PERSONAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2717, 11 March 1916, Page 5

PERSONAL ITEMS.

The Hon., J. Allen returned yesterday from Auckland, The Hon.' Dr. M'Nab goes to Hamilton to-morrow to be present at the trial of the action brought against him for defamation by the returning officer at the last election in the Taumarunui district. . . , , Mr. G. 6. "Hodgkins, Deputy Chief Electoral Officer for New Zealand, was a passenger for Sydney by tho Maitai last night. He is on his way to Tasmania to- v; ritch the elections in that State, and prepare a report oil his observations in that connection. Mr. W. Rcece, of Cliristchurch, and Mr.-R. W. Kane, of Wellington, directors of tho Bank of New Zealand appointed by the Government, will rotiro at the end of the month, having served the term of two years for which they wore appointed. Mr. Kane has been thanked for his services, and Mr. David J. Nathan lias been appointod to succeed him. Mr. Reece, it is understood, has been informed that he will - bo reappointed. Mr. Nathan was a director of tho bank appointed by the Government from 1912 to 1914. It is understood that the successful applicant for tho position of Government Printer in succession to Mr. John Mackay (who has resigned on superannuation) is Mr. Marcus Marks, at present Hansard Supervisor. Mr. W. G. Foster is gazetted a memher of ,tho Public Trust Office Board Mr. E. R. Brabazon, Collector of Customs at Wellington., who Ims been on' holiday leave, resumed duty yesterday. Mr. Arthur Nowboid left Wellington last night by tho Mnitni on a holiday visit to Now South Wales and Tas. mania. Dr. Wyllie has resigned his position as ono of the resident medical officers to tho Auckland Hospital, on account of ill-health. Mr. S. T. Evatt, of the Veterinary Division, Department of Agriculture, stationed at Palmerstou North, is laid aside with a severs attack of pneumonia. Mr Sol. Myers, who was seriously injured in an accident in Manners Street last month, is still an inmate of n private hospital. His condition is improving. ■ Mr. Malcolm Niecol, secretary of the Grand Lodge of Now Zealand ) Freemasons, is at present in Auckland, making preliminary arrangements for Hie transfer from Cliristchurch of his bead office, which will, under the Masonic peripatetic 6ysteni, be stationed in Auckland for two years from May ■•-ext.

s Mr. Rathbone, accountant at. the Nn. e pier branch of tho Bank of Now Zealand, has been appointed manager at e Opunake. >, Mr. James Hislop', Under-Secretary s for tho Department of Internal Af- -- lairs, is on a departmental visit to s Auckland. g Miss Natalie Alien, B.Sc., lias been ajypoiutcd Demonstrator in Natural I'liilosophy at tho Melbourne University. Miss Allen is the daughter of Mr. B. B. Allen, of Wellington, and has been a- student of tho Victoria College, where she gained her degree. Mr. H. J. Fleet, of tho Esplanade, - I'etone, died at the Wellington Hos--0 pitnl last evening. Deceased liad been i, sufl'ering for some time > from throat 1 t-roublo. lie leaves a w>fe and seven 3 children —four girls and three boys— s and 1 ten grandchildren. I Mr. A. Asher, of Ingestre Street, has ] recoived advice that his son Cecil, forr merly in the Howitzer Battery, who saw service in Gallipoli. has been appointed 3 sergeant-major of the mobile section j of the New Zealand Field Artillery at Zeitoun. Mr. Asher's second son, who j went with the 3rd Australian Reinforcej mentft t-o Gallipoli, was wounded and J _ invalided to London, but has now recovered, and expects shortly to rejoin his unit at the front. Mr. J. B. M'Kinney, wlio was gen- , eral secretary of the Auckland Young , Men's Christian Association, left Auck, j land on Wednesday night, to take up his new position as secretary of tho 1 Y.M.C.A. in Invercargill. He has hee:i . the Auckland secretary forytwo.' years. . Mr. M'.Kinney was previously in lu- | vercargill for >six years. He then , visited England and Amcrica, and aftei , twelve months went to Auckland. . Indifferent health demanded a more brac- • ing climate, howevor. Mr. J. P. L. [ Kenny, of Sydney, succeeds him in Auckland, and is due to arrive on Moui day. i Private Otto Strachey (Main Austra--1 lian Expeditionary Force) is now reported killed (previously reported missing). At the outbreak of the war Private i Strachey, who was an old hoy of the Waitaki and _ Timaru Boys' High Schools; was in Fiji, and in order to j get to the front as quickly as possible, ' ho journeyed to Australia, and enlisted l with the Australian Expeditionary Force I in preference to coming to New , land. He was one of those who made ; the initial landing, from which he issued i safely, and in a letter received by his , parents some months after from Lieut, i Westmacott, of the New Zealanders, i who was severely -wounded, the latter i stated tliat lie was a member' of tho ■ New Zealand force which was sent to ■ the assistance of some Australians who were hard pressed by the enemy. They ■ succeeded in their object, and the first ■ person who ran forward to meet him : was, to his surprise, his old school . chum, Private Stracliey. The two had . been at Waitaki together, and it w-ts . the first. time that eitlier knew tho other was at the front. From that moment , tho whereabouts of. Private Stracliey became a mystery, and despite ■ frequent applications by his parents, . who live in Cliristcluirch, tho Australian ■ authorities were_ unable to give them any assistance in clearing up- the matter. Mr. John Fleming Duff, the announcement of whose death at Kobe, Japan, on March 1 has been received by cablegram, was well known and .highly respected in Christchurch (states a correspondent). He came to Christchurch many years ago, and was for a time engaged as a ledger-keeper in the Christchurch , branch of the " Colonial Bank. Upon' receiving a legacy left him by a. relative, Mr. Duff acquired an interest in Spenslev's music-selling business, in tho conduct of which he took part, and built up a good business. About 25 years ago Mr. Duff sold out of the music-selling business, and embarked on:the business of importer of Japanese goods, and lie was still in this business at the time of his death. Mr. Duff spent his time since he embarked on this, business between New Zealand and Japan, liis last visit to Christchurch having been about a year • ago. Mr. Duff was a native of Greenock, and was about 58 years of age. Tho State Coal No. 1 motor lorry ran over a bank at Glasgow Street, Kelburn, on Wednesday, turning a complete somersault and landing upside down on a vacant' section 30 feet below -. the road. Three men -were riding in the lorry, but all of them escaped injury beyond slight bruises and severe shock. The driver of the lorry states that a« ho 'was turning the last corner the steering gear of the lorry became jammed, how he could not say, and the vehicle -crashed through the fence. _ An important test case concerning the rightof the Arbitration Court to grant preference to unionists will be argued at the next sitting of the Court of Appeal in Wellington. The preference clause in question is not the clause framed by the Court itself and known as the "Court's preference," but one which has been ombpdicd in agreements between tho parties' and subsequently confirmed by the Court. Some montlis ago a barmaid at Wanganui was prosecuted for failing to join the _ Hotel and Restaurant Workers' Union, that union having in its award the preference clause in quesThe barmaid was fined By the Magistrate, but slie appealed to the Arbitration Court against her conviction on the grojind that the preference clause i was not legal. i.His Honour Mr. Justice ] Stringer thought that the question of the Arbitration Court's power to insert i such a clause in an award was one to be i decided by the Court of Appeal. Accordingly the question lias been referred to that Court. The Wellington Trades Council, viewing the matter as one of the greatest importance to unions, has appealed to Labour organisations for support, and unions from all parts of the country have forwarded donations to ' assist, in-fighting the case. Sir John Findlay, K.C., has been retained by the 1 Labour unions and the Solicitor-General (Mr. J. W. Salmond, K.C.) will watch 1 the case on behalf of the LaUour De- 1 partinent. ■< What was described as an important invention to quarry-workers and miners was referred to in the Arbitration Court , ill Auckland. A miner of 13 years' ex- . perience gave evidence that he had contracted minors' phthisis as tho result of using a certain drill while mining. Tho 1 particular danger of using tho machine was due' to the dust which issued from • the liolo made by the drill. Shortly af- ' | forwards a scoria pit proprietor deposed that lie had an appliance attached to the drills in use in his quarry which conveyed the dust away from the ma- j cliino and the operator. The appliance had been proved very satisfactory, and , the witness was prepared- to demonstrate its use to anyone. Tho invention had , been patented, but had not been sold. ! It consisted of a piping arrangement 1 which was compact and workable under any conditions. It weighed 31b. The i workers' advocate, Mr. AVesley Rich- " ards, said that a machine similar to the one tho witness described had been a long-felt want in tho .'mines of Austra- i lia and New Zealand. Respirators had ! been used a good deal, but these were ' found to be unsatisfactory, owing to 1 the manner in which they restricted tho energy of the operator. His Honour ! Mr. Justice Stringer remarked that if the invention did what was claimed of it, tho owner's fortune would be made. ? Ho advised Sir. Richards to inspect tho 1 machuie.

The Gieymouth Chamber of Comtncrco. discussed" at/ a spcoial meeting last night the question uf closing down the Otira tunnel, apd resolved that if further attempts were made to influence Uio Government to shut down the rrorlts a deputation would proceed to Wellington to urge on the Minister the necessity for proceeding with the tun* do) ho ii work of national importance,-* ■fiess Association.