LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 1988, 10 June 1919, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Accounts amounting’ to £577 3s 8d were passed for payment at last night’s meeting’ of the Borough Council.

The Allies are likely lo lay down the maximum German indebtedness at between £8,000,000,000 and £lO,000,000,000.

A, sensational ‘'unwritten law’’ case has occurred at Bodmin, England, where Xieludis, a miner, was acquitted >.m a charge of the manslaughter of Captain SchilT, who figured in the Billie Carlelou ease. Sell iff was a notorious profligate, lie was spending a holiday, and tried (<> lure Nicholls’ seventeen-•wear-old daughter to London by means of immoral loiters. Xieholls interviewed Sc hi If, a tight resulted, and Sehitf died.

Tragedy and comedy are common owing to the coal trouble in Waitara (says the Taranaki Herald). One old man with plenty of money lias jo go to bed to keep warm, because his money cannot buy coal (hat is not. Another man went home to lea; there was no tea for him because the wife had not the wherewithal to make a fire, and she had gone to bed in cold desperation. It is not a ease of there being a shortage of fuel, for there is none at all, and if other towns arc as badly off as IVaitara is, then they must lie verv badlv off indeed.

A parehment commission signed by His Excellency (he GovernorGeneral, and the Hon. the Minister

of Defence, is issued to every commissioned officer who was appointed direct lo (lie Expeditionary Force, but over two thousand have failed to apply to Base Records for this important document. The commissions await applications from their owners, and a number of King’s - Commissions are also Hied there, to bo distributed in the same way. The latter are to be issued to all officers, Avhcther appointed to the N.Z. Expeditionary Force direct, or transferred to it from the Territorial Force.

There are 27 women cow testers in different parts of the United States. Considering; that the testers get free beard and lodging, the •pay is thought satisfactory. The women are paid (lie same as the men, and receive from oOdoi. (£10) to 75d01. (£1.5) a month, besides boafd and lodging. Conveyance to the next farm is furnished in some associations, while in others the tester provides her own conveyance and the farmers furnish free stable room and feed for her horse. The work does not require grout physical strength. It does demand some training, but this is easily acquired by women, and, even (hough with ■he demobilisation of the army, many male testers will bo available for their old line of work, it is quite probable (remarks the Queenslander) that because woman testers have done so well they will continue to bo employed. The dearth of vacant houses is not peculiar to the huge centres. The Gisborne Times says an instance occurred only the other day in, which an outgoing tenant who was not due lo give up possession for three more weeks was offered £5 by an eager home-seeker if he would forego his right to occupy the house for the remainder of (he term. In many cases (hose afflicted with the house-hunger are buying a home, in the hope of escajnng from their predicament. Where it is found that the wife of a soldier is the occupier, the purchaser, however, not infrequently “falls in,” for he cannot secure possession, under the Jaw as it no\V stands, unless the occupier, in such a case, is prepared to move out. The loss of the intended occupancy as well as the locking up of 1 lie usually heavy deposit on the property, is, in such an instance, a double misfortune. RUSTY NAIL. Everyone knows the danger of a wound from a rusty nail, and how important it is to give the wound immediate attention. Do not delay, cleanse the wound with warm water, and then apply Chamberlain’s Rain Balm freely. Bind up the wound for protection, and in a few days you will find that it has healed without leaving a scar. For sale cveryv. here. —Advt,

There were present at the monthly meeting of the Borough Council held last night: The Mayor (Mr J. Chrystall) and Cr.s. Rand, Coley, Parkin, Walker, Bryant, Pearson, and Thompson. An apology for absence was received from Cr. McMurray. A curious case of loss of hair from lightning is described by Dr. H. T. Ashby in the British Medical Journal.' Three Manchester children were in bed when the house was

struck, all lying on their right side. A fori night later tho hair on the let! side of the children's-heads began to come out, and in a few days this side was quite bald. The right side, which was protected by the pillow, escaped. Now,'three months after the lightning, the "hair is slowly growing again. According to the Bradford Wool Record, the number of sheep in Germany has dwindled from 7,700,000 in 1912 to about 4,000,00(T The total number of sheep in England and Wales on June 41 h last was 10,475,180, a decrease of 004,080, or 4 per cent., compared with the previous year. Breeding ewes have decreased 5.0 per cent. The total number of sheep is the smallest ever kept, as far as official records can show. In Bra/.cl sheep numbered 10,594,930 in 1912, but in 191 (J they bad fallen to 1,204,920. A large number of settlers gathered at the Presbyterian Church, Shannon, to say farewell to Mr and Mrs Saunders and Mrs Hyde, last week. The Rev. Mr Wheeldon presided. In an appropriate speech the chairman presented. Mr and Mrs Saunders with a silver tea service, the gift of a number of friends. The chairman emphasised the good work done by Mr and Mrs Saunders hi church and social affairs. Mrs Hyde was presented by the chairman with a silver cake dish for her good work in connection with the Red Cross.

.Says tiie Waivarapa Age:—lt is an indisputable fact that woollen goods manufactured in New Zealand are at present being sold at extravagant prices. The woollen companies may have to pay as high as Is fid per lb, for their wool, and (he labour and other charges may show an increase. But there is no Justification for the extortionate prices that are being charged for the manufactured article. The local 1 .rices are, of course, regulated by the prices of imported goods. But why should this be so ? Why should the manufacturing firms take advantage of the necessities of the people for lining their pockets ? The Government has a duty to perform in this matter.

Iron coins, which have Just been introduced into Italy through the scarcity of copper, were first revied for modern Europe by Austria soon after the great war began. They are no novelty, but a kind of Darwinian “reversion of type” in the evolution of numismatics. Cumbrous iron .aid bronze ingots formed a, medium of exchange long before Dheidon, King of Argos, struck (lie first silver coins in the temple of the love goddess at Acgina, which was (he earliest European mint. Coins of iron circulated for centuries‘among the Chinese, hut finally fell to a third of (heir value owing to the dishonesty of the Government. Few would guess, however, that iron rings, mads in Birmingham, still furnish the most popular currency among certain sale fellow-subjects of our own yn the West Coa-d of Africa. One of the Otago soldiers who fought at the Somme in 101.(1 revisited (he district at the end of last August, and to his astonishment found uncommonly fine crops of grain being reaped at Fleurs and Pozieres, from ground that had been so torn by shellfire and covered will) battle litter as to be apparent!,''/ destroyed for agriculture. Heavy rains the previous winter had run the shell craters together, and a light ploughing was (ho only necessary preparation after picking up the iron and steel from the surface. Many shells lie buried in these fields, some to a depth of GO feel. They are located with a magnet, and will stay there quite harmless, even if (hey have not exploded, for the life of a. shell in a dry store is estimated at only live years, and when in earth to which dam]) has access the charges will gradually decompose and pass into the air. That, at any rate, is the belief of (he French farmer.-.—Dunedin .Star,

While in the Pialclullm district lately, Mr A, Harris, M.P., was impressed by the.large area of land on oil her side of (lie Chi Ilia River which had been buried under several indies of sand as a result of the roeont floods. The whiter feed was, of course, utterly destroyed, ami it was evident, lie said, that the farmers of the district were in for a very hard period. It appeared, in fact, that the country foxhalf a mile or more in depth on both banks of the river was totally ruined for agricultural purposes, as the deposit, which in many places was from fifteen to eighteen inches deep, was not soil alluvial, hat pure sand. In other parts, where the silt had not been deposited, the turnip and oilier crops had been quite destroyed by the flood wafers. Further north he noticed that the country, „ notwithstanding the recent rains, seemed to he slow in recovering from the effects of the long drought, and there again it was clear that the wintering of the stock would he a serious problem, the rain having come too late to produce anything like a satisfactory growth of grass.

Ipipoc at 1/3 per Ih,, at Bauekluim’s.*

Brigadier-General N. B. Hudson, • Royal Berkshire Regiment, aged 25, is believed to be the youngest general in the British Army. Brigadi-er-General R. B. Bradford, V.C., who was killed in 1917, attained the , .. rank at the same age. ’ ' * -

In addition to the assistance in connection with the Children's Ball already acknowledged, ' Mrs Grant . desires also’ to thank Mr Christie for loan of ribbons for Maypole dance, and Messrs Robertsons for valuable assistance rendered.

At last night’s* Council meeting the following tenders were received for culling line and erecting fence (labour only) on the Target Reserve: —Mr W. Davey, (is per. elm in; MV F. J. Hooker, (is (id per chain: and Messrs Prew and Kelly, 8s per chain. The tender of Mr IV. Davey was accepted.

The sale of the periodical publication milled Novi Svijet (New World), published at Auckland by or on behalf of the Jugo-Slav Publishing Company, is prohibited by .the Attorney-General in a Gazette Extraordinary that has been The prohibition is issued as the publication is deemed to lie injuri- . ous to the public interest in respect of the war.

At last night's Council meeting the question of the sanitary inspector's salary and duties, was dealt with in committee, and on resuming business it was decided, on the motion of Cr. Bryant, seconded by Cr. Walker, that the Inspector's, wages be increased to 12s per day, and that this amount cover payment for all services as at present rendered by him, and that he be required to work 48 hours per week on these duties together with work’, on the road and at the gasworks.

The commission which is examining the mined villages of France has come sadly to the conclusion that’many of: (hem cannot be rebuilt. Vaux, near Verdun, which wa.s so heroically defended, is one of these, and now Hie mayors of! (wo other historic hamlets, Douaumont end Fleury, have informed their fellow-citizens, who have taken refuge in different parts of .France, that the German Ims made them exiles for life. The soil cannot be cultivated, and the ruins are so full of hidden dangers that rebuilding is impossible.

A warrant has been issued appointing Sir Robert. Stout DeputyGovernor of New Zealand during the absence of the Governor-Gen-eral from the seat of Government. The warrant will remain in force until His Excellency’s return to Wellington, as the Deputy-Gover-nors Act authorises the appointment of a deputy during the Govor-ner-Gcneral’s absence from the seat of Government or from Now Zealand. During a part of his tour in (he Islands the Governor-General will bo away from New Zealand territory, for Tutuila is American, Tonga is not under New Zealand control, nor is Fiji, and Samoa is as yet only under military occupation.

A number of loeal bowlers met at (be pavilion yesterday afternoon for the purpose of making a presentation from members of the Club to Mr T. Dimmer, who leaves Fox lon this week for Tauranga. The president (Mr F. D. Whibley) made the presentation, which took the form of a case of pipes, and in doing so referred to Mr Rburner's long connection with the Club, lie having been a member since its formation, anil was also a past president. He asked Mr Dimmer to accept the presentation with the host wishes of the members of the Club for Ids future welfare. Mr Dimmer suitably responded.

A pathetic tale was told of a bright little half-caste Maori hoy, who was charged with being without sufficient control, before Mr F. K. Hunt, S.M., in (lie Juvenile Court at Auckland. It was stated that the child, of illegitimate birth, was the son of a woman who had been lound living in the Domain, and who, for the offence, had been sent lo a reformative home for two years. Before she left, however, she buried a bag of money in the Domain. Upon her release she dug np the treasure, and again resorted to her wild life. Finally she was dispatched by the police* to her people at: Thames. .Since then no (race of the woman could he found, and her child was left to the care of a friend. As he grew up, however, he resorted lo his mother’s way of living, stayed away from school, and one night, no! long ago, he was found curled up beside a dog in a sawmill. On the suggestion of a policeman, the child was committed to the Deceiving Home. “But what is his age t” asked the magistrate. Of this some doubt existed, so the magistrate relieved the situation by saying, “Oh, the court will fix his age.”