LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 61, 5 December 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

By proclamation published in a Gazette Extraordinary last night it is notified that bank notes are to be deemed legal tender within the Dominion until December 31, 1922. There have

been many similar proclamations since the beginning of the war, but the custom hitherto has been to make the period affected by the' order very much shorter. This order is for five years. Most of the others have been for periods of loss than a year.

The Prime Minister visited Trontham Camp yesterday afternoon for the first time since his return from England. Mr. Massey expressed satisfaction with the many improvements that have been mado in the camp since he last saw it a year ago.

"Seeing that the majority of the members of Parliament are married mon," said a lady at the Hon. D. Buddo's meeting at Marshland on Saturday night, "why not let them take the same rate of pay as is being offered to our men goiug to the front? V<'hy should not the Government take the lead?. Tho boys in tho trenches are doing quite as well as, if not better than, those in Parliament are 'upposed to bo doing." Tho lady's sentiments (says tho "Press") were greeted- with loud laughter and applause.

"Art in Wellington is not improving, and it is not keeping up with art in the other centres," Mr. 11. M. Gore remarked at tho Technical Education Board last evening. "After the war," ho added, "something will havo to bo done hero."

Notwithstanding tho decision recently arrived at by a Dominion conference in Wellington, tho Mastertpn Lodgo of Oddfellows, under instructions from the "Wellington District Executive, has (says our special correspondent), dooided to continue to pay sick benefits to soldier-members.

Never before has there been such a delegation of Ministers of the Crown to tho Day of' Plenty district as thero will bo on Tuesday of next week. Mr. Massey is going there to open tho new farmers' freezing works at AVbakaNiip, which establishment will be a big mine forward in the development and progress of this fertile district. Mr. Mac Donald is attending as member for tho district, and Mr. Hcrries is attending ns the former representative of that part of the Bay of Plenty. Mr. Fraser is rlso to be in tho district at the same timo, but his visit has to do with the opening of a 'bridge and questions that havo been raised about tho possibility of making a deviation of the East Coast railway at that portion of the route. Fruit is beginning to reach tho Wellington market in fairly largo quantities, and prices have been showing a decline during the last few days. Green gooseberries of ine kind used for bottling aro being sold retail now at 4d. per lb., and less by tho caso. Cherry plums, both ripo and green, may ho bought by the case at about 3d." per lb. A few early lines of poars and apples have made their appearance, hut they are not yet a Berious factor in the market. Nelson tomatoes aro arriving, and are at present bringing about Is. a lb. retail, but ail early fall in tho prico is anticipated. Red currants are in good supply now, and niay be bought at 3d. per lb., or less in large quantities. Strawberries are being sold at from Is. to Is. Gd. a box, tho 'latter prico for very good lots. Cooking peaches, rather small, are bringing 4d. a lb. retail, and desert peaches of moderate quality have been sold at 6cl. It is stated that most of tho stone fruit will be light this year. At the first meeting of the Board of Directors of.the Wellington Y.M.C.A. tho following officers woro elected for the ensuing year:—President, Mr. C. M. Luke; first vice-president, Mr. C. S. Falconer; second vice-president, Mr. W. Eglin; treasurer, Mr. C. S. Falconer; recording secretary, Mr. H. C. South.

Tho exciting escapado of throe small boys was mentioned in the .Tuvenilo Court yesterday. Tho boys "borrowed" a bicycle each, and rode off to tho country. One took his bicycle from Wellington, one picked up his at Ngahauranga, and n nWo further along the line tho third supplied himself with something to pedal. . They passed through Upper Hutt, and a while •later the Upper Hutt constable was put on their track. : He procured a motorcar, followed tho tourißts, and overtook them at Kaitoke. In Court the lads were treated with leniency, and their parents were requirod to_ pay expenses. x Under "the will of tho late Mr. W. It. Brownlee, the Marlborough sawmiller, the Havelock Cottago Hospital will benefit to tho extent of £500. Sir James Allen (Minister of Defence), when in Christehurch on Saturday, referred to criticisms of the new regulations dealing with Territorial parades. "It must be remembered," ho said, "that we have cut out a tremendous number of parades in the dif- ! ferent centres. We havo reduced things to a minimum. In addition to that, no lad in the Territorials who is required in an essential industry need havo any trouble if thero-is tho slightest roason for his exemption. Theso parades are tho basis of the training for tho whole of our Expeditionary Force. I believe that tho preliminary training through which tho men havo gone is ono of tho reasons why our division has done bo well at the front, and I wish to goodness thero was more of it. But Ido not want to bo misunderstood. Ido not want to interfere with industrial work in any way. It is essential, however, that the training should be given to tho lads."

| A man who was 6aid to bo a dozen or so weeks in arrears with the rent of a small house came to Court yesterday armed with a "shrewd point." "What was tho tenancy?" ho asked the landlord. "Monthly," was the answer. Tho Magistrate saw tho defendant's point, and said that as only a week's notice had been givon to end the monthly tenancy there was no nocd to go further into the case; but plaincounsel interjected that tho proceedings to eject the tenant wcro taken under a law which gavo power to end tho tenancy if tho defendant was more than twenty-one days in arrears with rent. The Magistrate said thnt if tho case was brought under tho law mentioned tho position was as stated by defendant's solicitor. So tho tenant's "shrewd point" collapsed, as so many legal arguments of laymen do. However, after tho caso thero was a fairly general looking-up of tho point by solicitors, who were all of tho opinion that the layman's point was a good ono.

_ In regard to the shortage of linseed oil hi New Zealand (which has increased tho cost of paint by nearly 100 per cent.) tho -Hon. Arthur Myers, Minister of Munitions and Supplies, says that his recent representations to tho authorities in Australia in regard to supplies of linseed oil and white lead produced satisfactory results. Mr. Myere also stated that tho Director of Munitions in tho Commonwealth had recently advißed him that_ thero wero prospects now of tho position being somewhat easier as regards releasing small quantities of both linseed oil and white lead from Australia. It is hoped that sufficient will be mado available to meet the pressing demands in the Dominion for these commodities.

H'alf-a-dozen _ seamen, several of whom were foreigners, created a disturbance in Grey Street on Monday evening. They were all drunk, and. when two police officers attempted to arrest them they resisted, After a tussle tho police landed their men at Lambton station, and yesterday morning tho offenders were sentenced to punishment for their part in tho af-

Tho Labour Department is arranging to invite tenders for the erection of eleven workers' dwellings at Kilbirnie. The land for theso homes is a'ready available,, and work would havo been commenced some time ago if the Department had been able to got tenders that it regarded as reasonable from tho point of view of the future purchasers of the houseß. But tho tenders were so high that they were all declined. The demand for these homes in Wellington is keen, but tho present high cost of material and labour has handicapped the Department iu proceeding with their construction. The Minister of Dofonce, in exercise of his powers under tho War Regulations, has forbidden tho sale in this country of the publications known as "Direct Action," "Solidarity," and also all other printed matter published by tho society known as tho Industrial Workers of the World.

I Two alien seamen were fined in tho I Magistrate's Court yesterday for landing in Wellington without the permission of the Collector of Customs. The polico stated that the men had permission ta come ashoro at meal hours, but remained till nearly midnight. Among tho speakers at tho inaugural meeting of tho New Zealand Political League last night was Mr. W. Barr, and one 1 of tho questions that came from tho audienco was whether. Mr. Ban- was the gentleman who had challenged tho validity of tho early closing law. Mr. Barr replied that lie was. "I am quite satisfied that tho way we aro attempting to deal with tho liquor question is unconstitutional," lio said. Ho was taking tho propor constitutional course by seeking a ruling of tho Supremo Court on the point, J^°. a , l , or ,J?? !l Value '» DOCTORS' CREAM 0' GROATS than in any in,.' ported Groats, Try it, All Grocors-

Government brickmalccrs are to assist in the building of tho now Wcl--1 lington Technical College if the Mayor of Wellington has his way. A dnto for beginning the now school has not ; been fixed, but Mr. Luke thinks that , the Government should he asked lo facilitate the completion of the building by having the bricks made at its Mount Cook brickworks. He moved in this direction at tho Technical Edu--1 cation Board last evening, and his proposal was agrciKl to. In tho second grade cricket in Auckland last Saturday a remarkable bowl- ; ing feat was achieved by Mills, of Eden, who obtained five wickets for ' ono run in three overs. F. A. Midlane, tho ex-Wellington erickotcr, who is now playing in Auck- . land, topped the century last Saturday. His score of 107 was not hisjmly big effort this season, as he made 212 a few weeks ago. Wellington is still in want of an up-to-date Technical Sohool building. The chairman of tho Technical Education ' Board stated at a meeting of tho board last evening that although ft certain ' pieco of land owned hy tho Stato was 1 in view as the site for the new build- ; ing the position still was that "Cabinet has not yet decided." Mr. C. M. Luko and others remarked that the worl: should bo gono on with without delay, notwithstanding the wl-.r. It was of tho utmost importance that everything • should be done to enable us to fight the battles which would begin when tho present war ended. The Union Steam Ship Company havo arranged the time-table of tho steamer Mapourika in tho Wellington-Nelson-West Coast servico to ensure that tho vessel will leave Nelson on Friday, Doccmbor 21, and arrive at Wellington early on Saturday morning, December 22. Foiled by the war from attending to their oversea markets, tho Now Zealand Fruitgrowers' Federation intend this season to make a-strong effort to develop the homo market, and for that purpose havo voted a sum of £1000 for advertising purposes. This news was given to a meeting in Christchurch on Saturday night of the Canterbury Fruitgrowers' Association by Mr. J. Longton, the chairman. Mr. Longton stated that the failure to reach the oversea markets last year and the year before had not been very noticeable owing to the light orops, but this year tho fruit yield was extremely heavy in New Zealand generally, whilst the Canterbury one was above the average. Hence the Federation had decided, owing to there being no outside outlet, to bring the New Zealand I (rower and consumer into closer touch. Of the £1000 voted for the advertising campaign, £500 would be spent in Wellington, where the demand was heaviest, and where little fruit was grown. Of the balance £250 would be spent in 'Auckland, £100 each in Canterbury and Otago, and £50 in Hawke's Bay. The idea was to fix a standard up to which the crops would bo graded. Anyone who could pack up to tho standard fixed by the Department of Agriculture for export would have his name placed in the approved list published in the newspapers. If growers could not pack up to that standard their names would not bo plnced on the approved list. _ The Agricultural Department was going to give them the assistance of their inspectors. The scheme had not been properly worked out yet, hut he believed it would bo finally completed by January. The time is not far distant when steel-rail •' cutting in connection with the laying or re-laying of tram-rails was an arduous, .tedioustask,performed with special saws of finely-tempered steel. It sometimes took over an hour to saw through a 951b. rail, delaying tho work, and causing much unavoidable vexation of spirit. How differently the work'is performed now was illustrated yesterday, when 'a new check-rail was being fitted on to tho tram-rail at the corner of Kent Terrace and Courtenay Place. This check-rail has to take the lateral movement of the cars as they Bwerve round that busy corner, and must only be allowed to wear a certain distance, _in order to save the rail on tho outside from getting more than its proper sharo of grinding wear. Yesterday's task was to cut out the worn section of check-rail, and to do it an oxy-ace-tone plant—two cylinders (of gas and compressed airl—was placed within three feet of tho track, tho operator (in goggles) manipulated the taps of each cylinder, struck a match, and lit tho gas that spat out violently, fined it down to a brilliant bluo point, and applied it to the rail. There was a snlutter, fizz, and tiny explosions at tho indignity that was being heaped upon the noble metal, but in a matter of ten minutes the little flame had cut a hole clean ,through tho" rail. Another cut, the unscrewing of a few bolts, and the worn section of rail was removed. Tho episode—just an ordinary job in the day's work—was a striking illustration of tho march of science.

A young man who failed to enrol received attention from the police recently, and yesterday he appeared in tho Magistrate's Court on the charge of "failing to make application to become enrolled in the reserve in accordance with section 33 of the Military Service Act, 1916." Tho police said that the man was a deliberate evader, and that he carried another man's enrolment card in his pocket. The evader was sent to prison for a month.

It is stated that the prospects cf Auckland prchardists obtaining large fruit crop.3, which were exceedingly bright until tho few weeks, have become somewhat dimmed in consequence of an epidemic which has attacked a number of orchards. Tho fruits affected aro chiefly peaches and nectarines, many of tho trees, after showing good growth and every indication of bearing heavy crops, suddenly, wilting. In some oases the trees completely die out: in others the young shoots wither ana the fruit drops oft. Orchardists attribute the epidemic to tho excessively wet season. The ground in many districts, it is stated, became waterlogged and caused the roots of tho trees to rot, and according to tho extent to which tho ioot system of a tree is affected tho extent of damage is determined.

Before the New 1 South Walea Registrar in Bankruptcy (says an Australian paper), Rudolpho Gonsaloz, of the Italian Opera Company, was examined by tho Official Assignee. Bankrupt stated that about a year and a half ngo ho brought tho company to Australia. Tho artists were engaged for bis brother, Joseph Gonsalez, who was a resident of Sydney. Witness's salary was £12 a week, but it was lowered by £2 for tho last three months of the season. He also recoived a. aeventu, amounting to about £1160, of tho net profits. The profits made- by bankrupt out of tho company's tour were sent to Italy for the maintenance of m motner and lior tbroo sons. Continuing, bankrupt said that he had no means to pay tho Supreme Court judgment which lnnoconti Olinto, a member of the company, had obtained against, nun. Ho played cards a little, but did not lose much. His living expenses were about £7 or £8 a week. There wore no losses on tho Australian tour. Tho Patriotic Society's Band will play selections at the Basin Reserve this evening.