LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 126, 21 February 1919, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The parties to the coal 'dispute have still no statement to make regarding the negotiations that have'been proceeding since the National Disputes Committee met in Wellington on Monday. No'settlement ha? yet been reached.'.. V~

Members of the Public Service Board, of Appeal are to be elected on Monday, May 5., Nominations must reach the returning officer by April 5. . ; "Would you favour immigration as 'a means of.advancing New Zealand?" asked Mr. J. Craigie, M.P., of-Mr. J. A. Frostick while the latter was" giivng evidence before the Parliamentary Industries Committee at Cliristchurch on Wednesday. "Determine first," was the reply, ''if you are going to develop, your industries; then I'll tell you. But you must be very careful, in whatever movement you make, that you do not provide two persons far one job." -

Various members of the Parliamentary Industries. Committee-have, been curious to ascertain the effect: of the Lako Coleridge electix*' supply upon Cliristchurch industries, and questions to this effect have been asked-of/ many witnesses-appearing \ before the committee. Practically , all of them have averred that the securing of Lake Coleridge current has cheapened to them the cost of production, and it has been ■ stated that largely in. consequence of this Christchurch has income'the chief manufacturing centre, of the Dominion,

According to a Press Association message from Dunedin the Court of Bishops concluded yester&iy the hearing of an appeal bv Archdeacon Gosset against the judgment of tho Bishop in regard to charges concerning tho.Rev. Perry, vicar of St. Michael's, Cliristchurch. The sitting was devoted, to the-interrogation "of the parties, after which the court reserved its decision.

The Base Records offico reports that No. 19/392 Benjamin Charles Baxter, a discharged soldier, died at the Auckland Hospital annexe on February 18 from, cholcrithasis and toxaemia. Deceased was 46 years of age and married, hi& n£xt-of-kin being his wife, Mrs. Lily Moud Baxter, St. Helicrs Bay.- 1 .

The Public- Health Committee of tho City Council last evening reported that there was room for considerable improvement in the method of collecting houso refuse in the city. The' committer thought that the vehicles employed might be more suitably constructed; and that something might be dono to do away with a disagreeable feature of tho present system, viz., the stencil consequent upon the collection of the rubbish in advance, of the vehicles, and the leaving of it in the roadway for 'an hour, The committee's report'was adopted.

An interesting personal note was struck by the 'Moderator of the Presbyterian General Assembly, the Right Rev. W. Gray Dixon,.in his inaugural address at' Christchuroh on Tuesday. He' said that a few years ago when he visited his native' Paisley, he attended tho church in which he was baptised, and was'welcomed by a venerable elder, whom he recogniscd as the popular, teacher who had made the Bible so interesting to his scholars. "When I told him thai I came from New Zealand,", continued the Moderator, "he said that he would aiiow me something of interest if I would wait at the close of. the service. So when the people had dispersed, we made our way together to the session house behind the church, and there, opening an old minute botik, he called my attention ■to the following passage: '1839, November 10. Rev. Mr. Brewster preached. tho church vacant, the Rev. ,J. Macfarlane having resigned his charge, and sailed for New Zealand, to plant a Presbyterian church in tjiat infant colony.' ■ 'But,' I said, 'this is the Free Martyrs' Church, and this record belongs'to the years before the Disruption. How comes it to bo here?' 'Oh,', lie replied, 'at tho Disruption our minister and all the elders came out and carried the session records with them.' 'So there,in the minuto book of my father's own-Kirk Session-in Paisley I read 1 the i official record of the , exodus of the 'pioneer minister of our New Zealand Church. The discovery stirred me to ft fuller consciousness of the apostolio succession into which God had called me, and wedded me more happily than ever to the Church of the brighter Britain of the new. day."

"I have been in the boot trade for 50 years," said Mr. J. A. Frostick before the Parliamentary Industries Committee at Cliristchuroh, "and it is an easier job at the present time than I have ever known it before. There is no trade-in the world, so it is stated, that is so highly specialised as the boot trade, unless it is the motor-car trade,-'and tho more specialisation there 'is the shorter you must make the how's, otherwise if you are not. careful you will get into exactly the same position as obtains in some parts of America, where the only difference between the man and the machine is that.one speaks and the other doesn't." What was', wanted, concluded the witness, was a-better education to give the' operative a proper outlook on life so that he might be enabled to make the best use'of his leisure time,

It is stated (saye the Ghristchurch "Press") that with the class,of the war and the release for sale r:f large imm•bers of motor lorries tile Education Department will probably purchase some | "for the purpose of conveying, children to I the larger schools in the country, ami so enable the Department to close some of, the smaller outlying fchools. This, method of centralising is.much inn vogue in • America, where it i 9 increasingly popular. * The troops which were brought by the j Mamari,' es: Nestor, from landed • this afternoon. All of the .150 men on board came from Palestine and were malaria convalescents. There .were no cut cases. The Mamari was declared a "clean" ship after 21 hours in quarantine. 111'. M. AY. AYelch will move at th« nest meeting of the Wellington Harbour Board: "That, the resolution passed at the last ordinary meeting of the board to spend «C 350 on an archway at the peace celebrations be rescinded, and tlint tho said sum of .£350 . be given to the Returned Soldiers' Association as a donation toward the memorial to the soldiers who have given- their lives for their country." A meeting of the Wellington Soft Goods Employees' Union last evening unanimously decided to amend the title of the union to the following:—"The Amalgamated Society of Shop Assistants in the Boot, Hardware, Stationery, Fancy Goods, Fivrniture, and Soft Goods Trades."

Eeports. of the experiences of settlers in the back country districts during the recent floods continue to reach Dunedin. Mr. W. R. Norman, of the Matukituki Peninsula, on tho west side of Lake Wa-1 naka, had an unenviable experience. The lake was rising steadily, but there was no alarm. On Saturday, January 25, the rain began to pour down, and the fall continued through the next day. At 3 a.m. on tho Monday Mr. Norman woke up to find the water in his bed, which was in a tent near Mr. Charles Ewing's homestead. . Luckily some dry clothes were hanging up, and Mr. Norman, wading through two feet of water, carried these to tli'o homestead and donned. At 5 o'clock, when Mr. and Mrs. Ewing and family awoke, the water was up to their verandah. They managed to get breakfast, and loaded up a horse and dray with provisions, bedding, etc., and went to 'Mr. Henry Barker's homestead, which providentially was high and dry.. At 12 o'clock Mr. Norman got a boat and rowed round ,the house and to the tent, where boxes, boots, and clothing were floating about in 3ft. of water. ' Seven acres of turnips, 12 acres of rape, and a grass paddock were all flooded.. /

' Among the educational institutions in ° Wellington that are growing rapidly are . the Wellington College and tTie Girls' i College. For the first quarter the num- 1 her on the roll o£_ the Wellington College J (boys) is 650, or an increase of 90 on the 1 attendance last year. The number attend- I ing the Girls' College is also greater this ji quarter than it has ever been in the his- j tory of the establishment.' Last year J there was a roll of 550 girls, but' this 1 year the number.has 1 reached, just over 600, and all, thanks to a recent long- 1 awaited readjustment of'the premises, are ] comfortably and healthily accommodated. .1 The following havn; been elected to j hold office on the Labour Eepresenta- 1 tion Committee: President, Mr. G. Ward; J Vice-president, Mr.- F. Cornwall; secre- 1 tary-treasurer, Mr. E. .-IfKeen; execu- 1 tive conimittee, Messrs." P. Eraser, A. J Parlane, A. L. Monteith, B. H. -Stick- J ney, and Mrs. S. Beck; hon, organiser, 1 Mr. R. Ballantyne. ,' . A meeting of tho Petone Memorial Committee iwas. held last evening to consider proposals to be presented to -ev public meeting. The Mayor (Mr; J. W. M'Ewen) ■ presided and after considerable discussion . it was ,decided to submit (1) the Mayor's . scheme for a park with a. memorial in - the centre; (2) monument to be erected ; at the junction of Buiek Street and Jack- •' son Street; (3) Mr. London's scheme for , a Hall of Heroes, with a shrine to commemorate the heroic dead; Wra boys' institute. It was also decided that the originators of the various proposals should place them before the meeting and that before a final decision was made a plebicibe of the people should be taken on tho various proposals, . -

Regulations governing deer shooting in' various districts are published in this week's Gazette. Following upon a district 'court-martial at Feathorston Camp, No. 21,850 Private G.. Menslieinskoff,.. Featherstoh. Details, was found guilty of absenting himself without leave, and losing by neglect his clothing, and regimental necessaries, and was Kfiutencted to imprisonment with hard labour for 90 days and to bo placed undtir stoppage; of pay until he makes good the sum of 3s. 9d. No. 57,195 Private F. J. Beattie.'Featherston Details, found guilty of deserting His Majesty's service and losing by neglect his clothing and regimental necessaries, was sentenced to imprisonment with hard dab-, our for 18 months, and to bo placed under stoppage of pay until he makes good tiio' siim 0f,.P4 lie. 7d. In evidence given before the ' Parliamentary Industries Corcsaitteo at Christohurch on Wednesday, Mr. J. A. Frostick strongly challenged 'a recent statement that there was not in New Zealand timber suitable for pulping for the manufacture of news print paper. There was ample sumvlics of quite 6uitablo busli—busk without a fltiek of proper | milling timber ir. it—on the West ;Coast. A reservation of , 30,000 acres there, indeed, (if lightly forked and. replanted, j would producji' 20 tons of ; paper daily i ■ for aver. A shipment of that had been i sunt to Switzerland fcr pulping, and! manufacture, and samples cf the paper, I .with work dono on it, ware to be seen'! in Christchuroh to-day it was ridicu-[ lous to say. that New, Zealand' timbers were unsuitable for pulping. Cheap limo fort struggling. 1 farmers was advocated by a speaker at the Southland agricultural and pastoral show. The Government should assist these men with grants for lime, he said, repayment to be •made on the instalment plan. In this way many farmers would be able to get more land under successful cultivation ■and so increase the popularity of Southland. A London, paper states .that"the kinematograph pictures of tl*e surrender of the German Fleet sat Scapa Flow have attracted the -attention of the public to a greater, extent than any, pioturo ever exhibited since the "movies" wero first invented. Owing to the big rush tho seats in tho theatre had beeta. booked weeks ahead, and there was every indication that the piotures of- the most wonderful naval surrender in history will put up the greatest record of all time. , In Karaka Bay, well to the northward of the wharf, is Overton Park, one of the few.remaining patches of native trees— karaka, ngaios, titokis, etc.—on the Miramar Peninsula. The park is slowing signs of neglect—the fences, it is stated, are broken, the paths and 6eats neglected, and a recent slip has not received that prompt attention which it should in tho interests of property-owners beloiv. Great ravines have been torn'in a neighbouring road by flfeod waters until it is unsafe and closed for traffic, and 110 attempt has been made to effect repairs.' This , apathy is being resented by residents, and is to be brought under the notice of the Miramar Boroußh Council by the Seatoun.and Bays' Progressive Aseociation. ■ ■ . In tlie Supreme' Court yesterday beforo His Honour Jlr.. ! Justice''Edwards and. a jury of twelve, the hearing..of the divorce case of England v. England and another 'was continued. Publication of the evidence ■ was prohibited by • Ilia Honour. Mr. J. B. Reid, K.C., of Auckland, with him Mr. H. F. O'Le'ary, appeared for the petitioner, Mr. 3). W. Jackson representing the respondent and co-respondent. The hearing, of the cose occupied the whole of yesterday, and had not concluded when the Court rloscd. The further hearing will be taken to-day.

When the Outlying Districts Committee of the Wellington-City Council visited Hataitai on Wednesday the representatives of the'local Batepayers' Association pointed out how, at a comparatively small outlay, "first impressions of Hataitai" could be improved. The ground immediately to the north nf the Hataitai end of the tunnel is Town Belt, and, as nothing has been done there since the tunnel was pierced over a decade ago, 1)10 spot is not exactly beautiful or impressive, yet by getting a good lay-out and by doing a little planting both virtues could bG added to tho scene, with the result that, a visitor's, impressions on emerging from the tunnel could be made more pleasant than is now the case. The "loose end" between the fully goad and the tramway track is therefore likely to be titivated up in the near future. For some time past there have been complaints from centres along the Manawatu line of delay in obtaining telephonic connections, due to tho want of a further wire or wires, thus involving considerable loss of valuable time. Mr. W. H. Field,' M.P., has on several occasions made rouresentationfi to the PostmasterGenoral on the subject, and'on January 30 he wrote a, leter to the Minister pointing out that the inconvenience mentioned was a growing one. He has in reply received the following letter from the Hon. W. D. S. Mac Donald, Acting-Post-master-General: "In reference to vour letter of January 30, suggesting that, as hostilities have-ceased the time is opportune for providing additional telephono wire accommodation for qffices along the Manawatu line, I have the honour to inform vou that proposals for the improvement of the service are under consideration. But nothinp can be done in the way of erecting additional wires until material is obtained. The difficulty in securing material. duo-to war conditions, has not yet ceased. The Departments waiting for it to do so, to enable plans already made for telephone improvements to bo carried out and new ones to be considered." At last evening's meeting of . the City Council the Mayor was appointed to . represent, the counoil at the New Zealand Town-Planning Conference, to be con> vened by the Government in May. .

"If there was one thing that struck me more than another in the Panama zone," said Mr. James Marchbanks, engineer to the Wellington Harbour Board, yesterday, "it was the intense loyalty of the American soldiers to their Government. America is called the land of the free; but that freedom, as applied to speech, was distinctly limited in war time whatever it might bo at other times. No one was allowed to utter a word against the Government—if he did it was a case of prompt arrest on a charge of sedition. They stood no nonsense on the point—in effect it was 'my country right or wrong,' while the war was on at all events. They give the New Zealanders soldiers a great time coming through the Canal—at Colon, Cristobel, and Gatun—and as there are only, comparatively, a few of them, the tax on their purses must be a heavy one.''

At a meeting of the executive of the New Zealand Alliance yesterday it was reported that in answer to representations made to the Attorney-General on the question of regulations regarding, the exemption of sacramental wine tho Minister replied, that he had been authorised by Cabinet to state that in the event of Prohibition being carried at tho special licensing, poll in April regulations under Sub-section 2 of Section 21 of the Licensing Amendment Act, 1918, will provide for the. importation by the several Churches, of wine for sacramental purposes in sucli quantities as any. Churoii may require for lengthened. periods, the Churches being required to give security that wine so imported will ijot be used for other :than sacramental purposes. .

Mr. J. G. Cobbe will move-at next Wednesday's meeting of the Harboat Board: "That the members of the Wellington Harbour Board place on rocord their extreme regret that the Government has again failed to give the board author itv to provide its .workers with tomes, and pledge themselves to continue .their efforts to' arouse the Government w. » sense of the pressing need that exists for better living conditions for tho board's workers."