LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 215, 5 June 1919, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The case arising out of the tragedy on the troopship Pakeha on May <2G, in which Sergeant Edward George Furlong llarsden, of the New Zealand Field Artillery, was charged with having unlawfully'killed Sergeant-Major Samuel Stanley Choate, thereby committing manslaughter, was again called tit the Magistrate's Court yesterday. As a further remand was asked for, the matter was set down for hearing on .Tune 11. Bail was renewed in .the sum of ,£SO and ono surety of ,650.

A boy of seven years of age (states a Press Association message from Masterton) is suffering from what is believed to be an attack of lethargic encephalitis. Tie has been in a 6tate of come, for several days, and is under medical observation. There are also three other cases in which the symptoms are suspicious, but a diagnosis' has not definitely confinned these suspicions. A male suffering from a form of the disease, who was admitted to the hospital some months ago, is eaid to be recovering.

Early yesterday morning fire was discovered to have broken, out in Praise's Buildings, Taranaki Street. The Fire Brigade received the alarm at 3.22 o'clock and, though they confined the blaze to the interior, a deal of damage was done. It is not known how tho' outbreak was caused, but it appeared to have originated on the first floor, which is_ occupied by the Salvation Army as a tailor -ing department. By the time the brigade arrived tho llames had penetrati-d through to the second floor, which the Defence Department use as a store. -\ T i damage- was done to the ground floor, which is occupied by Charles Slyraon, timber merchant; Thompson and Hills, fruit preservers; and Wilson and Wood, motor garage. The loss suffered by the Salvation Army is estimated at £islk Tho buildinsr is owned by Messrs. Dwan Bros., and T. and W. Young, and is insured in tho Commercial Union, and Ocean Offices for £MH. The Salvation Army's stock is covered by a policy for X 2900 in the Atlas Insurance Company.

The breaking of a tramways overhead wire in Courtenay Place shortly after 10 o'clock last evening held up the southbound cars for some twenty minutes. At ono time half the length of Manners Street was occupied with waiting cars. An inquiry into the death of a Boy Scout at Trentham Camp some months ago has been ordered by the Defence Department. A preliminary inquiry has already been held. Commissioner T. H. Howard (late Chief of the Staff of the Salvation Army, London) was accorded a most hearty welcome on his arrival at tho Thorndon Station on Wednesday afternoon from Auckland. Commissioner Howard (who was the first Commissioner for Australia, and New Zealand) has just completed tours of 'Canada and the United States, and is, after a series of meetings in Christchurch, to return to Wellington to supervise a big conference of Salvation Army officers from all parts of the Dominion, in connection with which- some 'big public gatherings will be held in this city. This congress will commence on June 11, and continue until June 16. -Travelling round the world with Commissioner How-nrd-oro Brigadier Joy and Captain Cmspan, (private secretary). Tho party was met at Auckland by Commissioner H, C. Hodder, Brigadier Bray, Captain Colvin, and other officers. After the congress ill Wellington, Commissioner Howard will proceed to' Australia, where congressional gatherings are to bo held in each State centre.

A tablet to the memory of the late Rov. C.» H. Garland, who was president of the Methodist Theological College, was unveiled in tho Pitt Street Methodist Church, Auckland, on Sunday by tho Rev. B. E. Bellhouse. president of the Methodist Conference. Tho Eev. C. H. Laws conducted the service.

A young man named Alfred Aster Davie was arrested in tho city yesterday morning on a charge of wearing a military uniform without the permission ot the' Governor-General. Subsequently. «o was brought before Mr. I". V. Erazer, S.M., at the Magistrate's Court, whero it was stated that he had been discharged from the New Zealand Military Police on Saturday and should not have been wearing a uniform after that day. Defendant said ho was a returned soldier and had been discharged 12 months ago. "You had better go home and put on your civilian clothes," said Mr. I razor to the defendant, who was convicted' and ordered to come up for sejitence when called upon within threo months.

The Conciliation Council will next week give final consideration to tho Wellington shop assistants' dispute. On June 12 tlio council will hear tho Palnierston painters' dispute, at Palmerston North, and on Julio 20 will deal at Wellington with the case of the Wellington bakers. A statement attributed to Mr. P. M. B Fisher that "strikes were more fremient in New Zealand than in any other country," prompted a Dominion representative to inquire yesterday irhc her the impeachment was warrantee!. Ihe Secretary for Labour-(Mr. F. W. Rowloy) said that between March 31, 1917, and the corresponding date in 1918, there had been 27 strikes in this country. Many ot them had been trivial, involving no mora tli'in a few hours' cessation of work, or a refusal to work overtime, lvrelvo cases had been serious, and had given rise to proceedings for breaches or the War Regulations or of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act. , Quite a number of tho disputes had arisen out of claims (illegal because made prior to the passing of the War Regulation and St'itute Law Amendment Act, 1918) for increased wages to meet the increased cost of living- The strikes that had occurred in the year 1910-17 had numbered six Mr Bowley observed that he could not understand 'why Mr. Fisher had ventured tho assertion quoted above, when the frequency of strikes both in Australia and in the United States was well known.

Somo comment has been made in recent days about the decision of the Justice Department to locate some sort of a prison institution near Ilcretaunga. The name of tho place is tho Wi Tako reformatory, called after a famous chief Who ruled the Hutt Valley before the white people became numerous. It may surprise some people to learn that the institution lias been an existence already for a month, during the whole, of which time it has been in occupation by prisoners. Neither the place nor tlio prisoners are in sight from the settlement. v

A well-known Auckland resident, who was with tiin New Zetibnd Force in the fighting at Passclienaaeie, hml it novel experience on the first day of the A.U.C. meeting at Elle.ivlie. In a parcel bf one pound notes that came into his pushes-' sion as the result of totniisator investments, he found one. with this inscription on its back! "This note was earned into the front line trench <it Pnssuhrndaelc, and presented to the Y.M.C.A. in France in exchange for war loan ticket? by C. W. Reeves; 51,193, N.Z.13.F., 21/3/ti)l6." -Attoklu." '"Star."

A man named Frederick Charles Oihljo was charged before Mr. P. V. Fr,i>:i*. S.M., at the Magistrate's Court yesterday afternoon wjth having attempted to commit .suicide by hanging himself. J)cfcuiiarii said a doctor in Auckland had advised him to take a little, whisky, as he was suffering from gastritis. Ho considered that the liquor had all'ectod his mental faculties. Gib be was convicted and discharged, as 'his son agreed to look after him.

At tho instigation of the men's society connected' with the Presbyterian Church at Dcvonport. of which .Mr. John Henderson, late Mayor of the borough, has ■been appointed chairman, vho minister of St. PauPsJias agreed to have a service in the church on Sunday week on similar lines to that formsrly held in the soldiers' training camps, when the usual forms of the orthodox way of coi.'diictiue a church servi-> will he suspended. The innovation is being watched with interest f>y those who are 'inxious to know if what was successful under war conditions may not be squally successful in peace tiniS.—Auckland "Star." \.

A request for assistance for the fishermen at ICailcoura was made by a deputation, of members of the Parliamentary Industries Committee, among them tho member for tho district (Mr. G. Forbes), wailin" on the Minister of Marino (the Hon. T. M. Wilford) yesterday. It was pointed out by the deputation that the fishermen suffered serious disabilities owing to lack of a boat harbour or moorings for their launches. It was shown to the Minister that the fishing industry had been developed in Kaikoura to a considerable scale by Christchurch enterprise. The request was that the Government should assist by providing a boat harbour, especially in view 'of the importance of the industry to the city of Christchurch. Tho Minister said that he had received reports on tho matter from Mr. P. W. Holmes, Marine Engineer, and from Mr. T?ainey, and Mr. Arson. Mr. Holmes had reported on' certain nroposed methods of hauling the boab'on to skid-ways by winches. But the deputation had raised tho question of whether a protecting arm should be built in concrete between the rocks in a certain position in the bay. and as this had not been reported upon he would ask Mr. Holmes or Mr. Furkert to report on tho proposal before making any recommendation to Cabinet. He said that all reports were in favour of assistance, but until ho knew of the cost of the protecting arm. as against the cost of the 6kids and.winchos and engine-house, he would have to delay his recommendation. One of the Otago soldiers who fought at the Somme in 1916 revisited the district at the end of last August, and to his astonishment found unconimonly-niio crops of grain being reaped at I lours and Pozieres, from ground that had neen so torn by shcllfire and covered with battle litter as to be apparently, destroy ed for agriculture. Heavy rains the previous winter had run the shell craters ! together, and a light ploughing was the ' only necessary preparation after picking ! up the iron and steel from the surface. Many shells lie buried in these fields, ' some tb a deoth of 60ft. They aro localLed with a magnet, and will stay there, quite harmless, even if they have not, exploded, for the life of ,\ shell in a dry store is estimated at only five years, and when in earth to which damp has access the charges will gradually decompose and pass into the aiiv That, at any rate, is the belief of the French fariners.-Dun-edin "Star."

A Press Association message from Greymouth states that the long spell of fine weather there continues. As the members of the staff of the Post and Telegraph Department who have 'been serving in the N.Z. Expeditionary Force return they are being installed in their positions. On this account a good number of the girls who wwo engaged temporarily throughout the Dominion are being dismissed, but in no instance is this tho case unless such ft step is absolutely necessary, and none of tho permanent female staff is 16sing her place. The policy of the Department is that the first consideration must be given to the men who have served their country in its emergency. At yesterday's -meeting the Lylteltoh Harbour Beard adopted a report recommending that the salaries of the permanent staff bo substantially increased, and that the board should establish a superannuation' fund under the National Provident Fund Act, 1914, membership of tho fund to be compulsory for all new employees of the board.—Press Assn. Tho commission which has been holding an inquiry regarding the status of various branches of the police force has concluded its labours, and is forwarding its report to the Minister in charge of Police. Iron coins, which have just been introduced into Italy through tho scarcity of copper, were first revived for modem Europe by Austria soon after ~ the great war began. Thoy aro no novelty, but a kind of Darwinian "reversion of type" iu the evolution of numismatics. Cumbrous iron «>nd bronzo ingots formed a medium of exchange lojig beforo Pheidon, King of ArgOs, struck" the first silver coin's in tho temple of tho love goddess at Aegina, which was tho earliest European mint. Coins of iron circulated for centuries among the Chinese, but finally fell to a third of their valuo owing to tho dishonesty of the Government. Few would guess, however, that iron rings, made in Birmingham, still furnish! tho most popular currency among cortflin sable fellow-sublets of our own on tho West Const of Africa.

The groat demand that wrists in Auck. land at tho present time for increased telephone connections emphasises the tremendous growth of tlio system throughout New Zealand in rccont years (says the "New Zealand Herald"). In March, 1882, there were 116 direct connec. tions to exchanges j within the next twenty years the number increased to 9260. 'An increase of 22,000 was recorded in the next ton vears, tho number of con. sections in 1912' being over 31,000. Within the next six years a still greater increaso was recorded, the total number in MaTch, 1918, being 53,501.

An officer in the American forces, writ, in" to his undo in Dunedin, states that tho confederacy of Protestant Churches is calling for 40,000,000 dollars.for the work dealing with returned soldiers, in 'order that the vision they saw during their service in the Army and on the battlefields shall hot bo lost.-"Otago Times. A Melbourne woman of 2G, who sought a divorce from her husband, a labourer of 35, on the ground of desertion, told a curious storv. Her husband, in 1912, was out of work, and he made her go out and seek employment, and suggested that she go in man's clothes. Sho went to a country'town, as a, man, and got farm work. 'From there sho went to BendigO, where tho police' discovered her mas. mierade, and she was sent to a home. Later she joined hor husband. He again persuaded hor to dress, as a man, and they were employed as farm labourers. They wero known for some time as ' the brothers, Bob and Jack Lavell." Tho man treated hor badly, however, nnd presently, left her penniless. Tlio woman pawned her ring and, still In nuiiis attire, went to Melbourne. Here, tor eight months, she held well-paid employment ns a driver. She associated with ft rough class of workmen, and none of them suspected her sex. Later, Rearing discovery, she reverted to woman s clothing. This pluoky young woman was granted a divorce.

' It is is not generally known thtit there are 'ft great mimy wild cattle oi) the Tavanitt ranges, says an exchange. Some littlo time ago, when journeying from (ho Upper Hutt V*lley through the bush to the Otaki Gorge, Mr. A. Seed and a companion came noross a great herd of wild cattle, estimated at fully 500 head. This groat herd was grazing in the bush in a. big hnsin of country at least six or seven miles' beyond tho Otaki Forks, lvin« between lit. Kapakapamu and Jit. Hector. In this big basin tho country is comparatively open, and m the distant future will probably be broken into goud farm land. There was n brief discussion at last night's meeting of tho Wellington Rugby Union's Management Committee concerning the question of amended rules. At the annual meeting of the New Zealand EiHjy Union certain suggested nitrations'lo.the laws of the game were considered, and it was decided to forward some of tlieni to tho various affiliated unions with a recommendation that they be adopted in local fixtures in order that their effect might ho ascertained. The Management Committee'of the Welling, ton Rugby Union decided last night that the clubs'be ashed to express their views upon the proposed niiiemliiiciito, and Hint a meet in; of delegates be field ou J mid , 7 to discuss the matter.

To enlist voluntarily at tho age of .IS, fight through three yours of bard warfare on the Western front, to be wounded in tho head while dispatch-carrying at Messincs, and then to spend nine muuths in hospital, is a sufficiently good record to entitle any young New Zealander to the thanks of his countrymen (states tho Dannevirke "Evening News"). It has fallen to the unfortunate lot of I'rivato W. K. Todd, however, to ■ realiso that having gone through this war experience, ho returns to the Dominion only to find, himself gazetted as a, military deserter. The mistake has evidently arisen through failure to delete his name from Territorial enrolments when he went away, on active service. Private Todd ia a eon of ilr. John Todd, who some time ago resigned his position with tho Jlawke's Bay Farmers' Co-operative Association in Ualmevirke in order that he might manago a farm for his brother-in-law in I'uldatua, and relievo, him for the war.

A lady who has recently returned from England, in speaking of tho air raids, mentioned that, one particularly tragic occasion was when tho office of the newspaper "John Bull" was bombed, says a southern paper. It appears that the building was a very old ous-with large cellars underneath, and it bad been the custom of the proprietors to allow crowds ot poor women and children to take shelter in these cellars as soon as the alarm was sounded. ' When tho bomb fell right on tUn office th& great printingpresses fell through the lioors and finally into the cellars, and caused tragedies and , casualties almost unheard of in any other raid; terrible as they all were. The tubes used to be filled with crowds of East Enders, and casualties, often happenned fror* over crowding. Later on th:j protective measures were so well organised that there was little encouragement and tremendous risks to the Huns in their baby-killing expeditions.