NEWS OF THE DAY.

Colonist, Volume LX, Issue 14592, 21 December 1917, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY.

There will not be any publication of "The Colonist" on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year's Day.

A number of new advertisements will be found on page 2 of this issue.

The Mayor has received an anonymcros contribution of £1 for Mextra comforts for the orphans," and has1 handed the money to the matron of St. Andrew's Orplanage.

In connection witb the WakefieldStanley Brook motor servicej it is notified that the car will leave Wakefield at 9.30 on Monday, instead of on Christmas-Pay.

Having received a guarantee from I Nelson shopkeepers, the Railway - Department, on; the representations of the manager (Mr Turner), has agreed to run a train to and from town on Christmas Eve.

The management of "The Whip" the dramatic sporting film to be screened at the Empire Theatre on Boxing Night, have adopted a novel method of advertising. Yesterday1 afternoon two yov,ths dressed as jockeys paraded the streets, bearing placards in connection with "The Whip," and 'attracted a good deal of attention^

In the Supreme Court, in chambers, on Tuesday, His Honour Mr. Justice Hosking, on tho motion of Mr. E B Moore, grauted letters of administration with the will annexed of the estate of John Jennings Crompton, late of Umukuri, farmer, deceased, to Louie Isabella Clara Cromptonj mother of the deceased.

A fine fighting spirit is shown by a Nelson soldier, who, despite wounds received at Messines, writes as follows from England to his brother in this city; "I wish I was going back to France. It is a grand life. There are '- some wonderful sights, and a ding-' dong 'scrap' like Messines is wortb while going through. It was lovely. I can see that ridge now as I write." j

Motorists who are prepared to run Hospital patients to town on Christmas Eve between 7.30 and 830 are asked to kindly communicate with the matron of the Nelson Hospital. For the past 25 years patients from the Hospital able to go out were very thoughtfully brought into town on Christmas Jb^e by the late Mi' H. Mellett or his son, Mr G. Mellett. Air G. Mellett is now out of business, hence the necessity for asking for other volunteers for this kindly service.

At the breaking-np of the Hampden Street School, Mr E. E. Boyes (chairman of the JTown Schools Committee) presented the G. F. Sunley Memorial Prizes to the successful candidates. In addition to general excellence in school work, marks are awarded for good conduct during the year. For the boys' prize the winner was Robert Griffin, with John Kidson second. Muriel Savage was1 awarded the prize for the best girl in the class, with Lucy Jane second.

At two o'clock this afternoon His Honour Mr. Justice'Hosking will give judgment in the case of Richardson v. Gibbs, a claim for damages and trespass in connection with access to Denne's Hole, which was heard during the present sittings of the Supreme Court.

The case of Adams and Harley v. M. Barakat, a claim for £234 in connection with a contract for the erection of a shop t in Gloucester street, was concluded before His Honour Mr. Justice Hosking at the Supreme Court yesterday, judgment being reserved.

There is at present on view in "the window of Messrs. J. P. Cooke and Sons, in Hardy street, a unique drawing, claimed to have been automatically oxecuted by an Egyptian guide, Toa, through the agency of Mr John Watt, of'Waimea.street, who alleges that he is physically incapable of performing such work except under spirit influence. The drawing is said to be the Temple of Ra Haramish, built by Namer tie King 3000 8.C., which lies buried in the city of Memphis. It is .certainly a wonderful piece of work, whether executed by spirit agency or otherwise, and it is only by the aid of a magnifying glass that the mass of detail can be seen.

Attention is directed to the auction sale to be held at Stevenson's Hotel, Reef ton, on Saturday afternoon, of a valuable dairy farm in the Bullet Valley, the property of Mr. F. C. Fedderson.

i An extraordinary theft was revealed recently at Melbourne during an examination of the cargo of a vessel that had arrived from New York. Included in the cargo were 13 caseß which were supposed to contain valuable fancy leather, but on being opened the discovery was made that nine of them were packed with old newspaper and blocks of granite similar to those used for street paving. The theft had apparently occurred before the'vessel left America, for the newspapers bore New York headings. The manager of the [firm has informed the authorities that the original order was for 18 cases, but five were despatched by another vessel, and had been delivered. The cases were not insured against loss by theft, and the value of the stolen leather is estimated at £2000. A cable message was sent to the New York firm that supplied the order, and an investigation ; will be made by the authorities there.

For Boys' and Men's Watches with Luminous Dials, from 20s to £5, Louis Kerr, Jeweller.*

Christmas Gifts! Hair, Clothes, Nail, Tooth, and Shaving Brushes are specialities of ours. Grand values*" offering at present.—R. Snodgrass arid Sons.*

Christmas Presents! Dressing Cases, Manicure Sets, Fitted Work Baskets, Writing Cases, etc., to suit all pockets. —R. Snodgrass and Sons.*

: Christmas Gifts! Mother would appreciate some Aluminium Cooking Utensils, or a Carpet Sweeper; or other la-hour-saving device. See our stock.— R. Snodgrass and Sons.* . .. .

New goods—Ladies' Wrist Watches just opened. Very reliable at reasonable prices.—'Louis Kerr, Jeweller,. 109 Trafalgar street.*

Christmas Gifts—Ladies 1 Diamond Dress Rings, very choice assortment from £10 to £40. —Louis Keir, Jeweller.*

Best assortment of Kodaks, Brownies, Anscos, Enßignettes. Premos, and Klito Cameras, at Louis Kerr's, 109 'lrafaigar street. Free instruction.*

I "The finest all-round display of Toys and Christmas Goods L have yet seen in my travels." This was the testimony of a visitor who called at "Mo--1 veltie.s"' yesterday. "In larger centres one may see, perhaps, bigger stocks— but none that bear such obvious evidence of caieful selection. And as for prices, I can tell you that these high grade American dolls and teddy boars would bring far better prices *in the North Island towns. And the same applies to the leather goods and i:i'ijes: handbags. I am surprised to find such a shop in Nelson. It's a credit to the town." This man knows what he is talking about, and it will pay you to go to "Novelties," 42 Hardy street, for toys and gifts.*

A New Vorjk message says that a' fund of £7,000,000 has been raised by ■ the Young Men's Christian Association for the benefit of American soldiers taking part m the war. , ■ At St. Agustine's Church, Cashmere Hills, there was a special dedicatory ■ service- to suitably recognise the installing in the church of a special memorial window to tbe honour of three of Can-! terbury's deceased early settlers, viz.,: Messrs Aguscus R. In wood, J. G. Murray, and D. Mulcock. , Mr James Adam, a settler at Hal-i combe, died suddenly at the age of 73: years. He was at work as usual, when! he fell back dead in his dray. The pre-i vious day's work had been particularly i heavy. His two soldier sons arc on j; their way home from the front. As a fitting wind-up to the year's! work a concert was given by the pitpils of the Boys' Central School, in Stand-; ard IV room, on Wednesday afternoon, j' A varied programme of songs, iecita-i" tions, dialogues, flute selections, etc.,) was much enjoyed and appreciated byj all- A nigger band, consisting of 16' performers, created much merriment by fits quaint jokes and selections. Much ; of the success of the entertainment was due to the efforts of Mr. Veysey, who had spent a good deal of time in train-; ing the pupils. At the conclusion Mr! Gibbs, headmaster, congratulated the. pupils on a successful year's work, and! wished them a pleasant holiday. .

Two by-law cases were heard before Messrs H. Baigent and G. W. Swafford, Justices, a,t the Magistrate's Court yesterday. Herbert Green, charged with riding a bicycle at night without a lights pleaded the excuse that he was riding behind another cyclist who had a light, and he understood that that was all right. Sergeant Barrett remarked that it was a very dangerous practice. Defendant was convicted and ordered to pay costs, 7s. W. A. Roughton, charged with having driven a spring trap on Haven road without lights, was fined ss, with costs 7s

New shop fronts have added very considerably to the appearance of the premises in Hardy street occupied by Mr J. Macaulay. The frontage has been divided into three shops, tie windows being of plate glass in American oak frames with green tiled bases. The work was carried out by Messrs Page and Sons, of Nelson, who have secured the services of an expert shop front fitter, and reflects the highest credit upon the firm. Special ligttfe, aggregating 5000 candle-power, have been installed, and the shops are brilliantly lighted at night. Mr Macaulay has an up-to-date confectioner's shop, sweets made on the premises being a feature, and the window presents a very attractive appearance. Mr Macaulay is having his third shop fitted up as a. lounge for the supply of summer drinks and refreshments.

The enduring popularity of Handel's "Messiah," and the general recognition of its appropriateness for the Christmas season, were shown by the large audience. that assembled in the School of Music last night to hear it once again rendered by the Nelson Harmonic Society. . The soloists were Miss Jacobs (soprano). Miss Hanby E. H. Short (bass), and their work and •E. E. Short (bass), and their work, and fiat of the chorus and the orchestra had a favourable reception. A distinct success was achieved by Mr Short in the famous air, "Why do the Nations," and some of the choruses received especially tine treatment. Mr J. B. Lemmer conducted, and received good assistance from Miss Joyce (pianist), Mr N. R. Williams (organist), and Miss K. Fairhall (leader of the orchestra).

New goods for Christmas gilts: Go.'d Bracelets, Brooches Pendants, Peart Necklets.—Lotus Kerr, Jeweller.*

Mr T. K. Sidey, M.P., has received the following telegram, from Sir Joseph, Ward:—"ln reference to your representations to me concerning certain postal employees who had recently left the department and not received, the war bonus, for your information i wish to inform you that arrangements have been made to pay their proportion of the war bonus to those ex-officers of department who ha;ve ceased duty since April Ist last. Payment was held up pending the decision of the Controller and AuditorGeneral." ;

A lodge in connection with the Girls' Friendly Society is to be opened at Wanganui towards the end of January, in a suitable rented house.

If you want satisfaction in Cycle Tyres and Repairs, try Manks.*

The Northern Company's auxiliary ketch Victory which ran ashore on a bank on the Manukau Bar, has been refloated. She was not seriously damaged.

Ladies' Handbags, when made from Morocco leather, are quite the be6t and most durable. See them at Trathtn'j, where the good bags are. Prices Ss lid to 35s each.*

A statement was made by the Prime Minister at Auckland in reference to soldier settlements, that the number of soldiers of all classes settled on the land in the Dominion to date was 580, of whom 185 were settled under the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act, 15 had drawn sections at ordinary ballots, while the' remainder had otherwise acquired land. The amount of advances to soldier settlers for improvements and stock to date totals £163,773.

When buying Ladies' Handbags see that you get the genuine Morocco leather. Trathen and Co. have splendid variety in the smartest and newest shapes. New lot arrived yesterday.*

Ladies' Black Morocco Handbags. A further splendid lot direct from the factory, now opened at- Trat-hen's. £cc them at once and • secure best choice.*

Ashhunst claims to have the strong-! est man in New Zealand. Ho weighs1; only list, and does not look particularly robust, though his activity in following his business as a carrier is un-j bounded. Recently, for a wager, he shouldered a full eack of wheat, jumped on a bicycle and effected delivery at his client's house; and what was Wen more wonderful, owing to the shed entrance being difficult, he carried in succession four bales of wool single-handed about 100 yards, each weighing nearly 4001b.

Camera Buyers! Make straight for' Louis KeiT's, 109 Trafalgar street. Best assortment and Christmas values.* Amateur Photograpners—You'il need a good supply of films and plates fop the holidays. Big fresh supplies at Louis Kerr',s 109 Trafalgar Street.* Your Favourite Developer! We have' it. Tabloid Rytol, Metol Quinol, Pyro Metol, Eastman M.Q. Tubes and Kcaloids. Plentiful supplies at LouisKerr's, 109 Trafalgar street.* - j Cameras for the Kiddies—oo Prenios! 4s 3d; No. O Brownies 7s 6d, and others I 8s 6d, 12s, 15s, 20s upwards. Call early at Louis Kerr's, Trafalgar street,: for free instruction.*

: -'" ■ - The, first ztep in the matter of organisingHhe Jugoslavs in the Dominion has been' Laken by Mr -John Cuuen, 1.5.0., he having issued a proclamation, calling upon all Jugoslavs and other subjects of Austria within easy reach of Auckland to report themselves personally to him at the Jugoslav office in Fort Street. .Mr Cullen expects to visit the greater part of the northern; peninsula in the course, of his now; duties. ■■-..■ Exciting scenes were witnessed outside the Guild Hall, in Melbourne, recently. Aii auti-conscrij)tionist meet-! ing had been arranged, and an invitation was issued to returned soldiers to hear arguments against the Government's proposals. When a party of returned men arrived they were refused admission. The Sinn Fein Hag was noticed flying from a flagpole at the top of the building, and there was an insistent demand that it should be pulled down. Finally the demand of the returned men was acceded to and the flag was hauled down. / Mr A. Kaye referred to the losses by, pilferage from ships' cargoes when he was speaking at the Chamber, of Commerce Hall, t'hristclrurch and said that transhipments added to the opportunity for such thefts. It was estimated that the Sydney merchants lost £100,000 last year by the pilfering that went on from cargoes. Mr H. S. Bourn corroborated Mr Kaye's comments, and added that the Suva Chamber of Commerce was arranging for a shipping service to London via India, in order to avoid the losses incurred through pilferage by, ships calling at Sydney.

The fact that Has stores in Auckland are becoming congested owing to the lack of shippiug was brought under the notice of the Prime Minister (says the "Herald"). Mr Massey said thai; flax had not yet been requisitioned by the Imperial Government, and as all the space on deep-sea vessels was under the control of the Overseas Shipping Committee, acting under instructions from the Minister of Shipping in London, difficulty had naturally been experif enced in ai ranging foi shipping space ! for flax. Every effort was beiug made, I however, to arrange for as much space i for New Zealand hemp as opportunity \ offered. I As showing that the hearts of some i of the women in the Wairarapa are in ' the right place, a case that came under the notice of the Efficiency Board ia I worthy of notice (says thS "Age"). A ■ small dairy farmer, who jnilked 15 cows night and morning, was drawn in the | ballot. His young wife was in a condi- ! tion of health that would nob permit ! her to do the milking and manage the farm at the time. "Give him three months' leave," she said, "and 1 shall then be in normal health and able to manage the farm." The leave was, granted. The farmer has since gone into camp, and the wife is bravely and patriotically doing the milking and n t anaging the farm m her husband's absence.

"I would like to draw the public's attention to the neSv war regulations regarding collections,', said Mr W. GL Sherratt at a meeting of the Gis borne Defence Committee. "They are very; strict," he continued, "and will have to be complied with. For all entertainments and collections permits will have to be obtained from the Mayor or. Chairman of the County Council or the police. All money collected is to be forwarded to the Patriotic Committee, which will forward it-to any person to whom it may be asked to send it.. Balance-sheets must be sent in; if they do not send in balance-sheets they will get no permits. 1, for one, am not goring to give permits without balancesheets."

Many curious incidents are related, some of them disconcerting and inconvenient or/worse, in connection with the ballot for reservists (says the "Manawatu, Daily Times"). This one, -wo think, is unique. A well-known Palmerston North man enlisted voluntarily] and was passed as tit last month. Ha accordingly made all due provision to go into camp, when, to las surprise,, although he was a volunteer and a married man with a family, he was balloted m the section for men without children, and received notice to present himself for medical examination. Being curious to see what would happen, he promptly complied, and was actually turned down as medically unfit. He is now pondering the problems as to whether he is fat or otherwise, and what he is to do about his vfarm, for which arrangements were completed, during the period of active service. To be passed and rejected with 28 days is surely a unique experience.

A fire broke out in "The Dandy" restaurant, Taupo-quay, Wanganui, next t« Foster's Hotel on Sunday night \\iien the brigadesmen arrived the building was a «roam>g furnace, but aided by a fine pressure of water they speedily quenched the flames and prevented the tire spreading fo Poster's Hotel on the one side and the old Union Bank buildings on the other, though both had a narrow escape. JMr Foster bad an exciting time. He happened to see the flames before the alarm was given, and tfiey were then in dangerous proximity to Mrs Foster's bedroom window, at the back on the top floor. Linoleums and carpets in the hotel ?*E damaged to the extent of at least i.m), the water Hooding rooms and passages and finding its way down to the ground floor. "The Dandy" restaurant was owned by Mr J. R..'Foster and was occupied by Mrs Dennett, wfaol however, relinquished business on Thursday last. The leaso of the business and the whole of the shop and private apartment effects were to have been sold by auction.

It has been suggested in connection' with our visit to England that the Finance Minister and myself made promises to the Home Government that a£ e somewhat difficult to fulfil," said l 3 n°,n «w Minister.at Ngatea (Auekd) XJJ* ldo not think that is the case. What we promised was that New Zealand would do its fuli sharo in regard to the war, and that promise has been and is being honoured to the vervn letter so far as reinforcements and sun- &+?*% conS ernef-., No one can event hint that we have failed in the slightest 10-day we are not a single man behind in the reinforcements promised to the Imperial Government. The Imperial Government, recognising what A™ Zealand has done, has notified us with* out any pressure on our part that for. the future our reinforcements will be very, considerably reduced. That has been done as a recognition of the splendid position that New Zealand has ta. ken up throughout the war."

ofS f % mped Germans are five 2™ German naval cadets who A^?-I™T# brought to IqvT ™ trOJ? Samoa on Oct°ter 13 > land Herald) were on board the fcfer* man vessel Elsass, which, at the outoreak or hostilities, took refuge in the neutral port of Pago Pago. When the German cruisers Gneisenau and Scharn™'f visited Apia, on September 15, iyi4 xhe news was circulated at Tutuir la, the American portion , of Samoa, xhat Apia harl been retaken by the Germans. This news so delighted the naval cadets on board the Eteass that 11 of them promptly deserted from their ship," commandeered a small sailing vessel, and set i=ail for Apia. They arrived at six o'clock one evening, and much to their surprise, were promptly made prisoners. '

At a meeting^ bf Poverty Bay slaughtermen, members of tho Freezing Workers and Allied Trades' Union; ™ iolloAviug motion was carried:— lhat the union refuses to work with any of tho Australian slaughtermen who came over this year and that tho general secretary be asked to notify tho •Minister of Internal .Affairs and tho Australian Union to that effect, and that tho district secretary notify the local employers." The local employers, when met, ,ctatcd that they did not intend to employ Australians.

A statement presented to the annual meeting of the New Cathedral Board, Dunedin, stated:—The receipts for the year have boen;£9,o4l 17s 3d, and the expenditure £8,866 2s sd. The' Harrop Request has been paid oVer as follows: —In debentures, £4 ; 000; in mortgages. £1,225; in cash, £24,599 9s Id • total. £29,824 9s Id. in addition to this sum, the Public Trustee holds £4.900, the income of which is used for the' payment of annuities. Mr M'Lellan, the contractor, continues to make good progress with the work, but consequent upon. scarcity of men through the war it is probable that the have will not.be completed in contract time. A -further contract has been made with Mr M'Lellan for the erection of a temporary chancel in brick. The estimated expenses and contracts for the next 12 months are £36,413 17s 6d, less £15,379 4s 7d paid on account, leaving unbalance of £21,034 1.2s lid.

The second valuation for -which the new season's wools have come forward has been completed (says the "Ota^o Daily Times'-"). In all about 4700 bales were catalogued. The wools were in very fine condition, mainly accounted for by the clean, plentiful growth of pasture this year and tho absence of high winds, the wool thus being reinarkablv free from foreign matter. The basis of the -scoured wool was the same as last year, but tho condition on tha whole warranted the higher prices obtained this year. The condition, m tact, is said to bo better than for many years past. Some of tiie Ofcago Central •wools were particularly good. The top prices realised were 22^d per 1b for some half-brod wool, and 23$ i for crossbred.