assistant, the idea of killing the rabbits by electric power was proved to be possible. The lest was made by means of a length of ordinary sheep-proof wire netting, the electric current being passed through it at 230 volts, tho ordinary voltage supplied to a private house. The rabbits coming into contact with the wire-netting were electrocuted, and while two rabbits received only a slight shock, and recovcrr/ after a time, this was found to bo duo to tho primitive method of experimenting. The result of tho experiment has convinced those interested that further exhaustive tests in a practical way should be made, and arrangements have been made whereby theso tests will be carried out within the next few weeks.

Commenting on a enso id the sitting of the First Military Scrvico Board at Bnnsiora, the chairman (Mr. J. S. Evans, S.M.) said it was both a wrong- procedure and an unwise one on the part of an appellant to obtain a ropovt. on his case fiom the National Efficiency Committee of Advice before his appeal had been heard. If tho members or the com-' mittco wished to expitss their opinion on tho merits of an appellant's rase, they should appear before tho board and irivo ovidonca. Tt was for tho board to decide whether it was necessary to have a report from a committee of advice, 110 trusted that appellants would note this information.

Ladies will ho particularly interested in tho specially fine display of Trench Coat*, Rainproof Coats, and Woollen Sports Coats which wo aro now making. These Roods sot the highest possible standard in quality. They are cut in the . latest styles, and perfectly finished. Pnrtieular women who desire to dress welt should not lose an opportunity of making mi immediate inspection. Ton will find no complaint with our prices. Many of our coats) are quite exclusive. Davis and Clatcr, 216 Lowbton Quay. Wollington.-AdTt,

Tho difficulties tradesmen have to face at tho present time in securing stocks are illustrated by tho experiei.ee of an Auckland boot importer. Jiy mail last week he received notification that a case of hoots, bought and paid for in the United Slates on August 27, IHI7, had been duly dispatched to San Francisco, and had been held up there ever since, awaiting space on ships. The case would he sent on "as soon as opportunity oilers." \Vhon storage charges are met and high freight* paid those boob, are likely to come at a heavy lauded cost.

Several accidents occurred during the course of Saturday afternoon's Rugby matches. Al Dnppa Street a player, Corporal Dobson, belonging to the TrenIharn E team, suffered a compound fracture of his right thumb. The lame heiwocn Petone and Oriental on the Athletic Park was characterised by r.overal mishaps, tho most serious occurring to a. man named Watts, of (he Oriental team, who had a thigh bone split.

A. most untoward incident occurred at His Majesty's Theatre on Saturday evening, which'led to an arrest by the niilitary police. It appears that after a particularly pupulur turn there was a good deal of clamour for more, and whilst the applause and cat-calls were still to be heard, the next artist on the bill appeared. Tho applause, however, never stopped, but the new singer continued through his song. As ho commenced his fecond song, someone in Hie audience threw n penny on to the stage, and others following suit flung pennies on the stage and into tho orchestral well in such showers that the members of the orchestra, fearing that they would be hit by the hurtling coins, ceased playing, but the singer stood up to the fire, and continued to sing as though nothing untoward was happening, and signalled to Ihe orchestra with his hands to keep going. The artist went through tho ordeal with the utmost sang froid and composure. Whilst the trouble was on, and the artist was struggling to make himself heard through the din, the military police were called in, and caught one' non-commissioned officer rwl-hnmlMl hurtling nennies on to the stage. He was at once arrested. and after a cursory inanimation, marched off. That inli-rrmF tion had a quieting effect upon the few disturbers. At the conclusion of tlw turn, Mr. Walter Fuller came before tho audie.nw, and after apologising for the disturbance caused by a few rowdies with no sense of decency, said that he. deeply resented the insult that had been offered the artist, who was one -of .tho finest artists, who had ever visited >ew Zealand, and had a record that any performer could bo proud of. lie lopid that such a scene would never occur in tho theatre again, as such were not only an insult to Ihe artist but an atfront to the more intelligent section ot the audience,