SUNDAY TRADING

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 8, Issue 85, 8 April 1916, Page 4

SUNDAY TRADING

That inscrutable law on Sunday trading still remains offensive to one's intelligence. We understand it just about in the same way as a horse understands a cut from a whip, or a dog a kick from a passionate master, but it will not appeal to human understanding or reason. Last Sunday, in Auckland, a little girl, thirteen years of age went to see a girl friend, the daughter, of poor people who keep a small sweet shop. In coming away the little one paid for three-penny-worth of sweets and left by the front door. A policeman pounced upon her and the child who sold her friend the sweets was taken to Court, convicted, and fined. Of course, we know -how to do things better in Taihape, and perhaps there will be some people who will say, "Serve the little fool right. Why didn't she go out the back door?" Yes, if we inculcate one of the most detestable traits any Character can be tainted with the law on Sunday trading doesn't touch us. If that child had been a crafty, knowing sneak the policeman would have been helpless. A roaring trade in cigarettes, tobacco, and fruit can be transacted via the back door, but don't commit the indiscretion of selling threepennyworth of sweets to the honest, innocent child you allow to go out of the front door, because that door is visible from the street, the back door isn't. Oh, no! it doesn't matter at all about being seen coming away from the shop by the path to the back door ,so long as that door is screened from being seen from the street. No one is punished for keeping his business going on Sunday, selling anything and everything; customers can be seen coming from the alley-way leading to the back door from which the business is done, but a one-eyed justice is awaiting the indiscreet ass who allows a pennyworth to be sold to an innocent child that goes out by the front door. The low cunning of the sophisticated sneak goes unharmed while the innocent child is. convicted .and. fined. Isn't there a Hunnish breeze about this?

Mr. Hughes, the Prime Minister of. th e Comonwealth, is rapidly progressing. Apropos of the reopening of the Panama Canal, several shipowners are arranging for vessels to adopt that route. .•:

The annual meeting of householders for th e election of a se-hool committee for the ensuing year will be held in: all schools' op Mondajy 17th' April 191 G. Nominations, signed by the proposers and candidates, are to be delivered to the Chairman of th e School Committee by -8 p.m. on Monday, 10th April, or nominations may be made at the annual meeting.

For the Palmerston North races holiday excursion tickets to Palmerston, available for return until loth April, will be issued from Taihape and all intermediate stations on 12t- T i April to travel by the 6.5 a.m. train from Taihape on the 13th April. Particulars of return journey are given in an advertisement in another column.

A Gazette Extraordinary contains an important new war regulation dealing with th e custody and control of enemy property, anad giving the Governmentextensive powers in dealing with trading with the enemy. The AttorneyGeneral may impose special restrictions on any business he believes is being conducted by or on behalif of enemy persons or companies.

The Indian Government has advised the New Zealand Government that export of refined saltpetre from India for meat curing purposes is only permissible on receipt of applications from the New Zealand Government. Metc-hants requiring supplies can only obtain them through the Department of Agriculture The exportation of crude saltpetre from India remains prohibite'd.

The Government has decided to observe a half-holiday on April 25th, to commemorate Anzac Day, and appeal? to th e churches to hold special religious services on that day, and, w-hiie sports or other entertainments are deprecated, the people are invited to display flags wherevoT possible. The New Zealand Ensign will be flown on public buildings 1 .

A Melbourne cable states that the Hon. H. Malion announced the formation of a co-operative company to de-~ with tbe metal/industry. There is every prospect of it being placed on a footing free from the possibility of German control in future. Every mining and treatment company at Broken Hill lias been brought into the Broken Hi"'l Smelting Proprietary, excepting the Sulphide Corporation, which possessed its own metallurgical works. .|,. j J.

A Tourist pus-heart is advertised for sale in another column. A capable general servant is required by Mrs. W. A. Todd, Taihape. A Melbourne cable states that the export of pepper and capsicums from the Commonwealth has been prohibited, unless with the consent of the Minister.

The difficulty of obtaining suitable wood for safety matches is claimed to have been overcome by manufacturers in Melbourne, who may be able in time be able to supply this market, which is now very bare of Britishmade safeties.

Owing to the depleted staff of the Deeds and Stamp Offices, Cabinet has issued instructions that no further officers from those departments can be allowed to leave to join the Eeinforcements.

Watch for the sale of produce, homemade cakes, jams, etc., at the Eed Cross Depot, on Wednesday, 12th April. The Committee hopes to -have a good stock to offer to the public, at startlingly low prices.

Members of the Taihape Bowling Club gathered at the Eailway Station this morning to bid goodbye to their late greenkeeper, Mr. Jackson, who is leave Taihape, and presented him with a silver-mounted pipe as a token of goodwill.

The work-room at th e Red Cross Depot presented a busy scene last night. It was the girls' night, and nimble fmgers,light laughter, and jokes, all) helped to make the task .of providing for our. soldiers an easier one. There is much to be done in the way of Red Cross work, and all who are willing to work should attend the girls' night every Friday from 7.45 p.m. till 9.45 p.m.

The "white feather" nuisance is still in existence, and, as frequently happens, the senders of the - same continue to show a disregard of the facts connected with these to whom feathers are sent. One of these anonymous nuisances the other day sent a feather to Mn E. Baddely, a well-known Kaka-ta-hi setter. The injustice of the proceeding may be judged from the fact that'Mr. Baddely has sent four boys to the front, on e of whom was killed nt Gallipoli, while two are so far under age that they are still at school, and the only remaining one has volunteered twice, but has each time been rejected as medically unfit.

A Pleyel piano, valued at not less than £750, whic-h was. on view at the Auckland Exhibition of 1914, has. been given to the Auckland Patriotic Fund by the Pleyel Company and the English and Foreign Piano Company, with the suggestion that it should be disposed of by means of an art union, Mr. E. A. Craig, in announcing the gift to a meeting of the executive, expressed the confident -uope that £I,OOO would be realised by the sale of half-crown tickets, which promised to be taken up eagerly both in Auckland and in other ports of the Dominion. Apropos of nr' unions, it may be mentioned P % ~

launch given by a Russell resident for raffling at the recent Queen Carnival hrd been, returned to the fund by th" vinner (Mr. E. P. Dansev, of The vessel is valued at £3OO, and it is to be disposed of by t-he joint ers (Messrs. E. A. Craig and A. f*. Bankart.)

A conference of members of local bodies in Wanganui, Taumarunui, and adjacent districts, held to discuss the unsatisfactory state of the Wanganui River, was attended by Messrs. W. A. Veitch, G. V. Pearce,! W. T. Jennings, and R. W. Smith, M.P.'s, and others. It was said the river was almost unnavigable in places as the result of floods last yeajr, and the River Trust was unablte to remedy the position, as it was largely dependent on Government grants. The questions of rating lands served by the rives and of asking for a Royal Commission of Inquiry were discussed. Ultimately, it was decided to request the Government to take over the management and control of the riven and run a State steamer service under control of the Railway Department. A deputation is going to Wellington to lay the matter before the Prime Minister. '

An important alteration is to be made in the? homeward voyage from New Zealand of the steamers of the Shaw, Savill/, and Albion Line. The vessels will now make a call at Sydney. These vessels -have in the past gone from New Zealand to London, via South. America. They will in future go across to Sydney, and proceed from there to Capetown, en route to London. This alteration in route (says the Sydney Morning Herald) will be appreciated by shippers and passengers for South Africa, as the services between Sydney and Capetown have been seriously affected since the outbreak of the war. The first steamer to adopt the new Homeward route will be th e Arawa, leaving about the end of April, :•; , : i < ;

A new company (private) has been formed to provide closer relations between James Buchanan and Co. and John Dewar and Sons, whisky distillers, with a capital of £5,000,000.

The cost of the construction of Trentham Camp from t-he date of inception, together with incidental expenditure, amounted to £210,000, and Featherston Camp to £145,000.

The Board of Trade has finished taking evidence in Canterbury, and has left for the AVest Coast, where evidence relative to the prices of coal, flour, and bread will be heard.

Since the beginning of the war 60 prisoners of war have been brought to New Zealand from Samoa. At the present time, including the (i 0 named, there are 243 prisoners of war on Somes Island, and 56 in Auckland.

New York official statistics prove the effect of the increased stringency in the blockade. Cotton exports to Holland have only been one-tenth since August, to Norway one-eighth, to Sweden one-twentieth, and to Denmark practically nil.

Varied excitements fell to the lot of Port Chalmers recently amongst incidents of greater moment, says the Otago Daily Times. Some firemen belonging to the Warrimoo, animated apparently by a spirit of rivalry, set about providing a eounttT-attraction-to the arrival of the Aurora, and they succeeded. At one of the local hotels they were refused liquor, and they chose a novel way of accomplishing t-heir revenge. At the door of the hotel they armed themselves with a number of empty lemonade- bottles, and using these as hand grenades bombarded the interior of the bar with deadly effect. Damage estimated at close on £2 resulted, and as a consequence the three men will appear before the Court, when they will -nave an opportunity of making redress.

Once a drummer boy in the British Army, but now a dog-breeder and J.P. in t-he United States, Mr. Frederick Philip Kirby has come into a huge fortune of £OOO,OOO (says the New York World). H e is an Irishman from County Kildane, his present home being at Gloucester, New Jersey. This lucky legatee was discovered after an exhaustive search by an English firm of solicitors, and proved his claim chiefly by producing a Bible presented to him by the testatrix'rirbn J <J tiV-ifly-leVs • of-w-hich was inscribed his name. It was an aunt, named Mary Kirby , N of County Kildare, who left him her* fortune.

Lieutenant Scotland (the New Zealand aviator) says that he left Bombay on February 27 on his return to New Zealand. He had- a severe attack of .malaria, which made it imperative for him to get out of Mesopotamia/ The first enemy the British had to fig-ht there, he said, was the el'imate, which was just about intolerable, and was responsible for a tremendous amount of sickness among the troops. As an instance, he quoted the ease of 32 aviation mechanics who went out from Engl&nd, and in three days 25 of them were down with fever. Th e fact of the matter was that the climate was not a white man's climate at all, and this greatly increased tie difficulties of an already difficult campaign.