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Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 72, 25 March 1915, Page 4

The following jb Mr. D. C. Bates' weather forecast for 24 hours from 9 a.m. this day: "The indications aTe for mo-, derate to strong south-easterly winds, veering by east to north. Tha weather will be probably cool and changeable, but improving soort. The barometer has a irwing tendency. Tides good. Sea rough." A public meeting was held last night in the Dominion Road Church aa a further means of celebrating the. opening. The chairman of the district (the Rcfv. George Bond) presided over a 'large attendance. An interesting statement was mitde by the minister of the church, the Rev. .1. B. Suckling, in oonh-eetkm with the building fund. llv said that by various means a sum of about £1750 had been Taised towards the cost of the new structure, and that after allowing tor the offertories connected with, the opening a debt of about £1000 would remain - on. ___c building. . The work had grown 'Wonderfully since it was started in ISO 7in M/rs. Hirst's garden. Burnley Terrace. .. .During, the evening some enjoyable vocal number- were contributed by Miss Lilian Pickering and Mr. IS.' Dannas. 'The jrow sang ''H-Melujah'.* and tihe anthem, "I am- Alpha and Omega." Furtlver special services axe to be hold. ,on Sundaj" next and on Easter Sunday. , •The most important duty in connection with the National, Reserve movement is that its members should be well versed in' tho use of the rifle and be able to shoot straight, in order to he thoroughly equipped for the purposes, of home defence in the case of emergency arising. That the Governmont is not able at present to supply the rillcs to all who have enrolled is also acknowledged. This deficiency lias to some extent been overcome in the cases of tTic and ' Northcote branches. When tho school cadets corps were abolished some little time back the rides in use by the Northcote corps were stored at the school. Now that the National Reserve branches have come into being application has- been made by the secretaries of the branches of Northcote (Mr. Jas. T. Fearnlcy) and Birkenhead (Mr. A.-E. : €tTeenslado)for the use of the JiHes referred to. Tlie chairman of the School Committee. (Mr. Jag. P„McPhail)has.communicated.ovilh the chairman of the Education Board] with'the" result that the 84 rifles will be equally distributed between tho Birkenhead and Northcote branches, in order that these weapons may be undertaken. The Birkenhead platoon - , wiM use a the- rifles for the first time, at the 'drift this .evening. A. guarantee for the safe keeping of the rifles is to be given by the respective branches.

The fall of the'year usually brings in its train various ailments to which the. ordinary constitution, debilitated by tho heat and physical trials of summer, are peculiarly susceptible. The influenza germ 13 one of these assailants that chooses this period of the year to get especially busy, and once he carries the first line of trenches, this ruthless little Hun of a germ finds il easy" to make all manner of trouble for his human victims. At the present time he is merrily active among young and old about Auckland, and the sundry patent nostrums for combating-the ravages of the little "devil with a pitchfork" are having a great, vogue. School children who, by reason of their cheek by jowl collectivity, are a good indicator of the minor epidemics, have 'been among the most numerous of the sufferers, although the education authorities state there is nothing very unusual in the number of absentees for the season. The whole community, however, seems to be having a turn from the unwelcome visitant,' for views and" experiences on the influenza feeling, symptoms, and 1 most approved remedies are supplying, food for the filling in qf quite a number of what would otherwise" he conversational hiatuses. Fortunately, influenza does not now carry with it the' same dread significance which once attached to La Grippe. The wicked little germ, although still -virulent "enough when he finds favourable soil in which to .propagate his species, has lost a lot of his original dash so far as the bulk of us is concerned. His average ability now is restricted to producing a protracted feeling akin to which one feels in the. morning after having dined and wined too joyously tho night before. A man earning £3 6/ per week admitted at the Magistrate's Court to-day that he owed about £110. As: his furniture had been sold under a bill of sale he was now boarding with his wife's people, which cost him £3 per week. The solicitor suggested the mart "should go bankrupt, whereupon Mr. C. C. Kettle, S.M., remarked, "What is the use of bankruptcy if thfere are no assets?" The" case Was then put down as "having no means." Work on the Opunake railway is being steadily pushed on. Altogether between forty and fifty men are engaged, spread out in gangs of five or six at several points. Most of the work is being focussed in one or-two deep concrete cul-' verts near- -the Te -Rati end, and as soonas the concrete has sufficiently settled the steam shovel will expedite the earth filling workr'Gengs of men are also at work on the Matapu section, where the construction is_yery easy and simple, the country - being "almost dead level for a number of miles..

I Newß has been received of the death lat Dunedin of Mrs.. George Shand, relict of one of Otago's pioneers. "The deceased i lady, w_*ase eon, Mr. J. A. Shand, ia i editor of the Thames "Star," was in her 89-h'y-aarat the time oi her death. With" jlher _n__b_-__, ehe arrived at Durredin _n [tho fifties, and shared in the vicissitudes o. the early colonists. Mrs. Shand was noted for her kindly diirpOßition and h__p.t_.l-ty. . '

Private advice* received in ..Sydney. state that Tom Sullivan, the"sculler who "Auckland, where his people roride, &md also his- eldest son are rcirao-TB of wax in-Germany. SuHivanto ■w_Be and the.. yowigeet children have jtsuahed Id-don Rifely,

A wireteaß message was received in Wellington yesterday afternoon from the liner Westmeath,' stating that the vessel was experiencing very rough weaher, and that a man had been lost overboard. The Westmeath left Gisborne at 3.30 a.m. on Tuesday for Waitara, where she expects to arrive this afternoon.

The Racing Commtssion has comp-eted j its work in Canterbury, Otago, and 'Southland. West Coast, Marlborough, and Nelson district- have yet to be I visited, and Marlborough and Nelson applications for totalisator permits will be inquired l into thiß week. The eommisision expects to submit its report to the I Governor iby the end of-next month.

Discussing the increased price of foodstuffs at the Birkenhead Council, Mr. T Church related a personal conversation to -show that prices were in many cases unnecessarily advanced. A\few days ago a merchant told him he had an ample stock of potatoes in store, but if the rain continued, it would prevent the potatoes arriving in the city, so that he would be able to "score " on this account to the extent of an extra ten shillings per ton. "He left mc quick and busy," concluded Mr. Church, amidst laughter.

The hope that tram cars would never be allowed to disturb the quietness of the Auckland Hospital was expressed by Mr. Arthur M. Myers, M.P.. when speaking at the. Hospital.yesterday afternoon at the ceremony connected with the handing over of the new motor-ambu-lance. When" "he was Mayor of Auckland, said Mr. Myers, those associated with him on the City Council had decided that trams should not be allowed to run over Grafton Bridge, and he hoped they never would. It was a matter of gratification that a modern motor ambulance was ready to respond to any call. Dr. A. W. Averill, Anglican Bishop of Auckland, in the course of his remarks, said that motor traction was being used in connection with the war for the purpose of destroying fellow creatures. The pleasing feature about the Auckland motor ambulance was that it had been provided" by the citizens, not for purposes ,qf destruction, bnt for the benefit ahd help of suffering humanity. At the call of the Rev: W. E. Gillam three hearty cheers were given for Captain E. •I. Thomas in appreciation of his efforts in organising the fund..

I The new Parnell tunnel which has been in course of construction for many j moqths past, will be opened for traffic on Sunday. The train leaving Auckland at d a.m. for Papakura will be the first to pass through, and the first inward.bound train-to use the tunnel will be that arriv. ing at the Auckland station from Onehunga at 10.30 a.m. There is still work in progress upon the laying of a new line of rails through the tunnel, and until this is completed, all inward trains will use the'new tunnel, while those leaving Auckland will pass through the old outlet. The width of the tunnel is 25ft. OJin.. the length 1,130 feet, and the height 18ft. 22in.

On Saturday afternoon at Kohimarama a regatta arranged by the Auckland Rowing ' Association ' wilt be held, to decide.: the . provincial, championshps among the various grades of oarsmen in t-hc province. The programme comprises twelve events, the trophies being valuable shields and cups presented by prominent supporters . of: rowing. A notable event is the introduction of 'a

race fo"r welter-weight maidens, for which a magnificent shield was placed at the disposal of the Auckland Rowing 'Association by the late Mrs. John Clark, wife of the president. Other well-known trophies of historic value are the Marshall Cup for hest-and-best sculling, the Dewar Shield, and the Russell Cup.

One ray of cheerfulness in an otherwise depressing view of prices in Wellington is the cheapening of afternoon teas. It is possible in a number of big city restaurants to" get tea" with bread and butter and biscuits- for a modest threepence:' This is due. to a mild cutting . war against, a tea importing firm which has for several months been providing this class of light repast for 3d. Presumably sixpenny tea establishments have felt the competition severely, for many have fallen into line, though sixpence is still the rule where cakes are provided and music "thrown in" at husy times.

The exemplary fine of £5 was imposed yesterday by-Mr. Fraser. S.M.. on a de-fendant-named Archibald J. X. Mclnness, who did not appear to answer charges of driving a motor cart in the street at night without having the tail light alight or the front lamps sufficiently light. A constable stated that he had noticed the I car standing in the street when the deI fondant came to it from an hotel, and though witness spoke to him about the | insufficiency of the lights, the man, who was under the influence of liquor,"jumped into the car and drove away without attending to th c lights: On learning that ■defendant had been twice previously convicted for being.drunk when in charge of a motor car, his Worship remarked that the man should have -his - license cancelled and imposed the severe fine mentioned.

It is not a common sight to witness a popular actor making a speech to a crowd of shop assistants (says the "Dominion"), yet this happened at Kirkcaldie and Stains' warehouse, at Wellington, on Monday evening. During the day Messrs. John and Sidney Kirkcaldie had purchased four . hundred gallery seats for "Lady Windermere's Fan," and in ■ thanking them for the splendid example set, Mr Winter Hall made a fine speech, setting out the pbjccts.jo...the .tour, and why he and Mr PlimmerTiad decided to make the effort to produce a large cheque in aid of those who had fought so bravely jn their own defence and had so materially helped to preserve the integrity oi the Empire. He ■begged them one and all to help in the good work, which - would, he was sore, •bring its own reward. Other Wellington linns have also intimated their intention of helping in the same way, and Mr J. A. Frostick, of. Christchureh, has already intimated that he will treat 200 .of his,employees to "Lady Windermere's Fan" when the company visits that city. The Auckland season begins on Saturday, April .3, the opening play,.being "The Mummy and the Humming Bird."

The attention of the Mayor was lately ■drawn, to the fact that, there is a public reserve, comprising about eighty acres, on Motutapu Island Mr. Parr states that he was not awre of the existence of the reserve until Mr. Bennett, inspector of fisheries, informed him that he had noticed the Mayor's suggestion that the island should he secured as a park for the people. Mr. Parr has since made inquiries from several sources, and finds that the land is at present under the jurisdiction of the Crown Lands Board, and is leased to a certain -person for a term' of five years .from November, 1913. It is understood that the- property lies insidewhat is calledßird Island, and that there'ls a'Sb'odheaeh on it.: The Mayor expresses the opinion that tho flat land between Rangitoto and Motutapu should he secured for the public by the Harbour Board.

As far back as November of last year it was. publicly notified that, as Motuihi Island had been taken over by the Defence Department as a place of internment for prisoners of war, no person would be permitted to land on or approach the island without first obtaining permission from the Defence authorities. ''Any person "disregarding the above notice," the order stated, "will be fired upon by the guard." Once or twice it has been necessary for the guard at the island to show impudent trespassers in the vicinity that the order was to be taken seriously. Their warnings have been backed up by such excellent rifle practice as to show that the marksmen could and are prepared to fire to hit. It wag necessary at first also for the gunners on guard over the Rangitoto Channel to show careless and cheeky master mariners that it was compulsory to report to the examination vessel.

Money continues to flow into the country from the realisation of our season's produce to a very considerable amount, while our imports are on a lighter scale than for some time past (states the "New Zealand Trade Review" in its issue of last week), consequently the banks' coffers are well replenished and there is an ample supply of funds available for all ordinary trading purposes. Many farmers and others have big credits now, for which they seek investment, as a liquid form of security is desired in many cases, good sound shares are in demand and values of all good investment stocks are firming. With the end. of February we completed five months of the current export season, and the value of our exports for this period reached £ 12,750,154, as compared with £9,458,158 for the corresponding period of last season, which is an increase of £ 3,291,99 G. It must be remembered that we are enjoying a very early season, and the returns from now on may not maintain last year' 6 level; still, a record total for the season is confidently anticipated. The outlook, therefore, is decidedly satisfactory, and the supply of funds for all general purposes should be ample for some time.

... .At the Birkenhead Borough Council meeting last night, Cr. J. P. McPhail drew attention to the apparent inconsistency of the Health Department in I approving of the installation of septic tanks in districts like Birkenhead, where clay .areas abound, while condemning their use in Mount Eden. The Mayor (Mr. Wm, Wallace) said he understood that the attitude taken up by the Department was that the septic tank was a mitigation of an evil where a proper drainage system did not exist, but that these tanks Were not the success anticipated when first introduced. , Another very light fall of rain was experienced in the city last evening, amounting to B'points. This brings tbe total for the month up to 5.6. inches, of which amount 4.57 inches have fallen within the past eight days. Another lot of' salvage toys on Saturday morning. This 13 a better lot and mostly in perfect condition. Sale at 9.30 a_n. Grey and Ford, Ltd.—(Ad.) ~