NEWS OF THE DAY

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIV, Issue 10297, 4 June 1919, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

A conference on agricultural education—primary, secondary, and university—is to be opened in Wellington today. It is hoped by those interested that as a result of the conference agricultural education will bo'placed on a sounder basis than it now has.

"Is the condition of your face tho outcome of last night's drunk?" asked Mr F. V. Frazer, S.M., of a firsloffending inebriate who appeared in tho dock at the Magistrate's Court yesterday. The defendant, a big man, ivho was cut, scratched, and bruised about the face in a shocking manner, smiled, and informed -the • magistrate that he received his injuries when drunk, but he did not know haw. Senior-Sergeant "Willis stated that the defendant was found near the morgue, and was evidently qualifying for entrance .thereto. "Tho accused," said Mr Frazer, "has been sufficiently punished. He will bo convicted and discharged."

Yesterday : , morning. the members 61 the' reserves committee and the outlying -districts committee of . the City Council, accompanied by the Mayor and officers of the council, visited Northland and the whole of Onslow. They were met by gentlemen interested in each locality, and were shown the urgent needs from the residents' point of view. Members of the engineer's department brought under their notice the most urgent future works, and they returned to town after having lunch; at.ctlK* Qns.lo^„Tow,n : Hall. ,;The maftoVs spoken of yesterday will como under review by the committees concerned at an early date.

The need for earnest and decvoted consideration of the social problems of today was emphasised by Commissioner T. H. Howard, of the Salvation Army, at the civic reception to him at Auckland. "We gat through the transition period from peace to war more quickly than it ever seemed possible," ho said, "but it will take much longer, and bo even harder, for the nation; to-readjust itself from war to peace. Many great problems which touch the social life ot the nation have emerged from the war, and old conditions can never return. Now demands must be faced, new relationships adjusted, and only by wifcdom and/patience and skill on the part of rulers and people alike can these great questions be solved."

An exhibition of Association football yositerd&y nftornoon ut tho waterfront was quite a diversion from the usual sober atmosphere associated with the Sabbath, especially so in view of the fact that the participants were Javaneso, members of tho crew of the Royal Dutch Packet steamer Boggerveen (saya the "Auckland Star" of Monday). Tho vessel is berthed alongside the Central wharf, where a spaco was found where tho game could bo indulged in without fear of tho ball bouncing into the Waitematu. Goal-posts were marked out and a referee appointed. The opposing teams, barefooted with the exception of the goalkeepers, gave an amusing if not altogether spectacular exhibition of the national game of England. Some of the competitors displayed more than a hazy knowledge of the gamo, and risked their bare feet against tho hard ball and concrete surface quite nonchalantly. Tho lloggerveeit w&» thrown open to tho public, who surged up and down tho gangway throughout the afternoon. This is her first visit to New Zealand.

A conference of vocational officers was held recently in Wellington to consider many points which have arisen in connection with -their work among soldiers who are sick and disabled. As a result of an exchange of views, tho work of the educational and vocational training branch of tho Defence Department will receive great,impetus, and its operations will be extended. Tho vocational training Btaff has grown to over fifty, and as now demunds for instruction come forward it is being steadily increased. Workshops have been provided at Auckland, llotorua, Napier, Trontiham, Christchurch, Hanmer, Timaru, Duncdin, and Invercargill. Instructors have beqn appointed to teach trades suitable to hospital patients, such as boot repairing, carpentry, cabinet making, motor engineering, and business course*. In some hospitals instruction by way of lectures is also given in economics and civics. It has been found, however, that the soldiers tisually prefer to interest' themselves in vocational rather than educational work. It is the duty of the vocation officer to interview overy soldier patient, and {jet hhn interested in his future civilian activities, and to start his training before leaving tlio hospital. There are 1302 patient* at tho hospitals in New Zealand, and tho out-patients" number 1871.

Tbe Industries Committee of the Houso of' Representatives will resume tho taking of evidence in Wellington this morning.

The annual reunion of members of the Sixth New Zealand Mounted Uifles was held in Wellington on Monday night. Mr F. Beamish presided over a large gathering.

» Tho Mayor is calling a pubjic meeting to bo held nest Monday night to make arrangements for an appeal for funds in connection with the Young Women's Christian Association.

The ferry steamer Mararoa, which was to have left Wellington at 7.45 o'clock last evening for Lyttelton, was delayed for about, an hour through a. couple of her firemen absenting themselves from the ship. Eventually, as tho absentees failed to put in an appearance the ship's storekeeper and a greaser signed on as firemen for the run, and the vessel sailed for the south.

After three years spent in experiments, ono of \the directors of the gasworks at Bergen, Norway, in co-opera-tion with one" of the cleverest chemists in the country,, has invented a new method for making coal gas by which tho costs of production are reduced by SO per cent. By the new method every ton of coal produces 500 cubic- metres of gas as against 300 at present.

"I did not know there were so many ne-act plays in the country," said Mr Ue Courville recently to a member of tho "Daily News" staff, with reference to the announcement that he would produce a Grand Guignol programme at tho Little Theatre,, London. He has, he said, been snowed undor by plays. They now number about 1200. They arrive by every post—ono arrived as ho was speaking; They are by authors known and unknown. He has been obliged .to engage two experts to read them, but has not yet fixed on any.

The will if Mr William Michael Kossetti, brother of Dante Rossetti, has been proved at £26,58U. To his daughter Olivia lie leaves, in addition to certain letters, "a fragment (enclosed in a locket) of the skull of Percy B. Shelley," and to his son "all copyrights and bookrights of published works of which I die possessed, principally the works of Dante and Christina Rossetti, published or unpublished." To his daughter Helen he bequeaths among other things "a sofa which used to being to Percy B. Shelley." A breastpin which formerly belonged to Napoleon I. is given to his daughter Mary. Considerable sums are left to charities.

A hoax was perpetrated in London recently on several hundred people who had purchased tickets for a, inntinee, which it was stated would bo held "at the Holborn Empiro in aid of limbless soldiers and sailors of the great war." The iirst intimation whioh the management of the Empire had of the affair was tho assembling of a crowd of people early in: the- afternoon.. The victims' of .the: hoax" aeeepted'.tho situation philosophically. Some had puichased tickets on April Ist. The fraud appears to have been carried out by a man dressed as a private, and wearing a blue hospital band on his sleeve. A good many mora victims presented themselves at the holborn Empire the following night.

The Defence Department has decided to doublo tho allowance paid to soldiers ; who "arc- -undergoing 'treatment in hospital-bat who'are not provided with board - and lodgings.- The allowance was two shillings per day, but as it is recognised that this is inadequate under the existing conditions, the rate in future will be four shillings per day. In order to protect soldier patients from abuses which would interfere with their successful medical treatment and recovery, power is given to the military authorities to make stoppages of pay for, neglect to wear the proper badges indicating that they ar« undergoing treatment and for offences which aro prejudicial' to the success of treatment and recovery.

Before the Royal Geographical Society, Major ,J. B. Nool,, Machine-gun Coups, gave an account of a journey to Tashirak, in Southern Tibet, and the eastern approaches to Mount Everest. He said that a photographic survey of the mountain-by aeroplane was possible, because a direct flight nDd return could he made from the plains of India without the necessity of landing in the mountains, but a greater difficulty -was found in the high winds of Tibet. Major Noel undertook the journey to Tashirak in 1913 to reconnoitre the approaches to Mount Everest beyond the Sikkim frontiers in Southern Tibet. The party met with considerable resistance from the inhabitants. Some day, however, he said, tile political difficulties would be overcome, and a fully-equipped expedition must explore and map Everest.

The following statement was made to a "New Zealand Times" reporter last night by Captain T. H. Jones, secretary of the Wellington Rugby Union: — Owing to the action of the chairman of tho union in notifying me that an informal meeting heid at 11 a.m. yesterday requested my. withdrawal as ret'oree in the Maori match, I am resigning the hon. secretaryship of the union. At tho chairman's suggestion I referred the appointment as referee in the match to the weekly meeting of tho Referees' Association on Monday night, when the appointment was unanimously confirmed. The matter was not raised at an official meeting with the Maori managers at 9.30 a.m. yesterday, but on reaching home later I was informed by Mr W. F. Hornig of the above request. It is understood that of tho eleven members of the executive the following were not present at tho informal meeting:—Messrs J. Prendoville. J. N. Millard, W. W. Cook, E. H. Ward, G. Jackson, H. Buck and W. H. Donovan.

"During the last two or three years there have been some noticoablo ohanges so raj- as thermal activity is concerned," remarked Mr 11. M. Algie. a member of tho Ruapehu Ski-iug Club, to a Wanganui '"Chronicle" reporter. "The great geyser at Ketetahi, on Tongariro, now sends out its column of steam and boiling water some 15ft or 20ft from where it originally was. The largo crater and vent-hole at Ngauruhoo were muoh filled during the last eruption, and the crater is now shallower by about 200 ft. The large crater lake on Ruapehu appears to have been fairly active also, for the snow slopes leading down to the lake seem to be much more heavily coated with sulphur. lam not sufficiently acquainted with volcanic phenomena," concluded Mr Algie, "to Say that another eruption of Ngnuruhoe is imminent, but during my stay this time a column "of black smolce did issue from the crater, and I believe this has not happened for some time. This ?"-/S----eibility of volcanic disturbance adds only ono more wonder to the vast attritions of this most interesting district.'!