LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 139, 7 March 1919, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Tho Secretary, General Post Office, tag been advised that legal time ha 6 Lien advanced as follows: In France and in

Algeria from .March 1 to October 5; in Portugal nml Azores, from March 1 to October 81 j in Belgium from March 2 until further notice; in Italy from March 2 until further notice.

Tho partial strike in the freezing chamber at the Gear Meat Company's Petone works has ended. The trouble began on Monday last, when sixteen men demanded payment for two huurs spent waiting to interview the manager. 'J he interview had been asked for in order thnr the men might urge a claim for pay to cover an hour lost earlier in the day. The management was willing to pay for this hour, but refused the subsequent demand for payment, for the waiting time. Mr. M. J. Eeardon, secretary of the Freezing' Workers' Union, visited the works on Wednesday, and after he had met the men they decided to resume. Six'teon men were concerned in the short strike, which did not stop the work in the freezing chamber.

The Defence Department has decided that it is advisable to have a military officer attached to district staffs acting in both a military and semi-official capacity in the direction of furnishing help to returning soldiers, states tv Press Association message from Christchurch. To fill this position so far us Canterbury is concerned the Department has appointed Lieutenant-Colonel C. B. Brereton. Colonel Brereton, who has seen service on Gallipoli and in France, will work in conjunction with tho district repatriation board and the 'Returned Soldiers' Association for the good of returning men.

Notices sent to the next-of-kin of soldiers arriving at Auckland by the Ajana indicated March 22 as the probable date of arrival, but news has since been received showing that the vessel will not arrive until March 2G. Eelatives are wlvised to watch the newspapers for variations in the times of arrival of returning drafts.

Surgeon-General Henderson, DirectorGeneral of Medical Services, who passed through Christchurch on Tuesday on his way to Dunedin, stated in reply to a question as to his successor that Colonel M'Gavin, D.5.0.. of Wellington, would shortly return to the Dominion, and that officer would possibly take up the duties temporarily until matters settled down. A decision which may affect the recovery of wages by employees who are bound by industrial "awards or agreements was recently given by the Magistrate at lnvereargill. In ft case brought against, the Nightcaps Coal Company, a worker claimed arrears of wages which had accumulated over a considerable period, and tho question arose whether a worker who unknowingly accepted wages at a less rate than that prescribed by his award or agreement could recover arrears for more than tho three months allowed by section 61 of tho Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Act, 1908. The Magistrate held that if a worker made no protest when paid less than the nward rate, and pocketed the money as his due, then he "accepted' it. in the meaning of the word in the Act, whether lie knew ho was underpaid or was labouring under a mistake, and the limitation laid down in section 01 applied, bucli worker could not therefore recover more than three months' arrears. It. is understood that an appeal will be made asainst the decision of the Magistrate in th» case under notice.

The liner Farnworth, at Wanganui, is loadin" 16,000 bales of wool for London. This will be the largest consignment ot wool taken from Wanganui by one vessel. At an average of «£23 per bale, this consignment will be worth about ,£368.000. In the report of tho theory musical examination the name of Phyllis M. hmbury was iucorrectly given as Emdrey. The special arrangements to ensure soldiers having a full opportunity to vote in the forthcoming licensing election are working smoothly. Men of three recent returned drafts were enrolled on the ship, and the only draft which required special extension of leave to enable tl.o men to vote as soldiers, under the"provisions of the Expeditionary Forces ,-oring Act, was the Port Melbourne draft which arrived in Auckland yesterday. The Hororata's men will not be discharged until after the election, as then--28 (lays' leave period will not expire until after April 10. Therefore they « vote as soldiers, without need for emolment. ■ ,

Mr. J. H. Helliwell, the treasurer of the Italian Red Cross Fund, lifts received from the Countess of Liverpool Relief Fund Committee, Wairarapa Branch, a cheque for 7s. 9d. This increases the. total Italian Bed Cross lund to .£4500. . "There are always two points or view," fiftitl Mr. J. 0. Herbsman at the Chautauqua, "youm and the other ie - low's. There were once two men oveitaken by an infuriated bull ma paddoclc. One elided a nearby tree and tk other took Shelter in a hole in the ground. Watching the latter from the tree it vas noticed that the man who had eonyht sanctuary in the hole bobbed up every time the bull passed, which, of course, made the kill come at him, again. After watching his friend bobbing up ad down in the hole, the man in the tree yelled out: "Why. don , you stop in the holef-you're making the bull mad bobSW «nd down like that!" "That's all ?Sy well," said the other "from your point of view, but you doirt know that there's ft bear in this hole! . The Wellington City Council is fiendinK on to the Municipal Conference the following remit regarding the collection of hMpitol levies i-'That, in the opinion of the council, the present eye tern of hospital administration under which the Government and local bodies have to raise the money that is needed, and the boards without any effective contro or responsibility are privileged to spend it, is highly uneatisfactoryi that an amendment of the law is urgently required which will provide for the representation of the Government and local bodies on the boards in approximate proportion to their respective contributions; and that the present system of subsidy from the consolidated fund is arbitary and inequitable and should be placed on a just and uniform basis.' The City Council last night granted the Wellington Prohibition League tho use of tho following grounds on the dates set out—Basin Reserve, March 9; Newtown Park, March 1G; Basin Reserve, March 23.

"Nothing more than nn electioneering dod"e " was tlv comment made by a city councillor last night referring to the conduct of Councillor Frost, chairman of the Reserves Committee, relative to ] an interview ho had given to a. City newspaper It appeared that the recently appointed Supervisor of Reserves had presented a policy report on the reserves and it was charged against Councillor Frost that ho had given out the substance of the report as his own. Several councillors ,condemned Councillor Vrost'e notion. Councillor Veitch said this- "I would likp to eay a word' in extenuation of Councillor Frost's action. •Ho is only copying what line been the practice of the city Mayor. Uα is nn aspiring Mayor, and he is going on the same. Hum." Councillor Frost, in relily indignantly repudiated the clui-pse. He had been asked for tho interview and he nnvo it, and he declared that there was"iiotliing in his interview about the director's report, and nothing in Mio interview that was not covered by lOfinlntions already passed by the Reserves Committee. The suggestion was made to iho City Council last night that; in view of the risk of a recurrence of tho influenza epidemic, some lectures by meiliral men should bo arranged for in order that tliu public misht b? instructed ns to jnecaulions to "be taken. Councillor b'f.rber (in tho chair) said he thought the idea was a good one, to which effect might well be given. The certificate of ability Jo handle and i drive a motor-car, held by a tnxi-driver, I rported for negligent driving and unsatisfactory, conduct, was last night cano. 'by: the -£i& Council,

The General Post Office clock woiked overtime yesterday in the matter of (.•liiines. At 2.11 p.m. it chimed the three-quarter hour movement, and about six minutes later those in The vicinity ,i-ore_ surprised tojienr lbe : _hour_chiiy:ed.

The'TraiWays"CoiiimitleV reported to the City Council last night that they had endeavoured to arrange for a partial tram service on Good Friday by voluntary labour, but that the tramway employees desired that no service be rnn on that tiny. The committee recommended, and the council agreed, that the request of the men be acceded to.

The City Council has decided that in future applicants for consent to lay common private drains shall be required to pay 30s. on lodging their application?, in order to cover the necessary searching, registration, and preparation of plan. The sea wall at Oriental Bay is to be extended beyond the Kiosk at the far side of the bay, and when this has been done the City Council intends to improve the approach to Carlton Gore "Road.

In 1917 the main municipal roll for AVel. lington contained 20,990 names. Thie year it contains 27,099 names, and it appears thjit the supplementary rull will be as large as usual.

"That this board is unanimously o opinion that a number of Native pa are in such an insanitary state as to h practically hotbeds of disease, and j menace to public health. All kinds o infectious diseases are generated u> the? , localities, mid spread broadcast througl various towns in the vicinity. We woul therefore request that a thorough inspec tion of these pas lie made, and an ade quate sanitary system bo inaugurated otherwise the work of the inspectors 1: practically useless. We believe that i movement is on foot to clear up the shin portions of the cities. We would there Fore ask that the Native village he alsi taken into consideration in order to re luce the menace to country towns, whicl suffer annually from the insanitary con litions prevailing." The foregoing re solution circulated by the Tauranga Hoe pital Board, was last night supported b; :he Wellington City Council. An emphatic protest against the pro ioshl of the City Engineer to read Roseneath by cable car, and a demand fo i (rood road and tram connection witl ;ho city came to the City Council las; iHit from the ■ 'Roseneath and Onenla 3nv Municipal Association, a lie rep j if 'the council was that the work roul< n> carried out only by means of «, loan nd the question would be considorot rhen the schedule of loan works wai ieing framed. ■V few months ago a conference of re ireaentatives of related trades m thi .rintin? industry was held to considei ! proposal to establish a confederation o inions comprising those engaged in tin rade A constitution and rules wen idopted, and circulated among member! if the organisations affected. Ihe niiee ion of affiliation oanie before the \Vel ington Typographical Union recently or ratification, when it wns decided. t. übmit the matter to a bnllot qt mem iers, advocates for the affirmative am iegative being appointed to draft rtasoni iro and con for submission to mesibr tt the time the ballot x&s taken. lh. ■eiult of the- ballot was that the pro Mid to affiliate was defeated by i najority of 34 votes. It was stated in a Christclmrch tele tarn last week thai; Mrs. Zi lah I'airhurst •elict of Mr. Thomas Fairhurst. bad let £1000 to the Christclmrch Hospita . He awyors (Messrs. Innes. mid Oakley, o 'almerston North) now announce that tin tawed had made the following add ;ional legacies :-J!lO0U to Dr. Barnardo : Iom«9, ioOO to ralmfireton North llos ~tal, MOO to the AVeslcyun Churcl Christchurch), iSOO to the Home for tlv Wd and Needy (Christchurch), and £>0 o the Methodist Orphanaei (Papanui) dr. and Mrs. Fairhurst were well know, n the Palmerston North .district, l-oi ome years Mr. I'airhurst had the lea*. ,f the'refreshment rooms on the Palmer iton railway station, and also leased th lining-car' on the Wellington-Mnnawati wrtion of the line. He subsequentl; rent to Christchurch and took over thi ease of the dining-cars on thft Christ hiirch-Dunedin railway, which lie Car •ied on until the Kaihvay Depavcmen issumed control. Trooper Arthur. Ames (son of Mi fames Ames, City Valuer), writing iron tufa (Palestine) at the New V a V??' hat thanks to the good people of th; iVanawatii the New Zealand Mounted JJi •ision was able to enjoy a spanknii ;ood time" at Christmas. riends contributed n siini pt JUaO .10: xtra Christmas fare for the Division rhiuh sum enabled them to havo m> irst real Christinas dinner and tea the, iad enjoyed since the war began, bo wei lid the companies "do" themselves , the 'had thft wa-r still been on the meaehos if Turkish patrols could have capture, he whole division at Bata-they won ill too full to fight, too contented t( iurt their fellow-men. Allah is great nit Manawatu Is greater! At a nicotine of the New Zealand. Lab' ,ur Pnvty, held at Brooklyn last evening, he following motion was passed, aft ddress by Mr. B. Semple, M.P.:;- Hint he eleftWre of Brooklyn sympathise with ilr. Semple, and endorse his action, ana ■xonerate him from the- Press mwreprtentations in his attempt to ught for tlw ipliftment of thft workers ot the JJOninioii."