LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3068, 2 May 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A numbor of returned soldiers came to Wellington by a special tram from Auckland, which arrived here at about 4 p.m. yesterday. The men were met by the Mayor of Wellington (Mr. J. P. Luke), who welcomed- them back. Messrs. Fox and Harper, of the Returned Soldiers' Club were also present, and Mr. A. H. Sansum represented the Y.M.C.A. Mr. Luke had a special tram w'aiting, and the men were taken to tho Returned Soldiers' Club, where they were entertained at afternoon tea. Between 20 and 30 of the men are for the South Island, and the rest were for Wellington and district..

Mr. James Ames (City Valuer) mot with an accident in tho cellar of the Town Hall late on Monday afternoon. Hβ was feeling his way along one of the corridors, from a room in which hie clerks were engaged in the recount of the elecfion figures, when lio trippod on a piece of wood, and fell on to tlie concrete floor. He fell with the full weight of his body on his right temple, and was rendered unconscious. When he pulled round the blood was oozing from a wound in the corner of his eye, and he felt very weak. Ho managed to call out loud enough to attract attention, and was given all the assistance possible. Yesterday, Mr. Amines, bearing evidence of the fall, was pursuing his duties with his customary energy and cheerfulness. "There are no bigger traitors in the world," said Bishop Julius at the Christehiirch Cathedral on Siinaay morning, "than those men who are deliberately making largo profits out of tho war. No "less traitors are those men who lay down their tools and let tho country's need go to tho dogs." I A man named Charles Gawler was yesterday left in charge of a house that was boing fumigated. He unwisely entered one of the rooms, and the result was that ho was "gassed" and had to be removed to the Hospital. Spoaking at the annual meeting of the Now Zealand Investment, Mortgage, and Deposit Company yesterday, Mr. W. G. Foster (chairman of directors) said, respecting ' the .financial stability of the Dominion, that the financial experts in tho 013.' Country had turned tho matter over, and had declared that wo in Now. Zealand might bo very hopeful. "In tho future," said Mr. Foster, "I think we shall see prices fairly steady, and 1 we should not get into a funk." We would have to bear our sharo of tho nation s burden in tho future, but there'was no need to be down-hearted on that score. Charles Isaacson was at Christchurcli yesterday fined £5 for distributing an imitation of a voting paper in connection with tho recent municipal elections.—Press Assu.

Among tho reservists -who have been drawn in ballots during the last six months have been a certain number of men holding Territorial commissions. Genorally those men are taken into tno training camps, if passed as fit,_ with commissioned rank, but there is no hard-and-fast rule on the point. If a balloted Territorial officer is not considered to bo qualified for a commission in tho Expeditionary Force, ho will be sent to camp as a non-commissioned officer and given a chance of winning promotion there. It has happened in some cases that Territorial officers have been drawn in tho ballot after volunteering for active service, and while waiting to be appointed to a draft. The , regulations provide that a Territorial officer must havo held his commission for a full year before being taken into tho Expeditionary Forco.as an officer. In furtherance of the decision of the City Council to do all in its power to increase food supplies, -the Mayor (Mr. ■ J. P. Luke) has invited all persons interested in this question to meet him in his room at the Town Hall on Friday next at 8 p.m. Occupiers of largo and small plots of land are requested to attend. ' ■ . ' . The 'installation of Mr. J. P. Luke

as Mayor of Wellington for the next two years will tako place in tho City Council Chamber at noon to-day. At tho termination of the meeting the Mayor will entertain the, councillors and chief corporation officials at luncheon. The Onslow and Eastbourno Borough Councils will meet at noon, the Hutt and Petone Borough Councils will meet at 7.30 p.m., and the ]\liramar and Karori Councils at 8 p.m., for similar purposes.

Tho Miramar Borough Council's new motor bus, which has been secured to connect up Karaka Bay with tho tram terminus at Seafcoun, made a start yesterday morning, niuch to tho satisfaction of those residents who hnvo been isolated for some weeks past. The bus is a comfortable means of transport, with scats outlining the rectangle of tho vehicle. Thero is only ono means of exit or entrance, a door at the back of the driver (to enable him to act as conductor). Tho bus seats about eighteen comfortably, and twenty with a squeeze. In the slack hours it made the trip into town from Seatoun in fifteen minutes yesterday morning. The new bus has regular stopping-places, and will run to tiim*-table.

Recent voluntary recruits t include a' man whoso father came to New Zealand in 1848 as a private in a British regiment. Xho son is hale and hearty, and looks no older than bis attestation "form states him to be. The military spirit in his case is hereditary, and ho is ready to fight tho Germans as earnestly as his father fought a more honourable foe, the Maori. The National Efficiency Board is arranging to hold an inquiry into the advisabloness of the restriction, continuance, or abolition during war of the vending of wine, beer, and spirits. The board desires, in order to expedite matters, that witnesses should appear as far as possible in a representative capacity. Any persons wishing to give evidence should communicate with tho board before Monday, May 14. Tho initial number of "The Defender," a weekly journal published in Wellington, under the editorship of Mr. Leo Fanning, is to hand. . "The Defender," says an editorial note, "is planned to be helpful to defenders (in camp, overseas, or returned) and to all folk concerned with soldiers within the range of tho three P's—present, past, prospective. ... It is not concerned with party politics. The action or inaction of the Government of the dayin regard to important matters of State will, be subject of fair and

square comment whenever a good purpose, from the publio viewpoint, can be served by impartial constructive criticism." "The Defender," winch is sold at 3d., is nicely got up, is full of topical features and bright comment on current events. Mr. T. G. Brown, of Frank- and Bryce, Ltd., whose name was drawn in the last ballot, left Wellington for Melbourne in January last to manage the firm's business, there. Mr. Brown volunteered on two different occasions, soon after the commencement of the war, under the voluntary system, but was declared medically unfr6,; and as late as December last he submitted himself to a medical board under tho Military Service Act, and was reported permanently unfit. Tho Minister of Internal Affairs then grant-" ea him a permit to leave New Zealand, which enabled him to proceed to Melbourne, as indicated above.

The manager of the United Pictures, Ltd., Christchurch, was prosecuted for using an unlicensed building, the Strand Theatre, for publio performances on April 5 and 16, and was fined £s'for the first offence and £10 for tfio second, with costs.—Press Assn. In the Magistrate's Court yesterday Wong Wah, a young Chinaman, was charged with entering New Zealand without paying, or having paid, £100, as provided in tho Immigration Restrictioa Act, 1908; also with, landing in New Zealand without having fulfilled the requirements of the said Act. On the application of Chief-Detective Bcddin!,,a remand was granted till ThursAv. Bail was allowed in the sum of £100 and one surety of £100.' '■'■ The Chief Returning Officer (Mr. Jas. Ames) stated yesterday that bis statf might ne far enough ahead with the recount of tho votes and the check-/ ing of the rolls to enable him to say that the City Councillors, who headed the poll, as already announced, are elected.

• The Earl of Durham, speaking at a War Loan meeting, .said that he had not purchased a new suit of clothes since the war began, and had only ono pair of boots. Tho seams of the ■coat ho was wearing looked very seamy in daylight, but he did not care so long as he was economising. There will bo no annual conference of the county councils this year. .'This decision has been made as ibore is no probability of Parliament passing any genera' legislation affecting Jocal bodies during tho war. It is further considered that nono should be palled from ordinary duties until peace is declared. Tho Executive Committee, however, will meet in July. Counties desiring special legislation or wishing to bring any matter bofofe Parliament aro advised, to consult Parliamentary representatives. Tho enthusiasm and delight displayed by a very. largo number of peoplo in San Francisco at tho receipt of the news that America had decided to enter tho war against Germany was commented on in Auckland by Mr. James Buttle, general manager of tbo New Zealand Insurance Company. Mr. Buttle said there were wild scenes of enthusiasm, clearly showing that tho majority of the people in the huge western city wero champions of tho Allies' cause. "For .God's sake, don't' have a citizens' ball in Christclmrch," appealed Bishop Julius when preaching at tho Cathedral on. Sunday morning. "You have no right to 'triumph' over the other side," ho added, "and no right to be adversaries." The Bishop deplored the bitterness and distrust shown hy tho different classes of tho people to , each other, and said that each was struggling to do what'they thought was tho Tight thing. It would seem as if the butcher hawking cart will soon be a thing of the past, as "Tar as Dunedin is concerned (says the "Star"). While there were some 45 or 50 hawking carts in-use here a few years ago, there are said to be fewer than a dozen now; in fact {hey have been disappearing from tho road at the rate of about ono a month. This seems to be partly accounted 1 for by tho rapid growth of tho cash-over-the-counter system of purchasing meat.

"The young men in Now Zealand nowadays don't study as the young men did where I was brought up," said Sir Robert Stout at the Esperanto Hall last, evening. - "Wβ had no -theatres and no picture ehows. Though perhaps wo had concerts in the winter months and lectures occasionally, we had no amusements. such as you havo. I have seen a dozen lads there, nrtisans, standing in the shelter of a dyko during a snow shower, engaged in the discussion of the latest magazine article. You woiild not find young men doing that in Now Zealand. ■ They would be discussing football." . The Director of the Wellington Technical School makes the following reference in his annual report to the commercial classes conducted in . the school:—"The difficulty is not to get pupils'; hut to keep them lor.;' enough to make real progress. The demand for junior clerks, typistes. and shorthand writers is so strong that students are tempted to leave before they are properly prepared." One bankruptcy was recorded in the Wairarapa during the month of April. So far there have been three bankruptcies this year, compared with four for the same period last year. Mr. Stanley V. Parsonson, who , is representing tlie Wairarapa Patriotic Association in France, writes to tho as sociation, says our Masterton correspondent, suggesting that no further private parcels bo sent, as these have a habit of going astray, or of being distributed among the wrong soldiers. Ho suggests that moneys be sent to him for tho purchase of comforts. Speaking at the Esperanto Hall last evening Sir Robert Stout observed j that though lie had passed the age of seventy ho had not experienced the slightest difficulty in learning to read Esperanto. "I venture to say, continued Sir ftobert, "that if anv young fellow .would set his mind to Esperanto, in two or three months ho wonld bo able to read the language quite fluently."