LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 123, 17 February 1921, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Postal authorities have received advice from London that a mail for New Zealand was dispatched on February 11 per s.s. Mahana, via the Panama Canal.

The Postal authorities have received advice that the s.s. Canadian Winner sailed from Sydney at Id p.m. on February 14 for Auckland. Site carries 102 bags- of Australian mails for New Zealand.

While in the South Island. Mr. Massey was asked if Parliament would have an opportunity of discussing the naval mid military policy of the Dominion prior to his departure for the Imperial Conference. “So far as lam able to judge,” he replied, "there will not he a good opportunity to discuss I'lessi matters pniil I come, back to the Dominion. 1 am veyy strongly in iavour of a- proper scheme of naval defence, not rnly for tho Pacific, but for the' whole Empire. I feel very strongly about it, for 1 am convinced that the future of the Empire depends upon the maintenance of our naval supremacy. Ido not believe, lor a moment, in a so-called ’naval holiday.’ We could not afford it.” On the motion of Mr. R. A. Wright, M.P., the Education Board yesterday decided io make application lor a. grant for the erection of an infant school on the Mornington site, for the convenience of the younger children residing in the Vogcitown and Morningion districts. A meeting of the Executive Council of the Wellington Competitions Society was held last evening, Mr. L. R. Partridge presiding. Feeling reference was made to the death of tlie Tate Mr. Kevin Dillon and a vote of sympathy and condolence was carried in silence. It was decided that the Town Hall be engaged for the next competitions, and the secretary was authorised So book the Town Hall and Concert Chamber from Angus? 30 to September 17. These dates will embrace a considerable portion of the September term school holidays. Arrangements were made _to obtain advertisements in the syllabus and official programme. A number of offers for special prizes, were received, and a special committee was appointed to endeavour to obtain other trophies and special prizes. Several applications from adjudicators was referred to a future meeting. A point of interest io husbands, whose wives run up bills, was emphasised by Mr. S. E. McCarthy, S.M., at Monday's sitting of the Christchurch Magistrate’s Court. He said that, the law clearly laid it down that where a husband made a wife a regular and adequate allowance she must not use his credit to obtain goods, and if she did tradesmen could not recover from him.

The peculiar instance of a claim that was neither defended nor advocated, although there, was no defence to oiler, came before an astonished Arbitration Court at Auckland on Monday (says an exchange), when a formal application was made for the November bonus of 3s. per week. " Union,” called tlie Registrar, and the court ’coked blankly round for someone to back up the written claim. Just as despair was rising in the hearts of the two members of the union who were unofficially present, a Labour man, old and wise in the game, rose and explained, that, although he was acting under no definite instructions, ho usually represented the union, and he would back tho application upon that occasion. Then Mr. S. E. Wright rose and practically repeated these remarks. Ho had no definite instructions, but he took it upon himself to say that there was no objection on tho part, of the employers. So the bonus, which is already being paid to these workers, was formally awarded, although its precise amount is as yet indeterminate. A. new s astern of identification marks for motor-vehicles has been adopted by tho Christchurch. City Council. Tho Bylaws Committee reported on Monday evening as follows:—“The numerals allotted to the council to bo used as identification marks on motors are nearly exhausted and the Department of Internal Affairs has allotted the letters of the alphabet, to be added to the numbers; consequently when the numbers previously allotted are exhausted, which will soon have happened, a commencement will be made with ‘Ch.lA.’ and so on.” —“Lyttelton Times.” A meeting of creditors of Mrs. K. M. Blanchard, a bankrupt, was to have been held yesterday, but lapsed for want of a quorum. The bankrupt’s assets were set-down al .£226 10s. Id., and the liabilities' at £267 Is. 6d. The sura owing to secured creditors was set down at £1(8. The, meeting was adjourned sine die.

At the meeting of the Hutt River Board last evening Mr. J. Brasell stated that the secretary of tho Acclimatisation Society had intimated to him that it was the intention of the society to institute proceedings against the board for blasting in the river and killing the fish. In reply to a question the overseer (Mr. J. Kershaw) said that during the past two weeks he had fired three shots, and only one fish had been killed. He could honestly say that during the past two years only about five fish had been killed as the result of blasting. The chairman (Mr. W. T. Strand) said that he regretted to state that dynamiting was being freely carried on in the upper reaches of tlie river, and ho hoped that the offenders, when caught, would be severely dealt with.

A request that some form of supervision should be exercised over school children travelling by rail was received from the Railway authorities—through the Education Department—ah yesterday’s meeting of the Education Board. It was decided to circularise teachers asking them to attend to Ihe supervision of scholars travelling, not . nly by rail, but by other conveyances. A suggestion was made that where the services of a teacher were not available, a prefect should be charged with the responsibility.

The bane of borough and county councils is to keep their roads, : nd particularly their water tables, free from weeds. Many thousands of pounds are spent every year in this work, which the authorities are well aware will only have ta be done again in a few months’ time. The recently-deceased Miramar Borough Council, with its-fine network of good roads and its sparse population, found road-weeding most expensive. Recently it was noticed that where certain residuals from the Wellington Gis Company’s furnaces were thrown grass and weeds refused to grow. With this ;ro a hint, a few cart-loads of this stuff—which contains a percentage of ammonia—were strewn on either side of the worn track in the middle of Rima Street, with the re-nit that tho weeds have never grown since.

It is intended to make a start next week with the laying of new rails on the tramway track along Lambton Quay, between Government Buildings and Stout Street. When that section, which is badly worn, is completed, the gang will be transferred to Courtenay Place to re-j-ail the section between His Majesty s Theatre and the eastern end of that thoroughfare.

Week-end Cables Reinstated. —The Pacific Cable Board is glad to advise that arrangements are now completed for reinstatement of the week-end rale from Now Zealand to United Kingdom under TWT classification oi.'.v. .It i- regretled' arrangements cannot vet bo made for the week-end rate to lx- available from the Unitedl Kingdom tv New Zeabind Neither IW 1 nor 11)1 ekro-,1-ficalioiiis are availlabh' ,to Canada at present. Tho regulations n« to film use of figures to express numbers and qnanti’ies’ and the use of commercial marks will be the same for week-end messages n , now in force for the deferred rate, but messages must be written in plain English or French language and boar an intelligible meaning on the face of them; otherwise they are not admissible at tfhe week-end into.—Advt.

The jury benches in tho Wellington Supremo Court do not suit twelve jurors, at least of the present panel. In the Yorston divorce case, which had been commenced on Tuesday, there was every indication that the proceedings would be long drawn out, so yesterday every member of the jury brought his own cushion. During the day there wore several "smoke-oh’s” at the request of the jury, the Court .adjourning each time, for about five minutes. »So, comfort is to be granted even the juryman I The Taranaki grocers' assistants’ dispute will come before a Council of Conciliation at New Plymouth on February 25. The union is asking for a weekly wago of .£5 10s.. with a 44-honr week, as well as a fortnight’s annual lialiday on full pay. At present the wages for journeymen are £1 10s. Gtl., and the hours 'per week number 47. Assessors for the union al the hearing will he Mews. H. J. Mortensen (Auckland), 3. O’Grady (New Plymouth). and B. M'Keeii (Wellington).

Senior pupils of Ihe Technical School and of primary schools in Wellington are io bo afforded an opportunity of viewing the British Traders’ Association exhibition of a series of films representing British manufactures. The films will be screened next week’.

In the report on the discussion of the gas question at the Lower Hutt Council on Monday evening. Councillor J. Mitchell was made to say that if any variance were made in the agreement Petone councillors would be personally responsible. ' This should have read "Hutt councillors.”

"Tho number of claims received from men who have broken down in health as the result of an incipient war disability is increasing,” stated the report of tlie Applications Committee which was dealt with at yesterday’s meeting of tlie War Relief Association of Wellington, "and many cases are referred by yon’r office to the A.D.M.S. for medical 'attention and hospital treatment. Careful inquiries are made concerning the welfare of the dependants of these men, so as to ensure the former being possessed of an income sufficient to enable them jo live during the period that the soldier is in hospital.” Without discussion the Education Board yesterday carried a resolution, proposed by Mr. A. J. White and seconded by Mr. E. Penny, expressing its very ' hearty approval of the policy recently announced by the Hon. G. J. Anderson, Minister of Internal Affairs, regarding censorship of moving-pictures, "having for its purpose the raising of the moral and artistic standard of films exhibited throughout the Dominion.”

Mr. W. A. Edwards, historical secretary of the Early Settlers’ Association, writes: "Your report of the meeting of the Early Settlers’ Association is marred by a slight mistake, evidently an oversight. Tn the reference I made to tho 'New Zealand Gazette and Britania Spectator,’ later the 'New Zealand Gazette. and Wellington Spectator,’ no reference was made to Captain (afterwards Governor) Wakefield. I will admit that one of the members of that family aspired to the position of Governor of this colony, but not Colonel Wakefield, to whom the reference was made as head of the New Zealand Company. The date of the first publication of the Wellington ‘lndependant’ should read as 1845, not '4B/ and the most interesting point in this publication seems to he overlooked, viz., that, the first number was printed’ and published at only thirty-six hours’ notice.”

At a sports meeting held last evening under the auspices of the Petone Junior Club Amateur Athletic Club the 160yds. handicap and the one mile event weie won by W. Kyle.

At Hawera yesterday William Arthur Edward Atkin-on. 17 years of age, pleaded guilty to forgery and uttering, the amount involved in the charges Being £65. He was committed to the Supreine Court for sentence. Bail was allowed. —Press Assn.

In the Supreme Court at. Christchuren yesterda.y tho trial of Frederick Malaquin on a charge of attempted murder of his wife, Ruth Irene Malaquin, at New Brighton on November 7 last, was concluded, tho Judge’s summing’ up gefterally Was in favour of the accused. The .jury, after an hour’s retirement, returned a verdict of not guilty.