LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 274, 13 August 1921, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Postal authorities .have received advice from Sydney that the R.M.S. Niagara sailed at noon on August 11 for Auckland. She carries a small Australian mail.

The Postal authorities have received advice from Vancouver that the R..M.S. Makura, which left Vancouver on August « for Auckland, has 544 bags of mails for New Zealand. Parliament will be sitting for a few davs before Mr. Massey returns to New Zealand, and it. has been arranged, therefore, that the portfolio of Finance shall bo taken temporarily by the lion. W. Downie Stewart after the opening of the session on September 22. Tt is necessary that this portfolio should be in tho hands of a member of the House of Representatives while Parliament is in session. The present Acting-Minis-ter of Finance (Sir Francis Bell) will take temporarily the portfolio of Internal Affairs.

The Assessment Court will resume its sittings in Wellington on Monday next. There are still about 120 coses to be heard, which is a fairly considerable reduction on the number originally listed for the adjourned sitting. It is not anticipated that the Court will take more than three or four days to get through the balance of the long list ot objectors. Mr Justice Sim presided over a. short sitting of the Divorce Court yesterday. A decree nisi was made in the case of Susan Moran v. William Fieilenek Moran. The petitioner said she uau been legally separated from the respondent for some years. The case, details of which were published in The DominION on Wednesday last, had been adjourned pending the production of * correct separation order. Civil actions'in which juries will be required will probably bo begun in the Supremo Court on Tuesday next. An inquest into the circumstances causing the death of tho child Benjamin Victor' Bevan, who was run over by a motor-car in the vicinity of the Shamrock Hotel. Molesworth Street, on Tuesday hist, will be held on Monday afternoon. Tho quarterly meeting of tho J unite Service Superannuation Board was held on Thursday. Mr. J. H. Richardson. C.M.G., presiding. Thirty-six contributors retired under section 35 of the Act, bv reason of age or length of scryiciwere granted allowances of a total ot .£7273 per annum, find four contributorts retired as medically unfit, were granted allowances totalling £332 per annum. The board refused to grant an allowance in one case, and in two cases tho allownnces already granted were ordered to bcontinued. Ten widows and twelve c.iildren were granted the statutory allowances. amounting to *C336 per ami'-m Tn consequence of retirements under section 35 of the Act, accrued compensation Io tho amount of diSST!) became n liability of the Superannuation Fund and a corresponding relief io the Consolidated Fund.

“A delightful episode in a dull existence..” Thus did counsel for the defendant in an indecent assault cjise yesterday describe the Irissing of n ten-year-ohi girl hr the accused. "Personally remarked Mr. Justice Peed. "I think H verv improper for « man to lass a gill of that age. But that doesn’t constitute indecency.**

Monday, Pepteralrer 26, is Dominion Dav, and will bn observed as a holiday by Government offices throughout New Zealand.

\ number of Wellington Rugby enthusiasts left for Dunedin on Thursday evening to attend the first .Test match between Now Zealand and tho Springboks.

Following the British precedent, the Minister of Defence (Sir R. Heaton Rhodes) has decided that officers commanding districts shall in future have the temporary rank of colonel-commund-ant. This is a rank which was recent ly introduced in the British Army for officers holding appointments formerly held by temporary brigadier-generals. The officers to receive this rank will be the commandants of the three, military districts; Colonel C. W. Melville (Central) Colonel R. Young (Southern), and T.feutenaiut-Colonel (temporary Colonel) H. R. Potter (Northern). The old Curtis (vertical) turbine at the Harris Street power-house, which has been out of commission for over a decade past, has been refitted, and is now ready for duty. A trial of the turbine lias been held this week, and it will probably be put in ccinraission next week to ease the load on the existing running plant. The turbine develops a voltage of 2000 (about 500 horsepower).

It is tho intention of the City Council to dispose of certain properties in its possession at an early date. When Lower Adelaide Road was widened a number of years ago the council found it necessary to purchase a number of properties in order to allow of the resumption for street purposes of the front ten feet along the road alignment. These properties have remained on the council's hands ever since, av.c now it is proposed that they should be disposed of. The properties consist of some fourteen sltojjs and dwellings situated on the eastern side of Adelaide Hoad, about opposite the Tramway Hotel.

I The New Zealand Consolidated Dental i Company hare let a contract io Messrs. .Mitehell and King for the erection of a five-story steel-framed concrete and brick building to occupy that longvacant section on the corner of Lower Cuba Street and Wakefield Street, opposite the Town Hall. The new building will have a frontage of 80ft. to Louer Cuba. Street and 40ft. to Wakefield ■Street. A modern steel frame will be supported by reinforced concrete columns, and the walls will be of brick panels, which, with reinforced concrete floors and partitions, and steel-framed windows, will make the building ns nearly fire-resistant as is- possible. As the site of tho building is on the old beach lino, the structure will be sup- ; ported on concrete piles, driven lltt. s through the ground to the solid. The piles were driven some months ago, but the progress of fhe work was checked 1 owing to lack of steel supplies, which . are now available.

An appreciable volume of-business still . continues to be handled by the Wellington District Repatriation Board. At this week's meeting of the board 33 furniture, loans were granted, four were declined, four were recommended to tho Ministerial Board, -three were deferred, and one was withdrawn. Ont? application for a grant towards the purchase of tools of trade was declined, while of applications for business loans three were recommended to the Ministerial Board, seven were declined, one was withdrawn, and two were deferred. One man applied for transportation to England, and consideration was in his case deferred. Twelve applications for training allowances were granted to men receiving tuition on State farms, and one was declined. Training fees were granted in one case and declined: in another, while two men were granted subsidised wages and three deferred subsidy. In referring yesterday to changes in tho personnel of the commissioned officers of the police force, the Minister of Justice, the Hon, E. I’. Leo, incidentally mentioned the retirement of Superintendent Dwyer, of the Christchurch station, after forty-three years’ service. Mr. Lee said it was with much regret he was not able to attend, the presentation Christchurch citizens made to Superintendent Dwyer, as fhe gathering took place just prior to his return to New Zealand from Samoa. Superintendent Dwyer he said, had had a long ami honourable career in the police force ot the Dominion, and in'the different capacities in which he had served he had had to deal with many important police matters, and from a knowledge of his work he' could say that Superintendent Dwver had rendered loyal and valuable service to the Police Department and to the Dominion. Mr. Lee expressed the hope that the retiring superintendent would live long and happily in his wellearned retirement. The police gleaned some information in Court tai Thursday which should proof particular interest to them. . neß 9 in a theft charge gave evidence ‘that he and the accused was at a twonn school on a certain date. >veie pfe- man? there?” askril Sergeant Rowell “Oh! It was a big’ school, replied the witness. “There were a hundred or more there, he added. "Oh!” said the sergeant, grimly. Ihe witness hastened to explain that he c not pliiv the forbidden game rhe was merelv 'there to look on. This statement‘was received in smiling silence. A remarkable hail storm occurred at Clevedon about 7 o'clock on a recent evenin'-. states an exchange. A blmdhm flash of lightning, followed almost immediately by a tremendous clap of thunder, was 'startling enough when suddenly what seemed like stones oi bricks commenced falling on the roots of the houses- They were nothing more, however, than immense hailstones, many being larger than Christmas plums- The hoise they made on the iron roofs can better be imagined than described. Several residents had large window-panes broken by the stones. 'lf I can’t get a house in a month, what am I to do-go up to the Park? queried a- defendant in an action brought ■it the Magistrate’s -Court, Auckland, by landlord to obtain possession of a house on the ground of non-payment ot rent The tenant pleaded that he had been out of work for some time and had a. wife and seven children. Tie could not get another house easi y. Um Magistrate remarked that the law did not" take that into consideration when rent was not paid, and made an order for. possession forthwith, ihe warrant to he suspended for one month. During the hearing of a divorce case in Christchurch, in which the petitioner had been separated from his wife for three rears on his wife’s application, Judge Herdman said: What makes me hesitate about these cases is whether a. wrongdoer has a. right, to come into the court and ask for relief. A. wifjyis helpless. She is a, good and innocent woman, for instance, she does her duty, attending to the home and the children. Her husband wants to break off. She doos not. Be says: “Um going to leave you ” Tie leaves, against her will. She is forced to take out a. maintenance order against him. If the order is in farce for three years he can petition for dissolution of the marriage. His Honour said he would consider his judgment .in the case.

“The sooner the country wakes up to the fact that it has got to tighten its belt and go in for a strenuous life th? better.” said Major-General Sir Andrew Russell in the course of an interview in Auckland. "After looking after the disabled men and dependants of soldiers, the returned soldiers should see what (hey can do by example and personal effort to help the country.” Asked to claliorato a previous remark to the effect that men at present were only 70 pm- cent, .efficient.- Sir Andrew Russell said his remark was of general application and not applying only to soldiers. '•As a matter of fact.” ho said, "I believe the average returned soldier has been improved by his war experience, lie learned a few common-sense lessons at the front. .From personal, knowledge and careful inquiries my opinion is that most returned soldiers are better mon now than they were before they wont away. I exe]>.i<k’ v ..of course, those nuffcring from shock and such troubles. The 'normal soldier sees things as ♦tiey are.” He did not think-ilia* tho propio of New Zeabind realised these things. The soldiers represented the finest elements of the population between tho ages of 25 and 50 ypars. They now had to work for ihe country ti® individuals, not as a political body,' and they would because they had learned to develop the sense of I a™ satisfied they are not being carried away bv dissension,” added Sir Andrew Russell. “The greot majority are inarticulate. and are never hoard of. They ask for nothing better th>«i a chance to work out their own and the country’s salvation. They have, gpt back to work and in sticking to it they ere helping to this end.”

The case in which Dr. Anson Is appealing against a decision, of the Commissioner of Taxes as to tho liability of a certain amount of money for income tax assessment, has beep extended to the jurisdiction of the. Full Court. Ihe hearing will take place shortly.