LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume XCIII, Issue 96, 23 April 1917, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The 25th Artillery Reinforcement is lamentably short of books, magazines,, games, and other means of relieving the monotony, and Would be glad of gifts in that direction. These should be sent without delay to the Officer Commanding, care Messrs. Ferguson and Osborn, Lambton-quay.

Solemn Requiem Mass for Hhe repose of the souls of the soldiers who fell at CSalHpoJi will be celebrated at St. Mary of the Angels Church, Boulcott-street, at 9.30 on Wednesday morning. His Grace' Archbishop o'Shea Will preach the memorial sermon.

Several residents of Eastbourne have been in the habit of fencing their sections with barbed wire, and, although they are probably unaware of it, the practice is an offence against the borough bylaws. 0 At the last meeting of the Eastbotirne Borough Council, the matter was brought up, and the Town Clerk was instructed to write -i^fiL ne offenders pointing out the offence^.

Advices received by Auckland commeTcial houses indicate (says the Auckland Herald) that the congestion ton the eastern railways of' Canada continues to be serious, chiefly on: account of the heavy movement of agricultural products and of. munitions of war. Many industrial establishments were, at latest advices, being inconvenienced through lack of steam coal and c6ke, not, how ever, through any such labour troubles as are experienced in New. Zealand, but on account o! the 1 difficulty of dotivey-

After being bedridden for nearly three years, Mr/ G. fi. Bell, a well-known resident of Otaki, died at his hande there last week at the age of forty-three. Deceased; was the son. of i Mr. and Mts. Robert Bell, of Sydenham, Christchurch, and came out from Sunderland when lie was a child. He was married in Wellington. Through catching.a severe cold Jlo contracted chest trouble, and in consequence, he entered the Otald Sanatorium ten years ago. In his younger days Mr. Bell was a great athlete, 'winriing many prizes on the cycle track, and for some time held the championship of. New Zealand for halfrmile and one: mile cycle events. . For some time he was secretary of the Otaki Horticultural Society, in which office lie displayed much zeal, and he was also an enthusiastic member of the now defunct Otaki Orchestra. He leaves a widow and one son (aged: thirteen years). • ..

The inference was drawn by a southern paper a few days ago from the fact that Sir Joseph Wai'd, at present ifi England, had not given his consent for. 'renominatibn- for a seat on the Bluff Harbour Board, that he did not intend to return to the Dominion. Mr. R. A. Anderson, Sir Joseph 'Ward's partner, States that six weeks ago he received a cable message from Sir Joseph Ward stating that he still-desired to represent the Lake County on the Harbour Board, and Sir Joseph's nomination paper was signed by two electors of the county. Sir Joseph Was cabled to artd asked to communicate his consent to nomination to the Officer, but up to the time that nominations closed ilo reply, had reached the Returning Officer. Mr/ Anderson communicated-with Sir Joseph on the subject, and received a reply that the latter gentleman had cabled on sth instant to the Returning Officer accepting nomination. Evidently this cable has gone astray, ) and efforts are now being made to trace it, but its non-receipt prevented Sir Joseph's nomination being accepted, and consequently Mr. Peter ! Reid was declared elected.

In the (Jbui-se of a letter to Mr. W, H. Field,,M.P. for Otaki, the Minister of Internal Affairs (Hon. G W. Russell) says :—*-"With reference to the erosion of the Waikanae River, and to the desirability of the formation Of a. river board to deal with the matter, I have to infotm you that if a petition, signed by a majority of the ratepayers in the area proposed to be constituted a river district is presented, I will favourably consider the constitution of the district, provided, however, that such district takes in all the lands on both sides of the river that are, or may be, affected by any proposed protection works: 1 feel convinced that if a river district is constituted, the County CftunciJ should be the board of such district. You are, hoWever, doubtless aware that a county council has air ready, power to undertake river protection, section 148 of the Counties Act giving a council power to construct public works: Within 6 i, without, the county— 'public! Work' weaning, arribiig other things, the protection of land from encroachment or destruction by sea or rjver. 1 have given this whole question careful consideration, and ; while I am convinced of tlie necessity vof some action being taken to prevent the further erosion by the riVer", it is riot a cage in which the Government can take any action." -.■_..

"The City. Beautiful" was the subject of a lecture delivered by Mr.' H. B. Holland in The King's Theatre last evening. The speaker's remarks, which were listened to with great, interest^ were illustrated with some excellent lantern slides shown,% Mr. M. Ballahtyne. Mf. Holland expressed the view that there Was no hope of obtaining a real town-planning system in New Zealand until members of ilie Laboui* .movement were returned to the municipal- councils and other local governing bodies. The last century had witnessed the extensive growth of towns, and in England this expansion had been attended with most serious results. The laying-out of this streets had been done m a most haphazard manner, and no care had been exercised in the building of dwelling-houses. / The proper procedure was, first of all, to make a plan exercising foresight as to public needs, and to proceed accordingly. The lecturer, by means of lantern pictures, showed what was desirable and what should be avoided. The death-rate of garden cities, he said, was muoh lower than- that' of congested, towns. Wellington's death-rate would be much higher but for the. high wifids, which formed her great saving clause. The death-rdts in this cityjwas 10.02 as against 4.2 i6t garden sublfrbs in the Old World. He criticised tlie\fiity councillors of Wellington for allowing a five'atbry building to be erected in ■ a SO-ffiet fight-of-Way, in spite of the fact that- most of them belonged to the Greater Wellington TownPlanning and Municipal Electors' Association. It was absurd to. allow such dangerous! corners as that of the Manners and' Willisi,streets,.intersection. In addition to danger to life' the wear and tear of traffic was endrmoue, Siioh corners 3hould be attended to immediately, and should not be interfered with by propsrty interests. :

"The New Zealand children; I think) are the best in the world, but there is room for great impfovemfint as regards health."—Dr. Ada Paterson in her lecture to teachers at the Town Hall Concert Chamber.

Kirkcaldie and Stains, Ltd., announce that their hours of business, until further notice, will be from 8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. This lievv lil'rafigemenfc commences to-morrow, Tuesday. See Kirk caldie's' big stock of "British Bver» Ready" Electric Flash' Lamps, at price's from 3s 6d to 30s. Very handy for the coming nights, when the city lighting supply is to bo reduced or cut off. Plenty of relills also stocked.—^dvt.

Favourite felts in maiiy Shade's, ?s 6d, "8s 6d, 10s 6d, 12s 6d, 13s 6d, to 265, AJld 32s 6d for Stetsons. oeo. Ifowlds, Ltd., Manners-Bti'eeti'^Advt, '

■' To-day is the annivensary of the birth of the Bard of Avon, William Shakespeare, who'was born on 25rd April, 1564; and who died, on 23rd April, 1616.

By the omission of a figure, the net profits of the Wellington Opera Housu for the year ended 31st March last, were made to appear in« The Post on Ifriday as £151 13s Bd. The correct figures are, £3151 13s Bd.

Building in" the Eastbourne Borough has been very brisk during the past year. During the twelve months preceding 3lst March, 1917, dwellings to the value of £11,636 were erected, as compared with £999 8s for the preceding year. In all 25 building permits were issued.

Owing to the advent of the cold weather, the Port Nicholson Yacht "Club's veterans' race, which was to have taken place a couple of Saturday's ago, has been abandoned. Many ,of the local yachts and power boats have withdrawn for the winter, and have been taken up oil their: respective slips.

■ The extent to which the Auckland City Council's staff has been thinned out by voluntary recruiting Was mentioned by thy Mayor when reviewing his term of .office. The number of the corporation's employees now on active service, he said, was 124. To these men half-pay allowances, amounting to £7020 per annum, had been previously voted. With the operation of the ballot no further halfpay allowances Would be voted.

One of the smartest footballere belonging to the Auckland district who played against Wellington in the 80's was Mr. J. L. Lecky> whose death occurred a few days ago. He represented his provines in. 1883, 1886, and the three: following years, and in 1884 was a member : of the .first New Zealand team that toured Australia. The late Mr. Lecky was a member of the Grafton Club, one of the strongest in the Auckland province in the early eighties.- He was a member Of the. Auckland team that toured the South Island in .1883. • . ' . v

A Native named Teriki Kaihau, living at the Maori pa at The Needles, near Waiuku, died some six months ago in what were alleged to be peculiar circumstances. He had been ailing for some days, and was buried the morning after his death, without the usual tangi being held. Rumours have been in circulation amongst the Natives that he had been " makutued " —looked at with " the evil eye." In order to clear the matter up, tho police 'at Waiuku have been niaking investigations, states the New Zealand Herald. \

Arising out of a somewhat lively disturbance on Lambton-quay on Saturday night, two sailors named Herman Stahl artd William Euston appeared before Messrs. R. D. Hanlon and I. Salek, x Justices of the Peace, in the Magistrate's Court to-day, to answer cha.rges of drunkenness, refusing to quit an hotel, and making use of obscene language. It was alleged that th| defendants were in the hotel at about 9.30 o'clock on- Saturday evening, and were under the influence of liquor. The barman refused to serve them, Whereupon the trouble commenced. The defendants wel'o convicted

.Addressing the twenty-seventh Grant! Council of the Aaistralasian Holy Catholic Guild at Sydney, Archbishop Kelly said : " The duty of all sections of the community in the great crisis is to stand behimi the men at the front—(app] ause) —and make them certain that they arc not forgotten. These / are the men the country wants. Let us all be glad that Australia rose to such a height in the fulfilment of her duty in defence of the 'Empire. (Cheers.) There should be harmony and good-will amongst men. Our Catholic guilds should drop the word ' sectarianism.' Sectarianism is like a wasp. It' sucks the sweet and honey of !ife."

The manufacture o£ artificial limbs is being- undertaken at the workshop of the Christchurch. Technical College. vAt the last moeting of the Board of Governors a letter was received from thelDirectorGeneral of Medical Services, asking if the board would supply a workshop and. power for the use of two returned soldiers, themselves crippled, who had bean trained in the manufacture of artificial limbs. The Defenoe Department would supply the tools and material for the men. The. chairman said he had instructed the director to reply in the affirmative to the request, and the board unanimously confirmed this decision.

Though provided only-with the crudest of instruments, the members of the Astrondmlcal section of the Philosophical Sociafy have accomplished excellent work at kelblirn. A visit to the Observatory would demonstrate the difficiilties under which members of the, seotion labour. The camera in use (-which, however, secured a good photograph of the comet) is 33in long and 16in square. This has to be balanced oil -top of the tube of the telescope and. tied : with string. Only by sheer luck can successful photographs be obtained. When the I'new King telescopes is erected, its.extra heavy mounting will afford an excellent opportunity for tho attachment of a "star" camera. Another very serious difficulty is lack of accommodation for the observers, who, at the present time, have been sleeping on the floor, to ensure "their being oh the spot to view thfe comet and make early morning- observations. Accommodation wOl, however, . bo provided for in the building for"' the Kiiig telescope.

In estimating the speed at which any vehicle is travelling, it is notorious that members, of the general public differ enormously. Most people find, it easier to tull whether a man is drunk or not, although even this question has been a subject for much argument. Al tho Magistrate's Court on Saturday the City Council proceeded against Henry Floyd for driving too fast round ; "the , corner of LambtGn-quay and Molesworth-sfcreetv It- happened that, oil tho occasion in question) a child was knocked down, The first ' witness, an experienced motorist, gave the speed a.t from twelve to fifteen miles per hour. Another gave the speed at a-bout twelve roiled, but "certainly more than six." They were for the prosecution. Witnesses, for the defence, -who stated 'thai they were complete strangers to defendant, asserted ono and all that the car was travelling at the walking' pace of four miles per hour. The Magistrate (Mr. L. G. Reid,. S.M.) gave.defendant the- benefit of the doubt, and diimksed th« case. ". ,

Since the Auckland City Council opened the yiotoria-street recruiting station 8370 voluntary rocfuits have Been registered there. ; ■

This year'i spring show ai the Manawabu A. and P. Association is to ba limited to two days. t