LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 6, 2 October 1920, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The secretary, General Post Office, has boen ■ advised that legal time in Italy was put back by one hour 011 Septcm.F. n , t> r eat Britain, legal time will be put back by one hour at 2 a.m. on October 25. . ■ !

In another column an advertisement appears covering a request tint all available and threepences be paid into the banks.' It is surmised that a considerable quantity of these coins is held back from circulation in children's money boxes, slot machines, etc. As the temporary shortage of small change is very acute, causing considerable inconvenience to retailors and others, it is hoped Hat this request will be responded to by those who. hold coins of these denominations in. their possession.

At the recant graduation ceremony at Edinburgh University, at which Budyard Kipling and other celobritica jewivod honorary degrees, about forty M.D. degree? were awarded. Two of tho medical graduates were singled out as "highlv commended," and both of these were New Zealanders—Professor Champtaloup. of Dunedin, and Dr. Eric Corkill, of' Wellington. Professor Champtaloup also received the degree of Doctor of Science, fho theses which lie presented for his two degrees were both of them on New Zealand subjects, that for the M.I), degree being "A Study of the Influenza Pandemic in New Zealand," and that on which he obtained Ilia Doctorate of Scienco 011 "Tuberculosis in Children in Now Zealand." .

Any increase in the price of butter will apply only to the new season's outnut. By advertisement in this issue the Board of Trade states that butter manufactured oil or before July 31, 1920, must be sold at the wholesale and retail prices fixed by the Gazette notice of June 17, 1920, namely, Is, 53d. per lb. and Is. 9d. per lb. respectively. Traders who sell in excess of these prices will be committing a breach of the regulations, and action will be taken by the Board of Trode accordingly. The board hns «ccurato figures of supplies of butter now in store throughout New Zealand.

How Wellington looks from Pahiatua was indicated yesterday by the principal spokesman of a Pahiatua deputation that waited oh the Minister of Internal Af : fairs. "This city seems to me to possess almost all that a human being could desiije," was the generous observation, of the visitor.

The latest addition to the already liigh cost of living in tho Dominion is a charge of thrsjpence for the theatre programme. • The new' idea has;, just reached Auokland, according to the "Star."

Tho Minister of Public Works (Mr. Coates) is cautious as well as courteous, This is tho reply he made to the statement of a member'of the Housfe yesterday: "I am taking it for granted that what the honourable member says may be correct, but to make perfectly certain of the matter. I am making inquiries."

The Chinese Consul in New Zealand (Mr. S. Y. Lin) has received a ( cablegram from tho Chinese Government informing him that China's attitude towards Russia will bo in accord with the policy of the Allies. She will remain neutral as regards Russia's internal strife. The Russian Minister and Consular officials in China have lost their status as representatives of the lato Imperial Russian Government, and tliev will not be recognised in any diplomatic function. However, the friendship towards tho Russian people will remain as cordial as ever, and their' liyea .and property will receive the same protection as hitherto, provided they conform to the law. The control of tho- Russian people in China' will be temporarily handed over to Chinese special foreign commissionois. This withdrawal of recognition of the Russian.Minister and Consuls is due to ■ the inevitable circumstances, and stands on a different footing to the severance oi relations with Germany.

The .hearing of the appoal by the Ashburton' High School Board of Governors against the decision of Mr. Justice Hordnißn in awarding -£600 damages to n pupil, Hugh Uriiuhnrt, for injuries received in ft laboratory explosion, was concluded in the Appeal Court yesterday. On the bench worn Their Honours the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout), Mr.' Justice Chapman, Mr. Justice, Edwards, and Mr. Justien Cooper. After tho reply by Mr. 0. T. J. Alpers, for tlio respond - ent, tho case concluded, and the Bench reserved its decision.

The following Wollington_ Icandidal"" passed tho recent examination of tho Plumbers'" Board of New Zealand :-W. ■J. Hearn, W. B. M'Callum, H. Marshall, C. B. Martin, J. A, Mnnns, and E. B. ; T'opp.

The full-length portrait presented to the Hon, T. W. Hislop at the City Connoil Chambers on Thursday night was painted 'by Mr. Lcslvj Morrison, of Wellington.

In connection with tho improvements to 1)® eflfeoied in connection with the expansion of tho corporation premises on the To Ato reclaimed land, adjoining th" presont yards and destructor, the rond off Clyde Quay down which a siding hag been constructed for waiting frnmcars is to be widened to tho full KG feet width in order to provide for the traffic of the future between Clyde Quay and the blocks of business premises that will vory cover th© wholo of the Harbour Board's new lands. The provision of a street of statutory width will mean tho remov-al of the morgue from its present site. The existence or tins building, practically at the ontranco to the corridor leading to Oriental Bay. nns bwn objected to from time to time, without any result, but tho necessity for tho land on which it stands for stroet-widen-ing purposes will entail on tho Police Department the task, of finding another sit« for thte building. .

A new departure in connection with tho activities of the Workers' Educational Association is contemplated, says tho Christchurch "Sun." This is the establishment in a few months' time of a summer camp, which will last for three weeks. It is proposed to hold this in Oxford, and an inspection of this district for tho purpose of arranging a site will bo mado this week. The idea underlying the camp is that the subjects which aro taken in tho various classes should _ bo studied and discussed 111 their relationship between town and country. Such camps aro common in the United Kingdom and America.

According to the "Commonwealth Engineer," Wellington, has moro consumers of electric light than Auckland Christchurch, and Dunedin put together. In a table set out as supplementary to a brief article on "Electrical Undertnk. ings in New Zealand," Wellington had 1G.520 consumers, Dunedin 7325, Christchurch 6124, Auckland only 2G98. Talcing the four cities together the average it> 81CC consumers, so that Wellington has double tho average and Auckland less than a third. The article says: "The average number of consumers for the Dominion per 100 of population is H.B; the smaller towns, however, exceed that number, whilst the larger towns drop below tW average. One is struck by the comparatively small capacity of the n'.ant installed per consumer connected, the average being between the limits of 0.2-1 and 0.!) kilowatts. The load factors have not been worked out, as it is a comparatively easy matter for readers to deterinine.the.se from the data given. The quantity of electricity consumed per head of population does not differ greatly from that of Australian towns, having the samo population, but it is considerably lower in many cases than in American towns where, 'as a rule, the prices are much lower. The figures relating to capital outlay are, of course, affected largely by. the conditions of supply, but there does not seem to be any law governing them." Conning over tiie list of towns that are supplied with (electrical services it is interesting to note tho num-i her that derive their generating power from water. Here is the list:—Akaroa, Brighhvater, Eketahuna, Kaponga, Mangaweka, Mataura, Haetihi, Waverley, Inglowood, Ohakune. Patea, Picton, Taihape, Hokitika, Hoierua, Stratford, Gore, Hawera, Thames, Oamaru, New Plymouth, Lyttelton, Dunedin, Christchurch, Havelock North, Kaiapoi, Sumner, Biccarton, Heathercote, Woolston Whangarei, Spreydon, and Waimariri. Som,a oi the above towns have an alternative oil plant, but in tho main the current is water-generated.

The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Waiapu passed the following motion at its meeting on Monday"While its is competent for the State to make its' own code for legally valid marriage, the proposed amendment of tho Mhrriage Act appears, as at present worded, to make it penal for any religious society to sot before its own members the ideal of marriage contained in the Gospel. This Standing Committee of the Diocese of Waiapu respectfully begs Parliament not to impose this restriction of religious liberty."

A Press Association message from Tirnaru states that , before Justices of the Peace four of the crew of the steamer Matatua were sentenced to two months imprisonment without the option of a fine for attempting to steal a lewt. drum of white lead from the ship's stores. Three others were also fined £2 for disobedienco of orders and were ordered to forfeit two days' pay for absence with-' out leave.

Edward . Bresn. a cab-driver, on a charge of keeping liquor for sale within a no-licenso area, was convicted and fined J!2d and costs in the Masterton Magistrate's-Court yesterday. On tho application of Mr. Noble, the costs for appeal were fixed at ten guineas, plus Uie amount of the penalty.

The Woodville-W'ellington express train presented a sorry spectacle on its arrival itt Masterton yesterday afternoon, the engine and somo of I lie carriages being liberally bespattered with mud, while a stiff mixture of clay, gravel, roots and grass, many inches thick, lay on the cowcatcher (telegmphs our Masterton correspondent). The cause of the trouble was a landslide between. Mangamahoo and Eketahuna. Just prior to peaching the slip a ganger was passed, but he gave no sign that anything was wrong. A minute later, on the train turning a turner, ■ it was discovered that the line was completely cohered by a landslide about ten yards wide and from six to nine inches in depth. As the train was travelling on a down grade it was imI>ossible to pull up. The driver put his engine to full speed and managed to negotiate the slip with no more\daniago to tho train than lias been mentioned.

A statement that Japanese steamers carrying coal to New Zealand were paid £2 ss. per ton, whereas New Zealand ships Received only ,£1 ss. per ton, was made in the House of Representatives by Mr. P. Frnaer (Wellington Central). The member suggested that this was unjust, and asked if thjj Japanese ships were subject to New Zealand shipping laws. Mr. Massey replied that ho had no dou'bt that Japanese ships were subject to the New Zealand laws to the same extent as any other ships trading to the Dominion. The Government had nothing to do with the freights. Tho coal brought by the Japanese ships had been bought on a c.i.f. basis, and the sellers made the shipping arrangements. lie had no doubt that the freight was paid by New Zealand indirectly, since it was included in the price ,or the conl, but tho Government had no control.