GENERAL NEWS.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15512, 12 February 1916, Page 8

GENERAL NEWS.

The auction announcements of Pyne and Co., National Mortgage and Agency Co., W. E.- Simes and Co., Dalgetv and Co., New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Harris Bros., Tonks, Norton and Co., and R. S. McKenzie and Co.. will be foun-J on page 15 of this issue. The tug-of-war between representatives of the blacksmiths (challengers) and the fitters for the championship of the Addington railway workehips, was won by tho latter by a quarter of an inch —not by a good inch as stated on Thursday. The Levin Borough Council has put its foot down heavily on a petition from I 'twenty-nine males and fcwentvtwo females" that they should be allowed, to mixed-bathe. One councillor said the petition was "the outcome of the recent hot weather. A cold snap would settle it." But the Council got iu first. An organ recital will be given by Dr. Bradshaw, City Organist in His Majesty's Theatre at 8.30 p.m. tomorrow, in aid of the Canterbury Patriotic Fund. An attractive programme has been arranged by Dr. Bradshaw, who will be assisted*by Mr, Montague GilLmore. a vocalist recently from England. Tho whole of the proceeds, apart from expenses for printing and advertising, will be devoted to the fund. The last car from town io Sumner last night ran into a boulder weighing about 2 cwt., which had fallen from the cliff, the result being a damaged lifeguard. The obstruction was lying in the middle of the track, and owing to being just round a corner, was not visible "to the motorman untii too late to bring the car to a. stop. Other boulders of less weight were lying alone the road. * =

The Telegraph Office reported yesterday morning that the W aimakariri (north and south branches). Opihi, and AYaitaki rivers were clear, and the B-angi-tata and Rakaia rivers dirty.

After being idle for just over a fortnight. the miners employed at the Homebush Company's mine at Bush Gully have resumed work, having eome to a satisfactory settlement with the directors.

The Executive of the C'.D.C. acknowledges with thanks the receipt of £21 from the Town Clerk. This amount was originally subscribed to the Aeroplane Fund, but was transferred to the C.D.C. at the request of the subscribers who were:—The Mayor £0 os. and Crs. H. J. Ot-lev £10 10s. J. AY. Beanland £3 3s, J. Reynolds Is. and U. G. Sullivan £1 Is.

In connexion with the St. Albans Fete on behalf of the Bed Cross Fund, which will be opened by his Excellency the Governor on February 26th, an attempt will bo made by Mr H. S. Alpe to break his walking record of 1 hour 30 minutes for an eight, miles' distance. The course will be from the Cashmere Hills to St. Albans Park and once round the Park.

At the Oxford Terrace Baptist Church to-morrow evening, the llev. J J. North will conduct a memorial service for Private B. Lyons, who. at the first- landing of our troops at GalTipoli, was reported '"missing." but whose name is now, after investigation, placed upon the killed in action list. Of the forty men enrolled from this church Bernard Lyons is the only one who has been called to make the supreme sacrifice.

Messrs J. Flood and AW E. Agar, president and secretary respectively of the Lyltelton Waterside Workers' Union, who attended the recent conference in "Wellington between the Shipowners' Federation and the AY ate rsiders' Federation, returned to Lyttelton by yesterday's ferry steamer. Mr Agar, in conversation with a representative of "The Press,'' said that the statement made on Thursday that a new industrial agreement had been eome to and would come into operation immediately was quite erroneous. After discussing the matter with his executive it had, he said, l>eon decided to make a full statement as to what transpired at the conference at a "stopwork" meeting to be held 011 Monday next.

''To_make an order for the payment of £17 against a labouring man simply means sending him to gaol, which is no gain to anybody,'j" was the reason why an order was not made on Monday at the Auckland Magistrate's Court by Mr K. C. Cuttcn, S.M., in a judgment summons ease (says the "Star'')- In another instance 110 order was made against a widower who ha<l six children to maintain. Another ca&e was ordered to stand over, it beint; shown defendant was onJv earning £2 Is lid, £2 2s Gd and £1 7 S lOd per week, out of which ho had a wife and family to maintain. The man stated he was- on relief works. Several other judgment summons eases were adjourned.

.New Zealand is apparently "under the ova" of the Germans. A contemporary quotes tho following paragraph from the "Luueburgerheide Nachricliteri," a German newspaper: "As soon as Germany has command of the seas, which will be before long, wo would advise our Government to turn its attention towards an island named New Zealand. It would piuch to got possession of it, because they have only boys as soldiers, and are too far away from Britain to get any help from there. It is a very fertile land; it produces an enormous quantity of butter, cheese, beef, mutton, andwool, all products much needed in our country. The country is also rich in gold, coal, oil, and other minerals. The first nation of the world —Germany—ought to be in possession of it."

'•Tennis is a nice game,- but it is not a necessity, and tho rent the club pays is payment for a luxury," said the Mayor at the last meeting of tho Wnnganui Borough Council, in reference to an application by the St. John's Tennis Club for a reduction of its rent. Cr. McCaul, who supported the application, pointed out that the club, like tho cricket, hockey, and football clubs, had lost members on account of tho war, and ns the latter had had their rents reduced, it was only fair to givo the tennis players similar treatment. Cr. Luxford pointed out, however, that, wl-erens the tenris players had tho use of their cround all the lime, the other clubs mentioned were only granted their ground when the Council did not require it. i'or other purposes. Tho Council decided to support, the Reserves Committee's recommendation not to grant the application.

At a meeting of the Ixsvuka Chamber of Commerce, hold a fortnight ago. Captain Robbie (Mayor of Levnka) made the following remarks, which speak for themselves: "I think Lcvuka stands forward as an exception throughout the British Empire as offering facilities to enemy traders. . .

It is not only th<> trading that affects the community, but undoubtedly there is a. Gorman influence going through this colory of which I can furnish proof; and from nn\ong the Fiji an s in certain parts of Fiji very displeasing rumours are current, and most disloyal utterances are being made with reference to the termination of hostilities and the pro-liablc victor. Leruka is looked down upon by the whole colony as a harbour for enemy traders, and T think it is high time that this Chamber —in conjunction with tho Suva Chamber of Commerce—took steps to approach the Government of this colony, and insist u"on the clearance of our atmosphere." Napier's new bridge, the first link in the railway lino to Gisborne, is to be tho most up-to-date bridge "in the Dominion, and one .of the longest, und i 0 is expected that active operations will commence in the course of the next few days, as soon as a spccially-im-ported winch arrives to do the piledriving. As showing the great weight and strength of tho proposed bridge, over 700 tons of steel work, anglepieccs, and general reinforcements, will be used in the structure, in addition to 10,000 tons of concrete. Already there are '300 35ft concrete piles at Weetshore, and 300 more are in the course of construction. In order to construct the bridge, 000 additional temporary hardwood piles will be heeded. Special pile-driving plant has been constructed, aud the monkey weighs a modest fivo tons. Each of the 690 concrete piles arc to be driven 30ft deep. The bridee is to have an 18ft roadway in I | addition to the railway track, and "will hi almost a quarter of a mile in length. Ifc is not exncctcd that the work will be finished for two years. There has been sonio discussion to tho reason of the closing of tho children's ward at the hospital, it being freely rumoured that scarlet fever was rife in the ward. The facts are extremely simple. It appears that a hoy, whose cause of illness was diagnosed as kidney trouble, was admitted, and later was found to have developed a slight attack of scarlet fever. Later, by a peculiar coincidence, two children who were sent to the hospital on account of scalds received, were admitted, and in due course also developed the infection. Several patients in the ward also developed it, and the hospital authorities have made every effort to deal with the trouble. They have closed the ward to further patients till all chance of infection is over, and are taking every step possible to mitigate it. The fever cas"s from the ward have been taken to Bottle Lake, and the Public Health Department is taking the most stringent steps to locate and deal -with the infection., which, fortunately, is 0 f a very mild nature—so mild that it is difficult to diagnose, especially in respect to those cases where it is in conjunction with another ailment.

| The six-cylindcr Buick has, in all truth, stirred tbc motor-buying public in a manner never before equalled. fi Cabinet has authorised the. installation of electric light for Hanmer Springs in connexion with the Convalescent Camp to be established there, and the buildings will probably be finished in eight weeks' time. According to the Waikaka cor respondent of the "'Southland Times''' the dredging industry in that locality is on the wane, another dredge or two having closed down of late. It is not. says the correspondent., that the gold is not in the ground, but the expense of getting it out is increasing steadily, and very little is left lor the shareholders. A Christchurch nurse, writing to a friend from Aotea Convalescent Home. Heliopolis, Cairo, says:—"lt is lovely being able to do so much for our own boys. Their worn, old-looking faces make my heart ache often, lmt they are so plucky, • unselfish, and uncomplaining. Some of them are such boys. Many a mother has cause to be proud of her boy. So far all the boys we have had in have played the game." One young man in the Mastorton district is reported to have secured a certificate of medical unfitness in ail ingenious manner. It is alleged that after receiving his enlistment card lie went to a medical officer ana said, "Dr. So-and-so says I am uniit for servicc." "Very well,'' said tho medical man. "there is no necessity for me to examine you." \.nd a certificate of unfitness was issued. Mr F. Kingsford. president of the United Pigeon Fanciers' Club, organised a very interesting little exhibition for the homing scotion of the club, in it:, rooms last evening. About a score of first-rate homers wore shown by Messrs A. Finlnvson. D. Spencer, K. Rowe, and A. Buckley, some of t"e birds having pin, up great flights. One of Mr Finlayson's birds flew from Russell to Christchurch, 620 miles, whi.-h i; tho second longest flight ever made in New Zealand, and several of tho other birds shown had also put up good performances. Tho exhibition created some interest, and a good many members of the public patronised it. The passengers and others awaiting tho arrival cf the early morning train at Carterton station on Tuesday witnessed a rather peculiar spectacle for a morning train. Perched* on ton of one ov the carriages were several recruits. who ware on their way to Trentham, and judging by their attitude they looked upon the incident as .a joke rather til an a serious matter. These young fellows had apparently climbed ution the carriage while the train was in motion, and that they reached there without falling off was merely good fortune. If other soldiers havp adopted such a senseless practice, it is no wonder that several have met their death. There was a most enthusiastic scene at tho Commercial Travellers' Club last night, when Mr F. \Y. Manton. a delegate from Wellington having read the provisions of tho All for Empire League, asked for three cheers for the scheme just launched by the Conference. He felt sure it would be taken up; and that every man in the room would pledge himself to buy no German goods. The scheme was hailed with three hearty cheers, and the tickets which had been drawn up. and printed that day, were eagerly taken up, and everyone present promised his heartiest support. Fruitgrower";, especially fruit-pick-ers. will Ik? interested in a fruit-pick-ing bag which has just been patented by Mr W. Fowler, of Port Nelson (says tho ".Mail"). 'The new contrivance has many advantages, chief among which is that the weight is removed from the nock and thrown on to the middle of the shoulders. This is done by means of specially-designed shoulder-straps, and the result is surprisingly effective. The. fruit-picker ■ is able to move with the greatest cofii vonienec. even with a- full bag of fruit, i and the bag may be filled from any ■ position without nnv difficulty whatever. The bag is strong but light, i and should prove of great convenience to pickers. Mr Manton. a delegate to the Conference of the Commercial Travellers' Association, snid in his speech at the smoke concert, tendered by the Association to the delegates iast night, 'that we liad a lot to learn from a French friend of his. This friend, when invalided to Paris, had token an opportunity first to sen his old town Rheinis, and after describing it lie said, "Wo are still full'of hope." What was that description? Rhcims had been bombarded for four hundred days, its beautiful cathedral was shattered, its industries gone, its population of 120.000 reduced to lo,0(K), and these living in rellars, and this Frenchman wrote. "We are still full of hope." "There is n great lesson for us in this,"' said Mr Manton. The Labour Department has received a letter from a British Army dental surgeon, who has been invalided out of the. service and advised to settle in New Zealand. The emigration authorities in England, he states, recommend him to endeavour to obtain an assistant's post for a time before choosing a place for "himself, and to write to the" Labour Department to ask them to try and find him such a post. The writer is a qualified man—L.D.S., R.C.&.. England, thirty-eight years of age, and married, with two children; he v,-rites that lie has hold almost every form of hospital and other public appointment, and has practised in London and Shropshire for sixteen years. The Labour Department has replied that they will have no difficulty in placing him. Somo persons have been scoffing at the Government's, offer to find land for discharged soldiers (says the Napier "Daily Telegraph"). They declare that the men cannot hope to make a living out of the quality of land offered. Air Skinner, Commissioner of Crown Lands, laughs at such a suggestion. He says:— "Far from the land being of inferior quality, the land to be proclaimed in tho liawke's Bay district is actually our best available land, specially selected for the purpose. There is a block of about 44,000 acres near Napier, which is to be proclaimed under the special Act. It is all good, low-lying sheep country, and will be cut up into selections averaging GOO aercs each, which should carry from 600 to 800 sheep. There was a block of four thousand acres of tip-top dairying land near Takapau. and also two small holdings, one at Ngntapa, and one at Waerenga-o-lcuri. This land has still to be proclaimed," he said, "but the man who gets a selection will have no regrets ! about it." A P. ai "ty of motorists from Dunedm had an interesting time on Saturday morning on the Clyde-Cromwell road, in the vicinity of the recent wash-outs (say s the "Otago B'aily Times"). In avoiding the boulders at one point the machine backed over an embankment, and was only brought up loft below the road 6uriace by a clump of trees. How to regain the road was a problem, but fortunately some tools left by surfacemen were discovered near by, and' the motorists set to work to build a track. Just as their labours had been concluded the coach came along with a welcome reinforcement of four willing men, and the car was soon back on the road. Next morning, however, further trouble was encountered; this time near the Bald Hill Flat, on" the Clyde-Roxburgh road. Here a cloudburst had created a gap 20ft wide by about 12ft deep in the roadway. While the motorists were reviewing the sitration they were joined by the occupants of two other cars, and the whole party set to work and made a track down_ the bank by the side of the road. Within two hours they had got to the other side of the crater, and were sailing merrily for home. It was hot work, though.

I A bottle of ~S tlTu^Sr> ; drive that cold away. Get n v-^] ; All chemists and stern* " ! Loasb - v - 679 Colombo'st^tSi .An electric fan ,$ i„, t _, ' X I ls a .necessity. health demliiJPW, t comtort depends upo n ® house fans give the i„os t b'reJ7®% agents*. lurnbuU and I' ruit jars- New stork tW . ' also fresh rubber rings. lij cu-rson. Ltd., 112 Cashel stixc^^ Your home pets photorranhJ: . manner you will appreciate amfL 61 ' trill last tor ever. Steffano High street. e ®b, Jg Important notice to holiday.,.. * Specinl suit-eases. leather-bon*!? „ 3s lid: dress baskets, from 12s Ud: initialled free. Drayton's, 703 Colombo strSetlTjg Expert knowledge is thn «ni that counts. Over sixty years" 41 enco in Customs, Shippinc warding Work, including FuraiS *5" movals. Call or wood and Co., MancheW. Established 1831. r *b<tt Housewives can say good-bye to ,J board drudgery when "NO KCBBlvft Laundry Help arrives. Kiwi Ltd. How to "Bottle" Fruit Hastic. Bull, and Pickering «J?? tenting purchasers of Fruit J ar > cor,cisc diicctions for bottline by an expert. They haro tW k5 wiue-neck jars on sale. jJ* Removals and Storing.—Wo retain large and efficient staff in this (tart mcnt all the yea r round. A. J, "Kvor-roady" electric torchfj uj pocket lamps—the reliable brand-Z obtainable at lajwis and Anderw. Ltd., ll!: Oashel street. " A most delightful effect is obUaJ by looking at post-card photo C m"a ••inonoscope." It consists d, concave mirror with a a attachmentfc holding post-cards, etc., the nin» magnifying and giving, abe 2 stereoscope offcct. Tliev are <»]* v Gd each, at John R. Procter's, OC ±J optician, 200 High street, Chriw church. ' j

AN" OTHER SATISFIED STUDF BAIvJSR BUILDER GIVES TECTIMOXY. Tlie absolute reliability and oiiickar of the Stucioliakor under abnomul cii' cumstancos wins the coutidctica itj appreciation 01' Studebakcr owiej, liere is a letter recently received ft us from il r •). 11. Kiud, tho »& known builder, 0 i : l!iccartoii:'".\ t ' doubt you will bo triad to know bOT l got on with. the cur on m v >icir Vt# holiday trip, Clnistchurch to &]s<a via. Oulverder., Kaikoura, and Diet heim. AVell. tho car was most at& I factory in every respect. At Rax I river valley (Nc.'son district), where t was informed that no car could pj and was further warned not to tempt it, 1 determined to go on, uj was surprised to find that t&.VI could navigate tho rivers nnd imi road quito easily, and we contimej ' along this new track as far u,tfc • road is open. When I tell you Ik' while in the rivers (all lo\v-gear<roril|! could feel the car being carried a«jflj >: tho shifting bottom of the will understand how I. reserve power of the Stuaebakrr Altogether I travelled some 1300 afa.': since leaving Christchurch, und I ta I more than pleased with my Stud*- ' baker ear. It is a great relief t» :: have a ear negotiate rivers and' sttS.. grades up to 3000 feet above sca-ferw,-■; in wet weather too, and come:throng without the least trouble. The flee-, trie lights and self-starter ww ill that could be desired, and art efftainly of great advantago whrtoa tour." Suck testimony as that".inquires no comment. We riay «&, however, that the Studebakcr riir i» wonderfully economical, on petrol consumption , a point ( of 'iniportoiice ur view of the increasing price of moftt j fuel. The Civil/SemntV Associate has purchased a Studcbaker ;car -to sist tho candidature of tho Public Set"? vice Queen. Tickets for the Stride--baker car art union can be purchilM for Is from any Studebakcr asfnl. | Adams, T,td., Headquarteis baker Garage. Tuam -street £