GENERAL NEWS.

Press, Volume L, Issue 14956, 1 May 1914, Page 6

GENERAL NEWS.

*t. ?r el - e S; lon t0 fill tyro vacancies on tho Mt. 'Herbert County Council resulted as follows:—Peter Bamford, 26George Wallis, 10. Tho Nelson harbour improvement loan of £35,000 was lost, there being 80 votes short of tho required three> fifths majority. A recount of the votes in the Nelson Mayoral election increased the majority of tho retiring Mayor (Mr W. Lock)" from 3 to o. The Hospital Board received a legal opinion from the Crown Law officers yesterday that special legislation would havo to" be procured to enable the Board to acquire a portion of the Domain for building extensions. Air W. W. Tannor proposed that the Finance Committee take tho necessary steps to havo a Bill prepared and introduced during tho coming session authorising tho Board to acquire up to five acres of the Domain. This was seconded by Air W. H. Coopor, and carried.

Tho adjustment of tho conditions of work on tho Wellington wharves is still engaging tho attention of both workers ar.d employers, and yesterday a conference was held between members of tho executive of the Citizens' Defence Committee and representatives of tho Wharf Labourers' Union, when tho following motion was passed :— : | "That it bo a recommendation that a | committee consisting of two reprosen- ! tatives of the Union, two representatives of the employers, and an independent chairman, be set up to deal with tho complaints regarding work on tho waterfront." Years ago it was thought that tho Chrysanthemum had attained such giant proportions that high cultivation could do very little more. But at last year's Chrysanthemum Show a young grower from Amberley brought "down blooms that oasily eclipsed anything previously scon here, and thero wore also flowers from Invercargill, Dunedin, and Southbridgo that for all-round excellence had never been surpassed in Christchurch. This year the Amberley enthusiast'is growing no fewer than 250 plants, and those who havo seen his blooms say they are far in advance of his last year's prize-winners. As the Dunedin and Invercargill exhibitors will also bo competitors, next week's show in tho Art Gallery should bo a memorable one. At tho meeting of the Hospital Board yesterday, Dt Fonwick, pursuant to notice, moved > —"That this Board decido to undertake no fresh building scheme, with tho exception of tho proposed chronic ward, during the remainder of its term of office." Ho said ho thought the Board was spending money too lavishly; £100,000 in four years .seemed to him to be too much altogether. Air W. W. Tauner seconded the motion. Air R. Mooro suggested that tho motion should be more in the nature of a recommendation to the Board. Air A. H. Turnbull said that the new accommodation provided was absolutely necessary, and it was a better policy to .spend tho money quickly anil get the work done rather than to spread it over a number of years. Mr Geo. SWai.said that, the cost of tho extensions should have been provided for by loan instead of by direct rates. The chairman (Mr F- said he believed in the principle of loans, but the Board had no power to rabe loans itself. Dr. Fenwick amended his • motion as follows:— 'That it be a recommendation to tho Board to limit a.s far_ as possible future buildings with a view to obtaining complete efficiency with the strictest economy." Mr J. D. Hall said tho Board had benefited largely by private benefaction- which "relieved the ratepayers to that extent The chairman said that of the £106,00<> referred to. the local bodies found £30 000, and the Government £39.00u. 'while the balance was made «P of private benefactions. Di\ Fonwick withdrew his motion.

The Veterans who are to bo reviewed to-morrow by General Sir lan Hamilton are requested to be on parr.do at 1.30 p.m. The Woolston Brass Band will play a programme of music in the Woolston Domain op Se.nday afternoon, commencing at 3 o'clock. Mr Chad'.uck, resident manager of Fuller's Opoia House, has offered to entertain one hundred West Coast Cadets to-night, on their arrival. The Hospital Committee reported to the Hospital Board yesterday that as tho numbe.: of visitors to patients in Hospital had pi-oved distinctly detrimental to many that wero seriously ill. it had been decided to limit the timo for visiting to ono hour instead of two hours on Wednesdays and Thursdays. A letter was re-reived from the In-spector-General of Hospitals by tho Hospital Board yesterday stating that the Department thoroughly agreed with the decision of the Board to establish an oiK-oationt department for tho treatment- of venereal diseases, and congratulated the Board on taking tlio initiative in tho matter. Resolutions approving of the action of the Board wero received from the Canterbury Women's Institute, the Society for the Protection of Women and ■ Children, and tho W.C.T.U., Kaiapoi.

The Council of the Fire Underwriter;;' Association o\ New Zealand concluded its annual meeting in Wellington the'other dnv (telegraphs our correspondent). Mr R. J. White. New Zealand representative of the Guardian Assurance Company, who is resident in Wellington, was elected president in place of Mr J. Buttle, general manager of the New Zealand Insurance Company, who has retired alter many years of excellent service, as head of the Council. The vice-president tor the current year is Mr A. W. Yor.iv". Now Zealand representative of ine Atlas Assurance Company. He also is resident in Wellington. that it will now probably be found necessary to remove the headquarters of tho organisation from Auckland to Wellington.

Tho Central Methodist Mission .iim> versarv celebrations were continued last night, when a tea and public meet inn- was held in the Durham street North Methodist Schoolroom. At t. o'clock several hundred sat. down to wcll-ladeu tables, tastefully decorated by the ladies of the Mission and of other city and suburban churches. Tho public meeting following was presided over by the Mayor (Mr H. who -\*as assisted by Mr C. E. Salter. Musical items were contributed by Mi?s Twose and by the Mission choir. Tho work of the Mission during tho past year was reviewed by the Rev. J. Cocker, who also gavo a brief sketch of the Mission's financial pos-i----tion. Congratulatory addresses wero given by tho .Revs. Knight., Lawry, tin dMetson. All tho speakers cie. r phasised the necessity of increased evangelistic effort in Church work. Between the tea and public meeting the Catherine was entertained by selections by Mr Firth, on the pipe organ.

''The- population of the earth is in : creasing fairly fast now," said Mr Richard Teece, actuary of tho A.M.P. Society, in tho courso of an address in Sydney last week, "and that accounts for- the rise in tho cist of living. Oh, I grant that it ought to decrease the cost, having more hands to 'grow tho food and manufacture tho products required, but they aro not put to work. A man in a factory can make enough clothes and 'boots, ami other commodities for nine people, while tho man on the land can grow enough primary products to feed many times that number. But, as things are, thcro is a pressure on tho means of subsistence. Population is increasing faster than primary products. Another factor is that as communities progress peoplejlemanc? better material conditions, better class of food, and more of it. In the days of Queen Elizabeth tho nobles did not havo 60 much material comfort as tho working man and his family enjoy today."

Is there such a thing as a new disease? (asks the Melbourne "Argus"). Everybody is familiar with tho epidemic of a new doctor who becomes an authority on somo ailment which _ thoso who have time to be ill aro anxious to claim as their own. But the malady is usually an old friend, and sufferers are merely anxious to compare notes on the new man. Any evidence for a new disease is an extremely difficult matter to judge. So far as evidence goes there i« no malady of modem times which y te not present in every past civilisation. Plague dates back recognisably to the second century. . Smallpox has been diagnosed in a mummy of tho 20th dynasty—long before tho Christian era. Tubercle was known to Hippocrates, and recognised as infective by Galen. Pneumonia was described the Greeks. Leprosy was familiar in Egypt 5000 years ago. And many of the acute infectious which have been comparatively recently differentiated certainly existed before they were so well understood.

The annual meeting of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Young Men's Christian Association was held on Thursday afternoon at the Association Building. There was a very representative attendance. The president of tho Association (Mr W. Goss) occupied tho chair. Mrs C. Chilton, secretary of the Auxiliary, read the annual report. Mr Goss moved the adoption of the report, and Mr J. I. Royds seconded tho motion. Speaking to the motion, both gentlemen referred to the . excellent work accomplished by the organisation during the year, and stated how much tho Board of Directors appreciated their assistance in the work. Mrs C E Salter declined to act as president for another year, and Mrs A. C. Sandstein was elected president and treasurer. The other officers elected wero. —Mrs C. "£. Salter, first vice-president; Mrs Wm. Gov:s, second vice-president; Mrs C. Chilton. Fcretnry. The treasurer's' report showed total receipts £120 14s: ernenditure £115 "Ms : leaving a rred't balance of £5. Mr R C. .Browne!! moved a vote of thanks to nil of the officers who had served so fnirkfMllv the past year, and special mont ; "n was made of Hie work o? Mrs C. Chilton, in her untiring ofTrg-ts f or tho eond of th o Association. Tho mot : qn was .ifrree-1 to.

j At the meeting of tho Canterbury I Building Trades Committee thero was a long discussion on the present position of the Labour Department. The local branch, it was contended by the committee, was insufficiently staffed. Members of they committee took strong exception to tho examination that i.s being imposed on members of tho Labour Department, the majority of whom, tho committee contended, were men over 30 years of ago, and who wore appointed to their present positions as inspectors owing to knowledge of labour conditions and labour laws, gained from actual experience. To now ask these men to sit down and pass examinations in precis writing, mat hematics, the metric system, and various other subjects was not only unfair but ridiculous. Further, the" committee considered that it was unjust and tended to make the new regulations retrospective. The latest Departmental report on tho state of trade in Christchurch, particularly its reference to the building trade, was also adversely criticised. The speaker contended that the building trade was in a very unsatisfactory Some blame was attachable to secretaries of unions mid individual unionists in not forwarding to the Department regular reports every month.,and the individual members not signing the unemployment book, which is tho main guide of the state of tho trade. It was suggested that, the reports should be circulated earlier, and be made rnoro up-to-date, and it was decided to forward a complaint to the Department regarding the examination of inspectors.

Messrs T. Skevington and J« s Wright have been elected members of ',** the Waimakariri Harbour Board lot, '-1' tho Eyre County. "■'-,% The secretary of the North Canter '■'{ ' bury Education lioard received a teV -' gram yesterday to tho effect that tho ' teacher* residence at the, School had been burned down early that *■> morning. ' ' ■'" The Very Rev. Dean Carrington cava ■■ the second of his talks on'The History ' of the Gospels" in the Cathedral last *- evening--Tne Gospel of St. Mark bouie ' the theme. The Dean's remarks went "- to show rhat tho Gospel, which waa - written by St. Mark from savings of ' St. Peter, contained very little teach- ' inc. but mostly snapshots of our ' Lord's acts. Tficy were accounts as given by an eye-witness, containing " more general terms than thoso given of the same acts a s recounted in the oiher Gospels. The address was tctt interesting and closely followed by these present. The subject nest Thursday evening will bo St. Luk o ' s Gospel. The Christchurch Tramway Board will this week havo a trial run of the "Tilling Stevens Petrol Electric Motor Bus Chassis." A number of this class of vehicles have been ordered by the Wfllinytou City Council to be used as ' feeders to their tramway system. This system of electric transmission is used extensively in motor lorries and dcliv- .' civ vans. The New Zealand representative icr this machine is now in Christ. church, and trial runs can be arranged with the local agents. Messrs Kuttev and Co.. Ltd.. Hereford street. $ Special courses of treatment Tor fall, ing hair, premature greyness, dandruff " etc., from ono guinea. Tho Litest an! ' proved methods and appliances used Personal attention by appointment' hair work of every description. Kolleston, Cathedral square. Telephone 3.3. 8 Minson and Co.'s Great Sale commences this morning at 10. With their reputation for low prices, tho swwp. ing reductions announced will mean bijr business. (See sale hill iv this issue.) 7 The more the public try to match tho prices at. Messrs Armstrong, the more - appreciative they become. It is common talk that the goods offering and " prices asked in connexion with tho realisation of Morey and Moore's Drapery Stock (In bankruptcy), aro quite with- • out a parallel in tho history of the'trade. " 2 ; Wedding group portraiture by Stef. fano Webb is admittedly the best pos,"' • sible. .Make an appointment now. lelephoim IDS!), Petersen's Buildines.High street. 3 .Motor Accessories — Lvcott Belts S-inch. 13s; Much. 15s; l-]nch, 17s 6d; ' Hutchinson Heavy Tyres, 37s 6d; Assorted spares kept, also best quality repairs, at J. H. Suekliug and Co!, ' Garage, 117 Worcester street. . 6' '" The Bargains- aro so decided, and the I assortment of goods so groat, that those . 1 who were buyers upon the first day of - Armstrong's Sale have como and como ■ again. ' - 2 Walter J. Watson, D.8.0.A.,-Lon-don, Expert Optician (near Kincaid's). I Accurate Sight-testing and Spectacle- '- fitting. Repairs to Frames and broken Lenses matched; Charges moderate. 8 " Shooting Alligators. Alligators infest the rivers apd swamps.of the Northern Territory, and the shooting of the satirians is tho principal sport of the inhabitants (says tho ' "Sydney -Morning Herald"). Mr E. A Graham, a survoyor. who arrived" in Sydney recently, said that the shooting not an easy feat. When 0110 approached tho river-bank the alligators wero off like a shot into tho water, and the tips of their noses, which was ,tho only .part exposed, wero hot much, of a target unless a man was an exoep- • tionally good shot. A few weeks a&o , a couplo. of lubras were seized and £" eaten by • alliVators at a bathing placo ;„ near Darwin, and a similar tragic event !£ had occurred a short timo before that. * Durazzo's Bottle of Ink. Writing to a journal in Bukarest - , an Albanian correspondent describes tho reception of tho new King of Albania in his capital of Durazzo. An eloquent . littlo touch in the description is an \ apology which tho correspondent makes . to tho editor for writing in pencil instead of ink. Incidentally it tells us - much as to what kind of "a place Dur- ;; azzo is. "I write in pencil, says the" < correspondent, "lfecauso at tho hotel !>.' whero I am staying (and where I am " v charged 24s a clay), I cannot, get any -* ink. The landlord (being evidently ./ solicitous for the dignity of his estate- ". lishment) assured mc that he had had.,*; a small bottle, but it had been upeot, " ' r and ho had not yet been able to another." * -'-•* Mosquito and a Minister. *';,' Tho State Premier put in tho Easter i-,-/ holidays at Kuring-gai Chase, and tha" , I only thing that has worried him lately ■ i ,' has been the mosquitoes (says the "Syd- ~"S ney Morning Herald"). Rumours of dissensions in caucus did not.reach him >.' in his retreat, and it was not till he -V ,got to Sydney that he heard of such--things. But the mosquitoes had always , been with him. So persistent were their attentions that Mr Holman found . himself unablo to sleep properly at night, and tho result was that tho stay ■ amid tho rustic surroundings of tho Chaso did not have the recuperative effect on him that he had wished for. The Premier confessed that, compared ■ with tho pestiferous mcssrruitoos, the pin,'J pricks of caucus during the last corrplo of weeks had passed unnoticed. He , lest ni-ghts' rest over tho one, but not r1 over tho other. Roosevelt in Brazil. A London man who recently arrived „ at New York from Brazil brought with him the story of how ex-President Roosevelt, who fs on a hunting and exploring , expedition in South America, was mado " tho hero of a carefully stage-managed " discovery. Just before Roosevelt got to" Brazil his hosts and their friends met •'? and called in the services of the beet explorers and geographers in that part of tho world, with tho idea of fixing up a plan so that the ox-President , should not como back from his trip into , tho interior without discovering something. It was arranged that when _/ Roosevelt started for the jungle ho was to bo accompanied by the explorers, -* who were prepared for tho task. By easy, natural stages ho was to bo led to the banks of a stream, where the explorers wero to exclaim, with well- ' feigned emotion, "This river has never - been charted. It must be a new stream . which you have had the honour or discovering." Despatches from Brazil which have already been received stated that the river was "dhoovered." but whether it was named Theodore or not has not yet been made known.

STOCKTAKECO -ALE OF "STAR"' CYCLES. Stocktaking time is now close at hand and in order to reduce stocks as far as possible beforo tb« end of our . financial year ire arc offering .special inducements to purchasers of tho vrcilknowc an<l popular "Star" bicjele. ■ 'Jilt- "SUir" is probably tho. best-Known, bicycle iv Canterbury. It has Wn before tho public hero for a <juart«r of a cenUirv. and its reputation is as nic/i ns it was in the days when discriniinat- .. ing cvo'i.sts ftladlv* paid somethinp in the neighbourhood of £30 for it. The latest iOM models, including - roadster, ladies' roadster and mon s ■ road-racers nr« escpptionallv upay strong and dainty in The roaa-i-ior mwlols are fitted with .sieol mudf'linrds. freo-v.-hocl and nvo ?tron,s nm brakes. Thrro is not a mere hanosome , or more np-to-dato bicycle on tho mar- -, kct. Vet we have nia<ie a eubetantiat -

mt. in tho price, which has been reSeed from £12 10s to £7 10s. £7 10s j s about the price you would pay lor i fair to medium second-hand machine. rc-ciiaraellei and replaiod. but with the "<tar" veil new bearings, a .sound frame, the hitot style and a name with a big reputation behind it. lour neck i«* •-■'»?«'• particularly recommend t'ne-e "Star" cycles to the attention of working men and girls, especially those who at present use tne trams. \ *"<tar" rvcle. aiwavs ready, always reliable, will'save as cost m tram-fares in ahn'it eighteen months, after which \> wi l ! k.ivc money for its owner. Doesn't it appeal to you as a rather w „.j|,V i-ivestrno.nl? Adams Ltd.. Hi eh "'tr.-et, Christchurch. (R. M. \,'ains Manager. 15'>\clo Department).