LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 2, 28 September 1920, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The House of Representatives met at 7.30 p.m. yesterday and adjourned at once. Sir William Hcrries stated that the adjournment was desired in order that members might attend the civio. Tcccptiou to the Governor-General at tho Town Hali. The House will meet as usual this afternoon. ' The Postal authorities advise that the TJlimaroa, which arrived at Wellington yesterday afternoon, brought English and Australian mails. "I prophesy," said a passenger cm the Corinthic yesterday, "that in Lord Jem. coo New Zealand is going to have the moßt popular Governor it has ever had. At a meeting of the Dunedin Council of Churches held last night, the following resolution was passed :-"That whilst recognising the principle that the Stato has no right to interfere with the doctrinal teaching of any Church, this council demands such legislation asjvill render it inipofsiblo for the legality of any marriage, performed in accordance with the laws of tho land, to be impugned. - Press Assn. The Corinthic, which aTrived from London yesterday, had a number of immigrants aboard, including « domestic servants. Tho vessel berthed at No. 1 Queen's Wharf about threoo clock, and the passengers soon began to pour oil. The men and women seemed a very line stamp o"f immigrant, and tho children all looked well and healthy, lhe vage was uneventful, There wns.Httlo sickness, and on the w'hole the immigrants enjoyed good health and a splendid voyage. Tho coal shortage as it affects freezing companies was the subject of comment last week by Mr. S. J. Ambury, ohairman of directore of the Auckland Farmers' Freezing Company. He said the cost of (coal was threo times as great as it wag a few years ago, and _ much difficulty was experienced in maintaining 6tocks to a safe margin. It frequently happened that the company had in the stores more than .£1,000,000 worth of perishable goods, tho loss of which through lack of coal would be a serious .matter for the community. Great sources of power existed in our rivers, and no effort should be spared to make this natural power available for commercial purposes.

"Owing to tho shortage of timber, states the annual report of tho Port Nicholson Yacht Club, "the committee regret that the olub-houso could not be started early in the season, but "have much pleasure in reporting that tho building is now. neanng completion, and it is hoped to bo able to occupy it in a short time." Among those who returned from a trip to the Old Country by the Corinthic yesterday was Mr. W. Cable, head of Messrs. Cable and Co., ironfounders, of Kaiwarra. With his two daughters, Mr, Cable has been absent in America, Img. iand, Scotland, and on the Continent sinco June of .last year. Asked where lie had been, Mr, Cable replied that h& had "just been daimderin' aboot," but on closer inquiry it was that he had visited most places of interest in the United Kingdom, had looked up his birthplace in Scotland, and had gone to many of the groat battlegrounds of Belgium and France, including Ypres and Messines. These battlegrounds are now being visited by many thousands of visitors, who make a regular tour of tho war zone in motor char-a-bancs, carrying from to forty passengers each. A race, Down under the auspices of the Hutt Valley Homing Club, trom Te Euiti on Saturday, rSsulted as follows:— W. Donnelly's Kawhia, 1; C. Carter's Turbine, 2; E. Shaw's Changer, 3.

"I think wo are up against it again with respect to the discontinuance of the advances to soldiers," said Mr. J. D. Forbes (Oamaru) at the meeting of the District Council of the Eeturned Soldiers' Association at Dunedin on Friday. He understood that only that morning the secretary of the Dunedin Association had been informed that no further grants wore to bo made for the purchase of houses, as it was the intention of the Government to encourage tho building of houses in preference to Krantiug loans for the purchnso of houses already built. The position was that a man could not build a house on the amount dllowed (i 750), and every man, he considered, was entitled to a fair spin. If it was found impossible to renew the grants,; tho amount to ouable a man to build a house should bo increased to .61000. not including the £250 allowed for a section. Mr. Forbes went on to say that the loans for farms had already been stopped, but that decision required no adverse comment, because the granting of soldiers' loans had been & factor in raising tho price of farms and the purchasing of a freehold farm to-day was a suicidal policy. Ho would move a resolution of protest regarding the loans for houses and asking the Government to increase the advanco for building purposes to a total of .£1250. Mr. A. S. Glass (InvercarpiU), in seconding the motion, said that if tho whole of the advances had been withdrawn, . including those for workers' cottages, it was a distinct breach of faith on th* Dart of the Hon. m. Guthrie, in view of what lie had told the executive meeting on June i. He added that no worker on ordinary wages could afford to pay iSIOM for. a house. The motion was eventually carried unanimously.

The belief is commonly held in'southern Australia that, physically and otherwise the aboriginal belongs to about the lowest grado of humanity. But different authorities agree that, in the, physical sense at least, there are some magnificent specimens of manhood among the aboriginals inhabiting the north-west portions of Australia (says the Melbourne "Ago"). The State development party which visited Kimberley district a few; weeks ago was informed that there were no fewer than 30,000 alwriginnls inhabiting this out-back district, of whom ( \but> a very small proportion were in any way civilised. The party came across a few of the natives, and seme of the men whom they saw were Close upon seven feet in height. Although if. has been stated that it is unlikely that there will be, a reduction in the present retail pnoe of 7d. per quart for milk, soveral dairymen | in outlying areas have dropped their charges to sd. Tier quart, remarks the Chrlstchurch "Sun." The encroachment of Chinese in the fruit trade in Auckland was referred to at the Arbitration Court as a reason why conditions of employment should not be made to bear too heavily on the employers in the fruit trade. It was suggested by the union representative that tho Chinese employers could bo cited as parties to the award. The employers representative said that, probably lit le would bo gained by b tmg them Mr. Justice Stringer remarked that he understood tho Chinese who. were engaged carrying on the fruit business were always represented as partners when any questions regarding their status as workers were asked. Last evening a wharf poUcenW arrested a young man on a charge ot tnett of a working man's swag. The owner, who was going south by the Jerry boat, nut the package down outside the lettucKage office on the wharf, and was standing a few yards away. It is alleged that the accused picked up tho swag and put it in the left-luggago office. On returning to the office later to collect tho soods he was recognised and arrested. A distinctive patch of colour in the Vico-Regal retinue yesterday was the bright uniform of the Utn HuJmm worn bV'fte aide-de-camp in, waiting. This uniform consists of blue jacket with gold fncinw and braid, clew* coloured breeches wSi a double yellow cavah-y Since and a claret-coloured cap. This is the un At! l uniform, the time-honoured busby S *om only on special State occa- £? Tho Inst Hussar to be on the r»;,« of a Governor-General of New Sffid'l cSin Gage Williams, Earl Wool's aidm bein. New Zealand of-