DOMINION TELEGRAMS.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 March 1917, Page 2

DOMINION TELEGRAMS.

FIRE ON LAKE STEAMER. Invercargill, March 5. The lake steamer Mountaineer was severely damaged by fire while lying at the wharf at Queenstown. Prices are no particulars. ' ARBITRATION COURT, Wellington, March 5. The Arbitration Court opened to-day. A formal application was made in the following cases in which complete agreements had been arrived at between the parties:—Wellington slaughtermen's dispute; Wellington pullers' dispute; Wellington bookbinders' dispute and typographical workers' dispute. In the lastmentioned case Mr. Pirani said that an application had been filed for local awards, but the agreement was for a Dominion award. The president said there would be no difficulty about the withdrawal of thel ocal claims. ART UNION REGULATIONS. •Wellington, March S. Hon. W. G. Russell, interviewed today, said: T notice that recently there has been some criticism of the Government with regard to the issue of permits for raffles and art unions for patriotic purposes. It may be pointed out that, under the Gaming Act, raffles ana art unions of works of art, pictures, etc., belonging to or exhibited at art exhibitions have always been allowed. In 1915, when the National Government was formed, there was practically a gambling mania throughout New Zealand. The papers were full of art union advertisements, and the whole thing had gone beyond bounds. Legislation was, therefore, brought down allowing the Minister for Internal Affairs to issue permits for art unions for patriotic purposes, under severe restritions. It '\vas provided that any prize that was to be auctioned must be an absolute gift, and the law had been strictly administered on the following lines: (1) In no case have art .union tickets been allowed to be sold under a permit outside the provincial district in which the art union .originated; and (2) the same rule lias, applied to advertising. As a result, ('>•• whole matter has been brought urn' .■ direct control, and the evils which attached to art unions for patriotic purposes have been practically abolished."