LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 57, 2 December 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A Gazette Extraordinary has been issued declaring measles to l>e an infectious disease within the meaning of the Public Health Act.

There was a clean sheet at the Magistrate's Court on Saturday.

Mr. Robert Bell, managing director of tho "Lyttelton Times," who is a member of tho executive of the' Press Congress of the World, has received a cable communication from the representative of the Government of' New South Wales stating that the meetings in connection with the next congress will commence in Sydney on November 11. 1911). An information 'has been laid against a Christchurch man for travelling on a tramcar while suffering from influenza. The man, it is said, had just recovered from an attack of the disease, but had .not undergone the necessary period of > isolation in his own home. The tramway officials say that in any further cases that come under the notice of the Tramway Board similar course of action will bo taken. Dr. Chesson, district health officer in Canterbury, stated qn Friday night that about 10 cases of measles had been reported from scattered portions of Christchuroh City and suburbs. The patients were nearly all children, but one was'-a Eoldier from camp.- Dr. Chesson said that ho felt some anxiety when he first heard of the case of the soldier but he was now more reassured as to the position. So far as he could see there was no cause for alarm, but ho was watching the position very carefully. Tho cases reported were of the common type, but his reason for anxiety had been the outbreak coming on top of the influenza, and the possibility of getting tho two together. The attitude of the Roman Catholic Church towards tho system cf cremation as opposed to earth burial was discussed bv the Roman Catholic Bishop of Auckland, Dr. H. W. Cleary, states the "Herald." ."It was quite natural that the epidemic which has been raging in Auckland for some weeks, and the difficulties regarding interment to which it gave rise, should revive some interest in incineration «s an alternative to earth burial," said Di\ Cleary. "The Church to which I belong, has always favoured earth burial, but in cases of public danger arising from great mortality, as in battle, plague, or earthquake, it permits and even urges a departure from the accepted custom, and in favour of cremation. I Tiavo nothing to say litherfor or against the proposal to erect a crematorium in one of our Auckland cemeteries. In every considerable centre of population a certain number of people would prefer, on assumed l grounds of hygiene, incineration as a .method of disposing of their remains, and if the necessary plant .for doing so be provided for them wholly or nartly at the public cost, I, for one, shall raise no objection whatsoever. The proposal has, however, little or no practical interest for practising members of my faith; for, according to the present discipline, of our Church, Catholics may not lie members of cremation societies or demand cremation of their Iwlies. • This legislation arose in part out of certain circumstances in Continental Europe, to which' I need not now refer. But, of course, tho Church's attitude on the matter is one of variable discipline, not of dogma, and the discipline hereon is her purely domestic concern."

Trooper Ken Thompson, writing from Palestine to his father, who resides at Wollongong, New South Wales, says:— "This is a terrible placo for snakes, scorpions, and big .spiders. The spiders are supposed to live on the scorpions, and the latest fad is to have scorpion and spider fights. The transport fellows had a champion scorpion, and rut out a challenge to fight any scorpion or spider in the brigade. Tho Field Ambulance produced a Big spider, and took up tho challenge for ,£2. Tho spider won after a great battle. The snakes. are very poisonous, and there have been over twenty cases of snake-bitej since we came here, all being fatal; but, of coarse, they wcro not all amongst the Australians. The doctors of tho A.M.C. offered -a. reward for a couple of live specimens of the snakes, and also wanted any dead on?.-, we could get. In a few days the A.M.C. camn v;as fairly flooded with snakes of all sizes, some dead, others half dead, and others very much alive. If anyone mentions snakes near the Field Ambulance now he is likely to get shot."

The following letter has been received by Mr. T. Young, chairman of tho Wellington Centre, Rod Cross Society, from His Excellency the GovernorGeneral, president of the New Zealand branch of tho British Red Cross Society and' Order of St. John of Jerusalem:— "Dear Mr. Young,—On tho completion of another effort for the funds required in response' to 'Our Day Appeal,' I feel I must send to all who have fought so splendidly in the cause of the sick and ■wounded my 'heartiest congratulations for tho results achieved. Your workers, through their untiring efforts, have succeeded in not only placing the finances of our New Zealand branch in Iho strongest possible position, so far as its needs are concerned, but li.ivo secured for our parent organisation a magnificent contribution at a time when ftero is so much need for assistance. I felt I could not allow tho occasion to pass without exDressing my deon appreciation to all who have contributed to this success." Registration of J. E. Fitzgerald, Limited, a private company, is reported bv the "Mercantile Gazette." Capital: .fMOOfI into 4000 shares of .CI each. 'Subscribers: Wellington—-I. E. H'v.gornld. MOO fullv paid up, and MO conlributin<>; .T. W. Fitzgerald, 10 conlribuliug. Objects: Motor and cycle agents, imporrers, etc.. Mr. R. 11. Sticknoy writes:—"! am reported in The Dominion lo have said at the epidemic workers conference that the.special sanitary inspectors 'could hr> dispensed with.' T said"that the special sanitary inspectors could lie removed from St. John's to the Town Hall." Dr. M. 11. Watt, District Health Officer, in this issue Authorises the opening of marble, bars, refreshment rooms, nnd tea rooms between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.

In the course of the service conducted bv Dr Gibb yesterday morning in tlic Town Hall ho took occasion to thank tho people .of St John's for tho fine servico they had rendered in connection with the temporary hospital in the school buildings and class rooms. Tho offer of these structures for hospital purposes was made, of course, by the church authorities, but the volunteers who had formed no small part of the nursing staff and the very large contributions of food, etc., these were the action of the people of the congregation themselves. He heartily thanked them for their beneficence and labour of love. Referring to the families of tlic congregation who had suffered from the epidemic, he said that while his visiting list showed that a very large number of their households had been affected, the number of deaths had, in the circumstances, not been largo. Eleven persons connected with fhe church had passed away during the last two weeks On behalf of the congregation b.o expressed the deepest sympathy for the bereaved families, and prayed that J hose still suffering from the malady might speedily recover. Dr. (Jibb added that tho reason why they were, meeting in the Town Hall instead of the church was that the vestibule of the hitter was si ill in use as a diningroom for Hie nurses and staff. Possibly tho church might be available next Sunday, both morning and evening—this remained to be seen. It was perhaps well to say that though the church, as distinguished from the school structures, had not been exposed to infection, all the premises would be thoroughly cleansed and fumigated before services wen; held in any part of them.

Dr. W. T. Manning, in a great sermon' to an overflowing congregation at Trinity Church, New York, said that the debt America owed to the British Empire could never be repaid nor forgotten. "What words can express," he said, "the debt that we owo at this moment, and have owed all these four years, to the British. Navy keeping up its ceaseless watch for us all in the grey North Sea? From tho first week of the war Britain has poured out her treasure and her blood without limit in tho'cause that is common to us all. It is Britain's blockade thatjins held the German fleet captive in the safety of lite harbour from which it has scarcely dared to emerge. It is British transports that have carried across tac ocean CO per cent, of that great army of our nom>J boys now in France. It is tlm men of Britain who came voluntarily from all" parts of the earth to fight for freedom beneath her ling. It was Britain's action which gavo us in America time and allowed us to enter tho struggle under conditions far better than those which she herself had faced. AVc send to Britain our pledge of comradeship and brotherhood. Wo send this message to her King, her Government, and to the men and women of her great, free Empire."

Mr. Alexander Watson was a i.assenger by the Moana for San Francisco yesterday. On the occasion of his first visit to Wellington four and a half years ago Mr. Watson's season was affected by the declaration of war, and he decided to return to England to offer himself as a voluntary worker, the remainder of the four being abandoned. On the occasion of his visit to Wellington this .•■■car his tour was forcibly cancelled by the outlucak of the epidemic and the closin? of all places of public meeting. Mr. Watson tried to postnone bis English four with Hie view of eninpleting his Now Zealand visit when the theatres reopened. But this proved impossible. ' So he has idecided to return to New Zealand in about twelve months.

The possibilities of manufacturing vinegar from apples were discussed at a resent meeting of Nelson fruitgrowers. It was stated' that from 800,000 to 1,000,000 gallons of vinegar are com-urned annually in the Dominion, the great bulk of it being- a mixture of \ ond acetic acid and male extract. It was contended that, if the existing law. were so administered that only the browed article could be labelled '"pure vinegar," from 300,000 to 400,000 bushels of apnlcs could be used annually in the production of vinegar. The meeting decided to ask the Fruitgrowers' Federation to take action in tho matter.

The "North China Daily News" learns that an agreement has been practically concluded with the Japanese Government under which the immensely valuable iron mines of Feng-Huang-Shan, near Nanking, will be worked by the Chinese Government, and steel -will be manufactured by the Chinese and Japanese, the latter providing capital to carry out the work. The journal points out that this virtually means that tho Japanese will acquire control of the total output of the mine. At present they are pressing for the right to take part in working it, and, pending a decision on this point, the final signature of the agreement is temporarily delayed. Tho Fcng-Huang-Shan mine is the largest single deposit of ore in China, It is estimated that 50,000,000 tons are available.

A statement was recently published in Wellington to the effect that an official of tho Public Health Department had stated that ho had found in Haining Street from. \twelve to fifteen Syrians crowded in'one house. The Minister of Public Health (the Hon. G. W. Biissell) has received information that this statement is not correct. The District Health Officer has reported to the Minister that the statement was made not by.an officer of the Public Health Department but by the head of one of the district organisations. This gentleman camo upon a house in Haining Street in which there were from twelve to fifteen Hindus. With tho exception that tho persons were Hindus and not Syrians, the statement was quite correct. In his report Dr. Watt stales that his officers inform him that Syrians in the city live under quite sanitary conditions. It may be remembered that a protest against the statemen when it was first published was made by several Syrians in the city, A. party of thorn made protest to the Minister on' the subject.

! Tho death of Mrs. .T. M'Elwain, ono of the five daughters of the well-known | early pioneer missionary, John Whiteloy, recalls a very old story regarding one side of her great father's character, states the "New Zealand Herald." In some respects ho was as ascetic. as a cloistered monk, as was the case when he shut himself up for weeks studying some special Biblical subject. At other /times he was as bold as a lion, and this was never more clearly shown than in the manner of his death. He had gone out to the White Cliffs to hold a service, and had almost reached the redoubt, when he was told by the Natives, who wcro in possession, that if ho did not go back ho would be shot. Ho refused to do so, and pressed on. A volley was tired, and Mr. Whiteley fell dead. But there was another sido to his character, and that was the humorous sido. A clergyman who had just arrived from Enghnd, and who had never been on horseback in his life, pleaded with Mr. Whiteley to take him .one Sunday afternoon to a faraway outstation at which service was to bo held. Tho missionary knew tho difficulties of tho situation, but borrowing ,1 quiet old horse the newcomer was put on, and they set out. When they reached the place of worship tho new arrival assisted at the service, and just as he was in the middle of reading a chapter of the Scriptures the ludicrous figure he cut on horseback a short time before so took possession of Mr. Whiteley's mind that he had to leave tho church, and find relief in a spontaneous fit of laughter, which could be hoard within tho building. "If I had not got that outburst out," said the missionary in telling tho story, "I should have burst."