LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 230, 23 June 1919, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

* o * The Hon. G, W. Russell states that it is anticipated, in view of communications received from tho Imperial Government, that Cabinet will to-day finally settle the date upon which the celebration of peace will be held in New Zealand, provided official intimation lias been received of the signing of peace. A Press .'Vsociation message, from 'Christchurch slates that Sir James Allen, when about ro leave for Wellington, said that the original proposal to start the peace celebrations in New Zealand on the second Sunday after the signing of the preliminary treaty had not been definitely declared uron, and the whole, matter of the peace- celebrations in New Zealand and their date would be definitely decided at a meeting of Cabinet to-day. In an interview in Christchurch, Sir James Allen, according to a Press Association telegram, said ho ilhought the newspapers hr,d exaggerated the recent (statement attributed to Mr. Myers regarding the social and financial position of New Zealand. "1 don't think jlr. Myers suggested that the finances of the country are in a serious difficulty, becauso they are not," declared Sir Jani-.s Allen. The Marine' Department has not yet been able to limk'o arrangements for r. ship to visit Fiint Island, where castaways are alleged to-have been sighted by a" passing American'ship. The Administrator of Samoa was ask',d to stud a ship, but he replied that no boat was available. The Minister of Marine then Bent a cablegram, to the I'rencli authorities at Tahiti asking if they couid send a .vessel.! No reply lias yet been received from Tahiti. A largely-attended meeting of members of the Jewish Club was held yesterday afternoon. The proposal to build more commodious club rooms was adopted, and the sum of .£I6OO was subscribed by thoso present. The site selected is in Vivian Street, opposite the new Salvation Army Hostel. It is possible that tho City Council may have to increase the rates for the coming year The estimates for the current year have been prepared, and will go before the committees concerned this week. Several transfers of public school inspectors have beei: made by tho Education Department. Mr. N. T. Lambournc, of Auckland, is -being transferred to Auckland; Mr. A. Crawford, of Nelson,, goes to Wungamii; Mr. A. N. Burns, who has been acting-inspector in Wellington, is going to Auckland: and Mr. T. F. Warren, who was inspector at Auckland, before going, on active service, will come, to Wellington on his return to the Dominion. ■Regarding criticism of the cadet camp by the Council of Churches, Sir .lames Allen said in Christchurch, stales a Press Association telegram, Hint iio hud asked for an inquiry concerning Uip allegations about tho recent High School Senior Cadet camp. Re 'hoped Hie proposed four months' training camps would be instituted, for tho sake of thv citizens themselves, for the sake of discipline, morals, and physkiue. He unhesitatingly said the evil was not in camp, but out of it. Reference has been made in several papers of late to tho fact that a single copy of "La Libro Belgique," the secret paper published under the nose of Count von Bissing the whole time ho was Ger. man Governor of Brussels, being presented to the Christchurch Museum. It may not 1)0 generally known, but there is a complete file of the paper mentioned, from tho first to the last issue, in Wellington. It was secured by Lieutenant "Pat" Ilauiia, of the firm of Hanua and King, Manners Street, just after tho armistice, and was sent to Wellington early in- the present year. Lieutenant Hanna, who is a .sketch artist anil humorous writer, realised the value of , the paper that would go out of commission as soon as tho war ended, so he made a special elfort to secure the file, and was successful. Lieutenant Hanna will return to Wellington this week by the transport Maunganui. A deputation of residents, of the. Melroso district: is to wait upon the Tramways Committee of tho City Council this afternoon to urge, extension of tho tramway system into tho eastern part of tho Melrose district by way of Sutherland Road (the road that leads to the. higher levels behind Nowtown Park). In that locality there, is a large tract ot hilly country which might be mado a residential locality, but is at present somewhat difficult of access. Recent improvements have been made in the grading and widening of Sutherland Road, which aro considered'to bo the forerunners of a. well-graded tramway track. Prom the lull slopes of Alclrose some ot the finest panoramas in Now Zealand are observable. Tho sea trials of tho Stalwart, one of thesis destroyers which the British Government is presenting to Die Australian Navy,, were recently successfully completed (says the Melbourne "Age"). The new vessel ..is ono of (he latest so-called "S" type of destroyer, of which the most, striking characteristic is a long forecastle. Tho propelling machinery consists of Hrown-Curtis geared turbines built by the Wallsend Slipway and Engineering Co., Md., steam being supplied from wntc: tubn boilers fired with oil fuel. Tho Stalwart is well armed with quick-firing guns, a high-angle gun, and torpedo lubes carried on tho deck. There is a com. plete installation of the most modern system of gun-director control, winch is operated from the bridge. Her complement is nearly 100 men. She is l.lw thirty-fourth destroyer built by Swan, Hunter, and Wighnm Richardson, Ltd., of "Wallscnd-on-Tyne, 2? of them having been completed since tho outbreak of war.

On Saturday tho Mayor (Mi , . J. P. Luke), with his usual consideration, forwarded comforts and reading mutter to the crews of tho quarantined minesweepers Geranium and Marguerite, which will make ilie lot of the men across tho harbour a little more endurable thaii it otherwise would bo. Tho crew of the Mallow (which berthed fit the Ferry Wharf on .Saturday) havo been invite! to take ten. wilh the Mayor aud Mayoress at the Town Hall this afternoon. Capliiiii Baldwin-has also advised (he men th.iit they may have the free use of the tramcars whilst they are in Wellington. The effect of the cessation of hostilities upon tho class of book mast favoured by (lie reading public was discussed by a'lending bookseller in Auckland. II" said that war books, with the except ion of standard histories and chronicles, weiu absolutely "dead." Tht> signing of ths armistice had been followed by a revival of interest in works of'fiction and of poetry, especially the works of youngeiwriters. A particularly interesting feature of the trend in literature was the growing -interest in the lighter classics, sucb '■ as tho works of Dickens and Thackeray. With tho coming of winter, a heavy demand for children's books had set in. !, No immediate prospect of a decrease in the present high price of photographic ! goods is entertained by Auckland dealer.?. One stated last week that manufacturers' K'corit quotations gave no indication of I easier prices. Owing to the release of large quantities of photographic platea, (ha contracts for which had been delayed by the war, the price had fallen ve>y slightly, but as the price in New Zealand was lower than in England, no further fall could be expected. The one exception was "hypo," a chemical used extensively in photographic work. Beforo the war this was imported from Germany, but recently it has been produced successfully in America and Australia, consequently an early decrease in the- pricw is nntic]patcd.--' , Heralri." The current issuo of "The Waitakian" contains a summary of military distinctions gained by ex-pupils of the Waitaki Boys' High School, which total 91, mado up as follow :-V.C, lj D.5.0., '4; D.C.M.. :i; M.C., 32; bar to M.C., 2; M.M.. 1G; foreign decorations, 3; mentioned in dispatches, 30. The roll of honour comprises 050 names, but it is known that fully 700 Waitakitins were on servi:e. Mr. James Craigie, M.P., suggests in un interview with tho Tiinaru "Post" the erection of a memorial hall of heroes bv the niMiieipality and the people to terve as a Town Hall. It should be the best building in the town, with a front decorated wi!h sculptures or has reliefs symbolising the purpose- of the building. The priucipal feature should he a spacious vestibule, the walls to carry memorial panels on which should be inscribed the nanifcs of men who served in the war. The vestibule would be a miniature Pantheon. Mr. Craigie eays: "It is the duty of citizens to erect, a monument, and as a citizen I am anxious to help. We want (6 commemorate the biggest thing in our history, and we ought to aim at something grand and noble. Let us have a hall of heroes to remind us every day that the blood of our martyrs is indeed the seed of nobler futures."— Press As si. His Honour the Chief Justice- (Sir Robert Stout), on Saturday morning, after hearing further argument, reserved decision in the will case from Tarnnaki. in ■which the question involved was whether a valuation of the. estate- made by the Valuer-General, or a valuation subsequently mads by private valuers at the request of the parties, should be the basis of the distribution of the tho beneficiaries. The parties were Patrick Alexander Bonrke, of Whe.miakura, near Patea, , plaintiff, and James . Thomas Bourke. John William Bourke, Andrew Vincent Bourke, Joseph Francis Bourto, all of Whoniiakiira, and the Public Trustee, defendant. Mr. T. young, with him Mr. P. O'Dea.. of Haivera, appeared for tho plaintiff, Mr. M. Myers, with- him Mr. C. Fleming, for James .Thomas Bourke, Mr. C. P. Skorrett, K.C.. with 'him Mr. Crombie and air. Cook, for John AViiliam Bourke. A. V. Bourke, and J. F. Bourke", and Mr.'G. Roso for the Public Trust Office. . , ' A spectacular leap, which might easily have led to a serious accident, was made by a molor-ciir in Rungiora on Tuesday evening, says an exchange. A drain in course of construction across the road was left open, with a mound of earth about 2ft. high mi each side. The liiotorcar came towards it at about 25 milw an hour, and the driver failed to notice the obstruction. The ear mounted the bank and successfully leaped the ditch, but it was badly shaken and loosened. The outward aud visible sign of Waipori's decay as a goldfield is to be found in the fact that the last of the local Chinamen left- there, a few days ago fa go into hospital. There used to be hundreds of them in the district (says the Duuedm "Star"), and in its aenifh Wnjpori had its recognised Chinese qunvtiu 1 . equipped with opium-houses and fan-tan 'establishments—if one knew where to find them. The Rev. Charles J. Bush-King- placed on the table of Synod for inspection an interesting relic of tho war—viz., a chalice and paten which were used by him dnrinc tho whole of the war, favs the Dunedin "Star." These communion ■vessels were made in Wellington in 191) from Mr. Bush-King's own design, and the following inscriptions show the service 'to which they 'have been put. They have been used on eight shijjp—H.lF.S.S. Limerick. Grantully Oasth>, Uciva, Wj|. lochra, Maunganui. Nile, Tofua, and Tllimaroa. The chalice has also inscribed upon il the names of the connlSk?.-; in which they hove been used—Now Zealand, Egypt, Gallipoli, England, and France; also the troops to which* the chaplain was attached—Main "Bnilv. the Ninth, Thirty-fifth, and Forty first Reinfoi'cemonis, and the years 1914, 1!)I5. l<llo. 1917, 1918. and 1910. The paten lias inscribed upon it the record, of service during whicch these vessels 'have been used. In conned ion with the capping cele-l.-iations of Victoria University College a lunch was given on Fritjay by tho Graduates' Association in honour of tho graduates of the year. Over seventy guests were present at the Kelburn Kiosk, including tho chairman of' the Collojo Council, the professors and former gradual cs. Mr. G. G.'G. AVateon, chairman of the Graduates' Association, welcomed tho new graduates in a humorous speech, vliicli >vas rc])lied to by Mr. S. A. Wiren. J'rofessor Morsdeu, who has lately returned from the front, where he was engaged on important scientific work, save, an interesting account of certain aspects «f work in the English universities, notnblv the new degree of Ph.D., which lias been established during the last six ■ months. A notable guest present was Dr. Diamond Jenness, of the Stefnns--un Expedition. ' At the conclusion of tho entertainment on Friday evening Ihu students regaled themselves, at a supper in the Marble Bar, whore lliev revelled joyously until midnight. Mr. John Rigg intends contesting the Wellington East seat in the Labour interest at tho next general election. With this intention he communicated with the Labour Representation Committee, pointing to his identification with the Labour cause in Now Zealand for over thirty years. Ho asked recognition! stating that he was prepared to join the party and support Iho platform'; but he declined to go to the seleotion ballot, alleging malpractices on tho occasion of the last election, when he submitted himself to the ballot of tho committee. On the present occasion he had approached the committee before the nomination of candidates for selection in the desire to avoid tho splitting up of tho Labour vote. However, the committee has informed Mr. Rigg that, according to its rules and regulations, ho is ineligible for nomination as its official candidate.