LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 226, 18 June 1920, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

To-day is the 105 th anniversary of tho Battle of Waterloo. Shareholders in the Bank of Now Zealand are reminded that the ordinary general meeting will bo held this morning, at 11 o'clock. There is great discontent among returned soldiers right throughout New Zealand regarding tho operation of .clause 2 of the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act. Tho Ministor of Lands stated reoontly that applications would be considered if accompanied by "special circumstances." A list of "special oireumstances" was submitted to the Government by the R.S.A., but the reply received is deemed unsatisfactory from the returned soldiers' point of view, and the executive sub-committee of the association has decided to take steps to have the matter pushed to a satisfactory conclusion. A suggestion that the Government should hand over to the Lower Hutt Borough a piece of Crown land now lying idle in the vicinity of the Mailing Bridge 'was made to the Minister of Lands (the Hon, D. H. Guthrie) by a deputation from the Hutt River Board and the Borough Council. It was stated that the erosion of the' river at this point was serious, and that If it continued there' would bo dangor to the approaches to the bridge. As the land, being Crown land, paid no rates, the board.was not disposed to spend money on protecting it. This was tho reason for the suggestion that it'be handed over to the borough. The Mayor of the borough (Sir. Rishworth) said that if tho land wero handed over to the council, sorno revenue would be obtained from it, and thero would be funds for protective works, already much needed. Mr. Guthrie said that he would like to seo the position for himself, and until ho had visited the locality he would not be prepared to give a definite reply. Ho would consult with the officers of tho Department and see what could be dono.

The Council of Education yesterday adopted the. following remit: "That in view of tho information supplied by the Department concerning {ho altewtion_in the' conditions subsequently to the ."council's last meeting, the recommendations then passed concerning the establishment of a technical , high school in Mnsterton be rescinded, and council now Teeommend to the MinTster that the existing, District High School be' disestablished a'nd that in lieu thereof a secondary school be established under the Act." .

Matthow Grace, an employee of Messrs. "Watson and Co., Lower Tarnnaki Street, who resides nt Railway. Avenue, Lower Hutt, was injured at.work late yesterday afternoon through being 6truck on the left "arm with a wiro hawjer. He was removed to the hospital for treatment.

A New. York financial paper, "The Financier," contains an announcement of quite liberal bonuses given by one of tho leading banks in the city to their employees. It is stated that the Irving National Bank gave to its employees for the first three months of this year a bonus of 4A.75, per cent, of salaries, to help them to meet the increased cost of living. This is the largest compensation payment ever given in the history of the bank. During the last quarter of last year the bonus was at the rate of 3G.75 per cent, of .salaries.-

An allegation that New Zealand was exporting large quantities of woollen rugs was submitted to tho Wellington Price Investigation Tribunal last week. Tho Board of Trade, which is watching tho matter of export very closely, did not believe the assertion about rugs. However, woollen manufacturers were requested to reply to tho statement, and the result is an emphatic confirmation of the board's opinion. For example, the manager of tho Kaiapoi Company remarks that from July 1, 1910, to May 20, 1920, the company's export of woollen goods amounted to a total of only, ,£35, which included only one rug. The Wellington company gave the following figures for its export of rugs:' Year 1913, 24 rugs; 1914, 51 rugs; 1915, 4 rugs; 1916 to 1919, nil:

An inquest was held yesterday morning by Mr. W. G. Eiddell, S.M., into the cause of death of Francis Angus tin Kroupa, a married man 53 years of age, who died suddenly on Wednesday at 17 Glenbervie Terrace. It was shown that Kroupa had been in tho hospital suffering from influenza, and when discharged he went to stay with his brother at 17 Glenbervie Terrace. On Wednesday evening while having. tea he suddenly fell forward and collapsed. Dr. Pattie was called in. but ho was only able to pronounce life extinct. The Coroner found that death was due to heart failure,

"Manufacturers in Great Britain are beginning to regfird it as a natural course that in all questions connected with their overseas trade they should turn for' assistance to the Department of Overseas Trade in London and to the overseas offices of that Department," remarked Mr. R. W. Dalton. His Majesty's Trade Commissioner, during the course of his speech at the luncheon which was tondered him yesterday by .the New Zealand, Association of British Manufacturers and Agents._ "The organisation of Trade Commissioners is rapidly becoming more widely known, and "it is not too much to say that it is now regarded as equivalent in importance In tho Empire to its sister service, the Commercial, Diplomatic and Consul a/ Service in foreign countries. I nm, disnospd to think thnt the time will ranidlv come when Trade Commissioners' officer will be natural channels for nil questions affecting British trade in tho sphere in which tliey are established."

The Hon. G, J. Parr told deputations in Cliristchurch yesterday that he did uot favour tho present system of capitation payment; and he proposed thai secondary teachers should be paid a definite salary according to their etticiency, instead of salaries being controlled by average attendances. Perhaps some better method of financing technical schools could be adopted, and he thought it would, be advisableJor the Department to confer with those engaged in education. With regard to agricultural instruction, ho thought'they were not doing half enough in this matter. It should be the aim to increase the productiveness of the soil, but nothing in this direction was being done by the university colleges. Technical education was utterly behind tho times. We must increnso our exports, and the only way to do that was to teach better farming methods. Ho also proposed to tako action in the direction of assisting ! technical schools to teach home science on a large scale. — Press Assn.

This morning the Conciliation Commissioner will preside at the meeting of assessors in the cooks and stewards' dispute. T|ie later are seeking for n new award for the cooks and stewards employed on the small coastal steamers. The'mon's assessors will bo Messrs. W. Walsh, H. Marmount, and E, Kennedy. The official notices declaring influenza tn be an infectious disease, and also a dangerous infectious disease, havo been revoked.

A motion adverse to the agitation for narrowing tho gauge in connection witli proposed light railways was carried by the council of the Auckland Railways League yesterday. Tho text of the motion was as follows"That tho council of tho Auckland Railways and Development League views with grave concern the agitation to obtain a chango ot gauge under tho Private Railways Construction Act, and strongly deprecates any intention on the part of the Government to allow tho construction of light railway lines with a gaugo of two feet, if it is for the carriage of passengers as well as for freight, as not allowing tho margin of safety that is eo to all railway lines." The leaguo is willing to support light railways so long as they aro of stnadard gauge—Press Assn. At the annual meeting of tho Auckland Patriotic Association it was stated that the balance in hand at tho end of the financial year was ',£239,412. Tho funds of the association had been reduced by <£71,981 during tb'e year.—Press Assn. "Before I left London," said General Booth at tho civic reeoption tendered to him yesterday afternoon, "I met the King. He sent for me in connection with my tour abroad, He's a. very nice fpU low indeed. (Lauglitor.) I'm another. (More laughter.) So we had finite a good time. (Rohrs of laughter.) He told me with, great emphasis, striking ono hand upon the other, that he was satisfied that the only way of maintaining our present civilisation was to strengthen tho principles of our Christianity. The Army was helping to so strengthen the principles of Christianity by helping, to the ibest of its ability and strength the depressed peoples of the Empire, and he pleaded foV help for tho 400,000.000 peaple of India and Burma, for the millions in Africa wh'o recognised the British "Raj" and the British Crown, from lapsing back into shameful barbarism and savagery. _ A further example of cargo pillaging was reported yesterday (says a PfV, 8 " Rociation * telegram from Dunedin). I lie stumer Opawu discharged a larse coneiffnment of Liverpool caw at Dunedin about three weeks opo, and almost every local firm to whom goods were consign suffered considerably as the result of pulacing. Tte loss of, goods represents about £1 per ton of the total amount of cargo landed at Dunedin from this stentacr. The agents havo received one claim for .2WO, another for i2SO, and a large number for smaller amounts. It is presumed that tho goods were stolen before the vessel left England. An aeroplane flight was made jester, dav from Gisborne to Tnkomaru Bay by Pilot Russell, in a Walsh Brottcrs machine reports tho Press Association). The journey, about fifty miles, occupied an hour. It took place in'beautiful weather. The aeroplane carried a smnll mail, dispatched by the postal authori. ties. . . "I can assure you that never in our previous history haa our engineering industry at Home been m such a strong potential position," .remarked Mr. It. W. Dalton, His Majesty s Trade Commissioner, during the course of his speech at tho luncheon which was tendered him yesterday. It would be difficult to believe that we could be defeated in an industry which has been peculiarly our own for so many years. We may have been diffident in taking up new branches of the industry, but once, with our national British caution, we have satisfied ourselves that there is a certain trade in -these new branches ■we have, in a very short space-of time, made ourselves pre-eminent in them. Mr. Dalton added that the only really serious increase' that he could find in foreign trade with New Zealand in this industry was tie increase in the trade in electrical machinery and supplies. He made a very particular point whilo he was at Homo in bringing to the minds of manufacturers in this industry a realisation of the needs of New Zealand and of the necessity of greater activity here, and he was very glad to have seen that important developments had taken place in this trade.

A Press Association telegram from New Plymouth states that Patrick Joseph Flanagan, a well-kijown figure in that town, was chaiged at the Magistrate's Court yesterday on fourteen counts with having made bets in public places in New Plymouth and other Taranaki towns. The hearing was adjourned. 'Chfe dead body of a man. aged between .10 and 50 vears,. was found in Auckland harbour. It had evidently been in the water a few days. There is no clue to the man's identity.—Prewi Assn. Amending regulations mado by the Public Service Commissioner for the examination of draughtsmen of the lands nnd Survey Department are published in this week's Gazette.

At about 5 a.m. yesterday a very sKrp /shock of earthquake was felt in Wellington. The quake was not preceded or succeeded by any noticeable tremtirs of the earth, but tho shock itself was iicute enough to awaken most jieoplo at ii time when they are, as a rule, in heavy slumber. Sharp shocks were also folt at Jtflsterton and Carterton at 5.3 a.m. terday.A letter was read at the meeting of the New Zealand Eugby Union s Manageraent Committer last night ftorn-tho Beefton lord's Day league, stating that cup matches are being played at Reef ton on Sundays. The league desired to know whether this was permitted under tho union's rules, and it was decided to reier the matter to the West Coast RugTjy Union, Before the City Council vote on Wednesday night, Councillor Hutchison moved that the increases in salaries authorised by the coiinc.il in committee should not appjy to officers m receipt of more than .£SOO a year. He said that the! increases were being made on account of the rise in the cost of living, end he felt that the higher salaries could not properly be increased on this occasion. Councillor Eraser seconded the motion, and stated that no reflection upon the merits of the senior officers was intended. A vote resulted in the rejection of the ni/iticai, tho minority consisting if Councils Hutchison, Eraser, Chap nan, Glover, and Hums.