NEW ZEALAND NEWS.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 220, 6 September 1917, Page 5

NEW ZEALAND NEWS.

FIRE AT NORSEWOOD. DANNEVIRKE, this day. The Crown Hotel and Andresen s store, at were totally destroyed by fire last night. A gale Vas blowing, and nothing was saved. The licensee, H. Andresen, is a heavy loser. THE MORTGAGE TAX. SIR JOSEPH WARD S OFFER. WELLINGTON, Sept 5. Referring to criticisms of the mortgage tax, Sir Joseph Ward ? Minister for Finaifce, stated this evening that if he established this system he would have to revert to the one in existence prior to last year. He claimed that the mortgage tax system did not' 4 mean the taxing of debts. Sub-section 2 of section 4 of the Bill showed an effort to meet small mortgages. He was prepared to extend the exemption under sub-section 2b in clause 4 from £SOOO to £6OOO. He, was not prepared to go any further. If anyone could suggest a remhe would gladly consider it. SEDITIOUS UTTERANCE. • WAIHI MAN IMPRISONED. PRISONER’S PARTING SHOT. WAIHI, Sept 5. A man named Bramwell Robinson pleaded guilty at the Magistrate’s Court to-day to the,charge of having used certain words which, in the opinion of the Court, constituted a seditious utterance. He was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment. When a request by,the accused for time in which to settle his business affairs before going. to gaol was refused he remarked; “German militarism is pretty bad here.” RAILWAYMEN'S CONFERENCE. PAY IN STORES BRANCH. DtJKEDIN, Sept 5. The annual conference of branches of the New Zealand Railway Officers Institute opened to-day. A telegram was received from the General Manager of Railways, Mr E. H. Hiley, expressing the Department’s appreci«tion of the assistance given by all rades of railwaymen during the war crisis. ! The conference unanimously " resolved that the attention ,of the Department should be drawn to the fact tha many positions in the stores branch were considerably underpaid in comparison with the other branch es of the service, and that the Department should make the necessary promotions to rctify the grievance. A motion for the election of an executive, with headquarters at Wellington, was defeated, bat it was resolved to set up a sub-committee resident in Wellington, to place the views of the executive before the management.