LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 80, 30 December 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The mine washed ashore at. Oaonui on Christmas Day, according to the "Taranaki Daily News," is about 4ft. in length, and at the thickest part measures about 2ft. Giu. A 'report was received to the effect that a number of lifebelts had been found along the beach to as far north as Oka to, and that some were in the possession of the Natives. Latest, accounts estimate that over fifty belts have been discovered. Constable O'Neill, of Rahotn, is in charge of matters, and it is understood he is endeavouring to collect the belts, which will bo handed to the Customs officials. The only identification are. those on one of tho lifebelts, which tears the inscription, "S.G.T.M., Formosa, Marseilles."

The Education Department will shortly commence the publication of a monthly gazette or. review. It will be the medium by which circulars and instructions will be conveyed to teachers by the Department. Frojn time to time notes will appear for the advice of teachers with a view of improving methods and schemes of work in the schools. These notes will deal also with such matters as the interpretation of the syllabus prescribed, the organisation of schools, and tho like. It is intended that there shall be articles in the periodical by competent authorities on subjects of interest to teachers and others concerned with the education of the young. Advice will bs given to teachers as to books they should read, in order to keep abreast of current educational thought The review is being brought out a.t the suggestion of the Minister (the Hon. J. A. Hannn). It is not intended that it shall be a comnetitor with the journal of the Teachers' Institute, though it may on occasion (Teal with the same class of matter as is now dealt with in the institute journal.

Christmas _ Day in Jlarlborough was marked by a striking weather vagary— a frost of the strength of six and a half degrees, ssys the "Express." When day broke the whole countryside was covered with a white mantle strangely foreign to a stage of the season closely approaching the height of summer, and the temperature was decidedly eharp. The hot sun soon melted the winterlike covering, but as it did so a great amount of damage was done to tender growth. Potatoes withered, peas wilted, and .beans, tomatoes, and young walnuts were blackened. The unusual visitation has caused a material amount of loss to the agricultural industry to say nothing of the gardens. It played havoc with the fields of potatoes,'which present a shrivelled appearance all over th« district; and it wilted the pea crops badly, not only catching the young pods but also the advanced growth. Some crops of potatoes and peas were converted in a night from highly profitable propositions into almost hope-, less failures. A definite estimato of the amount of loss on the aggregate is not practicable, but it is certain that the frost has robbed growers of several thousands of pounds. The wheat crops have suffered to a considerable extent. It is recalled that a frost was experienced on the Christmas Day of 1902, and one occurred early in January a few years ago. ■It is doubtful, however, if there ever oocurred in this district a frost that was responsible for so much damage as was done by last week's visitor.

Prior to Ms departure for the front the Bishop of Nelson initiated n movement for tho establishment in Marlborough of a Church of England college for girls, as a .memorial to the late Archdeacon Grace, who for over thirty years laboured in.that provinco. To assist the scheme he. appointed an advisory committee, which for some months past lias been engaged, in the task' of selnctin.T a suitable site (says the "Express"). Tho committee, nftor careful consideration of over twenty properties, recommended the purchase of a portion of the. VerTinsham iWnte, consisting of n rectangular blnrlf of 20 acres, containing a sound, wellbuilt nine-roomed honso (the rtaiilencn of the late Dr.. Clejfhorn) urn) other valuable- improvements, and this property, ■with the sanction of thn Bishop, has j«th recently been acquired. It is undorfitowl that the school is to lie primarily n boarding establishment, but with provision for day nuuils. and it is anticipated that a start with buildinpr operations will l>o made immediately on the Bishop's return, which is expected vpry shortly.

The Minister of Education has asked the Director of Education to submit to him proposals for revision of the primary school syllabus, with a view to improvement of the instruction given in certain subjects, notably 'English. It is the opinion of the Minister, as it has for some time been the opinion of other observers of the work of primary school pupils, that the changes in the methods of teaching English which were introduced some twenty years ago, have not been altogether a success. It is probable that the changes made will involve a return to the older methods, in which the pupil was required to devote a considerable amount of tiroo and study to formal grammar

63,611 Private J. A. Hughes, Details (late F Company, 32nd Reinforcements), found guilty by District Court-martial, held at Trentham Camp'on December lv, of--(I) Deserting His Majesty's service; and (2) losing by neglect his equipment, clothing, and regimental necessaries, has been sentenced to imprisonment with hard labour for six months.

The statement was 'made before the Official Assignee at Auckland last week by Ernest Leon Sturinfels, optician, that 'the fact that he had a German name was the principal cause of his present financial position. Since the beginning of tho war he had had to put up with considerable annoyance and trouble on Hint account. He had documentary evidence that he-rras purely French, having been born in Roubaix, on January 81, 1874. His father and his grandfather were born in Paris, and his great-grand-father was, brought to France when' he was two years of age from the eastern bank of the Bliine. His mother was a Mathieu, and descended from one of the oldest French Huguenot families in Southern France.

A hale nonogenarian, Mr. _ William Cook in whom are centred two links with the early history of New Zealand, is living in quiet retirement at Avondale. Mr Cook, who is now in his 93rd year, is the grandson of the youngest brother of Captain Cook, the discoverer of New Zealand, while his mother was Miss Bowen, sister of Sir George Bowcn, who wns Governor of New Zealand fifty years ago. Mr. Gook took part in the Crimean War and came to New Zealand with the 70th Eepment. He left tha Army in 1865. His voyage -to New Zealand from India with hie regiment was tragic. India had not been left far behind when cholera broke out on the ship. Tho crew numbered IS all told, and a shipwrecked crew of a similar number was picked up near the southern coast of India. So virulent did the epidemic become that on arrival at Auckland there were only two of the combined crews of 36 alive, and in addition 200 of the soldiers had died, The captain and fiist mate of the ship succumbed early, and the only persons or. board with ,\ knowledge of navigation were, the boatswain and his mate.

An account of an expedition by Australian destroyers up the liiver Sepia, in New Guinea, has just been released by the Commonwealth Navy Department. The expedition took plnco. in the very early days of the war, and was commanded by Commander C. Cumberledgo. It was undertaken partly for survey purposes, although, the primary object was to round up any German forces that might have escaped into the jungle. With the assistance of nntive guides a shore party succeeded in tracking down and capturing a German officer. They then proceeded in small vessels into only part-' ly surveyed waters. Landings were oifecteel along the river and several native villages were visited. The party found the natives very distrustful at first, but soon established friendly relations with ithem. At one village which was visited by the expedition it was obsnrved that the natives nearly all wore armlets constructed of the threaded vertebrae of a human being. The neople apparently had never seen a white man. nnd the members of the expedition had a somewhat uneasy feeling when the natives, crowded round them and touched them on thn arms nnd face with ovidnnf interest, not unmixed with curiosity. Thn villagers nil carried long fwara and bnws and arrows, but they. did not attempt to use thmr wMinons. In fact, they become quit* , friendly in tinu\ o"d Tmrt-wl on tlT> best of terms with the visiting expedition.

As reported in Saturday's Dominion, a boy named Jack Larwood, who lives in i Ingestre Street, was picked up in an unconscious condition at the foot of the retaining wall in Oriental Bay on Friday. Ho i was removed to the Hospital, where ho is making good progress towards recovery. It appears that the lad foil off. a leil'go about a foot or so in width, which "runs along tho outer edge of the wall, to turn back waves thrown up by northerly winds. Children are in the habit of running along this ledge, and tho practice being a very dangerous onn, several have missed their footing and fallen on to the rocks below. To nviirt further accidents it is m»ed that the civic authorities > should devise some puiteetivo bnirrier which would prevent children from obtaining access to tho ledge.

Vancouver's population was suffering 'very badly with influenza about November* 2i. when the steamer Opihi left there for Wellington. Officers of ■ that vr-ssel stated yesterday that there were • somewhere in'the vicinity of 7000 serious cases at that time. The fatal cases had then totalled about 900. Business was at a standstill, and public utilities wore little more than moving. All theatres, schools, churches, etc., were closed, and assemblies were being avoided. San Francisco was also a heavy loser through the influenza, the total deaths having been reported at between 2000 and 2500. Conditions were inclining to normal early last month, and no recrudescence was expected, for most drastic measures wero- taken, to cope with the malady.

In an interview at Dunedin, Sir James Allen outlined the functions of the District Advisory Boards, which are to be set up to assist the Central Board in the process of repatriation. Ho said that he had already given his opinion as to how the personnel of these boards should be selected, but he understood that the suggestions had been uily partially adopted. The District Boards would be in close touch 1 with the district repatriation officers, who would bo paid officers of the Department under the Director of Repatriation. Tho boards would consist of representative men, returned soldiers amongst others, whose business would be to advise the Director as to local committees to be appointed, which committees would have to be widely spread through; the country. The district boards would be tho connecting link lietween the. Director of Repatriation and the local committees. They would Coordinate the work of the local committees, assist in finding work for men, or in providing vocational training. They would also be in close touch with the Industrial Board, which he had intended should be composed of employers • and employees, and would assist the Repatriation Department in all industrial questions, as, for example, the room that existed in any particular industry, or the xoom that could be created in any industry for the employment of .repatriated soldiers.

The trip to Mount Holdsworth, which some time ago was becoming quite popular with residents of and Masterton, as well as visitors from other localities, has not been undertaken by many this season. Tho only people going up have been several Wairarapa enthusiasts, Messrs. F. B. Kuutson, J. D. Moncrieff, F. Denbee, and V. Croxson. They report that the track is much overgrown as it has not been cut back for some considerable time The mountain house, and contents < aire in a very bad state of repair. All of the mattresses are in pieces, and the windows broken. One end of the house has been blown out by a recent gale. It is understood the controlling body is in Masterton, and funds nie available for improvements being carried out. It is hoped (hat with prospects of more favourable weather for the kip, some effort will be made by the controlling committee to make the improvements to tho track and tho accommodation house that are very necessary. At the end of last week n party of ladies from Cnrtertoii, including Mrs. J. Ward, and visitors from Wellington were guided up to the mountain house by Mr. J. D. Moncriofi', who made the (rip back of six miles to Thompson's in 53 minutes.

There are still a few cases of influenza occurring in Waijgnnui, but the medical men a'ro easily able to copo with them, and there is not the slightest need for any apprehension, says the Wangalmi "Herald." The position in the country districts is' reported to bo very satisfactory, especially among the natives, practically all the pas being reported to be clear. ,

"I don't think we shall get 5 per cent, of the men who went away to take an intelligent interest in a club," said Mr. C. Atkinson, a returned, soldier himself, nt the meeting in Christchurch of the Council of the Now Zealand Amateur Swimming Association, in forwarding an opinion that swimming clubs should build up their membership with boys, and not "rest on their oare" until the men caino back from the front. He himself had had, ho said, experience of the difficulty of roping in returned m«n to club membership. The war seemed to have taken the heart out of them as regards the sport.

A largely-attended meeting of Wanganui ireturncd. soldiers discussed matters in connection with the Detention Barracks report last week, and after an in. teresting discussion unanimously passed the following resolutions :-(l) That this representative meeling of the Wanganui Returned Soldiers' Association urges upon tho Minister of. Defence the necessity of acceding to Lieutenant Cranipton's request that a court-martial be held, and that the holding of. same bo expedited. (2). That if Lieutenant Crampton is granted a court-marti.il, that the New Zealand Eeturned 1-oldiers' Association should express themselves as willing to engage counsel for his defence, ana see him through. (3) That this meeting of Wanganui returned soldiers fee! strongly that it is to 'be regretted that the Press have permitted adverse criticism of a returned soldier until such soldier lias hud an opportunity afforded him of defending himself- either at a courtmartial or through the public Press. The fact that Lieutenant Crampton is debarred under the New Zealand Forces regulations absolutely precludes him from replying to Press comment. (i) It is respectfully recommended that the courtmartial be held in Wanganai, as a matter of justice to the administrative staff of the Wanganui Detention Barracks. (5) That this meeting of the Wanganui Returned Soldiers' Association dissociates itself from what is known as Prussian militarism, «id deprecates the suggestion,? Mug made that such a system has been adopted in the treatment oi military defaulters in the Wanganui Detention Barracks.

A lady, writing to Canterbury fronr Port Elizabeth, South Africa, refers to the arrival of the influenza epidemic. She Buys many, of her neighbours, and especially the Kaffirs, wore quite appalled with the terrific news from Cape Town and Kimbcrley, whero the virulence of the disease was worst among the natives and mon folk. Women fared better, and children were exempted to a largo extent. The safest course was inoculation. Feeling feeverish and headachy she called in the dootor, who inoculated her with No. 1 vaccine. Next day 6he felt worse, but the illness passed away, thanks to having taken the vaccine in time, but sho intended to have a second inoculation of stronger potency. Her husband had been twice inoculated, being engaged in a public office, and .constantly in con-, tact with all kinds of people, and ho cacaped. ' Her children had also been operated upon, and it was expected _ they would escape pneumonia. The disease spread rapidly in the Cape before people could be treated, mid from seven to ten thousand deaths were stated to have taken place. Thoy had lost many of their friends, and somo of tho cases, where fathers and mothers had died, were truly pathetic, where children were surviving them. The writer said sho had quite ;i handful at time of writing, with seven in. her house ,and seven, in the next house to attend to. Sho had a good Kaffir girl, who, like her children, gargled saft and water and permanganate of potash, also sniffing up the nose, and with, this little help-and a. good growth of vegetables which her husband hud planted in their garden, she was able to bako bread and boil large pots of vegetable soup. There wero no grocers, butchers, and baiters calling, and if was simply n case cf making tho best with what one had from a laid-in stock of flour and mealie meal The weather was lovely, ami they were able to turn tho children out all day on the green voklt, keeping families separated as much as possible. The dreadful part of tho scourge was the, death of men in the prime of life.