GENERAL NEWS.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16701, 9 December 1919, Page 6

GENERAL NEWS.

On a charge of bookmaking at Takapuna races, George Hopwood was £40 and costs in tho Auckland Magistate's Court yesterday. Yesterday's river report was as follows: Wnitnki clear, Rangitata clear, Opihi clear, north branch Waimnkariri discoloured, south branch Waimakariri dirty, Rakaia fishable. Anglers in Otago are this soason finding tho streams well stocked, particularly the streams southward of Dunodin. Tho Tokomairiro river, for instance, has more fish in it than at any time for years past, and the Pomahaka rivor carries a very good stock. Infectious diseases reported in tho Canterbury Health district for the week ended noon yesterday totalled 81, as follows: —Grcv: Tuberculosis 1. North Canterbury: S?arlot fever 5, diphtheria 10. tuberculosis 1, puerperal fever 1, influenza 25, pneumonia 8, measles 16. Ashburton: Scarlet fever 1. uiphtheria 1, measles 2. South Canterbury: Scarlet fever 2, diphtheria 2, influenza 4, pneumonia 2. An unsolicited testimonial to tho equrtesv and good manners of the Christchurch trnmwrymen was received by tho Tramway Board vesterday. A visitor to Christchurch, M"r FT. L."Cartwight, wrote a highly appreciative letter regarding the assistance he had received from tho various conductors. The writer said ho nnd his wifo were great travellers, and they had never received such courteous he!r> from tmmwaymcn in any other city they had been in. The TVaimairi County Council has a prehfb source of revenue in its motor traffic hv-laws fixing tho speed limits on the North road. Like p-lVt ; rians on tho stump, the county councilors agree j that the best law man could make would be of no we without the helr> rf zealous officers to see to the adminisfrnition. and the Council's s-ns<» of an- I pronation warms more to tho Pap.iniii constable than it does to its lucrative >y-law. "He brines us in about a week, according to one paper, but I cannot vouch f->r tho truth, and T -think ivo oucht to help him," doohred Cr. J. Heland last nicht. "Pood grants! i>> you want him to bring in £"f> a week?'' exclaimed another" councillor who awns a motor-car.

A very hnppv selection of engravings nocur>ios the illustrated pages of tho i \»e?kly Press'' this week. and should! prove most interesting in all direction-.! Those who have baby's welfare at heart will be delighted with the pictures o: : the .Christchurch Karitane Bibles' Hos- | pital, its staff, and its inmates; the! many people conccrned in music and i elocution will have pleasure in the por-: traits of winners at the Wellington and , West Ooast competitions: lovers of the: toy dog have representations of sue-' cessfnl competitors at the Toy D'irr 1 Show held in Wellington: and the c!e-! voters of trotting are given scenes from ; the Forbury Par£ Meeting at Dutiedin. \ Among the State schools that have been ' in existence for fifty years is that of the Kaikorai. Dunedin, which recently fittingly celebrated its jubilee, and tho occasion is noted publication of, n number of instructive pictures. At-> tractive views are renrodnr-ed from the Bay of Islands, Napier, and the Taieri, nncl there is another full callery of portraits of candidates, wheye political fato i* soon r.ow to bo decided for the nest! Parliament. There is a deal of interest being taken in the attempt to reach Australia by air from England and Paris, and a map of the route boinn; taken by the aviators is published, with the cable mew a of their movements. *

Arrangements have been mr.do "for a noil of Pic.-arton ratepayers on December lot:., on tho question cf disccntinui:i:; the of a separate account fo7 the Itkva-ton tramway. | Tie following students were successful in t> 'spin l; a examination in Fir-t Aid. b.ell under tho auspices of li e jorn Ambulance As»» iation: Messrs W. .T. C lorn-its, Clias. 11. OamiiH, Dm ald W. I» ay ward (.iunr.), Stm-i 1 v 1". II Hand. Tom Mctcalf. nnd Wil- j li.'un Hamer. j The annual excursion of the St. ! .M! a"- District .S"hoel was held on Saturday. A party, consisting of about -J*o adults am' ''i'dron left by j >-r-->"ial tra : n for Ka : apoi Domain, j a yc-v day was spent. J >rvrts. cri-ket. and other o-rii- 1 jiin! the time, .x'.vrets were distribute:! amonT the children. • : I feel proud rf t'«e Automobile As- -- — • r *i n." - ; ' C-. Wa't-T nt the me ti"i: <t tin" W.- ; *nairi County b'-t night. w'-en t'-e matter rf financial .assistance from tbo Assoc:ati"'i towards tb-> widening of a road nt :> (' rorrer was being 'Hie «>.-!:• r a<'d-d that the »Jon had t»lav>d the game all through the war a-'.d now it was playing the zamo iu holr>in<_: loeal brdtes. | Under tho auspices of tho W•«'« T'f!':- ienev League nr<d Youngj Men's Ffil'ien'y Lea-rue. a ]irb!ie meet- j ni'j; v.ts held 'a- c t nicbt in the Kind's : Theatre, D-. f'has. Chilton j over a sinc.ll :-tt"r b:ace. A'M~o«es : were riven bv Mr? Kineton Parkcs nnd i ("cpt-in bn*h speakers st"orsly eondemnini the liquor trafße. They were each rrivrn an attentive hearing, and at tbe rnnr'u-ion of their addresses were loudly applauded. At a mooting of .representatives of phil int.hropie and other societies at' Thuiciiin last niidit. t''e follewing mo-, tion was ai'rcd to: "Tliat this conference affirms the principle of federation l of public snnsc-iption lists, and ajrrees to submit to the various orcnnisr.tions intere ted for the : r favourable consideration ih * advisability of an annual appeal for funds for maintenance purposes. nnd the formation of an association for the purpo«e." Tho conferonce adjourned until February. Ti.o \i-i-i.w] of the Press Association telegraphed last night: "At ft pub'i - meet : n" !'«'d under the auspices of tho Xntinnnl Prohibition Campaipn, it was resolved : 'lliat this meeting of electors records its emphatic protest ncrainst the fhfrrnnt untrulh contained in the Potior trade stating that unless a voter votes for continuance bv striking out the two hot- i torn lines, his vote will be invnlid.' It further demands that a"tion bo taken by the authorities to prevent a repetition of such prncticcs."

Tho roso of the returned soldier, totally blind, who returned to Nov Z al:inrl 'with his wife in September last, and Ins boon provided by the Canterbury Patriotic Fund with'a fiye-roomed |,on'<io v : »b r n «* ""''p of land fit Pai>anui, costing £1200, in order that with tlio assistance of his wife ho might establish himself as a small poultry former and market pardoner, •was discussed at lfi«st night's meeting of tho Waimairi County Council. In response to a sufcestion from the Patriotic Fund, the Council. on the* motion of Cr. Hervey, decided that tho rates on the property for the present year be remitted, and that no charce be mado for electric service. Hie Cvuneil also made a recommendation ti tho nest Council to art similarly in the matter. Tho Council atrreed that the remitted rrvtes bo olinrccd.as acainst the general fund, it brvng considered unfair that one riding should 1k» asksd to bear all the loss through the assistance given. "Thero is a very real danger that tlio lessons which the war has taught this country will bo forgotten, that anxiety to revert to the happiness of pre-war days will blind New Zealand to tho errors of pre-war davs, and that instead of the change of heart- and mind which the war tended to bring about, thero will be all the old stagnation and darkness," runs a passago in an editorial note in the latest issuo of tho Christchurch Boys' High School Magazine. "Politicians harangue tho nation, and plead that tho horror of those five years shall not bo rendered useless. Everything depends on tho exact nature of the response given to that anpeal. And it is here that the dancer lies. People are expecting the politicians' 'newer, saner, and bettor world' to come through politics—legislation, reform of this, and reform of that. But whilo tho people relax from tho vigilance of the war period, and allow their awakened minds, souls, and bodies to sleep a-min, no legislation can have the slightest real value. This was a people's war, and it must be a people's peace. We mean, that as tho peonle fou<rht tho battles of tho war, so they must tho battles of peace; and those who shirk this struggle are no loss cowaHlr than thoso who shirked military duties." Tho Librarian of tho Canterbury Public Library states that during the past elcvon months over 35,000 books liavo been consulted in tho refe.renco library. These ligures probably constitute a record for the depnrtmont, as during 1918 only 25,000 volumes -were made use of. Thero is no doubt that much of tlio success of the present year has been due fo the establishment of the special technical and commercial sections. Theso sections have been established in nearly all the chief libraries throughout tho Empire, and so far have proved a great success. Tho Sydnev Pnbli" Library recently held a most successful exhibition of commercial, technical, and trade literature. Prominent snpakers discussod topics of interest. and tho Government was urged to provido more funds for the purchase of technical and scientific litemtnro. At this exhibition over 13.000 volumes and pcriod : rnlc were shown. In Christchnrch this section has proved very useful tf> students and others, as over 19.000 references to volumes have been made during tho past eleven months. It- is rerrottable. however, that a few important b~oks havo been ctr.]pn, netably two vol"mos on Printing, tho ""Fnfnnecr'q Pocket BoTc." "Dynamo Poc'Tn," "T" o hni'*nl Chemists' JTa*,dhook." and "Pears' Cycloniedia," whilst, several volumes hare had pa£r(\s nnd illustrations cut out. The miitJMinn of periodicals and books is a continual snurcp of annoyance, nnd 'f anv person is detected a prosecution win follow.

nnyono honestly think that tho New Zealand citizen is grimly conscious of the weaknesses which the war exposed, and that ho is as grimly bent on removing them? That ho realises the d.itv laid upon him to raise the standard of national life through raising the standard of liis own?" asks the latest number <>f theChristchiircli L.oys' High School 3lagazine. ".Kvorw.'hcro all the old errors nro repeating* themselves. Already the election campaign is being fought with sordid rancour— I utile weapons of mutual abuse. Industrially Xcw Zealand is unsettled, ami thero is no piospert of nnvthin 1 * but strife between capital and f;:bour~ Tliat vulgar animal, the profiteer, is more grossly rapacious than ever 'and the general habit of thought is' that work is tolerable only as a moans to pkvisure. There is no more generosity, no more charity, no more justice." "no more clear thinking, no more clean living. than th'Te un- five vears ago. And is !t so that New Zealand greets the most momentous Peace in history? It is so. ar.d it is mere foolery to "look to Parliaments and Cabinets to re-create this country. The truth is that it lies w'th evorv New Ze-i'nnd--- to retake X'nr Zealand, and tho fro.cro New Zcnlanders who stayed here are linwonhy of the 100.CT0 of nalliyoli nnd France, unworihv of the peaco those men made, unless thev take unon themselves the against everv sort of weakness—cot'T.il. moral. ini"l!cctual, phvsical—that is hampering this co.mtrv ml this c tr'irv_-le which is for tho indivd'ial. claims the schoolboys strength eqaallv with the man's.'-

For soiling milk deficient in butter- > fat. two Auckland milk vendors were; ye-v: day titled £20 and £30 respoc- j lively. I Tho Waimairi County Council last ninht resolved to nsk the Farmers" I'nion to sec!; the co-operation < i all local b-dics. inelud : ng city and borough | councils, in the matter of paying a j fixed price for small birds' eggs nnd heads. A public meeting will he held in the J Ring's Theatre to-niizht. when Mr n. A. Armstrong. Dominion secretary of the N./. 3lodernto Loagne, will deliver a popular and orig : na] address on the liriuor prcl:le:n. Tlie Hon. Jidin Rarr ; will rreiide, and questions will bo in- j vit-'d. j An Auckland message says that the anxiety which was caused l,y the sudden disappearance of a well-known auctioneer. Louis Lewis, was allayed on Sunday evening, when the missing citizen was found by the waterfront police. Iyowis disappear-d from his homo about a weel; a"o. and enquiries failed to elicit anything definite as to his whereabouts. "lie has been wandering about during tho past- few days, nnd when found"" showed sipns of mental depression, be'ieved to have boon occasioned by siinstroko. |