LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 11, 8 October 1919, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The influenza notifications in the past four days have shown, some reduction. There were in all 23 cases notified, of which'six were pneumonic, and two severe. There weie nine notifications •in Wellington, one ense being pneumonic.

Fcatherston camp orders announce the death of 01)305 Corporal Patrick Thom.ii. Bolton, prisoners of war internment camp guard, at the Feathersiton Military Hospital, on Sunday morju'ng last .

"You taxi drivers will have to obey Ihese signals, else tho lines will be made heavier," said Sir, E. Page, S.M., at the Magistrate's Court yesterday, when lining a taxi driver .CI and costs 7s. for failing to stop his motor-car when signalled to do so by a traffic constable.

"Tho Gaming Act throws the onus on clubs of keeping their racecourses clear of bookmakers and undesirables, but 1 regret to say some clubs do not take the matter very seriously, and consider that having once passed regulations provio.-na for the exclusion of bookmakers and undesirables their responsibility ends," says the Inspector of Tota!;is,ttors, in his annual report. "This is, however, not the case, and clubs must understand that they are required to appoint efficient racecourse detectives to keep their racecourses clear. It will not Ido for such clubs to nominally appoint some local person who doe 3 not know the bookmakers and undesirables and then place him, as has happened in some cases, on the gato leading to the birdcage. I notice that, nl-. though the question of appointing raceeourso detectives by tho Racing Conference has been before that body on several occasions, no action has yet been taken in that direction. This, I think, is much to be regretted, as I am c£ opinion tiint if racing is to maintain its high standard some effective means must be taken to keep the racecourses clear of bookmakers and undesirables. If tho question of the cost: is stopping this muchneeded reform, then I desire to express the opinion that the increased tottilisnloi- turnover which would resnlt from tho effective exclusion of booknr.ikors and their agents from racecourses would more than recoup clubs for the increased expense."

Mr. Leo du Chateau has returned fiom Sydney, bringing with him a copy of the latest Australian picture "The Sentimental Bloke," a film interpretation of C. J. Dennis's sigularly striking verses. "Doreen" and "Tho Moods of Ginger Mick" are also bcinjj pictured in Australia,

Last season one and a half million dozen oysters were taken in Fovea us Strait. Their value was ,El2,f)ofl. The number exported to Australia was 142,800 dozei!> The price is going tip steadily. In 1917 it was Bs. per sack, in 1918. 10s.. and in 1919 13s. (id. In the North Island, where oysters are picked and sold !>y the Department, there has been an .increase of only sixpence per sack since the beginning of the war. The .Fovcaux Strait oysters arc dealt with by private enterprise. Foveaux Strait oysters have now b»en transplanted to Cook Strait, where it is, believed they will live and propagate.

Owing to the war there has been difficulty iu keeping the' lighthouses properly staffed. In several instances temporary keepers have had to be appointed. Now that the war'is over it is hoped soon to get sufficient permanent keeper's to till the vacancies.

A reception to Sergeant L. Lovcday, winner of the King's Prize, Disley, lingland, will be held at the Grand Hotel at 4 p.m. to-day. His Worship the Mayor lias been asked to preside.

"It is - a rule which 1 think should bo strictly observed by all motorists, and quite a number of accidents would be avoided if it were," said Mr. '.E. Page, S.M., at tho Magistrate's Court yesterday, in a. by-law case in which the defendant had failed to observe the regulation relating to the turning of earners at street intersections. The defendant, instead of directing his car behind the constable on points duty, cut across in front of "him, and' thereby passed to his wrong side. A misunderstanding of the signal given was the defendant's plea. A conviction nns recorded and a fine of !is. imposed.

During the year ended March 31, .1919, the sum of Ji. r ),732,-A79 10s. was passed through the totalisator, and investors received back in dividends X 5,002,772 12s. Tho difference—viz., i:729,70G 18s, was* disnosed of as follows:—The Government received .£272,313 -Is. 3d., of which. .£143,311 IDs. 9d. represented 2"; per cent, tax on the total investments, and .2129,001 4s. (id. was the dividend-tax of Gd. in tho pound. The .clubs received the balance nf the .£729,706 18s.-viz., £[57,3!1S 13s. Oil. •-which is made up of £(29,935 19s. 3d., being 1\ per cent, of: the totaiisator turnover 'and £37,457 14s. Gd. unpaid fractions. "I desire to call your attention to (lie large sum the fractious amaunt tn—vi/,., „E27,'tf>7 14s. 6(l.—equal tn aver i;l16 for each day's racing," states tho Inspector of Totalkitors in his annual report to the Department of Tnternnil Atfu'irs. "In my opinion clubs have no just claim for such fractions, and they should be paid into the Consolidated Fund and the 'money earmarked for some good purpose."

Tho American Waiters' Union in New Torls declares 'its intention lo abolish tli9 tipping practice, and replace, it by appropriating 10 per cent, of the amount of the bill. "Accepting tips," says the Union, "is essentially un-American, end places the stamp of servitude upon tho 'dining-room salesman's. profession." It : .s agreed in New York that tipping is doomed. bate arrivals from America .'.1,i1.e that this does not by any means indicate the end of tho imposition, as the waiters now charge the proprietors with 10 per ce.nt. of the cost of the meal.

In memory of tho lato Dr. Ttoss, the St. John. Ambulance Association, Petone division, has presented to that borough a portrait of tlio doctor, who was for a number of years honorary surgeon of the division. At the request of the division, the portrait, which has been hung in the Mayor's room, was on Monday evenine unveiled by the, Mayor, Mr. ,T. W. M'Kwun. M'r. M'.Dwan paid a tribute to the nohlo work accomplished by Dr. IRoss during tho epidemic, and said thai: lie could assert authoritatively that two-thirds of the medical work during I lint period had been done by him. He was a man who always had in him a sluing desire to be of service to his fellow men and women, and it was this trait in his clmrncler which had so endeared him In the uenplle. Tho division had done the viij'liL Urns in perpetuating the memory of Mrs. Oollelf, and, again, in remembering the noble service of Dr. Boss. Mrs. f'nlvih, superintendent of the Ladies' Nursing Division, and Mr. Ivylo, on behalf of the men's division, each paid a tribute lo the work done for Mm ,is&v,intion bv Dr. Bos?, and his self-sacrificing labour in the cause of his fellow men. While unvoting the portrait, Mr. M'Ewan said Hint Dr. Host's life was an inspiration to all to go and do likewise.

The monthly "stop-work" meeting of Die "Wellington Waterside Workers' Union was held in Hip Harbour Bonn! X Slpro yesterday. Mr. L. Glover was in tho elia'r, and there wan n full nt(onrtancp of mpiiibers. Tt was decided that nominations for the uositions of president anil «scretnry of flip Sick and Accident Benefit Fund should he received mi lo 5 n..in. on "Friday, The sum of J!10 was rloimtP'l to Hie Auckland Waterside Workers' Band.

The Peking Cafe in Sydney is certainly an attractive exotic. The whole of the partitions, of carved and decorated wood, as well as the furiiiture inlaid with motlier-o'-pearl has been imported from China. Each .room is decorated in the Chinese style, and tiio embroidered,nicturcs alone am worthy of many visits. Just outside tho European dining-room on Hie ground floor there is a small glassed-in square, shoving 1 Riant fioldfish in n miniature lake set in front of a wonderfully buile find carved island icm pic.. Round about this are-tiny trees shaped in human form with the hands putting forth green leaves. | These trees are certainly unique in Sydney, and in China arc regarded as a high expression of tho gardener's arl.-Sydney "Sun." ■

Ueplving to n question put by Mr. J. P. Luke (Wellington North) in tlio House of .llopresontativos yesterday, the Prime Minister said that he would bring before Cabinet the question of compensation to the widow of the lute Constable Budding, who had been killed in the execution of his duty.

The Premier of Tonga, in his annual report submitted to the Queen of the island kingdom, says, concerning tho status of enemy aliens:—"Are they to be allowed to trade here alongside friendly foreigners, and be nlluwed tu take up land, and retain what they have already got? lam of opinion Hint to allow them In do so will not be btneficinl to Tonga. They have- had protection here during the war, yot they have not contributed in any way towards nny chari- !»•■! ;n I'oniiet'tioii with the same. Their premises have not been touched, they have been allowed to rent their stores, .hi.! Ihe business, carried' on by ihcec

••-hit rmti'd the premises will to bere-■;-'-"nl (i them should they be allowed tn i mli: Vie ejruin. In tact, their b'.i' • ewes h:iv? lir-rn kept for them, and t!" goedwili of their stores maintained. Should Ih'-v lie allowed to reap I his benefit and come into competition with friendly allies? Great Britain will decide, but 1 must say that I earnestly hone the.decision will be that they be prevented from trading and occupying land for many years in Tonga."

A witness in the Native Land Court at Ohristchurch was asked as to her position, to see if sho could adequately maintain a child sho was proposing to adopt. She sail! her appearance showed her station, ami pointed to a fur coat she was wearing. The Judge suggested that appearances were sometimes deceptive, and that tho wearing of fur coats was not always a guarantee of affluence, and other evidence of her means was required.

' "Hedgehogs nro one of the things that should have been left out of this country,-' remarked Mr. E. F. Stead at a meeting of the Canterbury Fruitgrowers' Association on Saturday night. "They are most implacable enemies of broody hens," Mr. Stead eonliue.ed, ."and will take egg after egg. If you go in for raising bantams he will take them; he is easily the worst enemy that the poultry farmer has got. They are prolific breeders, but are comparatively easily killed. They have none of the hesitation that stoats and weasels have in approaching dwellings; in fact, the hedgehog is moio than likely to make its home unac-r a house. 'From the orchardists' point of view hedgehogs are beneficial, as they cat a large number of slugs."

Inquiries as lo wheat growing disclose the cheering now.-! that* the autumn sow.-inc-in North Otago bids fair to turn out well, in spite of the rough weather. South of Dunedin several districts report that the vheatfields are water-log-sed. and the seed is having a struggle. Tho quantity sown in South Otago'and Southland is much below the average. Fanners say that raising grass for live stock pays better, and eaves a' lot of trouble about labour.

New Zealamk-rs hnvo occupied tho camp at Slinff, on Salisbury Plain, since June, 19JG, and in view of their early evacuation of it hr.ve constructed, a large emblem of a Ithvi on fieaeon Hill. Tlie body of the kiwi covers 11 acres. From Hie top of the bnck the height is 420 ft., and the length of the bill 150 ft., says the "New Zealander." Like the famous White Horse, it is cut out of solid chalk, and it is hoped that, with a little attention, the emblem will last for all time. '

The Timaru Presbytery yestemay, with some dissent, carried a resolution that four months 5 military camp training for youths of 18 was too long, and not likely to prove beneficial to the moral development of young and ii:e:;pericncrd menPress' Assn.

Same excitement was caused on the Gisborue waterfront His ether morning when a loud crash wan heard from the dredge. A boiler weighing about six tons was being liffetj in to the hull 'of tho vessel, and when imme seven feet above the cradle, a portion of tho slinsj gave way, the boiler falling into the hull. Littlo damage,resulted beyond the denting of tho boiler and cradle.

The Australasian Methodist Board of Missions met in Sydney on Friday am Saturday, the Rev, S.' Lawry, Christchurch,'the Key. W. A. Sinclair, foreign missions secretary, and Mr. J, Veale, being the ■ New Zealand representatives. Cabled advice has been received by the president of tho New Zealand Methodist Conference, the Kev. H. E.fHellhouso, that the board decided to recommend that tho Solomon Islands form the chief portion of the New Zealand mission field'. The question of inchiarng Tonga and Samoa has been remitted to tho New South Wales conference, w:i!ch meets In sfarch. The president of the conference, Dr. t'arruthefs, is. to visit the Islands shortly, and will consult the nativfi church at Tonga and Samoa, regarding the matter.

"One of the reasons for the present great demand for conra, which bids fair to continuo so for ft long time," says the "Siunotm Times," is the fact Hint thoro is ii strong and growing desire, on tho part of England and the Continent to deal more extensively in margarine Margaiine, prior to the war, had not caught nn, owing lo its peculiar nntty flavour, lint nevertheless it had a wide sole, which Ims since been further aided by tho hardships of the war and food difficulties. Experiment* towards making it a real butter substitute have brought margarine into wide English and Contin. cutal use,"