GENERAL NEWS.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16479, 24 March 1919, Page 6

GENERAL NEWS.

The R.M.S. Moana, which is due at Wellington to-night from San Francisco, is bringing European and American mails.

"Nobody in the community did better work than our teachers," said Mr C. T. Aschman, amidst applause, at the annual meeting of the_ North Canterbury Branch of the New Zealand Educational Institute on Saturday, whon paying a tribute to the indefatigable and noble work of the school teachers during the recent epidemic.

An Auckland telegram states that the Athenic's soldiors had an enthusiastic reception there on Saturday afternoon, although a high wind prevented tho seaplane delivering a message in the harbour and showering confetti on the ship, as was proposed. The Atlienic had a rough trip up the coast from Wellington.

At the annual meeting of the Canterbury District Law Society held on Friday, the following officers 'were elected for the ensuing year: President, Mr S. G. Raymond, K.C.; vice-presi-dent, Mr J. J. Dougall; honorary treasurer, Mr G. H. N. Helmore; honorary secretary, Mr F. W. Johnston; Council, Messrs Andrews, Beswick. M. J. Gresson, Hunter, and Pascoe.

In connexion with the adjourned meeting of the Council of the Canterbury Progress League, next Wednesday, arrangements aro being made to give a kinema display of up-to-date farm methods,. including the uses of electricity, This demonstration will take place during tho second half of the luncheon adjournment, and will not interfere with the ordinary business of the meeting.

In connexion with the National Efficiency campaign, a public meoting will be held in tho Sydenham Picture Theatre, to-night, at 8 o'clock. Bishop Julius will preside, and tho speaker will bo Mrs Kineton Parkes. A public meeting will also be held at ltangioni, to-night, when addresses will be delivered bv Mrs Don and the Rev. H. W. Burndge. Meetings will be held in the Harewood Hall to-morrow night, and in the Sumner Town Hall on Wednesday night.

Mr F. W. Haybittle, of Wellington, who returned from the Old Country it few days ago, stated that the. New Zealanders who are rushing off to England unless they positively have to, are very ill-advised. They cannot have anv conception of the conditions that are prevailing, not only in London but all over England, of' the labour unrest, the extortionate prices of everything, the difficulty of getting acx commodation, etc., all of which go to make a condition of things that will give the colonial visitor the very worst idea of "dear old England."

Speaking of ways in which he considered the Church had failed in its dutv, Mr E. J. Howard, at tho Workers'" Education Association on Saturday remarked on the fact that it had entered no protest against the treatment of conscientious objectors. Conscientious objectors, he said, were being "crucified'' to-day, though they wore doing more for the good of the world to-dav than nny warriors had done. The fecturer of the evening, tho Rev. L. G. Whitehead, remarked on this matter later in tho evening. If a nuin showed that he was really obeying the dictates of his conscience, he said, he most certainly should bo respected. If he were not, one of the fundamental foundations of the Church would be destroyed.

The fact that certain local moving picture theatres have been showing practically continuously, involving a, breach of the Public Health Amendment Act of last Bession limiting the hours daily during which such theatres may be opened, was brought under the notice of tho Hon. G. W. Russell, Minister of. Public Health, on Saturday. The Minister stated that this state of affairs had been discovered 111 other cities besides Christchurch. Referring to Section 23 of the amending Act (limiting the hours), which provides no specific penalty for its infringement, Mr Russell said: "I understand that there are some theatre proprietors under the impression that this section is a 'blank cartridge,' and that there is no power to enforce it. Tho opinion of the Crown Law Office was taken on that point, and, although no penalty is affixed to the section, there is a general penalty provided in the principal Act, the Public Health Act. 11)08, for anv breach of the law." Already, the Minister added, prosecutions had been ordered in some cases, and wherever any theatre had gone outside the hours allowed by the law, proceedings would be taken.

Regarding the examination And treatment of school children's teeth, the Minister of Public Health (Hon. G. W. Russell) stated on Sntu.day that, in view of dental officers being released from military duties, ho was hopeful that progress may be made bv hospital boards in this matter. The" Minister made it clear that his idea was not to confine the treatment to children of the State schools. Denominational and other private schools would receive iKjual attention, nn.l Mr Russs'l emphasised that it was to be the proper attention—examination without treatment was worthless. As an illustration of _ how urgent was the need for something being done, the Minister mentioned when, some few years ago, a Wellington school of 700 children was examined only three were found with perfect teeth. Even before the war there was no surplus of dentists in the Dominion, so. with over 200 COO children to be kept under observation the supply will need to be considerably increased. Assistance is being rendered in this direction bv the ten dental bursaries which have'recently been established in connexion with the School of Dentistry of the Universitv of tnder these, ten dental officers per year will, after four years, graduate irom the school and enter upon tho work in connexion with school children s teeth. Hew far the scheme, J hen perfected, will be administered VJ? Public Health Department or the Education Department, is a matter that lias still to bo considered.

\ deputation from the Arthur's Pass Tunnel League is to wait on the Hon. G. W. Russell Minister of Internal Affairs, this morning.

The vacant position of sexton for Hokitika drew ten applications, some of which were couched in somewhat original terms. One man wrote: "I wish to have the position of sexton, and think I am entitled to the job, as I am as good a man as any one of you, and as for digging graves, well, I have du< T a few at the time of the Dubiin riots' and got them through in quick time'at that." Another stated that he was brought up in Hokitika and knew all about the cemetery and all the people in it.

Some concern was occasioned at the re-ent meeting of the Dominion Rifle \«ociation at Trentham by the burstin it of the barrel of a r-flo when the rifle was tired by one of the competitors. No cause, however, could be ascicned for the unusual happe ling. Th < inyxtcrv has now boon cleared up by the" finding of a .303 gauge plug, which was picked up among fragments of the riflo stock about 10yds in front of whore the rifle was fired. It is considered that the riflnnan must have been testing his rifle for nickolling immediately prior to firing, and forgot to remove the gauge before using his riflo.

The Hon. G. W. Russell, Minister of Internal Affairs, informed a rc-f.orte 0:1 Saturday that it had been decided not to allow patriotic or war fund societies to expend any of the moneys held by them for war memorial purposes. The Minister stated that a large number of such applications had been received, and in every case they had been refused. "The Government holds,'' Mr Russell added, that these moneys were subscribed for the benefit of the soldiers and not for the purpose of putting up concert halls and that kind of thing. Therefore, 110 consent will bo given to patriotic societies' using their funds for any purpose except the benefit of the soldiers and their dependants."

An instance of the value of the Boy Scout movement in enabling lads to develop their natural bent was given by Lieut.-Colonel I>. Cossgrove. Chief Commissioner for New Zealand, at the Avonsidc Troop's social function on Saturday evening. Whilst presenting tho badges gained by the members of the troop, Lieut.-Colonel Cossgrove referred to ex-Scout Gough, a son of Mr Gough, of High street, who whilst a Scout gained, amongst other badges, the engineers' badge. Ho had followed up engineering, and the latest news Lieut.-Colonel Cossgrove had received was that he had recently been offered, and accepted, a seven years' appointment with an engineering firm in France.

Nino industrious Chinamen appeared in the Dunedin Police Court on Friday, charged with working in the Mncandie.v road market gardens on 'Sunday. It appeared from the evidence that complaints had been made to tho police by the people who were disturbed on their way to church by the sight of others working. This caused the Magistrate (Mr Bartholomew) to remark that quite a lot of residents in that locality worked in their gardens on Sunday. It was hard, he said, to get Chinamen to realise that by doing the same work on Sunday as on other days they were breaking the law, though it was not an offence for other people to work in their gardens on that day. The men, however, had been repeatedly warned by the police. One of them (previously fined for the same offence) was fined 20s, with costs (7s), and the others were each fined ss, with costs (7s).

A Palmerston North resident, Mr J. Tate, is reported to have passed through a terriblo ordeal during the recent bush fires in the Dannevirke district. Mr Tate, an employee of Mr Clausen, was camped in the bush engaged in felling timber. He was awakened one night by what ho thought at first to be the wind, but soon discovered that a fire was raging within a few yards of his tent. The position was extremely perilous. Ho at first contemplated escaping on his bicycle, but found that it, too, had suffered from the flames. The only alternative was to make use of a shallow creck close by, and taking his billy ho jumped into the water. By kneeling down and constantly pouring water over his bodyj Mr Tate was able to survive tho intense heat. When the flames had abated it was seen that the whole camp and equipment, including two tents and'many valuable tools, had been lost.

The ignorance of some parents as to the proper way to treat their children from a health point of view was touched upon by Mr C. T. Aschman in his address to the North Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Educational Institute on Saturday morning. The total unsuitability of some .of the lunches given to the children to take to school was one point mentioned by Mr Aschman, and another was the lack in. some cases of proper and sufficient clothing. As most important of all, Mr Aschman made special reference to the absolute necessity for sufficient sleep for the growing child. "I consider it absc/lutely criminal," hesaid. amidst applause, "when I see a child of about two years or so being wheeled through the streets at halfpast ten or so at night, its little head on one side, quite overcome by weariness owing to the sleep it has lost because its mother must go to the pictures." The effects of the lack of the proper amount of naturnl sleen. Mr Aschman added, were not noticeable in five minutes. They took some considerable time to mnnifest themselves, and therein lay the danger. If they became apparent more ouiokly the ignorance of tho mothers would not be'so extensive.

Hundreds were turned away from the Liberty liieatro last night, when a big meeting was held to luither the National Elriciency campaign. Tho chair was taken by Dr. Clinton, and tho speakers for the evoning were the chairman, Mr F. Wilding, K.C., and Mrs Don. During the evening Miss Millicent Jennings bang several sacred songs. Mr Wilding s speech was a very or.inest and impressivo ono, lightened by many touches of humour. He told how it had cost him a considerable strugglo to come out into tiie open to champion the cause of Prohibition. To do so had been, to a certain oxten't, against his natural inclination, and also against- his professional instincts. As a lawyer of forty years' standing though, ho felt that a lew words from him, as a representative of a profession known as "the devil's own," might possibly touch a rosponsive chord in the hearts of his heal ers, who, probably, were not all saints either. He felt that his action would cause a good deal of comment among his friends, and he could imagine them saying, "What! so Wilding has turned wowser!" and others would tap their foreheads sympathetically. Personally, he rather welcomed the title of wowser, as a title of honour, for future generations would, he felt suro, look back to their wowser ancestors, who had effected such beneficent reforms, with pride. Possibly somo of his friends might think las action the result of senile decay, but to counter this he would issue a challenge to any drinker, weight for age, for a "pony" a side, for the best of fivo sets of tennis. The stakes should be held by the Lord Bishop of Christchurch, and if the hoozor won the money should go to the funds of the New Zealand Liconsed Victuallers' Association, and if he won it should go to _ the New Zealand Alliance. Describing the relations of alcohol to sport, Mr Wilding said it was invaluable externally, but worse than nsoless internally, and he had lost the tennis championship of New Zealand in Otago because he had taken a drink of whisky when fatigued in tho game He urged his hearers to tako the advice of Lloyd George—given to the speaker when in England—to abolish the cause of misory and destitution. Philanthropic and social efforts were useless unless the fundamental cause was attacked.

The Hon. T. M. Wilford, Minister of Justice, stated at Masterton on Friday that two more appointments are shortly to be made to the Magisterial bench in New Zcalandy-ono noxt month, and another later in tho year.

At a meeting of the North -Beach and Waimairi Burgesses' Association held on Saturday, it was unanimously decided to ask Messrs E. A. M. Leaver, J. W. Bissett, and J. P. Whatman, to stand for North and West Brighton at the forthcoming local municipal election, and to endeavour to secure their return.

Speaking of the inadequacy of the pavment of the teaclvng profession, Mr E." U. Just, at tho annual meeting of tho North Canterbury Branch of tho New Zealand Educational Instituto on Saturday, Said that it had been sail that the teaeh-rs to-day were deteriorating; that they now had a lust for gold. "Well." he remarked, "they may be deteriorating, bit it i not from a lust of gold, but a kick of gold. It' tho teachers had a lust for g'.ld. under present conditions, every school in the Dominion wo""ld be shut up. There would be no teachers at all." (Laughter and applause.)

Under the will of the late Mrs Isabella Siteman (widow of the. late Mr William Jacob Siteman. of Wimbledon, Hawke's Bay), who died at Dannevirke on the lStli inst., the residue of her estate, approximately £2500, is left in trust for the purpose of providing assistance to young men and young women, or boys and girls desirous of attending and prosecuting their studies in any of the universities of New Zealand in the form of bursaries, scholarships. or otherwise, as tho trustees shall decide, to bo known as tho "Isabella Siteman Scholarships." Several legacies have been left to Dannevirko residents.

There is a proposal afoot in tho Bromley district to erect a memorial hall and pay for it out of rates, and a poll on the question is to bo taken to-day. There is considerable opposition to the proposition, and this was shown at a meeting he'd on Saturday night. There were recriminations and counter-recriminations, and it seemed at one timo as if tho factions would) come to blows. Particularly hostile was tho feeling shown towards Mr G. Iv. Burton, member for tho district on tho Heatncoto County Council. It needed all the tact of the chairman (Mr T. Pole) to keep order at times, and oventually, when it appeared as though a bear garden wero imminent, the proceedings were abruptly terminated by Mr Burton proposing a hearty vote of thanks to the chairman.

Trusses are always fitted perfectly at Loaeby's. They have the largest stock of Trusses in the Dominion, and aro thus saved the necessity of supplying any but tho proper truss required for perfect comfort. Loasby and Co., chemists (opp. Ballantyno's). 6 Amongst the influx of visitors to Christchurch during last week were to bo found the delegates to the Master .Bakers' Conference. Our correspondent, who moved about with them, has been able to glean a good deal of information as to their impressiona, both as regards their stay in'this city and the extent of the business they had conducted at the conference and the exhibition. The delegates were high in their praise of the well laid-out city, and its bright green garden spots, but they did not liko the Christchurch nor'westers. However, the one thing which made the most impression upon them was the remarkable success seen at the exhibition by users of the Compressed Yeast, which is made in Christchurch. It certainly has to be admitted that Mr Councillor Hayward, as chairman of directors, made a good move when he was instrumental in introducing this industry here. And the outstanding feature is that though there were equally as many non-usors of this yeast as actual users, who competed at the exhibition, yet over 95 per cent, of the possible places for fomented goods were secured by users of compressed yeast. We understand from the managor_ of the company that the general public are now so insistont upon having compressed yeast bread that they find it difficult to get about the country quick enough in demonstrating to bakers the use of their yeast. ~ 6

Lest We Forget?—Wo would impress upon our readers the advantages they may secure by shopping at Armstrong's Popular Drapery Store. Cash buyers should certainly see the Bargain Time Offerings before purchasing anything in the way of Drapery or Clothing. 1

At tho present time a great diversity of opinion prevails as to what i s tho best Hair Tonic and Restorative. Anyone in doubt should try Rosemary and Quinine, procurable only from E. Cameron Smith, chemist, 96 Worcester street (opposite "Sun"). 58464—1113

Bradbury's Gold Medal Sweet Poas. A great and unrivalled selection. New seeds now on sale at Messrs Hastie, Bull, and Pickering's, Cashel street. Secure early blooms by sowing now. Catalogues free. (j

Bargain Timo to-day and following days, at Armstrong's Stores. 2

Strong leather school bags, bought before the rise, now 4s 6d, superior quality 5s 6d, 6s 6d; best value in town. Try Drayton's, 765 Colombo street;. j

Never let a day pass without telling someone about the wonderful saving and perfect cleansing qualities of "No Rubbing" Laundry Help. Prico Is. Kincaid's, Ltd. 012

Returned Men of all Contingents will appreciate the .Bargains obtainable in. Civic Ciothing just now at Armstrong's. 3

t ENGLISH SIDE-CARS £20. We have just received a shipment of English-built "Herald" chasses, to which wo have , fitted locally-built coach-work bodies, comfortably upholstered and finished in tho st.vlish biscuit shade. Quick detachable fittings. Usual price, £22; rcduccd to £20. Adams, Ltd., High street. 6 UNDERSLUNG SIDE-CARS. Motor-cyclists are invited to inspect our stock of Mills-Fullford underslung side-car chasses, fitted with the highest grade locally-built canoelet bodies upholstered in tan; bodies finished m khaki. Equipped with hood, windscreen, and roomy tool-locker. Complete, with highest quality tyre £40. Adams, Ltd., High street. 6

NEW B.S.A.'S AND BIG X'S. Shipments of the latest B.S.A. and Big A motor-cycles_ are now to hand, and immediate dolivory can be pjivi'ii of theso popular machines; Britain's and America's best respectively. Price, "V ~' l T n *i' I-m'p md horn. Adams, Ltd., Hir;h street. A 2614—2722