LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 37, 7 November 1919, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Tho charge of murder preferred against James Beside ■ will be heard in tho Supreme Court this morning by His Honour Mr. .Tustico Chapman.

An examination of the City of Winchester yesterday .showed that the vessel had suffered no structural damage. The waterside workers were engaged all day in shifting the coal.to tho 'tween decks. Tt is understood that the watersidcrs are to be paid a special rale to remove the meat from the insulated hold.

The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church at its !ast meeting approved of u scheme »nt up by Hie Homo Missions Committeo for IV.liiig some of the many vacancies in tho home mission stations and sanctional charges. Olio item of tlio scheme was tho raising of a sum of .£20,000; another, an effort to bring forty men—twenty ministers and twenty homo missionarie.*—from tlie Homeland. To secure these men and to make certain t.liat thoy possess the necessary qualifications for colonial work, it was further decided to send one of tbe miir'sters Home. Tlio Homo 'Missionary C'ommitteo having reouosted Dr. Cfibb, of St. John's Church, Wellington, to undertake this duty, lie is leaving about the end of tho month for London. Mrs. Gibb will oecompanv bim. Pnrin" r!jbV s n.lv. senco the J!ev. It. Burridge, M.A., at present minister of Pt. Paul's, Invercargill, W'l.l act ns locum tenons in St. John's, Wellington. Mr. linrridge is a. well-known and highly-esteemed churclimnn and prc.icher. He served for s:'ni» years as a cha"lai'i at Ihe front, and lias hud his full share of the wnr'p adventures. He was on tilie Marquotto when she went down, and afterwards was wounded in the linnd. Sir. Burridtre is expected to begin his minislry in Wellington on the first Sunday of the New Tear.

Authority to raise loans has been granted to the following local bodies-.— Martinborough Town Board, .ffl.OOO; Bactihi Town Board, ; Castlepoint County Counoil, .£500; Waitotara County Council, .£130; Gonville Town Board, ■£4500: Motueka Borough Councils £14,000.

The fact that three of the Pacific mail boats—tlio Niagara, Makura, and Tofua —are now at this end of their routes makes it possible that there will be a longer period than usual before another IbjgiNh mail arrives. The fourth liner, the Moana, is not due at Wellington from San Francisco until December I, but it is possible (hat English mails may he brought by the transports Paparoa and Arawa, the former being due at Wellington to-day and the latter at Auckland 011 November 11.

At. a by-election yesterday to fill n vacancy on the Westport Borough Conn, cil, caused bw the resignation of Air. Donald M'Keime, the voting was: 13. It. Pox (former councillor), :)25; ,1. S. Stirton, ,'117; P. O'Gorman, 231. A vacancy on the West port Harbour Board was filled by the Borough Council, which unanimously appointed Councillor J. W. Fair to the position.—Press Assn.

Nows has been received in Wellington that Mr. Arthur Sawyer, formerly of the telegraph stall' of the Post and Telegraph Department, has been ivppo'ntcd wireless expert to the Cope Antarctic Expedition. Air. Sawyer, who is a son of Mr. 11. .Sawyer, of Gisbonie, has had a varied and interesting career. When Sir Douglas Alawson authorised his expedition to the Antarctic, Air. Sawyer was appointed a member of the Macriiiaric Island staff, where, it will bo remembered, a wireless plant was established, and the reports so obtainable by the New Zealand Government; Aletewolegical Office proved of considerable value, lie left there by the Tutaneka'i, when that vc=se! visited the island with supplies which had been over-carried by the stcrm-blown schooner Rachel Cohen. The station was subsequently dismantled, when the work of the expedition at the island was completed, and Air. Sawyer, after a holiday spent in New Zealand, found his services in- demand in the islands of the Pacific—at Yap and Nauru Islands—and at the former place was in charge of tlhe big German ]£unt; after the place wa.s seized soon after war with Germany was declared. Later, he sought military sen-ice, and was "turned down" on account of his eyesight, but, nothing daunted, he went to India, joined up with the Indian Army, and as a wireless expert had all the excitement he desired. Quite recently photographs have been roeived of Air. Sawyer, taken on Afghanistan soil during the late trouble, and a letter from Air. Sawyer related that he was off with tlie punitive force that was to deal with the turbulent Waziris, on the north-west frontier of India. Air. Sawyer wi!f. join the expedition in London.

At the outbreak of war the Austrian steamer Orsova was interned in the Diitch East Indies, and importers have up to the present been unable to obtain de3ivery of their'shipments by the vessel. The Wellington Chamber of Commerce yesterday received the following cablegram from the Sydney Chamber of Commerce:—"Following cable received tc-dny from' Scheepsiigentuur Padang. former Austrian steamer' Orsova taken over .Allied Maritime Transport Council under Italian control. Italian captain _ willing deliver cargo found aboard originally destined Australian ports. Cargo must be warehoused l'adang and disposed of within one week. Reply immediately. Suggest consignees communicate direct*"

A handsome framed roll of honour, containim: the photographs of lil memliers of the wtiiff of tOie New Zealand Labour Department who went on active service, is at present on view in the window of Messrs. 1?. and E. Tingey, Ltd., Manners Street, Of those who answered the Umpire'? cn>l, three wero killed in action, one died of sickness, and eight we.ro wounded. Decorations gained included one D.5.0., one Military Cross, and one Mil'tarv Medal. The roll of honour will be lump eventually in the offices of the Labour Department, Glnmiee Street.

The Rev. G. Culvert Blatliwavt, late principal of Otaki CoHege. ha.s taken up his duties as vicar of St. Hilda's parish, Tslaml liny. Mr. Wills, of Te Aute College, is to succeed Mr. Bhithwayt as principal of the college.

His Honour Mr. Justice Hosking will at 9.30 a.m. to-day arrange the fixtures for the civil eases, also the divorce cases, of which nine are defended.

The Court of Appeal (Second Division) has been adjourned until Wednesday, December 10, at 10 a.m. ■

During the month of October thirtyfour nnmes were added to the register of land agents, and of these two were in Wellington and one in Petone. while fourteen were registered in Auckland,

_ Tlie boundaries of the City of Wellington since amalgamation with Onslow and tho boundnries of the Makara County are redefined in the Gazette,

An Order-in-Council authorising the Wellington City Council to reclaim an area of 28.02 perches in Oriental Bay appears in the Gazette issued last evening.

The annual snorts of the Wellington College will be held on the College grounds to-day, commencing at 10.30 a.m. and 2.30 p.m. This withering is a most popular one, especially with the Indies, and given a fine day a record attendance is anticipated. All Old Boys and their friends are invited to attend.

Tho first gooseberries to be received at the Auckland wholesale markets this season were sold on Tuesday, a case containing 121b. realising fls. Od.

The Lyttelton Harbour Board decided this week to increase the scale of towage charges. Tieportimr on the matter. Mr. C. J. Williams, the board's engineer, said tho harbourmaster h!l<l brought under hts notice the increase in towagn charges by small tugs in the port, which had lately been 50 per cenl\. and he had pointed out that, owinir to the increased wages and cost, of coal ami stores, the board's scale of charges did not cover tho cost. A new scale of - charges recommended by the engineer was adopted.

Wednesday was the 38th anniversary of the capture of Parihaka. the famous Maori settlement and. miliary post in Tarnnnki. Tt was taken, without bloodshed, by a force of constnluib'T ami volunteers on November 5, ISSI. To Whiti and Tolm were among those captured.

"That, when requiring taxi-drivers, the hoard should employ returned soldiers," was the rennesf contained in a letter received by tho Lvttoltnn Harbour Ttonrd at its meetimr this week from the Christchureh branch of the' R»turne<l Soldiers' .Association. It was decided to accede to th° request.

"■What is the difference between smio and exlr°me Labo'"'?" wn* a. question put to Mr. C. F. BenneH-, Government candidate for Auckland AWt, on "Tuesday evening. "Pane Lalxmr," replied (lie candidate, "is the true wotl;i>v. Extreme Labour is the man who talks about it and iloe? nothing." (Annlnnso.l

The plans and specifications for the work ol' roading, sewerage, etc., of tho Hall-Jones Estate, aro almost completed, ami it is expeotod that tenders will be called next week. This estate, which is situated 011 Iho eastern s:>do of tlio Lower Ilutt, has been divided into 42 sections, ranging from 11 to acies, and is to bo usod for settling returned soldiers as market gardeners.

Perhaps no section of tho community is more directly intorested in townplanning than the men who liavfi been playing I heir part in the great war, and who lwve now returned to begin civilian life afresh. This was clearly 6hown by tho close attention paid by tln> largo audienco of .soldiers that listened to the lecture on this subject at Trenthani Hospital 011 Wednesday evening. . Mr. A. Leigh Hunt, president of the Creator Wellington Town-Planning Association, who delivered the lecture, states that lie has >seidoni spoken to a more kccnly-in-terested audience. The. soldiers showed their approval by giving Mr. Hunt a hearty vote of thanks at tho conclusion Of his lecture.