LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 1470, 9 November 1915, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Krnest H. Clay, the railway porter injured at Petone, died on Saturday atternoon. He was aged twenty-eight, and had only been married a tew days. The borough foreman, Mr T. Cooke, was granted one week’s leave of absence on account of indisposition at last night’s Council meeting. The Mayor, Mr Alf. Fraser, has received the following telegram from His Excellency the Governor: — “Thank you very much lor the contribution from the Foxton Girls’ Guild. Will you kindly convey my best thanks to all concerned.”

Major Mackesy, of Auckland, who was wounded on August 27th in the neck, the right arm, and the left shoulder, utters a word of warning regarding the men who are sent to the front. Reinforcements, he says, are required, and every effort should be made to get men to enlist, but only perfectly sound men should enlist. The colonials are eminently adapted for the class of warfare in which they are engaged, and although their losses have been heavy, those of the Turks have been heavier. Although the odds are about three to one, the Turks have been since May iSth practically all the time on the defensive. An Interesting discovery was made by the Wellington police last week. A fireman on one of the Home boats was arrested for insobriety, and after he had submitted to the usual search by the officer at the police station, it was found that he was a remarkable person in a way. Discharges found in his pockets proved him to be a survivor from two great marine disasters. One discharge showed that he was a fireman on the ill-fated liner Empress of Ireland, when she was sunk in a collision in the St. Lawrence River on May 29, 1914, and over 1000 lives were lost. The other discharge showed that the man was employed as a fireman on board the Cunard liner Lusitania when she was sunk off the coast of Ireland by a German submarine on May 7 ot this year, and 1500 lives were lost.

Special attention is drawn to our advertisement in another column of this paper, giving details of our splendid range of Cutlery we have in stock at Quality Prices. Call and purchase early at Walker and Furrie’s.

Accounts amounting to ,£316 16s 6ti were passed for payment at last night’s Borough Council meeting. The Inspector of Nuisances reported at last night’s Council' meeting that the borough is in a fairly healthy condition at present. During the month of October, eight head of cattle were impounded by the ranger, the driving fees amounting to eight shillings.

The triends of Mrs A. Smith, who is at present an inmate of the Rotorua Sanatorium, will be pleased to leatn that she is making good progress towards recovery. There were present at last night’s meeting of the Borough Council : The Mayor (Mr A. Fraser), and Crs Whibley, Stevenson, Bryant, Thompson, Freeman, Simmons and Henderson. An apology for absence was received from Cr Coley.

The local Young Men’s Club is organising an ait union and at last night's Council meeting the free use of the Council Chamber was granted for the drawing of same which is to lake place about December 30th.

A meeting of the local Patriotic Society will be held in the Council Chamber on Thursday evening next, at 7.30 o’clock, when a decision will be come to in reference to the proposed carnival in aid of the Wounded Soldiers Fund. At last night’s Council meeting the Manager of the Town Hall made application for permission to erect a small refreshment stall in the north-east corner of the hall. — On the motion of the Mayor, seconded by Cr Freeman, permission was granted provided the work is done neatly and without cost to the Council.

It was decided at last night’s Council meeting on the motion of Cr Simmons, seconded by Cr Bryant, that the Main Street from the Triangle to Cook Street be levelled and tarred from kerb to kerb as soon as weather conditions permit of the work being commenced.

The Foxton Ladies’ Patriotic Guild recently lot warded 3SO sand bags to the Defence authorities, and in acknowledging same the authorities state that they can do with as many more as the Guild can forward. The Guild will be pleased to receive from farmers basic slag bags, which are the correct size, . and also gifts of washed sugar bags. Two of the latter make one sand bag. At last night’s Council meeting Mr C. Simmons applied for permission to erect a temporary roof from one iron fence to another, at the rear of his business premises, to be used as a garage pending the erection of a new building, the period for which the permit was asked for not to exceed twelve mouths.- The permit asked for was granted. A picture of exceptional merit, “The Middleman,’', featuring Albert Chevalier, constitutes the star feature for Wednesday and Thursday’s change of programme at Fuller’s Pictures. Sir Henry Arthur Jones is recognised to be one of the best of England’s dramatists ; in “The Middleman’’ he has produced a love siory which is compelling. He has portrayed real emotion which springs from the highest motives. Captain Miles, of the steamer Physa, now in Wellington, says his experience is that the majority of seafaring Chinamen go in for opium smoking just prior to “bunking in,” when they have a few mouthfuls oi smoke and drop off to sleep. The captain cited one case concerning two old Chinese members of his crew who could get no supply of opium when on the high seas, owing to there being none on board. The first night neither slept, and the second day their condition became so low that, although Captain Miles gave them drugs, they passed away that night, dimply because from the age of sixteen they had been in the habit of taking a few puffs of this narcotic to put them to sleep. Opium had become such a necessity to their existence that they had died when the supply was cut off.

After repeated warnings and explanations, and despite the plain notice on the National Registration schedules, numbers of men have not obeyed the law’s command. Some have left blank spaces where answers are required, and others have not given their address in the unmistakable form desired. There seems to be an impression that a correct and complete answering of some questions is optional with any individual, but it is actually mandatory. The notice printed on the front ot the schedule states : “ any persons to whom the proclamation relates who wilfully fails to furnish particulars as required, or who wilfully makes any lalse statement with respect to any such particulars, is liable to a fine of ,£IOO or imprisonment for six months.” Men of military age (nineteen to forty-five years) have to answer nine questions. The only exemptions are the soldiers actually in camp and the military instructional staff. Those who are not liable tor military service (youths from seventeen to nineteen years, and men above the age of forty-five years), are under, a statutory obligation to answer eight of the nine questions.

W alkei and Furrie’s motto is '“Civility and Attention” at all times. No matter how small your order, they are at your service. Only the best goods kept in stock at prices to suit all pockets. Farmers and flaxmlll employees are recommended our new special waterproof boots. We guarantee them. R. T = Betty.*

Proceedings under the Police Offences Act are to be taken against persons who ride bicycles on the borough footpaths. This practice has been very prevalent of late, and it has been decided to put a stop to it.

Mr T. Bowe, of Moutoa, has handed us as a donation to the District Hospital, which he has received from Mr Kennedy tor the privilege of going through Mr Bowe’s property.

Speaking in respect to church efforts at a congregational meeting of the local Presbyterian Church last night, one speaker, who opposed bazaars or sales ot work as a means of raising funds, said a person bought £1 worth of material, spent 40 hours in making it up and it was sold for 17s 6d ! He added that it would be better in every respect to give £1 straight out and be done with it. This opinion was endorsed by several others,

The Town Clerk informs us that the gas cookers ordered from Home are uov in Wellington, and will arrive here in the course ot a day or two, and he desires us to point out that those residents who wish to purchase one of the cookers either straight out or on the hire system, should immediately book their order with him, as the cookers will be fixed iu houses according to the order in which they have been booked from the Town Clerk.

At last night’s Council meeting, a letter was read from the District Health Officer, reporting that he had made an Inspection of the night soil depot, in connection with which complaints had recently been received. He made several recommendations in connection with same, and it was decided to leave the matter of suggested improvements in the hands of the Mayor and Town Clerk, who will confer with the contractor with a view to having the recommendations put into effect where possible. There was only one application received at last night’s Council meeting for the positions of fire inspector, ranger, lamplighter and dog registrar. The salary of the fire inspector was fixed at per annum and the applicant, Mr S. Read, offered to do the work as follows: Lamplighter per week, dog registration tenpence each, and ranging niuepence per head,—Mr Read was appointed to the various positions. Definite arrangements have now been made by the local management ot Fuller’s, Ltd., to screen the famous picture, “Neptune’s Daughter,” on Tuesday, November 16th, for one night only. Booking for seats has already commenced, and a record house is assured. The management would like it to be understood that Fullers are In no way responsible for the advanced prices of admission, viz., as and is, and 6d extra for booking, this being a condition of the hire of the picture. For some considerable time past it has been recognised by the local Borough Council that the by-laws were obsolete and needed bringing up-to-date, and for the last two years a sum has been placed on the estimates for new by-laws. In February last a committee of the whole Council was set up to go into this matter, but it was afterwards decided to leave it for the new Council. At last night’s meeting, Cr Whibley moved and Cr Henderson seconded, that the Council meet at 7,30 p.m. on Monday next, for the purpose of revising the bylaws, but on being put to the meeting was lost, consequently new by-laws are things of the distant future.

“I must tell you what the opinion is of the New Zealand and Australian men,” writes Major Mathew Holmes, of the New Zealand Medical Corps at Gallipoli. “ Such fighters have never been seen. Truly they are infinitely the best in the British Army, and perhaps in the world. They don’t know fear, and I am not boasting one little bit. When every officer is shot they go on just the same. The sth Reinforcement men, who arrived, I think, just when the recent big fight had started, covered themselves with glory, it was just splendid. There is a feeling of safety with the colonials about which gives confidence. A good half deserve the V.C.; moreover, they have some brains or we would not be here, the colonial with all his boasting and talk is really the better man. Our brigades are brigades no longer, but still they are good and won’t be beaten. I am truly proud to be a New Zealand officer.”

In referring to the wreck of the Etuden, and the prospects of salvage, a Singapore correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald says : —“ On passing the wreck at the end of last month, on the voyage to Singapore, I noticed that the ship had apparently broken her back. All the gutted after-part where I had walked about taking photos of the damage done is now under water, and her remaining mast has gone. She has evidently only started breaking up quite recently, as a ship passed a fortnight before we did, and then the Emden appeared quite normal. It is evident, therefore, that she is feeling the strain at last; and no wonder, for huge seas pound in there day and night for six months, and the wonder is she has stood so long. It the Admiralty wanted to do anything they should have done it before last March or April. Now to hope to see her drop anchor in Port Jackson is to be either unduly optimistic, or to realise one of the finest engineering feats that ever happened.’*