LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 80, 1 October 1918, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Second Wellington Military Service Board—Messrs. J. W Poynton' (Chairman), T. A. Bamber, and F. Curface) wili sit in Wellington to-morrow, Thursday, and Friday,

• It has been brought to the notice of the Defence Department,that soldiers who on discharge have been issued with the silver war badge, and who, have subsequently re-enlisted for service, continue to wear the badge, on their, uni, form. The silver war badge is intended to vindicate that the wearer has been discharged as no. longer' fit, for further service, on account of old age, wounds or illness not the result of misconduct and the badge, therefore, must not under any circumstances bo worn on uniform.

There nave been no further developments in regard to the seamen's or the drivers' dispute. In regard to the former, it is considered. that not much will be done until perhaps about the middle of next week, and negotiations concerning the drivers' demands may not develop for some time after that. A bolting horse harnessed to a de-

livery cart 'belonging to the Karori Milk oupply Company met with disaster on The Terrace yesterday. The frightened animal collided' with a telegraph pole at 'the corner of M'Donald-crescent, and was stunned by the blow, and ' was almost strangled by its collar before it could be Released. Eventually the'animal had to be shot. The cart was not damaged.

"The returned soldier's tadge is an honourable distinction/ remarked Sir James Allen last night. "We are always proud when walking through the Streets to sco men with the badge. :It is ;the mark of a decent chap."

"Out of SO,OOO men who hay» returned, we liaVft lost the- run of only 189," said the Horn D: H. Gutlirie Hast night in. explanation of tho systematic Work dttne by tins Dischargedl Soldiers' Information Department.

To-morrow is Bargain Day and .Remnant Day at Kirkcaldie and Stains/Xtd. See advertisement on page nine.of ihis issue. Grand savings await you to-mor-row. Call early.—Advt.

Handkerchiefs.— White hemstitched 6d each 2s 6d the irdoz., other lines. 9d, Is,' (J«?.. Fowlde.-Advt, •■.'-••:•■.:•.-

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■■ His Honour the Chief JustLe, Sir Robert Stout, has reserved -his decision m the appeal case of Peter Sharpe v. the Hutt River Board, a case concerning rating on Crown Lands, portion of the Wilford Settlement.. • . " . ■ In congratulating Councillor Kyle on Ins success in the recent by-election at' Petone, the Mayor/Mr. J. W. M'Ewan. stated that, it had been said that it was strange, that thougji individual councillors might be successful in their own businesses they .were not.so successful asa body. This had been used as an argument against democratic control of local affairs, but if we did not have democratic control we might have worse in autocratic or even bureaucratic control-. -After a brief reference last night to the great news from the front, Sir James Allen said:—"l am sure we are all proud of the men who have come back, and equally proud of the men who are keep, ing' up the great name of the New Zealand Division, and adding to it. This division's work ib something that will never be forgotten. lam perfectly certain that when the history of New Zealand's part in the war comes to be written, the story will be one to thrill those who will come after us."

Tramway revenue -continues, to increase. The figures for the first 24 weeks of the current .financial year-^this does not include the period of the present'dispute—show the following- -increases-— ?!J n T e> 2? 52; .woA"»S expenses, £4802; special expenditure, £146; credit baJance, £3381; revenue per car mile, .81d; working expenses per car" mile, .38d; passengers, carried, 1,291,346- car miles run, 50,169. The decreases wereCapital.charges, £77 j percentage of .working expenses to revenue, 1 per cent. Private wireless companies evidently do not derive any great profits; from tfieir stations under war conditions. The following paragraph appears in a report of the address,, of the chairman at the last half-yearly meeting of the Amalgamated Wireless: (Australasia), IM. :— I wish to remind shareholders that the company has received no revenue from wireless telegraph messages during the period, although: it has to maintain a staff-for dealing with official ships' messages, which have to be handled free of charge. Private wireless telegrams are , prohibited during the war. '■■.-.'■.'.■■. . ■'-..'•■

" I h,ave to record with deepest regret the death of the company's operator, Mr. Arthur Bomont, who sacrificed his life through sticking to his post when the sis. Wimmera was sunk'off the North Cape/ New Zealand, on -26th June last. Other members of. our operating-staff who have shown conspicuous devotion to duty at the sinking of the vessels upon which they were employed are:, Mr. A. R. Mancer, of.the s.s. Kyarra; Mr. L. S..Lane, of the s.s. Waitenrata; ; ,and Mr. John Durrant, of the hospital ship Warilda,' all of*whom were"saved."—Extract from the chairman's'address at the last' halfyearly meeting of ..the Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia), Limited. Time seems to have convinced Ministers, of the Crown that r the many, and varied activities and responsibilities of the State in relation to people affected \>y the war need.a.Publicity Department to keep those folk thoroughly and accurately informed about the matters in which they! are concerned., Sir. James Allen'remarked at the Returned Soldiers' Club last night that he believed some system of distributing information was necessary 'The Hon. A. \M: Myers: remarked, as a member of the' National Ministry, that a mistake had been made in the omission of. provision for propaganda. ,TEe Hon..;D. H., Gufchrie supported the. opinions of: his colleagues in this matter. ' ... ■..'•. ! .. "•;,; .'•.'■

A correspondent, ."One- -Interest," writing to ■■ The Post,: quotes the statement, made in the Magistrate's .Court last week by:; a representative of.. the! Defence Department that, pending the decision of an appeal to the Supreme Court, the Department was treating men classed C 2 for Expeditionary. Force service as exempt from Territorial drills. The correspondent.asks if this'is correct,"* "as' many ..Territorials classed unfit for active service have, been threatened, with prosecution if they absent themselves from drill." An inquiry made at Headquarters elicited the information that the statement reported .is not correct. One Magistrate has held' that C 2 men are not liable,for training as Territorials, but 1 two- Magistrates, have ruled otherwise. -A Supreme Court decision is being sought to settle the point. t ln. the meantime -instructions have been issued to districts to carry 0n.., as formerly—that. is,' to regard C 2 men aa liable for: training. Men who absent themselves from drill will be prosecuted, and appeals will be lodged where'tho Magistrate refuses to-.convict-on the legal! point. . : . Members of two of the City Council committees visited. Wadestown last evening to confer_wjth the executive of the local Municipal- Electors' Association as to public works required in the district. Mr. S. G. Nathan, who presided, in setting out the case "for the residents, .said they had refrained from pressing their wants hitherto owing to its,being- wartime, and now. only asked for works of an urgent nature, which would not entail heavy cost. He read a list of these works,;, chief of which was better access to the public school; Two schemes had been proposed for this work, as to which experts differed. He invited the commit

tees to visit the district one afternoon, when his execative would point out the improvements required. Councillor Norwood, Ghairman of the Outlying Districts Committee, said he and his fellow-mem-bers would be glad to accept this offer, and to push forward all necessary works. Councillor Shorknd reminded the residents that although labour of a sort was obtainable, the lack of suitable labour was a real hindrance to an energetic works policy. Councillor Frost, for the Reserves Committee, said . money had been allocated for repairing the fence adjoining the Queen's Park, and the work would, be gone on' with shortly. Shortage of labour had prevented it from being done before. The conference was conducted in an amicable spirit, and should have good results. . .' ' . .

A correspondent writes:—"On the last afternoon of the month school children from all over the city attend at the Thorndon tramway office to renew their monthly tram ticket. There are some hundreds of scholars, struggling, push.ing, and fighting to get to the hole in the wire, behind which one young lady deals with the rush of applications. The weaker children of course are elbowed out. : Occasionally other . tram employees stroll leisurely behind, the counter, but carefully avoid taking a share of the work. ■ Cannot our City Fathers do something to remedy this state of things? The. tickets might be issue* a week or two before the last day to which they are now restricted, or half-a-dozen .tramway clerks could be told off to assist; or thfi-.money might be collected by school teachers or the tobacconists who sell other tickets; or a queue could be formed, with i a few policemen in charge, so that the "smaller children could be served in proper turn, If, none of .these .plans-are-acceptable, it would be better to do away .'with school tickets and make scholars "pay ordinary fares. Perhaps this is • the object aimed at." . :■ •; .

"I must nil© that out of order," said the Chairman, Mr. J. P. Maxwell, at the meeting of the Returned Soldiers' Clubhouse Society hist evening-, when a question was put to the' Minister of Defence about retrospective allowances. ■

Therel.llVo been fourteen bankruptcies iw W«lU«gtoii. Bine* the■bßg,iiuiius-.orthin