LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 152, 24 December 1918, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Post heartily reciprocates the season's greetings from many newspaper friends, public bodies, institutions, and citizens. \

A number of Wellington yachts and motor-launches v/ill cruise in the Marlborough Sounds during the holidays. Amongst them will be the Volante, Marangi, Wylon, Kotiri, Pyeche 11., Doris, llupi, Windward, White Heather, Resolution, Wairere 11., Wanderer, and Viking.

"Acting with the Defence Department, the Health Department is providing work for returned- medical officers," states the ITcai. G. W llussell, and in this connection comes in clause 20 of the Public Health Amendment Act passed last' session, which ( provides that the Health Department ' may require tho council of any borough to appoint a duly registered medical practitioner as medical officer. This matter is being considered by the Department,, with a view to defining the responsibilities and duties of medical officers who may be appointed by boroughs under 4ne clause." '

An innovation \vhich is greatly appreciated by members is the "cafetaria" recently opened by the Y.W.C.A. in Auckland It is an American idea, and a good one, to give members the opportunity of obtaining good food at a low price, thus encouragingl the girl who works in town to forego the unsatisfactory and unsatisfying midday snack of tea and rakes. It is claimed that tho method oi service' combines the convenience of a counter-lunch and the comfort of a restaurant. The Auckland room is a laajg© airy one oil the top floor of the Y.W.C.A. building, at one end of which are arranged a number of small tables, while at the other end the various articles of food ar& displayed on a counter A dinner consisting of meat, two vegetables, and sweets costs lOd. .-On entering a customer scans the menu, on which the food is priced, selects spoons, knife and fork from a basket, and helps herself to what she has chosen for her meal, the meat and vegetables being served by an attendant from large heated tureens. A cashier then takes account of the meal, and the customer passes on to one of the small tables. A light meal may also be obtained in the evening, and when the meal is finished the members have the use of a restroom and lounge.

There Jias been much comment latterly about the shortness of the leave received by the returned Anzacs (says the Melbourne Herald). But there is one who has no grievance. He left Sydney in 1914 with a company of Field Engineers, went to Egypt, and afterwards to Gallipot In June, 1915, the nerves of one of the engineers became affected, and the doctor -advised that he should be returned to Australia as a mental case. But it was not considered safe to send him without someone to look after him, and an original Anzac was selected tobe his escort. Patient and escort arrived sin Victoria on Bth August, 1915. The Anzac handed his charge over, and, as he lived near Sydney, asked for leave to visit his wife and family. It was readily granted him, a pass "being made out to report for duty when called upon. That-was in August, 1915, and he has not so far received any notification from the military authorities. He had his pass, and that was good enough for him. For three years his wife has drawn her full allotment ajjd separation allowance, but her husband has allowed his pay to accumulate, never troubling to draw it. "Three years' full pay!" the clerks at~' the barracks were sa.ying. "What a wad he'll have to draw." Apparently they have already decided that he • was entitled to his three -yeaTs' leave. A number of them are old soldiers theaiselven, And they have wen hit

Mr. D. Dustin, Palmereton North, manager of the firm of Dustin's, Ltd., lias booked his passage to England, ;ind intends leaving early in January. Mr. Dustin will be absent from New Zealand about a. year. On the application of Chief-Detective Boddam, Thomas Perry, a steward, was remanded to 31st December by Mr F V. Frazer, S.M., this morning, on a charge of stealing a.,gold and diamond ring valued at £120, the property of John Collins. Bail was allowed in the sum of £150 and one surety of £150. The following further contributions to the Island Bay Epidemic Fund are' acknowledged by Mr. E. J. 'Colley, joint hon. secretary:—Mr. T. Smitton, £5; Messrs. J. W Jack, H. Hunter, and Mrs. L. Coleman, £2 2s each; Mrs. JGwing, £1; and Messrs. Howard and Tilyard, £1 Is. Attention is drawn in the annual report of the inspector of inebriate establishments in Victoria (Dr. W E. Jones) to'the growth of the drug habit. From persona] experience, Dr. Joios holds the .opinion that there is an increasing use of. sedatives amounting to a definite misuse. Some returned soldiers have exhibited this failing. He couM :not help the "uncomfortable feeling" that the medical feeling is responsible for many cases of the drug habit through the indiscreet provision of prescriptions; The hospital-trained nurse was not entirely . guiltless, and it was quite a common thing to find in the armamentarium of such a nurse a hypodermic syringe, tabloids of morphine, veronal, aspirin, and similar sedatives. Dr. Jones suggests that as a precaution against the improper^ acquisition of drugs, . doctors' prescriptions containing a hypnotic should be marked with the' exact number of doses, the prescription not to be repeated without instructions from the doctor. Nurses should also be prohibited from obtaining dangerous narcotics from chemists without a doctor's prescription. These points should bs cleared up, he considers, by a joint conference of doctors and chemises. When Mr. Menzies observed in the Victorian Legislative Assembly that it would be much' better to be m gaol than cut, he was not generalising, says Melbourne Age Ho was prompted to the remark by an account of the. Billibid prison, in the Philippines, given by Mr. Prendergast, while speaking on the motion for the second reading of the Gaols Bill. Mr. Prendergast told of the advantageous conditions under which the inmates of the Eastern gaol spent their terms—the system of training in useful arts, the brass band, the football team, and the daily allowances of ten , cigarettes each. He told, too, of prisoners—J two' murderers among them —who were qualifying for the arts course. "Were they going to become professors'" asked Mr. M'ackimiou. "Or lawyers'" inquired Mr. Cain. "They would have the brand of Cain on them," Mr. -Mackinnon suggested. Proceeding, Mr Prendergast spoke of tha Japanese system of examining minutely the causes of crime, instancing the case of an offender who was sentenced for "eating between meals"—or, in other words, stealing pastry-r-although the evidence showed that he had had his breakfast and had his dinner to go to. Mr. Beck, officer, in charge of the boarding-out work of the Education Department, gave an explanation of the procedure to a deputation yesterday. For ■forty <years, he said, the Department had dealt with fatherless children, orphans, and destitute children. It had been the policy of the Department first of all to encourage the parents, wherever there were parents,' to take back the children as soon as possible. Failing that, it had been their policy to find homes where the children would have foster parents, and bo^ brought up as members of the family. The policy with the children - who had lost parents through the epidemic would be first' of all to make certain that there were no relatives to whom tile children could be spent, for payment, of course. If not, 'it would be the Department's business to place the children with people willing and capable to bring them up,. with a view, perhaps, to adoption or keeping them till they had finished school and were in a position to start in life on their own account. Particular care would be taken in dealing with the women who had been left widows. The Department's officers would report on each case, and the Department would do what- it could for those who had been left with children. Applications could be made direct to the Department' or to the agents of the. Department in each centre. A correspondent, "E. W Mooney," takes a gloomy view in regard to the question of employment which is not bisrn out by enquiries made by a Post reporter. '"In view of the fact that 60;O0O men will soon be returning," he says, "I wpuld like to.draw attention, to conditions now prevailing in Wellington." He mentions a case where 18 to 20 men applied for a vacancy in a clothing and mercery store, and draws attention to the way in which women have replaced men in various avenues. "What is going to happen?" he asks. Enquiries show that there are very few men unemployed in Wellington just now, and this at-a time when there is little demand for labour ".There is plenty of work for men who are prepared to put their hands to anything," said a Labour Department official "We have experienced but little difficulty in placing the willing worker. There are others who insist on waiting until something which suits them exactly is offering. We can do little for that class of man." On the point as to what would happen when the 60,000 men return to New Zealand, Mr. F W. Rowley, secretary of the Labour Department, said he did not anticipate any difficulty. Many, he thought, would drop back into positions which they had vacated. "It must bo remembered," he said, "that already 22,000 men have returned to New Zealand. They have all .been absorbed without affecting in any noticeable way the labour market" Following is an extract from' a letter written by Captain Miller, M.C., and received by Mr. C. J Johnson, Clydestreet, Island Bay, concerning the death of Mr. Johnson's youngest son, George : "I am writing to convey to you my most heartfelt sympathy on your irreoarabie loss of your son, Senior Sergeant George A. Johnson, who was killed in action on the 13th September. He had been in my company since he came to F.-ance, ar.d had quickly proved himself to be a i'rrve and gallant soldier, as \v»ll as a j fine "chap personally, and his outstanding qualities quickly got him promotion. He was killed whilst acting as a platoon commander, his officer having been wounded a few days previously After a heavy artillery bombardment on our trenches, the enemy attempted to attack in daylight and your son went forward to see if things were alright, and was sniped by one of the enemy, the bullet causing him severe wounds in the head, from which he died almost instantaneously, and was thus spared of ■any great pain. . . Sergeant Johnson, who had been away from the New Zealanders and was training for several months with the Grenadier Guard*, had only rejoined his 013 company *i few days, when he was killed. In the recent band contest, when the Wellington Regimental Band came third out of thirteen competitors, Sergeant Johnson acted as Drum Major, and the judge was Captain Williams. Mus.Doc, of the Grenadier Guards." Sergeant Johnson who left New Zealand as a corporal, gave up his stripes (at his own request), so that he could regain them on the field, which he quickly did. Ho enlisted with, the 19th fcmforcementfl.

A message has been received by the Minister for Defence that the New Zea land Pioneer Battalion will be withdrawn from France as a complete unit and returned to New Zealand as such during January next. Mr. Herbert Barr, representing the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts, will leave for ' Auckland to-mor-row He will travel with General Pau and the members of the French Mission on their New Zealand tour •An unfortunate blunder made, by a man named Thomas Morrison in boarding a train for the Hutt in mistake for one that would carry him to Kaitoke, was made worse by his jumping from the moving train when he discovered his error, for he fell on his head and suffered painful, though not at all serious scalp wounds. He was taken to the hospital last night for treatment, and will be discharged this afternoon. ' In urging yesterday that an honorary visitor should be appointed to visit homes where children were boarded, under the Education Department, Mr M J. Reardon associated the word "human" with "honorary" and "mechanical" with "official." Most people felt, he said, that an official tended to become tired by routine and regulations. The Hon. J A. Hanan replied that> fostermothers might be apt to resent some visitors' inspection of their houses. In view of the signal service rendered to the Empire by Australian soldiers, of the termination of hostilities and of the approach of the Christmas season, Mr Mahony (N.S.W.) suggested in the Federal House of Representatives recently that the Government should exercise its clemency and grant a free pardon to soldiers of the A.I.F. who have been imprisoned, and that all fines and penalties imposed on such men should $be remitted. The Acting-Prime Minister replied that the offence of desertion was a most 'serious, one, and, pending the period of demobilisation, it could not be lightly regarded by the authorities of tfie Defence department. After peace had been declared the Government would give consideration to the claims for clemency for those soldiers who were undergoing punishment for being absent without leave, desertion, and other similar offences while on active service. A '' salutary, reform in the prison" system " is anticipated by the Chief Secre- , tary of Victoria to result from the Gaols Bill. The Bill, Mr Bowser explained in the Assembly a few days ago, gave the authorities power to employ a prisoner on wages, to be devoted in part towards his maintenance, and ii» part, if necessary, toward the support of his' wife and family, oi toward the payment of any maintenance order under the Marriage or the Neglected Children Act. Special places of detention could be gazetted. The articles made would be mainly used for supplying Government Departments. Smtences would be remitted according to prisoners' industry and- conduct. Under the Elmira system, in New York State, the prisoners received ho pay, but earned remission of sentences and certain comforts, and excellent results had been achieved. It did not follow that because a man made a slip in life he could not become a good citizen. The statement was made before the Official Assignee at Auckland last week by Ernest Leon Sturmfela, optician, that the fact that he had a German name was the principal cause of his present financial position.' Since the' beginning of the war he had had to put up with considerable annoyance and trouble on that account. He'had documentary evidence that he was purely French, having been born in Ronbaix, on 31st January, 1874 His father and his grandfather were born in Paris, and his great-grandfather was brought to France when he was two years of age fronP the eastern bank of the Rhine. His mother was a Mathieu, and descended from one of the oldest French Hugenot - families in .Southern France. When he started business on 20th February, 1914, he was perconally in debt to the extent of £130 or £140. The business was in debt to about £100. The latter sura was paid off during the first six moiiths. Business decreased after the war started In June, 1915, he underwent a serious operation, and his wife hact suffered considerable illness. The influenza epidemic had seriously affected business His present position was due to his name, illness among the i members of his family, and the epidemic. At; the Magistrate's Court at Pahiatua last week, before Mr S. L. P Free, S.M., James Corkhill, chairman of the Makomako School Committee, was charged with assaulting Miss Katherine Richards Phillips, teacher of the school, by hitting her a violent blow on the face. The defendant, who did not appear, was represented by Mr. Tinney, who stated that Corkhill pleaded guilty to striking Miss Phillips, who had aggravated him by strapping one of his children. In lier evidence, Miss Phillips stated that she had always had trouble with Corkhill, as his children were hard to manage, and she had to use a strap on them. On 13th*" November she had to go to CorkbiU's house for some sheep dip to disinfect the school. Mrs. Corkhill saw her come up to the house, and one of the children wenfT for its father He said : "What's this you are saying about me'" and also used-abusive and obscene language, and gave her a violent blow with his left hand. She had to come in to see the doctor, and her eye was blackened and bloodshot. The defendant was convicted and fined £5 and costs, or in default two months' imprisonment with hard labour In commenting on the case, the Magistrate said that he could scarcely conceive how a man holding the position of chairman of a school committee, thereby showing that he must be considered of some standing in the district, could be guilty of such conduct as striking a woman. One of the reasons given for the acute shortage of seamen and firemen on the vessels trading in the intercolonial and coastal trade is "he demand for men by the Commonwealth to go to America to bring over the new vessels being built there to the order of the Commonwealth Government. Crews cannot be obtained in America. A considerable number of vessels, both in. New Zealand and Australia, are short-manned, and the deficiency has to be made up by the employment of "runners," which is. the term used for men who may have given up going to sea and aro now being employ ed on the wharves. These men (says Otago Daily Times) demand, and are paid, high wages- for their temporary services. It is usually the experience that men on overseas vessels which come to New Zealand are paid lower wage 3 than the sailors on our coastal boats; bat so far at least as the sailing ship John Ena, now at the Victoria wharf, is concerned, this is not the case, as the sailors on this vessel are said to be receiving- £2 or £3 a month more than the sailors working on the coast. Sniloi's agree that there is a world-wide shortage of the men who go down to the sea in ships, but that there is also a, body of .so-called sailors in Sydney who create a considerable amount of trouble by their demands for this and the other, but who have not the -least desire to sign on a vessel themselves. With the reieaso of the j:aval reserve men from active war service it is anticipated that the present shortage will bo considerably relieved. Kirkcaldie and Stains, Ltd., advise that th/eir premises will be cjpsed on Wednesday and Thursday., Reopen on Friday morning.—Advt. Medical men recommend .groats-^ Doctors' Cream o' Groata as a better and tnpre nourishing food for children and invalid*.—Advt.

Sergeant Frank Young /(youngest sou of Mr John Young, of Salamanca-road), formerly a prominent member of the Wellington Choral Union and the Wellington Rowing Club, who was wounded ' while fighting in France, has returned to Wellington ■ " ""■ Shearing in this district (aays tha Wanganui Herald) has been very much delayed owing to the very inclement weather and subsequently by the epidemic. Farmers are very busy just now pushing on with shearing, taking advantage of the present spell of fine weather.- A good deal of this season's wool has already reached stores in town. - '■ Supplies of pudding fruits from Australia have occupied a prominent place in the New Zealand trade since the war stopped supplies from the Mediterranean. With a view to ascertaining the crop position, a large local importing firm cabled to Australia, and received the following reply, dated 21st Deeem- - ber :—Prospecte currants and lexias good. Sultanas moderate, but too early yet to forecast." . Speaking last night at a meeting to, form a soldiers' club, held in Johannesburg last month. Sergeant-Major Urquhart. an Anzae, said he had learned, in an interview with Mr. Gerard, the former American Ambassador at Berlin, further details concerning the execution of Nurse Cavell. • From these details it appeared that the Germans cut Nurse Cavell's hair because she would not put it up before her execution. They also cut off a fingei in ordei to obtain two rings, one from, her mothei and the other from a brother who was killed in the Mons retreat. The scarcity of nntches in England is humorously indicated in this "free advertisement" from London Punch:—"A correspondent would like to hear .from any man who contemplates striking a match in South Kensington, with a view to sharing same." More seriously, Professor Henry Spooner, in "Health from Waste," says that in the- interests of economy matches should be so made as to strike at both ends. *\Vaste, he rqr, • marks, goes on in neary every direction) Apart from big items, look at some of > the small ones There is waste of can- . dies, mustard (which should be made up in paste form), nins (which are made and lost by the million), string (the ragpickers of Paris earn £660 a year out of bits of string! in the rubbish boxes), and tram and 'bus tickets (which if dropped into a box at the end of the London vehicles alone 'might be sold for £6 -a day) Why are potatoes so dear ? From ml quiriES-made it would appear that the answer is simply because sufficient quantities of them cannot be obtained (says the Danedin Star). The lateness of the local season is a big factor in . bringing about this,state of affairs, ami ;. relief from the North Island and Australia, is rendered difficult —almost impossible—by the lack of transport facilities. There are few, if any, old' potatoes fit for table use, bo that the public are, ias it were, in a cleft stick. It is understood that efforts are being made through the Minister of Mmiitiuas to obtain priority of loading for potatoes and onions in the case of the Kaiapoi, .. which, ie at present- loading at Melbourne. If this can be managed it will relieve the situation considerably, and tide us ovei until our own supply is .. available in quantities.' To give an idea of the demand it may be mentioned that, Auckland new potatoes were sold at 3J;d to 4d per 1b wholesale last Thursday morning, and Oamaru and Peninsula, freshly gathered, at 5Jd. During the influenza epidemic allegations were publicly made that Christ- • church Hospital had been turned intj a shambles'owing to the;authorities -taking warm clothing off' inat&nts and dressing them in cotton shirt.?. If. was aiso alleged (states it Press Association telegram from Christchurcli) ihat pneumonia jackets had not- been issued, and •is a consequence tb'a uhange from wool lon to cotton,.clothing had resulted in ;:• chill. Reporting to :i meeting of -the hoard yesterday, Dr. Fox, medical superintendent, mentioned that each patient -^ was supplied.witlr hospital olothitjr instead of their own,avlikh wns gsnerally in excess, and the danger.of chill was mitigated by heating of the buildings. Although nearly all the staff had b?pn laid up and some had died, in no case . was a member of the staff supplied wittf a pneumonia jacket, only a single bed garment, and all were nursed in.rooms heated similarly to the wards. Sams time will elapse beforo the definite annual liability of the Commonwealth for war pensions can be staled, owing to the fact that a great number ■ of claims "from wounded men or dependents have yet to be considered Tha liability is steadily growing month by month (says Melbourne Age), and will continue to do so. / Figures issued by the Treasury officials show that at the end of November the total annual liabilr ity of the Commonwealth under this head amounted to £4,342,537, -the number of war pensions granted being 143,195 In Victoria pensions granted amount to 47,639, the liability being £1,340,405 In New South Wales the number is 54,465, and the annual liability is £1,501,119, in Queensland the pensions number 15,910, and the liability is £502,437. The figures for the other States are:—-South Australia, pensions ' 14,177, liability £393,713 ; Western Aus- •■ tralia, pensions 13,910, liability £422,----65 1; Tasmania, pensions 6094, liability .£182,012 A glance at the records of the original Anzacs who have survived over four years of war and are now returning to Australia, reveals the fact (says the Melbourne Age) that the great majority of the men followed outdoor occupations in the days before they donned the khaki of the A.I.F Looking casually over the lists, it is noticed that one man was a seaman, another a carpenter, a third a labourer, a fourth a stockman. Only occasionally does the occupation of clerk appear alongside the name of one of tho returning men 'Professional soldier" is the description given by one of the men of his pre-war occupation, while the next man describes himself as a cordial manufacturer Biano tuning is a trade which one of the Anzacs followed before he went to the war, while another, who now wears the Military Medal, was an acrobat before he enlisted. Publican, farmer, cook and storeman—four occupations picked out at random from the record of trades by which the Anzacs earned their living up to the time the war broke out—indicate the diverse N nature of the surroundings in which the men lived prior to going into camp It would seem that the repatriation authorities should not experience much difficulty in placing the Anzacs in civil employment , • Grocers! Santa Claus requires large quantities of No Rubbing Laundry Help «nd Golden Rule Soap for filling children's stockings .Xmas Eve, so better ' increase your stock row rather than offend Santy.—Advt. Furniture dear? Save it! Employ New Zealand Express Cq., Ltd., to move you. Careful. Motor shifts it about, into, out of town. 87-91, Customhousequay.—Advt. Xmas,' Xmas, Xmas, Xmas • See our ties, Is 9d to 6s 6d. Late3t designs and pretty shades. A!eo silk handkerchiefs, etc., etc. George Fowlds, Ltd., Man-ners-street. —Advt. . We do not all cling to the good- old custom of hanging out stockings Christmas Eve, but wo all look forward to receiving gifts of some kind all the same.' Have you-thought about buying your presents yet? If not look to a reliable store Here's the place. C. Smith, Ltd., "Th» People's Store," Cuba-street, Wellington, where gifts are plentiful and prices nght.. —Advt.. ■