LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 121, 16 February 1920, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

9 — _In connection with, the visit of the I nnc« of Wales the Governor-General hus teleirranhed as follows to some of the mejl bodies:—"After consultation with !»r, Ironeis Bell, 1 have arranged to deil Caotain Tabu Rhodes, niy militarv wreturv. to visit various places en route rtieh the Prineo of Wales will travel ivhon louring New Zealand, in order to imtnin mi idea of what preparations local authorities propose to make to welcome His Rovnl nigliness:."—Presu Assn. Tho ignition of some refuse in a storeroom al, the rear of the Strand Theatre, Manners Street, necessitated the fire brlnulo being called out shortly nfle,r hnlfwst five on Saturday afternoon. No dainaire was done to tho building) and Ute blaze was quickly suppressed. A l.wo-vciir-old child named Elizabeth ■Mario Walsh died suddenly at the msidenee of an aunt, in Seatonn Road, lvilbirnie. about midday on Saturday. As Wie c.hilil hnd not been under medienl attention. a post-mortem examination of (lie bodv was mado yesterday, and the result will be disclosed at on inquest to be held at the Court at 9.30 this morning.

lt: was stated by Mr. W. E. Loadley, at. a recent mooting of tho Canterbury District .Repatriation Board, that returnoil soldiers who had set up in business as country storekeepers wore experioneine irroat difficulty in securing certain supplies, such as flour, 6tigar,' wheat, shams, bran, and coal. Those men,.whom I ho board had sec up in business recently. wore. 1m said, at a disadvantage beraiise of the practice of merchants, in times like the present, supplying their roirnlar customers lirst. Could the Repatriation Board help these men? He did not. want to claim for them any advantage over other storekeepers, but tho fact that I hey bad been away should bo taken into consideration, and they should have equal opportunity with those who had been trading during the past five venrs. lie suggested that a deputation from the beard wait upon the Merchants' Association. The board discussed the matter in committee, and finally decided to write to tho merchants urging the caso of the returned soldier store.Tiootier. I

The young woman, Eleanor Morton, arrested "in Sydney on a charge of cmbezzlins certain funds belonging to the Wellington V.W.tAwas described on Saturday as a secretary o£ the association. VVe are informed that (ho posttion held by the young woman was thai of clerk and bunk-keeper, and she had been in folic employ of the association for about three months. In the Heme of Commons recenUv Sir Auckland Geddes was asked whether the high freight rales were partially responsible for the high priers of food, and the following reply wns given:—"No, thnfcV really not the case. The freight at which food is carried is very low indeed. In some cases it is right down to cost, leaving no profit to the shipowner who carries it." The following is the new itinerary of the New South Wales State Orchestra Arrive Wellington Monday, February 18, concert Monday night; leave midnight for Auckland, playing Tuesday and Wednesday. The trip to ltotorua has had to be abandoned.

The oiiestion which has arisen between the Auckland Returned Soldiers' Association nnd the (iovernmcnt oil account of the treatment accorded non-commission-ed officers on the Ruahine, which arrived in Auckland" recently, is not yet setlUd. it will be remembered that comulaints were made regarding the conditions on the boat, and that instead of travelling second-class, as they were entitled to. the men were compelled to travel third. On the arrival of the. vessel at Auckland a committee o£ the Returned Soldiers' Association at once went on board, and afte.r inspection expressed the Minion that the complaints • were justified, wherefor the association claimed that the men and their wive.s wero'entit.icd to a refund of the difference between the second and third-class fares. Tliis was reported to the. Government. Since, then an offer has been made to the men of .£4 The matter is in tho hands of the. Dominion executive, and it is stated that no intimation has been received in Auckland that the executive has agreed to accept this amount in full settlement of the claim. There is a fcelimr that if they do accept it the Defence Deuaitnient may disclaim any further liability, and in consequence the men are being advised not to accept.

Complaints nre still beliif wa<.c by travellers on the Main Trunk train that thev are nnable to secure sleeping berths, remarks the Auckland "Herald. It appears thfifc v/lidti All the acconinio<]ntion on the one sleeper earrtuuc usually provided is booked, intending passengers v.-ho wish to engage berths are nimble to obtain definite information as to whether ,mother sleetier will be attached to the traiii tintil it is fairly certain that several berths will be occupied. Inquiries were made from the Hepj/tment on Friday regarding the tiraciicc fullovred. It'was stated that 0110 sleeping carriage was provided on each Mam Trunk express that left Auckland. There was generally a rush for the berths on the evening train, and passengers who were not able to obtain accommodation were generally advised to engage n berth on the midday exnr?ss. If another deeper carriage was attached to the evening express to Wellington it would mean that an extra engine would have to be provided at considerable cost. .1110 Department had to be satisfied therefor that reasonable patronage would be given to the extra sleeper carriage before any decision was made to provide it. It was almost invariable found that the number of people who wished to berths did not' exceed the number of berths available 211 the two Main Trunk expressw, A peculiar and most unusual denth_ occurred at Vailcle last Saturday morning, says the "SnmoK Times" of January 24. It appears that several Samoans belonging to Vailelo went out fishing near the reef, iu company with the pulonu'u Tavu'i. It is an old habit of HanioiUis that when a fish is caught its head is bitten off to kill it. and both head and liody tvre deposited in a kit for the purpose. It was during tho course of f-iis Tidbit that Tau'i met his death. Ho had bitten n fish's head, and it appears that the head becamo firmly 'ixed in the deceased's throat, with the result that death ensued from choking. "Quick March," the journal of the returned soldiers, will celebrate its second birtlulav next month. The February issue. which is just to band, is evidence that it is poMi'ulii to product, an excellent magazine of general interest, while trivinjr all attention to matters of particular concern to the returned soldiers.