SWEEPING THE SEAS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 65, 17 March 1915, Page 4

SWEEPING THE SEAS.

The sinking of the Dresden is practically the final blow to Germany's naval offensive on' the high sens. When the war broke out there were six German cruisers ready to take up the role or commerce destroyers in the Atlantic and the Pacific, apart from the merchantmen which were specially armed for the purpose. O f the cruisers all but the Karlsruhe have now been accounted for, and thie solitary ship, which ig still eluding capture in the Atlantic, is now too closely shepherded to have much chance of doing any damage, or escaping its pursuers for long. Except for the Karlsruhe and two armed liners which have had some success against British commerce in the Atlantic, the German navy is now reduced to absolute mv potence, so far as the main ocean highways are concerned: and British vessels ' can pass unmolested along all the great trade routes ol the world. ' This is in itself an impressive tribute to England's naval strength, which, sooner or later, must inevitably decide the conflict in our favour. And we must remember that it is only because England was in a position to concentrate her battle fleets in such overwhelming foTce in the North Sea that we can now congratulate ourselves on the almost absolute immunity from capture or destruction that our mercantile marine enjoys. Wis quite conceivable that if ■ 'the--British Navy had not been reedy for-action when the war began, the Germans might have scattered their cruisers broadcast over the oceans, and they might have inflicted very serious injury upon British commerce, or even ' attacked outlying portions of the Empire, before they could have' been run down. The Tecord of the Emden and the long immunity that the Gneisenau and Scharnhoret enjoyed suggest that this . might have been the best policy for Admiral yon Tirpitz to follow; and it has been reported, on what seems credible authority, that the. Admiral in vain begged the Kaiser to delay the outbreak of the war if only for a fortnight, so that he might make his dis- < positions for harrying British commerce ■beforehand. However this may be, the fact remains that the Britißh Navy has justified its claim to supremacy by driving the German flag completely oh* the high seas. The Dresden was not a particuJaTly formidable opponent, but it is gratifying .to learn that her destruction was accomplished without any loss on our side, and" there is a certain poetic justice in the fact that the Glasgow, which, in the Chilian sea fight, was compelled to watch the destruction of the Good Hope and the Monmouth, without being able to assist them, took a. "hand in the final reckoning with "the doomed ( German, cruiser. " • -

The following is Mr. D. C. Bales' weather forecast for 24 hours from.!) a.m. this day:—"lndications are for moderate to strong winds, easterly prevailing. The weather appears likely to be cloudy and unsettled at times. Barometer unsteady, with a rising tendency. Tides good; sea moderate." A non-unionist brought a claim at the Magistrate's Court yesterday afternoon, before Mr. C. C. Kettle, S.M., in which the legal point involved was of such importance that the matter was adjourned to enable counsel to look up authorities, and argue the issue. The plaintiff, Krnest Bullen (represented by Mr. Alexander) sought to recover £64 12/0 from E. Thompson. The claim was for the difference between £1 2/6 per week, wages paid plaintiff as a iish-curer. and £2 10/ per week,- the sum to which he was entitled under the award. The evidence was to the effect that plaintiff was not aware there was a union in existence, when he was working for £1 2/6 per week. About the beginning of ■November he joined the union, and three weeks later his engagement terminated. Mr. Kettle pointed oiit that, under the Act, plaintiff was only entitled to recover for three months, so the claim j was reduced to £17 17/6. Mr. HallSkelton argued that it was a civil contract between employer and employee until BulJen joined the union. He held tffat until a man became a member of the union he could not claim the award rates. Mr. Alexander, on the other hand, contended that as plaintiff was a worker in that industry, he was entitled to the rate of pay" fixed for that work. The time consumed by the Hospital Board in disposing of routine details at its meetings produced a protest from Mr. A. Hail Skelton, a new member of that body, last evening. At the end of a sitting lasting nearly three and a-ha-U hours, Mr. Skelton suggested that the business might very reasonably have been settled in half the time, and mildly suggested that a leaf might be taken from certain other city bodies in accelerating procedure. "I hope you arc not reflecting on the chair," objected the chairman, while one or two other old memhers, who appear rather to enjoy their evening out on the Board, murmured discouragement of the idea to introduce any new-fangled notions. Mr. Skelton hastened to assure the chairman that he meant no reflection on the chair nor had any desire to upsei the proper decorum of the Board. As a stranger, however, he certainly thought there was room for improvement in the method of dispatching business, and indicated respectfully, but firmly, that he -was "free to maintain it." The suggestion met with but a frosty response, time being evidently not regarded by the major portion of the Board as an essence of the contract. A meeting of creditors in the bankrupt estate of William Protheroe, formerly a tobacconist in business at Whangarei, was presided over by the Official Assignee (Mr. W. ,S. Fisher) yesterday afternoon. The chief complaint of creditors present was that preferential payments had been made by- the debtor, but the bankrupt himself" denied any intention to discriminate among his creditors, explaining that when he paid off some of his liabilities he possessed what lie believed at the time were collateral securities sufficient" to meet all his liabilities. He had offered a payment of 10/ in the pound, with more to follow when- lie'was able to pay, but the offer had been declined, and he now had nothing and was out -of work, his total present debts being £77 16/7. A motion was passed asking the Official Assignee to investigate the payments in question, with the view of securing a refund for a payment to all the creditors pro rata. With regard to a paragraph in last night's issue -about the effects of " the war being felt very severely in. the photographic business, information supplied by | Harrington, N.Z., Ltd.. to-day, points to ! the fact that the position is not now bo acute as it was soon after the outbreak I of hostilities. This, it is explained, is 'due to the British manufacturers of chemicaJs having overtaken the increased | demand due to tth'e stoppage of supplies from Germany. The statement made to-day was very definite: "Chemical© are looming forward all Tight, we are having no trouble: there was a jump at the start, but, according to the November list, prien; have since come down very considerably. The main difference at present is that nearly all goods supplied are British made, with the exception of whatever stocks are still held that were procured from Germany prior; to the outbreak of war. I may state positively that Amidol i 3 not up 600 per cent; it was 37/6 before the war, and is now selling ait the same price. Bromide of potassium, which was 3/ per lb 'before the war, we are now prepared to sell any amount at 6/ per ,Ib. A very interesting letter from Scotland has been received by a well-known Rangitikei resident, concerning the prices being paid for stock, and, as the writer says,* farmers in New Zealand will be able to compare the prices received in Ayrshire and the Dominion. Farm products are certainly on the upgrade iv the land of the heather, and the writer said that he wouJd not be at all surprised to see mutton advance to 1/ per pound, and beef about 58/ in May. At the time of writing (January) beef, live weight, -was selling at 46/ to 51/ per cwt, and it was, he said, remarkable that young prime bulls -were touching 45/. Even old sheep, blaekfaced wethers, were realising from 20/ to 28/, and better ones were going over 30/; best grey-faced were bringing from 40/ to 45/, and poorer sorts from 30/ to 40/. Whitefaced were selling well, and -were realising big prices, varying from 38/ to 50/. Fodder had gone" up £2 to £3 per ton since the war broke out, and turnips were scarce. Good farm horses were bringing about £80. A few days ago a lad of diminutive stature picked up what looked like a dirty piece of paper at a street corner in Gisborne, and handed it to another hoy. Just then Mr. J H. Bull, headmaster of the Kaiti School, came along, and, on examining the Boiled piece of paper, discovered to his intense surprise that it was a £50 bank note. On inquiries being made at the local banks, it was found that the note belonged to a local resident, who had reported its loss. Restitution was made, much to the relief of the owner. The sequel occurred a day or two later, when the headmaster of the Kaiti School had the pleasure of handing to the lad. who found the note a bank pass book showing a credit of £4 10/, and also delivered a shininc half-sovereign to the boy to expend immediately in honour "of the event. The little fellow, whose honesty thus started him out early in life on the road to fortune, is ono of a family of nine, the eldest of whom is 13. The body of the tate Bishop Grimes j will be brought from Sydney by the) steamer. Manuka, which willVeaeh Wellington next Tuesday. It b understood j _fl-t the mterrnent at Christchurch has Seen fixed, far March 25, " I

The now familiar protest of tW Runanga Borough Council "at the war in which the foodstuffs of the peoni's of this Dominion arc being advancedipricc," was received and considered at last night's meeting of the Devonport Borough Council. The tenor of the Runanga Council's resolution was cor* dially supported, and it was decided to back the support by direct appeal to members of Parliament and to ths Government. The Police Court proceedings this morning consisted in dealing with half a dozen culprits who had indulged riot * wisely but too well. Three ol thera were fined 5/ apiece, while a foiirtii I decided to leave his bail money to do [the business for him. John Joseph Daly (60), who had "come in" as a first offender yesterday morning sobered up. got bail, and then been caught drunk again in the evening, as a second offender, bad to pay 10/ for" his great day. Richard William Bryant (37), a second offender who hadn't done it all in a day, also had to pay 10/. Some little trouble was experienced in getting the Huddart-Parker steamer Riverina away from her berth at the Queen's wharf yesterday afternoon. The ' Riverina occupied the inner berth on the - east side of the wharf, the B.Mj. Rotorua having the outer. As the Riverina was being swung one of her anchors caught in a steel bow line running between the Rotorua and the wharf. The line snapped, and the anchor rebounded against the vessel's bow-pktes, ■ I breaking a portion of the stock. The plates, however, were undamaged. Subsequently the suction caused by the passage of the Riverina produced a movement on the part of the RotorU, the jlatter's accommodation ladder being somewhat damaged by impact on the wharf. | According to a Wellington paper • happy little colony of vagrants has been ruthlessly invaded and dispersed. The police were recently informed that if they paid a surprise visit to.- -e/. .: locality indicated early some morning the search would not be resultlass. Thet eventually happened upon a vagrants' boarding establishment right in the' centre of a field overgrown to a height -V of seven or eight feet with.feme!, and to which access could be gained, by a 1• well-worn path. Here they discovered i four disreputably-clad men sleeping soundly. They -were not huddled together, but each slept in a small com-V partment lined comfortably with rags.-■ and sheltered as far as possible from the vulgar gaze of the public. A-eorridor, as in an hotel, led past each "room,* : - ; I while a larger apartment gave-evidence'■'•; : of it being a living room. The •'boarders*■'.were rudely awakened by the visitors, | and marched along to the* police station. A subsequent search by the police?:' showed that the happy little Home had 5: | been in existence for some past, and that there were indications that the ' j quartet who were living the simple life; i had helped.-themselves to apparel froa . : i neighbours' clothes' lines, white the fact\ I that milk-jugs and their contents and \ loaves of bread had. disappeared from"- - yard-safes was very suspicions. At the. ' I police station the quartet, wbo kad been: - joined by another vagrant, who .Kgif " : been arrested from a section j made a strange collection. Their 'Set : capital did not total one shilling." .'.."; A decision was arrived at last night, ; by. the committee of. the Auckland Auto»y mobile Association, empowering the ; president (Mr. Neville Nerweomh) ?to protest against the motion of. wMeayi Councillor P. M. Mackay has ygiyea--' notice, to make it obligatory iupoa drivers of motor-cars to come to a stop' when approaching standing tramctn, - ■from which passengers arc,alighting.-H/ was argued by members..that the nV* striction would be not qnlyr.nbsurd, bntjimpossible to carry out.' - ".- A Wellington paper remarks:—*Tf the, , public generally would accept theirbftad: . over the counter, the 21b loaf could still.:, be sold at 4d. The cost of delivery- hi Wellington is extra heavy owing to they big grades to be negotiated, accentuate* at the present time by the high price of/I fodder. There is at least one baker is ' Wellington South sfiil 'selling bread -jff;.;'.' 4Ad per loaf over the counter. Curiously ■;, , enough, as the cost of delivering breed -amounts to about 3d a loaf, te is msfc .ing more profit than the baker". whi y 1 vends bread at 5d a loaf." The candidature of Mt. W. S_o<3ey{«jr the representation of the Northern Sacsi . suburbs on the Harbour Board has : Mi. unanimously approved by .the-Dewisjiuft; Borough Council, the member* of.'ipfc":last night, on the motion- of Mean. H W. McLean and A. M. offldhSji minuted their support in thie direction Mr. Handley, apart from iua nerviest te Devon port as a councillor and am deputy* Mayor, has been Mayor of the borosgh continuously since 1907. .» Tudehope's sale stops Saturfey, bigg* bargains still. Neckwear. ladies' linen collars. Id. !v-'