LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2729, 25 March 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Postal authorities advise that the s.s. Victoria, wmch sailed from Sydney at noon on March 23 for Auckland, is bringing mails from Australia, America, and United - Kingdom. The Wellington portion is due on' Tuesday next.

It is officially announced that no officer will be appointed to the subsequent Reinforcements, or is to be recommended for appointment on probation to the subsequent Reinforcements, unless at the time of going into camp ho has held a commission for at least one year. Previous instructions on this matter have been cancelled.

Sun's rays, radiating through a coloured bottle in the window of Mr. R. D. Hanlon's chemist shop in Molesworth Street yesterday morning, heated a bottle of coulig mixture, and caused a bottle of cough mixture, andcausblazo was extinguished after trifling damage had been done. _ The Central Brigade attended the fire in response to a call received at 8.55 a.m. Two other calls were received by the brigade yesterday—at, 7.3 p.m. to an outbreak in Sutherland Road, where some 20f,t. of hedging was destroyed, and at "8.41 p.m., to Scarborough Terrace, where a fire had been started under the pine' trees on. Mount Victoria. ■ The polioe have recently been busy in aii endeavour to rid the city of a number of undesirable characters, who follow half-drunken solfiiers about and apparently .obtain monoy from them by fair means or foul. Yesterday, when a convioted robber was before the Court on a charge of vagrancy, Chief Deteotive Boddam stated that the accused was in the habit of loafing on soldiers and preferred this occupation to honest work. The police, added the chief deteotive, bad other men of.tb'e class under observation, and they would have to leave the city promptly, or appear'before too Magistrate. '

Sufficient overhead wire has been received for the new tramway section from Constable Street to Kilbirnie South, via Crawford lload,. and tho tramway authorities, subject to tho consent of the Government Eiigineer-in-Chief (Mr. Holmes) will be able to rua a restricted service over tho neiw line probably-by the end of the next woek; There -is still no news of the armoured cable for the booster line which traverses Mount Victoria in an oblique line, and until that arrives and is installed with the new boosters, a complete service cannot be established,

In the Auckland Police Court Martin Taylor, charged with removing a sulky and wheels from the control of the Customs on the wharf without a written permit, was fined £100 and costs, the fine being reduced to £20. Defendant was ordered to forfeit the sulky.— i'ress Association,

It has been decided . to hold a refresher course for officers of. the Territorial Force at Rangiotu Camp from April 21 (Good Friday) to April 25, Both days inclusive. It is earnestly hoped (states a Battalion Order) that as many officers as possible will take advantage of this opportunity of improving their military education. There will be no pay during this course, but travelling allowances will bo granted for days going' to and "returning from the course. Tent accommodation and rations will be provided at tho camp. Names of all officers willing to attend this course must reach the adjutant by April 10, 1916. The usual camp kits and personal necessaries will bo brought by officers to camp.

Yesterday was the last voting day in the election of a member of the Council of Education to fill the vacancy created by tho resignation of Sir. J. Caughley, now Assistant-Director of Education. Mr. Caughley sat iii the Council as the' representative of the male certificated teachers of the South Island, and they, of course, will elect his successor. There are three nominations for the vacancy—Mr; Walter Eudoy, of the Ot-ago district; Mi'. Horace Robinson Fisher, of Marlborough; and Mr. Thomas Schofield Foster, Principal of the Christchurch Training College.

it the auction sale of the sections at Island Bay, conducted-by Messrs. Harcourt and Co., yesterday afternoon, in the estate of the lato George Reichardt, under instructions from the Public Trustee, tliore was quite a large attendance, and the bidding for the sections sold was most spirited. Lot 294, having a frontage to Tiber Street of GCft. by a, depth of 165 ft., was sold to Mrs. Smitton for £285. Lot 305 adjoining the above, and also 66ft. x 165 ft., was sold to Mr. H. E. lierron for £280, whilst Lot 63, with a frontago of G6ft. •to Clyde Street was sold to Jlr._ E. J. Colley for £270. The remaining sections did not reach the reserves and aro now with the auctioneers for private sale, as also is the 6roonied residence in the Parade, Kelburn, which was also passed in. At the auction sale on Wednesday last the firm sold the Norway Street proporty 40 x 100, with cottage, at £220, and they also sold the rosidence in Pitt Street, Wadestown, recently offered at auction by them.

Up to the present over £2500 has been collected towards tho Napier Sol. diers' Club Euildiug Fund.

Petrol motor traction is advancing lv leaps and bounds throughout tho Dominion, and tho forward orders for English motor vehicles at present, in the hands of the local Dominion Motor Vehicles Ltd aro piled up, ami now represent a capital valuo of many -thousands of pr.unus" The difficulty of deliveries is a most "serious, factor, ami while wo thank our many 'customers for their patience and v'Uiiin--ncss to wait, wo recogniso that business must go ou. Wo have, therefore, secured control of absolutely the finest Standard American Stotor Lorry, and have now on show a 2/3-ton vehicle, with every possiblo equipment, and designed for'he-ivy roads and rough work. Wo invito inspecion by all our present client* and intending purchasers. The ' Dominion Motor Vehicles Ltd., G5 Courteiiav Pmce Ailvt. "

There has been published .in the regimental orders of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, at Parkhurst, a letter from a member of the New Zealand I'orce who was at Gallipoli. lie says:—"One of Kitchener's divisions was for a time under the Australian command. I saw these men inarch past, and was struck at once by their soldierly bearing. 'fhese men were mostly from the Midlands, from English workslups, pits, and other places fresh air was at a premium. They had lad scarcely a year's training, yet they looked soldiers, and they soon proved that their looks did not belie them. Ijrom August 7 to 10, they were in tho lighting—an uplull scrap as fierce as you could have it. From my observation I can testify to the imperishable renown which one regiment gained in our eyes during those days, and as an oj Birmingham man I was proud toshake hands in the after-days with men j>f the 9th Royal Wanvickshires. They had immense difficulties to overcome. Iliey wore led the wrong way. and had to retrace their steps. Thev hid r„ attack m full view of the enemy- their left was exposed to enfilading ire. and fWlnn^ 6 e y rea °hed the Rhoa^k ®dVr n0 Miuavailable, o stayeT They were now by thomselves, ' and it was Mill 6Very , °, fficcr save oue was 3 d <»; wounded tll*t three companies slowly retired.'- The fourth its major, held on to the farm near the ridgo till all IH» ""i With their ranks ternby thinned, the regiment came back ? j. l )arade i parched and hungry, hut still undaunted. I saw a far! wickshirp officer—l think Baker was his name-dressed for wounds three times in one day, and despite the M.O.'s advice ho went back to the firing line when bound up. Then there was a Jance-corporal, Guillauine. of the ma-chine-gun section, who stayed up near the Rhododendron Spur for sis hours alter all had retired, fired 4000 rounds, and then burying the tripod of his gun, walked back with the rest under his arm."

The large number of men reported 'missing" in \ha lists of British and Australasian casualties during the Dardanelles campaign has resulted in an overwhelming number of appeals to the Amorican Ambassador at Constantinople to try and locate these missing .soldiers. Although it is generally belioved that tho lists supplied from time to "time by tho Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies represent the total number of prisoners, no complete official lists linvo- been issued by the Porte, and relatives and friends of men reported missing liavo_ therefore nought tho aid of the American Ambassador. It was stated in Auckland by Mr. A. A. Winslow, Consul-General for the United States, that since last August nearly 30 appeals had been made to"him by Aucklanders to prosecute inquiries through tho Embassies at Washington and Constantinople. "So far wo have received no reply whatever," said Mr. Winslow, "but undoubtedly the requests have been sent on from Washington, and word will he forwarded to New Zealand at- once should anv news be forthcoming." According to recent advice the American Ambassador at Constantinople had returned to the United States for a short period, but, in Mr. Wiuslow's opinion, would be back in Turkev again by now. "It is not surprising that we have not heard anything from him yet," remarked the Consul. "He is prpbabl.v one of the hardest-worked men in Europe just now, and iuquiries of this naturo are hound to take a considerable amount of time." The only communication of the kind received from Turkey up to,the present was stated to be a card sent by an imprisoned New Zea~ lanclcr, who bad himself stmght the aid of the American Consul in Constantinople, and thus been 'able to get word to -his people • through the Washington, office.

Tile position in. regard to the deadlock at the Pet-one Woollen Mills remains unchanged. It was stated "by the seoretary (Mr. E. Kennedy) that all the mills in the Dominion had noiv promised their support. Arrangements are reported to be well in hand for the- mass meeting of the workers on Sunday, and the president of the union (Mr. A. Anderson) stated last evening that the tickets for the entertainment on Tuesday next were selling well.

From Tecent statistics compiled in Australia it appears that since the outbreak of war the purchasing power of the sovereign in the Commonwealth, has declined by ss. IOJd. This was the average for all the Australian capitals.With a view of making a comparison, the Prime Minister has had similar statistics compiled by the New Zealand Government Statistician. ■ Those ■ show that in the Dominion the purchasing power of tho sovereign in the four principal cities has deolined by 2s. 9d.

Foundations are down for a wooden structure behind the big Government Buildings, and, when completed the -now building will be tho Base Records Office. It -will be a fairly large structure, part of it two stories high, but "Base Records" has already grown to be a very big concern, and is still growing. It will still ho a very big institution for some time after the war is over, hence the need for special quarters.

A warning to the tradesmen of Wellington is inserted issue, by the Department of Internal Affairs. It concerns the inspection of weights and measures, and warns business people to mako sure that their scales are cor* rect.

The -Minister of Labour should intorveno at present juncture in favour of the labour-savin? qualities of "No Rubbing Laundry Help" for washing clothes clean. Wellington Grocers.—Advt.