LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXIX, Issue 9653, 9 July 1919, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

' "Even the Prohibitionists would like to see food prices take a drop or two," remarks the "Boston Transcript."

The Rev. David Pughe, of Leeds, says that after a close study of the piiychology of swearing in the Army ho concluded that 99 per cent, of itwas meaningless.

Sir James Allen has received a number of letters from women making application that, as a peace bounty, hext-of-kin of soldiers who lost their lives in the war should be granted a month's free railway travel. The Minister regrets that the request cannot be granted.

Government furniture bought during the war sold well in London when a "peace sale" was effected. A suite which had originally been, bought for £8 sold for £13 10s. Another suite, however, which consisted of three chairs only, fetched £2 2^s ,6d, in spite of the fact that two of the chairs had keen occupied by the King and Queen respectively. "The auctioneer's com r merit was 1 that we lived in a democi-a--tic age indeed, when chairs which (had 'been sat upon by royalty ivere not thereby enhanced in-value.''

In the course of. his report to the' Wellington Harbour Board on his explorations in America, . Mr , James Marchbanks, referring 'to Vancouver, says: "It may be of interest to mention the street construction at and around Vancouver. The principal city and suburban streets are constructed of concrete covered with sheet asphalt! or bitulithic concrete. In nearly all; cases .the street ■ surface is first-class, and there are many.miles of, extremely good streets. Mineral asphalt is readily procured at a moderate price, and is largely used in all American ;t.o?viis for surfacing roads and pavements."

Legislation in Ontario, which has for its object the welfare of the young, is far in advance of the laws in many other countries. The Government of that Province has recently introduced iin amendment to the existing law governing cinematograph theatres, which will make it compulsory for cinemas to provide a matron, whose duty it will be to supervise the children in the theatres and the attitude of adults towards them. This change meets with the approval of all the Reading women's organisations in Ontario. ... '

During the war European poultry stocks had: b«en reduced by 180,000,000, Mr Edward Brown told the International Poultry Conference in London. must aim at producing more poultry,...and "better—but particularly better. They were not out to set up charitable institutions for cocks, and hens. Captain F. P. Pierson JVeb'berj who lost his sight over 15 years ago, said that poultry-keeping for. the blind had come to stay. It was very easy for. .him. to tell the breed of a bird by its shape. He could tell the age of an egg to within a day. It was done by finding out what the air space within an egg was by touch.

r Bow many know the legendary origin of belief in the luck of horseshoes, as exemplified in the parting gift of Admiral Sims ? asks a London paper? Tradition has it chat St. Dunstan, famous for his skill in horseshoeing, was one day visited by the devil, who asn:ed him to shoo his single hoof. Recognising his client, the saint tied him up and began operations, purposely causing him so much pain that the devil roared for mercy. Whereupon St. Dunstan bargained with him to complete the job painlessly, on condition that he never afterwards entered, a building or molested a person protected by the display of a.horseshoe.

The most sensational of the complaints of Sinn Feiners confined in Belfast Prison was that some of their number had been manacled with their hands behind their back, and in that way had been obliged to go to Mass and Communion. Mr Justice Dodd, who inquired into the allegations, "has made his report, which is issued as a "White Paper. He says that three prisoners who had previously smashed their handcuffs when in front were manacled behind, and he finds the treatment, though severe, was salutary, and had not to be repeated. He is. satisfied that keeping the men in restraint at Mass and at Communion was rendered necessary by the acts of the prisoners themselves, and was done solely for the preservation of peace. :

In his presidential: address at theInstitute of Hygiene, London, recently, Sir Malcolm Morris said.: —"People must be instructed in the values of different foods. In • the hard times that have come upon the world, .it is important that they should select the foods which make tho most nutritive return for the cost. How many know that there is a good deal more nourishment in lib of cheese than in 21b of prime beef; that haddock, contains quite as much nutritive material as sole, and that the homely bloater is one of the most , nutritious of all fish foods? It, - ought, to be more widely known that skimmed milk-is far .more nutritious in proportion to price,., than whole milk, and that there is nothing to choose between margarine and butter. Nor is the great nutritive value of nuts generally understood. Bulk for bulk, nuts are richer in nutritive material than any other natural article of food."

When Francis William Hawken, labourer, and Walter. Middleton, motor driver, were placed in! tlie dock in Melbourne, before ,Judge Woinanski,-' in General Sessions, for sentence on the charge of robbery in company from William Henry Dudley Le Souef, director of the Zoological Gardens, Mr TV ,C. Brennan made an appeal for leniency on behalf of Middleton. The accused was, he said, only 18 years of age, and had previously* borne a moot excellent character. Middleton •'had not planned t3ie robbery. It was fairly clear that he wa£ pressed into the affair; that he tried to back out several 1 times; that ho did iiot use the bludgeon, and" that he protested against any suggestion to strike Mr Le. Souef. Hawken, from the dock, protested his innocence, said he had never been in trouble before, and claimed that it was unfair to put all the blame Upon his shoulders. TUio sentence of the Court was that eacli of the accused be privately whipped 15 strokes Tvith the cat-o'-nine-tails, and that each serve a term of imprisonment for five years. Immediately .sentence was pronounced there was a painful scene in Court. Accused Middleton's brother, a young man who wore a soMier's badge, and who was minus one of his legs, burst into violent sobbing, while his female relatives indulged in hysterical weeping.

Seven degrees of frost was registered at the Domain weather station la9t night.

There was an attendance of 500 children at the Borough School to-day, this being the highest on record since the Hampstcad School, was opened.

The Auckland " Star " last Wednesday announced the birth of quadruplets (four sons) to Mrs Hall, of Ngaruawahia.

Out of 24 applications, ranging from Invercargill to Tauranga, Mr William Patterson, of Port Chalmers, a returned .soldier, has been appointed town clerk of Waimate.—Press Association..

The Dominion Meteorologist's forecast for to-day was as follows:—The indications are for westerly. winds, moderate to strong prevailing. There is a prospect of fair weather. There will probably be a hard frost to-night. Barometer fettle movement.

John Gibson was found dead between 5 o'clock and 6 o'clock this morning hanging by a rope in ,a loft over a stable at Fendalton, where he was employed as a gardener. Separation and maintenance orders were issued against him yesterday.—Press Association. ..'.

Mr R. B. Morris, of the Postal Department,' torday made arrangements with the Buick Motor Company to run a daily, motor service between'Christchurch and Dunedin. Motors will leave Christchurch shortly after the arrival of the ferry steamer..

The demobilisation state.of the Expeditionary Force as on June 28 was: In France 14, in United Kingdom 9813,. .patients in'hospital in United Kingdom 831. men with wives , and families in United Kingdom 1237, nurses and Red Cross workers, to be evacuated 79.

The body of William Smith, head of the firm of Smith and Smith, painters and decorators, was found floating •in Wellington' Harbour yesterday. .Deceased had been missing,since Saturday week. It is supposed that he fell off the wharf when going to catch the steamer for Day's Bay, where he had been living for about sis months.— Press Association..

A labour agent states that the. tone of the labour market is quiet in the County at.present. The chief demand is for men to undertake goree. work. A number of men have been making inquiries at the. labour agencies iof late for employment, but a great many of them object to accept work which involves going long distances into the country.

The architect of the Canterbury Jockey Club is reported to have estimated the cost of rebuilding the grand stand at Riccarton, destroyed by fire on Saturday night, at £10,000. Several builders, however, estimate it at from £12,000 to £15,000 at least, and perhaps more, owing to the great advance in the; cost of materials, particularly gtr'tiers and plate glass.

The Christchurch Presbytery to-day, considered a resolution recently passed by the Council of Churches, condemning the proposed new military' training syllabus-, as outlined by Sir James Allen. The Presbytery set up a strong committee to consider the matter and report at the next meeting. The Rev. Ryburn disagreed with the extravagant .charges made against the camps at the meeting of the Council of Churches. The discussion was moderate in tone.— Press Association.

As a' result of enquiries made some months ago as to housing,' sanitation, and water supply at the mining townships in the Dominion, special reports have been prepared by the inspectors under the control of the Public Health Department of housing, etc., at every mining township in New Zealand. These reports have been submitted to the Hon. 6. W. Russell, who has instructed that a general report shall be prepared dealing with the gold-mining townships in one, and coal-mining townships in the other, with a^ view of legislation being prepared for the improvement of the conditions.

Gout is always accepted as a dif»oase of the robust and over-fed, but reflection will prove that in hospital practice any number of instances are seen in older inmates, where an extremely different picture is displayed. It would almost seem (says the "Hospital") that gout is a disease of low, stagnated vitality, that a case may best be treated by momentarily forgetting th» local condition and Ainravelling the mystery of the patient's imperfect physical state. Somewhere his machinery is insufficient, and where, apart from actual senility, can the weakness be found? Improve, aid, or repair this and the power of gout, if real gout it be, will be largely neutralised. \

The Hon. G. M. Thomson announced nt the inee'fcing of the Otago Institute last night that two grants for research work made by the New Zealand Institute had come to Otago. Professor Maleolrn would take up research into the" food value of New Zealand fishes, and Professor G. S; Thomson- would investigate the economic value of whale feed!: He mentioned incidentally that whale feed was usually abundant, but disappeared from these waters from January 1 to the middle of November last year, and disappeared again this March and had not been seen since, the suggestion being that these disappearances were connected with fish migration, and consequently with the fish supply generally.—Press Associa-

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