LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 181, 26 April 1919, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The secretary of the General Post'Of-' fico lias received-advice from the censorship authorities that unless unforeseen circumstance's prevent/ if. the Press. Bureau in the United Kingdom will 'be abolished at the end of this 111.011 th, and that there will then be no censorshin 011 Press telegrams to or from the United Kingdom. ' Early last evening, the fire brigade re-ceived-a call from the neighbourhood of Wellington Terrace and Boulcott Street. The cause of the alarm proved to be a. gorse fire. This 'was very cosily extinguished before it could.do anv damage. The Waterside Workers' Band will play, at Newtown Park to-marrow afternoon at 3 o'clock.. • Speaking to Catholic returned men in tho Basilica, Hilf Street, yesterday, Archbishop Redwood 1 , struck a blow at the evils of divorce. He said:—"The family if a society in its own order, a perfect society. The authority .of that society is the authority of. God.' The home is a divine institution, and that institution' must be respected. If any voice in the world speaks up for the defeiice of the home it is'the Catholic Church. - In this New Zealand, which you love so well, and for which your comrades heroically shed their blood and gave their lives at the cannon's mouth, are we not confronted with a gigantic evil, an evil which has disrupted many a home already, and threatens to disrupt many more—l mean divorce, divorce in our divorce court#? The mandate of God is:'What Clcd lias joined let no mail put asunder." The Catholic Church stands unalterably for the sacred institution of the home, for the support of the authority of the home." The Eastern Telegraph Company announces that: "London advises it is not necessary to divert Homewards via Pacific, as delay our route is twenty-four hours only 'Homewards- Have already asked Pacific assist with traffic from North America to Far East during interruption of commercial Pacific'- cables between Sail Erancisco and Philippines to equalise delay United Kingdom outwards to Australia by both routes." Wellington has been flooded with visitors during tho past week. Inquiries mado yesterday at hotels and boardinghouses in the'city showed that a dozen, such establishments had not among them a solitary room for hire, A Press Association message from Hastings last night stated that Charles Hodler and Alfred ivrwit, two of tho German escapees from Fcatlierslon.'had lieen arrested, and would proceed to Wellington under ;(iiard to-day.

A Now Zealand soklicr with Urn forces in Germany, writing from tiefrath, near Cologne, on j-jbruarv 2,. to Jfr. \V. B. Queimell, of taversham, says:—"Life in Germany, is none too sweet. It is bitterly colli. The wind nearly cuts one in two. .Plenty of snow and frost. This little -village is about 10 miles from Cologne by tram. The civvies slick iu? up in tho street and say '.Mix chocolate,' asking for chocolate, which" they get, I don't think, if they ore not after chocolate it is cigarettes, 'l'hey are a miser-able-looking' lot. They live cn potatoes, and eat about 41b. each at a go. My word, they do shovel them down, They are poorly A pieco of soap half the size of an ordinary tablet of toilet soap costs 55., and boots .£o.- Tho ■ poorer classes have paper boots with wooden soles. Butter is £2 a lb., meat SGs. a lb. I cannot imagine bow they live at all." —J3unedin "Star." A successful deer-stalking expedition on the Southern Alps is reported by Mr. James Dunning, ol Auckland (.says the "Herald"). Shooting in a district oil the west of the Jfakarora Hiver, which flows into Lake \Vanaka, Mr. Dunning secured a very fine sixteen-pointer, a "tiptop" royal or twelve-pointer, and a. smaller royal. The weather was fairly good. - With itr. .T. Faulks, of Pembroke, Otago. Jtr. Dunning intends to leave, next July, for the far north of Alaska, on ii big game hunt. .As illustrating the good spirit prevailing amongst bowlers generally, Hie following incident is related (says a southern paper). It was essential that tho final games of the Rak.iia Club's singles competition, be finished, on Good Friday. In order to enable one player to be present another, at .a. committee meeting, offered to assist, liim in the morning to cut down aud split op some trees for firewood. 'I'Jie offer was thankfully accepted, and , tho service duly rendered. The player turned up to timo in tho afternoon and won the competition. A letter sent out by a loading Christchurch firm last week seems to indicato that the woollen mills of the Dominion have not yet caught up with the civilian demand for their goods. ' The letter states: "At the present. time jerseys are practically unprocurable in Christchurch, and although we, together'with tho other warehouses; . have them oil order from the different colonial mills, we are unable to get delivery of them, nor can we get any information as to when wo may expect delivery."—'"Press." A Christcluireh gunner, wlio returned to i\ew Zealand by the llororala, claims the- distinction of having iired the last shell into the German lines from the iS'cw Keqlund i'ield Artillery, before tho armistice came into low, and he stntes that on Sunday, November JO, they had been following up tho Germans all day and went into action in some boggy ground, alongside a hedge, 'l'hey were all "dog tired," and soon after fixing up u rough "bivvy" lliey went to sleep, with the exception of a few men on duly. Shortly after midnight, however, an order was sent down for "six rounds jun lire," in order lo i|uielen an. enein.y machinegun which had been making things lively. Tho detachment got to work anil soon fired off the rounds, not knowing that that was lo bo their last in action. Later in the. day the orderly officer informed tho. gunner that, they were the last battery lo bo in action, and that as Ihe Australian 'Artillery were out of action the gunner was the last man lo lire a shell against the Germans. ' The report of a. sub-committee appoinlcd to investigate thv lack of female labour in industries has been received by {lie committee of the Auckland Industrial Association. Tlio'sub-couiniitleo. slates I hat it cannot recommend the pursuing of the proposal lo press for an immigration scheme, as il is of opinion Unit tliern is ample potential labour in the Dominion which can he atfi'aeled. H is-large-ly a mi'.ltcr of education and-of impressin? on women tho. opportunities that exist. The report will bo' discussed at Ui« nest meeting.

The tender of Mr. N. Mculi, of Wannainii, ill ,tIS,'JHi, lias been .accepted for tho erection ol a fourth house in connection iiilli the Wanganui . Collegiate School. .As in the case of (he 11111 i:i con I met Hie architects are Messrs. Atkins, Bacon ami Mitchell, of Wellington. According to evidence Riven before the Parliamentary Industries Committee, the poetic dream of marble luitls might rjeudlly be brought to ..ctual realisation in New Zealand by .iho -provision of (jovernment aid lor auirble quarrying -'it Takaka, Nelson, says .the "New /.calami Herald." Replying to a question from 0110 member as to whether marble were not really a "luxury." building material, a witness said the cost. <>t' timber was goiiig up and it was tutting scarcer, and lie had-110 doubt thut: if mai'blo could be produced at marketable, prices it would come into wide general l so, not only-for public buildings,, but lor. residential bungalows. 'these were now ereutcd largely in cement and brick, which, under present" conditions, was cheaper tliun marble, but it was -imped the latter might he produced '.«o as to -satisfactorily compete Willi cement .ind brick. ' Marble was a material which stood lor all time, with no cu.st of either maintenance-or repair. Without assistance, however, the trade would'still have to rely on Ihu old luxury basis. .' Tho Dutiodin "Star" states' -that after .the result of the recent university debating contest was aniuniiued, there was .1 converging rush of students conveniently situated- to- seize it 'u'aseot-a sort of huge liaslcr egg in plaster of paris— which tho Canterbury team had solemnly planted 011 the table in front ol.their champions in the struggle, tor possession of this the - contestants were scut sprawling ail over' (lie stage, or rolled, close euddied down the steps to - the Hour of the. hall. It was ;i highly ediiyirig exhibition before' an audience composed in considerable part of young women—ail assertion ol the prerogative 1 .students tin; world over eiuim to create a Donnybruok Fair 011 any aml all occasions. Canterbury reached their bauble first, and appeared to retain possession, but it was a vei-y meagre egg when the* scuttle cleared, yietoria Collego certainly iron I lie chief debating honours," says the "Star." "Canterbury's leader (Jlr. J. C. Dickinson)'developed argument 'well, but his seconder'(Slr., A. Patterson) showed discomfiture undor intejrum.ion, of which lie suffered more than a; fair share;. . A gesture of his of the' poundiiig-the-table order had-unfailing power to excite tho laughter ol' his' auditors: The Clianeelloi '(the l!ev. A. Cameron) intervened periodically to check interruptions, but not very successfully. Badinage is an essential saiice of university debates, and the debaters from' long inurement probably appear to receive it as a legitimate feature of His game." '• ■ ' A correspondent writes to.the London "Evening News" of March s"The casualty statistics. given to the punlie Jiave not got beyond general totals so far, but a New Zealand medical friend giyes me somo interesting details concerning their losses. Among a total of 55,000 casualties in the New Zealand Force, including ]5,0.00 killed, there has only been the surprisingly small rumber of twenty cases of blindness. The 'limbless' cases also lmve been remarkably few in number, when it is borne in mind the loss of any portion of a limb, from a hand or. foot upwards, brings, a case under this classification. Losses of fingers or toes do'not count as iimblessness, but practically everything above this does. Of such cases the Nejv Zealand casualties include only between SOO and SSO, which works out' at .something under, 11 per cent. All these men, lam told, are undergoing special educational .courses, wherever their loss has made a.continuance of . their pre-war occupation impossible." • At the Anzac. Day-entertainment last evening Lieutenant-Colonel Guy Powles, C.M.Or., D.5.0., paid a great tribtuo to Iho horscmnstership of the colonial troops.- Ho said that in South Africa they had been told that they were very good riders, but they did/not know liow. to take care of the horses. ' But now thev were horse masters During his experience he has seen Indian cavalry, t'reneh cavalry, and all other mounted troops, but none of tliciu had held out like the New Zealand troops. The Yeomanry had to retire, and the .Indian cavalry had to drop out: to rest and reorganise, but. the New Zealanders fought right through without a spell. All mariner of war.-.records, -,are being claimed in all'parts of "the world now that the great conflict is over. Captain Gerald Doorly, li.N R., made a unique claim at the Town J [all last evening, when lie said that he had beeii in charge of the smallest troopship , which had. made the longest voyage with troops. That was the Navua, and the trip was from Port Chalmers to Plymouth (England): It was on that 1 trip that the Navua was in confroy with the Mokoia and Aparhvia. Well oft the English coast they fell in with a light cruiser, who told theni that tlieir convoy of destroyers had been detained in port -by bad weather. Under the circumstances' there was nothing to do save to go on, so there were the three of them ill the worst part of- the danger zono entirely without protection. Just before the cruiser disappeared it signalled that the destroyers had left, and should bo looked out for. Darkness fell, and nil lights were put out. Ho wondered how they! were to find the destroyers or the destroyers to find them under such circumstances. Then lie got a wireless 6ignal to flash on his navigation lights, and as snnn as he did so the navigation lights of three small steamers not a mile away conlil lie eeeii—they were the destroyers,who had .picked them up 111 the dark. The signal came to "douse lights," .mil thev stood on. , Then a wireless message was received—"ls that, the Navua?" And Captain Doorly said that he thought how wonderfiil it all was.' Here was a little steamer all the way'from Port Chalmers, picked lip in the dark, and known at once for what it was- The leading destroyer asked for tho whereabouts of the Mokoia. The reply was that she had steamed away ahead out of sight. Tho destroyer went racing ahead, half-covered in spume, and in a minute 'or so was lost to view. The' cargo steamer Waimnrino, 4202 tons, of the Union Steam Ship Company's fleet, is now at Wellington discharging Newcastle' c-oal after an absence from New Zealand ol' over two years, during which nine she was a transPort for tho Imperial Government. The time was spent 111 carrying foodstuffs and munitions 'between England, Mediterranean ports, India, South Africa, and tho Americas. Good fortune favoured tho ship in her runny passages through the danger zones, and although. submarines •tried on two or three occasions to attack the convoys of which the Wainiarino was a unit, all the attempts were abortive. . On armistice day the Waimarino was at Gibraltar. Soon after, the,| circulation of the great news by wireless mauy ships of all classes and e'll all missions camo into, port, and the small town was mad with excilenient. Among the vessels that entered the port of the garrison town that day was a flotilla of twenty American submarine chasers. Thev weije of the latest type, and fitted with wonderful inventions for the carrying out. of their perilous work. The Waimarino is tho only vessel of seven of the Union Company's -cargo boats to return to New Zealand to relate.her. adventures. The Wu'kawa, Waihemo, Apurinta, and AVaitcuuita , .were nil. torpedoed in the. war zone, the Wairuna was captured by the raider Wolf, and tho Waitotara was burnt at sea. ' The Wellington Waterside Workers' I 'Union ballot upon the question of accepting or rejecting the propused new agreement with the employers was taken on Thursdav and yesterday. .Tho-re-sult will not, .however,, be. known iinlil Thursday or Friday next, as the ballot boxes were sealed, and will be opened only when all the boxes from tho- other ports of New Zealand are vcceivcd at the federation's office at Wellington for the one counting of the votes.