NEWS IN BRIEF.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 99, 2 June 1914, Page 10

NEWS IN BRIEF.

The Canterbury Drivers'. Union is •holding its annual meeting on Thursday j • night. • . .■ , . v • ■ I ; At present there are a-number of •general labourers unemployed in Christ- - ehureh, and the secretary of. the General Labourers' Union is kept busy each morning dealing with" applications. Mr G. R. Whiting, secretary of the United Federation of Bootmakers' Operatives, left for the north last night to take up organisation work' amongst the federated unions on behalf of the Social-Democratic Party and the United Federation of Labour. The health' of the province appears to be gobd at present, as Dr Finch, District Health Officer, states beyond one case of infantile paralysis in South Canterbury and a few cases of diphtheria, there is no infectious disease to be considered. . ; Mr H. G/ Ell, M.P., informs us that j .the Minister of Lands has authorised, the grading of .the Summit Road through Gebbie's Pass, round to the IPort Levy-Kaituna Pass. Mr E. Dc C. . !3*ury, Government Surveyor, is now en.gaged on the work. , At a.meeting, of the Board, of Control •of Lancaster-Park last evening, it was decided" that an offer made by Mr W. .Lints, of New Plymouth,, to organise ;a carnival in aid of Lancaster Park, on linep-*to the carnival ' -which organised in Wanganui, | -should be 'aceepted. The carnival will; . 7]be held in November. .j Six new members were elected at the ineeting of the 'Junior Philatelic Society •of New Zealand held last, night in the ".Boys' Gordon Hall. It was decided to . ihold" a debate at the next meeting on j ■the subject, "That it is more advisable -to collect obsolete stamps than current :issueg." Messrs W; Wilson and K. "Watts displayed their collections and •explained them. i _ ' The tramway services to-morrow will; . "be holiday time table (15-ininute ser- ; vice)- on the Cashmere Hills, Edgeware and . Sumner-,Woolston lines, if . itne> weather is fine. Ordinary -time"table will be observed on all other ."lines;; Seaside excursion tickets;• (nine•pence return). will not be issued. In connection with the trotting meeting at •Sockburn,. a special service of cars will be run from Cathedral Square, comjneiicing at 10.30 a.m. The 10.40 a.m., :iri4o7 ajn., and v1'2.40 pan. - time-table - *caTs will run- out via .'Sockburn, and' Tectum via Coach Corner. The 4.15 time-tjable car will, run put via .';;' : "Cda<& Corner/and return via Sockburn. Bmand was made to the Taranaki ion Board last -week by a depu"the; jnembers, of which urged the 1 ofateacher. The chief apokesas the., chairman* b£ the; cbmxnite complakied that the teacher in n punished the children too severely. Another member of the com- .' jnittee said that therdissatisfaction with the teafcher 'had been so great that he •and others had been elected to ;the committee on the express ticket that they should-secure a change. One of his boys, he 1 said, had 4 received 2s. 'cpta qn one occasion from the teacher.Comment was, made by. members of the board that the committee had not in' fairness to the teacher held or asked ' for - an- enquiry. "When 'further itfter-' - xogated, one of the deputation admitted< that, rightly or wrongly, they wantg.4«. , tUto teac&er rembvedln'accordance with the wishexpressedat the householders' meeting? The chief inspector produced ; to show that .prior to the teacher " talcing charge the school had,got .into, an .inefficient slate. Since his (appoint-• v ment the -reports have been, very'good.- ..■> The board'fot3nd there-was Ti6t sufficient : grounds for an enquiry. .

The Municipal Court at Chicago has decided not to board out children to childless parrenta.-up.lpss . the -Municipal Psychological Laboratory certifies to the physical, and mental soundness of the adult people concerned. —Press Association.

Mr C. L. Clifford's .hunter Dundee, bred in "Canterbury (New Zealand), was brought back to the Dominion on board the Rotorua, which arrived in Wellington yesterday. Mr , Clifford hunted with Dundee in North Staffordshire, and now intends to hunt with him in Canterbury. The position of officer commanding the Wellington military district lias, it is understood, been offered to Major Johnston, son of the Hon. C. J. Johnston, M.L.C., of Wellington, says the Wellington "Times." Major Johnston is an officer of the Imperial Army, and is at present in India. His acceptance of the post remains subject to the ap-proval-of the .War Office.

Mr H. Laracy, organiser for the Shearers' Union, came to Christchurch this morning. He says that affairs are bad in the North Island, and that in Wellington itself a thousand men are unemployed. In that number he includes those who are getting merely a day or a day and a-half's work per week,- and have to fill in.the rest of the time seeking jobs. An agreement was filed yesterday between the Licensed Victuallers' Association and the Canterbury Hotel Employees' Union, hotels in Lyttelton, Sumner, • Woolston, and New Brighton, the '' Star'' hotel (Addington) and the Papanui Hotel. The outstanding features of the agreement are the application of the six-dayT week rule and the raising of the minimum rate to £1 7/(5. . A preference clause has been a!dded by agreement differing somewhat from the Christchurch clause, the suburban hotels being allowed to engage employees on their own premises," each of whom must become a member of the union within seven days after being engaged. It is fjirtherprovided that only financial members of the union shall be employed.

Last night a meeting of the Old Lyttelton Navals' Association was held in the"Oddfellows' Hall, Lyttelton, in order to clear up certain misapprenen-. sions in regard to qualifications for membership., '.Lieutenant-Colonel Joyce presided, and there was a good attendance. It was stated that members of the old body (the present, having been in only three years) were eligible to join,.and-a number of those, present signifiedltheir intention of enrolling. - Another question discussed was the advisability of joining the National' Reserve. A member present said enrolment was a simple matter, but- the Lyttelton Navalt would prefer to take a,n. active part and be a second line' pf defence. general discussion the matter 1 was referred to the committee to deal with. : / .

Some interest. has .been. caused v by a story. of diamonds Jby a resident who has . refused to cUgclose • the \loieality in which the stones are said; to have been, found. The opinion has been expressed fsays. an Auckland paper) that, as the finder has just recently left the employment of the New Zealand Sulphur Company on White Island,, it' was more than probable that the stones, which he is said to have been inf brined on good -authority, are genuine diamonds, were ♦found ,upon the island. Examination "of the-sand--in th«-alluv"!®! *White Island has shown it to be of a diamondbearing- character, and, in addition,' sfeveral. very small olivines, minerals associated with diamonds, Jiave covered. - So which is carrying on operationsvori the: island, is aware, no genuine diamonds have ever been secured from the locality.

A meeting to arrange for the reception of visiting scientists will be held iji the City Council. Chambers at 3 p.m. on Friday. _____

Further subscriptions received by the Mayor of Christchurch toward the Open Air Home,fund are: —Mrs H. S. C. Harvey £5 5/-, T. Meighan 5/-. A meeting of residents of Linwood will be held in the Linwood Library at 3.30' p.m. on Friday in connection with the Open Air Home movement. The first meeting of creditors in the bankrupt estate of Edmund .Richard Wheeler, of Christchurch, photographer, will be held at the office of the Official Assignee, ou Tuesday, June 9, at 11 a.m. The Mayor of Christchurch (Mr H. Holland) has received the following further donations to the Coal and Blanket Fund:—Mrs Wilson £3, A. Mab £l, Mrs H. S. C. Harvey £5 5/-,' Mrs S. M. Ross £l, E. C. £1 1/-. The Mayor of Christchurch is convening a meeting, to be held in the City Council Chambers next Tuesday afternoon, of local-authorities, to make arrangements for. the reception and expenses connected therewith, of the British Town-Planning Association's delegates.

The unusual spectacle of an accused person being so sound asleep in Court as to be oblivious of what was going on was witnessed in the Wellington Magistrate's Court yesterday. The prisoner had been arrested on a charge of drunkenness, but he was slumbering so deeply on a chair in the Courtroom "that he had to be carried out by the police, on remand until to-morrow.

A close holiday will be observed at all post offices to-morrow, .Tune 3. The usual dispatch of mails , will be ■ made .up to 9 a.m. A counter.delivery of all correspondence will be made between 7.30 and S.oO p.m. on Tuesday, June 2, and owing to the arrival of the Vancouver mail to-morrow morning, a special delivery' will be made over the counter between 10 and 11 a.m.