LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume XCIII, Issue 136, 8 June 1917, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Postmaster-General wishes it to be known that persons who continue to potet, except by parcel post, newspapers and periodicals in packages containing move than a single copy addressed to the United Kingdom, whether for a soldier or a civilian, must not expect the packages to be forwarded. Persons who have posted packages containing more than one copy may have them returned on application to the Chief Inspector of the General Post Office, Wellington. Up to the end of June the packets will bo returned free of postage. After that date, if the contents have not already ■ been disposed of, postage will be charged for their Teturn.

The following letter has been received by the Acting-Prime Minister (Sir James Allen) from the Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke, C.M.G.J: — "Will you please accept for yourself and be good enough to convey to your colleagues nry sincere thanks for the courtesy extended to me during my term of office as Mayor of Wellington. In accepting the honour conferred upon me by His Majesty the King, I am deeply sensible of ray added responsibilities, and I will endeavour to act at all times to merit the distinction. In singling me out for the Companionship, I am conscious that the bestowal of this honour is in recognition of the patriotic and united work of the people of this community, * and an appreciation of the assistance rendered by the Mayoress to the cause of the Empire."

Considerable discussion took place at the sitting of the First Military Service Board yesterday afternoon regarding railwaymen who have enlisted or been drawn in the ballot. Mr. R. W. M'Yilly (Assistant General Manager of Railways) stated that the Defence authorities could have had ISO men from the Railway Department some time ago only for the difficulty .in getting them medically examined. Captain' Walker .pointed out that the fault might not be with the Defence authorities, but that there was difficulty in getting the men before the Medical Board.. Eventually, it was decided that-the Department should withdraw 108 appeals on behalf of fit men, that 14 men who have personally appealed be allowed to proceed with their appeals,, and that the Defence authorities get 56 volunteers, all of whom are in the First Division. These latter, or their substitutes, are to go into camp this month without asking for leave.

The Committee of the Wellington Second Division League met last evening, Mr.' R. A. Armstrong, president, being in the chair. A letter was read from the Defence Minister (the Hon.' Sir James Allen), stating that the league's questions regarding the calling up and disposition of men eligible for service were receiving attention, and would be made the subject of a further communication at an early date. Advice was ro~ ceived from Manakau stating that a strong' sub-branch had been formed at a meeting held on Tuesday evening. A letter was received from the South Canterbury branch asking for. support to a resolution suggesting! fchat the re-ejt-amination of temporarily exempted reservists should be conducted by different medical boards to those making the original examination. The secretary was instructed to secure fuller information on the matter. Matters connected with the proposed conferences of the various leagues and branches "throughout the Dominion were discussed at length, and a definite scheme adopted for sub- . mission to other centres.

One of the reasons given by a Reservist, who appealed for exemption before the First Military Service Board to-day, was that he was an only son, and had been away'from home all his life. He stated that he had not been home for a year, which led Captain Walker to remark : " You'll be able to see them on your final leave." .

■ Yesterday, in the Magistrate's Court, before Mr. W. G. Riddell, S.M., a conclusion was arrived at in the'case in which Hunt, Cottrell and Co., Ltd., carriers, claimed from the City Council £129 12s for damage received by a motor-wagon in a collision with a tramcar on 18th December last. It was alleged by plaintiffs (Mr. T. HMop) that the defendants' servant carelessly drove a tramcar along Courtenay-place at its junction with Taranaki-street at an undue speed.' Damage to plaintiffs' motorwagon resulted, which rendered it useless for a long time. After a considerable amount of evidence had been heard the Bench reserved its decision. Mr. J. O'Shea appeared for. the City Council. '

In a letter received from Chaplain A. J. Seamer, who left recently with a, reinforcement draft, the writer states that the men had had an uneventful trip so jfar, and.on the whole the\weather had been fine.. After the men got their sea legs, the vessel, a fine sea.boat, was a hive of activity, and everything was splendid, including the food. All were in, good heart, and they had had a good time.. Chaplain Seamer stated that a voluntary service was held every day and two concerts and canteen lectures every week, as well as plenty of games. Reading matter was plentiful.

Judgment was given by His Honour Mr. 1 Justice Chapman at the Supreme Court yesterday in a case concerning the ownership of the racehorse Waimatao.. James M'Laughlin, of Trentham, trainer, for whom Mr. J. J. M'Grath appeared, claimed from Joseph Grant, of Manakau, farmer (Mr. M. Myers) the sum of £500 damages and specific performance of an agreement to sell the horse. His Honour said that if any action lay against Grant it was for a breach of warranty. The evidence was that he had. no authority to sell, and that the horse belonged to another person named Williams. In the face of the evidence, his Honour could not find for plaintiff. Judgment would be given for defendant, with costs.

Regulations governing the transmission of telegrams by telephone are gazetted. The charge will be threepence for each three minutes occupied.

Councillor Tucker has given notice that at to-morrow night's meeting of the C-nslow Borough Council he will move : " That this council approach the JPdst and Telegraph Department with the 1 object of having a slot telephone installed' in Ngaio."

The Army Department and the Army Ordnance Department are, by regulations gazetted yesterday, placed under the authority of the Defence Department. The membership of the staff will be required to wear uniform, and they will be classified in. military terms.

The council of Scots College has arranged with Mr. A. D. Crawford for the' purchase of between.- eleven and twelve acres of. land at Miramar, situated between the Golf Club's links ajid the flat known as the Chinamen's gardons, and facing a road yet to be formed. Plans will be at once . prepared, and the erection of the building, or a portion of it, is to be commenced as eopn as possible.

"I am convinced," said a speaker at the Beekeepers' Conference last night, "that it does not pay a honey-producer to breed his own queens. This is 6O delicate a matter that the apiarist would find it far more profitable to buy his queens."

In response to the appeal made for sticks for. wounded soldiers at Rotorua, a package of ten walking sticks has been handed in to the National Office of the V.M.C.A. by an anonymous donor. Yesterday a bundle was forwarded by Sergeant Wade from the Lambtou-quay Police, and several others hay« also been left a«t the local office of the • association. Any walking sticks so donated will be forwarded to the proper authorities.

"I am perfectly certain," said a delegate at the Beekeepers' Conference yesterday afternoon, "that any man who takes np beekeeping merely from the standpoint of £ s. d. and not from a love of bees ie doomed to failure." (Hear, hear.) '

The Government cable 'repair steamer Tutanekai, which returned to Wellington yesterday, after having laid a new section of .submarine cable in Cook Strait, had, to wait some time on account of the weather during her absence, but she managed eventually to ..lay eight miles of new cable and join it up successfully with the buoyed end of the main cable. All the work was completed by 8 a.m. yesterday, and the vc-fesel then came on to Wellington. One of the cables broke away during the recent bad weather,' but was recovered by whalers. The Tutanekai will now lay up until her .services are required again for cable work. -

"We hear pessimists . say that the Maoris are a dying race. Whether we are a living or a dying race let us live ■as Christians and die as Christians."— Ware P. Waitai at the Maori Mission meeting at St. Peter's Schoolroom last evening.

When the Onslow Borough Council meets . to-morrow night, Councillor Bowden will move that, owing to. the dissatisfaction that exists in connection with the Kaiwarra water service, and the unsatisfactory financial position connected therewith, a special committee be appointed to thoroughly investigate the matter; the committee to consist' of Councillors Topp and Bndd, the Mayor, and councillors of the Kaiwarra waTd.

Owen James Francis M'Kee, who was tried by court-martial at Christchurch on a charge of refusing lawful commands in neglecting to attend for medical examination on 2nd May and who was found guilty, was sentenced to eleven months' imprisonment. He declined to give or call evidence, but handed in a ■long statement for publication, of which the president said he was not at all sure that it would be privileged. When asked .if he" had anything to say in mitigation of punishment he proceeded to make a statement criticising Ministers of the Crown, which the president declined to listen, to.

Strong feeling ran at the Beekeepers' Conference yesterday afternoon during 'a discussion on "Overcrowding of Apiarie6." Cases were. cited of men planting themselves down alongside apiarists who were already established, and the result was that both men suffered. Many of these "pirates" saw that another man was doing well, and imagined that there was room for two apiarists. , This, of course, was a fallacy, and the result was usually disastrous. What was necessary, one delegate , contended, was something drastic, to prevent, cases such at> this recurring. One good suggestion was that apiarists should buy bee-keeping options over adjoining land, and thus ensure that the owners of such lands do not permit bees to be kept there. Finally, the following motion was passed: "TEat this conference of New Zealand bee ■ keepers strongly deprecates the action of some beekeepers in establishing apiaries to the evident injury of apiaries already established in the locality." .

There is a peculiar fascination about Maori history, and if we allow our, minds to travel back to the dark days of cannibalism and savagery and compare thai period with the present day we find much food for serious thought and cogitation. How rapidly the civilisation of the Maori was carried Into effect! How readily he lent his ears to the preachings of Samuel Marsden and those pioneer missionaries who followed after! This deeply interesting subject was touched upon at the Maori mission meeting held in St. Peter's Schoolroom last evening, and the sincere eloquence of the native speakers must have impressed the large gathering. While disclaiming any suggestion that Christianity had conquered the Maori race as a whole, the speakers showed no diffidence in asserting that the Christian native was a very reverent person indeed. He'took religion very seriously, and if a native so far wander--ed from the right path as to commit sacrilege the wrath of the chief would descend upon him like a clap of thunder. Some natives went to great extremes. They would not chop wood or peel potatoes on a Sunday, but would make Eiich preparations on the previous day. They would cook and eat, of ■ course, but between these diversions there would be mostly worship.

"That a special committee be set up to deal with certain mattei-s in connection with the public lighting of the 'district,'' is the text of a motion under the name of Councillor Hobbs to dealt with by the Onslow Borough Council.

Representations are io be- made to the Minister for Defence by the Patriotic Societies' .Advisory Board to the effect: "That the Soldiers' Financial Assistance Board should have power to assist all sailors whose residence is in: New Zealand or whose dependents reside in New Zealand."

It .is stated that Lake Takapuna (Auckland) has risen over 7ft during the past 12 months. The water is now approaching the boat sheds, which have been left high and dry for several years. This may be\the result of the. heavy rains which Auckland has experienced this year.

While in Auckland last week, Mr. W. A. Beddoe, Canadian Trade Commissioner, made"arrangements for the shipment of certain commodities to Canada, in respect of which he has been appointed the agent of the Canadian Govern-, meht, in which appointment the Imperial authorities and New- Zealand Government have concurred.

" At the end of the season," said a delegate at the Beekeepers' Conference yesterday afternoon, in discussing a paper on " Working an Apiary on Shares," "I get half the profits." ",And," queried another delegate, " if it is a bad season and there are no profits?" "Oh, in that case," answered the first delegate, "I still get half of them." (Laughter.) '

"It is easy to ascertain an Australian soldier's bona fides," said Mr. V. Lamer at the Patriotic Societies' Advisory; Board meeting, "because the Australian Gctveramen-tl supplies discharges which do not require the use of a microscope to decipher. They are' on plarehment, and contain full particulars enabling a man to be identified; not on poor paper as in New Zealand, so that they become useless and undecipherable after two or three months."

Attention was drawn at jfoe Patriotic Societies' Advisory Board meeting yesterday by the Auckland War Relief Association Ho the regulations providing for the stoppage of pay for military offences, the result of which might be to penalise women and dependents. Mr. V. Lamer (Auckland), in submitting the remit, said that, of course, the same position might arise in civil life, a.man's wife and dependents suffering if he were imprisoned for an offence. Mr. E. H. Williams said he did not see why the women and children should suffer, though the punishment of the soldier /night be well deserved. Mr. Paul: "We don't allow them to suffer." On Mr. Larner's suggestion, it was decided to place cases before the Minister for Defence, and see if he could lighten' the burdens thus imposed on dependents.

When a soldier has-served Ms.country and the time comes to fix Ms pension there should be no fine distinctions drawn as to whether his disability is entirely due to Ms war service or is the partial result of some previous ailment.. This was the substance of the discussion on a motion put forward by Mr. L. 0. H. Tripp at the Patriotic Societies' Advisory Board meeting to the following effect: "That the Pensions Board should have power to grant the fuJl pension to soldiers or their dependents in proper cases, even if the injury or disability from which the soldier is suffering is, m the opinion of the Pensions Board, been partly caused by some old trouble from wMch the soldier may have suffered before he went into camp." Members of the board were in entire agreement with the motion, wMch it was decided to forward to the Government.

Fire-brigadesmen are in short supply at the present time. Giving evidence before the First Military Service Board Superintendent Tait stated that, unfortunately, Ms particular branch of the Corporation's activities required the same stamp of man as the military. people. The full permanent staff authorised was 38, but it was two short of that number, and one was in "the Hospital. An. auxiliary staff- of- 108 was authorised, but at the present time; its membership was .86. At one' time the auxiliary staff was only two short of the authorised strength, but that-was-before the war. No appeals were made in regard to auxiliary men if they were drawn in the ballot. He ha,d~on the staff at the present time four returned men, but experience had shown that returned men were often not able to stand the smoke and fjjmes of a fire.

It has happened in some cases recently that returned soldiers have' died within a month or two of being discharged from the Forces. As they are not members o£ the Forces, the Government is not liable for their funeral expenses, which, in some instances, have been paid by patriotic societies. _ The matter came before the Patriotic Societies' Advisory Board yesterday, when Mr. V. Lamer (Auckland) stated that his society had met such expenses willingly, but the Returned Soldiers'. Association had considered that the • cost of the funeral, when the man died as the result of wounds or sickness contracted in the Empire's service, should be a charge upon the Government. The board decided to recommend the Government to pay such expenses if a man died within twelve months of his discharge from wounds or sickness contracted in the country's service.

A very handsome gold medal, which was awarded to the Waikato Beekeepers' Association for a prize exhibit of honey at the recent Panama-Pacific Exposition, was on view at the. Conference of the National Beekeepers' Association yesterday afternoon, and attracted considerable attention.