LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 118, 12 February 1920, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Firm measures aro to be iakw by ilio Wellington District Repatriation Board with men who neglect to inak» reasonably prompt repayment of loans. Tho board has decided to foreclose in all cases where borrowers under the provisions of the Repatriation Act are found to bo making no effort to pay back the sums of money advanced to (hem. In one ca=e action of the kind indicated has alreadv been taken. A nua had bew granted a loan to enable liini to purchase plant for a business, but ns lie failed to respond to reijeated correspondence deal ins with the terms of repayment of the loan a bailiff cas nut into his premies and the board assumed control" of the business.

The Fire Urisrr.de were called out shortly after yesterday afternoon to ileal with a gorse fire at Brooklyn. Tho fire raised dense masses of smoke, which ea«t a heavy niili over the western side of the?cily.'bu( no damage was done 'o property. ' After about an hour's hard fighting the outbrenk was extinguished.

For the purpose of discussing the question of bringing girls from Britain for domestic and rural service, representatives of the North Canterbury Farmers' Union and the Canterbury Sheepnwners' Union yesterday met at a conference Misses Walkin and Girdler. of the British Overseas Pe'tlcinrnt Mission. After the scheme had been discussed a motion was passed affirming the great need of assisting the scheme and urging all concerned to do all they can settle the girls and take an interest in their future welfare. A committee was set un to cooperate with any other organisation willing to assist in the scheme.—Tress Assn.

The difficulties of transport between Australia and New Zealand were emphasised at last night's meeting of the Victoria College Council, when a letter was read from Professor Wilson confirming his acceptance of the eliair of modem languages, and stating that he would not be able to secure a passage from' Sydney until the end of February. The chairman (Mr. C. Watson) stated that he had been advised that the Union Company were not taking any passengers from Australia for here until the middle of April. Tn view of the important public position to be fillqt] by Profcsso; Wilson it was derided to approach the Union Company with a request to grant him a passage to New Zealand at tilt earliest opportunity.

"All the cold storage in London is full up of meat, and we cannot discharge our cargo of 70,000 or 80.000 although we have been waiting for days in Tilbury," said the captain of a big liner in London recently, according to one of the London newspapers. "We are fherefjre ordered to Glasgow, where the vessel must cither be discharged or as cold store fit ft demu ringo charge of hundreds of pounds daily. Tho captain suggested Hint some of Hie Australian steamers, which ysed the Suez Canal, should be diverted to the Adriatic ports, where they could land their inea'. for consumption by the hungry people of Austria,

The Defence Department lrn now commenced to issue to members of D.e N.Z.B.F. who arc entitled to wear the distinction, the 1914-15 Star. It is estimated that some 25,000 stars will be issued to surviving members of the i\'.7i.E.F., and to the next-of-kin or loyal representatives of deceased soldiers. " iV. stars are 'being distributed at the ;» of 2-"i0 per dav'. K is estimated that u' surviving 1911-15 men will receive their stars within ten weeks, after which tin issue to the next-of-kin ot' deceased men or their legal representatives nil! 'fcc commenced. About the size of a lialfcrown, the star is made of bronze, am 'is four-pointed. On the front there air crossed swords, surmounted by a crown, with a. Royal cypher at the foot. In tl raised centre appears the date "191-1-15 " and on the back there is space forjhc inscription of the number, rani;., initials, and name of the wearer; below this the letters "N.Z.I'UV are to be inscribed. A special machine has been sent out by tin War Office for stamping Hie name, etc., on the back of each star, and this work is l being carried out l>y a small sink of returned .soldiers. With each star the Defence Department is supplying about nine inches of the 1914-15 ribbon free of charge. So far, of the men notified, only n'liout one per colli, liavo chosen to iceeive their decorations on public parade, the remaining 90 per cent. Having preferred private, receipt by registered post.

A candidate who had attended the Auckland Flying School recently applied to the Wellington District Repatriation N"nrd for financial assistance. The ap-' plication was considered at tho last meeting of the board, when it was decided that the board had no power to make a grant, as (lying schools in tflie Dominion were not deemed to be military camps within the meaning of the lleuatriation Act The provisions of the Act relate only to fornior members of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, or to men who were in camp at the time of tho singing of the armistice.

A bov used sixteen years, was before llm Blenheim Police' Court recently, charced with shooting his father in tho arm with a pen-rifle. It was stated in evidence that the father, while in a state of intoxication, was savagely assaulting his wife, who was in a dclicate state of health, and the lad fired at his father with the view of disabling him,and thus protecting the woman. Tho Magistrate dismissed the case.

.As one result of bis recent visit to Paris, the High Commissioner (says a London correspondent) has been ab'.e to put the French Government in touch with tho holders of tinned New Zealand rabbits. Tliev have been able to taste samples, which were sent over from London. and the utmost satisfaction is expressed with their flavour and quality. The varying nature of tho exchange is making negotiations a little difficult, but this will no doubt bo overcome. _ Sir Thomas Mackenzie finds also there is innuirv in France for New Zealand jams.

A London correspondent understands Ihat the report of the. Committee 011 Milk, known generally as the Astor Committee. but recently presided over .by Colonel AVeirall. will shortly be issued. It is comprehensive in scope, and some of its findings are expected to lead to controversy. A point that aft'ecls the public directlv is the assertion that 'fO per cent, of British cows are tuberculous. There are milk experts who will aver that tuberculosis in the cow will not affect the milk. "Be that as it may," says the "Evening Standard," "tuberculous cows would not be tolerated in such a country as New Zealand, where the conditions are said to bo as near to perfection as can be. Compulsory measures for ensuring clean milk are insisted upon in the report."

The Wellington Military District Biflo Meeting will be held at: Trentham on February 27 and 28. Matches for Senior Cadets will be fired on the first day. and on the second day tho competitions for Territorials and members of rifle clubs will take place. There are a number of open matches on the programme, and over .CICO will be available for distribution in cash prizes, besides trophies of the value of .E172.

Though little has been heard of it lately, the project to establish a creclio in tlie heart of the city is not being allowed to lapse. On the contrary, its ardent supporters intend to make another strong effort to enlist public sympathy very soon, and have gone so far as to have provisional plans drawn. Itis believed that a very urgent demand exists in Wellington for a place where mothers can leave their children during the day, a place where, every care and attention can be relied oil. There is no intention to make this a matter of charily, the accommodation and the care will be paid for. The. creche will consist of a large, airy nursery supplied with a number of cots, a room for those in charge, bathroom, and other necessary conveniences.; It is hoped also to secure sufficient spaco for a pleasant playground.

In roplv In his suggestion Uiat t.lio Prince of Wales lie asked lo In.v (lie foundation =iono nf Hip proposed new t-ailwuv sl.-it ion in Wellington, I lip Mayor Olr. .T. i'. T.ulte, M.P.) has received tlie I'o'lowiiij? communication from (lie Prime Minister":—"l I,nl rocfipt of your Idler of February G. in wliicli you surest Hint arrangements might be made for Hi* Royal Highness tlie Prince of Wales lo lay the foundation stone of the proposed'new railway station in Wellington, in reply. I have to state that this proposal will be noted for consideration when Hio itinerary to be submitted to tlio Prince's .advisors is drawn up."

The last meeting nf the Wellington Di-lricl Ufpairintion Hoard was presided over by Mr. T. ,H. Weston, wlio was unanimously re-elected to tho position of chairman for tlio ensuimr year. Many complimentary references were made to (lie excellent manner in which Mr. Wcslon h.ad presided over Uio deliberations of tin- board durin;; llio past twelve monllis. A fair amount nf business was transacted al: Die niceling. Twenty-six applications for loans lo purchase furniture were approved, whilst three were deferred. Nine applications for financial a.-'-istanee i» Hie establishment of businesses were approved, three wero deferred, and live were declined. If was decided pay the fare of a badlywniinded man, ivjio, on the advice of tlie medical authorities is being sent Home lo his relatives. Tn live caws it was decided to aubsidi=e Ihe waies of trainees and in eleven ii,stances the board re-

solved to pay the fees of disabled men who are beinx trained in various avocations.

A shorlnw of good, substantial clocks has existed in the Dominion for somo time, and people who are uoins in for housekeeping find that it is a matter of sonic didicuUv to obtain reliable timepieces. A local jeweller explained to a Bosnxiox reporter that the shortage in clocks was one of the aftermalhs of the war. liefore the war mauv clocks were import oil from Germany, but of course (lie war put a omplete stop to all supplies from that quarter. 11l En?Uind many establishment?, at which clocks were made in large numbers were sirbseriUciiUv devoted to munition purposes, and the return to the formev manufacturing conditions was not vet complete. As n consequence some lime must elapse, before it would be possible to resume the importation of clocks from the Old Conn(r<\ 'I'll- 1 reporter's informant stated that lie had less than half a down clocks in his fihon. and lie would not confidently guarantee any of these to intending; purchasers.

The Order-in-Conncil announcing the decision of the Government regarding liides may bo issued before the end of this week. No official information is yet available on thb subject

. The only entries 011 the charge sheet placed before Mr. J'.'. I'age, ii.Jl., at the Upper Jlutt Court yesterday morning were two alleged breaches of section 158 of the Legislature Act, lOCS, am) the case* were Jvolwrt Semple (.ilr. O'iiegan) v. Flora Mary M.'Cnvdy (Mr. O'Leary), and same v. Angus John Jl'Curdy. -'lie charges were lliat "on December 15, 1919, at Upper Hull, in a certain newspaper (to wit the 'il.iilt Valley Independent') he (ami she) published ai: untrue statement defamatory of him, the said Kobert Semple, and calculated to inlluoneo the votes of the electors, as follows:-'! inn a Herman and promt of it. Semple at Auckland during the 19H strike. But at Upper llutt the other night ho passed as an Australian, liut lie is not the only lied Fed. Australian with Hun blood in his veins,' contrary to the provisions of section 158 of the Legislature Act, 1903." Thews are believed to be the first cases taken under this wct'on, and the penallies for such a breach is i!SO in the ease of private owners and illOl) in the case of companies. Counsel were unable to attend the Upper llutt, as they are engaged at the Supreme Court, Wellington, and in consequence the cases were adjourned till March 10, the next sitting.

An indication of the number of properties changing hands in Auckland may be gathered from the fact that during the past six months 400 transfers have taken place l within the Mount I'lbert borough. lii rejiorting to tiiis effect at a meeting of the council, llio town clerk stated that it was also (|uite likelr that many transfers had not been notified.— "K'.'/i. Herald."

The installation meeting of the Te Awanuitu Power Board was held yesterday in the presence of a large and representative gathering (says a J'ress Association telegram). This was the first 'board eleclcd in the North Maml. Mr. J. T. Johnson has been elected chairman and Mr. IL K. Toogond engineer. Application is t;> bo made to the Minister of Finance for consent to borrow .£120.000.

The estimated population of Now Zealand (exclusive of Maoris and res'dents of the Cook and other Pacific Islands) on December 31, mis. was 1.105.U73 (5t2,01fi males and 5fi(!,327 females). The 'Dominion's population, including Maoris ('19,770) and.residents of the Cook and other Pacific Islands, at the end of last year was estimated at 1,2:!6,f)8t (!>!!!,,'Mil males and 005,55S females).

A councillor at Friday's meeting of Urn Ashburton Comity Council slated that the rabbit pest was really a serious one in the county. Tho way the rabbits had increased this season was as marvellous as it was disquieting.

Tho Auckland tramways will resume a full service on Friday, after a fortnight's drastic curtailment owing to shortage of coal.—Press Assn.