LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 141, 10 March 1920, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Secretary of tlio General Post Oflico lins isvued for publication the following nofce:—The Pacilic Cable Board notifies mi arrangement entered into with (lie Marconi Comniiny for transmission ni specially-marked fully-paid traffic for the United Kingdom by wireless telegraphy across the Atlantic, <is an addition to the present 'cable service. The rote lixed for telegrams from New Zealand is 2s. 6d. a word, or 2d. a word less than the present cable rates. Persons (ies'rous of using the service must tmccinlly route their telegrams "via Pacific Mii'iconi." The Pacific Cable Board accepts no responsibility for service beyond its own system. Any registered address available for use by cable routes is also available for ihc hy the "Pacific Marconi" route. Repetitions may be called for. '

A branch of the Public Trust Offi.ce is to Ijo opened at Newtown to deal withall classes of business now transacted at the 'head office. The officer in charge will the districts of Seatoun, Miramar, Kilbirnie, Melrose, Berhamporo, Island Bay, and South Wellington. Promises have been secured at the intersection of Riddiford and Riutoul Streets, . and the office will be opened for business on April 1, The W&hopu Hydro-Electric Company, promoted to supply the Gisborne district with electricity, 'has been incorporated, and 73,184 shaves have been allotted among 5:16 shareholders, representing all classes of the community.— Press Assn. Councillor Ye. H. Bennett intends to move at to-rnorrow night's meeting of the City Council:—"That n. special committee bo. set up to confer with the council' 6 officials and report on necessary works required in the near future, setting out such works in order of urgency, including estimate of cost and other information that will assist Hie council in arriving at decisions; and that such committee devote special attention to the advisability of procuring, additional laud far the council's activities for the storage of material and general works. The committee to report as soon as possible after His Worship the Mayor's return, and to consist of His Worship the Mayor (chairman), Councillors Dale, M'Kenzie, Shorland, Glover, and. the mover." The primary schools'' relay race, which appears on the St. Patrick's Day programme, has every indication of being, stoutly contested by many of tho schools from tho city and suburbs. Two substantial prizes ;»re offered, and tho winning school is to hold a silver cup valued at ;£lO Ms. Mr. C. M. Lnko 6pent the greater part of' yesterday seeking suitable office accommodation for the Anti-Profiteering Board. He informed a Dominion reporter that the board hoped to be settled by tho end of the week, and ready to commence serious work on Monday. There had been a great deal of talk about profiteering for months past, and lie hoped that, now the public wero being given their chance, they would not fail to come befoie the board and stale their cases. The full extent of the powers of tho board has yet to bo explicitly defined. One business man said it would bo helpful to the board if its members wero allowed free access to all invoices held by the Customs Department, and were aided by the officers of that Department in. assessing the duty on such goods.

Tho fact that the whole of tlie land in Southland is going .up in value was mentioned by tho Chief Justice (Sir Hobei't Stout) in the Supreme Court yesterday in connection with an application for an order for the sale of trust property. His Honour added that lie went on a motor trip through Southland quito recently, and it was evident that the price of land there was on the rise. At a special meeting of the Hutt County Council, held yesterday, it wn« resolved to raise,a loan of J3OOO for tho purpose of erecting workers' dwellings for county employees. The arrest at Onehunga some days ago of a boy, 13$ years of age, on a charge of having committed a series of burglaries, had its sequel on S'atutday morning, when the lad appeared before Mr.' J. E. Wilson, S.M., in the Juvenile Offenders Court (states an Auckland paper). The evidence showed that the hoy, whoso mother was dead, and whose fnther was in Christchurch, had run away from.his guardian and lmd lived for two months underneath the Congregational Church at Onehunga. He was charged with stealing sums of'money aggregating almost ■£10, and a quantity of goods from a num. her of shops. There was an additional ehnrgo of mischief, to cover damago dons to the church. A number of the offences were' freely admitted by the boy, who denied, without hesitation, certain others of the charges. The evidence stated that lie had broken into one, shop ten times. The Magistrate ordered the boy to bo committed to the Auckland Probation Rome at Mount Albert. Tho Council of tho Royal Colonial In. stitute, with a view to encouraging the progress of Imperial studies in the schools of the Empire, has decided to award in the siifcimer of 1920 medals and prizes of books for the best essays sent in by boys or girls who are pupils sit schools either in tho United Kingdom or in the Outer Empjre. The essays wilt bo adjudicnted upon in two classes:—(a) Essays submitted by candidates of 10 years of age or over on July 31, 1920; (b) essays submitted bv candidates above the a<ro of 13 and under 1G on July 31, 1920. The competitions nre open to pupils of any school in the British Empire, and to the children of British subjects who are pupils at schools outside the British Empire. Tho subject? prescribed for the competition in 1(120 are:—Class A "Trace the Causes of the War of American Independence." Class B: 'The Life and Work of Cecil Rhodes as an Empire Builder," Under the headline "A Rerions Exodus," the Dunedin "Star" states.:—"For some time past there has-been a steady and serious drift of skilled craftsmen to the north We question whether many of those who so readily acquiesced in the drift a short time ago are as f.ertain now that they were wise in their original attitude. In the beginning the departure of a few craftsmen did not apnear serious, but in its more recent developments it, is causing concern. The prosperous and oushful north is prenared to pay in satisfaction of its requirement, wbilo some of our more canny captains of industry refuse to compete in open market. 'The result was an exodus which means a decided loss to ourcity from a wealth-producing point of view." The excellent pamphlets on the various types of farming iii New Zealand issued by the New Zealand Expeditionary Force Educational Department in England have been much sought by returned soldiers, and it will be welcome n6ws to returned men going on the laud to know that a limited supply has now come to hand, and that copies may be obtained on application to the district vocation officers nt Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland, and Dunedin. These pamphlets were specially written by New Zealanders for the education of the men during demobilisation. A public welcome home will bo aocorded to Chaplain Winton, of the Salvation Army, at tho Wesley Church, TiirniKiki Street, this evening. The chaplain is well known (o llioiisuids of the members of the New Zealand Expeditionary Korue as "thri Digger Padre of Codford." Commissioner Ilodilcr will preside at tho welcome, and all Salvationists of tho city and suburbs are 1 uniting for the occasion.

As peanuts grow freely in the South Sea Islands (observes an exchange), it is of interest to note that the Manila Merchants' Association is moving to have the duly lifted off that article when imported 'into the Philippines, as supplies arc wanted to keep the coconut oil milling plants from being idle part of the. time. It is expected that peanut growing for the purpose of oil production will result in vast areas in the Philippines being put under (hat crop, and will tlus create a big industry. The acceptance of an agreement by the Christchnich tramwaymen has changed the position as regards the tramway dispute generally. The Tramwiiynicn's Federation has been demanding a national Hgieomcnt, and Ihe recent conference in Wellington at tempted to draft such an agreement, which was subsequently rejected by the unions. The Christchiireh agreement, which does not contain all that was demanded originally by the men, is not national in its scope, but it seems likely to bind .the other tramway unions to some extent. "■ A letter was received nt last night's meeting of the Knrori Borough Council from Mr. W. G. Morpeth, chnirman of the Wellington Hockey Association, thanking the council for writing off the association's debt of .£153 for the use of Karori Park. The letter thanked, the council and its officers for the manner in which hockey players had always been treated. The work of the caretaker (.Mr. G. Eagle) was specially referred to. While cleaning a furnace at the Wangnnui gas works a 6toker named John Smith, 52 years of age, residing at Gouville,- received severe scalds and died in' the hospital on Monday evening. No ono witnessed the accident, and Smith was found severely injured. There will be some distinguished ecclesiastics among the passengers leaving for London by the Ruapehu this afternoon. The Lambeth , Conference has issued invitations to Anglican Church leaders throughout the Empire, and as matters of moment will .'be considered there is likely to be a very large 'assemblage of churchmen in London next month. The Ruapehu's list will include Bishop A. W. Averill and Mis. Averill, of Auckland; Bishop Julius and Miss Julius, of C'liristchurch; and Rev. 0. and Misses (2) Dean, of Napier. In a case heard at To Kuiti, in which n Maori named Oniaru was charged,with having aided and abetted some person or persons unknown to .procure liquor for him in a proclaimed area, Mr. J. D. Vernon (counsel for the defence) contended that a Maori could not under the ■statute be held to be an. aider and abettor the onus being on the police to prove the existence of the principal offender; that the existing statute was for the protection of Maoris, and could 'not be used for the purpose of bringing a criminal prosecution against them. Mr. E. W. Burton, S.M., said it was clearly the intention of the statute to protect the Maoris against themselves. In other words, they were in a state of tutelage. That being the case, liow could they be guilty of aiding and abetting? Maoris' were children in the eyes of the law, and therefore could not be placed in the same category as Europeans. Obviously the law would have to be amended. Tlu charge against Oniaru would be dismissed.—Auckland "Star." So many New Zealanders have now made the passage through the Panama that they will be interested to. hear that the long-delayed formal opening first arranged for January 1, 1915, is not yet fixed, writes a London correspondent. This is the upshot of a recent visit to Panama of Mr. Baker, the U.S.A. Secretary of War, ivho has pronounced against the ceremony being fixed as yet at any early date. It will be recalled that the first plans for celebrating the completion of the canal were made on an imposing scale. Tho principal nations of the world were invited to send warships and commercial vessels to represent them on the occasion, so that the international Importance of the event might lie emphasised with fitting ceremony. The canal was, in fact, quietly opened in the midst of the historical month of August, 1914, and Captain Greonstreet navigated the first New Zealand boat through' it—the Kemuera. '