LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 34, 4 November 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

"Thero Ks no knowing when \vc may rcceivo another tall to tho Old Country," said the Prime Minister en Saturday when acknowledging the congratulations of tho farmers' .delegates on his safe return to New Zealand. "The call may come, hut I need not discuss that now."

Tho Auckland Board of Education decided to close the city and suburban schools durin;,' the inlluenza epidemic, and to recommend tho city authorities to take the responsibility of closing picture shows to children.

Heavy frosts on Friday niglit largely destroyed stone fruits in portions of Central Otngo, says a Press Association telegram.

Referring on Saturday to the supply of white pino timber, the Prime Minister said that export had not been prohibited altogether. There had been difficulties in the way. Tho Australian Government had said that if New Zealand cut off the supply of white pino it would be necessary for Australia to stop some of tho articles that the Dominion required from the Commonwealth. "I am putting it os mildly as I can," explained Mr. Massev. "Wo do not want any additional difficulties during the war period." The Prime Minister added that the Government had done a (jood deal to reduce the export of white pme. Arrangements had bean mado whereby the local market was to be supplied at a reasonable price before any exportation was allowed."

On account of the unpropitious weather on Saturday tho openiii'! of the Star Boat, ing Club for the season was postponed until Saturday afternoon rext.

In the Juvenile Court on. Saturday morning, 'before Mir. F. V. Frazer. S.M., a boy 15 years old was (harged with stealing an- overcoo.t and a pair of gloves, the property of Robert Tucker. The boy pleaded guilty, and Mr. J. Dinneen, tho juvenile probation, officer, the lad had been givon a good education, but since leaving school he appeared to have got beyond the control of his widowed mother. The Magistrate decided to give the boy a chance and nominally committed him to the Wereroa Training Farm, but actually ordered him to remain under the control of tho juvenile probation officer'and to live at the Wellington Juvenile Probation Homo 'in Austin Street.

The House of Representatives will meet again to-morrow, and will resume the debate on the Address-in-Reply. It is expected that the debate will be completed this week, and the House will be ready then to begin the work of the session. Legislation*is to be brought down at this session of Parliament .'xtendingthe privileges of the Discharged soldiers' Settlement Act to returned .soldiers on indefinite leave. Tho matter was brought under the notice of the Department by Mr. W. T. Jennings, M.P. for Taumarunui, who pointed out that although these men wore practically discharged, they were debarred from the benefit of the Act. The Department has iow informed Mr. Jennings that amending legislation will be brought down to include such soldiers in the list of exemptions mentioned in Section 3, Subjection 2, of the Act.

Tho poor accoustic properties of the new chamber appear to have caused an error in The Dominion's report of some remarks made by the Hon. D. Buddo in the House of Representatives on Thursday last.. Mr. Buddo said that there was no political timidity on the part of the Government or members, and that if an election took place in the United Kingdom in December it certainly would bo followed by an election in New Zealand. The reading and writing room and lounge in the Y.M.C.A. Institute on Pukoroa Hill, Eotorua. now in cowrso of erection, is set apart as a 'Memorial to the late Sergeant M. H. E. Gornnge, of Levin, who left New Zealand with the Twenty-fifth Reinforcements and made the supreme sacrifice near Ypres on December 13, 1917. A good deal of rain fell in Welling-, ton on Saturday morning end all cricket matches were postponed.

An advance in the wholesale price of standard brands of tobacco was made, on Saturday, viz.: 7d. per pound for cut and Sd. por pound for plug. Inquiries' made show that the rise is attributable to the increased cost of all.leaf and other raw materials; also labour, freights, and handling charges generally. On account of the continued wet weather and very soft greens, the pennant games fixed, for Saturday (first round) were postponed until next Saturday, Influenza was prevalent among the officers, engineers, and crew of the Union Steam Ship Company's Monowai, which arrived at Wellington early yesterday morning direct from Auckland. Captain Dreivotte, of the Monowai, was removed to a private hospital yesterday morning suffering with'pneumonia, supervening on influenza. Altogether three officers and eight of tho .crew are affected. Ino) naturally worked with discomfort to themselves, and Captain Drowotte who was recovering from the disease, before leaving Auckland, took his turn on deck, with the result that he is in his present condition. The other Cases are not severe. The Monowai will sail to-morrow, at i p.m., for Lyttelton and Dunedin. In tho face of a statement published in a Wellington newspaper on baturday that another member of the crew of the Paloona was on Friday removed to tho Hospital suffering from a severe attack of influenza, waterside workers on baturday declined to unload further _ cargo from the vessel unless they wore given a guarantee of coinpensatiou should any worker contract the disease win e employed on the Paloona. Men worked on the ship on Thursday and Friday, withmit making any such claim. Similar action, it will be remembered, was taken by Auckland watersiders in the .case of tho Niagara. A Union Steam Ship Company official denied the statement that tho member of the crew (a steward) taken to tho Hospital, was suffering from influenza, or from any illness supervening on influenza While between San l'rancisco and Tahiti, it was true; there was an outbreak of influenza on board, but the last patient to recover did so on October 16 Since that date the vessel had been free of influenza. The Paloona had also been thoroughly disinfected lho secretary, of the Waterside Workers Union has agreed to make representations to the meu this morning.