GENERAL NEWS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16309, 5 September 1918, Page 6

GENERAL NEWS.

The Minister of Defence has received advice that the 39th New Zealand Reinforcements reached their destination on 3rd inst.; all well.

Our London correspondent states that ho is informed that Private Garth C. Ballantyne, a conscientious objector, recently sentenced to two years' hard labour in France, has had his sentence suspended and was released to return to the division. Two other objectors, Little and Alec. Baxter, were with him.

The sequel to the recent fire at Wright, Stephenson and Co.'s benzine storo, Auckland, was a series of charges of theft of benzine and receiving (says a Press Association message). H&iry A. "Weaver was committed for trial for theft, George H. "Wood was fined £20 for theft, while charges against a third .accused were dismissed. The police offered no evidence in the cases against two men accused of receiving.

I At the Police Court at Dunedin yesterday, Daniel Christopher Flanagan and John Francis Flanagan were charged with harbouring and concealing their brother, Edward Joseph Flanagan a deserter from •'he Expeditionary Force. It was stated that when the military police went to tho house of accused's parents the accused denied that their brother was there. On search beinomade, however, ho was discovered upt stairs. The defence was that tho accused had no dominion over the house, and that their statement regarding the brother's presence could not be construed into harbouring or concealing under the Act. The accused, who reserved their defence, wero committed for trial.

The half-yearly meeting of the Canterbury Timber Yards, Sawmills, and Coal lards Employees' Union was held yjeTrades Hall on Tuesdav night, Mr P. Hennessy, president, being in the chair. The telegram which had boen sent to Sir James Allen in connexion with the coal crisis, and the Minister's rep'j thereto, were read and received The half-yearly balance-sheet of the union, and also the half-yearly balancesheet of the Ashburton Branch, which showed that the oarent Union and the branch wore making satisfactory progress, -were received and adopted. Fivo new members were elected. The report of the annual conlerence of the Timber workers' Federation was received and adopted.

The preliminary sections of the Canterbury Band of Hope Union competitions are announced. The entries this year constitute a record.

Our London correspondent states that Mr Edward Melland lias handed over to the Manchester Museum his fine collection of specimens of New Zealand birds and eggs. Many of the specimens are very rare. Yesterday afternoon the fire brigade turned out to a fire in a detached shed at 337 Barbadoes street, which, with its contents, was badly damaged. The building is owned by'Mr Thomas MeCallumi, and insured in the Atlas office.

A Jugo-Slav named Nicholas Olich was sentenced to three months' imprisonment at Auckland yesterday for failing to report for national to the drainage engineer at taiki. Louis Martinovich, for a similar offence at Maungaturoto, was fined

The Harbour Board decided yesterday to comply with the request *of the Chief -Engineer of Railways to lend the Department the Board's dredge Te Hnaka to do some dredging at the wharf at Nelson. The price was frxea at £23 per day the Department to insure the vessel for £12,000, or <marantee the Board against any loss".

Mr J. P. O'Regan, of Wellington, has received advice from Melbourne that the full Court of Victoria dismissed the appeal of the Wischer Proprietary, Ltd., against the verdict obtained in April last by six watersiders a f, Al^ kland in September, 1916, by the efiusion of sulphuric acid from a cylinder on the deck of the Monowai. The men were originally awarded a total of £6850

At New Plymouth yesterday, his Honour the Chief Justice, gave a judgment winch conccrns all boroughs m New Zealand respecting the provisions of the Lights on Vehicles Act. In tho Magistrate's Court recently a lefendant was charged under tho borough by-law with driving a vehicle in tho streets of New Plymouth between sunset and sunrise without proper lights Ihe Magistrate ruled that the by-law was m\ahd, and could not override the statutory law of 1905 The Borough Council appealed, and the Chief Justice upheld the appeal, ruling that the by-law was reasonable and valid.

Regarding tho proposed extension of the Harbour Board s cheese stores, the special Conunitteo reported to the meeting of the Board yesterday that it had, at short notice, mot the .representatives of the cheeso manufacturers, who were evidently not prepared to make any offer more favourable to tho Board than that rejoctcd by the Harbour Improvement Committee in its report of July 17th, and the meeting closed without anything being agreed to. Iho chairman said apparently the cheese it anufacturers had made arrangements elsewhere, which were quito satisfactory to them. I'he report was adopted.

A boy named Vincent Quaid, fifteen years of age, was driving a horse and trap across the intersection of CasheJ and High streets yesterday morning when the vehicle collided with a WooJston car on its way to the Square H ne r• i sllafts was smashed, and the frightened horse careered down High street till it reached Ashby, Bergh Co.'s premises, where ii swerved towards the footpath, struck a motor-bicycle standing nearby, and both vehicles overturned. The boy yvas thrown on to the footpath, escaping with a shaking and bruising. Aloccurrenco had grave possibilities, the only actual damage was the broken shaft.

. T h e chairman of the Second Wellington Military Service Board, Mr J \V loynton, S.M. drew attention on Tuesday, when dealing with applications for exemption from military service, to a shortage of apprentices in tho ironmoulding and saddlery trades. He described the position as a very serious one. Unless things improved so far as apprentices to these trades were concerned the outlook for the future of the industries, he said, was not at all good. He could not see where our future skilled workmen were to come i m j unless apprentices could be induced to take up these occupations. It almost looked as if the country would abroad secure skll]ed men from

It will surprise you to learn •vTiifof the 40,000 balloted men first examined 1617 were rejected solely on A°/r, flat said Captain nf +i 'n pressing the members the Garrison Oflicors' Institute at •Wellington. 1 hat by no means represents the total number who suffered from that complaint. Many others also suffered from it, but were rejected for more serious causes. Add to tljat 600 rejected for lack of chest measurement and you have two battalions of infantry lost to the NewZealand Expeditionary Force for f2efect9 which could have been prevented by a proper course of physical training. Fortunately, we have been able I to recover a large number of these men by the agency of the CI camp."

A draft of 50 voluntary Maori recruits from the Urewera tribe, arrived at Narrow Neck camp, Auckland, en Saturday evening under; the charge .of Lieutenant Xe Awarau, Maori recruiting oiiicer. For the most part the volunteers have enlisted from the pa at Maungapohatu, Rua's famojs 'Ihey are small and wiry -—typical .Urewera tribesmen. A tribute to Rua was paid by Lieutenant; le Awarau. "I feel sure," he said • that only a few Maoris would have volunteered from Maungapohatu had not ltua himself pleaded with them and exhorted them to do their utmost tor the King and Ao-tea-roa. As it was, over 80 volunteered, but 30 were •rejected as medically unfit. Lieutenant Te Awarau added that Rua was most sincere in his devotion to the C , aUSO \ 1 T £ is draft > which is the third from the Urewera probaolv will be the last from the tribe, according to Lieutenant Te Awarau.

Our London correspondent writes that in connexion with the establishP of the New Zealand Red Cross i!u ■? , 01 ?> a correspondent in the ■British Australasian" had attributed the nomination of Colonel R. Heaton Rhodes solely to Lord Liverpool, who, it was said, had acted contrary to the wishes of the majority of the committee. Colonel Rhodes writes to denv this, and explains that the nomination rests, not with the Governor-General but with the New Zealand Red Cross ijxecutive, and, moreover, that the Red Cross Committee in London were almost unanimous in their desire that as formerly the Red Cross Commissioner should be chairman of the committee. , Colonel Rhodes defends the Governor-Genera! against the charir* of entering the hurly-burly of acute party controversy," a remark which he says, can only be resented bv neonlo in New Zealand who are well aware ul J® "! or I k i and time his Excellency has devoted to the Red Cross there

Reporting on an application for a jetty m Camp Bay, the engineer to the Marbour Board, at the meeting of that bod>- yesterday, estimated the cost of a feet long, exclusive of a tee heaa 30 feet by 15 feet, at about £200. Of this sum £65 was for second.hand timber chargeabl© to this work at tho values at which it wa* at present saleable, so that the actual outlay on the structure would be about £1&5, for labour and ironwork. Tho rcouired revenuo to cover interest and depreciation of such a jetty should bo at least £17 10s per annum. He thought that it would bo some years before this revenue would be secured, but a jottv here would be a great comfort and assistance to the returned soldiers who were settling in the neighbourhood of this bay • would odd to the attraction of Lvtteltou Harbour, and make availablo to tho public a historic spot used bv the first settlers. The Board granted the application, and instructed the engineer to proceed with the construction of tho ietty.

Tho military resemstc, Goldsbury, Walker, and Robinson, who have been arrested on a charge of disobeying the lawful command of a superior officer, will be court-martialled at tho. King Edward Barracks at 10 a.m. to-morrow. The Court will comprise Major Loach (president), Major Leeming, and Captain Osmond-Smith. There was hold on Tuesday a meeting of the New Zealand Utility Poultry Club, at which the serious effect on the poultry industry of tho importation of egg pulp was discussed. Comment was made on the fact that tho Government provided instructors for the poultrv industry, but made no attempt to check the unlimited importation of foreign egg P. P» which, in conjunction with the b;gh price of feed, was having a prejudicial effect upon the industry. The chairman of the Lyttelton Harbour Board (Mr A. Kaye) reported to members of that body yesterday that on August 20th last during tho visit of the General Manager of Railways to Christchurch, arrangements for tho future ferry traffic on No. 2 jetty were again discussed in detail, and although no definite agreement was come to, there were indications that a scheme giving much greater comfort and convenience to passengers would be the outcome of tho negotiations. Six more pupils of the Canterbury Flying School qualified for their certificates yesterday namely:—L W Stewart (New Brighton). H. T. Erikson A. K. Brake (Tai Tapu), J- McDiarmid (Oamaru) W. S. E. Bennett (Roxburgh), and R. J. Walke r (Wellington). Colonel Sleoman, 1.G.5., and Colonel R. A. Chaffey were the observers. 1 here was a rather nasty southorly wind blowing at the time, but all passed well. The number of pupils ot the- school who have gained their certificates is now 143. • A Maori witness in the box at the Supreme Court, Napier, on Saturday, professed almost complete ignorance of the English language. "Ask him if ho can road a race book," said Mr Lloyd. lie is a pretty frequent attender at races. ' Witness gave some indefinite answer which caused his Honour to ask "What church does he belong to or go to?" "He says he goes to the native churchy and is a licensed lay preachcr," replied Mr Prentice, interpreter. "That gets over the horse racing," exclaimed Mr Dolan, , St. Androw's College has received, through Dr. T. A. MacUibbon, of ; Christchurch, a flag from tho students . and teachers of St. Andrew's Univer- • sity, Scotland, of which the Very Rev. Professor John Kirkless i s tho Principal. It is a St. Andrew's flag, bearing a verse written by Professor Lindsay. There were also received a photograph of Dr. MacKichan, Moderator of the United .Free Kirk, and a message from the Rev. John Kelman, M.A., D.D., of the Free Kirk of St. George's, Edinburgh, and from the Rt. Hon. A. J. Balfour, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh. In November, when the Presbyterian General Assembly of New Zealand sits in Christchurch the tokens will bo formally received. Dr. Kelman took tho initial part in getting the gifts and messages sent from Scotland. Acting under pressure from a. number of Lakeside residents, the Ellesmere County Council recently asked that an apiary, belonging to Mr R. N, Gidley, situated on the Council's reserve at Lakeside,, should be removed, as the bees in the summer time made it unsafe for traffic to use the roads adjoining the reserve. Mr Gidley's solicitors, Messrs Cuningham and Taylor, wroto urging that there should be no unnecessary interference with the property of a man on active service, and suggesting that if any residents felt aggrieved it was n_ct too much that they should "foot the bill" to get the bees removed. Tho clerk was directed to reply that the bees were a public nuisance, tho hives being situated alongside the road fence, that numerous complaints had been received, and that accidents had narrowly been avoided. The Council would give permission to shift the hives to a suitable position further back in the section. but insisted that they could not be allowed to remain in the position occupied at present. Feeling tired, weary, low-spirited, sleepless'( Loasby's Nerve Tonic and Blood Enricher will cure you. 3 The week-end sale of home-made food supplies at the Red Cross Sales Depot will be undertaken by Mrß Wilson, who will have on offer the usual supply of cooked foods, poultry, flowers, etc. 1 What aro Tone Lenses? They are lenses which are ground scientifically to fit. the curvature of tho eyes. They give wearers a larger field of vision, and are most beooming. Wo fit Torio Lenses for all sights. Walter J. Watson, D.8.0.A. (London), Expert Optician. 2 At a recent First Aid Class examination held under the auspices of the St. John Ambulance Association, tho following students passed: —Mesdames Partridge, Bates, M. Smith, Richardson, Taylor, SaviJl, Pyne, "Wear, Misses E. S. Petrie, N. Finnis, L. M. Banks, T. G. Eldridge, M. A. Merry, M. C. Eyes, R. Tait, A. Lake, E. Byers, 3>. Harrop, E. Lemraon, H. Dalloy, H. Willis, J. Kingsland, E. Frost, N. Cocker, E. Yeoman. I. Packer, E. Greig, E. Priest, E. Hobbs, 3>. 8011, G. B, llae, C. McCormack, E. Whitehead, H. Gorrie, M. Burgess, L. Popple, A. Barnes, — Woraen, W. Beaumont, E. Sparrow, A. Smith. E. Hadfleld, and H. Scott. Marks may bei obtained at tho office. 1 An interesting quarter-pago display advertisement dealing with the question of National Efficiency will be found' I on page 2 of this issue, and should be ' carefully considered by every reader. G No >ne likes moving, but the can bo made n-uch 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 It is pleasing to see so many thrifty wives paying spot cash —Is 3d —for a large packet of "No Rubbing" Laundry I Help. "No Rubbing" does away with tho old washboard slavery. N.Z. Farmers' Co-op. Association. 4