LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 17, 21 January 1916, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

It is understood that the census will not be taken this year owing to the war. It is not certain yet to what date it will be postponed; but meanwhile it is very probable that a rearrangement of Parliamentary constituencies will take place on a system yet to be adopted by the National Cabinet, but which will give the; North .Island its due proportion of seats in view of the population 'development, arid the drift from the South. ' In this week's Gazette appears an Order-in-Council consenting to the rals-, ing by the Makara County Council of a loan of £1600 from the State Advances Department.

Most people have been under the impression that the butchers would not be closing their shops to-day until 7 p.m., seeing that the trade has to observe a whole holiday to-morrow (Anniversary Day). Owing to an oversight in framing their requisition to the City Council, the butchers made no provision for keeping open late to-day, and their shops will therefore close at 5 p.m. and remain closed until Monday morning.

For the first time in the history of Conciliation Councils in. Wellington two ladies yesterday acted as assessors. The dispute was the laundry workers', and the lady assessors were Miss Elsie M. Trinder and Miss Kate Walder, The former is also president of the Laundry Workers' Union.

New rules dealing with the general government of ths Wellington Hospital were adopted by the board at its meeting yesterday afternoon. The regulations 'come into force on Ist February. They are only the first instalment, and many more are to follow.

An examination of candidates for first appointments to commissions in the Territorial Army will be held at Palmerston North (and at the Forts, Wellington, for Garrison Artillery, division candidates only).) commening on Monday, 14th February, and continuing until Saturday, 19th February, 1916. A lai-ge number of candidates have entered for the examination.

With a view to obtaining suitafclai train facilities for concert and entertainment parties travelling to Trentham the Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke) has again been in correspondence with the Eailway Department. The result, as disclosed in the following letter from ■ the Department, is that the arrangement made last year at the instance of the Mayor^will again come into operation : " Arrangements can be made for a car to be attached to the train leaving Lanibton at 6.14 p.m., and on the return journey a car will be attached to the train leaving/Trentham at 10.10 p.m., and reaching Lambton at 11.20 p.m. I might mention that the taain is a heavily laden goods train, and the actual running cannot be fixed with certainty. Th« performers will be granted firstclass travelling, on second-class ordinary tickets, provided they have some means of identification." In order to comply with the last sentence in the letter from the Department, cai-ds will be supplied at the office of J.he Mayor or the Town Clerk to artists travelling to the Trentham Camp to give entertainments there.

The half-holiday question, which was the cause of some agitation in Lower Hutt and Petone, has now been definitely settled, the Mayor of Petone and Councillor Raj], of 'Jx>wcr Hutt, having held the statutory meeting and fixed tha day to be observed as Saturday. Tl» change from Wednesday' will take effect from Ist March.

* A question asked by Mrs. T. M. Wilford at the meeting o! the Hospital Board yesterday was why the enginedrivers employed at the institution did not receive a fortnight's holiday on full pay, even although they were paid the .award rates. The Chairman (Mr. H. Baldwin) replied that when the men received the award rate they forfeited the right of other privileges. Mrs. Wilford later asked why the board's upholsterer only received £2 6s a week, and found his own machine, while the award stipulated the sum of £3 6s, and that the employer should find the machine ? Tha board decided to refer the matter to tha House Committee. *

A Southern newspaper a day or two ago reported that considerable feeling existed in a certain Otago district about a Government , notice containing the usual threats of persecutions about rabbits, noxious weeds, etc., and signed with a name suggesting German parentage. Yesterday the Prime Minister said that he had had enquiry made, and had found that the name of the officer in question was Dencker. His father was Danish and his mother British, and they were married in Nelson, where Mr. Dencker was born. The latter had never been out of New Zealand.

The Hospital Board decided yesterday afternoon, in reply to representations made by Dr. Valintine, InspectorGeneral of Hospitals, to intimate that it could not see its way to reduce the rate for attendance on soldiers treated in hospital from six to.five shillings per day.

The first meeting this year of the Onslow Borough Council was called for last night;'As only the Mayor (Mr. C. C. Crump) and Councillors Browne and Palmer attended, it lapsed. The meeting has now been fixed for Monday next.

December is generally considered to be the best dairying month in the Pahiatua district (says the Herald), the milk cheques for that period being the largest of the season, when a uniform payment per lb. of butter-fat is taken for the fonr best months. It is estimated that the daily output of butter and cheese in this district during the flush of the season totalled eight tons, made up of 5j tons of cheese and 2j tons of butter, th© whole being of an approximate value of £730.

Dr. Basil Adams, Tuberculosis Medi-. cal Officer at the Wellington Hospital, at the board's meeting yesterday mentioned the subject of accommodation for advanced consumptive cases. Since the beginning of the present month, he said, there had been a great rush of euch patients, and the Seddon ward and all available accommodation were filled. The Otaki Sanatorium was not a suitable place for many of the cases, as the treatment there was not suitable for them, and their admittance to the institution would only be detrimental to the other patients. The board decided to refer the matter to a, small committee to make the necessary arrangements and with power to act. . '

Mr. W. Cabte intends to move at the next meeting of the Wellington Harbour Board—" That the engineer be instructed to arrange with Messrs. Clark, and Standfield, consulting engineers, London, for the preparation of the necessary working drawings for a floating dock of about 1000 tons lifting power, as outlined in the general design submitted by them." %

An officer on the s.s. Wahine, writing to his wife in Wellington, says: "We had quite an interesting time coming back from Melos, and the Wahine has the honour of getting the first submarine in the Mediterranean. We sighted the submarine about a mile astern of us. The first shot went just over him, but before he could get down again we had another one on to him, and we saw a cloud of smoke come up—and that was all of the submarine. We nearly got another, • but-he )managed to get down before we could get one to him. Our guns are fine patterns, and the submarines are very shy of a ship with guns mounted. W^are proving ourselves such a useful ship that' there is very little chance of our getting off this line for some time to come-"

• The Waivau. bar is at present in a very bad state, - and Messrs. Johnston and" Co. consider it very risky to send steamers to Blenheim as usual. Consequently the Blenheim sailed last night for Picton instead. For some time past the bar has "been very unsatisfactory, in spite of the fact that various works calculated to improve the position are being carried out. The steamer service has been greatly hampered in consequence. Perhaps a heavy -rainfall would serve to scour out the channel, which has become somewhat dangerous.

A case affecting the public health of the city was heard before Mr. D. G. A. Cooper, S.M., this morning, when C. Panettier, an Island Bay fisherman, was charged that on 6th January he brought warehou over 61b in weight into the city without having gutted and beheaded it. The object of the prosecution, said Mr. J. Doyle, City Inspector, was to make it perfectly clear that the practice must be put a stop to. His Worship entered a conviction, and ordered defen^ dant to pay 7s costs.

" For goodness sake don't ask for additional expenditure," said the Prima Minister to a deputation of orchardists this morning. (Laughter.) " I cant give you any encouragement in this xespect just now. We have got to -Sail close to the wind, and we shall have to do so for some time to come." The country, he added, was a good one ond would soon weather the storm. It was indeed marvellous that a million or people could export 32 millions of produce. (Hear, hear.)

Mr. Alexander Adam Mair, Clerk of Court at Oamaru, who was at one time stationed in Wellington, died in Oamaru on Monday, aged 46. Mr. Mair became suddenly ill soon after receiving notice of his promotion .to InvercargiU, and while in the midst of preparations for removal,, was forced to take to his bed. Death supervened rapidly. Deceased was the son of Mr. Alexander Mair, an old and respected colonist still resident in Southland. He joined the Department of Justice as a cadet in 1885, and was successively appointed, subsequently, to Wellington, Timara, and Wanganui. In 1896 he was appointed to the position of Clerk of the Court at Riverton. He became second clerk at Christehuxch in 1896, and was afterwards at Hokitika and Qneenstown. He succeeded Mr. R. P. Ward, who is now Clerk of the Court at Dunedin, at Oamaru seven years ago. He leaves a widow and a young eon..