LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 20, 18 October 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Tho Telegraph Department advise that cable messages at E.F.M. rates are temporarily suspended via Eastern.

It has been stated in Auckland that of 50,000 sacks of Australian wheat landed there, over 3000 sacks were rejected by tho millers on account of weevils. The Hon. W. 1). S. Mac Donald, Minister of Agriculture, explained yesterday that the weovilj wheat did not reach tho millers. The 3000 sacks were put aboard the steamer at Melbourne, but they were not passed by the representatives of the New Zealand Government at that port, and they are now lying at Auckland at the risk of tho Australian "Wheat Board.

A spark from a neighbouring chimney igniting a bird's , nest in. tho roof was responsible for an outbreak of fire at a two-storied building in Manners Street, yesterday morning. The premises are those in which, the Marble Bar and several other businesses are located. Smoke and flames were seen issuing from the roof shortly after 11 o'clock, but the Fire Brigade soon had t]ie outbreak undr/r complete control. The damage done to tho building was slight, and the contents did not suffer. The building, which is insured for £2800 in the Guardian Office, is I|he property of Mr. Robert Hannah.

A large number of young English women who have married Australian soldiers in England arrived .in Melbourne a few days ago. Rain was falling and the wind was cold, not at all like the weather the newcomers had expected. "We heard in England that this was the land of sunshine," said one. "I never felt such a cold wind before." That Australia was a land of great winds, but a sunny land for all that, did not convince some. Babies and verji young children were numerous. Six babies were born between Capo 'Town and Fremantle. Tho mother of one of these was a dainty little French girl. Critical eyes (.canned the {,'roups on the ship's deck, for everyone wanted to know what these conquerors of the Australian soldiers were like They were (says the "Argus") not all pretty, of course, but allowances had to be made for , the effects of a long sea voyage. Some looked about them rather timidly. Everything was so new, and they were a long way from England,

A Wellington soldier, writing to his brother on July 28, makes the following reference to the late Sergeant Travis, the "King of No Man's Land": —"Fritz put up a heavy strafe on the line the other morning, and killed the most-decorated man in tho division, Sergeant Dick Travis. Ho was as game as a pebble, and used to stroll over to the Hun lines on his own and

in broad daylight. I saw him go over one morning at 10 o'clock, and he returned soon after with seven prisoners. He knew the Hun line almost better

than our own.. His decorations consist of French and Belgian Croix de Guerre, the D.C.M. and bar, and the Military Medal. He has also just been recommended for the V.0., which will no doubt be awarded, as he has done enough to earn ten V.C.'s. If the 'heads' wondered and wanted to Snow what was going on or being built in a certain part of Fritz's system, Dick Travis would go over on his own and look around and report fully on the whole position. He was buried last night with full military honours not far from our billet. As he has been on the same work from the start 'of the war it is hard to lose him after so much service."

Writing "at sea," a Gisborne soldier says: "You will be surprised to know that I have had five days in hospital, with a temperature as high as 104; but I was not the only ono. Twenty-four hours after the first man went down with this new brand of 'flu,' there were 200 in hospital, and very few have missed. Both doctors went down first day, and officers disappeared off the decks in no time." In a later letter the soldier details a visit to a certain port, and goes on to, state: "A couple or days out an epidemic of Spanish influenza broke out, and I was one of the first to go down. In 24 hours 200 were down, and by next day 80 per cent, of the men on board were victims. Some of ■our boys that missed the 'flu' went into, the stokehold and helped to keep

the ship going." The Wellington Returned .Soldiers' Association, at its meeting on Wednesday night, carried the following motion unanimously:—"That this meeting, recognising the justice and equity of the claim that separation allowances now paid to members of the New Zealand Expeditionary Fores be made retrospective, urges upon the Government the necessity for removing the injustice under which married men who joined the forces prior to January, 1918, are at present labouring, and is emphatically of opinion that tho necessary legislation be passed at the next session of Parliament, and that copies of the resolution be sent to all local'members of Parliament and direct to the Government."

Messrs. Reid and Reid, of Hairis Street, have donated the sum of five guineas to the firemen's recreation fund in recognition of Bervices recently rendered by. the brigade at their premises. A request by the Manawatu A', and P. Society that corporation liorses be exhibited at the fothcoming show; at Palmerston North .show was declined by the City Council Inst evening. A proposal for a conference of local bodies to consider the question of improving the Paekakariki Hill Road and tbe Rimutaka Hill Road was nwdo by Councillor M'Keiizio at the City Council last evening. Councillor M'Kenzie said that these two roads wero so bad that they seriously restricted traffio in and out of Wellington. The Mayor immediately fell in with the idea that a conference should bo called. A •curious incident is related by two passengers by the Wellington ferry 6teamer a few trips ago. One of them had £15 in his possession, and when leaving his cabin to go to the bathroom just before the steamer reached Lyttelton he deposited his pocket book, as he thought, in his coat pocket. He returned to his cabin, and on putting on his coat found that his money had disappeared. He reported the matter to the purser, but the missing pocket book oould not be found. He boarded the express at 'Christchureh almost without a penny, and was bewailing his loss to passenger No. 2 while on tho iourney to Dunedin. The latter asked his companion if ho was sure that he had deposited tho money in his coat pocket, and the reply was that ho was absolutely certain on that point. An idea then occurred to No. 2, and quick-

]y running his hands through his clothes lie discovered tho missing wallet in an inside pocket. The explanation is that No. 1, in his hurry to get to the bathroom, slipped his pookot book into his cnl)in mote's coat pocket.

The Y.M.C.A. Commissioner representing t)io National Committee in London, has just cabled for £80,000 for tho winter work, and tho inauguration! of some new work in 'Franco and England. The Commissioner asks for ten more secretaries also. An inquest was conducted by the Coroner, Mr. W. G. Riddell, S.M., yesterday, touching tho death of Richard Pascal!, a prisoner at the Terrace Prison, who died at tho gaol on Wednesday morning. Senior-Sergeant Croan watqlied the proceedings ou behalf of the police. Dr. W. Kington Fyfte. who conducted a post-mortem examination of the body, said tho deceased had bruises at the back of both elbows. The left ventricle of tho heart was contracted, and in the brain there was a new growtjh. Tho cause of death was haemorrhage into a growth of the brain. Dr. Gilmer, gaol surgeon, said that on October 12 he saw deceased,

who mado no complaints or requests. Ho was an old man and there was an entry in the journal that ho was not fit for work. Dr. Giesen had been summoned to I|he gaol just before deceased's' death, and he could not give any reason as to why the man had become unconscious. George It. Crook, gaoler at the Terrace Prison, stated that deceased was received at the gaol on October 9 from Marton, where ho had been sentenced to three montfis' imprisonment on a charge of being an idle and disorderly person. He was 68 years of age, single, and a chemist by profession. Henry Foreman, chief warder, stated that he found the deceased in an unconscious condition im his cell on AVednesday morning. A verdict was returned in accordance with the medical testimony.

At the City Council, meeting Inst evening tie Mayor suggested that when peace was definitely announced there should he demonstrations hy the citizens at noon and at 2.30 in Ihe afternoon there should be playing of hands and congregations of school children. As to i display of .bunting, it would he well to entwine the Union Jack and the New Zealand Ensign.

Action was taken by tho Inspector of Awards (Mr. R. T.' Bailey) at the Magistrate's , Court yesterday against several people for alleged breaches of awards. Margaret Rather, a cook, was fined ss. for failing to claim \\ie rate of wages fixed by the Hotel Workers' Award, and the licensee of the Hotel Cecil, .T. M'Parlnnd, was lined 20s. for omrjloyinc: three workers without first waking application for their services to the Hotel Workers' Union.

The Wellington Labour Representation Committee is to be invited to send a deputation to the City Council on tho subifict of proportional voting at tho municipal find local body elections before the subject is decided hy the council.

Repatriation was discussed at the meeting of the Wellington Returned Soldiers' Association on Wednesday ovoning. It'was decided to urge upon headquarters (New Zealand U.S.A.) the necessity of forcing the question of repatriation' upon members of Parliament in the House this coming session. It was suggested that headquarters should circularise members of Parliament, pointing out that the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association expected Parliament to deal urgently with the repatriation question in view of the possibility of an early termination of hostilities, i

A curious illustration of the truth of the adage that "Distant hills are aye the greenest" was mentioned at the last meeting of the Devonport Borough Council. A Dunedin engineer, it stated, had been sent .to Australia to investigate the methods of road formation adopted there.. In the first town he visited he discovered that the local authority had sent one of its engineers to study the methods in vogue in New Zealand.

A New Zealand soldier, in a letter to a friend in Auckland, eaye: "One of the most impressive incidents I eaw at the Cape was the 'Midday Pause, and I think it would go well in New Zealand. At midday all traffic ' and business suddenly stops. Then frdm the balcony of the principal restaurant in tho centre of Adderley. Street a bugler plays "The Last Post' and all the men hare their heads. Then follows two minutes of silent prayer, and the 'fall in' is sounded. Immediately traffic and business resume and ordinary routine goes on. The whole thing takes but three, minutes, and is most impressive."

An indignant protest was made by Dr. Florence Keller at Tuesday's meeting of the Auckland Hospital Board, when a recommendation came up from the Finance Committee that a typiste be engaged for the office at a salary of £1 a week. Br. Keller said it would be a disgrace to the board if it employed a girl at such a low rate. Decent board could not be procured for £1. How, therefore, was a girl to dress as the board would expect her to drees? To her mind it was tantamount to causing a girl to supplement her means illegally to ask her to accept such a wage. Members of the committee explained that they had in mind the engagement of a young girl from one of the typewriting schools, who would be worth more salary after gaining some experience in the office. Dr. Keller was not to be placated, however, and expressed the hope that the recommendation would not be adopted. It was not, the meetirfg fixing 80s. a week as the salary to be offered for the position.