LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume XCVIII, Issue 138, 9 December 1919, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The mails which were despatched from New Zealand on the 18th October arrived in London on the 28th ultimo.

For selling milk deficient iq butterfat, twp Au,ckland milk 've.nrlors were yesterday fined £20 and $3,0 respectively.

Several maintenance cases were dealt with; by Mr. _'. Page," S.M., at the Magistrate's Court yesterday afternoon. Arthur Oldham 'was drdejtjd tej pay 10s per vyeek towards the snppprt pf a cliild in an industrial school. ■ Thpmas. Francis Bnstin, who had duoheyed th? provisions of a maintenance, order, will be liable to three months' " imprisonment unless he pays off the arrears, amounting to £54i3s pel, at the rate of Ss per week, and also keeps up, the current payments under tlie order. A summary' separation was granted 'Catherine Blppmfipid against Eqward BJopmfield, and tlie v/i£v was' givpn' ciistody of the children. Applications for separation, maintenance, and guardianship orders made hy Jessie Maria Yarletfc against William Yarlett were granted, the husband, b°ing ordered to pay 403 per week towards" the s.upport of the family.

A Press Association message from Auckland "states':—At a public meeting held under the auspices of tlie National Prohibition campaign it was resolved: "That this meeting of electprs records its, emphatic protest against the flagrant untruth contained jn. the liquor trade advertisement, stating that unless a voter votes for continuance by strjking out the two bottoru lines, his vp.fe will be invalid. Itlnrtney. Remands iftyt action lio" taken''by the "authorities to prevent the repetition of such practices."

On Wednesday, 17th instanf, election day, all telegraph and telephone offices are to be open to the general public from 7 p.m. until 2 a.m. Small country and suburban offices may be released before that hour should the returning officer not require their services further.

Last week the schooner Jubilee brought a trial shipment of Niue Island bananas to Auckland. This is the first fruit brought from Niue for the Auckland market,'and it is hoped that a regular trade -wilj be opened up.. About 50 cases oi fruit were in the consignment, and, ih spite of the long trip and rough weather, the bananas arrived in good condition.

Representatives of philanthropic and other societies met at Dunedin last night, when the following mqtioo was agreed to:—-"That this conference affirms the principle of a federation of public subscription lists, and agrees to submit to the_ various organisations interested for tlieir favourable consideration the advisability of an annual appeal for funds for maintenance purposes, and the formation of an association for this purpose." The conference adjourned until February.

It was reported to tlfe Bpseneath Municipal Electors' Association la?t night tha},' the Outlying Districts Committee has agreed, in response to a petition, to run a" motor vehicle for the delivery of parcels throughout the district on cerr tain (Jays of the week. Complaint was made in the same petition of failure to collect refuse in Upper Rc-s'e'neath, and also of the. need of drainage to some houses at the-junction of Ros.eneath' and Hataitai! "■ '■ '

. The .agripultural contributor to the Jforping Post is surprised that" New Zealand is not. sending more seed tp England.' "the failure of New Zealand," he says, "to compete with Denmark as. a source of supply for cocksfoot seed is a disagreeable fact. When the war broke out hard fescue and cpcksfppt, which do not seed well in England, were profitable little appanages .of qur New Zealand fellow subjects. ' New Zealand fescue, sold as !chewings,' has for five years been going to a price higher and higher, until other fescues are replacing it, whilp Danish fescues since a year ago have so beaten the New Zealand-out. of tlie field that few firms qupfe the old familiar article." Fescues and peas are all more or less scarce, and New Zealand is expected to ship more freely in the near future. •

The Post's London correspondent mentions that Mr. 'H. Foreman, M.P., suggested that the tprpedo badge shpujd be a,war4ed not merely to mejnhera of the mercantile marine, but to soldiers who „in transit had actually been torpedoed at sea.'' Mr. Winston1 Churchill states that the badge was awarded to members of the mercantile marine and Fishery Service who," after being topedped, served a further'month afloat-' Soldiers who during th,e war propeeded oh duty overseas beyond the United Kingdom would, receive the British war medal, and those who only crpssed the seas within the United Kingdom would receive the Hpme Service Meda.l—-"if one is awarded.'' It was not considered that they should receive a special award in respect of any particular hardship un„dergpne during "their war service.

A meeting of the School Committees' Association was held last night, Mr. W Wallace (president). being in the chair. The secretary reported having communicated with the Education Board regarding .an insurance policy, to cover school committee members.' Mr. H. B. Rule wrote resigning his position on the executive owing to his removal to Hastings. It was. decided to convey • the association's thanks to Mr. Rule for his past Valuable services on behalf of education in Wellington. Mr. Watts was welcomed as i, new delegate. A deputation from the Town-Planning Association-^--Messrs.'Foster, Hill, Ward, Fuller, Startup, E. B. Hill, Wilson, and Wallace—waited on tEe association urgirig support tpwards getting better playgrounds for school phiic|rsn. It >yap decided, tha,t the association should go into recess until the second Moiida^ in Febra§ry, 19.2 Q.

Mr. fieorge^ Shirtcliffe, ef Wellington, in recent .letters' to friends here, describes the serious industrial, outlook in the United Kingdom (when, hp wrote in November last). All the magnificent work that England did in winning thewar' woujd seem to be jeopardised by the present strife. . Tlie Government was standing firm, with the press and thp cpnunuiuty supporting it.' It was felt, however,- that right would in the kmg run prevail. The advocacy of might over right in Britain as pursued, by Labpur extremists was Hunnisli in its essence; therefore, a 'lot of trouble might be looked for before the trouble was settled. Mr. Shirtcliffe feared that these disturbances placed Britain's commercial supremacy in' great jeopardy. Trade was going to the United' States ;• but there were severe Labour' troubles there also. The extremists of the 'Labour Party in Britain, Mr. Shirtcliffe bpheyed, were out to upset the Government of the country, apd'tp enforce their W*U ?n the community. They are aiming at Bolshevism and anarchy.

During his address at the Town Hall » lsst night's session of the Chautauqua, Mr M. C. Reed, the Washington' journalist, dealt with the o'pinip.n expressed in many quarters that America had gone into the. war top late, or not early enough. While not defending his country s actwn, Mr. Reed explained a few of the circumstances that prevented earlier participation. The issue had been made a political one. For years before the way, h,e said, a million people had been pouring into America annually from foreign countries, and i Vi a "J^'L^' 0, I* °^> ?f the census of 110,000,000, there were 10,000,000 Germans pr people pf German descent. These, with their propaganda, fed by German money, constituted America's internal menace. In San Francisco alone a Rara.de pf 50 000 Germans"" protected against the Alhps. This was the hom4 problem that America had to contend With, and it was feared that early participation (at least until the heme situation was settled) would mean a revolo tion at home as well asa war" abroad. It was like manoeuvring a big ship into sate waters until the time came for open declaration. With respect to the hesitancy over the League of Nations, Mr. Reed opined that the trouble was a personal quarrel between Senators and the President, but he believed that' Mr Wilson would yet win out. Mr. Reed announced that he (Mr. Reed) in an article written ten years age had advocated something q f ? i m ;i ar n^t^rej Allies' Court or Tribup?. In suppprt'pf' his, point on the value of vision (the sub? ject of his lepture) and the "real mean, irigof a man's life, Mr" Reed mentioned the lives of Abraham Lincoln, of America, and of Leo Tolstoi, of Russia, as' being examples of the spirit that lives for the beiiefit qf other's.

The consulting tuberculosis officer to the St. Marylebone Tuberculosis Dispensary makes a strong plea for the abolitjon of the control of butter. He says (writes The Post's London correspondent) that he had noticed more cases of acute forms of tuberculosis than before the war, while the death-rate had risen 12 per cent., and he attributed that to the lack of animals fats in the nation's dietary. In his view, butter is the last thing that should be controlled, fpr without plenty of animal fat the people are unable to resist infection. Last winter's shortage greatly helped the influenza, epidemic.

Consideration was given by the Central Chamber of Commerce yesterday to the Canterbury prqposals for setting up a board to. take oyer the management and construction of railways. The Chairman (Mr. A. L- Hunt) commented on the fact that in the representation proposed the peppje who had to do the paying, the consumers, were quite pver^ looked. The proposal was certainly something new, as it provided for the boards taking oyer railway construction, which had never previously been in' the hand? pf a board. After some informal discussion, the council refermj the proposals to the Transportation Committee with the addition pf Mr. Holmei for investigation and report. -■■■■'■-' •

Cq-operation is the star topic of the Farmers' Union Advocate" tfcis week. " A history of the mpvejnent in New Zealand as applied to farmers' buying, selling, and distribution is given, special reference being made to the' great federation of New Zealand associations, with its headquarters in Wellington.' The Advocate' foresees: "One-great question that is looming in the 'not far distant future is that of the farmer undertaking the charge of his .produce from the farm to the consumer a,t the other end of the world. There is already much talk of a farmers' shipping company, and althpugH'th'e'tirh'e is'hot opportune it is ' not being lost sight of. There is a standing committee ready to begin operations a.t short notice. It is also worthy pf mention ttyat to a small extent the marketing of meat and-dairy "produce has been undertaken."

_ Matters in connection wjth the Wellington Expansion League were considered at yesterday's meeting of the Wellington Central Chamber of Commerce. It was d?c'ded to write to the promoters of the Wagganiji District Development League, setting out the history and aims of the Expansion League, and inviting the Wanganui organisation to join forces'. Mr. C..IJ. Luke said that Mr. Mitchell, representing Marihprough, h#d asked that that province should be included in the arefi cpyered' by the operations of the Wellington League, as all the interests of the province were more closely identified with Wellington than with "the areas covered by "the Southern Progressive Leagues. All their produce came through Wellington, and, with more- rapid communication in the future their interests would lie even more closely identified. It was decided tp inform Marlborough that the province would be welcomed, and that the Chamber wpuld recommend its inclusion to the first meeting 'pf the executive of, the league.

Discussing the matter of war gratuity, the secretary of the Wellington Returned Soldiers' Association *(Mr. Aldriph) informed a, reporter. that several anomalies existed in the payment of these. As an instance, he meptlftnedi tjie case of a Main Body .man who returned to New Zealand in January, 1916^ minus a leg. H^ received put-pa|ignf treatment fpr a period pf fpur nipnths, io}iqwed by in-patient treatment, fdr six months, during whkh time,another inclj pf the leg wfts amputated. He was then sent to England for further treatment, and returned to New Zealand,- and was discharged from the Expeditionary Force in May, 1919. His discharge reads: "Service abroad, 3 years; JBB'days." Under the existing regujaticha this man puly receives the ininimurn gratuity pf' eighten months. Had the man been sent to England in 1916, instead of to New Zealand, and received the same treatment, he would have been entitled to gratuity for the full' perip.d.' 3Jr. JVldrich stated that these cases nave already been brought before the Minister of Defence, who states thai "the decision arrived at is the most equitable that could be made in view'.pf the many difficulties." In the meanwhile, the Returned Soldiers' Association is going tfl prints the point further.

An informal discussiqn took place at the Central .' Chamber of' Commerce meeting yesterday oh the question of provjdjng better railway communication between the Hutt Vajley and £he- city. Mr. A..L. Hunt suggested th^t if the petrol train service could be doubled, it would obviate the need for electric trams. Mr. W. A. Gotten said "he thought it was the Government's intention to electrify the line eventually, and that neither the Government nor the local bodies contemplated the cppstriiction of tramways. 'Mr- H. W. Tojan said that he was sure the General Manager of Railways was alive to the possiT bilities of deveJopmept in the Hutt Valley. Mr. Cotton, ii> reply to Mr. Hunt, said the local bodies >were quite' united on t-his point, and the Government had never mentioned any particular difficulties in the way The General Manager's remarks <T* the last conference were in r dicative of his' sympqtfyetjp attitude. It was resolyed to set up a- small committee tp meet Air. M'Yilly, and ascertain, whajt was the present position, and the ppssibility pf getting something further done.

The Lgndpp cprresgendent pf The Post states that The Observer, discussing the preposal of Mr. E^ng, President of the New Zealand Rugby Union, to sever relations wjth the English Union, says that apparently all hope of an understanding with the Dominion will have to be abandoned, unless the Service team, how back in Npw Zealapd, can fight a successful battle there for loyalty to the parent Union. "Ostensibly, the cause of the trouble is irritation on the part of the New Zealand Union at the refusal of the Rugby Unipii to acquiesce in alterations of the' laws that the New Zealanders demand. 'If New Zealand intends to break the' regulations forbidding professionalism, a breach. is inevitable. The liugby Union hai> fought its battle against profe'ssionali'sni—a long, h^rd battle it w^s—and' after fo'rn.e leap and anxious years finds itself not only justi-' fled, but triumphant, in the ever-increas-ing popularity of a game carried on upon strictly amateur lilies. It has the full support of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, and also of South Africa, and nothing which New Zealand could urge would cause it to waver in the strict enforcement of the regulations, against professionalism. ' The departure of New Zealand from the fold, if it'is to oome, will be. keenly idjoplored. but I am not without hope that within that far-off-Domin-ion there will 'be stalwarts enough found to uphold the banner of amateurism and, incidentally, to maintain what is'really an .Imperial connection."

Mr/ T. P. Gilfedder. Registrar of Pensions at Christchurch frjr some years, has been transferred to Wellington. Previous to leaving for his new sphere, of duty he was presented with token? of esteem by -the Pensions Office" staff, and several institutions having business relations with the office, and "also by the Christchurch Catholic Literary Society.

Saturday la§t was the fortieth anniversary of the arrival in Port Chalmers, after a, voyage of exactly three months, Q? the ship Wanganui, which was chartered by the New Zealand Government to bring out farmers with capital, and upon which were some 300 passengers—men, women, and children. Captain Watt, of Peterhead, was the master, and it is interesting to note that one of his officers Was Mr, J. A. Millar, who subsequently became a member for Dunedin in the Lower House, and a Minister of the Crown. While farmers predominated among the passengers, the trades and professions were represented, and three Wesleyan ministers' (the Beys. Best, Mur- *¥' S?i G^* s) ai>d one Anglican minister (the Rev. A. R: Kirkham,'of Roslyn) were on board

r A l e\ v'eeka aS° trustees of the Island Bay Methodist Church decided to purchase a new pjpe organ for use at the services. Last night it was opened by organ recital, given by Mr. Clement Howe. The proceedings commenced with the singing of tie National Anthem. The organ sojos played included selections from Handel, WOSart, Schubert, and other great masters of music. Mr. Hamilton Hodges sang three solos and an encore. All the items were very hicrhly appreciated by the audience. In the interval the 'Bey. Ur. Pinfold, who presided, tendered the nearty thanks of the trustees to the °J?amst and vocalist, "Mr, Howe and Mr. Hamilton Hodges, for the rich musical treat they had given, and also the help they had rendered to the church/. i .- «

After hearing the evidence of sevePl, wtoe**™ of the recent tragedy at Jeathereton Military Camp, whereby a_ discharged soldier named Frederick Deavenpqrt Patterson met his death, the £ctmg-Cprpne.r, Mr. Charles ' William totchie, J.P., returned a verdict that the; deceased had ' cemmitted suicide While in a melanchely state of mind.' Patterson was admitted to the Featherston Military Hospital on 24th November, • and on 26th November att?>?Pte3 *f» commit suipide by taking peispn. As he vpry depressed en pis recovery, instructions were given ttujt ho waa to bp kept under close observation, and was to be attended' by a guard. On 4th inst. Patterson and his guard were standing near the camp entrance when -a motor lorry apprpachr cd. Patterson threw himself under the wheels of the" lo'rryi which was at once pulled up, ,bufr not before the man had been pinned, to the ground, with one wheel resting, on hjs shoulders. He w^s removed'to the camp 'hospital, but succumbed shortly afterwards to his injuries.