LOCAL, AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 87, 7 January 1920, Page 6

LOCAL, AND GENERAL

The Pacific: Cable Board advises that delav on ordinary traffic- from the United Kinjdom is now only five hours, end to die United Kingdom three hours. All (stations are clear of ordinary traffic. American traffic is still subject to a delav if sixteen hours, and deferred menaces tea delay of nine days With reference to the demand for the lifl'ng of the war-time restrictions making it necessary for all who leave New Zealand to obtain passports and permit?, it was stated to a representative of the "Lvttelton Times" by a Government, official that until other countries abolish tho passport system it is useless for New Zealand to do so, for peoplo from New Zealand are not allowed to land in other countries without passports in their possession. Preaching at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland, on Sunday, the Very Rev. Father M. J. O'Keilly, CM., rector of St. John's College, Sydney University, dealt with sonic of tho chief troubles of the day. Taking as his text, "Where is lie that is burn iving of the Jews? For wo hnvo seen His star in the East, and have come to adore Him. And King Herod, hearing this, was troubled, and nil Jerusalem with him," the preacher emphasised that in our own day the Governments of the world, like Herod, wero troubled. While religion was ornamental and convenient they tolerated it, but when men's passions wero by God's law sought to be curbed, then religion was not wanted. The preacher referred to the prevalent vices, race suicide, divorce, and.banishment of God from the schools, and contended that no reconstruction, about which they had heard so much, 6inco tho war, would bo of any avail until Christ vas made the basis of tho new edifice.

"The journey to London via Panama is well worth making," said Mr. Harold Bcauchamp yesterday,' "but it will offer no attractions for regular-travellers, to and from New Zealand, until there is a distinct improvement in tho passenger accommodation on the steamers engaged in tho trade. At present, most of the first-class accommodation is provided in the. vicinity of the engine-room, with the result th-it, in the warm weather (of which there is at least s : xteen days on the passage) the temperature in one's cabin hovers between SO degrees and 00 degrees Fahrenheit. With a high percentage of moisture, plus a steam pipe in some of the state rooms, one can picture the condition of the unfortunate travellers, and how' they long for a temperate climate."

As tho ferry steamer Maori steamed throueh Lvttelton Heads yesterday morning bearing returning men from the traonshin Rimutaka, It was met by an aeroplane piloted by Captain L. M. Teitt, wlm circled several times round the steamer, to the evident plensuro of. tho soldiers.—Press Assn.

Maori curios are realising pood prices at the auction sales in Auckland. A carved slab was sold for ,£lfi, n kumara spade and sod for ,C 7, and meres for .£7 to .ft). Carved paddles changed hands for sums varying from £2 to £C>, while Hand (cava bowls brought as much <w £\ 10s. and £5.

The Mayor of Christcluircli has rrce;ved a telegram from Sir Francis Hell, Minister for Interna] Affairs, in reply lo a, .request that the Government should appoint" official patrols at dangerous benches near large centres. Tho Minister says: you kindly say what kind of official patrols you recommend, and state approximately the amount of monetary assistance required?"

Much excitement was manifest at Kobimarnmara on Sunday afternoon when what at first sight appeared to bo. a shark was descried from the. bench. A spout of water following tho appearance of the big fish, however, proved it to be a whale. Word quickly passed along the beach, which was soon lined with spectators, who became greatly excited as, intermittently, the whalo shot a spray of water into.the a : r. A. number of'peoplo who were disporting themselves in the "briny'' hurriedly left, the water in alarm, while others contemplating a "dip" suddenly. ohanged their minds and retired to dress again. When first noticed the maimnnl was but a few hundred feet from the beach, and at one time came qu : te close to a boat at anchor. It then turned.- and made for Tiangitoto, in which vicinity it remained for some time, blowing as ■ before. At. this stage it was observed Hint it had been jnin>l by another whale, for two distinct forum appeared to view above the surface of tho fea, and two columns of =prav appeared at intervals. After a while the strange visitants disappeared, moving in the dir»c(inn of Mofutapu. The length of the whales seen could not have been mere than twelve feet. This is a comparatively small sine, since the larger members of the family measure nearly one hundred feet.

One of the principals of the J. C. Williamson Musical Comedy Company missed the Waiolahi, which took the members of the company to Cowes Cay, • near Auckland, where they held a picnic. A seaplane was secured from Koliimarama, however, and the lady arrived at her destination at the same time as Ihe steamer, much to the astonishment of the others.

Builders and contractors in Christchurch art) experiencing a shortage of cement. It has become so acute that many building and repairing operations have been temporarily stopped, and large numbers of skilled and unskilled workers have been thrown out of employment. AVorkcrs' homes arc amongst Hie buildings affected in Chrislolnirch. The pQsition was brought under tho notice of Mr. H. G. Till, who communicated with Mr. Mnsscy, -Prime Minister, who replied that ho was looking into the matter and would 6end a further message later on.

The harbour development 6clieme at New Plymouth involves the destruction' of Moturoa Island, in order to obtain rock for building a sen. wall. A charge of IDAfllb. of explosive was fired on New Year's Day, which dislodged a mass of rock estimated at quite twenty thousand tons in weight. It will be the work of many days to removo this huge pilo of broken fragments.

About two weeks- ago a boy bathing near Calliope dock, Auckland, grazed one of his fingers on a barnacle sticking to a pile, with the result that blood poisoning set in, and it was only with the greatest medical skill that tho finger was saved. It is not long ago that a well-known lawyer in Auckland nearly lost an ami) through the samo thing.

A Uuncdiu tradesman is to bo charged before the Magistrate on January VI with obstructing a policeman who wns convev'ng a 'drunken man to Hie station. It' is"snid that, the interference caused delay, during which the inebriate became so far sober as to put up a Biift resistance. That is part of tho case to be answered.

In connection with the recent, strike -it the Tnmtu coal mine, 57 summonses linve bsen served on Hie indiv'dua! •jiiuers concerned. The charges, which will be heard on .lanuary 10, at (he ICaitnngnta Magistrate's Court, are laid hv the Labour Department, a penalty oi' £W 'being claimed for an alleged breach of the Taratu Coal Minors' Award, dated April 24, 1918.

The hospital authorities reported ye,frrdiiy that Mr. .1. Lillle, electrician at the tramway power-house, who irns severely burnt by a Hash of electricity on Sunday, was making good progress towards recovery.

Miss Daisy Kennedy, the, distinguished violinist, has consented lo visit Trcntham Camp 10-morrow afternoon to,play to ihe wounded soldiers. "In London during the war I was never so happy as when, visiting the various hospitals to play to tlii! Auslralian and New Zealand boys," remarked Miss Kennedy lo Mr. A. Varnoy, the Y.M.C.A. national secretary, when asked if she would go io Tronlli.'im to play. "11. wi/ll give me fho greatest plu-asuro to go. for if I can .clicor their dull monotony for only an li-'iir, 1 shall be ■perfectly happy, and I will consider if an honour that my first appearance in New Zealand should be before those soldier boys."

The annual horticultural show will bo held on Wednesday and Thursday, January 11 and I.i, in St Thomas's Hall, Newtown. There are open classes and sections for nil, children, and adults, liowers, fruit, vegetables, floral designs, dceoraled tables, buttonholes, cookery of all kinds, separate sections for children in home section as also in all classes. Schedules can bo old ■■.lined at. all florists. Mr. Cooper, 8 Aligns Avenue, is again secretary.

Several delegates to tlie teachers' conference, showed some inclination yesterday to wax enthusiastic over the benefits to be derived by the country school teacher from the possession of a glebe. Not. so Mr. 11. V, Venliiißton, who had once possessed a glebe—n glebe of acres, which he was pleased to describe, as mi area of "renin ben I, ratlins treetrunks, submerged in noxious weeds," His joy in the possession of that rustic retreat Mr. Ponlinglnn rendered in these terms: "The troiifiiiillity and quiet that I received from gazing on the scene was a foretaste of the paradise to come." "j His ' contribution to the debate was not taken .more sorionslv than it was meant to bo.

The New Zealand Educational Institute yesterday adopted the following remit from the technical branch: "That students leaving the primary schools h« directed as to' their future course of education, such direction to he made by a small advisory.committee, after taking into consideration the probable future vocation of the child."

The '.Hon. VI. 11. Parker, chairman of J[i'=srs. J)ak'cl.y and Co., speaking at the rr - —'lit meeting of the company in I.on-d-i.i, reminded shareholders that there was a very strong: movement going on in Australia now for increasing salaries. It lml begun with bank cierbs, mid a slmm; movement was going on to .get a h ; ghor scale of salaries. That was . a ■question which had to be faced, and the general manager and himself, when in Australia, would have the .opportunity of fncinnr it and doiii'j the best thev could.' Expenses would not bo increased more than nccor«arv. The board always kept a severe check on the expenses of /lie colonial offices when they came home for review in London. The figures wore very carefully scrutinised, and the board would continue to net on the same lines.

The experience in New Zealand with 'mass yotr.l2 should be a warning to Victoria, whose excellent system of licensing reform has been favourably commented upon in many parts of the world, and is beinsr followed in other Australian Slates (says the Melbourne "Argus" in its issue of December 21!). In a poll in which aIM.OOO voters are taking part in New Zealand slishtly more than one-half so far are aiwinst prohibition. It would bo a uoor compliment to the capacity of Ihe people for self-government to suggest that there is no alternative to the coercion of one-half of the community. excenl tin! stolid resistance by the, other half to anv and every reform. Legislation must in the circumstances take a middle course. In Victoria next year there is to be a poll in each licensing district, and it is possible that in two licmlibonriiiL* districts one will "go dry" and another will vote for continuance. Tins arbitrary and costly system is very weak in comparison with the sane measures which have been taken 6ince lilOG under the reduction scheme.

A .incetiim of dairy factory delegates renresentimr all the cheese factories oper- ' atiim in ihe Wairarapa and Vorty-llilc Hush district as far north as Woodville was lield at Carterton yesterday for the uurmiso of discussing the disposal of Iho (season's supplies, says our special correspondent A committee of delegates was appointed to attend a Dominion conference to !>o held in Wellington to deal with the matter. A meeting of the Mnnawafu and delegates from tnrther north is to bo held at Palmcrston North to-day A highly satisfactory report: of the holiday season in Auckland was given hv the no!ice authorities. They stated that notwithstanding the great influx of visitors to the city there had been no serious accidents or regrettable incidents. The heavv volume of traffic was dealt with successfully. Large numbers of'excursionists travelled to the various seaside resorts, and the beaches were crowded with campers, but happily not a sinsle case of drowning marred the nroceedim.'S.. The police consider that this is a remarkable record. The police had verv little crime to investigate. The liolidavimr lawbreaker was prominent by his absence. Cases coming before the Court arising from drunkenness were even fewer than normally. Although there was some'folk of pickpockets, only one man complained to the authorities of havimr lost bis gold watch and chain in a racecourse crowd.

The Government revaluation of the Dovonport borough is now taking place (says au Auckland paper). It is seven years since the last valuation, and it is expected that a good many alterations nml adjustments will ho made. Devonport is rated on the unimproved value of the 'land, with the exception of the hospital and charitable, aid board rate, which is levied on the. capital value. Jforo than ordinary interest is being taken in the present revalution, because it is recognised, Hint as a general rnlb fiie unimproved value of the land has advanced very little during the last few years, while the buildings have advanced mi many eases by 100 per cent. This means that while the capital value of the properties will go up to nearly double what they wove seven years ago, in very few cases the unimproved value will not go up more than 25 per cent., ftccause in 1912-13 land reached a 'cry high price, a price in fact that was not maintained till quite recently. From a rating point of view, this is interesting to all Dovonport people.

The debt on the Napier Municipal Theatre is .(,'.')3,50», on wh.cli Hie interest and sinking fiuul charges; are .131717 10.-). ])er annum, which, sprciul over a year of 3111 performances, equals .85 10.*. each performance. Maintenance aijd working expenses amount to .IMB-1 per aiilium, in addition to which niuM ln> added .CI 2s. fid. per performance; I'or fire brigade, ajtendnnce, gas for engine, c.nginedriver s' and swilchman's wages. Should the theatre be let continuously Hie amount retiuifed for each performance to meet interest, sinking fund, and working expenses is .£!> 12s. Sd. Mr. Frank Goldberg, managing director of the Goldberg Advertising Agency, Ltd., who lins lately, returned from Australia, entertained 2(1 of his staff recently a' a luncheon given at Piieliii'.s, Ltd. In the course of au address llr. Goldberg demonstrated a most optimistic spirit regarding a profit-sharing scheme which lie had introduced info the business and piescnted each member with a liberal bonus.' A most pleasant and convivial withering was brought to a close villi "a hearty vote of thnnks for the consideration extended by .Mr. Goldberg to the staff. 'From remarks at a meeting of the Tevint Fruitgrowers' Association At Roxburgh it is evident that the small bird is still the bugbear of the fruit-grower and farmer. One grower, who is also a farmer, related how, though his orchard was practically untouched, his Iwrlev crop had suftVivd severely, owing lo Hie ravages of the 'birds. Other growers in the same locality comp'ainod of great damage to their fruit crops, and tho consensus of op'nion was that drastic step* should he taken (o keep tho pest under control. The .secretory intimated that he .had been purchasing birds' eggs for some weeks, mid it was resolved thai; his action be approved, . and that the association continue to buy eggs and heads. A sum of ,£2o was voted for this pvu-poss, and the tccrelary was instructed to apply to tho various local bodies for assistance, by way of suboidios.