LOCAL AND GENERAL
The Sydney steamer 'Moeraki will arrive at Wellington early this morning. She will, however, not berth before tomorrow morning.
Tho freezing hands who ceased work at the Gear Meat Company's Pelone works on Monday, yesterday agreed to return to their employment on the samo terms a.s they were formerly engaged upon. Tho men will resume to-day."
A question asked of the Right Hon. TV. F. Massey in the House of Representatives by Mr. M'Cnllum regarding compensation to be payable in the event of No-License being carried at the poll in April has just been answered. Mr. M'Callum asked that licensees who had lost their licenses in the twelve districts which have carried No-License already might be compensated as well as the present holders of licenses. Mr. Massey's reply was that they could not he so comnonsated, for tho leason that they had held their licenses and had lost' them under a law whioh did not recognise any claim to compensation.
With a view to discussing the policy and procedure of the under the repatriation scheme, a Departmental Conference of New Zealand Repatriation Officers will shortly be held in Wellington. It lias been found that in nearly every case which comes up for consideration' the general question of policy is involved. The object of the conference will be to secure uniformity of action.
The spell of warm weather experienced of late has brought a number of sharks int) the shallow waters of the harbour. Two sharks, one estimated to measure about 10ft., were seen in the vicinity of Itona Bay wharf. A warning has been issued to bathers at Day's Bay that sharks have been seen in the cicinity.
Employment in the tailoring trade was one of the many things extensively affected by the war. During the war the Tailors' Union in Wellington industrial district lost no fewer than 200 members, chiefly because insufficient employment was available to keep them in their positions. Now, as the troops have-begun to return to New Zealand/ and are donning mufti once more, the tailoring trade has. greatly revived, and there, is even a shortage of workers. As showing the changes that the war brought about it is interesting to noto that some years ago about, forty tailors were employed in Wanganui and forty in Napier. The number employed in Wanganui to-day is eighteen, and that in Napier is twentyfive. The present membership of the union is 247. The secretary yesterday told a Dominion representative' that of former tailors who had conie back from the war quite a few showed no desire to return to their old occupation. "Tailoring," he said, "is about the most poorly paid of skilled trades, and men are not going to re-engage in it while better wages are offering elsewhere for unskilled labour."
"When a man comes here for funds with which to buy a business, he must be in possession of every particular of the business before his application can l>9 considered," said Mr. C. M r . Batten, Wellington District Hepatization officer, to n Dominion representative yesterday. Mr. Batten instanced a case where a man had asked for a loan, of .£3OO to buy a business, but liewasunable to give any particulars of the style of business he intended to purchase, nor was he able to show tlmt the loan would show any results. Every applicant must be able to show the working expenses of the Tmsinesa he intends to purchase, nnd also the estimated profits. In short, the man must present his application in' the light that ho is really selling the business to the Repatriation Board. "If intending applicants will realise this it will help us considerably," concluded Mr. Batten.
During his deliverance of a paper at Auckland on roading material in portions of the Dominion, the president of the Civil Engineers' Society made some interesting references to problems faced elsewhere. According to the report of a board set up in England on tho outbreak of the war, to deal with the question of roading construction and. damage as tho result of military exigencies, the sum of .£35,000,000 was required to bring them up to the modern standard of traffic. In England, Scotland, and Wales there were 172,01)0 miles of roads, of which some 17,201; were too weak to cany modem traffic, * the average cost of reconstruction boing i£2ooo per mile. Before the war the Continents of Europe and North America had taken up modern road building whole-heartedly, and France, by adopting a vigorous policy on scientific lines, lmd undoubtedly the best system of national roads in the world. ■
Tho deed for which the Rev. Matthew Mullineux, of the New Zealand Chaplains Department, was awarded the Military Medal is described in the London "Gazette" as follows:—"For conspicuous gallantly and devotion to duty. During two days' hard fighting, when the medi-. cnl officer had become a casualty early on the morning of the first day, he took charge of the regimental aid post, dressed the wounded, and superintended their evacuation. The regimental aid post was subjected to very heavy hichexplosivo and gas shell ftro for twelve hours, and but for his skill and excellent disposition serious congestion would have occurred. His untiring energy and cheerful service in providing comforts for the troops under most adverse circumstances were of the greatest value to all ranks of the battalion."
Escorted by another man, Edward ("Ted" Whiting, ex-pugilist, walked into the Melbourne Hospital recently bleeding from four bullet-wounds in the head. All he would say was that lying in bed he was shot by a stranger who appeared in the doorway of his home in Webb Street, Fitzroy. Whiting was shot by an un-' discoverable assailant some years ago, but in that case no arrest was made, so baffling were the circumstances of the affair.
"If I had my way," said Chancollor Geo. 11. Bradford, "I would have one teacher for every ten children. When a doctor has a ward full of patients lie does not write out one prescription, and instruct the nurse to give it to them all. No, lio analyses and' diagnoses each case, and prescribes accordingly. So would I have children analysed and taught according to the diagnosis made of their minds. Yet here, as in America, they give a toucher (JO to 80 children to teach, and the same lessons are handed out to the dullard as to the most brilliant child in the class.
During last session the member for Wellington Central, Mr. P. Eraser, asked the Minister of Internal Affairs whether the Government would assist the sufferers by the big fire in Jessie and Ebor Streets on the night of .November 5. Mr. Fraser said that much of the loss suffered by these unfortunate peoplo would not be fully covered by insurance, The Minister (the Hon. G. W. Russell) said that the Government could not see its way to make a precedent by granting «i subsidy.
A telegram received in Wellington stated, in effect, that the Wellington Municipal Fire Brigade had 'been expelled from the Fire Brigades' Association because it altered the design of the association's service medal. The position appeal's to be that the local brigade resigned from the association in October last, because there was nothing lij be gained by continuing membership with an association composed largely of voluntary brigades. The secretary was notified of the resignation, and in the circumstances it is difficult to see how the Wellington brigade could be expelled from a body to which it did not belong. It is admitted that a ne>v service medal was struck for the men in the local briende, but it is claimed that there was nothing in the rules of the association to prevent that I) -j? done. Many of the hrigadesmen in \V?lUn.d'on possess both th« local medal and the association's medal.
The case of P. A. Had'iey v. G. \V. Minter, a clnim on a promissory note for Ji2Bl 14s.' 6(1., was to liave been heard at the Supreme Court yesterday, but it was arranged by the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout), with the consent of counsel, that the case should be heard at the present sessions in Auckland, where another case between the parties comes up for hearintr. Mr- M. Myers appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. A. TV. Blair for the defendant.
Among the members of the comedy company now playing "Nothing But the Truth" at the Grand Opera House is Mr. E. Pirie Bush, son of Mr. Thomas Bush, of Wellington, who left for America in company with Mr. and Mrs. Fred TCibfo over three years ago. In America Mr. Bush loured with several companies, including one playing "Peg o' My Heart," and appeared in New York with Laura Hope Crews (in a. dramatic sketch in vaudeville). Subsequently lie enlisted in the Canadian Air Force, and whilst in training had the. misfortune to have a rather severe fall when flying, which put an end to his endeavours to got to the front.. Mr. Bush saye that there is not much chance of Mr. Niblo returning to Australia and New Zealand, as lie was very popular in a much larger field, and Mrs. Niblo (Miss Enid Bennett) is earning «£2ofl a wcelc in the picture business.
Offers up to <£350 were received for the map used by Sir Douglas naig in Ihe direction of the British armies on the Western front on October 8 and three following days. The map was sent to the Lord Provost of Glasgow's secretary for disposal in aid of the King's Fund for Disabled Officers and Men. It was decided to put it up to auction.
The oyster season opened on Saturday, March 1, and the four steamers left the BhilV for the beds early in tlis morning, arriving back the same evening with an average of about 70 sacks each. Tlio oysters were in fair condition.
A dairyman of .Griffith- (N.S.AV.) lias a remarkable Shorthorn cow, which has given birth to seven calves during the last four years, amongst them being two lots of twins. In the same time this cow's calves have produced five. This makes a record of twelve descendants from the cow in *our years. The last lot of twins was dropped on December 27, 1918, and, like the preceding twins, were heifers; in' fact, ten of her descendants are heifers. The calving dates were as follow February, 1015, heifer j January, 1916, heifer; December, 1916, bull; November, 1917, twin heifers; December, 1918, .twin heifers. When giving 481b; of milk this cow tested 5 per cent,
There has been considerable speculation at the sittings of ilie Fisheries Commission at . present taking evidence in Auckland as to the nigratory habits of 'fish/The commission has already heard the evidence of a i.umber of line fishermen,' who all contended that the introduction of trawling lutd reduced the supply of fish in the Hauraki Gulf. They asserted that the h'awls destroyed much of the natural food i>n the bed of the gulf, and killed off the small fish. None of them, however, could say whether there were other causes operating to take the fish to other waters, the only evidence so far which has enlightened the commission on the supposed roaming habits of fish being tliat given by Major Whitney, of W<uwerf(. He mentioned that some years ago (wo huge sharks were washed ashoro at the Wade, and when measured the largest proved to be 32ft. 6in. long. The s;arks were of a variety commonly seen on the Queensland coast, and fishermen expressed the opinion that they had followed a huge school of fish which had been observe 3 coming into the gulf. Major Whitney drew the conclusion that the shoal had come right across from the Australian coast.
A case with very unusual features came before Mr. G. Cruickshank, S.M., at In'-, vercargill last week, when a reservist named John O'Neill appeared on remand charged with having failed to notify Lis change of address as required by the War Regulations. It transpired from the statement of Senior-SergeanfEccles, who prosecuted, that tho defendant was 34 years of age. His name was on the roll of reservists, but further than that there was nothing to show that he was a First Division reservist. Ci'Neill had been working in different parts of the Dominion, but- it was not until questioned by a constable at Tisbury that inquiries had shown that he had not been called on to serve. His Worship: "You knew there was a war on, of course?" Accused: "Oh, yes." "Yet you have been wandering round the country while 16,000 people were being killed," said His Worship. The accused declared that ho did not know if ho had been called in the ballot, or not. The maximum fine of .£2O was inflicted, time being given in which to pay.
Some jE70,000 is about to bs expended by the Commonwealth Government in tho building of cottages at Lithgow (New South Wales) for tho housing of Commonwealth workmen at the small arms factory (says tho "Melbourne Age"). Numerous complaints as to the housing accommodation there were brought under the notice of the Government last' year, and authority, for the erection of 100 houses was last session obtained from ■Parliament. Commonwealth surveyors since then liavo made an examination of the sites, but actual building operations have been delayed pending the formal declaration by the New South Wales Government of tho new areas to be included in the town of Lithgow, as the town authorities were unable to arrange for the necessary municipal services until this was done. The actual cost of erection of the 100 houses, as shown in tho Public Works Committee's report, was .£48,180. Sewerage, road making, water connection, and other necessary details brought tho cost up to the total mentioned.
It is estimated that the payment of the special war gratuities which are to be granted to alt members of the A.1.F., according to their length of service, will involve an expenditure of about ,£3,500,000. The paymont has been made retrospective, and all soldiers with more than ten months' service abroad will benefit. Each soldier ie now entitled to seven and a half clays' leave on full pay for every six months' completed service abroad. In tho case of a man who returned, say, at the end of 1917, after two years' service abroad, ho is entitled under the new system to seven and a half days' leave for every six months' service, making a total of 30 day 6, as he received only 11 days' leave on full pay when ho was discharged. lie may claim the balance due to him, which in his case would be 16 days' pay.
The Lyttelton Harbour Board possesses a cottage which is also used as tea rooms at Sumner. The lessee has a right to sublet provided the proposed tenant has the approval of the boaid. Tho lessee, desiring to avail himself cf the privilege of subletting, submitted the namo of a proposed tenant to the board at its meeting yesterday. The board, however, vetoed the proposed 'raa-m::ticn, because of the nationality cf tho, intending tenant, who is a naturalised German, despite the fact that the lessee is stated by him to be a loyal citizen. During the discussion Mr. F. Horrell said the board must be careful not to do an injustice, and he pointed out that there had recently arrived at .Auckland two returned soldiers, one of whom w.:s an Austrian, and the other a German, and both had decorations for Vravery earned in tho service of this country, lie disliked th 9 Hun as much as anyone, but they must be careful. ■ Other members said that if the authorities were satisfied with the man's loyalty, why should the board discriminate against him. It was eventually agreed to suggest to Oie lessee that he should secure a returned soldier as a tenant—Press Assn.
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Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 138, 6 March 1919, Page 6
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2,654LOCAL AND GENERAL Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 138, 6 March 1919, Page 6
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