GENERAL NEWS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16404, 26 December 1918, Page 6

GENERAL NEWS.

By the will of tho late Mr Donald Grant, of Winchester, the Temuka Presbyterian Church benefits to the extent of £1000. The higher railway rates ruling have given a filip to the carriage of goods by motor to country centres, oven alongside the main railway lines. The motor has an advantage in bringing the goods to tho door of the store and so saving extra handling, but a disadvantage is that the railway timetable is more reliable. Christmas Eve, the first spent under peace conditions for five years, was a happy outing for many people. Tho weather was kind, with a result that there was the usual crush in the streets, particularly in the evening, when the sfyops did a great business. Tho clos:ng of tho hotels at 6 p.m. tended towards the observance of sobriety during iho evening, the conduct of the crowd generally being excellent. Supplies of pudding fruits from Australia have occupied a prominent place in the Now Zealand trade since the war ■stopped supplies from tho Mediterranean. With a view to ascertaining tho crop position, -a large Wellington importing firm cabled to Australia, and received the following reply, dated December 21st: Prospects currants and loxias good. Sultanas moderate, but too early yet to forecast." In Trentham Camp Orders it is announced that the following _ soldiers, having been convicted by district courtmartial of "when under orders for active sorvice, deserting his Majesty's service," have each been sentenced to imprisonment with hard labour for one year and six months: 75970 Private R. G. Pring, Derails (late i'] Coy., 41st Reinforcements); G6IGI Private E. J. O'Neil, Details (late F. Coy., 33rd Reinforcements).

In a despatch received by the Minister of Defence in Australia (Senator Pearce) recefttly, it was mentioned that amputations are not resorted to in military hospitals while there is even a remote chance of saving the limb. This particularlv applies in the case of an arm or forearm. _ Experience has shown that the artificial hand is but a poor substitute, andean arm is never amputated excepting after consultation between two or more surgical experts. ''Acting with the Defence Department tlit* Health Department is providing work for returned medical offi-J cors," states the Hon. G\ W. Russell, and in this .connexion comes in clause 20 of the Public Health Amendment Act passed last session, 'which provides that the Health Bopartment may require the council of any borough to appoint a duly registered medical practitioner as medical-officer. This matter is being considered ,by tho Department, with a view to defining tho responsibilities and duties of medical officers who may be appointed by boroughs under tho clauso." Fine weather was experienced for tho Christmas Day holiday yesterday, As is customary the religious character _of tho day was closely observed. During tho day and evening there were services in the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches, and a united service under tho auspices of tho Christchurch Ministers' Association was held in St. Paul's Presbyterian Church in the evening. Organ recitals at tho Durham street Methodist Church, St. Michael's Church, and St. Paul's Presbyterian Church were well attended in the evening; At tho various charitable and other institutions in anil around tho city tho inmates wero regaled with the accustomed Christmas faro. The interproviheial cricket match on Hagley Park attracted many onlookers in the afternoon. On Christmas eve and morning the waits went round tho city and suburbs playing appropriate music. The following message has been* re>ceived from the Govornor-General (tho Earl of Liverpool) by Colonel R. A. Chaffey, V.D.,< officer commanding the district, to bo conveyed to the troops in tho district:— "Lady Liverpool and myself desire to send to all ranks of the army in New Zealand our best wishes for Christmas and the New Year. It is( splendid to think that at. this season of the year we can rejoice that tho work \Vluch the Etnpiro sot herself to accomplish has nearly been achieved, owing to the unselfish heroism of our sailors on the sea and oiy soldiers in. tho field, and also to those who, whilo not permitted to leave the Dominion, havo worked so steadfastly to ensure that no part of the machinery required for our armies should be lacking. To tho sick and wounded amongst us, Lady Liverpool and m.vsolf desire to send our best congratulations now that thoy are once more among their kith and kin, and we pray that they may quickly be restored to health and strength. To all we wish every happiness in the rears to come.''

Mi' G. W. Aitken, of Gisbdrne, has been advised that his brother, Lieutenant L. Aitken, was adriiitted to hospital on Noveinoer 29th, suffering from deafness through shell explosion. Lieutenant Aitken went from Canterbury with the 36th Reinforcements. Instancing the luck experienced in the war zone, Lieutenant Aitken mentioned in a late letter that New Zealanders moved up and occupied a town recently evacuated by the Germans. The town was littered with rubbish which they proceeded to clean up. Along with a party of men the writer was assisting in the cleaning up, and when about to move a box lying at the side of the road thov were called away elsewhere. Singularly enough the box remained, although the rubbish ail around was subsequently cleaved away.' After a week's occupation the New Zeaiander's roceived instructions to move on. and a party of half a dozen men were passing tlie spot when one of them accidentally trjnped on the box, which exploded, killing all six. It was remarkable that the box should have remained untouched in the middle of the camp all the week. Attention is drawn in the annual report of tho inspector of inebriate establishments in Victoria (T>r. W. E. Jones) to tho growth of the drug habit. From personal experience, Dr. Jones holds tho opinion that there is an increasing use of sedatives amounting to'a definite misuse. Some returned soldiers have exhibited this fa'ling. He rouM not help the "uncomfortable feeling" that the medical feeling is responsible for many cases of the drug habit through he indiscreet provision of proserin-

tions. The hosnital-trained nurse whs not entirely £uiltlc«s. and it was quite a <™nmon thine to find in tn e armaraentanum of siHi a mirso a hpocWmio j S y r j n ore, tabloids of mornbino. veronal, ! aspirin, and similar sedatives. Dr. Jones sucrposts t'mt ns a nr<v\i"+mn apainst t,,e improper acquisition of drugs, d netofT r . on ! n » hynnoti" should he marked wth tho oxar-t miniber of doW!s> tl ,„ not \vi +l,n nt from thr* doctor. Xnrsos should al=o be prohibited from nbtnininrr dnncorfl"R narcotics from chomists without a i. »S>eJT£ n joint conference of doctors and chemists.

A Stockholm message to the Australian papers says that it is alleged that documents found there reveal a plot for a world-wide revolution.

For the Boxing Day holiday to-day the principal attraction i s tho passenger flights at the Canterbury Aviation School at Sockburn. A holiday timetable will be observed on the trams and, given fine weather, the lulls and tho seaside resorts should attract many holiday-makers. The interprovincial cricket mntcli will be continued on Hagley Park.

Christmas and New Year greetings, appropriately conveyed, have been received by "The Press" from the officers of the General Post Office, Wellington;

fr E. H. Hiley, General Manager of the New Zealand Railways; the Mayor, councillors, and officers* of the Christchurch City Council; tho chairman, membors. and staff of tho Lyttelton Harbour Board; the secretary and staff of the North Canterbury Hospital and Charitable Aid Board: and from tho Christchurch Citizens' Defence Corps.

When the stonewall in tho City Council began last Monday night, tho public gallery v. as packed, sitting accommodation at a promium. As the hours wore on, however, the attendance became gradually less and less, until only two stalwarts, a man and a woman, were left at about 3.30 a.m., when in troopod a mimber of new arrivals. Councillors looked at this invasion at such an eerie hour with amazement, but tho new arrivals were newspaper employees, who had looked in on their way home.

A well-known Rakaia resident wat> returning hbme in the train from Christchurch with a fair-sized fish, about an eiglit-pounder, perhaps a present from some kind Isaac Walton (writes our correspondent). It was excessively hot, and his friends persuaded him to keep the fish cool by hanging it out of a window by a string. It was a brilliant idea, but. alas, at one station some person unknown got a bond on the line with a stronger cord, so that, when the train moved on a quick tug changed the ownership of the eight-pounder." Now the subject of fish is taboo in that quarter. The scarcity of matches in England is humorously indicated in this "freo advertisement" from London "Punch": "A correspondent would like to hear from any man who contemplates striking a match in South Kensington, with a view to sharing same." More seriously, Professor Henry Spooner, in "Health from Waste," says that in the interests of economy matchos should be so made as to strike at both ends. Waste, he remarks, goes on in nearly every direction. Apart from big items, look at somft of tho small ones. There is waste of candles, mustard (which should be made up in paste pins (which are made and lost by "the milstring (tho ragpickers of Paris earn £650 a year out of bits of string m the rubbish boxes), and tram and bus tickets (which if droppod into a box at the end of the London vehicles alono might be sold for £6 a day).

Services given to the Christchurch Second Division League by the secretary, Mr J. M. Turnbull, were recognised at a meeting of the executive, when the president, Mr H. S\ J. Goodman, jpresonted Mr Turnbull with a case of pipes. Mr Goodman said that the present/ itself was .10 b intended as commensurate ror opiition of Mr Turnbull's splendid services to members of the Second Division, but marked the executive's appreciation of what he had done for the dopendants of. men at the front or in camp". The League's bureau in Horeford street, of which Mr Turnbull was in charge, has been closed, but the executive will continue to watch repatriation operations. ' Since the bureau was opened early this year, Mr Turnbull attended to a very largo number of callers, and filled in between forty and fifty applications for widows' allowances and 400 applications for financial assistnce. '

A glanco at the records of the original Anzacs who have survived over four years of war and are now returning to Australia, reveals the fact (says tho Melbourne "Ago") that the great majority, of tho mon followed outdoor in the dnvs before they donned the khaki of the A.I.F. Looking casually over tho lists, it is noticed that one man was a seaman, another a carpenter, a third a labourer, a fourth a stockman. Only occasionally does the occupation of clerk appear, alongside the name of one of tho returning mon. _ "Professional soldier'* is ,the description givon by one of the men of his pre-war occupation, . while tlio next man describes himself, as a cordialmanufacturer. Piano. tuning is a trade which one of the Anzacs followed before ho went to the -war, while another. who now wears the Military Medal, was an acrobat before lie enlisted. • Publican, farmer, cook, and storeman—four occuoations picked' out at random from the record of trades by which the Aneacs earned their living up to the time Ithe war broke out—indicate the diverse nature of the surroundings in which tho men lived prior .to going into camp. ,It would E?»m that the repatriation authorHiryj should not experience much difficulty in placing the Anzacs in civil employment. Mr Beck, officcr in chargo of the boarding-out work of the Education Department, gave an explanation of the procedure to a Reputation at Wellington on Monday. For forty years, ho said, tho Department had dealt with fatherless children, orphans, and destitute children. It had been the policy of tho Department first of all to encourage the parents, wherever, there were parents, to take back tho children as soon as possible. Failing that, it had been their policy to find homes where tho children would have foster parents, and ho brought nt> as members of the fanjily. The policy with the children who had lest parents through the epidemic would bo lirst of all to mako certain that there were no relatives to whom tho children could 'be sent, for payment, of course. Tf not, it would be the Department's business to nlace the children with people willing ard capable to bring them up, with a view, perhaps, to adoption or keeping them till they had finishod school and 'wcto in a position to stnrt in life oh their own account. Particular care would be taken in dealing with the women who had been left widows. The Department's offirers would report on each case, and the Department would do what it fould for those who had been left with children. Applications could be made direct to the Department or to tho agents of the Department in each centre.

There lirs been much commont latterly about the shortness of tho leave received -by the returned Anzacs (says the Melbourne "Herald"). But there is one who hns no grievance. He loft Sydney in 1914 with a company of Field Engineers, went to Epvpt, and afterwards to Gallipoli. In June, 1915, the nerves of one of the engineer,; became affected, and tho doctor advised that he should be returned to Australia as a mental case. But it was not considered safe to send him without someone to look after him, and an original Anzae vrsa f so'.ected to be his escort. Patient and escort arrived in Victoria on August Bth, 1915. The Anzae handed his charge over, and, as he Hvoi near Sydney, asked for leave to visit his wifo and family. It was readily granted him, a pass being made out to report for duty when called upon. That was in .Auor'-'st. 1915. and be has not so far received any notification from tho military authorities. He had bis nass, and tliat was good enoueh for him. For tbree years his wife bns d~"wn her full allotment and separation allowance, but her husband hns allowed hi,; nay to aefMinrnlnto never troubling todrawn it. "Three years' full pay!" the dorks at the barracks were soring. "TVhat a wad he'll haro to draw " Apparently thev have already decided that ho was entitl"d to three years' leave. A number of them' are old soldiers them=«lvff3, and they have seen- his pass—"Report when called upon."

Owing to the disorganisation caused by the epidemic, the retreat and Synod of the Roman Catholic clergy, which were to have been held at the New Year, hare been cancelled.

An Auckland telegram states that great business was done on Christmas Eve. Monev was plentiful, and the shopkeepers did business immeasurably greater than that on any previous "war Christmas."

Though statistics regarding war insurance as it affocts Australia are not yet complete, the secretary of the Australian Mutual Provident Society has been able (says the "Otago Daily Times'') to give a few broad facts of the operations of that body. The extent of its operations may be gauged from the fact that the claims under war policies amounted to approximately £2 500,000. while the premiums reached a total of £400,000, so that the Society's loss on its war policies may be placed at £2.000.000.

The railway traffic so far this Christmas is lighter than that of previous y°ars (savs Tuesday's Dunodin ''Star''), "the number of departing and arriving passengers being distinctly fewer, especially those to arid from distant parts. This falling off may bo attributed to various causes, tbe effects of the influenza epidemic, th#» had weather, and the arrival of soldier relatives each being respons'b'o for a certain number of people staying at home, while the early closing of the schools this year will have altered tho arrangements of many other families.

A fox terrier, which was aroused from slumber in tho Magistrate's Court at Auckland one morning last week, showed his enmity at being disturbed by barking ferociously. A case was being heard at the time, and tho untoward noise somewhat unsettled proceedings. The "Star" says the incident recalls a Court interlude which took place in Dublin, when the Right Hon. John P. Curran, K.C., was conducting a defence before a .famous judge. The two were invariably at loggerheads, so that sarcasm and caustic remarks were sometimes exchanged. On this occasion, when Curran was addressing the jury, his Lordship interrupted by a significant reference to an outside noise— the crowing of a rooster. When his Lordship was summing up, the clearly Heard b-nying of a donkey was observed. "What is that noise?" said his Lordship. "Merely the - echo of the Court, your Lordship," replied Mr Curran. At another time his Lordship commenced to stroke his pet, a Newfoundland dog, and Mr Curran, who was addressing the Court, resented this indifference on the part of the Judae. When lie stopped nis Lordship looked up, and told counsel to proceed. "I am sorry; I thought your lordships were consulting" said Mr Curran, who continued his address.

Superior perfumery at Loasby's make splendid Xmr.s gifts. Atkinson and Yardloy's perfumes in cut glass bottles and presentation caskets. Old English Lavender Water and Eau de Cologne. Best English and French hair brushes for ladies and gentlemen, and manicure sets in unexcelled variety and value at Loasby's, Chemists. 1

To-day (Boxing Day) holiday tramway timetables will be run on Cashmere Hills, Sumner, and North Beach lines. Ordinary timetables will be run on all other lines. Excursion tickets to and from seaside will not be sold. 6

Colonial Travelling Rugs, in nice, soft fawns and greys, beautiful patterns, 29s <sd, 425, 555, 755, 84s, at Armstrong's, Ltd. 1

Eyes Right! Are they? If not, come along at once to Watsons, Jewellers and Opticians, and let our expert optometrists examine your eyes. We can tell you what is wrong and make it right. tested by latest scientific methods, and the right glasses supplied at shortest notice. Watsons, "Jewellers," Limited, 695 Colombo street, Christchurch (next Kincaidsl. 2

New Stock.—Ladies' Silk Ankle Hose in black, -white, putty, champagne, Copenhagen, mole, tan,. navy, and greye. Special value, 4a lid pair. Ltd. 2 Santa Claus writes: —"Wash your clothes clean with 'No Rubbing' Laundry Help and pure 'Golden Rule' Soap, then the flu won't bother you any." 4 No ine likes moving, but the wor'i can be 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 Boys' Holiday Suit 3- tweed and washing, cheapest at Armstrong's. 3 WANTED TO BUY—SECOND-HAND TRIUMPH MOTOR-CYCLES. We are prepared to take second-hand Triumph Motor-cycles in part payment for tho latest Military Model Triumph, 8.5.A., or Excelsior. We are booking orders for February delivery of the ne>v model Triumph (4 h.p, motor-car gear box) at £125. with lfimp and horn. Adams, Ltd., High street. <5 WANTED TO BUY—SECOND-HAND . B.S.A. MOTOR-CYCLES. Seoond-hand B.S.A. Motor-cycles will be taken in part payment for tho latest model Triumph, 8.5.A., or Excelsior. We can give immediate delivery of tho new B.S.A. (44 h.p. motor-car gear box, with strengthened rear construction), price £110, with lamp and horn. Adams, Ltd., High street. 6 WANTED TO BUY—SECOND-HAND EXCELSIOR MOTOR-CYCLES. We will give good prices for secondhand Excelsior Motor-cycles taken in part payment for the latest model Triumph, 8.5.A., or Excelsior. We can give immediate delivery of the new Military Model Excelsior (7-9 h.p. kushion sprocket drive, motor-car gear box, chain on correct side for side-car service). Price, £110, with lamp and horn. A.dams, Ltd., High street 6