LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 146, 21 June 1923, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Mr. E, M'Keen (Wellington South) gave notice in the House of Representa- j tives to ask the Minister of Public Health the following questions:—(l) Whether, in view of the serious outbreak of diphtheria and influenza amongst school children, : lie is aware that a number of the schools in Wellington are not provided with the requisite number of conveniences for the use of the school children, as required by the regulations of the Health Act? (2) Whether he is aware that there is an insufficiency of conveniences at the Newtown and Brooklyn schools, and that it is creating serious menace to the health and welfare of the children? (3)' Whether he will see that tin's state of affairs is remedied at the earliest possible moment? '

Two whales entered Picton Harbour during Tuesday night. They were sighted heading towards I'icton, and an exciting chase ensued, tho result of which was that both were killed by the'Pirano whaling party.

Some patient and dishonest person lias been .spending time recently in neatly splitting one-pound notes in such a way us to obtain £3 for every two notes operated on (says a Press Association message from Blenheim). When split, the fronts of the notes were sent back into circulation, while two backs were glued together and thus would pass anything but a careful scrutiny. Two notes tampered with' in this way have come under the attention of the Blenheim police in the last few days.

That he had been on a drinking bout was the excuse offered by a young man named Lennox M'Millan Gordon Barr, when he aj>peared before Mr. E. Page, S.M., at the Magistrate's Court to-day on nine . charges of obtaining various sums totalling £25 from different residents of Christchurch and Wellington \ by means of valueless cheques. Chici-! Detective Kemp explained that at the' present, time the accused was already' undergoing a period of eighteen montiis' probation, to which ho had been admitted for theft at Waimate. About; Hasti'r time! ho obtained a, cheque book belonging to a friend. The book contained twelve blank forms, and the. ae- j cused commenced to victimise various people in Christchurch, and on coining to Wellington went to a lady friend : of his, and was callous enough to ob-: tain her endorsement to some of the cheques. She was only a working woman, and his actions bad cost her £G. Apart from the conviction mentioned, theatcused bud a previous good character and belonged to a respectable 'family in Milleiton. "Tho defendant," remarked t'ne Magistrate, "hr.-s already Intel his chanco. lie will be sentenced to a period of reformative detention not exceed - in;;; twelve months o;i charges involving amounts in excess of £2. d.m\ will be Viniyuawl 41111 ijkfltrtcgiid ufi lite 4>UjC.i' uv.pU,"-, . ■ ■•

The cases of the two senior Rugby players who had played the League Kame some years ago and had not been reinstated have been dealt with by the Wellington Rugby Union. The applications for reinstatement have been sent on to the New Zealand Rugby Union, both with a recommendation that they be favourably considered.

"Ii we can eliminate these appeals (those of which a side has the option in the event of a breach by the oppose ing side), we are going to make the game easier for ourselves, better for the players, and better for the spectators."— ilv. F. G. Atkinson (Wanganui), at the annual meeting of the New Zealand Rugby Referees' Association last evening.

In the Magistrate's Court in Timaru yesterday, before Mr. Moseley, S.M., the Commissioner of Pensions claimed from an elderly woman, Mary O'Donoglmc, £79 10s, being double the amount of a pension overpaid to defendant as the result of the woman's having failed to disclose that she had £433 in the bank. The defendant was also charged with having fraudulently obtained a pension of a greater amount than she was entitled to. After hearing evidence, tho Magistrate held that a breach of tho Pensions Act had been committed, and ordered the amount of pension overpaid to be refunded. On the money being paid into Court, the criminal charge, formally entered, was dismissed.

A deputation, representing the business people and residents of Island Bay waited upon the Minister of Justice, the Hon. Sir Francifi Bell, yesterday, and urged -that the growth of the district warranted the provision of a permanent police station at the Bay. The deputation was introduced by Mr. R. A. Wright, M.P., who supported the arguments in favour of granting the request made by the residents. At the present time, said Mr. Wright, a constable was stationed at the Bay, but he lived in a rented bouse. Mr. Wright asserted that the sizo of the district shquld ensure a better arrangement. The Minister said he would.be glad to look fully into the matter and see whether it was possible to meet the request.

The restored front of a carved Maoi-i storehouse was exhibited at the meeting of the Otafro Institute on Tuesday night. It wasexplained that the carving-, which was secured from a dealer in Wellington, had been barbarously mutilated. Parts of it had been missing, but,'as the result of some arduous research work by a Dunedin carver, Mr. Kania. the missins parts had been restored. The original curving had evidently been undertaken with some stone tools or by a man who had learned his trade with stone tools, as the designs did not stand out as far as those carved with steel tools (states the "Otago Daily Times"). In restoring the front, Mr. Kania had uastl steel tools and consequenly the cawins in the restored portion was deeper than that in the original.

The Christehurch City Council has recently been in communication with the Department of Internal Affairs relative to a proposal that authority should be given enabling local auhorities to charire against a now loan the cost o? tirocm-ing the sanction of the ratepayers to the loan. It was at one ' time understood that this could be done but the Audit Department has of late tagged this particular item of expenditure when the money was taeen from the loan instead of from the ordinary revenue of the local authority (states the "Press"). Qn Tuesday the Town Clerk received a reply from the Department of Internal Affairs ■statinp--that it was very doubtful whether the proposal could be adopted, but tlint the matter would receive full consideration. A remit bearing on the subject will be considered at the fortlicominn biennial conference of the Municipal Association of New Zealand.

An elderly woman was charged at the TJpner HuttiC'ourt yesterday before Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M.,with tlie theft of a bag and contents valued at £2. The facts related by the owner, a young lady, were that the bag was taken by the woman from alongside a seat in the train. The owner heard accused ask v man to hand her out the basr. but at the time the owner did not realise that it was her bag that was being asked for. The basrwas not returned, although the owner's address was written on a letter in the bag. until the police inquired for it three, days, later. The defence, which was conducted by Mr. W. E. Leicester, was that the-woman saw the bag and thought it was hers, and did not realise her mistake till she reached her home, and that wet weather prevented hgr returning the bag until the police arrived. She had not opened the bag and therefore had not seen the address. The accused, who had an excellent character, was given the benefit of the doubt, and the case was .dismissed. The bench commented on the fact that it was a serious thing to keep other people's property, as had been done, for three days.

Who has heard or seen the special war stamps printed and issued in France during the Great War?" asks the "Dunedin Star." No specimens that we know of reached these parts until quite recently, when Mr. A. Clark, an enthusiast)'o Dunedin pilatelist, became passessod of an incomplete collection. We have been privileged to ccc these, and they are indeed very fine specimen's of Fietich culture and art, the colour work being really beautiful. The stamps are not the ordinary postage variet" hut are apparently vignettes produced mainly for the purpose of ■commemorating the deeds of-the aJmies and nations lightiug in the Allies' cause. They -vary in design from a plain seal to exquisite little landscapes, and include battle scenes, figures, arms, and dozens of other subjects. Some are the size of the'ordinary postage etamu, but moat of them are much larger, while a few are of triangular or diamond shape. The'sets represent various infantry regiments, cavalry regiments, air service, and other arras of the service; also certain Government departments! the Red Cross, the battleships, etc. In addition to the sets representing the French nation (and these form about seven-eighths of the collection) there are sets representing ea.ch of the other Allies. Mr. Clark is fortunate in having secured the collection, whict. though incomplete, is a most valuable souvenir of trie Great War.

Referring to the print of H.M.S. Dido, mentioned in "The Post" Jast nfaht, "R. 8." writes: H.M.S. Dido, 20 guns, Oapt. J. B. Maxwell, arrived at Auckland from the East Indian Station on 7th July. 1847, and remained on the coast until 1851. Captain, later Sir, Harry Kippel. Adtnivni of the Fleet was commissioned in 1841 to the Dido corvette, August, 1941, for the China station, where Jit; served with distinction diirinjr the later part of the war. and i ■Also talons part in tlw of 1 Borneo piracy. In 1847, lie was appointed, to 11.M.5. Meander, frigate 44 Rims, in which he visited Wellington in 18aO; also Auckland and the Bay of Islands. Curtain David KouMi was a well-known oflicial in the .early days.. ! liis • tirst uiTOointmeiit was in August', 184Q, he bein.T. ;l t that time, captain of the Government brip. vicioiia. which, i ntlie 'forties and 'fifties was the Government dispatch boat. He was appointed Harbourmaster of Auckland in IWI. and held this iippomnienl with dirties in the Customs .Dcpjn Imciil. In 1855 ho was appointed Collector of Customs. Xclson. Ho was an amateur botanist, and has been hoiioim-il by t»-o ov tliret- species heine named aftf-r mjh. Probably the reference in the <%art»i'C uf ajilraUciil hclipuncr in 1Q43 siwuM b?

The New Zealand University notifies the following nnsses in the second professional examination for Bachelor of Dental SurgeiT: Arthur Ronakl Ford and Cordon Frederick Harkness.

Senor Bidone, Coiisul-GenereA for the Argentine, has just received a cable from his Government request:^' him to secure, with tne aid of the Now Zealand Government, ;i dairy expert for the Argentine. 11ns matter is now in the hands ot the Director of Auricullurs (Dr. Reakes).

A qualified engineer, to be paid a salary of £700 a year, plus £100 motor allowance, is to be appointed for the Borough of Napier. This decision was arrived at at a special meeting of the Borough Council on Monday, th« council being oi the unanimous opinion that the present state of affairs in the borough—the condition of the roads, stormwater drainage, water-supply, etc.— called for the advice and guidance of an expert.

Dissatisfaction with the adjustments offered by the Valuer-General (Mr. F. W. Flanagan) in connection with recent representations made to him that the land valuations in the Taranaki and Inglewood Counties should be reviewed, was expressed at a meeting of ratepayers held at New Plymouth on Tuesday, and >i motion was unanimously carried recommending all branch committees in the two counties not to accept the reductions offered. A 6 per cent, reduction on unimproved values •was too absurd for anything, said Mr. A. Turnbull in the course of the discussion. He defied anyone to farm at a profit on the Government valuations.

Father Gondringer, who recently returned from a tour abroad, has written to the general manager of the Tourist and Health Resorts Department (Mr. B. M. Wilson), returning lantern slides which were provided him for his trip some eighteen months ago. In his letter, Father Gondringer states that he lectured with the slides in every country through which he travelled, and in four different languages. On one occasion they were shown in a public square in Europe to a crowd of botween 8000 to 10,000 people, and the slides proved very interesting to everyone who saw them. Father Gondringer concludes: "If I have been able to render my adoptive country some service by helping to make lier known, I owe it, to a great extent, to your kind help."

The Minister of Internal Affairs (Hon. W. Downie Stewart) advises that, on account of economic conditions, the German authorities have imposed severe restrictions on the admission of foreigners into Germany. Visas for passports aro not granted for holiday journeys, and intending travellers are required to produce "evidence of urgent business or other reasons before an application for a visa can be entertained. In addition to these restrictions, the German authorities are taking steps to e?:pel foreigners who are unable to prove a sufficiently valid reason for remaining in Germany. British subjects employed in Germany as representatives of British firms should be provided with proper credentials, supported by the local Chamber of Commerce, stating definitely that they are accredited agents or representatives, whose presence in Germany is essential for the conduct of their firm's business. If this is not done, His Majesty's representatives in Germany cannot intervene on their behalf, should the German authorities request them to .leave the country. .

An arrangement was entered into last year between the Governments of South Africa and New Zealand for the interchange of material in the Grey collection of the Capetown and Auckland PuMis'Libraries relating to the respective countries, the Capetown library possessing records left by Siv George Grey of value to New Zealand and the Auckland Library holding similar records of value to South Africa. The exchange has been carried out, and the Minister of Internal Affairs has received notification from Auckland that valuable books and manuscripts have arrived safely, the librarian of the Auckland Library reports that he has not yet had • time to examine the books and manuscripts in detail, but in the course of checking the documents he had come to the conclusion that there was a large amount of material of first-rate information for the student of New Zealand history. The Maori section appeared to be of great value and interest, and should add to the material available to students of 'the Maori language.

Speaking at Devonport, Auckland, on Sunday morning, at the induction of elders' service at St. Paul's Church, the Eev. George Budd, superintendent of Home Missions for the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, said that a good deal had been said in the newspapers lately in regard to amusements, and what kind of recreation Christians should indulge in. He did not know that the churches gained much by telling people what not to do. There had been far too many don'ts in the discussion which had taken place. It was far better to tell people what to do, for it is what a church does which speaks loudest. It was not negative things which counted. The days may be nearer than some people thought that the members of all branches of the Christian faith would have to defend the very fundamentals of their belief, and then it would not be a question of don'ts, but a question of performance. Just now it was painful reading for all Christian people to know how people were being persecuted for their beliefs in Russia., where the Bolsheviks were trying to wipe put the Christian church, and putting to deatli teachers who preached faith in God as the only hope of the salvation of the world. In Britain the Socialist Sunday schools were sapping the very roots of their Christian civilisation amongst the young people. Some went the length of saying that the Proletarian schools wero even worse. In the face of all this, it was only quibbling to say "don't do this" and "don't do that," as far as some of the trifling things of life were concerned. But the leaders of their religious thought were, in real earnest when they pointed out the way to members of the churches and told them to do something worth while for their faith, so that when the testing time came, as it did in days of old, they would be able to withstand the severest shocks of the enemy, because the fabric upon which they had builded was founded on a rock which could defeat all assaults made upon it. They wanted a positive and not a negative church.

the Sil-k-lvnitted and Hand-Cro-chet Jumpers advertised by Kirkcaldie's for a one-week special, the two first lines at 25s and 29s 6d ore already sold out. The others are selling quickly. See them before it is too late.—Advt.

Really worth special mention are a fine line of all-wool tweed and worsted trousers we offer at 25s to 30s. Quality decidedly good. Powlds, Manners-st.— Advt.