LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume XCI, Issue 96, 24 April 1916, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The statement published on Thursday in a telegram from Dunedin, that the shipping companies are raising their coastal freight rates by 2s 6d per ton, did not disclose the full effect of the alteration. The cement companies have been advised that the rate on cement has been increased by 4s per ton—from 8s 6d to 12s 6d, or nearly 50 per cent. At the same time the intercolonial rates on cement kayo been increased by 5s per ton. "A Motor Driver" writes to the Editor, suggesting that an equiry be held as to the cause of so many motorcar accidents around the city during the last few days. "There is no doubt," he says, "that men are receiving licenses to drive before they - are thoroughly competent, and the consequence is that when trouble arises they do not do the right thing to avoid it. It is reflecting on the- drivers of this town that are thoroughly competent, also it creates an impression with the general public, and makes it hard to overcome the' prejudiced opinions which naturally arises from such accidents." In a short address at the Wanganui Opera House last week, following upon the Prime Minister's recruiting speech, Mr. W. A. Veitch, M.P., expressed the opinion that the voluntary system had broken down, and the sooner they abandoned it the better. There was every argument for compulsory service, and it should be in operation now. Many men did not know whether it was "up to them" to go, and it was the duty of the country to tell them. There were people urging others to send their sons away to the front, but who were sending their own sons into the bush for shelter. (Applause.) Compulsory military service was the only fair, proper, and equitable system. (Renewed applause.) , The old police station in Mannersstreet—an unimposing brick building— will be vacated to-morrow, and the offices', will be transferred to new quarters in Lower Taranaki-street. Tho new station is a handsome structure, built on modern lines, and provision is made, for an expansion of the Force in this quarter of the city. There are numerous cells for all classes of delinquents—men and women. There are four padded chambers for the particularly violent. Special apartments are provided for the men in blue, who will be able to take up their quarters permanently at. the station. A large and well-equipped stable at the rear has been set aside for the mounted section. The old building in Mannei'3-street will subsequent!}' be pulled down, and the space used for the purposes of street widening. It has transpired that the New South Wales State trawling industry shows a loss on the operations. The Premier (Mr. Holman) in reference to the loss, stated that such was the inevitable experienco of all the new industrial enterprises of the Government. During the first twelve months they did not pay their way. "We know exactly where the leakage has been," he said. "Loss of time, on the boats, for one thing, no proper apparatus for dealing with the , offal for a second tiling, and the general pxperimenta! character of the industry to date. However," he went ou, "the situation will now change greatly. The whole thin^ is now on a good working footing, and we have no fear as to what thfs rexulta will be. The close, searching' scrutiny of the officers of the Audi-tor-General's Department is an aid to better organisation, and to the stoppages of leaks, and the necessary steps are now being taken. They would have been .teilcen. a month or two ago, bub for the delay in the appointment of an Undersecretary to the Chief Secretary's Department. Now that that difficulty is over, the whole Fisheries Department is working smoothly and vigorously, and I have no doubt as to what the result will be." "F.C.," in the Bulletin : A sight to grieve over is tho apple crop on the eastern side of Melbourne, especially at Doncaster and towards Bayswater. The trees are loaded with fruit,' and would break down if not propped up. No grower remembers such a crop previously. Under the trees lie thousands of cases of windfalls, which will be. left to rot. The good apples bring - the grower from Is to 3s 6d a case of 361b, for which the consumer will pay from Id to 6d per lb. Germany took' a quantity of the fruit in recent years; and just before the great gong went she was negotiating for "refuse apples," on a Is a case basis, in order to turn them into motor spirit. With the enormous quantities of fruit yearly wasted in Victoria and Tasmania, manufacture of this spirit ought to be a payable proposition here. This applies also to sugar refuse and waste spuds. As for the wholesome apples, they only need a cooperative system of supplying a hungry public that can't feed itself on fruit at present prices. It is stated by Major J. T. Large, who has arrived in Wellington from the Cook Islands, that the banana crop, the staple product of the Islands, has quite recovered from the effects of the last dry season, and promises to be a good one this year. The orange and tomato export should also be satisfactory. The annual provincial conference of the New Zealand Farmers' Union will be opened at Levin on the 30th May. A few threshing-mills are still engaged_ . threshing out of the stacks in the Ashburton County, reports a local paper. One mill-owner has threshed, up to the present, 70,000 bushels, and has still about 30.000 bushels to thresh' to complete his season. The mill referred to has been operating in the Methven and •Springburn districts. The amount threshed and to be threshed is considered to be a record for any one miil in the district.

''Our spirits are rising on the prospects of the war," writes Sir Thomas Mackenzie in a letter just received', from London. He proceeds: "It took us a long time, no doubt, to organise the people of Britain, and it has been an enormous task, for we are not-prepared, nor did tho majority of our people ever anticipate such villainous conduct on the paii of the Germans. The bright spot is the' grit and determination of the people of tho Empire from whatever part, they have come. Our workers are now turning out munitions in enormous quantities, and I think it may bo said that we shall secure enough men to bring the war to a successful close. Our salvation' has been the Navy. The New Zealanders have added an imperishable page to the history of the Empire, and a Now Zealander is welcome wherever he may go in this country." In reply to a request for information regarding the soldiers' allotment 'of Is per day deferred pay, the Hon. J Allen, Minister for Defence, has informed the Birkenhcad Borough Council that on enquiry he finds the soldiers who. left with the Main Body were obliged to leave Is a day deferred pay, and this was accumulating to their credit in New Zealand, the idea being that they would have something available for them on their return. From the Second Reinforcements onwards, a soldier had been allowed to allot the whole of his pay if he thought fit to do so. It was decided to forward the Minister particulars of local cases, other than Main Body men, where it was stated that portion of tho pay of the husbands . was being withheld, only allowing 28s per week for the wives to keep the homo going in the meantime. Evidence of the number of married men who are enlisting in Auckland (says the New Zealand Herald) may be gauged from the fact that of the 122 men who enlisted at the Victoria-street recruiting station for the week ended Wednesday night, 48—or over one-third —are married. Many married men placed their positions before the officer in charga of the recruiting station before they enlist, and in numerous instances that officer exercises his discretion and advises them thatj in view of their domestic responsibilities, their duty at present lies in remaining in New Zealand and caring for their families. The application of a school teacher with nine children for permission to enlist was refused. In another instanco a woman with eight children asked the recraiting officer to prevent her husband from leaving with the reinforcements. In • this instance, also, the man's family call was deemed to be greater than that of his country, and the wife's application was granted. • Kocal interest attaches to the presence, at Lyttleton, of the American schooner Annie Larsen, which (remarks the Christehurch News) arrived on Thursday with a load of timber from Gray's Harbour, Pacific . Slope, in that she was mentioned in Saturday's cables as having some time ago been connected with an attempt to assist in carrying guns and parts of a submarine to an Indian port in conjunction with another vessel named the Maverick. The Annie Larsen is only a small vessel, having a gross tonnage of 326 tons, but she would no doubt have proved useful to the enemy had she not been seized by the American authorities and prevented from effecting her alleged purpose. Her present master, Captain F. Verzon, was in no way connected with the enterprise, he having only joined her hurriedly at Port Townend, whither she had been towed for repairs, rendered necessary by an encounter with a very severe storm, and whence she sailed on 12th February for New Zealand. The following letter was recently sent to the Minister of Agriculture (the Hon. W. D. S. Mac Donald) by Mr." A. S. Malcolm, M.P. :—"Enclosed please find letter from the secretary of the Clutha Farmers'. Union, .asking for the establishment of a State farm. I have often pointed out the suit-ability of Clutha for such a farm, and have shown that on one farm of 600 acres it would be possible to get soil of almost every description, from the poorest to the richest quality. Farming operations of all sorts are carried on, and wool, wheat, oats, grass seed, butter, cheese, and flax are all largely produced. The climate is as varied as the soil. We might have, from three.to five years' drought, followed by . a similar period of extreme wet. Farming under all conditions could be tested. Clutha is particularly central. The main line runs through' it. and many branch lines come into it. There is practically no part of Otago and Southland that is not within a day's reach of Clutha, most parts being within a few hours' journey by rail. I hope you will see your way to establish j a State farm in the Clutha district." In the summons division of the Sydney Central Police Court last week Louis Klausen. a labourer, living in Castle-reagh-street, Redfern, was; proceeded against on an information, charging him with having made statements in the Domain which were likely to prejudice recruiting. It was stated on behalf of the prosecution that Klausen, a member of the I.W.W. Club, in the course of an address, had said that m£n who put on khaki were hired assassins; also that the men who fought at Gallipoli were not brave, but were a pack of "mugs," and should be in Callan Park. He defined a. hero as a man who.did something that he would not do in his calmer moments, and added that the possession of any country was not worth the-shedding of any man's blood. Klausen denied having used the words attributed to him. His father was a. Dane and his mother a Scotswoman. He called several witnesses, who stated that they did not hear him. make the statements. The Magistrate convicted Klausen, and, in fining him £100, with the alternative of six months' gaol, said that he considered that such speeches as were made by Klausen would have to stop. .He added that it was not fair to the men who were away fighting the cause of the -shirkers. During the first year that the French War Inventions Committee was in operation, from August 1914, to November, 1915, it examined 9663 inventions., according to details given to the Budget Committee of the Chamber of Deputies by Professor Paul Painleve, Minister of Public Instruction and Inventions Concerning National Defence (states a Paris message in a New York paper.) The number of inventions in ordinary times varied from 800 to 1200 annually. Of the 9000 odd inventions 317 were accepted. One hundred and thirty-two were either incomplete or were merely an adaptation of existing devices to military purposes. The remaining 185, however, were of real use for national defence purposes. The committee has received a number of valuable studies on the subject of the employment of guns against aeroplanes and dirigibles. A total of 255 original inventions have been adopted to cover all branches, of warfare, including those having to'do with hygiene and the comfort of the soldier and with war surgery, as well as with methods of offence' and defence. On the recommendation of its Building Committee, the Masterton Borough Council has decided (reports the Age) to give Mr. J. D. M. Georgeson, of Wellington, a testimonial for tho efficient manner in which he supervised the erection of the new Municipal Chambers and Town Hall, and also give him the sum of £21 for extra work undertaken. Why be< wet and cold when we offer two good makes 4of British raincoats at 37s 6d and 55a? Geo. Fowlds. Ltd., Jlanners-st. —Adv>

From the Cook Islands 40 natives have volunteered and been accepted for active service, and 50 more are now in course of training. The people of Rarotonga have subscribed £500 for the Wounded Soldiers Fund. There was a raid on the Dardanelles fish shop in Taranaki-street yesterday afternoon. It was carried out by Sergeant Scott and Constables O'Connor, Barnes, and Devine. The shop, which has been under observation for some. time, was kept by a negro known as James Grant. A quantity of liquor was seized, and a ■ prosecution will be the sequel. A new organisation of the Salvation Army, as far as New Zealand is coil' cerned, has just been brought into existence—a. body known as the Life-saving Scouts, whose special course of training is to be in the rescue of tho drowning and ambulance work. Similar institutions connected with the army have existed in England for some time past. The scouts are to be affiliated to the Dominion Corps of Boy Scouts. In regard to the proposed visit of Federal politicians to England, Sir John Forrest, Premier of West Australia., considers it inopportune and unnecessary; Sir John adds that Australia is doing its best to help the Mother Country by sending troops at its own cost to gain a victory, and anything that would mean any controversy or would in any way hamper ,the Imperial Government at the present time, as far as Australia is concerned, should be avoided. • Mr. Joseph Cook, Leader of the Opposition in the Federal Parliament, also considers that his place is in Australia. He refuses to make the trip. . .; . There were great crowds of people in the streets on Saturday, morning, afternoon, and evening. Fine weather and the small number of special holiday attractions elsewhere no doubt accounted for this* Retailers generally reported • that their takings were quite up to the Easter average. There were not so many people travelling as on Thursday, except on suburban lines, and on tho Wairarapa. line, where races at Tauherenikau were the attraction. To-day there are races at Tauherenikau and Feilding. The day is not a pleasant ohe for picnic parties, but early trains to the suburbs and the • harbour ferry steamers have been well patronised. < What is probably a record among local bodies was referred to by Councillor Orbell, chairman of the Waikouaiti County Council, recently. When the accounts were under consideration, he pointed out that the payment of interest had been confined to Is in seven years. This, he considered, was a credit to any local body. Even better still was the record established by the Clerk that for fifteen consecutive years there - had not been a shilling of rates outstanding at the end of the financial year. There appeared to ba every prospect of the record being continued unbroken, as, although the new year had just opened, there only remained £16 2s 3d in unpaid rates. Last week the following resolution wa3 passed at a meeting of the Otago Labour Council: —"This council is of opinion that the principle of preference of employment to discharged soldiers cannot be put into practical operation by individual employers or public bodies without causing friction and dissatisfaction amongst all classes, including the discharged soldiers, and therefore considers that steps should be immediately taken to evolve a scheme whereby the responsibility of providing for the future employment of discharged soldiers should be thrown upon the shoulders of the whole of the people of the Dominion." The council also appointed a committee to prepare a scheme and submit it to a future meeting of the ' council for consideration. In the Public Service Journal reference is made, to "the resignation" of Mr. J. W. Macdonald as president of the Public ' Service Association. Mr. Macdonald was appointed to the position in 1913, and has held it ever since without opposition. An endeavour was made to persuade him to reconsider his decision to resign, but this did not meet with success. "Now that Mr. Macdonald has relinquished the office he has so long and so worthily filled," says the Journal, "this opportunity is taken to thank him on behalf ■of the association for the very valuable services he has rendered, and to wish him a continuation of the success which his natural ability and. untiring effort have enabled him to achieve. . . It is singularly fortunate that Mr. Allport should have consented to accept the vacant office, for there is no member of the tion who possesses in greater degree the confidence of tho executive, nor is there one with a more earnest desire to do all that lies in human power to improve those conditions where improvement is needed." The last place one would look for a lawn is at-the top of a nine-story building in the heart of the city, and yet one ' exists, smooth and green, with sprinkler and mower working in the orthodox manner on the roof of Collins House, Collinsstreet (states a Melbourne journal). It measures 60ft by 40ft, and will be netted over so that enthusiastic golfers who arc accorded the privilege may there practise their favourite strokes. It certainly .'will be an elevated, if not an elevating, game. From that height the blue waters of the bay look quite near in one direction, and the white tents of the military camp at Royal Park not far off in another. The wire-netting will, however, prevent even the hardest hitter losing his ball in the sea, or dropping it among the soldiers-. ' The bed of soil is 9in deep in the middle, and slightly loss at the edges, and underneath it is Sin of cinders to .afford. drainage, the water finding its way through holes in the retaining boards, which open into a sunken path surrounding the green. The seed was sown early in November, when the weather was dry. and windy, and some scheming was necessary on the part of the gardener to prevent the seed finding its way to the West Melbourne swamp. It was sown, in Strips, and immediately covered with pieces of hessian, which were nailed to the borders, and held down in the middle with ropes. It was a slow process, and the seed grew so quickly under the covering that before the last strip was sown-the grass was growing through the cloth in the first part. Careful nursing was necessary at first, but a good sward is now established. The Duncdin City Corporation's trading departments for the year show a net profit of £38.431, as against £31,198 for the previous year. Two splendid lines in umbrellas at 14s 6d and 15s 6d. We welcome your inspection. Geo. Fowlds, Ltd., Manner-. - st.— Advt. Easter Travellers,—-Get us to handle your baggage. We collect, check, deliver (rail or sea). Safe, sure, troublesaving. The New Zealand Express Co., Ltd., 87-91, Customhouse-quay.—Advt. The recent capture of the fairious Maori prophet, Bua, has revealed some fact? more or less interesting regarding a man's personality and what it sometimes leads to. Fortunately in the business side of liff a man's personality, backed up with genuine dealings, have a generally good influence on. the public. Such a record as this is responsible for tho enormous growth of that well-known Wellington drapery and furnishing establishment of C. Smith, Ltd., who are now 6howing tho finest assortment of. carpete, furniture, and soft furnishings in the city. _ We advise everyone contemplating furnishing to pay an early visit to the now showrooms. —Advt. '