LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 285, 21 August 1918, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Information received yesterday by Sur-geon-General Henderson was to' the effect that all the cerebrospinal meningitis patients at Feathers ton are doing well. There are four cases and two suspected case's. One of the patients is sufficiently recovered to go on leave, another is convalescent, and the two others aro improving.

The Council' of Churches of. Christchurch has decided to hold a collection on tho first Sunday in. October for the benefit of the Red Cross "Our Day" effort.—Press Assn.

During 'tliu course of an inquest at Christchurch, Mr. IT. W. Bishop, the Coroner, and Dr. W. Fox, medical superintendent of the Christchurch Hospital, bßlli made flomn trenchant remarks regarding* the recklessness and lack ol' consideration shown by a large number of motorists. Dr. Fox said that in his experience moro accidents wero due to motor traffic than all the other causes combined. He considered it was high time that some onergctio attempt was made to regulate motor traffic. He was glad to see that there had been son\e police supervision during the last fewdays at certain tfuarters. Mr. Bishop said he had repeatedly made strong remarks with regard to the reckless speeding of motor drivers, and he had pointed out to 'the police that more, stringent regulations were necessary. Dr. Fox said it was true that a.motorist obtained a. certificate before he was allowed to drive, but this certificate only showed that ho had some knowledge of his engine and its control,' i' did not guarantee the motorist's temperament or guarIco that he would show consideration for tlis fellow-boings. "I would have all these lvtfn who \Vere convicted of inconsiderate driving conscripted." said ' the doctor. "If they want to kill people, lot them go and kill Hulls."

II: is reported that a seven' or eightroomed fully-furnished house on the beach at Paekakariki, belonging to Mr. Geoffrey Potts, of Palmerston North, was totally destroyed by , fire on Monday. The caufio of the fire is unknown.

The following nr.ccdoto ahont tho lato Father Doro is related by.an Auckland soldier, who served on Gallipoli, in a letter to his mother;—On one occasion, when most of the New Zealand officers at a certain'point had been put' out. of action, Father Wore, who was standing close by, picked up one of tho rifles and wont into action and fought fearlessly. Some days afterwards, one of the men said- to liim: "Father, why don't you 'remain in the ranks and lead us?" "No," Father Dore replied, "I cannot, my blood was up then, and I was ail Irishman, but now I am' a priest."

During tho first interval at the performance of "Tho Cinderella Man" at the Grand Opera lIOU6O last evening, Mr. Kenlicth Brampton, a member of tho company, sold by auction, on behalf of' tho Red Cross "Copper Trail" some of the seats for the-initial screening of tho picture "Joan tho Woman," to bo shown (on behalf of Red Cross funds) at tho Crown Theatre on Friday evening next. After recounting the wonders of this very fino film spectacle, which 'lie considered on a par with "The Birth of a Nation," Mr. Brampton sold tho two boxes for ,£5 each, 0110 to Mr. ,T. B. Harcourt, and the other to the Hon. Arthur Myers. Mr. Murphy bought n row of seats for, £(i, and Mr. James Bennie paid tho saino figure for another lot of seals offered. In addition to the seats sold from tho stage, a nnmlter of young ladies were permitted to vend tickets for the, performance among tho audience, and did excellent business.

Up till the present—ancl oven now in Wellington—hooks on technical training (or all brandies of the Army service have been freely obtainable in the bookshops of tho city, and some of the booksellers havo gouo as far as to specialise in books of instruction. Free trade in such books has been stopped in England. Tlie London "Gazette" of Juno 25 contained tho following regulation:— "No, person shall, without, the permission of the Admiralty, Army Council, or Air Council, obtained through the directors of the official Press Bureau, publish any instructional work or article of a technical nature relating to warlike training, tactics, or organisation, and if any person contravenes this regulation ho shall bo guilty of an offence against theso regulations."

Jioald Amundsen, 011 June 25, started mi his Arctic expedition, which will last threo years. The expedition ship Maud, which has on board.ten men and provisions for seven left a Norwegian harbour, and is noiv proceeding , along the Norwegian coast towards Jenissey Bay and the New Siberian Islands. From there Amundsen intends to go to the 'North Pole, but the main obje:t of the expedition is to chart the Arctic Sea. He will possibly land near the North Pole. Amundsen was received by King Haakon 011 tho day .of his departure for the north,

As a result of tho war, Germany has lost tho great fur trade of which Leipzig was tho centre. & rrnngements have been completed by the Alien Property Custodial of the United States witli tho Fur Merchants' Credit Association of New York for tho purchase by tils latter of all tho interests in America of tho Leipzig dealers in furs, and tlifl cash involved, which runs into lpillions of dollars, will be paid into tho United States Treasury.. Before tho war the trado of American furriers was really a collecting and shipping ager.cy for tho Germans. Almost every pelt taken by American trappers had, before it could be sold, to go to Leipzig, whose fur dressers nnd dyers were tho best in tho world. Though London was the great auction mart, three-fourths of the furs shipped there from America, Russia, and even China went after the auctions direct to Leipzig for dressing and dyeing. Plans have now been developed for entrenching firmly a new dyeing and dressing industry in America. Mr. F. Castle intends to movo at Thursday's meeting of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board -.--I. That, in order to ensure a more certain supply of milk for the board's requirements, steps bo taken to acquire, either by lease, ordinary purchase, or by resumption if necessary, a suitable area of land for the establishment of a milk farm. 2. That a special committeo be appointed to inspect properties suitable for a milk farm ana w report their recommendations to the October meeting of tho board.

Councillor Norwood has answered two question;! which have occurred to soveral householders) who hnvo been waiting the inauguration of the milk 6chemo. The first cna is this: If the card is tilled ill for three pints, say, will it be possible to obtain an extra supply on any given day;' The answer is: Ye 3; but coupons equivalent to the quantity which it is desired should bo delivered must be left in tho jug or can. Tho second question is: If a householder runs out, of milk in the course, of the day will he be able to purclinso additional milk? In reply to this Councillor Norwood said that there would be miik depots all over the city, just as there are now, and at tlicwo ilie milk coupons would be accepted.

An experiment the development of which will bo watched with interest was initiated in Nelson on Friday, says tho "Colonist," when both the picture theatres were filled with audiences' of children from all the city schools to witness programmes speciailv selected and censored for tliWr behoof. The innovation was entirely successful, and it is likely to lead to greater things in the educational use of the kiiicmatograph, not that that is the onlv purpose underlying tho departure, 'i'lie idea has developed from a movement set on foot some time ngo by the Nelson branch of tho Women's Christian Temperance Union, and taken up bv a committee consisting largely of public school teachers. It represents a practical effort to combat tho undesirable consequences of indiscriminate picture-goins by children, and at the same time to take advantage of the means the kinematogrnph undeniably offers of conveying information to the youthful as well as the adult mind. This will intereat you. Boots, kid, 255.; hide, 21s. Gd. Why go wet-footed? Geo. Fowlds, Ltd., Manners Btreet.-Adrt.

The Church of England Military Affairs Committee have just cabled Homo the sum of ,£I4OO for Church Army war work, including Iho erection of eight neiv huts at the battlefronts, viz.:— "Manawatu," "Eltliam County,'' "To Arohn-Piako," "Taranaki," "Auckland No. . 1," "Wairarapa," "Wanganui Jockey Club," and "Levin" Church Army huts.

"The Doyen of the South Pacific," as lie has been appropriately styled—Captain W. Ross—was a bird of passage by the most recent steamer, on his way to Tonga, nays tho "Samoan Times". "He lias travelled a long way oil the highroad ot material prosperity since those days, now over forty years ago. when he first visited Samoa. At tho time he was ono of tho crew of a vossei visiting the island, and was working for ,£4 a month. While there on that occasion ho drove several head ot cattle from Apia to Fasitoouta, passing on the way through two opposing armies of the Samoans, who wore engaged in ono of their periodical struggles to settle who should be king. Afterwards, from the year ISM onward for 22 years he, was engaged in the carrying trade between Nine and Auckland, and in the latter place is as ivell ot even better known, as the owner of the old trading vessel Ysabel, than he is anywhere in Polynesia outside Tonga. And now, only the other day or the other month, when the German 1 inn was liquidated in Tonga, he bought up the entire concern, lock, stock, ond barrel, throughout the group, save Nukualofa. The captain is 1i years of ago, and fihvs he retired from an active business life two years ago. He amuses himself with this harmless fiction, albeit lie pleads guilty to the little deal in Tonga just mentioned. When he does finally retiro it will probably be only when tho grim enemy approaches before whose advance all must Tetreat."

A severe indisposition overtook Mr. Aljen Doone, the Irish actor, at Auckland, oil Saturday, and it was only with difficulty and great perseverance that lie appeared at the final performance of his company at His Majesty's Theatre in the evening. On account of acute dental troublo, Mr. Doone underwent an operation in tho afternoon, and it was obvious to the audience that he was suffering throughout tho performance. He was unable to make n farewell speech, and this was undertaken for him by Mr. M. J. Shcahan. Immediately after tho fall of tho curtain, Mr. Doone, who had had to be supported during the speeclimaking by other members of the company, completely collapsed. A very large crowd waited outside the stage entrance to cheer Mr. Doone, but ho left by a side entrance, being taken to his hotel in a cab. Mr. Doone was operated on.again on Sunday, but, although still ill, he left Auckland that evening with the other, members of his company.