GENERAL NEWS

Evening Post, Volume XCV, Issue 24, 28 January 1918, Page 2

GENERAL NEWS

"The business men. and shipbuilders of Canada.'kre keenly alive to the necessity for turning out as much shipping tonnage as possible at the present-juncture," said Mr. J. T. Lithgow, a retired Canadian Trade Commissioner, at present in Auckland on a holiday visit. He added (says, the Herald) that there was great activity at, present in the shipbuilding industry on the Canadian-Pacific. Coast, and many new vessels constructed at the yarde at Vancouver and "Victoria were already in. commission. There wae a larger acreage' in Canada this year sown with wheat than ever before, and some of the new vessels now under construction on the East Coast would be utilised to convey the eurplue grain from the coming; harvest to Britain. The Canadian farmers realised that they were in the most advantageous position to »uPply Britain with grain, and in view of the position in the Old Country at present, they vyere malting great effprte to augment their supplies...

A youth just under sixteen years of age came before Mr. F. V- Frazer, S.M., at the Juvenile Court in Auckland last week on charges of having stolen sums of money amounting to about £100, from his employer. He had been employed in a. city office as a clerk, and noticing that a cheque.book in which signed cheques, not filled in, were kept was left out, he extracted a couple of ,the signed cheques. One of. these he filled in for £75, knd cashed. He treated his friends to cigarettes and a dinner at a first-class hotel, obtained an outfit for himself, and was about to start on a train journey South when-Detective Cummings arrested him. He then had £31 left of the cash. After his' arrest it was found that he had taken other money from letters of the firm. Police enquiries' established that s tho youth came from an, excellent home and bore a good character, 1 but had recently got into a fast set of youths, and .had been trying to keep' up with them. He was* formally committed to Weraroa Training Farm, but allowed probation pending good behaviour under strict conditions. ...

The total export of bananas from Fiji in 1917 was equal to 1,353,496 bunches, as /compared with 1,651,366 in 1916. Of this quantity 18,595 bunches and 223,226 cases were shipped to New Zealand, and 371,913 bunches and 74,194 cases to. Sydney. The falling off as compared with the previous year wan largely due Ho the strike in Sydney, the export for the September quarter being less by the ! equivalent, of 200,000 bunches than for I the corresponding quarter of 1916. , A I record shipment was despatched to Australia recently, but V the ■ venture proved disastrous, as the fruit went bad before reaching the market.

At present on a visit to Auckland is Mr. J. T. Litligow, a retired Canadian Trade Commissioner. Mr. Lithgow. received his first appointment as a' trade commissioner for Canada, in May, 1910, simultaneously with Mr. W. A.. Beddoe, Canadian Trade Coinmieaioner. for New Zealand. Mr. Beddoe has retained his original appointment, while Mr. Litligowhas been in-turn Trad© Commissioner for Canada at Glasgow, Berlin, ani Bot* terdam, remaining at the last-mentioned 1 place until June, 1915, when he returned t to Scotland. Prior to entering the Canadian Government service Mr. Lithgow was a member from 1897 to' 1905 of the ! Yukon Council, a provincial parliament sat up during the days, of. the.Yukongold rush, when Mr. Lithgow firet became associated with, Mt. Beddoe.

An interesting memento of the early, days of Dannevirke came tmder the notice of the local paper, being- a .register of the marriages solemnised in ithe district during the period 'from 1882 to 1890, during moet of which time,there, was no church in existence. The weddings were 6olemnieedin all eorts of places, and.ths records show that the women' pioneers; at any rate, believed in early unions, as.of the 23 brides in'tKe list, 18 of them averaged 19 years of age, and tho other five 33 years of age. The youngest, of the women to be led to the altar was a girl of 16, while one of the brides had a very narrow escape from being an old maid, her nuptials taking place at the age of 57!

The number of drowning fatalities that have been recorded in New Zealand of late should (asserts the Wairarapa Age)'direct attention-to. .the neces-; sity for swiminirig'being made'a" compulsory; subject, at the whole of the State schools in the Dominion. Only a day,or two ago two girls, one of whom was sixteen years of age, got out of their depth in'the-Wangahui River, and were drowned.. The ;.educational authorities attach too little importance to swimming, both as a physical exercise and -a preserver- of valuable life. There is ,no reason why every, boy and girl attending a State school- in this country should not be taught to,swim. Failure, to impart| instruction.-in this subject on. the part of those ■ in charge of the schools is little short o£ criminal. >

Christchurch folks are, probably, less demonstrative, in certain circumstances, than those of other parts of the Dominion, which, possibly, explains a little incident which happened in the Botanic ;Gardeflß; on Thursday afternoon (says the Press). A large party, consisting of the delegates from the Nurserymen's Conference, were being, shown over the 'gardens,', and attracted a certain amount of attention. Two young ladies appeared to' be specially interested, and one, in answer to the other, explained that the party was probably one from Sunnyside Mental Hospital! -The narftv tion of the incident caused much merriment at the afternoon tea table, members recognising that .their enthusiastic appreciation of the^ gardens must have, misled the observant young ladies.

Pollard is being adulterated to an extent which calls urgently for Government action, stated a Christchurch merchant to. a Sun representative. An article which possesses half the feeding value of true pollard is, he- said, being foisted fairly generally uport the public by a section of the Canterbury millers! They are often securing the full Government price for this as though it was the standard article,'and'ars thus reaping large profits. .- -.

The net revenue that Germany gained from its State Forestry Department in the years just', preceding'the'war was £16,000,000 a year," stated Mr. W. Jones (Christchurch), at the Nurserymen's Association's Conferene (reports the LyHelton Times), after a paper ;on "Afforestation" by Mr. W. Wickens, head gardener for the Christchurch City Council, had been read by Mr. R. Nairn (Christchurch). The statement appeared to ■ surprise some members, but Mr. Jones said his information was accurate. He also mentioned that during 1912 no fewer than 4,000,000 people were en-, gaged in the timber industry of Germany. ....