LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 185, 1 May 1920, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Secretary, General Post Office, has been advised that legal time lins been advanced one hour in the following countries :—l!ulgaria, Tin key (from April 1), Hungary (.troiu April 5 to September l!0j. During the pa-it month there was only one hiiiiKruplcy in Wellington, while in April of 1,i.4t year there were two. In Iho -first four months, of this year there were Ihice bankruptcies—the same "number as in the eoiTcspiinding period of 1919. A blinding flash of blue liglu overhead in Customhouse Quay atcraptcd the atliention of many at 5.115 o'clock last evening. The flash, wh'ich lasted about seven seconds, was so brilliant that it pained Iho eyes to look at it, and tho bluo glare illuminated the street for a distance of two and three hundred yards on either side- of the flash. It proceeded .from a fuse connecting two seutioii.MMtl' Hie overhead tramway wire at Ihe Hunter Slrivil: intersection. At that point the instruction to motormen is to cut oil' power while negotiating the fuse, bill: the motorman ,of an Oriental Hay ear vent through under ,power, and so caused llu> fuse to Hash, Tho accident did not, interfere wUli tho running of tho earn.

An "SAX." menage was picked up by Hie Kviiown and the Auckland wireless idalion mi Monday, hut (accoi'ding to the "Herald") no further information regnrding Iho nignal was gathered on Tuesday, Tlie local Collector of Customs Ulr, ,(, P, Hidings) stated, that tlie signal had probably been sent out by someone who liiul a wireless plant, which wn<i contrary lo lai\\ A similar me'sI'agu was nicked up ill. Wellington about font' months n"<>. when it, was found llinl it had been thoughtlessly sent out bv a wireless man on a steamer in port when "demonslrnling" before a party of visitors. • , , \

Another block of reclaimed land at Pe A I'd Is being covered with bricks and fnorlar. This -is the block immediately adjoining the warehouse and oflices of Magnus, Sanderson and Co,, in, Wakefield .Street, and (he new building is for this firm. The i new warehouse and office building will, bo three stories in height, with provision behind for an extension of the present garage. The new building Is being erected by Messrs. Hansford and Mills, from plans prepared by Mr.' J. Dawson.

headquarters of the 1/tli (Ruahine) liegt. linvebecn changed from .Woodvilte 'to Masterton.

When 'the general labourers' dispute I was being heard at Napier this week cue of the employers' assessors stated that lie could keep house on M per week ( and save money. Ho added that this sum included his .housekeeper's wages of' il per week, and food for himself, his eon, and the housekeeper.'

Unqualified satisfaction was expressed by hoth sides at the manner in which the Coneiliatbn Commissioner (Mr. W. Newton) conducted the .hearing. of the ■general labourers'.disputo at Napier this week.. The opinipn was also expressed that the relations between employers and employees would bevjuuch more amicable wei'o their differences discussed in tlie same spirit as prevailed during the hearing of tho labourers' dispute.' l ,

The divorce case of John Sydney Saunders v. Iklith Mary Wislmrt Saunders and Harry Hirt will- be heard, by the Chief .Justice] (Sir liobcrt Stout) and a jury to-day. The hearing is expected to occupy the whole day ' .

When the 1 proposal to establish nninicipah.niarkels iii Wellington at the City Council on Thursday evening, Councillor W. J. Thompson said that lieforo any definite steps were taken .ho trusted that tlie fullest inquiry would bo made as to how similar ventures had turned out in other cdntres, and to what extent the public 'had benefited, lis stated that in Sydney markets had been established lit a cost of nearly a. million, and- were being used~by those._wh& were in the same position as the. merchants -wero here; .He would like the matter to be thoroughly investigated, as the merchants here we're contemplating considerable extensions Of their mat. kets. lie mentioned .also, that the merchants had'not for. twenty year's raised their- rates of commission, to which remark one councillor replied that' the volume of business had increased considerably.

The tepid baths at tlie Wellington' Boys' Institute will be closed from May 15 next. While the,revenue during the summer' months has considerably exceeded aiiy previous season, the executive of tho institute lias decided it cannot undertake to make up the.deficiency canned by tho loss of part of.,the City Council sub-, sidy, and the upkeep, of the baths during the winter. , r

Owing to the 1 action of the High ComV>iis=ioner' (Sir Thomas Mackenzie), the jlittle town ' of- Waikouaiti will enjoy a unique experience in connection with the visit of the Prince of' Wales.-to these shores. Writing to the Mayor of Waikouaiti (Mr. Kerr), under date March IG, Sir^Thomas Mackenzie says:- "I thought my 'old friends in your- district might like to hear the guns of It.M.S. •Renown firing a salute as \she pasMl your beautiful, bench, and l\have asked Admiral Halsey whether he-would, show that little attention. - To-day-.he writes back that when .passing Waikouaiti it will give hiiij much pleasure to comply with my request." The New South Wales Ministry are a young team as Ministers -usually go. Captain Dunn i.i 42 years of aire, Mr. Loughlin 38, Mr.'Cann 40.-Mr.:M'Kell 28. Mr. Mutch 35,! Mr. ■ M'Girr 38. Mi-. M'Tiernan .28, Mr. Lang 43, probably not more than 30. Mr. Storey, the. Premier, is only 48, and Mr. Estell is the only man past middle age, being 5!) years of age. ; / A few weeks ago Dr. W. Fox, medical superintendent.'of Christehurch - Hospi-'' tal, placed Ifcfore the, Hospital '.and Charitable Aid Board a scheme for the establishment of travelling scholarships for nurses, and gave a donation of .MOD towards a fund for that ourpose: Tho Finance Committee reported to I heboard on • Thursday that it- was found that' it cannot give a-- subsidy on that amount, and cannot proceed - with the scheme It was suggested that' "Dr. Fox be asked to . accept a refund of' his donation. Tho board adopted the ' report 'of the committee.

The Canterbury : Onion Growers' Association has now taken action with tho idea of diamring, to a large extent,the oiditiarv methods .by .which growers deal through merchants.' It has appp'nted a certain concern as solo distributing agent. This concern is .arranging sale's, and, in'- the.' meantime, the prifce has been fixed at per ton, f.0.b., :nil or store, sacks' extra. With "sacks in" the price : s JiD 10s; per to;i, on rail. In nddition a scheme is )>ein<r prepared for growers to send onions to Sydney on consignment. 'A circular letter to. growers states that iirices -have advanced .£2 per ton in Sydney and 'Melbourne dur'ng the past week. This price in Sydney, is relatively eoual to more than <£8 at. Marshland! On Saturday,last, merchants in the city were operntinir at-,£B to .£8.103. a ton, 'in the naddockt their intention lw'ng t'T send , the onions to Sydney,

The Co-operative Dairy Producers' Freezing Company. Ltd.. lias let ft 'cnlv tract to Messrs. Mitchell ami Kinnr for the erection of cold stores on n site at the corner of Waterloo Quav mid Cornwall Street. The plans for the new buildiiur have 'born prepared .liy Mr. A. S. Mitchell, consultinj; eiicineer. and IV contract price for the work is over JjliO,000. The machinerv. -which is to lie installed later on. will eist aliout' A'ilMil'i. The plant will lie driven bv electrical current supplied by the Wellington City Electrical Department. The ijh'ef object of the company, it is stated, is to control the shhmients of produce from its source to it.s 'lepnrture.

A Press Association telegram from Hnwc.ra states that arrangements for the visit, of the l'rincc of Wales were co.-n. plcio before the' postponement was definitely amionftced,- so in order to prevent tliewas'te of'eatables theSchiklren of the town districts were, entertained yesterday. l)uriii£! tlie afternoon .M.r. Masters, chairman of the. Tnmnaki Education Tioard, laid the foundation stone of the Tlawera Technical Tlij;h School lief«rc a liirgn gut'iieriiig of interested spectators. .

Argument upon the 'case of W. 11. (iiove and Son, Ltd., v. The Union S.S. Conipnny—a claim for .£108" 17s. (Id., in respect to a shipment of tipples from Vancouver ex s.s. Mnkura—was concluded in the Appeal Court late yesterday after-, noon, Decision was reserved.' •'

The Band of the' Now' Zealand Natives' Association will play, at Wilton's Bush to-morrow.

A scheme is under consideration by tile Auckland Harbour Board for providing, an improved form of wharf sheds on tho now wharf about to bo substituted for tlie present Ilobson Street Wharf, and to be known as l'rince's Wharf. A. report presented to the board on Tuesdays by the; acting-engineer, Mr. D. Holderne-'s, stated that., flip traffic manager desired to know if it would be possible to pro.vido for the upper floors of the 6heds to be carried right across the roadway, thus converting the, top floors of the two sheds into"'one"large storage area of a total width of 220 ft. He also asked if the sheds could be constructed with flat roofs, and onen storage space provided on tiiein. There were no engineering difficulties, but if tlie board decided on this euirsc it would be necessary to proviso fenndations capable of carrying the ultimate maximum loads. . Two-storied reinforced concrete sheds with flat-roofs, >;o carry t' cwt. per square foot, would cost approximately ,£25,000 each, and tho

approximate cost of . constructing - the floor and roof 320 ft." lons between the two sheds would lie X-iO.OOOi In addition lo tlipse estimates' the heavier pile foundntians necessary.- would - require extra outlay. If, however, the 'girders were, allowed to extend above tho floor level, the cost- of the root' and floor could be reduced lo .£25,000, while, the roof -only 'would cost approximately ,fMO. .Should an overhead floor not' be constructed. and it was desired to facilitate the transfer iof cargo between the upper floors of tile-sheds, overhead runaways could be provided at nn'approxu mate cost of ->£1800 each, The' report was referred to "the board in committee., The activities of Hie applications committee of the War J'elief Association of Wellington, comparing the first four months of 1920 with those of -1919, have increased by just over" GO per cent' whilst more applications have been denltwith since January, 1920, than were received during the year 1916. 1 In addition ,to this, the claims,now being lodged ave, generally speaking, very much more difficult of solution than tlie.v iyere four years ago. For the--commit-tee has. received, 1 during the last four months, no • fewer than it3Boo lis. sd. from war expenses, being forfeited marriage allowances '.and war ' gratuities, which the committee has expended for the benefit of.motherless children of soldie;.';, for illegitimate and for neglected children, for children improperly maintained bv their father or mother, or by bo Mi prior, ts, as well as in the interests of deserfed : wiv»s and of other dependants of our soldierd. >' Serious concern, was expressed by the ap|,i'cali( ns committee of the War Relief .'AsMcietion of Wellington, in a report pieicityd at yesterday's meeting of that body with respect to the conditions under which Imperial soldiers and sailon soreetiniHS accompanied by their wives and children, butwho have,, at times.- si.-iit their families to New Zealand before theiu—are being assisted, to emigrate to the Dominion hy-three different sources in England. Several of these.men—otherwise qnife suitable immigrants, were in 6iich a physical condition that the committee requested the .Prime Minister to return them to Eng T land, but no branch of the Government appeared to . ( be able to. deal with the .question, which, in ■ the opinion of the committee, without adopting a parochial attitude may,' in the future, quite possibly .'divert' a considerable portion of the funds- from purposes fov which they were, pri'ifiarily subscribed. The matter is therefore being taken up in full detail with Sir .Tames - Alien fiVior to his 'departure for England. •:■■'•'

"It is most gratifying," runs ,1 statement 'by the. Uirecftor- of 1 Repatriation •'Mr. J. R. Samson),' "to be able to/report that grantees arc .meeting theirobligations promptly, arid that less -than 6 pcx. cent? of the 9730 men who havo received loans are irregular in their pay,-, ments. . Up to March 31'.the'amount received in reduction of loans''granted totalled ,£117,086, and in addition.'.to this .£slOll has .been collectedas interest oil business' loans. During the month of March the total amount collected b,v the Department from assisted -soldiers amounted'to', no less titan ,£2(1,913, w'liiclt •is at the rate, of-over \S:)2O,OO0 per annum.";., .V ...

Further representations" made' by the hotel workers in regard to holidays during' the visit of the Prince of Wales,were considered at a meeting- held yesterdajj, when it was decided to inform the employees' union that all licensees had been advised to grant reasonable timo off to all employees or remunerate them for any extra work which may be en--tailed and'cannot.'be avoided during tlio period of the visit of the -Prince. of Wales,: All licensees arc being asked tu act in accordance with the .resolution.

During: the hearingyrf- the general labourers' dispute at Napier it was stated by one of tfy employers' assessors that he had a live-roomed cottage-in a firstclass state, of /repair which could be let at the rate of 12s. per,week.- Both 6kles to the dispute agreed'that house rent alone would make a- difference of 2d. or Hd. per hour in the rates of. pay as between Wellington and' Napier.