LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 310, 25 September 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

One New Zealand hospital ship is on tho New Zealand coast now. The Minister of Defence has received advice from the other ship that tho health of tho patients on board is good. The Minister has also received advice, that the health of tho right wing of the Forty-third Hoinforcements is excellent.

A Gazette Extraordinary has been issued calling up for service with the .\ T ew Zealand Expeditionary Force T3 members of tho First Division of the Native Expeditionary Force Eeserve.

The five-flay week .experiment which lias been inaugurated in tho Auckland clothing factories bus not found favour with the local boot manufacturers, snys an Auckland paper, and applications for tho trial of tho system in their workrooms have met with an uitfavouralilo response. At a meeting of the Auckland branch of tile New Zealand Federated Boot Manufacturers' Association a resolution was adopted by_ a unanimous vote expressing strong disapproval of tho shortening of the hours of liiboiir in tho clothing factories at tin's i»riod of the war. It wns considered that as all workers wore being expected to use their best efforts to increase production, any alteration, of hours should ho in tho direction of lengthening instead of shortening them.

Influenza has made its appearance at the military camps mid the sick parades on recent days have been larger than had been the case for some time past. Tho epidemic is not taking a c-erious form, and no severe cases have been reported. Tho system in the ciinrns is to send patients to tho hospitals even when the ailment is very sliijbt, in order that tho spread of infection may be checked and tho men kept under observation. Tho rules that aro observed swell the hospital returns, but thoy have an excellent effect in reducing serious sickness.

A bravo boy named Philip Laurence Hunt was honoured at tho Thorndon School yesterday for a hrnve deed he did in December last year in attempting to rescue a man from drowning at Nbahauranga. Two naval men wero capsized from a boat in stormy weather some distance from the shore, and cne of them got into difficulties in \ attempting to swim ashore. Hunt went out. to help tho man, and actually succeeded in getting him to laud, but unfortunately the man was dead. To fac'u a rescue in such water was,, an act of the greatest bravery, and tho Humane Society awarded to Hunt tho silver medal of the society. Theniedal was presented yesterday morning at tho Thoindon School .in the company of tho boy's sohool-feilows. Tim presentation of tho medal was mado by Captain Hall-Thompson, Naval Adviser to tho Now Zealand Government, and tlie decoration was pinned on the boy'? breast by Mrs. Short addresses wero mado by Captain HallThompson. Dr. Anderson (Director of Education), Mr. E. A. Wright. M.I 1 , (representing the Education Board), iiud the headmaster of the school (Mr. J. Costiii Wobb). At the call of Captain Hall-Thompson .1 detachment of naval men present gave three cheers for Hunt. Cheers wero also given.by the assembled pupils of the school. _ In addition to tho medal, Hunt receives the vellum certificate of the society.

After Mr. James Fletcher, of Dunedin. had read a paper on the building of concrete ships iji Duncdin last week, Mr. J. Y. Constable (naval architect for tho Union Steam Ship Company) said that to say Umt cement ships were as durable as steel ships was pure nonsense. Ooment did not havo a hope against steel or wood under any consideration. To niako moulds for concrete vessels tlioy would require the best and finest tradesmen obtainable. Everything was in favour of steol against cemont. Mr. Mack made a mistake with a retort made by him to a man in liis audience at liis meeting last night. A young man sitting near the front of the hall had been making interjections repeatedly, and to oue of them Mr. Mack replied: "If I were as young and healthy as you are I should not, bo sitting in this to-night." Tho man stood up, and it was.at once apparent that he was a returned soldier. He was wearing a badge,-and,ho had an empty sleeve. There were bowls from the hostile section of the audience, and demands for apologies. As soon as be was allowed to do so, Mr. Mack apologised. Hβ snid that when he had made the- retort he hatl not been able to see that the man had a badge, or that he bad lost an' arm. And be apologised. Later there was a demand that he should make an apology to the Returned Soldiers' Association, but this Mr. Mack declined id do. Ho said that he- bad apologised to the man concerned, and he owed no apology to anyone else. Mh. ¥. V. Frazer, S.M., inflicted a fine of £15, with 14s. costs, on a Mrs. Mntherson, 49 Rhino Street, who was charged in the Magistrate's Court yesterday with travelling in a tramcar and failing io pay the full fare.

Mr. Bernard P. Pago, tho City Organist, ,who has just returned from Dunedin, where ho acted as judgo of the music sections at'the competitions, statee that about 800 entries were received, and as the largo majority of tlio competitors were candidates for musical honours his task was a fairly arduous one, particularly _ as in most cases reports wero supplied tho contestants, showing where they- registered weaknesses of technique, tone, _ or style. On tlio whole tho vocal sections wore rather disappointing. In one contralto section thei'e wero seventeen entries, but tho standard set waa so poor that ho could not conscientiously award either a first or second prize. Two thirds were awarded. Mr. Pago also acted as judge of the band contest, and set up a- new jn-ocodent by refusing to bo boxed up in tlio ordinary way. Mr. Page gave the committee to understand that with him judging was a matter of personal honour, and if bo wero not to be allowed to judgo in the open he would prefer not to act. Tho bands made a fuss about it, but only olio dropped out. Mr. Pago believes that if tho judging is competent and unprejudiced,' and students arc- generally out for improvement artistically, and not merely "poUninting," these competitions can be of educational value

"Tho first and best element in the education of children is tho building up of character," said Bishop Avcrill at the Papatne'too Orphan Home on Saiurda.v, "and any system of training which does not put the training for lifo and service in the first place ia not real education at all. It is no uso merely teaching children morals or civics. Doth arc good in their way, but unless somo foundation is given m>oll which to ground such training, they must fi\il. Civics and morals can never lie substituted for tho 'training of children in the true religion oT Christ. Wo must all go back to school and home days for the best find most lasting influences of life. Every child is a potential hero, and that is what wo must aim at—to mnko onr children heroes in civil as well as in mi'i-t-arr life."

At the monthly meeting of the Board of Management of the Wellington Typographical Union tho following resolu-tions-wore carried: "That this union heartily endorses the action of the Wellington Trades and Labour Council in calling a conference- of union delegates to consider what steps should be taken to endeavour to bring .ibout a decrease in tho cost of living; and, in heartily supporting the movement, sincerely trusts everything possible will bo attempted to bring about, such a desirable- and necessary condition of affairs." Tho Trades Council's action as regards the employment of returned incapacitated soldiers at trades outside of which such soldiers were employed prior to going on active fiervice at low rates of pay was also approved. The matter of tho Abitration Court refusing to grant an award to the Auckland City Solt Goods Emnloypcs. Union was also considered, and the following motion was passed: "That this union strongly condemns the Arbitration Court for refusing to make an .award in the soft goods industy in Auckland city." A copy of the resolution is to bo forwarded to the Actin.LT Minister of Labour. I

It is not often that three candidates are- seen on tho same platform in tho heat of a by-election. This happened at Mr. H. Atmoro's meeting in the Willis Street Schoolroom last night. Mr. C. W. Tanner and Mr. L. J. Garmson were present, and at the invitation of Mr. Atmoro they occupied chairs beside tho chairman and briefly addressed the meeting after Mr. Atmore, had finished. Mr. Garmson invited Mr. Atmoro to share his platform later in the week.

The Home Rule issue was raised in tho v following question addressed to Mr. Mack at his meetiug last night: Seeing that Mr. Mack is a win-the-war candidate, and seeing that the Allies are fighting for the rights of small nations, would Jlr. Mack b& in favour of a small nation like Ireland having home rule? Mr. Mack replied: I have always been in favour of home rule, but when any body of men take up arms to enforce it, or to try to , enforce it, then they alienato iny sympathy." (Applause.) Another questioner asked Mr. Mack, whether he was in favour of the action taken by Sir Edward Carson and his satellites before the war in stirring up "insurrection and rebellion" in Ireland. Mr. Mack said that ho was noc aware that Sir Edward Carson created any rebellion, but he would say that any man who broke tho laws of his country should be punished, whoever ho might be.

The annual show of the Ntw.. Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, this year promises to be a-, particularly good one. Thanks iio now blood, the affairs of the Academy are, iii an iivconroging position at the present timc ; and a campaign for new members is in progress. The annual sliow—which will include some capital work by leading Australian artists—will be open from October 5 to 19. Thorn will bo. a- private view on the evening of October 4. Following the necessary legislation, President Woodrow Wilson has signed an order for the taking over by the Government for the period of the war . all telegraph and telephone services, placing them under the jurisdiction of ihoPost Office Department; compensation to the owners to be arranged later. This includes all land wires, but docs not include cablos. The immediate occasion for this move was tlw averting of a strike threatened by thn employees of the telegraph companies; but, nside from 'this, the authorities seem to have been in favour of direct Government control for reasons of expediency arising out of the war. Are wo going to escape the dread Spanish influenza bacillus? asks a London writer in an exchange. The creature is the smallest microbe known, out he works in the inversp ratio to bis size. Having exercised his capacity for mischief in Madrid and elsewhere, he has come to London. Scores, hundreds, and thousands of Londoners are hourly falling victims to the scourge. A cold in the head, a sore throat, and, lastly, fever, aro the symptoms. The only cure seems to be bed—though doses of eucalyptus, cinnamon, and quinine are useful in the early stages of the complaint. But the real object of sending the invalid to bed is to prevent the spread of infection. The smallest microbe known is a terror_ for perpetuating his kind. A conscientious patient should remain in a lonely bedroom for at lea-st five days. Unfor; tunately there are too few conscientious patients, or they become conscientious too late. The latest influenza outbreak is proving remarkably contagious, and it is estimated that 8,000,000 people may be laid low before the epidemic end's. Fortunately the epidemic is mild in character. A day or so in bed and a day , or two more of isolation usually effects a cure. In our advertising columns appears a. list of some of the items whioli account for the enormous Red Cross expenditure at the present day. The list is well worthy of perusal. The- objects of the'Bed-'Cross organisation are perhaps not so widely understood as tlioy might be. and tho list sets out clearly many of the good uses to which the funds are applied both here aud abroad for the alleviation of suffering. Tho "Flag Drive," which is now under way, enables all, by the purchase of flags for their . windows, to assist in meeting this vast expenditure.