DOMINION ITEMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 31 March 1926, Page 3

DOMINION ITEMS.

[nr TELEOttArn —rER press association.] AIR U. E. HOLLAND. WELLINGTON, Alarch 30. Air 11. E. Holland, Leader of the New Zealand Labour Parliamentary Party, arrived back from Sydney by the Alarmna to-day. Mr Holland leaves for Wanganui on Saurday to attend the Labour Conference there, after which he proceeds to Auckland to help win the Eden byeelection campaign. Air Holland will probably visit the Dunedin Exhibition prior to returning to the West Const, AI EAT PRICES REDUCED. AUCKLAND, Alarch 30. A reduction in the retail prices of beef and mutton is announced by the Auckland master butchers. .Mutton is reduced by one penny per pound. .Most of the popular cuts of beef show a like reduction although sirloin and rib are reduced by only a halfpenny per lb.

YICE-REGAL VISIT. PALMERSTON N.. Alarch 30. Their Excellencies, Sir Charles and Lady Alice Fergusson, now on an extended visit to Palmerston North, and district, spent the day in visiting the primary and secondary schools, at each of which tho Governor-General delivered a short address. Sir Charles was the guest of the Citizens’ Club at luncheon, and of the Returned Soldiers in the'afternoon, while lie attended an Officers' Club dinner in the evening. 'I o-morrow their Excellencies visit Flock House, where the sons of British seamen are being trained as farmers.

HEALTH OF .MAORIS. ROTORUA, Alarch 30,

This afternoon the Alinister of Health, Hon Mr Young, arrived •at Rotorua and met a full meeting of the newly-constituted Arnwa Trust Board which now embodies the Aluori Council. The .Minister was welcomed liy Raurcti, Hon Air Ngata. and Air Tai Alitehell, who placed before him several matters relating to the health proposals o| the Board. The .Minister replied sympathetically, undertaking to assist the Board to cany out a health survey ol the Maori villages throughout the Arnwa district. He welcomed the cooperation of thi' Board in dealing with, such problems as the hospital and medical services for the Maori race.

CHARGE OF THEFT. GRFY.MOrnr, March 31. Bert Summerville Xeiper, ox-man-ager of the Greymoiith branch of AYilson and Canliam. was charged this morning in the Alagistrate’s Court with the limit ol £,), the property of the firm. He was remanded until April 7th.. bail being allowed. self 9250 and one surety of £250. There are other charges pending, about £7OO being involved. SKY EX LADS SENTENCED. CHRISTCHURCH. .March 31. No fewer than seven lads whose ages range from, nineteen to twenty-one, all horn in New Zealand, were sentenced tills morning to various terms of reformation by Judge Adams who commented strongly on the array of young New Zealand criminals, saying it. was very deplorable.

WELLINGTON V/AR MEMORIAL. END OF THE SQUABBLE. WELLINGTON. March 31. A society formed for the. purpose of establishing a carillon of bells in Wellington. urged that, it. should form a war memorial, hut the committee i • barge of the latter refused, on the ground that the memorial must be of a non utilitarian character, 'the Society next oJfered a carillon without conditions, as part, of the memorial. This, too, was declined. The Society insisted that there was such a strong feeling in favour ol a carillon, that a plebiscite of subscribers ought to be taken. The Committee, in effect, replied that it was nobody’s business but Choir's am] refused to take a vote. hi consequence, the Society lias abandoned its attempt to work with the committee and has determined to erect a carillon war memorial of its own. independent of the committee.

EX-SERVICE MEN’S PLIGHT

X APPEAL TO THE DOAIIXIOXS

WELLINGTON, Alarch 31

'Phe War Relief Association received a letter from Lord Northumberland (Chairman of the Southern Irish Loyalists Relief Association) asking if help could be given to many deserving cases among ex-service men in South Ireland, whose condition was deplorable. These men had only an average of (is (id per week to live on. and how they existed at all was a mystery. Funds had been raised hut were now exhausted and tho sufferers were starving. Tho letter suggested they were the type of men who would make good colonists and farm workers, and asked if money could he collected either to relieve them or assist them to emigrate. With the letter were extracts from letters giving a heart-breaking picture of the conditions and stating that ex-service men could find no work, as Nationalists received preference. Members of the Association agreed that the conditions described were pitiable to the last degree and decided to take charge of anv money subscribed for the purpose of assisting emigration, but the Association’s own funds could not be devoted to the purpose. Copies of letters will bo sent to other Associations. THE ROSE FUND. WELLINGTON. March 31. A street collection for the Rose fund is expected to produce about £230 and the thousand is now in sight. A cable received from Philadelphia appears to indicate that Nurmi will be there at the time ot the American championships. Further particulars have been asked for.

R.S.A. REQUEST. WELLINGTON, March 31. A deputation from the New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Assn., waited on the Prinii 3 Minister and Minister of Defence ami Lands yesterday to urge a further extension of the war pensions system. Air A. T. Duncan said that in regard to pensions for wives of solsuffering from one hundred per cent, disability, bis wife received a pension if he had nmrrietl before he went on active service or if h. 3 married within two years of receiving his discharge. The wife of a soldier with disability who married after a period of two years received no pension at all. He maintained that this was a curious anomaly and one that seemed to lx* against the weight of reasoning. It was desired to have this limitation removed so far as all those soldiers with one hundred per cent, disability were concerned. The Minister of Defence, said ho did not- know any country that gave this concession. The Prime Minister said he thought a series of cases would be necessary to see how such a concession would work out. Tho mere fact of a thing being

asked for did not in itself justify tho granting of the request. The Alinister of Lands said the aftermath of the American Civil War was an illustration how soldiers’ pensions might be abused. It had there been found that soldiers might receive a pension for forty years and then get married at sixty or seventy to a woman of twenty, and another pension would then go on for a life-time, and it was necessary to guard against the possibility of such an extension of the pension system.

The Brimo Alinister said the request would be considered on its merits.

.MOTORIST FINED. TIAIARU, Alarcili 31

At Hie .Magistrate’s Court to-day, William AfcAteer was convicted and fined £5 and his license suspended for six months for being drunk while in charge of a ear.'

VALUE OF WIRELESS. NELSON. Alarch 31

During the steamer Arahura’s passage from Nelson to AVellington. on Alondav evening, a lady passenger was stricken with a sudden serious illness. There Leing no doctor on board, the wireless operator. Air Bacon, descriliod the symptoms to a doctor in Wellington. who gave instructions as to treatment, which, with the assistance oT a lady passenger and a chemist, who happened to be on board, wore systematically followed. Further, when the vessel arrived at Wellington, the medical man who bail been called again when the vessel was coming in the Heads, ■was on the wharf awaiting the arrival of the patient who was taken to a private hospital. It is felt that bad it not been for the wireless and the precautions taken, death would probably have occurred.

IMPORTANT LICENSING DECISION CHRISTCHURCH, Alarch 31.

An important decision was given by Judge Adams this morning when ho allowed an appeal against the decision of the Magistrate, and held that Eva Lilly Low, wife of the licensee of the Wellington Hotel did supply liquor illegally after hours to men claimed to lie bona fide guests. The Judge said that the section under which the information was laid prohibited the supply of liquor by any person other than the licensee. The word “ supply ” include gratuitous supply or gift and Mrs Low was a person other than the licensee.

DOCTOR’S RESIDENCE DESTROYED I’UKEKOHE. Alarch 31.

A six-roomed house at Tiiakau, owned by Dr I!. C. Roberts, of Hastings, and occupied bv Dr Alexander was totally destroyed bv fire last night. Owing to the absence of a water supply and lire lighting appliances nothing was saved except the surgery which was apart from the house and a few personal belongings. The. furniture was imported from England and was insured for 22,500. The house insurance is unavailable.

DEATH ERO.M, INJURIES. DUNEDIN. Ala rob 31

Archibald Eullarton, married, aged 59, who fell from the bus near the railway station on .Saturday night died this morning without regaining eon-

A LADY’S VERSION. AUCKLAND. March 31

A woman immigrant by the Waimana says :. "The trouble was that too many people were on board lor the accommodation. particularly the cooking arrangements. 4be passengers were in -ix berth cabins and in the tropics it was unbearable. We slept on the hatches, tin' men sleeping out on lock.”

About five hundred people signed a memorandum circulated on the ship during the voyage. I here was a eomplaint made by two or three passengers about Ibe bedding, but the shin hvr.-eif was Lent as clean as could be. A-kod why no complaints were made on arrival at Auckland, the lady answered: “I really cannot say. We were all strangers and after that uncomfortable trip were too glad to get ashore.”