LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 90, 10 January 1920, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The following eases of influenza wore I reported between noon on January 5 ami noon January S:—Auckland, 30 mild, 3 severe: Wellington, 18 mild, I pneumonic; Canterbury, :! pneumonic; Otago, 2 mild. A sinrt has at length been made with the tarriiijr of tbo wood Works. The work has been commenced at Newtown. and will he continued northwards until (lie whole of the. wood-blocked streets of. Ihe city have received a. very-mucli-iieeiled coating of tar and sand. The condition of all those who were injured in the recent tramway smash was reported yesterday io be satisfaetorv. Kdna Tlaigh, (lie little girl who was Inken In the Brougham Street hospital suffering from slight concussion, should verv saon be well enough to leave the institution. The Pacific Cable Hoard advises thai cable messages for the United Kingdom are subieot b a delay of four hours, ami from the United Kingdom Io a delay of twentv-four hours. Afessngrs for America are slui'ving a delay of (wo days, anil deferred lr.-s-'ages a maximum delay of seven dav% Mr. T.i'i Sh'h Yuan, the Chinese Con- ; sul for New Zealand, has received from ; his Oovernnienl a cablegram dated .7a 1111arv (1. inforiiiing him that tho wide•wood report that a number of Chinese •students were killed or injured in a conflict. with tho Japanese residents nt Koo"how has been found, after iuve s tiga(ion, Io be without foundation in fact. The Japanese battleships at Foo.chow were withdrawn on Janua'-v 1 The dilt'erences will be settled amifa.bly. The oableirraw further adds that there is no truth in 'he rumour that the Shantung ouestion will bo settled with Japan alone.

By proclamation in Hio "tlazette" the exportation, of coined silver Is prohibited except with tiie conscnl of l.lie Minister of Customs.

The fullmvilli! is a copy uf n U-Icjjl'it 1U forwarded hv Jlr. If. Holland, J1.1'., to Iho Alloni'.'v-liciK'fal: —" I (It-sire 1.0 the sironu'.'.-a possible protest against vour action ill 'ordering the deportation of Moses liniitz from New Zealand. Not. wilhslamlin'-' Hint. Baritz's attacks were directed mainly asainsl 1 hi.* l.aboui i'arlv and individual Labour members and Socialists, including myself, I voice the rit'iitiui'.'iit of Hip Lilkiui' movement in savin;: lhar tlm utmost Iri-cdom of pxnression must be conserved; thai, the idea of autocratically delivering sentence without anv semblance of Iral i> repellent (o fair-mimlrd people, destructive of all I'nnf is best ill British jurisprudence and rellpctiv? of the worst feature o! !'"us<i,inisin."

While proccedimr up Cuba Street yesterday morii:n : » fully laden with passengers ami on route to Newtown, a tramcar (No. IS> cauehf tire anion;; the miW'th one exception. the 11nsspiii.">rs rpomined rnlni. A woman -'hnwP(! distinct siens uf n-ui'V, ami wilndly pushed pv"rvlipf'.v as : <lp in :ri omi.-;iv"':r to ">n're a fairway far herself. Tim inevitable crowd ,«iv)ii v!hrro'ind the car. but' W'th I nr' aid of a of v.:\lt the fere v.'a; very f|U. : i'l;ly extinThe car, aiinai'flil'y. very little 'Hnnrp, ami was lowed to tin' fihrds at Xewtown.

Cons 1 able fj. A. Do<7<ieU, nf I'ictnn. h;c b»en appointed an inspector of sea fis l, ing.

: A pniwanime, which will b» ponoune'd in detail Inter, h'' = ''("mi drnw:i up for (hp Anniv n r«arv Ve-etti. niwl'l tv for ! not fewer than tivp race; for all kinds of cr".ft. T''p f"~'»r>;ittp" i> M'o nrru..riM._r for niolor-bovt oven Is. \V)iilo the ! r 'rntta has been ruiint'y conducted by ■ the I'ort Xic''ol<on Yacht Club do"'"'; I the period of flip war. the rprattn this year is snid to show every sien of pqiml'ling, if not exeredin 1 ;, the ereat importance it held in previous years. I While excavating the land fo" a deeper 1 floor level for the'front shops in tli! new

"MTloval-.l Buildings" (nexl tl'e Albert ' Hotel) in tlppc Willis Street, the workmen exposed the lower part of the . trunk of a tree, which must have been . a forest giant in the days when Te A.ro ■ flat was covered in bush. The but 1 measures about 4ft. Gilt, in diameter., ami is supposed to be the remains of a rata tree of impressive dimensions.

Opportunities for promising talent in the vocal wav present ihemsplve..- in the visit to Wellington of the Williamson Grand Opr.ra Company. The intention of the Williamson firm is to endeavour to establish a permanent grand opera company, nuicli 011 the lines of its lloyal Comic Opera Company and Musical Comedy Company, and with tluit end in view step.' arc being taken to augment tho singing forces, not necessarily fo-. the personnel of the Grand Opera Company. Since the company has been in Wellington Mr. Gustavo* Slapoft'ski (conductor) and Mr. Frank Kigo (stage director) have heard several voices of nil classes, _ and due note has. been made of each aspirant to the lyric stage. Naturally none will be negotiated with unless exceptional talent, or the promise of it, is shown, but there may lie some already heard who may hear ''somelhing. to their advantage'" in the not far distant future. Tho point is that to those who are convinced that they have vocal talent beyond'tho ordinary, the opportunity of a test presents itself in the vi-it: to Xcv Zealand of the Grand Opera Company.

A register of medical practitioner;, and of dentists is published in the Gazette issued last evening.

I.oeal officials of the Waterside Workers' Federation .refuse to offer any comment upon the published statements regarding the men's demands for a new agreement. They will liot say that the statements are correct or that they are incorrect. They point out that 110 official disclosure of the demands has been made in Wellington, and that the only reports published to date have originated in Auckland.

Collectors of firewood in Hie Lower Jlutt. have in the past: caused so much damage to the protective works on the river bank- that the Hutt Kivor Board, at its meeting on Thursday night, decided to instruct: the police to prosecute trespassers on the > board's property, and instructions were given to the overseer to notify the police ui eases of trespass.

Messrs. A. 11. Guy and J. L. Campbell have been appointed members of the Licensing Committee for the Kgmont district.

A coufcrencc between the .shipowners and the representatives of the Seamen's Federation for the. purpose of considering the new demands put forward by the seamen will probably be held this month. .Mr. IV. T. Young, general secretary of tho federation, in a lette; lo the Wellington branch of the Shipowners' Federation and to the Union Steam Ship Company, has suggested January 27 as ji date for the conference. No reply has yet; been received,

"J'he North Island delegates who will attend tile annual conference of the Hailway Officers' Institute, to be 'held in 'Dunedin next week, are:—.Messrs. James Young (president), A. \Y. Hatchings. M. Uennehy, Tl. Thomas (vice-president); F. G. Craig, J. ]?. Kobertson, T. Snow (Wellington), F. Casey (vice-president), C. U. Bell, J. Cnrnachan (Auckland); L. W. Kiiig_ (Frankton Junction); G. Duncan (Napier); A. Wylie (I'almerston North): J. Stratford (Wanganui); A. Thomson (Hawera). -

The appointment of Clerk of tho Magistrate's Conn, Upper Hutt, has been conferred 011 Constable C. S. Le Fevic.

"The worker in the Stales generally spends every penny he gels; he doesn't save much," .-aid Mr. M. J. fie.mlon (recently returned from California) to a reporter yesterday. "He lives faster than the New Zealand working man. It is an unusual thing lo see ;n fliis country a worker going to his job in his own motor-ear. But such a sight is not infrequently met with in Ihe States, Many workers possets cars, and when there is a meeting of the San Francisco Trades and Labour Counc'.l you may see quite a lot of ears drawn up in" tile street outside. The. officers of the council are provided with ears at the council's expense."

A movement is on foot lo provido a library for the Grcymouth Soldiers' Club by a novel method (says an exchange). It is proposed to hold a social at an early dale, am! in lien of Ihe customary charge admission will be gained by the contribution of a book.

A Jtimnru young man, who enlisted in a Scottish, regiment and -aw about four years' service in various (healrrs of war, has just, received information, that Ihe. difference between Ihe pay he received w.'th the Imperial Forces and what ho would have received had his service been with Ihe New Zealand Forces amounted to .C.lfi. r i isnys tjio Timaru "Herald"). A chorine for this amount li-ns been for»ardeiMo him from (ho Paymaster-Gen-eral, Wellington.

A shark measuring "ifl. GJin. was canghl yesterday 011 a set lino oil' the northern point of Pay's Ray. The shark, which was a good deal longer than its youthful caplor (Masler Al. Archibald!, was lowed into (he bay, where il wac ..m object of interest Io the many juveniles on the beach.

According lo Air. .M. J. .lioarilon, wiio recently leturned I'rem a trip ta California, tlir following is a story frequently vflated wlicre Labour nicn of the States forgather:—The Chicago Plumbers' t'n.on held 1111 election of officers, \leni'iers of the organisation look :-nch o lively uteres! in the :ilfair that the police had to be called in to guard the ba'lot-boxes lor three days and throe nights. When the returns were complete, a meeting was called, and the results were announced. A member, ivho-;e 'laiK, lingered in the neighbourhood m hi-; hp iioekct, had some comment 1 ,: make. "T am sorry to say," he observed, "thai lb ; s union lias elected :> crowd of nicn who have, been stealing 'Is fund-'." I'e went further, cud P'Cr'nded to know to what disgraceful purthe purlirned funds had been apj nihil. The vice-president rose. "II: > ihose remarks apply to mo?" he inquired. "Tf I'm cap fits, wear it," was the retort. Both interlocutors leached for tbe'r gi;n<s. .As it happened, the vicco'esident was a trifle lardy, and hi s office was vacant in an ins'ant. Tlie man who sat next the successful gunman did no l budge or blink an eye. When in-

viled to give tho icnson of his nonchalance, he replied: "It's like this, vou see. I'vo been a member of this union for years."

In the past. any woman whs admitted to the St. Helens Mnleriiil.v llospilal iho earnings of whose linsliand did 11 'it exceed A.'l per week. Owing lo the inet'cast 1 lit (ho cost of living (his limit lias been raised lo ,l'S it week. The mat; ro:is have, discretionary powt-r In regard lo tlie mothers of large families op lo « limit of .£ll a week. The lle.ailh Deparlmont also gives free Irealmenl at ils maternity hospitals to Hip w.ves ol soldiers for twelve months after tlie Killiier's return. II Ims been decided to extend this free treatment to those treated ill the maternity wards jillaclied to Hie general hospitals.

Moses Barilz, deportee, loft Wellington for Sydney by Hie Mocraki on Thursday evening.

One chailuoMhrough '.vhicli numbers of undesirable characters might enter New Zi'.iland if a very sli'ict natch were not emplovcd. was demonsirated in t'ie Poliei* Court on Yvediiesday, says the "New Zealand Herald," when lour seamen from K>'.';land, two of whom, if was stated, had been "laiOTd'' on their vessel, were brought before Mr. J. K. Wilson, S.M . 011 a l.hoft charge. Alter they had been com icted. (lie uio-ler of the ship said lit' did not wisli them to ee-ne aboard ayiin. indicating that it would not mutter if, bv iir.pi'isonuent, they niis-'cd IV.eir ves-'c]. "(111. that is very nii:e_ of vou." answered Hie Magistrate, ".but New Zealand happens 10 want these men even ir-ss than vou do. I canvof p"cvent you fi Din discharging Ihi-m here, hut I Hi ink vou should know thef we have no roam for them in N'"-' 7ealand.' '1 he men were not imprisoned.

The farmers of l.uwdcn district showed their imtiv. t : -j rit in a practical v.T'V 011 -it 11 n'ay. December 2i, by turnip? nut in sir (of.-f with their teamai'd irnrjlements lo help three returnid

:ol'i"rs who have taken up section 5 in Hu» district. A spleifiid 'lay and he'"sr iabeur resulted '11 a- large block oi land being not •"■nlv p'rir-'ied but Ju.ly cultivated readv for sowing.

It has been deiii ;i Lh.-it in future overseas ships bourn! io ( r Dunrdin, w"•.■Mi-t they are berth ng at l'ort Cfca :i:cis 01 not, most rena'u at the (-u.-irantine ground at Port Clnimers nntii Hi.' Poll Health Officer's .insp.vt'on has bee 1 completed. This pesiten he..- been arrived at in view of the fact that the ship- cariJiot be held n» in the stream for nsno''tion; and, further, shou'd any ship on arrival al Duneiilii be imnid to be infected she woui'l have .to return to Port Chalmers for quarantine.

It is certainly' strain? to find that objections are raised at Heme to State aid to hospitals 0:1 the grounds t'eat tlie Slate' find ng money wouUI require to see that it is proper! y spent and a system of inspection would necessarily result (remarks "The .Toui::al of I'ubhc Health"). In Kew Zealand inspection of hospitals has been and must necessarily lie accepted as a constructive aul worthy policy, and the only cause lor concern in tli s matter is that in cerhr.u aspects, inspectorial nol he.tig unviable, inspection lias not in the past been carried out along many lines where sui-li might bo done t:> the advantage of all concerned, li'urthcr, in >.cw Ze-ilani, power is g'ven to the Miirster in charge of the ailmiii'slralien of the Jlospitn.s Act which enables him to approve capital works of hfi-niial b:iard\ and.boards aie not permitted to umierb.ke cap la! works at proposed cost exeee-ling .Soil without such appiova!. Further, as regain* appo'litments, hospital biards are mnurtd to notify the Minister of proposed appointments of such officers as medical superintendents, secretaries, and matrons.

There has been a large number 01 fishing enthusiasts at Makuri during the holidays, the trout catches in the stream being record ones. Among the. visitors were Professor Bond and Mr. J. llall. of Wellington, both of whom iue much impressed with the excellent sport afforded. Professor Bond, who is an authority on trout fishing in various par.s of the worlcj, expresses I lie opinion that the fishing at Makuri compares favourably with that of the Fiords ill Norway. He has had some splendid .snort during the season, and slate' that lie is likely to be a constant, visitor to Makuri. A correspondent says that the rainbow trout are not as plentiful e.s they use to be.but a good .day's fishing can still be had in the upper part of the river., The lower part in the gorge is fairly lull of brown trout from 2.11b. to 511b. in weight, and being good fighting fish, plenty of tine sport is available.

Sheffield is now developing industries largely wrested from Germany during the war. The output of gi'amouhonc needles will shortly reach '20,000,000 a wed;. Gramophone snrings are a wartime innovation,' and thousands are produced weekly. Sheffield's output of aluminium snoon-' and forks, an industry held solely bv Germany. before the war. will run into millions annually. One" firm produce* wf-klv JPOO.GOO nonslip -it mis. and n.OnO.OfO wafers for nneninatic tyros and safety razor frames a day.' .

The 'L'radc and industry Committee of the Koyal Colonial Institute has prepared a scheme for finding lnaiiuiivjturers in the United Kingdom willing to train students from the overseas dominions,.who, having completed llicir university or high school courses, are desirous of pursuing industrial studies in factories at Home. .Manufacturers are in almost all cases willing to make favourable terms for such students, especially in suitable eases, but it is stipulated that the applicants.should be recommended, by the committee. Any student supplying the necessary information as to his education and type of training required to the secretary of the committee, or to the JTigh Commissioner will then be able to have bis ease attended to immediately. It is felt: that the mutter is important, especially in view of the activity of American and oilier foreign manufacturers to induce young men from the overseas dominions to take their training in foreign countries.

In Noyember, If 17. Micro were only ,">flt civilian medical practitioners in New Zealand. bill' ncoordintr In'the hitest information available there are now G2S lTiftlieal practitioners in civilian practice. On a return previously published, in many instances the each medical officer was considerably over 3000/ but at present that is llio msilion in only very few instances. During the past two years the average population to each med'eal officer has decreased from 22G9 l<> 1872.

In the course oi' iin article dealing W'iHi t.lio voluntary hospital and its relationship to tlio Stoto, the 'Mourual of Public Key It n" remarks (hat the presold weakness in New Zealand is that, with the- full power of levying upon (ho rate?, and practically the amc power to draw upon tho tfovernment exchequer for its needs, it is possible lor a hospital to be administered in a slack and unbusinesslike manner, providing that. .an open scandal does not result. The means uf the iiistitulion being practically nnlimit-, eii, the ever-pressing I'oar of "tho wolf at the door" is eliminated, together with its salutary chock, upon unnecessary expenditure. from a standpoint, therefore, solely of economy the voluntary hospital can advance strong arguments in favour of voluntaryism, A purely . State-administered institution, however, • should he able lo advance the same ar- • gumenls. provided it does not suontice efficiency !e. bureaucratic inelasticity and red tape. If should, moreover, lit .\ble to point lo all the economy attachim.; to ■ combination ami amalgamation, such as ■ cheapness in purchasing and the power ■ to buy all lines in the best markets, which is not available in the case of a solitary institution. A hospital con- ' trolled by a local authority possesses neither the advantages thai would Jesuit from every hospital being controlled by tiie State nor those resulting from tho enloreed economy of a voluntary institution; i-iul this is mure especially notieeaWo in the ease of (he institution in I the- less important districts, (lie Hoard of | Management of which could not afford'i to pay a highly trained and, efficient . secretary, the init alive and organisa- ' lion, therefore, devolving on a" voluntary amateur—e.g. the chairman—who may possess no know,ledge or experience in his work, nor the necessary time to give lo it. Moreover, his tenure of ollico is not permanent, and changes in the chairmanship may take place immediately a chairman has become thoroughly conversant with tho administration of the institution. Without, therefore, a most !borough, detailed, and constant inspection of the administration, wli'eh i:i itself would be useless unless it became practically part of I lie administration, the administration of institutions in the smaller districts can by no means bo economical or efficient.

■A'.IUU.KIO,iI JO | Mil t)l|l 4110(111 pjtiljdlllOT «l{| ijj.tt S.M|.ll!Ub |)l|l) OSIIOI| S^JOj! -jop oi|| pj|,Milxo s| :/[ •so|)!aoi||(io' ,l.)tli)Ji)([ Jl|| 0| .t'||.lol|s'.lJ.H> WlJl['| pni!l[ llj.u .io/oi!j|uoj oi|) puu 'p.msiiiij ,\|] i;j -14'jn.ul .won 'inuo|o)| 'init wj.iojjuj. }i; sliiij]>[!iH| [tiijifsO'l ,Ui!)!|!iu' .Mir i)i|,|,

Mr. James Young, curator of Hit" Christchurcli liotantc Gardens, has re--wived a package 01 poppy svcds gathered in the Somine Valley. Accompanying the parcel was a letter from Mis-; Julie A. limit, honorary secretary, New Zealand Volunteer Kislers, under diilo November I-, as follows:--'".Memo, for Curator, Jioianieal Hardens, .Melbourne, Sydney, and Christehurch,—l have sent each uf you a cigarette-box (cardboard) filled with poppy seeds gathered in tins Soinmu Valley by the school children of \ ilieis Hretionneiix. The poppy seeds were gathered rather late in the season,bat 1 think you will get suHicient for h Sinful solving, and we ask that, you will give ;t few oi' (lie seeds you harvest— or the originals—lo the relatives of Australian and New Zealand soldiers who fell lighting on . the battlefields of the Soinnie, and convey to Hie recipients tin? deepest gvalilitde and loving sympathy of llu> school children of Yillers Brettnnneux." Mr. Young slates 111, it tile seed will bs -own immediately, which will be i'l plenty of time for a crop to be reaped before (lie end of the fietusoil in March. Seed will then bo distribute! to the relatives of the fallerr soldiers in accordance with (lie instructions in the le''->r. Some of the original --nod from I'm Soinnio tan be obtained from Mr. Young if early application is medp for il. "ir n::s come to our knowledge," staled ihe i.) •minion secretary of the> New Zealand farmers' Union, in a letIvr read at a meeting of the Canterbury branch. "that an imHrncrion lias gone io:til to hewing companies instructing them (o r.ea-x cutting carcasses of mutloi. lor the litirprse of economising space. It is probablv correct that from a trade point of view the cutting of carcasses is a disadvantage, but in view of "the possibiiitv of a glut ill our stores during the coming season it seems undesirable that this practice should be stopped, unless we can get some definite guarantee trim the Ii penal Go,•eminent that, suf-licie-it shius will be forthcoming to keep mir stores reasonably clear of meat. I uiidersland that the freezing companies are considering the i|UCstion of making I'enreseiib/.icns lo the Government ..on this mint. and I am directed by the president. Sir James Wilson, to put the nosition bsfore vou for your consideration. This is a good opportunity to back mi Hie New Zealand Ooverimieiit in its lenresenlntions for ;t definite assurance in regard Ii shipping . The Prime Minister should be advised by each provincial cxccunvc that if the practice of cultinsr carcasses is stopped before we get a guarantee of reasonable shipping facilities, there is 4 extreme danger of a blockage in our stores, and consequent loss to the producers." The president (.Mr. .1), Jones. M.l'.), moved.—"That the anion express the opinion that cutting lin of the carcasses should be continued unless the Imperial Government is prepared to c aranlee that shipping space ii ill be provided for this season's requirements." The motion was seconded by Mr. \\ r . A. Hanks anil carried.