LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 266, 30 July 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The .Defence Minister has had advice by cablegram from tho hospital ship which left New Zealand some two months ago. The mcssago states: "All well ou board."

"A groat deal is said hero about men being 'unfit' for active earvice," said Chaplain T. I". Taylor in St. Mark's Schoolroom. "1 wonder what the medical boards would -have said to tho men who held the lines at Gallipoli for tho three months before the evacuation. They were all unlit, but they would not go away. They were sick and weary and harassed. They were suffering from dysentery as well as the bullets of the Turks. Many of them had been ,so reduced in weight that they wero mere phantoms. But they carried on. They were all brothers and they were not going to desert one another."

The Kelbiirn-Karori cable cars were held up for some time last evening as a result of a ear running off the lino immediately after commencine the upward journey from Lamblou Quay. Tho mishap occurred at about 7.30 o'clock, but after a stoppage of a little over an hour tho car was replaced on the rails and the service was resumed.

Last week 112 men were admitted to tho military hospitals, most of the patients suffering from slight colds or influenzn. No serious cases wero reported. Tho two cases of ■ cerebrospinal meningitis at present under treatment are reported to lie making good progress.

It is stated that the Westinp.ro Estate, to the east of Mastcrton, is to bo taken bv the Government for tho purposes of soldiers' settlements (our special correspondent telegraphs).

Tho duties of a chaplain are many and various. Chaplain T. P. Taylor said last night that they could be defined as "meeting every possible need of the soldier boy, spiritual, social, physical, and domestic." It has fallen to his own lot to cut a soldier's hair and to translate intimate notes from French maidens to young New Zcalanders. We had spent the first "three days on Gallipoli making tea. Pari of Hie task was to "pinch" the ioa. "I want you to writo a personal letter to my girl telling tier that I am true. to her; she will believe you," was the request of one lad who apparently doubted his own ability to convince his New Zealand sweetheart that ho had looked on no daughters of France.

Further instances of reduction of hotel rents in tho city on account of tho operation of the six o'clock closing system, have been reported to tho city authorities as follow (says the Auckland "Herald"):—British Hotel, ,£ls a week to XI!; Prince Arthur, i£l3 to £1 103.; Oxford, by .£5 per week.

It has been slated that sick soldiers in the military camps have been discouraged from reporting themselves .lo the medical authorities by tho suspicious altitude of ollicers towards possible malingerers. Kel'erring to this mutter yesterday, the Director-General of Medical Services (General Henderson) said lie wished it to bo understood clearly that soldiers were e\peeled to report lo the medical officers if they were ill. There should lie no hesitation on tho part of (.lie men in appearing beforo tho doctors, since it was in the interest of everybody concerned that sickness should be diagnosed and treated promptly. Delay in reporting was good neither for tho man nor for tho camp.

An uiiusu.it type of case came beforo Mr. W. G. Riddell, S.M., at tho Magistrate's Court yesterday, when Alexander .loim Morrison Beaton was proceeded asainst by his wife, Irene Beatrice Beaton, from whom lie is separated, on an information of having oil June 2a watched and beset her. dwellinghouso. Mr. H. F. O'Leary appeared for complainant, and Mr.'A. H. Hindmarsh for defendant. The case for the complainant was that on June 25 defendant and another man beset her premises at Lower Ilutt. Each man was disguised with a black moustache, which Mrs. Beaton managed to obtain. The defence set up was that the two men met at the Lower Hutt to discuss the sale of a motor-car. Defendant was fined -10=. and costs, m default seven days' imprisonment.

An heir to the Tongan throne was born on July 4. He has .been named George Tubo Malohi. There was great rejoicing in the capital, flags were flown and a royal salute of twenty-one guns fired. Tho lowest temperature recorded in Auckland for thirty-ono years was that of last Thursday night, when the thermometer at the Albert Park observatory registered 30 degrees. Vast supplies of copra are coming forward all over tho group, writes the Tongan correspondent of the Auckland "Herald." A recent visitor to the northern port of Yavau says lie never so much copra in his life. It is being stored everywhere, and storage accommodation is at a premium. No boats have arrived for some time, and if shipments cannot be made within Uie near future a serious position will arise, for copra depreciates in value with long storage. "There is one question that tho soldier is always asking and that ho never i»ets answered," said Chaplain T. P. Taylor last night. "Tho question is. 'Why.'' He wants to know why things are done and why tilings happen, but lie gets no answer, and so he just carries on without it."

Sir Robert Stout, Chief Justice and chairman of the Prisons Board, has an idea that more might be done to help prisoners to live useful lives on their release from incarceration. In an _ address on the subject on Sunday night he eaid: —'"There is another reform to be undertaken, so that industry and thrift—two of the things which prisoners usually lack—should be encouraged. Our prisons are not at present self-sm)-porting. "Why should they not be solfsupportinir? Prisoners ought to be ablo to make the farms pay. Suppose we gave them" the buildings free, and charged them a moderate rent for the fami proper, and credited them with the work done in improvements, and with some share of the profits on the sale of the produce, if there was a Tii'ont after all expenses were mid they should set credit for it. AVere tliev made participators in the profits there would be a ereat incentive tn work, to become efficient, and to be thrifty. Prisoners remiire to learn the industrial eon-it and tho habit of thrift. Thev need eiluwline; they need discinline; they need imlustrinlt.rnrw: but they are human and we must uive them hone, and their lives should ,1)0 made nleasant, so as discipline and training are not neslected. AYTA tho opening of the eighteenth session of the Tongan Parliament a new reform is to bo introduced. _l'or tha first timo in its history the Parliament will be held with open doors. Hitherto the sessions have been closed to the general public, but reform is 111 the air, and the habits and customs of years past arc pansing away, ond little Tonsa is being gradually drawn into lino with tho world outside her own reef-girdled islets. in there is a good deal of legislation about which sharp differences of opinion exist, the throwing open of the Legislative Chamber to tho people is expected to have a good effect. A report in tlio Christchurch "Press" civcs some interesting-remarks by the Minister .of Public Health (Ihe Hon. Ct. AV. iiussell) regarding the relationship between friendly societies and • hospital boards. The Jiinister said that he was in entire sympathy with tho worfc of the societies', which had accomplished an enormous amount of good. At the same timo lie was satisfied that one of the causes of tho increnso in the cost of hospitals was due to tho want of definite relationship between public hospitals and the societies. A return he had had prepared in respect of all tho public hospitals and tho terms upon which members of friendly societies were given admission. and treatment had been somewhat of an eyo-opener to him, not only because of tho diversity in the terms and conditions, but also on account of the want of full consideration of the rights of ratepayers. In one of the large hospital districts he found by tho payment of .£350 for one year tho friendly societies' members received treatment to'the value of .£2200.0 Such a position as that could not be allowed to continue, as it placed undue responsibility on tho ratepayers who were not members of friendly societies, and also upon tho Consolidated Fund. A circular had been sent to all hospital boards suggesting as a uniform basis for members of friendly societies that members and their families should bo roceived at hospitals subject to the guarantee of u payment of onehalf tho fees by the socioties to which they belonged.

Gisborne has not escaped a severe handling' during the stormy weather, of the past week. On Monday tho seas were so heavy thai at high ivatcr I hoy cut into sections in Victoria township, from Gray Street to Roberts Eoaa, Fences and fowl-houses wero carried out to sea, and there are steeji- banks now where tho sand was formerly level with the. sections. 'Residents in tho vicinity were a. good deal alarmed at tho rapid encroachment of the sen, and spent an anxious period during tho height of the tide. Very cold weather has been experienced Iho whole way up tho East; Coast, and snow has fallen on tho ranges io a greater extent' than during any other winter within memory.

The subject of massago training at hospitals' is referred to in the journal of tile Department; of Public Health for the month. Other large hospitals are advised to follow tho lead of Ilunedin and Auckland,_ and establish massago courses for trained nurses.

An in(|upsl: was conducted by the Coroner, Mr. W. G. Eiddell, 8.M., yesterday afternoon touching (ho death of Mr. Orlando Pomroy»tagor. aged G5, who died at his residence.. 2!) Featherston Terrace, on Saturday 1 ' nicrht. Evidence was given by Dr. C."]?. Pattio that, in his opinion,' death was due to heart failure, and a verdict, was returned accordingly.

Before tho beginning of tho Petone Borough Council meotin? last evening, a motion of sympathy was nassed with tho relatives of Lieutenant W. N. Duncan, of Petone, and Private Arthur Stevens, of Maungaraki. both of whom gavo their lives for the Empire.

It litis always been somewhat of a mystery to most people as to why bo many ot the German families nro entitled to use the prefix "von" before their surnames. Mr. James Gerard, in his book "My Four Tears in Germany," throws some light on the point when he writes: —"AH the titles of the nobility are not confined to the eldest son. The 'Pocket Book of Counts,' published by the same firm which published the 'Alinnnaeh do Gotha," contains the Counts of Germany, Austria, and Hungary together, showing in this way the intimate personal relations between the noble families of these countries. All the, sons of counts are counts, and so on ad infinitum. Thus, in Hungary, there are'probably soventy Counts Szecheny, and about the same number of Counts 7/ichy, etc. Some of the Gei'man noble families are not far behind. In fact, it may bo said that almost any person in what is known as 'society' in tlio Central Enipii'?f has a title of some sort, Tho prelb 'von' shows that the person is noble, and is often coupled with names of people who have no title. By custom in Germany, a 'von,' when ho goes abroad, is allowed to call himself baron. But in Germany he could not do so."

Chaplain T. F. Taylor, describing a trench raid last night, mentioned that Ihe raiding parlies were divided into groups, each group having a special duty. Tho task of one group would )>o lo kill Germans, that of another to collect papers and documents, and that of a third to briug back a prisoner. Tho killing was done methodically and thoroughly. "I don't believe that the New Zealand boys like killing Germans," said tho chaplain. "Hut the killing has got to bo done. There is going to be no end to tho present war until the Germans are tired of being killed. J am sorry the war is such a blood-lhirst.v business, but. I am positive that mild measures on our part nrc not going to shorten it. We all want to see it ended, and I believe that it can bo ended only by teaching thq Germans that they can only lose by carrying it on."

A meeting is to be held in the Museum Hall fo-morrow evening to discuss a proposal to form un Historical Society, or an Historical Branch of the Wellington Philosophical Society. Tho proposal emanates from the Director of the Museum, Dr. J. Allan Thomson, who has been moved to make the suecestion by Ihe gift of the Turnbull collection to the Dominion. If there is to be any real research work done, this collection will furnish iuv=ti<rn!-nrs with much of their material. The idea of the proposed society is to brin? together for mutual belli aud stimulaH"'i such persons a e are. engaged in h'slovienl rerore'h. to elTord a means of nnblication of the r n _ e iiM? of reserve!', and to snrde public. opini n n to a riirht attitude towards the study of history.

"We must have what is termed a FMo or a liublic co"scio"e?." s»id Sir Robert Stout in an a<ldv« delivered by Vm on Sunday evpninir. "AVe have heard much of late of 'private consciences.' It is well to have a conscience of somfl kind; it is well to be. guided by moral c.ii"F.irl"ratinn's; but if r man or a woman sets his or her co"science above tho die-, l-nfeq of the pul> l: e conscience. it <in»s not bespeak an exalted moral attitude. T nn nnt-r"f."Tin" to those who arc called 'conscientious objectors' to our laws. Pome of them, as (V Ou'rWs. having a heredity a"d a history behind them, are honest. The Quakers have «vnr beenforward in nublio services. There are some, not Quakers, whose 'conscientious' objections are but disloyalty to out State, and t.hinlv-veiled treason. Tf in the peril whic l ' besets the State, some of her citizens do not vise, to heln her to maintain iter pxislence, they certainly should not be allowd to take nart in tho srovenia"ce of the community, nor allowed the liberty, privilege, ami freedom that loyal citizens possess. Fortunately there are not: manv such anions us, but there are a few. T''ev are in=t as as the men who do not recognise tho of liberty and the claims of nronerty." An indication that at. least a portion of tho now House of Parliament is approaching completion is the ftict thai, the contract for the supply of seats for the ladies' * and Speaker's galleries has been let to Messrs.. Edwards aud Son, nt Wellington. The seats are to lie long shaped-back tip-up chairs similar to those in the Town Hall, but upholstered in green instead of red uioroccolino. Tho number required for the two galleries mentioned is-159. The seals in the public "allerv (for men) will simply be steps or circui" seats, with leather-covered cushions.

A cheque for ,£SOO has been received from the Jlanawalu Kacinj? Club for tuo Catholic Field Service Fund. Tho rough weather conditions contributed lo an accident between Messrs. George Lysnar's and Moncktor.'s properties, near I'anikauapa. (Poverty Bay), last week, _ when Mess'-s. Francis and Louckers mail couch capsized. There were two passengers when tho vehicle left Oisborne for Wairoa, but, it was stated, that when the accident occurred there were four, including a lady. The road wis greasy with the snow which had fallen, unu this, together with the fact that the wheels got into a deep vut, caused. the coach to capsize. A Native sustained injuries to an arm owing to having it caught in the rail guard. Fortunately, the horses were only going at a walking pace. After a delay of about thrce-quar-tei'6 of .an hour the coach was righted, and the journey was resumed.