GENERAL NEWS

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 18, 22 January 1916, Page 2

GENERAL NEWS

The Wanganui Herald states that members of the Wanganui Hospital Board on Wednesday received 3 mild shock, when an ultimatum from a Napier firm of solicitors was presented, demanding the payment of £305 3s before 22nd January, or legal proceedings would be taken. The letter was written on behalf of the Napier Hospital Board, and the amount was for treatment of patients belonging to the Wanganui distric* in the Napier Hospital. One of the patients was debited to the amount of £177 18s. There was a contra account of £39 10s, which reduced the amount claimed to £265. The board decided to hold the matter over until next meeting in order to make some investigations. .

The Defence Voting Committee has been interesting itself in the matter: of establishing a hostel for returned soldiers, and has secured the Langham Private Hotel, at the corner of Riddiford and Rintoul streets, Newtown, for the purpose. The hostel will be in charge of a qualified matron and . sub-matron. Several- leading solicitors and business men will act as trustees. The committee is unable to obtain a grant from the War Belief Association/ but as influential support has been promised it is hoped that all the funds necessary to carry on the hostel will be .available.

A special service for the staff on the hospital 6hip Maheno will be held in the Kent-terrace Presbyterian Church at. 11 a.m. to-morrow. The parade is a voluntary one. Seats will be reserved for the members of the staff.- A sermon.of an appropriate character; will, be preached by' the Rev. Dr. -J. Kennedy;. Elliott, whose son (Lieut.-Col. J. S. Elliott)"'is" in command of the Maheno. ,

For' ringing the fireb'ell at"Pioton late on New YeaPs Eve, a local resident has been fined £3 and costs.

The police were advised early this afternoon that the dwellinghouse of Mr. Frank Higgott, horse trainer, at Otaki, was completely destroyed by fire this morning. Mr. Higgott has been absent at Foxton during ; the past . few days, and! Mrs. Higgott left to join her husband to-day. The outbreak was noticed half an hour after her departure, and before anything could be done the place was a mass of flames. The fire is belieyed to be' the result of a defective chimney. , . '.'■'.. ., ■'•

Residents of Hamilton Sjastland the lower part of Victoria-street were (says the Hamilton correspondent of the Auck land Herald) awakened early on Thurs : day morning by a young farm labourer" from Morrinsville, who, armed with a Bible, was calling oa Mr. Massey to stop the war. The man rushed about tha town exhorting the sleeping residents -not to take part in the.fighting,-and declaring that he had been sent on a special mission of peace. Whilst addressing a pile of bricks near the post office at! 2 a.m. Constable. Mahoney took biro, in charge. Later, the man fas pronounced to be of. unsound mind and was committed to the Avondale Mental' Hospital.

' During last year the Gisborne police took charge of between',4oo and sdO bicycles which had been left standing against verandah posts, shop fronts, etc. Eight of the machines are still unclaimed. .

"I think it ia a wholly unnecessary evil that a boy fourteen, years of age should be employed in a hotel, especially if he has only passed the Fourth Standard," ' said Mr. H. W. Bishop, S.M., at a sitting of the Juvenile. Court in Christchurch, when a boy was charged with the theft of £1 cash and a postal note of the value of 10s. The thefts were admitted. Chief-Detective Herbert said the lad was employed as " buttons " in a hotel, and the money and the postal note, were .taken from letters, he had been given to post. The system^ of;"tips" that "prevailed was bad for young boys. The Magistrate' administered a severe caution to the boy, and strongly advised the father to take him away from such employment. • The offender was convicted arid discharged. ..••'..•■ \

Some strong remarks regarding the .methods of. the Audit Department were made at this week's meeting of the Gonville Towp Board. The Waaganui Herald says that when the last balancesheet of tho board was. audited. >tno Auditor-General took exception to tho purchase of horses and drays by the board out of loan money and demanded that the' board should refund certain amounts to the loan accounts. The bal-ance-sheet has been returned to the board with one tag. The chairman, of the board, Commissioner Bignell, referring to the matter mentioned above, said : "The board can hire horses and drays to any extent, but when it purchases horses and drays, a far more economical way, exception is taken by the AuditorGeneral. It is an extraordinary position, and shows no business manner or com-mon-sense. No .business man can' do business in the way laid down by the Auditor-General unless he wanted to get into the Bankruptcy Court; and he would get there very quickly."

A sequel to what some" people consider was only an act of larrikinism was the appearance in the Police Court "'at Picton this week of. four young men on a charge of wilfully placing a drum of telegraph cable, on' the BlenheimPicton railway line on New Year's Eve. All the accused were committed fo.trial. Bail was allowed. Three other ineii were charged with, conspiring,, to defeat the ends, of justice.- It wae alleged that they advised G. Boesley, railway clerk, not'to go to the police to make a statement regarding the cabledrum, but to let the police go to him. The Magistrate (Mr. I/oughnan) dismissed the charges.- ■' : .. ;

An unusual claim was made upon the Motueka Harbour-'Bbard'.tbc other day. On the morning of the '■ 23rd ultimo lit was necessary to iead a wire rope around a sheave at the stern !of the board's dredge, and the sheave,ibeing some sft> below the wa,ter, rendered this a very difficult operation. As.it was found impossible to accomplish this feat by means of boat-hooks, etc., the engineer dived into the water and,- after.a considerable struggle, succeeded in his niis sion—oilieiwise it would have been necessary to beach the dredge. Dnriii'. the struggle the- engineer, was unfc . tianate enough to lose a set- of faiV teeth, which cost him £5 10s to repine and he asked that he should be pa> that amount' It was explained that*'' would have cost the board £20 to l>e;u the dredge. The board decided to . n the enjincor's claim., . : . ; . ...

The Palmerstoii North Borough Co '. cir has agreed to the Mayor's propofthat an effort should be made to acqnii the picturesque piece of native bvi and the high bluff between the M.n watu River and Cliff-road, just acr> ■ the Fitzherbert Bridge. The area, seven acres—thirteen acres with

road which is not on offer. The land i belongs to t7ie Kairanga County Comi?;whkh has decided...to., give, it, to il Patriotic Society to be sold for the; ?>!<■ and Wounded Soldiers Fund... .•■■

At a meeting of the Sounds Proyii; cial Executive of the Farmers'. Union, it was decided that the following resolution be sent to branches for their consideration and report : "That the question of compulsory military .service "is a. master for the Government to decide, but. if, with all the information at'their disposal, they consider: it necessary, then the farmers of the IJominion should support it."