LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 37, 12 August 1921, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Iti is notified in this week's Gazette that authority has been' given the Wellington City Council to borrow £750,000 at a rate of interest not exceeding 7 per ceut. The purposes of the loan are stated as : Water supply, street works, tramways, baths, and general" improvements, tunnel tWrough Mount Victoria, and fire protection,

Government offices throughout New Zealand will be closed on Monday, 26tK September, Dominion TDay.

The Postal authorities have received advice from Sydney that the s.s; Ulimaroa sailed at ,4 p.m. on the 10th. instant for Wellington.' She carries 253 bags of mails, including 25 from the East and five from Africa. An inquiry regarding the death of Thomas Theu Young, a ma6ter tailor, of Dunedin, who died in the, Wellington Hospital on 7th August, Was held by Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., yesterday. It appeared that Young was on his way north on a health trip. Mr. Hunt found that Young died at Wellington Hospital on 7th August, the cause of death being a rupture of. the stomach, due to a perforation of an ulcer, followed by general peritonitis. Mr. E- P. Hay watchpd the proceedings on behalf of the relatives. The decision of the New Zealand Government not to invite the Pan-Pacific Congress to'meet in New Zealand at the banning of 1923 (in consequence of which the congress may meet in Japan) jWas referred to at the last meeting of the geological section of the Wellington Philosophical On the motion of Mr. Ongley, it/was decided to draw the attention of the society yto the matter, and ask it to propose that the New Zealand Institute should take steps to protest against the action of the Government. ■ Charged with falsely representing Himself to be a dentist, and thereby \ obtaining from Johnston and Co. liquor to the .value of £5 10s, Charles N. Rossiter pleaded guilty at the Magistrate's Court yesterday afternoon. Mr. A. B. Sievwright appeared for the accused. Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., said what Kossiter needed was to go to hard work. He decided to give him a chance, and placed him on probation for two . years, the V.M.C.A. authorities having expressed their willingness to provide him with employment. One of the comments on a paper read at a meeting of the Philosophical Society on Wednesday by Dr. Henderson was a remark by Mr. P. G. Morgan on the road-metal problem of theWaika.to. Dr. Henderson's report described large areas of basalt and other volcanic rocks in the Kawhia district, within a few miles of,the Main Trunk Railway. Mr. Morgan said the. people of the Waikato were always short of good road-metal ; yet there were mountains of it within sight of them, and surely within reach. There was enough to supply the needs of the country for "hundreds of millions of years"—if road-metal was likely to be used for so long as. that. "The recent Great. .War demonstrated the practical scope for preventive measures . . . against the spread of disease, and points out many lessons we could usefully follow in time of peace.' . . . ' For the first time in the history of war, deaths from casualties exceeded those from disease. This was a triumph of medical organisation and preventive measures. But for . these the reverse would have been true, and disease would have decimated our armies. Anti-ty-phoid inoculation prevented enteric fever from claiming its usual large number of victims, and by the use; of antititanic serum an enormous number of ouv men were spared from the terrible death of tetanus, popularly known as lock-jaw. Great help was, moreover, obtained by instructing our men more fully in medical matters, and thus when they were taught the meaning and intention of medical orders, they carried them out with an interest and thoroughness they would not otherwise have done. It was discipline and education that so largely helped our medical officers to do the wonders they undoubtedly performed under war conditions, and I suggest that these could help us quite as much in time of peace."—Dr. Horbert in the course of a lecture before the Red Cross Society.

The Dominion Conference of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association recently requested the Government to pay the freight of gun-carriages, rifles, and equipment required for military funerals in country districts. It was pointed out that the expenditure incurred would be only inter-departmental, and that the number of such funerals per year would be so comparatively small that the expenditure .involved would not amount to anything very large. Full military honours, it was stated, could not be • accorded to a deceased soldner wheu the body was carried in a hearse. Tlie Minister of Defence (the Hon. J. G. Coates) luis advised the association that new regulations have recently been approved, which limit the military funeral ceremony to that which is carried out at tfao cemetery. The general adoption of motor-vehicles for funerals had made it impossible to employ horse-drawn guncarriages and inarching escorts without serious and vexatious inconvenience to all concerned. Further, there were now no permanent, troops available foi duty on such occasions, and, it was quite impossible to supply gun-carriages and teams for use an country districts. In these circumstances,the regulations had been modified in the direction indicated.

Ihe I Jootai .authorities liave received advice from Melbourne that the s.s. Paloona sailed at 11 a.m. on the 10th instant forDunedin. Sho carries a small Australian mail. ■Mr. Ifmlay Bethune hai been elected unopposed to membership of the Teachers' StiperniKiuatioii Board, in place of Mr.. C N. Haslam, who resigned. Purchase of the ( Akaroa Borough elec-, trio works by the 'Banks Peninsula Electric Power Board is authorised by notice published in the Gazette. ■ - Messrs. Edgar Dear (Rongotea), Alexander M'Leod (Featherston), and John K. Jackson (Wainui) have been appointed rangers under tin? Animals Protection Ac; 'Charged with having obtained a sum of £4 from Ernest W G. Cronston by false pretences ai Palmerston North on 6th July, a young. man named .Frank Barnes appeared before Mr. F K. Hunti S.M.. this morning.. Accused was remanded to appear at ,Palmerston North ,on 19th August, bail being allowed in the sum of /320. , A conference of Auckland business men interested in the Island trade discussed Auckland's position in view of the Fijian Government's arrangement with the Commonwealth Line for a steamship connection between Britain, "Fiji, and Australia. Emphasis was laid on the decline in Auckland trade of recent years, and on. the need for a regular service to recover it. A committee was appointed to confer with the Chamber of Commerce. „ ■ How, asks the Mount Ida Chronicle, does this speak for the rabbit nuisance in Manitoto? A traveller told us that the other day he took his pea rifle with him on his round to get a couple of' rabbits to take home to Dunedin. Hn travelled from Kyeburn to Waipiata, then as far a3 Mr. Chapman's farm, then to the Ring Farm, and to ,Mr. Geddes's via Mr. F. Hore',s, up to the Kyeburn Station, and only saw one rabbit, which was too. far, away to shoot. So he had ' to buy a pair in Middlemarch ■to take homo. Of course he followed the road all the way.' But several years ago a hundred shots could be got in that journey, so evidently bunny is not on the increase everywhere. The Auckland City Council last night adopted a committee's recommendation objecting to the definition of war graves submitted by the Internal Affairs Department. Objection was raised to the restriction of future .burials • top soldiers who die of disabilities contracted ,or aggravated by war service later than twelve months after discharge, but who have been continuously under treatment since discharge. The council 'had set aside ten acres for the returned soldiers' cemetery, and the restriction would allow very few burials. It was pointed out that war disability was often recurring, and it was contended that all such cases should be eligible, and entitled to the honour of interment in war graves. Speaking at a meeting of musicians in-' Bathurst last" week, Mr. O'Brien, secretary of the Musicians' Union, said that it was not known that the band of ,H.M.S. Renown refused to play at . some of the functions arranged 'in honour of the Prince because the mem%ers of that band recognised that by, doing so they would have been robbing Australian musicians of engagements tor which they were entitled. The members of the Prince's band were unionists, pnd while in Australia were affiliated with the Musicians'' Union here. Therefore they objected to play at functions outside their ordinary duties, with the result that Australian bands were, employed.. The Prince* he added;•was aware' of their attitude, and did not ask them to violate their, principles. ■„; Legal knowledse of the ramifications of the Arbitration Acta-'cwi hwafly'be 'expected of every union representative who appears before the Court, according to the contention of Mr. C. Renn at the Court's sitting in Christchnish (says tho Lyttelton Times). "Most of us," he said, "are men who have not had the educatior necessary to enable us to have such knowledge. There is a good deal of equity in. the. Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, and we say there is more equity than law." Mr. Renn's statement was made when he was told that an application of his had not been made strictly in accordance with the correct procedure. His Honour said he agreed that there was more equity than law in the Court, but a certain amount of law was necessary for the maintenance of order. "However;" he said, "Mr. Kenn is the last one I should have expected to apologise for lack of knowledge of the Act." "I do not agree with judgment summonses being used as methods of extortion/ remarked Mr. H, W. Bundle, ■S.M., at the Magistrate's 'Court al Auckland. "Such summonses are for dishonest debtors, and before I make an order I want to know the financial position of a debtor. You make an affidavit that a debtor has had the means' to pay since the judgment was given against him. You must substantiate the affidavit if you want an order. Judgment summonses were not intended to be held over a man's 1 head. I will not make a man a defaulter unless I am satisfied. I do not want to commit any man to gaol when he has not got means to pay." This ruling came rather as a surprise to counsel (says the Auckland Star), and as a result several applications were- allowed to stand down to enable evidence to be procured in support of the affidaviia. In another case Mr. Bundle re-,' fused an application for a month's adjournment and struck the case out. In another instance his Worship objected to a judgment summons being taken out within a few weeks of the order for payment being made. Memories of Wellington forty years ago were revived by a resident of the city this week, when he was pulling down wall paper preparatory to renovating a house. Copies of the Evening Post for the month of September, 1881, had been used as a. backing for the wall papsr, and the resident was much interested in the information relating to the letting of house property. For instance, one advertisement ran. as follows :—"To let, in Tarana.ki-str.eet, a comfortable live-roomed house. Rent only 7s per week; immediate possession." Judging by the number of advertisements, houses to, let must have been numerous at the period, and the rents were a mere bagatelle compared with what is the position to-day. A six-roomed house with scullery, in Tinakori-road, was available at 14a per week, also a fourroomed cottage iii the same locality afc Bs,ij)sr weok. As far as employment wae concerned, there were numerous inquiries for servants, a condition similar to that prevailing- to-day, but new-.arrivals seemed to evince a readiaefw to accept "anything that was going." One newcomer advertised as follows ;—"Wanted, situation, by a gentleman, recently arrived in the colony (has been-used to brewery work in all its branches) ; he is anxious for employment, therefore is wjlling to take anything; has had some experience as a traveller. Reply, stating nature of occupation and salary offered, to T.Z. Evening.Post office."

An area of approximately 92 acres in the Belmont survey district is proclaimed to be taken under the Public > Works Act for the Pc-rirua Mental Hospital. Satisfaction ie expressed uy the direc- - tors of the Kaia-poi Woollen Manufacturing Co., Ltd., at its exoneration by the Board of Trade of the charge of making undue profits... The annual report of the company refers in full to the matter, describing the criticism ac unfair, and the directors add : "The report of the Board of' Trade completely exonerated the industry from any charges of profiteering, and it showed that all through the war period the industry was conducted on clean lines, and the goods were sold to the ..distributors at reason-" able and fair prices." The membership of the Hataitai Horticultural Society now stands at 115, being an increase of 20 during the year which has just closed! The annual report shows that the finances of the society are on a. sound footing; "The year commenced with a cash balance of £l 16s Id, and closed with ai credit of £10 18s 9d. The society's accumulated fund has increased from £17 16s Id to £39 10s 2d. The committee is pleased to record the fact that -although the City Council has been hard-pressed for, funds part of the society's programme of beautification, namely, the planting of a- rest-park near the bathing beacK, ' has been completed. ; ~~~\ A young man named Eric B. Casey was charged before Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., at the Magistrate's Court this morning with having been found in a state of helpless drunkenness at the Lower Hiitt on 4th. August, also with attempting to commit suicide. Accused pleaded guilty to being drunk, but not helplessly drunk, and denied that he wanted to do away with himself. Evi<3ence_ was given that on the date in question, at 11 o'clock in the morning, accused wa« found lying across the way line with hie overcoat pulled over his head. He-subsequently was remanded for a week's medical treatment. It was stated that accused had been drinking heavily of late, and a little while ago was prohibited,' but the OTdei had since irun out. i His Worship took the view ' that Casey was too drunk to know what he was doing, consequently he dismissed ■the second charge. On the first charge accused was ordered to pay'expenses amounting to £1. 7s 6d. Casey agreed to have a prohibition order issued against himself. !. ; : ': House rent* 1 in Ohristchurch are soar-y ing, according to a statement made in the Arbitration Court by Mr. C, Renn. "Even though, there is provision on the Statute Book against rents being raised," he' said, "we find that 'in Christchurch rents are soaring. People, driven by necessity, will pake great sacrifices to get shelter. It is one thing to have legislation on the Sjtatute Book and another thing where people are forced to get shelter at i any sacrifice. At the present time we have in this city a oumber of investigators who are going about discovering appalling con- . ditions in regard to shelter for. the poorer people in the. community. It is tJie poorest type of housing that is, dearest. - The ordinary individual who can buy his House is in an extraordinary position so far as the lent is concerned, but with the poorer ©lass the competition for shelter is somethingl fierce, with the result that the price for poor shelter has gone up enormously, whereas the cost of good shelter has not very greatly increased." Mr. J. T. Carr, for many year* engineer to the Napier Harbour Board, died Recently in England, aged sixtynine years. During-the war he was engaged laying railways in France.