LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3128, 5 July 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Defence Minister, replying to a question yesterday, said Hint the matter of making a more liberal allowance for the .Second Division when they _' were called up for service was under consideration. • •

"On conditions which have been alrendy made public," said the Prime Minister, in answer to a question put by Mr. G. Witty in the House yesterday, "meat can now lie .purchased by retailers from the Government stores at the same, price it is supplied to the Imperial Board of Trade." Mr. Witty had bur-. gested that the people of New- Zealand should be allowed,to secure some of the meat at present lyin£ in the stores awaiting shipment." ( ■ ■

• The quantities of meat, cheese, and butter in store, as at the end of .Tune, are. aa follow-.—Meat (in 001b. ' freight carcasses, including beef, mutton, and lamb),. carcasses; cheese, 130,572 crates; fritter,.235,506 boxes. The quantities of butter and cheese in Store at this time last year were r>9.324 crates cheese, and 47,763 boxes butter.

A question was asked in the House by Mr. G. J. Anderson urging the Government to take power this session to deal effectively with shirkers under tho Military Service Act by refusing to report for military duty as ordered. The Defence Minister, replying yesterday, said that men who failed to fulfil thenobligations were deserters, and warrants were issued for their arrest. Further powers were under consideration.'

Tho Minister in charge of the Pensions Department (the Hon. A. M. Myers), replying to a question aa to whether the Government would increase the ,old-age pension, said that the question of amending the Pensions Act was receiving the abtention of the Government.

The Minister of Finance, replying to a question in the House yesterday, said that for financial reasons it was impossible 'to'agree to allow charitable aid boards to borrow from the State Advances Department for capital expenditure, and thereby /spread the repayment , over a period of yeare. The following temporary appointments have been approved by the Camp Commandant at J?eiitherstoa:-Corpls. J. J. Andrews, C. R. Brown, D. V. M Crae, and E. C. Stratton, B Company 29th, to be sergeants; Vte. A. E. Judd, lj Company 28th to be orderly room clerk; Pte. J. G. Gould, D Company 30th, to 'be orderly room clerk; •.Sergt.-Major J. J. Packer, Headquarters Instructional Stan, to be regimental sergeant-major while employed on Instructional Staff Mounted lliflcs Reinforcements.

The National Committee of the Young Men's Christian Association acknowledges tho following contributions to its funds for soldiers' comforts:—New Plymouth Patriotic Fund, .£45 Its.; Lady Wilson, Bulls, £W; Picton collection for trench comforts (per Eev. A. A. Armstrong). .£77; Miss J. Carruthers, Hunterville, 10s.

The Full Court was again occupied the whole of yesterday in hearing the case brought by the AVellington City Corporation against A. and T. Butt, Ltd., for alleged misuse of part of lork Street, a blind street, running eastward off Taranaki Street to Town 'Here 2-IG. Tho defendant company had erected a fence with a gate in it halij-way down the street, incorporating such part of tho street with lands owned by the com r pany. Mr. John O'Shoa (City Solicitor) appeared for the corporation, nnd Mr. A. S. Adams, of Dunedin. with him Mr. D. M. Findlay, appeared for the defendant company. Argument for the defence occupied practically the whole day. Tho ease concluded at a Into, hour in the afternoon, ami. judgment was reserved.

On account of the indisposition of tho Mayor (Mr. .T. P. Luke) tlio adjourned. meeting of the, Hutt Eoad Bonrtl lias been deferred iinfcil Wednesday afternoon of next. week'.

There is said to be a shortage of farm labour in the Dominion, but tho Labour Department reports that there are quito a small number of applicants for work in the Dominion who are desirous of taking up rural occupations.

It is not generally known (says tho Parliamentary correspondent of the London. "Telegraph") that Field-Marshal Sir Douglas llaig is colour-blind. This at first threatened to bo a serious obstacle to ' his career as iv soldier, because he was. refused entrance to tho Staff Collprc. ' Hearing of the circumstance, Colonel (now Major-General) ii'Cnlmont and the lato Sir . Rodvers Biiller asserted themselves to secure a reconsideration, pointing out that Haig was not likely often to seek guidance from railway signals. Eventually the decision was reversed, and tho future Field-Marshal passed through the college.

A. well-known local builder and contractor, speaking to ii Dominion reporter yesterday, stated that it was becoming very difficult to tender for work that was offering owing to tho shortage of building tradesmen. Plumbers, ho said, weio oiremely short of men, and after tho present ballot men were drawn they would bo in a still more parlous plight. He instanced soveral firms of plumbers who have gono out of business nltogothcr through both men and masters being called up in the ballots. At the same time it has been mentioned that in other parts of the Dominion, where practically no new building going on, there, were said to lie men out of work, Why those men do not come to Wellington lie was at a loss to know, as the scarcity was really acute. As an instance of liow the cost of building hail increased, he mentioned that bricks, which woro procurable before the war for .IT) 10s. per thousand, wore now £1 7s. Why they had increased in price to such an extent ho could not understand, for the trifling increase in tho cost; of labour was small justification for such a jump. It was, ho urged, a case for tho Board of Trade to step in and restrict tho price, as they did with food-. stuffs. '

Trailers to txamcars have often been suggested in Wellington, so the following from a Chrisichurch papof is interesting:—"One of'the seventeen new tramway trailers to be constructed has been put into temporary commission. The new type of trailer is attractive in appear«nc«, and is very comfortable to ride in. It hast straight sides, and is wider than tho old type, and has seating accommodation for 38 people. The radial nxle principle hns been adopted in connection with the under truck, and this permits of easier running on curves. There are guard rails nt the end of each of the seats to prevent passengers blocking tho centre aislo with their feet. Tito new trailer will be put into commission about the end of .the week. The Train 2 way Board hag decided that the construction of the remaining sixteen trailers should be proceeded with immediately." ' A story about Dmiediii : (says the "Star" is that tho wrecked Mongolia was bringing a big lot of , ten lor New Zealand,'and that her lose will denude the ten market here. So far as we can learn" the fear is without foundation. The probabilities are that the Mongolia had not loaded her tea. Even if she had it on board, the loss would not -pinch Now Zealand, for there is a lot o£ tea in the Dominion, and if we felt a sudden shortage it could no doubt be supplied out of Australian stocks.

The Minister of Internal Affairs (theHon. G. W. Russell) has approved of recommendations of the Registrar-Gen-eral regarding the registration of deaths of. soldiers of the New Zealand and other forces during the war. Under the War Legislation Amendment Act of 1916 the Registrar-General is required to compile a register of deaths of members of the- New Zealand Expeditionary Force -and of New Zealanders in other forces who have died while out of New Zealand. Up to the present arrangements have been made lor registering the' deaths of members of the New Zealand Forces only. Application was recently made for certificate of the death of a New Zealander who was a member of the Australian Expeditionary Forces, but this could not be supplied. Similar applications will' certainly be made in respect of New Zealauders in the British Expeditionary Force. It is therefore to be arranged with tho British and Australian Governments I'lial they Supply the New Zealand Registrar with particulars iof the death crt members of the forces- who,' prior to enlistment in England and Australia, used to reside in New Zealand. '

Miss Gladys Campbell, who, it will be remembered, produced "Sunset Land," w!7i, in September, for the first time in New Zealand, present to the Welrington public the musical pantomime play "The Magic Carpet," a brilliant extravaganza in three act 3, for which she has secured the sole rights. The-cnst, an exceptionally strong one, is in activerehearsal, and working with .great en-' th'usiasm, leaving no stone unturned to surpass even the great, success achieved by last year's production. The proceed? will, as heretofore, be devoted to patriotic purposes.