LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 85, 5 January 1920, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The New Zealand Shipping Company's strainer Rimulaka, witn a drait of reluming troops on board, arrived in liio stream from Liverpool, via Jtobart, at ■1.10 p.in. yesterday. The vessel will berth at No. I south Queen's Wharf at 7 o'clock this iiiormiiK, when the troops will disembark. AiialigemcnUs for Ine dispii'teli of the Hoops to t-'.eir homes to-ilay are as follow— Details for all stations'beyond .Marlon, including .luckland district: Depart Tliorndon Station, l-'.ij p.m. Details for Wnugaiiui and intervening stations (includes rnlmerstuii North and .Marlon): Depart Thermion .Station, 7.-10 a.m. Details for VVe-lmere to New Plymouth, inclusive: Depart Tliorndon Station, 5.20 a.m. Details for stations beyond Palmerston North _ to Napier ami liUtoriie (including Woonville): Depart Thorndon Station, il.lu a.m. Details for Wairnrnpa, as far as I'ahiatuu: Depart Lambkin Station, 7.5<i a.m. Details lor Wcstport, North oi Wcstport, J'iclon, Blenheim, and Nelson, lenvo bv the Palcona. at noon, and details for South ol Wcciport, Canterbury dago, and Southland by the Mabri tonight. Serious delay to correspondence ialended for J'ahneisl'Jii Nm-lh is occasioned through peixins and firms addressing it to Palnir.rsinn. The postal authorities forward ell' correspondence addressed In l'nlmersloii to the town of that name in North Olago, and il'would not only avoid delavs, but w.Mild prevent the post ofhee being blamed for the delays f people, vould correctly address their correspondence.

"You must know," said a lady delegate to the Teachers' Conference, "lh.it smoking is greatly on the increase among girls, and wniueu, and that drinking is also'on the increase. I believe that this is partly duo to the fact that many girls in the upper classes of our primary schools are net influenced by a womanly woman." The statement brought to his 'reel a male delegate, who raid that he did not Hi'nk tho charge should no forlh that the working-class girls the girls trained in the primary schools, were doing the smoking. It was the girls parents were very wealthy and were able lo send them to colleges taught by women. "The statement should not go down," he saul, "that the girls trained by men in the public schools aro the sinners in Ibis respect." The Wellington Slock Exchange will resume business to-day. The exchange has been closed for a fortnight for the Christina", and New Year holidays. A. new geyser lias appeared at Whakarewarewo, near the Polintu geyser, and plaved to a height of fifteen to tweniy feet on Friday night (says a Press Association telegram from.Rolorua). In the Juvenile Court on Saturday morning, before -Mr. P. L. Jioilings. S.M., a lad was charged with the theft of a revolver. It appears that when the s.s. Moana from San Francisco was last here, the bov who was selling papers went on board,'and seeing a box lying about, he appropriated it, thinking it was a box Oj chocolates. In thin he was mistaken, far the box contained, a revolver. Instead of returning the weapon to the police, he endeavoured to sell- it to a second-hand dealer, and was thus discovered. He was placed on probation for twelve months (in tho usual conditions.

Before Mr. P. L. Hollin.??, P.M., in tho Magistrate's Court on Saturday morning, Georgo John Conray was convicted of drunkenness, also with a breach of hU prohibition order, the Magistrate remarking that people who wen; prohibited must observe the conditions, and that in future he intended to deal severcl.vwith such cases. Conroy was fined J3 on each charge. Thomas I/wry was fined X r ) for a similar offence, in default seven, days' imprisonment, (leorge Francis, who had been under medical treatment for a fortnight for excessive drinking, was ordered l>i pav ?,">s. expenses. John Ilard/nan, who was found helplessly drunk, was remanded for a week for medical treatment. (.'hrislciiurch grocers appear lo have adopted a very effective method of ia(ioning the very small supplies of sugar at present held in Hie city (says an exchange). A number are limiting sales lo 21b. lots, and then only lo people who purchase goods lo a certain value. One largo concern require? a customer to purchase groceries to the value of lis. before it wi'l supply up to 21b. of sugar The idea is to check people going Iho rounds of Hie shops and purchasing sugar at. each. None of Hie Cbrislchurcb bands adopted tho belligerent methods of the instrumentalists of Flaxbourne (says tho "Lyttelton Times"). A few dys beforo the advent of the period of "Pence on earth, good will towards men," iMras announced that "the residents of Flaxbourne are cautioned that the only way lo obtain a good' night's rest on Christmas Eve is to send a subscription in advance to the baud funds." 'The band received such sudden and general contributions to ils funds'that members are wondering whether to be pleased or otherwise I Passengers by tho Tofua, which is due to reach Wellington to-day, includo Mr. Dempster, ono of tho experts of the Dairy Division of the Department of Agriculture, and Mr. Murdoch, of Hawera, who have been gathering information abroad regarding dairying matters. , Tbev have visited Europe and America.

The present, method of election of school committees was criticised at Saturday's sitting of the Teachers' Conference. Mr. A. C. Blake (Wellington) moved n remit declaring it to bo far from satisfactory and in need of alteration. In place of the system obtaining now, Mr. Blako proposed something on the following lines:—About two weeks before the election, an annual meeting of householders should bo held to receive and discuss reports. At that meeting, nominations should be received, and within seven days of tho receipt of nominations, the chairman of tho outgoing committee should advertise in the daily papers the niiitnes of tho candidate's, together with tho date and placo of the poll. The election should be held in tho day time, say, from noon to 9 p.m., and a poll clerk should bo appo'.nted. Mr. Tilake knew of an occasion on which "nine good men and truo" had attended the usual householders' meeting. "Tbev elected themselves," he said, "and formed (he committee for that year." The conference decided to refer tho matter to the executive, with an instruction that the executive should confer upon it with the School Coramittoes' Association.

That a sang of burglars is at work in the Riccurtou district is obvious, for half a dozen houses itro reported to have been broken into, and tho contents rifled during the past few days. The gang apparently selects places where the oeciii pants are known to be nwny for the holidays. A Biccnrlon resident arriving home at about 1.30 on Friday morning had hanllv retired to rest when lie was awakened bv a loud noise at. his back door, as though someone was trying to force it open. He jumped out of bed and set out to reconnoitre, but unfortunatclv his wife switched on tho electric light, and ho was only able to reach tho door in time to see two forms disappearing in the darkness across a paddock at tho back of the house. Tho fact thai windows at the side of the place were open, and Hint no secrecy was observed bv tho malefactors., points to the fact that Uiev wore under the belief Hint the oceunants were not at home, or possibly (liev confused the house with another place the occupiers of which they knew were absent on holiday.

Tho shortage of petrol in Auckland has waived the attention of tho Primo Minister during his present visit to Auckland and lie has been ablo to make nr-raii-enients for an early improvement of tho supply (fays the "Herald"). Acting on instructions given by Mr. Mnssey ft few davs ago in connection with tho short supplv of petrol for the driving of dairy farmers* milking machines, particularly in the Auckland district, the Hoard of Trade has rer.ofled that it has arranged for about 700 cases of petrol to lie sent ill ~'nue from Wellington to Auckland, to in- 11-od for dnirviiig purposes only. It muv'bi' necessary to send this supply forward bv mil in which case a charge of 7s a ens- will be added for freight. The steamer Wailiorn, at present 111 Wellington lias petrol on board for Melbourne, and it is hoped that arrangements may 'he made for 5000 cases to be landed at Wellington anil diverted for use in New Zealand. Part of this cargo will bo sent to Auckland as soon as shipping space is .available Tho Kurow is now discharging a cargo of petrol nt Napier, and an efrort also is boing made to tranship some 2000 oases- to Auckland.

Tiie champion loams' malch for junior pliols at Ilio Now Year rifle meeting of (ho Wellington Kiflc Association was won bv Hie Suburbs Club learn with 11 score of 111 points. Peione being .second"with li'.lfl (minis. The mulch was fired over the 80,1), jflfl. ami Cut) yards raises, and Hie scores of the winners at. the respective distance? were ll.j. I.VJ. and. 111. I'etono at lliW vards made Till, al aOfl yards 1.1.1, and al' (ill!) yards m. UMloman C. R. Jlorrk <>l' Pelonc. won Hie tyro aggregate of Hie mcclinf,' with 252 points, se-c-ui-imlt ii cash prize of f:3 and a tropinvalued at X" 2s. Rifleman W. .T. 11. Ilaa-'e, of the Suburbs Club, was second wilh 2b"i jioinK and he was awarded M and a trophy of the value of ,£1 10s. Nobody can say definitely whether it was lost", stolen, or strayed but the Defence aullioi'iiios have declared that somebody lias capliucd a (Senium mil-chine-gun in Melbourne (says the Sydney "Sun"). Frantic haste lias not been observed in Hie search for it. as the gun disappeared on July 1!), when I'l'.e Peace Day procession was held. A collection of suns captured by Hie Australians from Hie Hues attracted much attention, and Hie .soldiers of Hie .ißth Battalion and their relatives and friends looked with '•particular pride on maehino-gun 1012 H. ' Tt had been taken in battle by the :>Slh from Hie Germans, and was om> of 2-1 that had been, on loan from Ihe Australian Wn- Museum for display in the ware celebrations.