LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXV, Issue 8302, 22 November 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

In a report of a Red Cross concei-t at Doric appearing in Saturday s "Guardian," it was wrongly stated that a flag was: presented by Mr J. L. Brown. The flag was the gift eft Mr H. J. Harrison, of Doric.

Under the Counties Act the meetings of county councils must be held "at noon on the fourth Wednesday in November. In the latest "Gazette" permission is granted the Selwyn County Council to postpones its annual meeting to the first Wednesday in December.

Among additional regulations gazetted under the War Regulations Act, 1914, is the following:—l 4. (1) No person shall bring or cause to be brought any intoxicating liquor upon a troop train, or have in his possession any intoxicating liquor upon a troop train,,or supply any intoxicating liquor to any person being carried in a troop train. (2) In this regulation the t'•

"troop train" means ony railway train or railway carriage which for the time being has been set apart for tho exclusive use of the Defence Forces, or which is for the time being exclusively or c-hiefly occupied or used by members of those forces.

Tho Minister of Justice (Hon. Dr. Robert McNab) will address two recruiting meetings .in Ashburton tomorrow v At 2.30 p.m. he will speak at the Somerset Corner, and at 8 o'clock lie will deliver his address, " New Zeal.nnd and, the Imperial' Crisis," at the Theatre Royal. His Worship the Mayor will preside oh' each occasion. Prior to the Minister's speech in the 'evening, Mr Galbraith will present an Imperial medal (given in recognition of long antl'-faithful service in the Post and Telegraph Department) to Mr C. Rnge, and will ask Dr. MrNab to present a Royal Humane Society certificate to Rex Pcarco for life-saving in the Domain. During the evening Mr W. Anderson will contribute a song, nnd Mi- A. L. Moore a recitation. The Citizens' Defence Corns Band .will be in attendance, nnd will play selections outside the Theatre before the commencement of the proceedings. A largo audience is expected.

A Wellington Press Association .telegram says that cable advice'has'been received that the 7th reinforcements have*, arrived'safely at their destination.

Mr J. A. Jensen, Minister for the Navy in the Federal Cabinet, has issued an unqaulified denial to ;the rumours, that were recently in circulation of the loss of an Australian transport. 'He believes the rumours were the work of enemy agents, and warns the public not to heed them.

Some 15 years ago a Lyttelton business man; had occasion to give credit to a customer to the extent of a .tin of kerosene, .the amount being fixed then at 6s. The account not being settled within a reasonable time the merchant wrote' it off the books as a bad debt, but some days ago, to his surprise, he received a letter from the debtor, who had since . removed from the district, stating that as he had now been "saved" ho thought that in order to "blear his conscience the debt should be paid. Needless to say the business man accepted the money.

When judgments of the Appeal Court were delivered at Wellington on Friday- the Chief Justice said that the judgments required the presence of a quorum of the Court. His Honour Mr Justice Williams, however, was ill and-unable to attend, therefore the Judges had met in his house ancL-held an Appeal Court there that morning, and-the judgments had been given in the various; eases; but, in order _that counsel ' might hoar what the judgments were, they had resolved to restate -them to the Court.

The New .Zealand Railway Review," in the course of an article on •" Railway Managers," says :—" Never was the cost of general management so high, nor its channels so numerous and. deviousl We have a general manager at £3000,'. an assistant general, manager at £900, five mnnagers who lodfc after different branches of the work, at a cost of £4250; assistant traffic managers in each district to help the traffic manager; two traffic superintendents at £700 each to see that all the Mother managers 'manage' efficiently, and the commercial agent, witjh £545, travelling expenses, and a roving commission. . . .The plain fact is that the railways are s smothered with high-paid officialism, arid to pay for this more or less ornamental topdressing the rank and file have to go without many urgently' needed reforms."