LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 38, 13 August 1921, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Postal authorities have received advice from Vancouver that R.M.SMakura, which left Vancouver'on the6th instant for Auckland, has 544 bags of mails for New Zealand. The B.M.S. Niagara sailed at noon on the 11th instant for Auckland. She carries a small Australian mail. ' v To-morrow will witness the commencement of the reduced railway service recently announced:. In the Wellington district the changes are few," The midday trains between Palmerston North and Foxtan are reduced to -tW days a week; the mixed trains between Woodville and Mastarton will be reduced to three days per week, \and the two motor trains between Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt, the 4.45 a.m. train from Palmeirston North to Waipukurau,, and the 11.25 p.m. WeUingtpn-Johneonville train will, be cancelled. ' The biggest sailing ship.afloat, 'the five-masted steel barque France, is ..to visit Wellington shortly.. She is at present at Lyttelton, and was expected to leavs there to-day,' if the winds were favourable, tf> complete loading wool and tallow here for London. The date of her arrival is at present uncertain, as she will be uejng her sails only to come up the coast, and it is probable she will be here some time next week. The Lord Chief Justice's Court of Law refused to sacrifice its dignity, over the Derby, but the proceedings , were held up while everybody learned the result (says the London correspondent of the New York Tribune). A case was in progress when.a piece of paper mysteriously found its way to the Court room press box, and then was handed to ah associate, who read what was written on it, and passed it on to the Judge. His Lordship quietly adjusted his wig, unfolded the paper, nodded, and sent it to ' th« lawyers, who conferred briefly and then hamded it to the jurors, who were beginning to show interest. Finally ■the prosecutor, addressing the witness in the box, asked him when he had married this, woman. The witness answered: "Who won ?'\ The- foreman of the jury then handed the pap?r to the witness, who scanned it in silence, then answered the question, aad the ca*e proceeded.

The local'sittings of the Assessment Court will be resumed on Monday afternoon. There are about 120 cases yet to be disposed of, and these should occupy three or four days.

\ A conference of Auckland milk producers and vendors fixed the wholesale rates for milk at Is 3d per gallon during summer,,and Is 6d in winter, with a reduction of one pern- and twopence respectively.^ This means that the retail price will not exceed eightpence per ■quart at any period. -, The biggest land slide recorded on the West Coast for many years occurred, on the Graarity-Millerton track' recently, over ten chains of the road being covered by the great fall of debris. The County Engineer put. men on to start, clearing, but^as the work was too big for the. county, an appeal was made to the Government for assistance. After outlining the curriculum tollowed at the Teachers' Training College the principal (Professor J. S. Tennant) states:— The bias towards a purely literary course is not so pronounced as in former years. This ig a matter for congratulation, but the removal of Education from the prescription for the B.Sc. degree very greatly, handicaps teachers who are almost-barred from that degree. This cannot but result in severely limiting the pbssibilities of science teaching in secondary \ schools." The Auckland police gleaned some information in Court the other day which should prove of particular interest to them. A witness in a theft charge gave evidence that he and the accused were at a two-up school on a. certain date. .'Were tjjere many there?" asked Sergeant Bowell. "Oh! it was a big school," replied the witness. "There were a hundred or more there," he added. "Oh!" said the. Sergeant, grimly. The witness, hastened to explain that he did not play the forbidden game; he was merely there to look on. This statement was received in smiling silence (says the Star). i . There is in Auckland at least one cautious police constable (says the Star). He was in the witness-box at the Police Court, a biggish, fresh-looking young recruit, who was giving evidence in the case of an old man, aged 72, who was charged with drunkenness. "He had been drinking," said the young policeman, "but I thought he was as much ill as drunk, so,I took him along to the police station to get the advice of a more experience*! officer." The old man charged stated that he had really been ill, and the charge against him was dismissed. The constable was not complimented upon his modesty, nor was he asked why, if he had any suspicion that the man was ill, he did not take him to the 'hospital instead of arresting him. "Inquirer" writes: "Could you, or any of your readers, direct me to any (records in the shape of newspaper reports, or extracts from diaries, concernting the stocks that were in use on Thorndon. Flat in the early 'forties, in which persons guilty of drunkenness and other offences were placed?" Mr. W. A. Edward*/ secretary of the Early Settlers' and Historical Association"-'of Wellington, states that he is quite satis-; ified that stocks were in existence near the corner of Pipitea, and Murphy streets., He has not been able to trace any direct reference to them in early newspaper files, but, he; believes that for certain offences convicted persons- were placed ■in the stocks as a mattei of course. According to Mr. Edwards, there are several old residente of Wellington who remember the stocks well. A coup which takes so"me beating is said to have been enacted by two ,pals, strangers to these parts, on an express train that.steamed into. Auckland on a recent morning (says the Auckland Star). They were evidently pressed for money and decided upon the novel scheme of one matSng the journey in a sack. Camouflaged with this covering he was hoisted on to his mate's shoulders and deposited under a seat', in' a ■■ "smoker" adjoining the postal ,van. There he remained until the city was reached, and the journey. so far having been negotiated without interference, he was once again hauled on to his mate's shoulders and in a .-few moments was released from"his hiding place to walk away with his companion. A party who saw the pair said they undoubtedly appeared to have been down in their luck. He, judged from' their appearance that they were"-immi-grants. -^Inquiries regarding the affair were instituted in several quarters. < "The tradespeople of those parts must he very confiding to allow this man to get in their debt to the extent of £1000," said Mr; A. M. Mowfom, S.M., in the course of a judgment summons case heard at the sitting of the New Plymouth Court the other day. During the oase it was elicited that debtor 1 (a Native) owed debts to unsecured creditors aggregating £1000. He was examined at length as to what be had done with the proceeds from the sale of come lands:, and it appeared that the money had .gone in the purchase and upkeep of a motor-cax and the purchase of food and clothing. Debtor admitted not having done any work in the last twelve months. Asked, if he was prepared to do (anything towards a settlement, the Native, to the amusement of those present, suggested^* would be aU right if his ohil-' dren worked and looked after him. The Magistrate did not think it waa- any use making an order for payment, and suggested that the proper proceedings might be instituted under the Bankruptcy Act. • '"' Under the heading "Accommodation," Professor J. S. Tennant, principal of the Wellingtpn Training Coltege, in his annual report, makes the following pointed comments:— "l have again to report a. very satisfactory, sta^e of'affairs. The Women Students', the Friends', and the Y.W.C.A. hostels, all private institutions, 'provided for a total of 100 wo- (- ---men students, while the utmost efforts of the board and the college staff resulted in providing for only four students. I doubt whether those in authority realise that were it not for the assistance rendered by theee private institutions, .we would>be so far short of our present complement as to reduce the college almost to impotence as a training'institution. As in the past the men have had to find accommodation how, and.where, they can. There should be little, necessity for me again to draw attention to the gravity of the situation, but I cannot refrain from pointing out how almost futile it is to offer inducement by way of Increased allowances, and at the same time fail to secure reasonable .and decent housing conditions for student a.'' The hearing was concluded at the Magistrate's Court yesterday afternoon of the case in which T. J. Sullivan, land agent, of Wellington (for whom Mr. J. O'Donovan appeared), sued G. F. Campion, settler, of Wellington (represented by Mr. T. C. A. Hislop), for £26, alleged to be due as commission on the sale of the defendantVbutchery business at Seatoun on or about 21st July last. The case for the plaintiff was, that defendant had agreed to take £300 for the business, plaintiff to get any commission above that sum. Subsequently, a buyer was found who offered £325, and it was stated that when defendant was informed of this he gave instructions for the deal to be closed. Defendant, however, did not go on with the matter. The defence! was that the authority, to sell was withdrawn, also that plaintiff had sold the business at a lower price than was authorised. Mr. E. Page, S.M., found in favour of plaintiff. . He was inclined to think that the rate of commission was 5 per cent, on the agreed purchase price, £525, so he 'gave judgment for plaintiff foi 1 £16 ss, with costs £5 14s. „

Through being caught between two trucks at the King's Wharf'last evening, a waterside worker "named William Hughes sustained injuries which necessitated his remove! to the Hospital. He was taken in the Harbour Board's ambulance." On examination, it was found that the injuries were to his stomach, but they were not of a serious nature. - • , One of the strangest cases of freak deformity in animal life heard of for some time, occurred recently, when among a litter of pigs born in Blenheim was a member without legs, though, still alive {says the Marlborough Express). The malformed creature was destroyed,', as it would eventually have succumbed' under the natural law of the survival of the fittest. . A The Napier polioe < raided Chinese quarters in Napier and Pakowhai this week, and, Btates the , Hawkes Bay Herald, were successful in discovering opium in small , quantities. A Chineso laundry in Emerson-street was the first place visited, and the occupant was caught smoking a pipe of opium. There were two other Chinamen on the premises, but neither of them was smoking. A small quantity of the drug was found m the possession of the occupant. Somo time later the police visited the premises of Ohmese market gardeners at Pako-' whai. The entry of the police into the; premises caused some commotion, arid a, window was seen to go up, and something thrown out. This proved to be an opium pipe. One room that was nsited was locked, and an entry had to be forced. The occupant was seen 1 to throw something out of a' window. This proved to be a tin containing a small quantity of opium hv pill form In another room an automatic pistol and a quantity of ammunition" were found The Chinamen - .concerned will appear before the Magistrate's Court on Monday. , \ A pathetic example of aii unfortunate habit was presented at the Police Court, when a good-looking, well-dressed woman, Whose age was given as 39, and who spoke in ladylike accents, , was; charged with drunkenness for the third' •time within a few weeks (says the Auckland Star). She was said to be the former wife of a wealthy man in a New Zealand town, who divorced her some years ago. The woman admittedjiumerous previous convictions -for drunkenness, and that she had spent 12 months at Rotoroa Island without resultant good, but she pleaded for another chance, saying she intended going' to,another town and would try and improve in the future. "I will promise never to- come here again, if you let me go," she said. The Magistrate was moved by the appeal. "Against my better judgment/1 will giveyou another chance," said Mr. Bundle. "You are convicted and ordered tocome up for sentence in seven days. If'you go to another place, it will be all right; if you don't, you will be brought here for sentence." At a meeting of the Mathematical and Physical Society of Victoria College two papers were given by the students. Mr. W. H. Kogers read a paper entitled "BadioafctiTity and Geology." He show* ed how the radium family of elements produced the gas helium at a constant rate, which is dependent' only on the quantity of metal present.'.. All ordinary rocks, even Wellington clay, contain reasonable quantities of radium. Hence, by measuring the quantities ol radium and present, the ag« of the rocks may be determined. Computed by tins'. method, the.age comes much greater than that arrived at by geologists, but nevertheless it has the same sequence. The other paper was by Mr. C. W Tiller "on, "Wave Transmission of Power." This' is' a method of t|Btnsraittrng energy by means of alternate compressions and rarefactions in a long^ column of water, making use of the actual elasticity, of water. In the generator, are rapidly" vibrating/pistons, which set up compression waves in the liquid, and the energy of these'waves is given up to a similar piston at the far end of the water column. The' vibrations o£ this piston, amounting to some 40 per second, can be used for operating rock drills, ustamp batteries, rivetting hammers, etc. During the war period the system .wag employed in aeroplanes for synchronising th« firing of machine guns with the rotation of the propellers. . With so many men-unemployed this winter, it is natural that a number should turn their attention to rabbit-trapping. Unluckily for tnem, however^ rabbite are now scarce in quite a number of.Otago districts that used to be overrun, and' trapping in easily-accessible places does not give anything like the returns of past seasons (says the Dunedin Star). Up to and /including 1 th« 9th August last year 26,230 sacks of skins were sold, at the publio auctions in Dunedin, whilst this season, to the same date, the sellings came to only \ 17,762 sicks. The auction quittances do not, of course, represent the whole of the trapping, but they give a good-guide; and in stating the. Dunedin sales we are practically stating the sftles for the Dominion, since the rabbit-skin market is centred and thoroughly »yetematieed-here, and, as a fact, skins come to- 1 DuriediD from all parts, some having arrived this week from plaices as far »w»y a* Maaterton and Auckland. ,A sack,-by the way, Holds about 300 j skins, w that the reduction in selling*' »t tbe auctions so' far this season totals, roughly; two and a-half million skins. In Australia this seasorij the falling off reaches the point of desperation, fiwt, season, up to 30th, May, the shipments to the United Kingdom came to 1,071,0001b, and to America 2,770,0001b..- This season, to the same date; the exports were: To the United Kingdom, 229,0001b; to America, .470,-. 0001b,; and to Belgium, 30,0001b. The export shortage from Austoalia to the 30th May, »3 compared with last sea-: son, is 3,112,0001b, and, reckoning seven skins to the'pound;' this means a decrease in the killing- of 10,784,000 rabhits. „ . ■, ' ■ . ".-..■', Altogether a total 1 of some 800 certificated teachers have graduated from the Wellington Training College, and. the experience gained, states Professor . J. S. Tennant (principal), convinces al^ who have shared in the work that the study of really professional problems does not occupy such an impoftant place in the higher certificate requirements as it; should. /'lt appears to us anomalous," says the principal in" his report, "that while the 'A' and 'B' are ostensibly higher professional certificates than is the 'C,' they are evidence of no additional professional preparati6n. We ere further impressed by the low educational qualifications of many entrants, and are strongly of opinion that the present period, of pupil-teachership and probationership could more profitably be devoted exclusively to acquiring a better general education. In past reports I have repeatedly stressed the necessity for an extension; of the college course for a further year,' and for the provision of a post-college period of probation. I would again urge the necessity for both these reforms." - Only one inebriate was picked up by the police in the city area yesterday. His name was Michael Melville, a second offender, and when he appeared before 1 Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., at the Magistrate's Courf this morning, he' was fined 10s, in default 48 houreVdetention. ~ Until 17th August, the windows of the Firm of Fowlds will be ..changed, daily, showing new bargains for every, day. - focal money-savers.—Advt. No Rubbing Laundry Help has" captured the women's vote. Also ours. 'And bo say all of us. Wellington gro-. cers agents for No' Subbing.—Advt.