LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 32, 1 November 1919, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The h-ime Ministr staled in Hie House of Kepre-eutaUvos yesterday that it would nol. be nece.-sary lo hold a byelection in consequence of the death ol Mr. ,1. f'olvin. member for Duller. 1 lie general election was so close at hand that it would net be wise to 1:11 tnc vacancy by means of a by-election Ihe oid boundaries. The Uulicr electorate. has licen extinguished by the adjustment of boundaries, which will operate at the general election.

At about 9.20 o'clock last e?ening the t'enleal I'ire Slaiioii received a call to Vivian Street, alio' on the arrival uf Uie engine nolhing could be found lo warraiil. the presence of a. fire-fighting apnlinnce. The call was apparently a falsa alarm. Some time on Thursday nighty burglars entered the premises oi 'Ie Aro House, and are vcpoi'led to have removed a (liianfi'y of slock. The matter is being invesiigaled by the police. 111 (he Chrisleliurch Magistrate's Court. Mulraine Joseph Sherlock pleaded not guiltv fn a charge ot tailing to pay a fine of Ills, (stales a Press Association lelegraml. Counsel said thai Ihere was an important principle involved. I lie de-fend,-ml was a member of the lost and Telegraph Department, and part; ol his duties was lo drill in Hie Post, and telegraph Corps, where he was inn er he same officers. Tins bad led to friction and defendant had'been brought up on livo charges before his superiors. He denied that lie had talked on parade or that he had refused lo obey an order, but he v..-< convicted and refused a. district court-martial. Now Ihere was a danger I hat he would be discharged 011 the'grounds of infringing the rules of the Department. The .Magistrate, Mr. \ . (... Dav, imposed a line ot (Os.. to lie redueed'fo Is. if defendant paid the original fine. He said if peepied bad that a man should serve under I lie same superior in civil and in military life, and liable to cause unpleasantness. It would 1* beflei for the corps lo be officered by oulsideis. Traffic to the various South _ Island tourist resorts has commenced 111 rea earnest states a southern exchange, and it is stated that the prospects ol a. big »<viscm have never bean baIUT for many vears. As well as verbal inquiries or aceouunodafion ami tiansport by the (li - ferent services ami routes, Uie Uinstcluirch Bureau is receiving a record iininber of imiuiries by mail. Ihe Iteniiifa"e at. Mount. Coot is already marked "Pull House" for Chrislirms. l-Jneens-lowu and Jfotorua report tiav. I hey aie filling up rapidly even at tins stage 01.

The unwary person who pursues a. rat with the intention of killing it can learn a lesson from the experience of an Auckland resident, who for some days now has been suffering Irom blood-poisoning. The mail in question bailed up a rat, and was just, about to finish it oft, when the rodent nipped him on the linger. The poison travelled rapidly through the system, and very quickly the man was an invalid, with the appearance ot a person who had recovered from a- eevcro attack of influenza. He has received medical treatment, and is improving, but is not by anv means back to his normal condition, and lifts yet to receive more of the treatment Hint is counteracting the effect of the, poison. Tho roads between Napier and Gisborne are now in splendid (ravelling order, states a northern exchange. Iho Wharcrata Hill is being greatly improved by having some of the sharp corners tut away. The surface from Morere to Napier, except for short patches, is excellent, and travelling is very nlcaBant. The Wairoa county is looking in splendid condition, and (hero is an abundance of feed. The contrast is most marked between that; county and Hawke'.s Bay, where the season has not been good.

The possible liability of school committees for accident to school children wliilo at school was pointedly brought before the Dunediu Education Board on. Wednesday morning by the Dunedin and Suburban School Committees' Association, who a.skerf that the board arrange lor an insurance r.'.siicy to cover school _ committees from personal or collective liability. It was resolved that the secretary make inquiry as to the cost of such a project.

A roiireseiilutivo conference of officers of various brandies of the Public Service was recently held in Dunedin to consider the question of instituting co-oper-ative stores. A motion was carried favouring a system of co-oporativo buying, and referring the proposal to a committee to endeavour to secure suppcrt and information from various sources.

Difficulty with regard to accoiiiiiioilalion at Wellington .Hoys' College lias forced the headmaster, Mr. Fto recommend to tlio iioard ot Governors that tlio number of pupils t j be rcceivcd next year .shall 'oo fixed at aSO. In a letter considered by the Board of Governors vesterday, Mr. I; irth pointed out that the inspectors wanted more laboratory accommodation. If a rebuilding schonio was lo be carried out soon, or it' the now house was to bo built, thereby freeing the w'liolo of the old tschool, ho thought, it would be advisable to postpone laboratory accommodation extension, otherwise a temporary building cmtxl bo erected behind the 'vest school. Tlio chairman of ',-.ie board (llr, \Y. F. Ward) said it' was very difficult to see how to get fresh room at Hie college. He knew of no ni-oemmod.itioii that could be ut.il-;«?d at Ike present time. In reply to 'Mr. J. P. Luke, Mr. Ward said tlio present conditions were unsatisfactory. At tlio beginning of the year Mr. Firth had taken as many pupils as lie could, but now the-inspectors were advocating smaller elases And increased- laboratory accommodation. Mr. T. Forsyth said the department wanted good cause to be shown whv it should increase the building. Mr.' W. Altan asked whether it would be to utilise some of the hutments from Trentiiain Camp. Mr. Luke said he had tried to get Home of tlio hutm?ntd in order that fliey might be used to meet the shortage in housing. While thn proposal was not exactly "turned down," it was not looked upon very favourably. Mr, Ward expressed Hie opinion that the only way out of the difficulty was to erect a temporary building. After further discuM'nn it was resolved that the members of the board should visit the college next week with a view to devising soma means of securing the increased accommodation iiceessary..

Under Hie SI amp Duties Aid. of l'.'OS. every company is required to take out an annual license and to pay a renewal fee each year. Many companies have T'.ogleeted in do tin?, ami with the object of emphasising the necessity for tlifi observance of rhe Act, the Crown Law Office Ims instituted court procccdiJurs several cases being disposed of at llio Ulfcii'is-irafft's Court yesterday.

On board the steamer Port Elliot, which arrived in AVellinprloi' from Australian ports yesterday, is an aeroplane which )kw come from .-is a war Irophy. Dei alls of the aerouaiie are not yet to hand, but it is said In have an intei'r,?i,inpr history. This history did not terminate with its capture by the British, for on the vuya.;;e out jt; lta.s experienced pome vic.'s-'iliide-. AVhen it, arrived at Adelaide from Alexandria the shipping flrike was in progress. and the machine had to lie I here for some Hint', cable mo-:a.«os meanwhile passing between Ihe Defence authorities and Die shipping people there. The iimlLt was laken in li.-md by the \'eu* Zealand Trade Commissioner in Alclbuurne. and an a re-ulf the Irotdiv ha- been biainrlit on ly tlie J'oi-I; l'dliot. Tlie local iiwills for the Common wealth and Dominion l.ine, Ltd., have notified the Minister of Defence that the- aeiwano has been shipped from Australia f."''<> <> r freight. This is a very con<i : deral:le concession, Ihe machine in its case measures L'S by ll by S feet, -and weighs two lons, and Ihe engine weisrh- about another ton. At a co-t of JM the City Council is purcliasiiif; an air-coin pressor plant to be used in the bic-iUiny "P of the eoncvels 1)0(1 of tlie tramway track wlion if, is necessary to relay the rails, and for work in tard rock coujitry..

The following pupils oi' the Pctone West School have been announced prizewinners in hiiviiiff wi'ii.ton the best accounts of what happened on the day tlio school was presented by the Navy League '.villi a, flag. Tile, prizes were doilated by Mr. T. M. Wilford (member for the disliT'll: Standard Yf: Mavis l!oss 1, CI. M'Keoii 2. Standard V: Irene Cowie 1. Ida .tones 2. Standard IV: E. Xilines 1, ]{. Love 2.

.Mr. Tom "Pollard, who is producing "The Mikado" for tlie Wellington Amateur Oper.ili'. Sociel.v. has iiad some peculiar experiences ill his long tlteato'iifal career. Perhaps one of the most reniarkable concerned Hie very opera, to lie perforiii-'d at the Grand Opera H.ouso this evening. The occasion was 111 Johannesburg at: the height of that city s prosperity, when tilings were booniiusr as far as money was concerned. The principals and many of (he chorus were tlio wives, daughters, or other relatives or millionaires, and they simply lavished money 011 the dressing and production, probably as has never bor>r, done elsewhere in the history of 'The .Mikado. One of the ladies concerned became so "stage struck" I hat she wanted Mr. Pollard'tr> run a company « her own and was prepared lo put up a largo sum to initiate Hie enterprise, but as Hie particular lady's liusband wa< an official ol no small importance who was not enamoured of the stage as a. future for llis wife Mr. Pollard managed to wrigglo Mil, of a. most, embarrassing position. So whenever lie is brought into contact with "The Mikado" his thoughts back lo the millionaire performance of the work.

Ill's Honour I lie Thief Justice (Sir TvOlie.it Stent) will tills morning pnfti sentence 011 .Tamer) M*l «t in ami Ulizabelh Ash. who pleaded guilty ni (ho Magistrate's Court to, making ialse declarations in order to <>btaiu ;i marriage certificate; also 011 Thomas Ttidout, who pleaded guiltv to a charge of I licit. There were no bankruptcies recorded iu Wellington last liioiilh. in against OMO ill October, lilts. During the ten inonlhs ol' Hie eiiiTenf vow nine petitions in bankruptcy were tiled, as compared with fifteen in the corresponding period of lust year.

Tho City Council is negotiating yil.ii I,he coilego governors for Hie acquisition of a strip of land off the board's property at I lie.' junction of Tinakori Goad, Molcsworl.li Street, and Kitziierbert Terrace. Molcswovth Street nairows eontriderahl* on tho smiled section that leads into Tinakori Head, and tho council proposes to come to some nrriuipcuient (villi llio Ima I'd of governor* whereby that part of Mole-worth Street shall bo widened by about '20 loci.

Alv.'lT. E. Holland, M.P., 'will deliver an address (illustrated by lantern slides) on "Indentured Labour and Belgian Atrocities" at the Alexandra, Hall, on Sunday evening, at 8. ■