LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 21, 27 October 1919, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

In our Saturday's report of the previous day's proceedings at the Magistrate's Court, a paragraph commencing "A hawker named Charles M'G'aulhy was arraigned on a charge of stealing aii overcoat, tho value of ,£B. "tho properly of Alfred Moody"—concluded with an unfortunate confusion of names, which made it appear at first sight that it was Mr. Moody, and not the hawker M'Caulhy, who was convicted, nnd sent to prison. The. hawker M'Ca'ulhy is an old offender, and had six previous convictions against him since 1907. AVe regret exceedingly any annoyance this confusion of terms may have caused Mr. Moody, The hearing of the case of Maurice.! Edward Denniston, surgeon dentist, Tnita, against Alfred AValters and Philip Walters, claim for an injunction nnd .£2OO damages, was concluded on Saturday. The plaintiff claimed that ho had suifered damage from offensive and pestilential smells and vapours caused by defendants spreading certain noxious matter commonly known as "pie," the refuse from the Aleat AVorks, on their land at Tuita. 'The hearing of evidence concluded on the. previous evening, and after hearing argument of counsel His Honour the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) reserved decision. ■ More seating accommodation is required at the Trentham racecourse. The common complnint on Saturday, chiefly among the Indies, was that there was nowhere to sit down. Tho grandstand was crowded during tho running of every race, yet there were thousands unable to see tho races without craning their noclw over the heads of others in front of them in the lawn space in front of the grandstand. As a matter of fact the club is considering the question of .enlarging the space considerably, when it builds the proposed new grandstand, Which has linen designed by Mr. E. S. Lultrcll AYhere the seating accommodation is mostly required is in th« ground behind the grandstand, whilst, circular seats could be built, round dozens of trees in that area, and in the saddling paddock. Following npon tho letter forwarded by the Mirn.mar Borough Council to the Citv Council on the subject of amalgamation, which sought, for information as to the borough's loon commitments and tho answer to that letter, Mr. S. M. Stone (Mayor of Miramar) has ,-alled n meeting of the ratepayers of tho borough, for AVednesday next to further consider the proposal. From present indications it would seem likely that both lv'nrori and Miramar boroughs will amalgamate with Ihe cit,y at the end of the financial year. The police are looking for the owner of n plant of 19S tins (50's) of green Three Castles cigarettes, which were discovered last week on Thorndon Esplanade 'by Constable Carmody, bidden in n shrub. The tins were contained in a heavy canvas kit bag, and it is presumed that they were lifted from some vessel in port. When the Union Company's steamer Kniapoi berthed at tho Queen's Wharf nt 10.30 a.m. on Saturday, there was no response to the call to unload her cargo of 2100 tons of coal from Newcastle. As to-day is a holiday on the waterfront, no further development* can take place until to-morrow. At about six o'clock yesterday morning, what nt first tsight.appeared to bo a huge shark was,seen floating off lho Petone wharf. Closer examination decided it was 1 a large whale, mid Mr. A. Hose, of Fitzhcrbert. Street. Petone. promptly obtained a rifle, fired on, and mortally wounded it. Mr. Itoso. accompanied by Mr. Sheppord (a low! fisherman) and Mr. J. Tsaacs, also of Petone. put out in a boat, and after a deal of trouble succeeded in towing tho fish to sliore. The work of "landing" the whale entailed about three hours, It is stated to be a member of the "bottle-nosed" species, and its dimensions aro claimed to be: Length, 21ft:. Gin. length of tail (tip to tip), lift. Gin. weight, approximately, i] ions. Several harpoon marks nre visible on the back- of the "stranger." The Mayor of Pelene (Mr. J. AV. M'Ewan) was mired upon, nnd permission granted lo exhibit the fish-tlie price of admission to be a s!'ver coin. Tho proceeds nre to bo devoted to lho Petone AVar Momorial Fund. A topless scrim enclosure was erected about the, fish, and during tho afternoon crowds flocked to tho. spot to view "the monster from unknown waters." It is inlended to further exhibit ihe fish to-day (Labour Day). Two witnesses ; who gave evidence at the Arbitration Court at Auckland last week in support of Ihe claim of the Butchers' Union for higher wages, said that a very considerable incrcaso had taken place-' in laundry charges. They said they used from six to eight white coats and a dozen aprons a week, thft laundrv charges amounting lo from 10s. to 155." a week, It was ascertained that) both men were unmarried. "I cannot understand a bachelor being fool enough lo pay so much for washing coats and nnroiis each week,'* remarked Mr. Justice Slringor. "I would do Ihe washing myself." He added that it was ridiculous to suggest that many men would pay mich amounts.

The Marlborough branch of Hie Post (Hid Telegraph Ollicors' Association has protested by resolution against the pro. pcwd allocation of tho war bonus lis being most inequitable ami unacceptable, lo the whole service, ami calls upon tho executive to voire its dissatisfaction in an uncompromising manner."—Press Assn.' It is understood Hint a further appeal is. to be made to Hie Defence Minister (Hon. Sir James Allen) to throw open for motor and vehicular traffic tho Point Halswcll lioad. between Shelly Bay on the west to Karaka Hay on tho oast, of the Mirair.ar J'ensisuln. This road forms part of tho magnificent marine parade that links up tho road along the western hide of the entrance to Wellington harbour with Evans and Oriental Pays, and as it: is all on the. level, and never out. of sight of Ihe sea, it is a splendid motor run for those who do, not care to venture 100 far into tho country. At present tho cars following tho outer road have to double back over their tracks on reaching Scorching Bay; where, as if the road were thrown open they could proceed round Point Halswcll into Evans Bay on the other side.

Complaint was made at a meeting of the Moirinsvillo branch of the I'armers' Union Inst week that a soldier-settler who had financed himself was not entitled to the privileges given to soldiersettlers who had been financed by theSlate in that he was not given a rebate on timber purchased from the State mills. The position was described' as uhiusc It was resolved to forward a remit to the sub-provincial executive urging that Government action be taken to remove the anomaly. The tale of a button found on the battlefield of Waterloo is scarcely so interesting as the story of another of these ornaments to military tunics, and, indeed, almost a twin to that from the fields of Waterloo, says the Auckland "Star " This button may Ire.a souvenir, or it may bo part of the equipment of an historic regiment. At any rate, it was picked up by a resident of Point Chevalier on tho grounds where the troops had.thoir camp in the Maori War. The button is as the other, in that it has "India," a tiger or lion, "XL" and "Waterloo" otr its face, but the only decipherable letters on the back tiro "London," tho maker's name being too much clogged by filth. The finder of this button is of opinion that it is of great historical value, and ho reads the inscriptions, together with the place where it has Iwen found, as meaning that the brass fastener has been through at least three campaigns.

"There appears to bo in good deal of misunderstanding," said the Commissioner of tho North Auckland land district (Mr. R. P. Greville) at a meeting of the board, "as to tho standard required by tho board before it will sanation the purchase of an urban house property. A soldier's wife recently came to me and said that she and her husband had been told by a solicitor, before whom thev had signed i>no>of the declarations incident to tho raising of a loan, that there was no use in their i applying— that, tho board would not consider their application for a moment." Mr. Grevillo said that this impression was increased by similar remarks on tho part of various land agents. "X have made inquiries," concluded tho Commissioner, "and I find that out of a batch of 780 applications wo have refused but fiftyfive nnrdieants. When one considers the likehood of unsuitable propositions being undertaken, this docs not seem to me to be an unduly large proportion of failures."

Deferring in an interview on Friday to his tour of the United States and Canada, during which he covered ten thousand miles and spent thirteen nights in tho train. Mr. E. AV. Eolph, of Christ, church, manager of the Wow iealand Farmers' Co-operative Association, said; "Labour unrest' seemed to prevail more or less over the States and Canada, although tho working conditions'generally in those countries, as far as I could judge, are vastly superior to those of .tho Old Country. I think tho chief tiOjitributinsf yauso of the discontent, both in Britain and tho States, is tho high cost of living, and high it certainly is. for even allowing for the substantial increases that have been made in wages, the prices for many commodities arc still very much upon tho .extreme side, and I am distinctly of opinion that a good deal of profiteering is still being indulged in." An example of tho independence of the London taxi-driver is narrated by Mr. James Jainieson, of Christcnurch. The night beforo his and Mr. E. AY. Kelph's departure from Loudon their way back to New Zealand, Mr. Jainieson essayed to arrange with a taxi-driver to call for them at eight o'clock and tako them to Huston Station, Tho taxidriver rather curtly said that if it wero made worth his while ho would turn up. The man's impudenco was such that Mr. Jamieson simply said: "Thank you," and left him. Shortly beforo eight o'clock liio next morning Mr. Jamieson was nt iiho taxi stand, .but not a single taxi was there. At 8.20 a four-wheeled milk van hove in sight, and'the milkman, having finished his rounds, agreed to convey the party. Seated on a milk can Mr, Jamieson appeared before tho little crowd of New Zoalnnders gathered to wish "bon voyage" to the two Christchurch men. The luggage wa's soon "aboard the lugger," and Messrs. Jamieson and R-elph were driven through the streets of London m the milk van to Buston Slntion. The fact that no provision for extra payment for superfine butter is made in the contract with the Imperial Government was referred to at tho meoting of Hie Dairy Factoiy Managers' As-. sooiation at Auckland on Friday. Mombers said this provision was made in tho Commonwealth contact, and Hie opinion was expressed that if the New Zealand contract with the Home Government is renewed extra payment for buliter grading D 2 points or over should bo l>rovidMl-&ir. The director of tho dairy division of the Department of Agriculture Mr. D. Cuddie, said he was certainly in favour of butter being paid for according to tho grading. The splendid record of war service of members of tho staff of the South British Insurance Company was referred to by the acting-chairman, Mr. Wj R. AVilson at the annual meeting of shareholders at Auckland on Friday. Out of a total of 151 members who wont :to the. war, all but a few had •'returned to the company's service, said Mr. AVilson. Eighteen brave fellows had laid down their lives in the causa of liberty, and to their memory those present offered a tribute of respect. Upon those who had roturned tho company bestowed congratu. lations, and thanks for their services to King and country. The policy laid down by- the board of directors had been to pay all men who were away on active service half salary, and upon their return to give them a status to which they would have attained under normal conditions. Thus no one had been kept back from his duo advancement, and the loss in underwriting experience while away would, the speaker believed,- to a great degree be compensated for. by the wider knowledge of men and things gained through their term of service abroad. In the course of a lecture on townplanning on Saturday night, Mr. A. Leigh Hunt said that tree surgery was practised in American cities. Instead of cutting down a treo that might have a rotten branch, tho decayed part was out off and lho hole, if any, filled with concrete, on the principle of dentistry. The trees are thus saved and tho beauty of tho parks preserved. "Instead of taking the peoplo to . the parks, tho Americans bring tho parks to tho people," said Mr. A. Leigh Hunt in his town-planning lecture on Saturday night. Modern town-planners believe in the principle of small parks mattered about the city, so that every resident will bo within half a mile of a reserve Newtown Park, admirable an it was in many respects. wa.< too far away to suit the majority of AVellington people. The Department of Labour has mado arrangements for tho iminediato commenceine'nt of the erection of GG workers' dwellings in AVclliiißton, 51 being at Miramor and 15 at Petone. Tho material ami method of construction in the external and internal- walls will bo monolithic- concrete—tho whole houso in one piece. This part of the work has been let bv contract to Mr. H. E. Manning of Wellington. Negotiations arc proceeding with regard to a number of other dwellings in Wellington,

Old Identity," referring to ft paragraph culled from tho Duiiediii "Evening Star" in regard to the uso of tho termination "burn" as applied to tin names of numerous places in Central Otago, says: "1 think the writer of tho paragraph has got hold of tho wrong enn of tho stick. Tho story as given to mo many years ago by a relative, ono of the 'Original founders of the Otago settlement, is that the late llr. J. T. Thomson, who was occupied surveying in the wilds of Otago, when sending in his reports gave the various streams, etc., their Maori appellations, but the 'English importation,' referred to in the paragraph, knowing nothing of the Maori language, wrote to Mr. Thomson requesting him not to give the places theso 'barbarous' names but to usij names which tho Department could understand, whereupon Mr. Thomson started the 'burn' nomenclature and got 'one on the Department.'" Tho Irish Race Convention to bo held at Melbourne, commencing on November 3, will discuss matters affecting tho Irish raco and to affirm the desirability of urgently settling the Irish question. Tho convention, which will bo on similar lines to that held in America recently, is being organised by the Archbishop of Melbourne (the Most licv. Dr. Mannix), r.nd will be presided over by Mr. T.- ,T. Tiyan, late Premier of Queensland. His Grace Archbishop Redwood, who is alreadv in Australia, and the Very l?ev. I'ather O'Connell, S.M., of Wanganui (president of the Dominion Council of the Catholic federation), who left by tho Riverina, last week, will represent the Catholic Fcdcralicii at the convention. The Rev. Dr. Kelly, editor of tho "Tablet," and Messrs. M.'.l. Shenhan and E. J. O'Meara. of Auckland, will represent tho New Zealand District of tho Hibernian Society. Mr. Cnhill, of Christchuich, will represent the Christchurch Diocesan Council of the Catholic Federation, while Mr. P. D. Hoskins will represent the Hibernian Society. In addition to the representation of societies,' the bishop of each diocese of Australasia has been requested to nominate representative priests and laymen who aro not connected' with societies, and il large meeting y therefore expected.

In the Wellington dairy employees' .dispute, to bo heard before the Conciliation Council on November 3, the union demands aro for a minimum rate of wages of ,£4. for a 41-honr week of six days for drivers. Overtime is sougiht. at the rate of time and u half for the first, two hours, and double time thereafter. A claim is also made for am- driver having over GO gallons of milk on a retail round to be entitled to an assistant. The conditions asked for in the case of the employees of the AVellington City Council milk department aro a 44-liour week, tho hours daily to be a maximum of 7 hours 20 minutes. Tho following of wages is . demanded:—Fillers, canwashers, chambermen, tippers, cnustackors, and can-checkers, ,£i per week; liftmen and foremen, £i ss. per week; second and third assistants (tester), top floor. M 10s. per week; first ns'-jstant, X 5 per week: lorry drivers: .£5 per week; lorry drivers''assistants, M per week. In add.ition,to the above rales, one quart of milk per day to be allowed all workers, as at present.