LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 151, 22 March 1920, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Sneaking at Paekakariki on Saturday the Postmaster-General (Hon, J. G. Coates) said that in the old coaching dnvs Paekakariki was quite an impnrtant place from the traveller's point of view: and its situation, on' a narrow strio between, the mountains and the sea, was. and is. such that all traffic on the west, coast must pass through it. Tile famous fighting chief To Rauparaha and his warriors used the same route on their raids to the south. Mr. C'oates mentioned that the road connecting the tnwnshiu with Wellington is ono of the old jiiilitajv loads built—by tho troops duriiu; the Maori war. Its completion did much to end tho Native, trouble in the district.

An old man named John Steele, a visitor from the country, dropped dead in the street near the Royal Oak Hotel at 12.3(1 n.ni. on Saturday. The deceased had been under, medical treatment for some time, and as the cause of death ia known to be due to heart failure, no innucst will be held.

Ah important suggestion .''elating Id the sale of poisons" is mado by a Cliristeliurch man who, while on a visit to Sjdney recent!y, noticed a case in wlr.oi the life of u child was saved owing to the antidote for the poison, which had been taken inadvertently by tho child, being printed on the label, lie told a reporter that he thought it would bo an excellent tiling if the labels on all bottles of poison liod printed on them plain diieciions regarding the application of nil antidote in the t-vfcnt of an overdose haying been taken, or in llio event of the poison having been taken by mistake.

A ston-work meeting of minors will bo held tu-ilnv to consider a letter from the mininu" companies relative to a 'further conference, says a Press Association te'.emvim from Auckland. There is no further development in connection with tile engineers' strike. Work commenced as usual at the mines without the h»s:st•mee of (lis engineers and fillers.

The U'airanipn Automobile .Association has decided to complete the fencing of the Ifimutaka roadway to tho stimuli!— a distance of one mile, and similar work on the other side of the mountain is under wav.

"Wanganni is a very dismal place this evening owing to troubles at the powerhouse, and the town even had to go without its evening paper on Friday night, telegraphs our Wangunui correspondent. While the late tramcars wove proceeding homewards the power failed, leaving the cars stranded. After waiting patiently for t,oine time, the few late passengers decided to finish their journey on foot. The crews of the stranded cars, however, wore not so. fortunate, as it was their duty io rcrtnin with the cars until they had reached the depot. When it was realised that the power was olf indefinitely. the men resigned themselves to the inevitable, and made themselves as comfortably as possible under the circumstances. On Saturday morning the nower was still off, and no trams rail. Residents whoso duties took them from their homes in the suburbs to work in Hie citv had to hurriedly arrange for some other means of transit than the Wanganui corporation tramways. Taxi cars were employed by the more fortunate. while Ihose who could resurrect n'n o'd wish bike counted themselves lucky. Many, however, simply had to walk, and they, for once, realised that life in the suburbs had its disadvantages as well as its advantages. A big staff is employed trying to get repairs oifoeted as quickly as possible, and it is hoped that, matters will be normal again in a few days time. Mo.lor-cars and taxis are having a very busy time.

At the Supreme Court, Gisbome, Denis and Simeon O'Dwyer, on a charge of conspiracy to defraud the Victoria Insurance Comnanv in respect of two motor-cars, destroyed bv fire, were, says a Press Association telegram, Sentenced to four months' imprisonment,- and Simeon O'Dwver was further sentenced to four months.' imprisonment on a charge of makinor a false declaration in conn»:tion with the samo matter. The evidence disclosed that accused bought a car for £4(1. and effected insurance over it for -ttflO. Another car, bought for .£75, was insured for ,£3OO.

Sir William Hall-Jones and an officer of the Public Works Department visited the Fetone beach in company with members of the Prince of Wales. Visit Committee on Friday, and decided, to fix the lundine site at Buiek Street.

A Press Association telegram 'from Master.ton states that a single man named Trncey Pipe, aged about forty-four, was admitted to the hospital on Saturday night with a bullet wound in the head, self-inflicted. An attempt made to extract the lmllet was unsuccessful. Yesterday afternoon the. mau was reported to be in a low condition.

"American universities have developed on lines of popularising the work, and that is one of their most striking features," Professor Laby told a representative of the Sydney "Daily Telegraph,' on his return from America last week. Professor Laby, who occupies the Chair of Physics at Melbourne University, comes "back most definitely of the opinion that the English system, exemplified b-; Oxford and Cambridge, with its high standard of knowledge, is very much more valuable to the community. "Some American universities have been so popularised that discipline, standard of knowledge, and general quality of work have definitely deteriorated and been sacrificed to numbers. - Columbia University, for instance, has' 22,000 students. Not that ■these large numbers should be denied the opportunity of education. But to flood the • universities is a questionable way, and the'work could be done quite as effectively by technical and continuation classes, secondary mid evening schools, summer schools, and the like."

A. photographer in England who appealed against an assessment for excess profits, on the ground that ho was a professional man, lost his case, as the Solicittr-General ruled that the Church, medicine,, and law were.the- only three professions recognised as such, the common ground of each being preparatory study atul mental training. According to the "British Australasian" Ihero is a general feeling that the next Governor-General should be Lord Strnthspev, New Zealand's one and only lord, who was born, in the Dominion, and has nlwavs been keenly interested in its development. The ' title' came -to Lord Strathspey's family when his father was in New Zealand. Baron Strathspey himself was born at Oamaru. and is the second son of the tenth Earl of Seafield He was educated at Waitaki High School and St. John's College; He married a daughter of' the late Mr. T. M. Hardy-Johnston, M.1.C.E., Loml., of Ciiristchurch, and thero is a son and daughter by the marriage. The opinion is generally expressed that no couple • ould !« more heartily welcomed to Government House than Lord and lady Strathspey.