LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3090, 22 May 1917, Page 4

A recent letter from England states that a "permanently unfit" camp for New Zealand soldiers is being established at Torquny, in England. The idea, tho correspondent states, is to draft all permanently unfit men into tho now camp, and treat them there until there is accommodation for those well enough to bo shipped back to New Zealand. There may be many in the city who are not aware that it is illegal to store benzine and motor 6pirit on their premises without a license (which must bo endorsed by the Superintendent of the Fire Brigade). Only recently a fire was discovered in a city building in which several eases of benzine were stored, and in another instance some cases of benino were being taken into.premises, when a responsible authority noticed the fact, and warned the owner (who had no license), and the benzine was at once sent back to store.

Tho Government has approved of a recommendation by the National Efficiency Board to add tlie flour milling industry to the tentative classification of industries already submitted under Class B— Essential. Industries and occupations included under tho B heading nre regarded as essential, and second only in importance to those in Class A—Most Essential. In this classification it may be found that a very much larger percentage of men can be released for military service than may be possible in Class A, but no person should be removed whose removal would imperil the successful maintenance of the industry or occupation.

Hr. Robert Bidwill, a son of th« late Mr. C. It. Bidwill, of Tawaka, lower Wairarapa, -was riding his motorcycle back from Featherston yesterday when the machine struck a piece of wood on the road near the Upper Hutt, and Mr. Bidwill wae thrown heavily to the ground, sustaining severe injuries to his head and one of his legs. Ho was picked np in an unconscious condition, and was brought to Wellington Hospital in a taxi-cab. Mr. Bidwill is on the staff of Messrs. Win and Co., Wellington. Late last night lie was leported to bo doin" weft. ,'.

The Military Service Board at, Christchnrch has adjourned sine die appeals by Bishop Brodie on. behalf of three Marist Brothers. The appeals are subject to review before the First Division is exhausted.—Press Assn.

The /work of finishing the concrete surfacing of Blair Street, -which has been suspended for some weeks past on ■ account of the shortage of labour, has. been put in hand", and the end of the week should see tie work approaching completion. This will be the only con-crete-finished street in Wellington.

The Wellington City Council has purchased a block of about thirtv acres of land, part of the Stnnden Estate, as an extension, to the cemetery at Karori on the western side. The land is said to have been secured at a very reasonable figure. • ■

Yesterday was the last day for receiving nominations for the election to the Wellington. Land Board of a representativeof Crown tenants. The only nomination, received was that of the Bitting member, Mr. H. T, Ellingham, and ho is therefore elected.

A conference of members of the Pharmacy Board of New Zealand will be opened in. Wellington to-day. Tho board hus been called • together to consider various matters, arising mainly from the war. Tho position of dispensers in military service and the claim of chemists to commission's are among the (subjects to bo brought forward. The delegates are: Messrs. W. S. Wallace (president), 1 , . M. Mackay, and J. M. JcfTorson (Auckland), J. A. Hazlett and B. S. Scofiold (Dunedin), W. Barrett and L. Bonningtan (Christohurch), P.-Castle, G. Bagley, and >T. E. Staples (Wellington). Samples of three-ply board manufactured at Taumarunui have been on exhibition in London lately at tho offices of the Board of Trade's Department of Commercial Intelligence. The woods used aro riimi, matai, and white pine, and tho quality of tho work has drawn favourable comment from British users of this material. Tho United States and Japan are large: exporters of three-ply board, which is in demand in the furniture and building trades- The material is produced by cementing together three verv thin sheets oE ,wood with, the grain of \ho centre shoot running orossways. At a largely-attended meeting of the To Kuiti Branch, of tho. Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, the following resolution was unanimously carried: "We, the mombore of the Te Kuiti Branch of tho A.S.'E.S. view with surprise and disgust the attitude taken up by tho assistant-general manager in regard to members of tho railway, service drawn by ballot, and resent, tho taking of a soeret ballot, and aro of the opinion that members of tho railway service should go into camp in the order in which, they aro drawn by the Defence Department, and request the Minister of Railways to immediately put a stop to such unfair tactics as aro now being adopted by tho assistant-general manager."

A suspension bridge that Mr. Joseph' Dowßon is erecting for Messrs. Seiffert'a I'laxniilling Company over the Manawatu River will be 175 feet in length, and the longest heavy traffic bridge in Now Zealand. It is warranted to carry a tramload of eight tons. One of tho concrete towers is just about flnishod. It is sixty feet from the foundations, or fifty feet above the deck. The -weight of the towers is estimated to be about a hundred tons.

Tho last progress leport of the Discharged Soldiers' Information Department, dated May 16, ehpws that the total number of men on the register of tho Department is now 8792. Of these 171 are on the employment wanted register. The men seeking work in the districts near to Wellington are distributed as follous:—Taihape, 2; Feilding, 1; PnlmorS.tbn North, 3; Taranaki, 7j Wanganui, 8; Napier, 7; Hastings, 3; Wairarapa, 3; Wellington, 6; Blenheim, 1; and Nelson, 2. ! . An emergency meeting of the Dominion Executive of the National Eeserve was hold in Wellington last week for the purpose of considering certain resolutions of the council, passed in February last, and the replies of the Minister thereto, relative to placing the National Eeserve under the regulations as part of the defence forces, and in regard to financial assistance for administrative purposes. Written opinions from the district commandants and executive staff were fully considered, tho consensus of opinion boing that the status of the Eeservo ns a. military training body should bo defined under the Defence Regulations, and should receive some financial support in tho shape of a small capitation or special grant, similar to the facilities afforded to tho National Eeserve and Volunteer Corps in Great Britain. The council, having fully weighed the import of these opinions, although it considered that such an extreme course might be undesirable in the present position in regard to the war, decided to give effect to the generally expressed opinion, and passed the following motion:—"That in consequonce of the continued refusal of the authorities to give the National Reserve proper recognition as an integral pnrt of tho Defence Forces, the executive council is of opinion that it is no longer possible to maintain the'Eeserve as an efficient organisation, and recommends the Minister of Defence that the Regulations of March 1, 1915, published by Order in Council, be cancelled, together with' nil appointments gazetted thereunder. " The members .of the council waited upon the Minister of Defence and laid their opinions before him, and are now awaithig the official reply.

Thi;ee enjoyable games were witnessed last night at Alcock's in the Y.M.C.A. War Fund Billiard-Diner Tourney. In the first game, A. Trevor (rec. 85) beat P. Kell (rec. 60) by a far larger margin than their respective merits really warranted. Their play was on the whole fairly good, and some very neat sequences were brought off. In the second and third games representatives from the Wairarapa played, in the persons of the two brotlfera Grove, [ram Mastertou, who both put up creditable performances. G. Groves was beaten by V. Laws,'who certainly was favoured by the red ball's persistency in fnlling into au unexpected pocket. N. Groves, who was just beaten by A. R. Barker, plays a vory nieo stick, and is very successful with both wiiinors and losers. The beat breaks were Laws 32, 22. G. Groves 23. Trevor 23, Kell 22, N. Groves 20. Four more games are scheduled for (o-night,

William Stanley, a resident of Sydney Street, was working on a building at Wadestown yesterday when he fell off the roof and fractured several ribs. Hβ was admitted to the Hospital for treatment.

I'ho House of Commons comes to attention with an almost audible click -when Captain Bathurst rises. The reason is that he speaks for the Food Controller (Lord Dovonport)—himself in "another place"—and that all M.P.'s are now as sensitive under their waistcoats as was any Freo Fooder of the old polemical days. Times change. Before the war Captain Bathurst was the champion of that Cinderella of British industries, Agriculture. Now Captain Bathurst'e lips may at any time be big with fate concerning to-morrow's breacfast, and members sit hushed.-' Hβ is one of the many very serious, very earnest, and extraordinarily industrious men at Westminster. If a ,set purpose and pertinacity can accomplish anything in grappling with the hydra-headed problem of food control, the country may rest assured that Captain Bathurst will not be lacking. Ho applies himself with a concentrated energy that is perceptible in every fibre of his tense, alert frame. He is just under medium height, spare and trim; of dark complexion, his hair and niuustaohe showing tingea of grey. But it is his eyes that catch the eye—dark, deep eyes, the eyes of one who reflects and ponders. Hβ was educated at Eton and Oxford, has a pleasant voice, and a most engaging and courteous manner. On agriculture he is an encyclopaedia. Plagues, pests, insects; the chemistry of the soil; yields and vaxieties of crops; and all the ills of the farmyard are as ABC to him. He has advocated, many things wl;ich have now come to pass, including a. guaranteed price for wheat and Standard bread.

The Houso of Commons recently was greatly interested to hear that Army ■waste was being turned into glycerine at .£SO a ton, as against the American price of .£240 for glycerine sent to England. Captain Weigall explains dhow this had been accomplished only by the intervention of the Ministry of Munitions. All appeals to the War Office for money to set up the necessary apparatus were in vain. The highest authorities took up the matter, but it was decided that there was no source from which the money could be obtained. Then the appeal was made to the Ministry of Munitions. They took a reasonable line. "Satisfy our advisers that you can produce glycerine," they said, and the money will be found." He blamed no one at the War Office, he explained. It was the system which was at fault.

On May 25 and 26, .£25 will be given away in Wellington and Petone, and on June 2 ,£ls will be distributed in the AVairarapa in sums of ss. or 103. to those who on request can produce a Crippled Soldiers' Hostel Art Union ticket, stamped "Suratura D."*