GENERAL NEWS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16118, 24 January 1918, Page 6

GENERAL NEWS.

All the Canterbury rivers wero reported clear yesterday.

Reporting to the North Canterbury Hospital and Charitable Aid Board yesterday, Dr. G. J. Blackmore, Medical Director of Tuberculosis Institutions, stated that he was having much difficulty in finding accommodation, for women, both at the Coronation Hospital and the Sanatorium. Every bed in'both places was occupied, and "there were applicants waiting for admission.

Eric "Wilfred Bartram, farm cadet, Prebbleton, Patrick Mooney, miikman. Kialoch street, Btirwoud, and George Heriot Barker. Trocadero Hotel. Christ church, enlisted i:i Christchurch yesterday ior active service.

It uas reported to the North Canterbury Hospital and' Charitable Aid Board yesterday that the V. eilingtcn Hospital and Charitable Aid Board nad terminated the reciprocal agreement chat had existed between the Boards for several yci'.rs.

The iil'th inst. marks the 53th anniversary ot tiie arrival ot t::e ship Chariot ol l'ame. but there will be no reunion ol passengers. it having been decidcd alter the outoreak of y v -ar that such functions slioukl be allowed to lapse till tne return of peace.

Reierence to the accident sustained bv M.r E. Burgoyne, the North Canleiiv'iiy Hospital Board's painter, at the hospital recently, was made at yesterday's meeting oh the iioard, when it was reported tnal Mr Hiirgeyae v*;is stili in a critical condition. It was resolved to hold an enquny as to -who was responsible for tho accident. A motion ■or sympathy with Mrs Burgoyne was al;0 pasicd.

At the Masterton S.M. Court on Monday a sergeant-major on the perman. ot stall' of the Ee-atiierston camp, named John Davidson, aged about 30 jears, was' charged with having committed au indecent in Masterlon on Sunday by exhibiting to a little girl some indecent photographs. Accused pleaded guilty, and was remanded till i'riday, bail bein<: refused.

The hr.-c appeals lodged by the Education Department came before the Military Service Board at "Wellington yesterday. Adjournments sine die were granted. One of tho reservists appealed for is in the Head office, and his services are said to bo indispensable. The other two aro teachers in Native schools. The Assistant-Direc-tor of Education said that only appeals in the ease of Native school teachors would ijo lodged.

In the Magistrate's Court at Palmerston Nortn on Saturday, Thomas Su-wart Douglas Scott was enarged that ijjing a reservist, he did. witiiout tho written consent of the Minister for Internal Affairs, assume the use of a name other than that by v.'hieh he was known, to wit, the name of Thomas Wilson, his correct name being Thomas Stewart Douglas Scott. Accused, a man of about 40 years of age, pleaded guilty, and stated that Jie had been "medically boarded'' and classed fit A. He was conviotou and sentenced to two months' imprisonment in Wellington gaol, to be handed over to the military authorities at anj' timo required.

fc-peaking on Saturday in reference to tne Auckland .Municipal Fish Market, tne ciiairman or tne Markets UoiUriiitiee (.vtr Hi. J. Carr) staled (says tao ■•tsLar'O tuat. at tne present time an average of iioni c$U to 3o tons of iish was oeiny brougnt into the city each week by tho City Council's two trawleis. Tins average had been maintained since October last, ana should continue for some time yet, barring any untoward circumstances. Tile two t-oats made two trips per week and the lisii was costing aljout Id per pound to catch, and another penny to get ready Tor sale to the pubiic. It was sold to retailers at Ida per pound, and to the public at 3d per pound.

Stocks of copra arc again accumulating (writes a corresponuoiit at Nukualofa to the Sydney "Daily Tekgrapli") hut it is uniiuely that there will bo any congestion, as it is expected that facilities for getting the protiuct away from the group will increase rather than diminish m tho near future. If Tonga is free from hurricancs the new year promises to be a rccord one for copra. Already tho natives have imported quite a large number cf drays from New Zealand, and expect- to have a busy time collecting and caiting the nuts from their plantations to tho various trading stations. "With tho high prices obtaining for copra the natives are in a nourishing condition, and have more money to spend, consequently the European residents and traders arc benefiting considerably.

A young Chinese woman named Ning Focng, who appeared on remand was charged at Pamierston North on Saturday with a breach of section 34 of the Immigration Act, 1908, in that being of Chinese nationality, she entered the Dominion without paying, or having paid for her, the sum of ±:100 poll tax. .Mr Graham (Feilding) appeared for accused and entered a plea of not guilty. Detective-Sergeant Quirke, who prosecuted, said he interviewed tho aecusod at Feildiug and put certain questions to her in regard to her marriage and arrival in the Dominion. Some of the answers wcro satisfactory, hut to other questions ho could get' no answers at all. A complete answer to tho case would bo furnished by simply handing over the Customs and marriage certilicates, which had not been done. Mr Graham said that he had witnesses who were present at the marriage, which took place in March. Accused was remanded. A further extension of bail was granted in an approved security of £150, to cover the poll tax and the penalty of £30 for evasion of same.

Some years ago a life-sized portrait of the Kaiser, mounted in a massive gilt l'rame, was presented to his Jia-v-sty King George Tubou 11., of Tonga, as a gift- from the German Gipvcrnment. For a number of years this picturo adorned tho walls of the palace at Nukualofa, being much admired by the Germans who at times came to pay their respects to his Majesty. Close to hand, apparently acting as sentinels, were busts of departed greatness the late Emperor Frederick of Germany and the Iron Chancellor, BismarcK. These latter did excellent scrvico as hat racks on festive occasions. Some time a«o according to a recent number or the' Tonga Government "Gazette, a request was made by the British Government for tho removal of the picture from the palace. The matter \\as brought up at tho last session of the Legislative Assembly of longa, v. hen the Premier informed the House that tho nicture had already been removed In a dismantled condition, the pictuio torn from its giklcd frame, it was recentlv seen in one of the rooms of the Government offices m Nukualofa, the figure of the Kaiser turned in disgrace to the wall.

"It took a solemn argument and deliberation on the part oi threo learned ud'es of the High Court in England to "doi-ide that ice-crcam was not 'meat' within the meaning ot the statute,' said Mr 11. D. Acland, {■midst laughter, in the Magistrates Court yesterday, when a number of cases involving charges of Sundaj trading on the part of shopkeepers were being heard. In tho eases in which Mr Acland was concerned, a constable had called at certain local lo.TCshmcnt shops, and been served with ginger beer or lemonade. Mr Acland continued, that in view of recent decisions in \\ ellington, it appeared that a nerson could be served with such drinks'at tho seaside on a .Sunday, but not in town. "If it is not an offence to drink lemonade or ginger beer at New Brighton, v,'hv should it be in Christchurch?" he asked. "It seonis to me that the only place where one can get such a drink on Sunday is - licensed public-house, where, I take ■t. the licenset- must serve any drink tailed for except intoxicants. I submit that drinks arc now a necessity. Social conditions have changed ■within the last seven or eight years, and many people living in rooms d<*prnd on these places for their refreshment. Surely, they do not have to go to the seaside if they v.-ant a drink other than water." The Magistrate held, however, that offences had been committed by the sale of snft drinks. A men! wps a different matter, butsoft dri-'.l-'-- ""d ice cream w-re not nerecsai'ics. Finos were inflicted in each ease.

r ?" 1 Colonel C. l? a J CO n rm an prisoners iron glS P »°!l'it a tA,,cl t l» n cl OT J»uarv '29th. e \ u . \«>nciation message irom A Preso A~~o c GnfTen. Auckland sajs R l \ vas lined hcensee o for sale befo°re 9 amt white James Shaw and Frederick Morgan -were each fined £- for being on the premises.

Air von Ilaast announced to the New Cnivcrmy t i. o oxanuncrs ior the -vt kin son medial prize had fo'iowin" subject tor the ossny . H'C B Political Co-operation aid Federation of jCnghsh-speaKmg StaU> in the Past noon tho Eluciaation of ..x Present Problems of the Closer tnmn of the British Empire. Ihe was referred to the Statutes Committee for incorporation in the statutes.

Intimation was rccciverlby the North Canterbury Hospital and ( nam A Board iron. Me>srs Human and Co. vi sterday that tho late L.i >u. A. Deans had bequeathed for the general purposes of the hospital tne sum ot <••>SO Seme little time ago the hu>Mr E. Parry, of Sunnier, very uiislv presented to the Chalmers' wy_<-: a piano and a grandfather's clock, infortunately, no ackn-.-.vlet.groe-ii- --.t t|- l j oifts was me.de by the 1!- ai" :>ei^-i< \• - donor's decease. 1 lie Loaid . resolutions thanking tho_ reprcseiuatn e-'> of tho donors lor the gifts.

Speaking at tli • Nurserymen'* c;nforenca ve.-terday evening, -Mr 1. \\ . Mi->-Director of Horticulture, said tna„ r& was rraeticallv impossible for ne.v vwjik to be undertaken by tho Department. Since last confever.ee, four more ot tae Department's neimanent officers .had gene to camp. ~ Some timo ago .six temporary ouieors were required; only o'.'e was ."-mired. Before the war started it was admitted that the Department was short-staffed, and six additional men were promised ; instead of getting them, fit teen men on the staff had gone to tho war and about- twenty-fiyo temporary employees from horticultural stations had gone.

"Nearly every second or third man in Palestino lias a camera," remarked a returned soldier to a "Poverty Bay Herald" representative, when questioned regarding the liberty in this respect. The men, he said, wore allowed to use their cameras freely as long as they did not photograph military works, warships, etc. There has been trouble however, at timevs owing to the boys not observing or not understanding tne regulations. Now tho military authorities had men in Cairo who wont round the various placcs that developed the films for the men, and a censorship was thus cxerciscd over the photos taken.

"It's no US3 allowing the country to go to the dogs becau-.o we are at war," asserted Mr G. A. Green at tho Nurserymen's conference last night, when tho question of protecting the public from being imposed upon by_ buying worthless plants was under discussion, and after Mr T. W. Kirk had expplained that it was impossible for the officers of the Department to tako on additional work. Thcro were, continued Mr Green, some useful old fruitgrowers who would come to the nation's assistance at this time of stress. If the Minister said that he would find the money, it was "up to" the Nurserymen's Association to find the men. Thcro were some fruitgrowers ■whoso income had been curtailed owing to the war and owing to their not participating in profiteering, and they would be glad of an additional source of incomo.

Interesting reference to the subject of tho American nasal twang was made by Mr J. Mackay, ex-Uovemmont i'rinter (who lias recently returned from the States), in conversation with a "i'ost" ropoiter. When in Chicago, he said, lie was spending an evening with a British medical man who was a specialist in a hospital there and a proiessor of Columbia University, Mow York. He Qir Mackay) referred to the subject of the American accent. His friend admitted that it was a great weakness of the American people, but thought it was attributable partly to imitation and partly to climatic conditions. In America during tho rigorous winters houses and business promises aro heated to such a degree that the muscles of the throat aro relaxed, and when a person goes into the cold air the muscles aro contracted. That in itself might to some extent account for tho twang. Mr Mackay was also told that a Commission v,as being set up to consider the subject, and the best method of improving tho "English'' as spoken in the States.

Want a Truss? Let Loasby ft you. Large assortment just landed. Wliv sufferY Come and '"ask Loasby about it." Advice and medicine, its 6d ; children, 2s. 1

The Board of Governors of the Christchurch Technical College is inviting applications for tho position of assistant mistress to teach shorthand and typewriting. Particulars may be obtained at the Collogo office. 2

We circulate through North Canterbury to-day news of interest, in tho shape of a Salo Circular for W. McOruer, Rangiora. With advancing prices in drapery and clothing, tho people will doubtless seize this saving opportunity. 1 Sit for those New Year portraits today. Do not put it off any longer—and be suro they aro made by Steffano Webb, Petersen's Buildings, High street. Tele. 1989. 8 "Golden Rule" Soap and "No Rubbing" Laundry Help winning on their merit. Storekeepers should order early to avoid disappointment. Ford and Mirams. 6 For a handy week-end Suit-case, the canvas leather-bound kind at 8s Gd and 10s Gd are just splendid. Big selection, moderately priced, at Drayton's, Colombo street. (3 No on, likes moving, but tho work can be made much lighter if competent men are employed. J. M. Heywood and Co., Ltd., have them and three up-to-date pantechnicons. Telephones 250, 1241 and 2174. 6 A "STUDEBAKER" BARGAIN. Now on view at garage—l9l6 Model 3-seater 4-cyhnder Studebaker. Full electrical and road equipment. Just repainted, dove grey. Only run 6000 miles. Condition as new. Price for quick sale, £285. Adams Ltd. Garage 219 Tuivn street. ° Q