LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 287, 30 August 1919, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

"I am a great believer in the kinema' as a means of education," said Mr. Wi,F. Ward at yesterday's meeting of the college governors. The. remark was occasioned by a representation from Miss Mac Lean, principal of the Girls' College, advocating the purchase of a machine for and stating that the films required could be obtained for i2O a year. The board decided to give effect to Mac Lean's recommendation. The figures relating to .infectious diseases reported for the month ended August 19 to the Wellington Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, showed a big, jump upward as regai'ds'influenza. During the previous mouth only nine cases were .reported, but during the month under' notice 2(i cases were reported, of which 18 occurred in Wellington City, and the remainder in Lower'Hutt, Upper l Hutt, and the llult County,' Diphtheria was still fairly prevalent. During the month .11 cases were reported, its against 27 in the preceding month. The tally also included two cases of, lethargic encephalitis, four cases of scarlet fever, five cases of tuberculosis, six. of pneunloiiia; three of enteric, and four of measles. Of the 31 cases of diphtheria .'24 occurred in Wellington City. There is a great scarcity of InitteV in Napier, says a Press .Association telegram. It is impossible for.consumers to obtain even a limited supply. Merchants lutve quilted all tlieir stocks. The case is said to be that, better prices are offering for cheese-making and for turning into dried milk. -j ■ . A novel position regarding a number of houses in course of erection in H" country was revealed at a meeting held at Auckland at .which : a committee was appointed to confer with an official o. the Railway Department in respect, lo the carriage of goods on the railway. The question of •representation on .the ccmmitiec was binder discussion • when a representative ot the brick industry put forward a strong plea. 'He said that through'the Department excluding bricks (used -in the. construction of chimneys) from tlieir "goods to lie carried" list, quite ,r iiuinber'of houses had been erectod—but without the chimneys. The owners had gone into iliein; however,and were enjoying iill the. comforts of a home, with the exception of cooking facilities .in the direcfiirn referred 10, The. Senior £udet football loiirnamenl, willich wa? an .(tnnual fixture, up lo the date of the outbreak of war, isi to be revived again this year. Both 'ftngby and Association matches will be played, and a large number of entries have been received. The' following companies have •entered teams .tor the Rugby competitions, which.will bo played some time in '{September:—'Wellington College; St. 'Patrick's College," Banks College, Scols College, llGth .(Pelone), 38th' (Lower .ilult), 29th' (Petono Technical College), 17tl\ (Boys' Institute). 39/40 th (South Wellington), 27th (Wellington Scout), :11st (Wellington City), 21st (St. Anne's), :tO/'lsth (Wellington'Technical'College), and 26th (St. James's). .Wellington -Technical.'College Company have entered'two teams. The promoters'of the tournament .suggest that added zest would bo lent to the contests if a cup were donated for competition. ' Tho'clip presented for the Rugby section of the tournament was won outright, by Petoue Technical College in 1914, their, team having been victorious three years in succession. Tho "soccer" matches will be set down for. ■decision as" soon as grounds and suitable dates are available, teams having 'been forthcoming from -th 6 following '•companies;—2lst (St; Ahiie's),'-' 17th (Boys' .Institute), 30/35 th (Wellington Technical. College), '39/iOtli (South Wellington), andjtilrd (Karori). ' Three 'teams have entered from Wellington Technical College.' 'The Wellington Artillery Officers' Institution will tendot a dinner to Briga-dier-General CI. S.' Richardson to-night. 'Hie function will be' of a private nature, none but artillery officers being invited. Painters' employees generally have expressed- eonsiderauie dissatisiaction witii tho classification system recently instituted, by the Arbitration Court, 'iJie Court graded- tlie workers in ' tlifc' trade as and semi-skilled, and awarded diiferent rates of pay to the two classes. Auckland papers of .recen; date indicate that an attempt) by the' employers to entorco tlie ilistincuon made by the Court has led to quite a little trouble. A. Dominion representative yesterday inquired of Mr. Cornwel! (secretary of . the Painters' - Federation of Employees)' whetheV there were any prospects of similar trouble', in Wellington., Mr. Cornwoll, replied that the local employers were disregarding the system instituted by the Court, and were paying the higher rate of wages to all painters. Most of the men in Wellington were receiving Is. lOd. or 2s. per hour. - The .case of Annie Deckston, of Wellington, against Ernest John August, of Lower Hutt, farmer, an action for ejectment from ,a leasehold farm at Tuita, for alleged ' breaches of the covenants, and for compensation and ,£iOO damiages; was concluded yesterday. - Mr. E. i-. Bunny, who appeared for the defendant, said ill . his address that the plaintih asked for forfeiture of the lease, of which the defendant had lieenin possession for about twelve months only, and if the plaintiff.'succeeded it would be a very' serious matter for ..the defendant, anu therefore he thought the evidence should be absolutely convincing to warrant the issue of" a decree of forfeiture. Mr. P. Levi, for the plaintiff, said there had, been neglect of the property on the part, of the defendant, and on the ground of general neglect of the conditions of the lease there was every qualification for forfeiture.' His Honour Mr. Justice Edwards, who heard the case, reserved decision.' i At the outset of the -war there was a good deal of complaint about the quality of the boots that were'being supplied to the men of the New' Zealand Expeditionary Force. The' reverie side of the picture is that there were no men better booted \iuiong the forces in France than those thai, came from' New Zealand, and it has been reported by men who "saw the show through" that they could leave anything about with practical impunity, except their. boots, when 1 , they mixed with men of other divisions. The reason gireu was that the New Zealand Ixrols had soft chrome uppers, whereas the "Tommy" boots had uppers of hard leather. Another tribute to New Zealand suppliers exists in the fact that men who were away two and even three years brought the boots back that they went away in. *

At 12..'i0 yesterday, a girl, aged about 18, was-reseucd from the sea near Oriental Bay. She was admitted to tlui Hospital, and yesterday afternoon had quite recovered from her immersion in .the water. The Early Settlers and Historical Association intend holding the annual winter reunion ,of early settlers and their descendants, on the night of Dominion Day (September' 22), at 8 o'clock, in the Town Hall. The association extends a hearty welcome to pioneers' and descendants of pioneer settlers throughout the Dominion to attend this gathering, and lake the opportunity to meet again acquaintances of their youth, and to chat together of the good times when New Zealand was'in tho making. The gathering 'will lake the form of a social reunion, a lew short speeches, musical ilcuis. elc., fuller details of which will be announced later. Mr. li. Al. liurft, Mayor of Karci'i, has been appointed chairman of the Social Welfare Committee in coniuetioii with the charilalilo side of the work of the Wellington Hospital and Charitable Aid Hoard. At Thursday's meeting the chairman and some of the members expressed the desir-s that .Mr. Hum should bo invited to attend the monthly meetings of the beard, and it was decided that such invitation should lie extended.

Mr. l'Tank Charlton, formerly of Wellington, has'joined .the Williamson Grand Opera Company. He played tho important role of A 1 fio in. the opening per. formanco of "Ca,valleria Kiisticana" in Sydney ou August 9. . ,

1 unexpected meeting took place in France up past the front line (says .an exchange). While out reconnoitring one dav an ex-policeman and other scorns unexpectedly came in contact with a body of enemy troops lying in ambush, aiid. being outnumbered) were in a .ticklish position unfit reinforced. A bullet in the leg brought the ex-policeman to the sroimd, and lie had resigned himself to capiiire when suddenly he was seized bv the brawny arms of" a young giant, who bore him to safety, and immediately disappeared without waiting for as jnuch as a word of acknowledgment. "Well, I'll be hanged' If this isn't a queer world!" ejaculated the former constable, as lie was assisted into an ambulance. "I had a warrant in my pocket'for that chap's arresi'when I was called up!" At Port Chalmers on Tuesday Detective Hammerly arrested a young man apparently about twenty years of age, on a charge of vagrancy.. According to a statement made bv accused to the police, accused was connected whli a. family of almost independent means, who were residing in Sydney. Oil February 2, 1916, lie icined the llltli Battalion of Australian •Infautrv. and sailed with it.for the United. Kingdom on July 7 of tile same year. He underwent a period of training on Salisbury Plain, and then went with His. battalion to France. He was wounded in October, 1916, and sent back to hospital in England. Shortly- before the signing of the armistice accused was granted fourteen days' sick leave. He did not , return , to Iris regiment, and eventually secured a position in an Australian munition works in England. Ho staved in this 'position until the armistice had been sigrfed, when he proceeded to Cherbourg, and took a ship to Lisbon, afterwards reiurning lo Cherbourg. At Cherbourg his.health failed him', and he secured a free pass to London, where, on recovery, lie . signed on as" n messroom steward on the M'arama. ~He'arrived in the Dominion about the end of July, was oaid off, and liiis.beia wandering about ever since, getting his meals and sleeping on the boats whenever he had the chance. It is expected thaMie will be [handed over to the military-authorities; who will be likely to send him to Australia.—'"Otago Daily Times.'' -From various causes the' Milton. Borough Council has not prepared a balancesheet of its fintilices since llllli (says the Otago "Times"). The Town Clerk is uqw laid up witlr illness, and an earnest endeavour is being 'made by' the council to put matters oil a proper footing.' Two Dunedin auditors are now engaged •endeavouring to prepare balance-sheets tor the,past three years. '.Air. Herbert,'' Booth, .youngest' soil of the laic lit'iiLTal Buot.i, or Us! Saivadon -Army, is 'expected lo commence ;u, eihnijjclislio .c.Jnpaign m jNew -Zealand early next year, Probably lie, will ainve ill Wellington next January.'

A remarkable tribute to the stability of-the Jjriusn aoioplanc . como ironi ••india in lue ioriu u a slury ta an .airman's race trum Aini;alia:.. to' Simla' against heavy: (lust ana thunder, storms. Major A. 11. Tweedle, ol IUo Australian Plying Corps, flying a • Sopwitlv Camel, r.ert. Ainballa fur Simla, anil at a height of'only WKltlfl. it wiiS impossible, to tee a spot live miles dislunt, and, more extraordinary still, no.',lulls were visible, i'lying by compass, Major 'i'weedie bore liorch-easi: into the clouds. Climbing still higher, Major Tweecli'u observed-that a suvere thunderstorm was gelling nearer and nearer.. Hoping that lie could lace {ho storm, hoi climbed his machine to 10,000 ft., and was . relieved to see the Simla hill in front of him. In order to approach the aerodrome, it wis necessary to come down into a cup of the hills.. The moment ho throttled down, however, tho machine became unmanageable, owing lo the bulnps duo to a thunderstorm overhead.. Eventually, compelled to approach- the ground "down wind," owing to the storm, he was lucky enough to make the'dangerous approach., ot about 300 ft. deep and accessible only] from cue end. Jumping a. wall between trees 15 feet higher, the.pilot mado the landing just as tlie storm broke. So severe was it that within a quarter of an hour there were over 20 holes in the fabric of the planes caused.by hailstones larger 'than pigeon eggs.-. ... Tailors are still experiencing a greatdifficulty in. securing supplies of t;loth; tor both men's and woinea'.s.,.wearing..,ap : . pa rel (says the ."Otago 'Daily 'rimes'.'). L'nor to the outbreak of war' seveneighths, of the cloth, requirements of the 'Dominion'were imported from the United Kingdom, the remaining • eighth. being manufactured by New Zealand mills. When the New Zealand mills were busily engaged . on the "manufacture of khaki the stocks of ordinary woollens held by ■ had lo lie, called on for supplying civilian wear, and these stocks' wero steadily .depleted. Moreover,, the imports tram the United Kingdom dropped to very small quantities. -Taking 135,000-as a rough estimate of. the number of New Zealanders who wero in khaki, and viewing the fact that numbers have now been demobilised, especially during the last year, it will 'lie seen- that their requirements for ordinary clothing total a very considerable proportion of the cloths ing manufactured by New Zealand mills! Notwithstanding the fact, therefore, that these mills are not now manufacturing khaki, the call on their manufactures'is so great that they have not been able, to build up. any stocks, and, moreover, they cannot in the meantime supply the urgent demands of their regular client.';, leaving the-casual buyer out of consideration altogether. One leading. Duncdiii tailor says he. can see no relief until such time as-the.importations from the United Kingdom again reach something like their pre-war dimensions. This tailor says his price . to-day. .for. a first-class. worsted,, suit i.s 10 guineas, and for n -first-class- tweed suit S .'guineas. -Apart from the advance in the pr.ico of. clot.lis there has also been, a very considerable increase-in the cost of trimmings, cotton, etc. Tt ,is interesting to note that .the cost of a dress -suit at Ifome to-dity is 20; guineas;' in New Zealand''the • cost 19 about 15 guineas. , "What is the position with respect to the supply of butterh" -asked Air. A. Walker (Dunedin North) in the House of Representatives. . "People are waiting outside the factories in Dunedin. for a very small supply, and the position altogether is getting acute. Is anything being done with.a view to increasing supplies?" Tile Prime Minister said '.hat. lie had already' made public some informa- ' tion on the subject. The supply ol butter so far as the Department of Imperial Supplies was concerned, was exhausted. There was no butter left. The" new 6eason was just commencing. Some factories were running now, and others would be starting on September 1. so that the shortage would be merely temporary. ; Increases in the rate of wages to 15s. a clay for tunnel-wjrkers and Us. for outside : workers were asked on behalf ol the Jluurau and Waikiekie .Railway Construction Workers' Union by a deputation wliieli waited on the Minister of Public Works. Sir William Eraser, yesterday. Mr. J. G. Coates (Kaipara) said that 'unless the Public Works Department competed in the labour market for' men the construction of Hie railways would not make the progress that it should. The chief grounds upon which the members of ..the deputation based their claim were the high prices which had lo be paid for all necessaries of life. One case was quoted ..where fo.od and -other necessaries, not , including clothing, had cost one man. the father of seven children, .£l2 13s. for a oeriod of 28 days. Specimens of clothing purchased were produced and.' the prices quoted.- It' was stated that unless something were done as requested, it would' soon"become impossible to keep men at, the place. The Minister, in reply, undertook to put the request of the deputation- He said that the wages paid at Otira at the present'time were higher than those paid at. Tfuarau;. they were, in fact, the highest paid' in the Dominion for work of the kind. Condition* at Olira, however, were in-, . finitely more'arduous thun those at. | Ituarau. .At about 9.5 last night a wharf labour-' or named Dust-Smith, need ,10, residing - at Abel Smith Strenl, fell down hold of ilie steaiiiter.Essex, a distance of' 18ft. ITo-was"lalcr admitted to the Hospital suffering from a fractured jaw, an injured hip, and various culs on the fact and head. x .A public meelinu, will be held at the Town llall on Wednesday next to discuss the shurlagc of houses, and a resolnlion will be subniillecl calling upon the Government and ll.ic City Council lo take immediate action lo relieve I lie i acute position caused by (lie dearth of ] suitable' accommodation for the coin- i muaity. i

Arrangement:; are complete for tlie reception to Sir Joseph Ward in the Town Hall on .Monday night. It is expected that all the -members of the Liberal Party will accept the committee's invitation to be present on the platform, where seats will be reserved for. them. Mr. John Hut'cheson will move a resolution expressing appreciation of Sir Josfiph Ward's services, and. he will bo. followed by Sir James Carroll. Tlieio will be no reserved seats .111 the body of the hall. The committee' hopes Hint S 1 Joseph Ward will have something interesting to say concerning his trip abroad, the political situation to-day, and the .Liberal policy as outlined in" the recent manifesto. The doors will be opened at 7 p.m., and from 7.30 tjl'l 8 Mr. Ivenny'' will play selections on the organ.