LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CI, Issue 136, 9 June 1921, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

On the High Commissioner's showing, the following are the ruling wholesale prices of butter in London:—New Zealand, Is 9d (in New Zealand it is Is Hid, nlus 3d subsidy, at factory door); Australian, Is 7jd; Argentine, Is 4ad; Irish, Is BJd to'ls lO^d; Danish, Is 9£d to Is9»d. , ' , Under the new system adopted by the Hutt Bfver Board, the sum of over £200 has been received by the boari* for royalties on the sale of shingle during the month of May. During th* whole of last year the sum received only totalled £280. , At Santander, in Spain, the Sixth International Fisheries Congress is to be held from 31st July.do stli August," 1921. The Wellington Acclimatisation Society has received, 1 through the honorary ViceConsul for Spain (Mr. A. X.' S. Mackenzie), an invitation to,any members who choose to attend. The South African Veterans' Association is not at present a complete Dominion organisation, as there are various branches which have not affiliated themselves. The executive has recently appointed Mil, de Launay, president of the North Taranaki branch of the association, to" act as organiser to secure the,affiliation of all the branches, and he has now begun his duties. , It .is not: generally known that the Boy Scout uniform is recognised and protected by Parliament, and cannot be altered without the consent of Parliament, not even with the sanction of the Chief Commissioner, says a writer in an exchange. Speaking on that matter at the recent conference^ in Wellington, Brigadier-General A. W. Andrew, said^ "I think this is just as it shbuld'be. "The, cost of every innovation in uniform eventually falls upon the parents, and if they are put to more exepnse" it should, only be done after the most careful consideration, and with the consent of the council." Brief reference to the proposed traffic tunnel through Mount Victoria' was mad» .by Mr. A.. L. .itunt in his address at the annual • meeting of the Hataitai. Municipal Elector*' Association. _Mr. Hunt said that there was a feeling abroad that the time was ripe for urging, the City Council, to ' proceed with the' work.-The scheme affirmed by the committee *was that the tupnel should prodeed from the Basin Reserve, cut through Mount Victoria, and end a little behindthe tram-shed at Hatait'ai. "It might be said that all this^was the business of.the City Council, but the council did not always attend to such matters satisfactorily. It behoved tile committee to take an interest in the' matter of the new tunnel! Two prominent members of the teach-' ing profession in Wellington, Mr. A. Erskine and Miss P. Myers, who have recently retired from the, service, were the subject of laudatory reference by the chairman of the- Wellington branch of the N.Z.E.I. (Mr.. A. C, ;Blake) 'at last night's meeting. Mr. Blake said that Mr. Erskine hakl occupied every position in the branch and important positions''in the N.Z.E.L, while Miss Myers had -been one of the first members of '; the Gouncil_of Education. The meeting adopted a motion expressing regret that the institute'wa's losing the.services of Mr. Erskine and Miss Myers, and recording its appreciation of the dis tinguished services they had rendered the profession generally. 'V Now that opossums are being trapped, there arc inquiries for them fr6m districts where these/animals are not acclimatised. Last the Council of the Wellington Acclimatisation Society re-' ceived a suggestion, from Mr. J. Montr' gomerie, of Martinborough,) that opos-. sums should be liberated in the Haurangi^ reserve. .He stated that there were 70,()00 acres of reserve, but 'Mr.; Dasent said this was incorrect. A large part of the area was opened for (settlement. The society had nqj authority to trap opossums for liberation in other places, .and Haura-ngi was also a State Forest reserve. It was decided to refer the letter to the- State Forest Service.* ' Mr.'' Dyer said that if opossums were, wanted they could probably be obtained nearer than from the Wellington society. He had been .informed, that they were coming iifto road camps on the Rimutakas at night. A report from the society's ranger at the beginning of June stated that four camps for trapping opossums had been established at Paraparaumu, two at Reikorangi, and one at'Akatarawa. One party at Paraparaumu took 50 opossums in one night. . Advice has been received by the War Account and Record branch of the Defence Department i, that the Vnemorial bronze plaques that are to be issued to the next-of-kin of deceased soldiers may •be expected to arrive in New Zealand about the end of August. In the meantime the Department is engaged in issuing the balance of the war illuminated certificates and scrolls, and this work is expected to be completed within the . next two months. In this respect a large amount of clerical and search work i 6 entailed in discovering the whereabouts of returned soldiers . and next-of-kin, who have changed their address sincie the records were made out, and the Department is desirous of being notified of any change of address in order that the work that it is engaged upon may be facilitated^ Another difficulty that has presented itself is the fact that a number of soldiers obtained their discharge from the N.Z.E:f. in England. Many of these men have since returned to the Do,minion, but; the fact has not been notified to the Department, which is anxious to learn from the men themselves or their next-of-kin their present addresses ia, order that the sending of war certificates to .England unnecessarily may be obviated. The following is the list of schools which have yet to elect new committees, the old committees. remaining in office until the new members are elected;/ —Coonoor, Deep ( Creek (Marlborough), Gladstone' (Wairarapa), Hastwell (Wairarapa), ■ vHukanui, Ihuraua (Wairarapa), K;aiw,arra, Alakerua^, Maingamaire, Mahgarama (near Pahiataa), Marima (near Pahiatua), Alilcimiki (near Masterton), Mangamahoe,' Mangaroa, Okararni'a (near Blenheim), Omaka(near Blenheim), Pahautanui, Te Marua (near. Upper Hutt), Taueru (Wairarapa), Whareama (near > Masterton), Waione, and iWharanui (near Blenheim). ■ ,

■.Mr. S. E. M'Carthv, S.M., yesterday announced thai the Lyttelton Licensing Committee would, in future,, grant no' licenses to women so far as Lyttelton is concerned. There was too tnucli rough trade, and■ the hotels, of Lyttelton required men to have charge of,{them. A union of.'retajl grocers' assistants has just been formed'at Nelson, and the Conciliation Commissioner (Mr. W. Newton) will attend a meeting of "the Conciliation Council at Nelson on the 21st instant for the purpose of considering the demands for an award. Mr. J. M'Keen, secretary of the Wellington Union, will be a member of-the council. .'..-. Mr. H. Yon Haast has«spresented to Canterbury Museum a geologist's ham-, mer used by Sir Julius Yon Haast, first curator of the museum. Amongst other gifts • are photographs of „,the staff at BroCkenhurst Hospital, England, by Mr. A. E. Goodstein.' ' Air. E. Higgins has deposited in the museum two crosses of the Legion of Honour. Ashburton retailers report brisk business during, the past two or three weeks. A distinct brightening in trade had been evident, said one retailer, this being , especially the case with ' regard Ito . cash sales. He concluded from this that .people were still confining: purchases ~, to .necessities and paying cash for same. The credit business was by no means so animated. Mr. A) L. Hunt, who has been president of the Hataitai Municipal Electors' Association for the past eleven years, last evening- signified his intention of not seeking re-electipn. Several speakers made complimentary references to Mr. Hunt's work in the •. interests of the as-/ eoeiation, and he was elected a life member. t . •■■ . ;'•' ; ■■. ,; The Mohaka viaduct bn the East Coast Railfay will be 370 ft high— 140 ft higher than the Main Trunk viaduct, and a quarter of a mile longer (says the Gisborne Times). A mile' or so further on, another and .smaller viaduct will be necessary. Several tunnels are also included in the projected vailway For the viaduct jobs tenders •will.be invited from the biggest engineering firms in the world. "It is a fact that many of the leadinff drapers of New Plyjnouth have jnade no profit on their shop sales this last month," stated cine of "them to a News representative. He. explained that prices were, being brought down below cost in order to .realise money, "and," he continu.ed, "the time to buy is now, iiot later, as owing -to the strike at Home there is no manufacturing, and latest cables show that, prices, are hardening. ' ■•' A sale of surplus military stores opened at. Buckle-street Barracks yesterday, the^' articles offered coniristing mainly of underclothing, boots, and greatcoats. There was a good demand, and at the close of .the day practically the whole available stock of light boot?; had been disposed of. The cash taking's amounted to about £10,000, and it is anticipated that by 15th June, when the sale closes, the whole of the stock will have been sold: ■ ,■ / ' ■:..'. Discussing the proposal for the Government' Wtake charge of the Dominion's arterial roads, Sir James Wilson said this was a step towards centralisation (report* the Feilding Star). He" was of opinion that the experience1 of New Zealand, did riot indicate that the system would be a success. He instanced the Hutt-road, which-had been made by the Government, at a cost of over £100,000,, and now1 it was not" a success. The local bodies had the facilities for controlling the roads, and if the Government wanted .better roads, they could give more financial assistance to the local bodies. A LSvin grazier who, handles a good deal of fat stock informed a Levin Chronifile reporter that the' hardening of the fat-sheep market was bound to come at the present time, as the available fat stock was limited, and there was the feed problem to contend with. The excellent response of the pastures to the recent rains, however, had improved'the outlook, and would assist in bettering the* position generally. A cow owned by a district dairyman gave ah average return of 9s 3d per day for a period of four months during the past dairy season. ../ . ' „ . Whefi unveiling the war memorial at Papakiira "on Sunday, the GovernorGeneral, Lord Jellicoe, expressed his Regret that, owing to an unfortunate misunderstanding, a wreath he and Lady Jellicoe intended Bringing to place on the monument had m iarrived in time. On Monday the Governor-General sent his private motor-car with the wreath,, bearing the inscription: "A- tribute of admiration to our glorious dead, from Admiral Viscount and Viscountess Jellicoe." Their Excellencies' graceful act was tfle subject of grateful comment. among the soldiers' relatives and residents of Papakura who inspected the wreath since it was deposited on the monument. How wide is the use of benzine in industry may be realised from the statements made at the meeting1 of typewriter dealers in Wellington yesterday afternoon, that the new regulations under the Explosives-, and Dangerous'-.. Goods Amendment Act, ,1920, for the storage of benzine would seriously affect ;the busi- , ness of cleaning and repairing ty.pewritjers. The Chairman (Mr. R. R. Oakley) explained that benzine Was essential to tie cleaning; of component: parts, which were placed in a bath of the spirit, and this would be- made impossible«if tb^e Act were'enforced. The extent,of the usp of the typewriter was enormous in the business world to-day, and the work of keeping machines in good\Svorking' order was considerable. The -meeting was in cordip.l agreement, and.decided to interview the Minister-of Internal Affairs and present their ideas on the' subject. \ ' -..■-.' One shag has two feet and one head. If the head is cut off, the operation^ does hot affect the feet—except from the point of view of the shag. TJiis may appear a statement of the obvious, but it is the important obvious to an .acclimatisation society A reward is paid for.the destruction of shags upon production of something iiT the nature-of a satisfactory death certificate. Most societies have decided that the certificate should take the form of two feet for each deceased bird—pne-footed shags are disqualified. It^has Happened, however, that a society has accepted\the shag's head as evidence of death. In that case it has not been . unknown that a shag' has hadHwo lives, or, rather, for purposes of reward, two deaths. The feet have been forwarded to one society and the head to another. The Wellington Acclimatisation Society has been accustomed to pay for feet, and last night it received a claim for a reward for some heads. The council decided that it could not depart from its' general practice, since such departure might lead to cases of " heads I win, feet you lose," though" there was no suggestion of any such sharp practice in the' case .under" notice.

Dr. B. Neil Gnthrie is now on his >ray back to New Zealand, after an absence of some fifteen months. He took a course at Cambridge University, where he obtained his diploma in radiology and electro-therapy. Since he qualified he has been occupied in the London Hospital, especially^ St. Bartholomew's! Dr. Guthrie proposes specialisine in radiology and electro-therapy in CTiristchurci).

The payment to the trustees of St. Peter's Mission, in reduction of the debt, amount* to £1772 "up to the 31st March. Since then another sum of £600 has been paid. , The New Zealand CJjib will entertain at luncheon on Wednesday next Briga-dier-General Sir Donald M'Gavin, , C.M.G., D.5.0., and Sir -John Luke, 0.M.G., M.P. With the mining companies offering employment to more skilled miners, the housing problem is becoming very acute. at Waihi, and the greatest difficulty is being experienced m making provision for newcomers, particularly married men. In order to meet the position, the companies have for some time past been purchasing any dwellings available in which mine workers are not housed, but though a number have been secured there is still a mai-ked shortage. Within the next few weeks the War Accounts and, Record branch of the Defence Department is to vacate the premises now occupied.at the rear of the Government Buildings, and will move to the buildings fomerly used by the Ordnance branch in Buckle-street. The War Pensions branch will remove its quarters from Routh's Buildings, Fea-therston-street, to those now occupied by the "War Accounts and Records branch. .. ..- f x. Steps ha,ve been taken by the War Accounts and Records Branch of th» Defence Department to Keep in touch with each soldier who is undergoing treatment in. hospital, and to acquaint nert-of-kin where any particular man is located. It Has been found that many soldiers in hospital have, omitted to inform their relatives of their wh^reaboutv al>d many letters of appreciation - have been received from parents and next-of-kin for the information that has been supplied to them by the Department. In casej where a soldier patient in hospital has no known next-; of-kin or friends, the minister of religioii to which the soldiei belongs is furnished with a list of men in hospital in his district in order that he may visit them. ■■ , Mr. J. B. Henry, inspector <of the Bank of New Zealand for the past three years anil formerly manager for the' bank at Masterton, has been appointed. manager of the Wellington branch. '