LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 191, 8 May 1920, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

, The pet abomination, of, H.R.H. the . Prince of Wales is confetti, and a certain way tu drive tho characteristic smile from the face of our Royal visitor is to shower confetti on 'hiin. Those in close touch with/ the Prince, know his strong dislike of confetti, and have made it known during the Wcl'.ington visit. , While the practice is well meant and may give plcasuve to the thrower, it s niost disagreeable to the Prince, nnd has robbed many of his public appearances of a good deal of pleasure. A Press Association cable message- reports that the. Freedom of the City of. London is to be conferred on Viscount Jeliicoe. A pig played a part in the Petone pageant yesterday. • It was not a large pig, but it contrived to become for a few moments a centra of interest. When Captain Cook made his landing he brouglit gift.i for tho Maoris, .and. oiio of thesn gifts was the pig. , Historical accuracy did not demand that the, pig should lie brought ashore in a promini ently labelled benzine case, but presumably Captain Cook considered that a certain licens're was permissible. So evidently did the pig. Being an active and husky little porker, he left the ease as soon as it was set down by the landing party. Ho found himself in the midst of a large crowd, disliked his 'situation, and Started for open country via the avenues that he thought he perceived among the legs around him. The avenues were not'really there, and the excited effort of the pig to get between two legs that had a perfect right to be close together, since they belonged to one neisoh. produced quite ». stir in the crowd. The owner of the legs collapsed. The pig seems to have reached open country in the end. At all events, he did not return to the . pageant. ' « A report on,the value of "toothbrush drill" in the schools was submitted 16 the Auckland Education Board by Dr. H. A. Davies, medical inspector. It is intended (states the "New Zealand Herald") to establish "toothbrush drill" in every State school throughout the Dominion, also.a tooth wash in conjunction with the brushing, and headmas- J tci-s are being circularised accordingly. ! The report was, adopted, the board also deciding that the Department be asked to defray the cost of the requisite articles. A five-shilling note, a shilling in which the silvercontenls will be greatly ; reduced, and a square penny anil half- | penny, or maybe a coin of the value- of t IJd. of nickel, will shortly be added to j tho Australian currency (writes a Syd- i ney correspondent). The new shilling 1 will differ so little in appearance from j the present shilling that only the cx : ; pert will tell- the difference. At pre- ; sent, as everyone knows, the silver in . British coinage is worth more than the | face- value of the coins, and the latter cannot be .minted now except at a loss. • The trouble in reducing the silver.in the coin has been to get a mixture that would "ring true"; that was essential in order to prevent the circulation of counterfeits, to the circulation of which ' the change over to a baser coinage would ; give a -unique opportunity. It is stated ; that this difficulty has now been overcome. The Australian Mint, in this regard, is only following the example of Britain, where cheaper shillings are , alrendy beiiig minted. The five-shilling j note, of course, is designed, to, ease tlio , demand for silver. It looks now as if • silver will never come back to the rate j which permitted the old coinage, but j still the authorities do not wish to use too much of the new allov in case sil-, ver "should slump. So more paper money is to be produced. The nickel coins are to meet a demand nrising from the postwar economic confusion. The phenom-' enal dislocation of values has put the penny almost out: of court. Hero in i Australia about the only thing that a •iciiny will buy now, is a cheque form. ■ *'ho' three things which wc used to-j linv\with the handy coin—newspapers, | stamps, and tram fares—are now nll.nt ljd. This h.ns caused an enormous increase in the handling of small money and a demand for halfpence which for years could not be met. The issue of nickel coins will overcome that difficulty. The proposal to mnkt them square in shape, with rounded corners, so that they will not be confused with silvor coins, has met with much criticism. Bank fellers particularly object, arguing that the square shape will lie hard to handlo. \

Inspired, by a, motherly impulse, a very old lady stepping forward from the crowd in Feilding, and shaking nands with the .Prince of Wales, said: "How do you do, my denr; aren't you tired of beiiig called 'Your Highness'?" The tono of his acknowledgment must have convinced her that 6he had guessed rightly (observes the paper responsible for tho story). ■ ■ "Paints to-day are short-lived in Usefulness and inadequate in regard to protection," Air. L. ;''. Symcts said in a lecture on fats to the Canterbury Philosophical Institute, "and we may see a development, from 'plastic materials that will be pleasing to the eye, bo more useful and give, infinitely more protection than the paints we are now using."— "Lyttelton Times." The registration as a private company of Pickford and Bertie, Ltd.. Wellington, is announced .br the "Mercantile Gazette." ' Capital: 5000 shares of ,tl each. Subscribers: Wellington—A. M. Pickford -2500, F. W. Pettie 2500 shares. Objects: Motion picture; opera house, and music-hall proprietors, etc. It is also announced that Howard and Andrew, Ltd., Mnnakau,. has been registered as a private company. Capital: .£7OOO, in' £\ shares. .Subscribers: Manakau-J. H. Andrew 4000, H. V. Phrsonson. H. J. H. l'arsonsoii, and A. S. Trcvithiek 1000 shares <ach. 'Objects: To acquire and carry on business of J. It. M. Andrew, general storekeeper and. general merchant. The following clause appears in Ihe annual report of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Assoc'ation, which Mas adopted by the Dominion executive on Thursday:' "On March 31 all'patients in hospital were demobilised, consequently their military pay stopped, and they received a pension in lieu. By this an injustice was done, as totally incapacitated patients received ,C 2 instead of i' 3 3s. per week. The following resolution was sent to the Prime Minister, the chairman of the Repatriation Board, and the Commissioner of Pensions: 'That the executive s'ub-coni-mittee is of the opinion that the War Pensions Department, should grant a full pension and a supplementary pen; sion to all ex-soldier. out-patients, except those for whom the Repatriation, Department is prepared *to accept responsibility .' As the lesult of the above, all totally incapacitated men will receive their pension, nlus the supplementary pension, and their case will be,' examined quarterly." Tho Appeal Court sat Yesterday morning and immediately adjourned ' until 10.30 a.m. to-day, wlien several reserved decisions will be delivered. The ninth annual gathering of the N.Z. Society of Dorset Men Beyond the Seas was held at Dustin's rooms on Dorset.Day, the.president (Mr. H. M. Hay ward) being in the chair.. The president proposed the toast of "The King." alluding, to the visit of His lioyal H'ghness the Prince of Wales. Other toasts honoured were: "Dorset. Our County," and "Our President." An efficient orchestra under Mi\ H. Cummins played musical selections at intervals. Numerous songs and recitations were given. The following expression of loyalty has been, sent,to His Excellency the Governor-General: "That the Dorset men and, women here assembled desire to extend a, hearty wet-' come to H's Royal Highness the Prince of Wales on. his visit to tho.Dominion of New Zealand, and to •■ssure him of the ; r unswerving loyalty and devotion to King and Empire."- . Dairy producers will no doubt be interested to know (says the "Manawatu Times") that another buying institution will-be wooing them for their produce when the commandeer ceases. Representatives of English and Scottish wholesale co-operative societies will arrive i'l New Zealand in a week or so, with a view of making arrangements for supplies of .both butter and cheese for th»;ie huge institutions, the capital of which approximates ,£80,000,000. It may be of interest, to know that they could sell the whole of the New Zealand butter in thpir own stores, and over 50 per cent, of the cheese output. The slenderness of the fund for maintenance purposes evidently -sharpens the wits of some school committeemen (observes the Auckland 'War"); At a mating in the vicinity of Hamilton on Monday, when improvement of the school grounds was under discussion, a numberof householders proffered contributions of work. It was then pointed out that if this work were charged for, and tho money paid back' as a contribution to the school funds, itWould carry a sunsidv, and the fund wou'd benefit to that extent. This aspect of the question had not evidently been thought of previously, but I will possib'.y receive practical demonstration when the programme of improvements to the school grounds is put into active operation. Anticipation of a successful dairying .season are being bornp out by the results' of autumn operations in Auckland district (states an exchange). Prospects for a-record output early in the season were anything but bright owing to the extremely drv weather experienced during the 'spring and early 6ummer. Tho early returns from, the butter factories to the end of January were considerably lower than the figures for the corresponding period of .(he previous sason, but the rains in February caused the returns to improve, and an increase in the output has continued, to. the present. "We must get-back to the lost art of nursing or in a few generations the race .will be extinct," said Dr. J., S. Reekie at the Leys Institute in the course of u lecture on food values. The point crop ped up at.question time (says the Auckland "Star"), when someone wanted tu know whether milk and butter were necessary in what is generally called a vegetarian diet. He said that for the young of each animal the mother's milk 'was the food which could give the best results. If the prevalent system A of artificial feeding was persisted in, ■_ there would be no need for wars or pestilences to eradicate the human race. When the question of alcohol was broached the lecturer said that'the daughters of drunkards were very rarely capable of lactation, and in one or two generations a 'drunkard's progeny would die out. An impressive warning to his fellow workers wa4 given by Mr. T. Richards, M.P., general secretary of the South Wales Miners' Federation in a recent speech. He said the 'working classes were . daily growing more powerful, and there J was a temptation to use that pow«r; in ' other words, to xesort to measures they condemned during the war, that might was right. Pacificists who during tho war would not shed the blood of a German because they held that fighting was wrong,, were to-day heading a movement • calculated to end in revolution and create | bloodshed among our kith and kin. Dir- • cct action talk was fostered by those | so-called pacifists. He did not. call i them pacificists, but hypocrites. Let 1 them compare the- British Constitution j with what they liked: n, wan the. finest, ; most glorious, and best the world hail : ever seen. . "Boys, it's worth saving." .said Mr. Richards. - "Take America.-if | you like, and compare it. Take any , other nation, and still Ihe British wnrk- ' ing man, with all his grumble*,, it Hit freest subject under God's sun." > A London correspondent states that Mr. T H. Hamer represents New Zenland on the Imperial Mineral Resources ( Bureau, which met during February to '. discuss the question of financial contri- .' buttons to the funds to be made by the overseas Governments. The sum of .£20.000 was. it is understood, mentioned as an amount that would go far towards : carrying on operations. Tho bureau i was set. up about a year ago for the [.purpose of bringing together all the • mineral resources of the. Empire, and | its governors number It, with Earl Curzon as president. , The central idea i which inspired the formation of the | bureau was that while the mineral resources of the Empire are sufficient to supply all tho raw material it needs, machinery for co-ordinating and controlling their development has been wanting. The Imperial Mimral Re- ' sources Bureau is an outcome of the Imperial War Conference of 1017. There are vast fields of usefulness open to it. j The best traditions of the ancient 'patriarch!? were kept up by Thomas Arthur Bailey, a Tasmanien pioneer, who died lately, aged 100. He was twice married (his second wife surviving him, and was the father of 23 children, 19 of whom are living. His grandchildren number 112, and his preftt-grandchildron between M and 100. The o!d man was in full possession of all his faculties until the diiy before his death. The. band of the Wellington Patriotic Society will .play at Central Park tomorrow afternoon.

At the quarterly' meeting of the executive' of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association, it was decided to bold tho next annual conference in, •Wellington, commencing on May 29. On a charge of having committed bigamy at Palmerston North a man named Albert Ernest Kearns was yesterday morning brought up in the Magistrate's Court and remanded to appear at Palmerston North on Monday. The General Conference of tho Methodist Church of Australasia has elected the Eev. Alexander M'Citllum president. Says the Auckland "Star": Food is a subject which has a morbid fascination for the unfortunate city dweller, who owing to modern conditions is rubbed of tni> privilege of earning lis daily 6rpnJ by the sweat of his brow, as hi? forbears did when they lived nearer ■Mother Earth. The man who uses, his bod/ as nature intended can generally eat anything, and does not suffer from those qualms which beset, the mortal.'doomed to paved streets ' and sedentary toil. At the close of bis lecture at the Leys Institute on Monday evening. Dr. J. S. Reekie had to answer- a pretty stiff examination paper at thj hands of the audience. On. the question of sail, which has as many adherents and opponents as free-trade, the doctor pointed to the craving of certain animals and savage races for it, and gave it as his opinion that it was an essential lo human diet under the present day conditions. The essential hydrochloric acid in the gastric juices viis derived from common salt. "No, , I don't think a diet of ent'rely raw food would make the race stronger than it is," was his answer in regard to another fad. . Ho explained that some foods could be advantageously eaten in the rav state, but man as at present constituted required the use of fire inpreparing his meals. The doctor mentioned that he hud seen photographs of some children in Mesopotamia driven to tho d : et of Nebuchadnezzar owing to the privation? of wartime, and they had actually exploded. Their stomnchs distended to bursting point. • Before man could live' entirely on raw food he would ; have, to bo provided with a. new. interhr. The attention of the.Premier of New South Wales was directed hist week to i the report that the director of the Conservatorium of Music, Mr. Verbrugghen, had booked passages for himself and his ■! family by a boat to leave the Commonwealth, shortly. Mr. Storey said:—"lt is.well known that the Labour Government, when last in office, instituted tho Conservatoriuni of Music, the idea in the minds-of the Government being that the establishment' would do something to encourage and develop the musical talent of tho people of the. State, especially those who, by reason of financial difficulties, had not previously had opportunities of increasing their knowledge of good music. It cannot .be denied that the Conservatorium' has done excellent work, but at the same time it must be admitted that it has not gone out of its way to seek musical talent in the class I have referred to—that is, the gifted impecunious. I have heard it stated that Mr. Verbrugghen has been offered n large salary in some other part of the world. If- : the reports as to tho amount he has been offered are correct, it is a salary that is likely to be beyond anything that the State of New South Wales can afford to pay." The contract with Mr. Verbrugghen will expire in August, and the Minister of Education (Mr. Mutch) whose Department is directly concerned with the Conservator, iuni, is not avare that the director has arranged to leave Australia. ' Mr. ~utch says the work done by Mr. Verbrugghen . as director.of the Conservatorium and leader of the State Orchestra has been valuable, and the question, of his renjtpoinlment will be given consideration. It is not to ]>e taken, from what the Minister said, that the salary of .£SOOO per. annum, which has been named as ' that offered Mr. Verbrugghen by another countrv, will be offered him by New Fouth Wales, but the Minister of Education hopes that an arrangement will be arrived at under which the services of the dtr</;tor will not be lost to the State.