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Evening Star, Issue 15076, 7 January 1913, Page 4

Tho vital statistics for the- district, of Port Chalmers for the past year show that in births there was an increase of 24 over the previous year, the figures being 101 as against 77. In marriages also there was an increase. 26 certificates being issued as against 19 in 1911, while there were 39 deaths in 1912, as against 26 in 1911, The figures are said to be about the average. The Grand Lodge of New Zealand, 1.0.0. F., meets next March in Dunedin. The ballot tvhich has been in progress to elect three representatives for Southland has resulted as follows:—K. H. Whitmore 196, J. M'Laughlan 129, J. L. Mitchell 119, A. Myers 101, G. Walker 92, A. Helm 79, T. Lewis 56. The English mail which was despatched from Dunedin via Brindisi on the 28th November arrived in London on the 3rd inst.. its due date, r A Westport wire says: —Fifteen exWaihi miners have arrived in search of work at the collieries in this district. The Denniston mine has been short-handed all the year. A little commotion was created on board the Ulimaroa on her arrival at Bluff on .Sunday evonin. While the boat was entering the channel a second class passenger, who evidently had nothing to occupy his attention, commenced to thoughtlessly carve his name on tho deck rail at xhe gangway entrance. This he succeeded in doing, but on arrival at the wharf tho writing caught the eye of the chief officer, who tit onco set off to find the culprit. When discovered the ■•man in blue” was called on board, and asked to take tho offender in charge for destroying the ship’s property. The trouble, however (says tho 1 News ’j, was overcome by the man* making a promise that ho would obliterate tho name by the use of a plane and sandpaper, and it was only after he Lad fulfilled his promise that he was allowed to disembark and proceed, to his destination. The closing of the old year has brought to an end New Zealand’s connection with a horrible trade—the manufacture of matches from white phosphorus (says tile ‘New Zealand Times’). An Act which was passed in 1910 and ordered to come into force on January 1, 1915, provides penalties for the importation, manufacture, and sale of matches containing this material, and in future the people of the Dominion will have to be content with “lights” that are a little less convenient in use, but do not inflict the terrible disease known as “ phoesy jaw ” upon the workers, usually women, who are engaged in the match factories. The Dominion has been importing increasing quantities of “strike anywhere” matches which do not contain white phosphorus, so that the change may not be noticed by many persons ; but, in any .case, we are sure that no one will be sorry that New Zealand has jbined tho countries that have given play to their humanitarian instincts in this matter. The three returning members of the Drainage Board—(Messrs W. Burnett; J. S. Douglas, and M. Farquhareon—have decided to offer themselves for re-election this fliynth., k, ___ ..

Surely the burglar who visited a house in a Melbourne suburb one day last week made the easiest coup on record. He found a note pinned on the door telling him whero tho key was, and then—what matter that tho doom and windows were all locked! Of course, tho note was written Jpy the mistress of tho house, who was out, lor her husband, who was expected to come home. Meantime, Bill Sikes happened to pass that way. Ho collected £lO worth of jewellery, and annexed some land deeds, and put the key back under the stone mentioned in the note. During tho past year 47 plaints were entered at tho Civil Court at Port Chalmers, and 31 cases wore heard. A total sum of £365 12s 5d was sued for, and £258 2s 8d was recovered.

At 1.59 this morning tho Dunedin Fire Brigade got a call to Maclaggan street. Captain Napier took up the .two motors and plenty of hcee, and it was well that he went well equipped, since the firemen wore thereby able, notwithstanding the stiff breeze, to save from trouble a number of houses that were quite near, and also restrict the results in the blazing house to ‘'severe damage” instead of “total loss.” Tire place in which the fire occurred is a six-roomed wooden dwelling opposite the end of Grant street. Mr Henry Ryders owns the house, and tho tenant eras Mr Robert Burt, an ironworker. Mm Burt mid the children are away for a holiday. Mr Burt went homo about 11 p.m., lit a fire in tho kitchen to boil the kettle, and went to bed about 11.30 Awakening as the result of a noise, ho found the house full of smoke. Ho got out of a window, rang up tho brigade, and alarmed tho neighbors. Tho firemen made a good save in the circumstances, but the roof fell in, and the whole structure and contents are much damaged. Mr Burt lias his belongings insured in the New Zealand Office for £IOO. As Mr Ryders js out of town, his insurance on tho house (if any) could not be ascertained to-day. The first game of the triangular match to decide the chess championship was played at Nelson yesterday between Grierson and Gyles. Tho latter was mated on tho 25rd more. Grierson was to meet Hacks to-dav?

Caees of desertion from ship would appear to have assumed alarming proportions during the past year if the statistics of Port Chalmers, which may fairly bo said to be a- representative seafaring town, arc to be taken as a criterion. In 1911 only 6 deserters were brought before tho Court, while last year tho number had increased to 29. “On the land ” would appear to be the cry of many seamen. The poll at St. Iv.kla. yesterday resulted in the election of Mr H. W. Allen to the vacancy in the council caused by the resignation of Mr G. R. Elancliiield as a member for Park Ward. The voting was : H. W. Allen. 193; \V. A. Maddox, 89. Mr Allen polled all his votes at the Town Hall booth, and Mr Maddox got the whole of the 52 votes cast at the St. Clair booth. It is expected that (Messrs Leslie Reynolds (Wellington) and Cyrus "Williams (Lyttelton), the two engineers appointed by the Otago Harbor Board to report, in conjunction with the board's engineer (Mr J. Blair Mason), on the various schemes for reclaiming a large portion of the southern end of tile harbor, will begin their inspection about the 15th or 16th of this month. Mr Reynolds is at present taking a holiday in Dunedin.

A venturesome spirit resulted in a fiveman named Thomas Goss being brought before the Port Chalmers Police Court this morning on a. charge of deserting from the ship Paparoa on the 24th December at Timaru. The facts showed that after the defendant's desertion ho signed on to the John at Timaru. 'The Paparoa came oil to Port Chalmers, and yesterday, when Goss .appeared and took possession of his swag, the police were watching, and he was arrested. [To pleaded guilty to the charge, but declared that if put back on his ship he would not work, and the cuptain would have to keep him in ‘'irons" during the Home trip. The Bench (Messrs D. A. De Mauo and J. Watson, J.P.s) imposed a sentence of one month’s imprisonment, the defendant to be put on board the ship if it sailed during that time. Mr TT. Y. Widdowson, S.M.. presided in the Police Court this morning. A first offender was fined 5s for drunkenness, in default 24 hours’ imprisonment. Sensational revelations regarding the sale in Paris of deadly drugs resulted from the death of M. P.ene Bichet, a brilliant young graduate who was recently appointed professor of French at the University of Budapest. The police (says a cable message in the Sydney ‘Sun’) allege that a friend, who was addicted to the use ot morphine, induced Bichet to try a hypodermic injection, and this proved fatal The friend was arrested. A general investigation has been made into the illicit sale of morphine, and the authorities are convinced that drastic steps are necessary to combat the growing vice. The craving is most apparent among the women who frequent the cafes of Montmartre, md among students in the Latin Quarter. The newspapers assert that the drug craze is assuming horrible proportions, and it is expected that the police will close up pharmacies that violate the law.

The ‘Horowhenua Chronicle’ reports the saving of a white boy’s life by a Maori lad at Soldo Leach. A boy named Percy Blows was in parlous condition beyond the breakers, and the Maori lad (Simeon) promptly raced to where a horse was tethered. galloped it through tho surf, auc! swam it to where Blows by that time was drowning. On the ability of the hoi so to swim back, bearing the two lads’ weight, both their lives depended. Simeon had Blows across the pummel of the saddle quite unconscious, but this position was an excellent “first aid’’ one, and within a few minutes Blows was breathing again. The horse proved equal to his task, but it was a long while after Blows was safely ashoie before be completely recovered. Sir Henniker Heatim. writing to the London ’ Times,' argues that the success of penny postage, especially between Groat Britain and Australia, justifies universal penny postage. ' The writer also pleads for a reduction in the cable charges. At the present time, he says, the sending of cables is restricted to millionaires ; it should be within the reach of the multitude.

A winged bicycle made, a successful (light in Paris last week. Planes were fixed to the front and back forks of an ordinary bicycle. The machine rose only 6in above the ground/ but the experiment is considered to bo most promising, and will probably lead to a new development in aviation. Tho winger! bicvrlc is expected to be of considerable use in providing fast locomotion over bad roads, and even across rough country. Scon yesterday regarding the rumor that tho Takapuna wans to be withdrawn from the Gisbovne-Napier ferry service at the end of the present month,* Mr Preston, the local manager of the Union Steam Ship Company (says a Press message), stated that nothing whatever had been definitely considered or decided. He, however, added significantly that (he measure of support expected as a result of the incessant clamor for the ferry service had not by any means been realised. The rumijnoof a vessel like the Takapuna was a serious and hear™ expense, quite apart from the risk of working this restricted port in all weathers. The rainfall in Dunedin last night was about 40 points. It will do an immense amount of good. Reports from most of the country districts indicate a fair fall, but not sufficient to satisfy the farmers, as the young turnips were suffering severely for want of moisture. In some of the inland districts turnips were not sown at all, owing to the dry conditions. At a meeting of a local body in the provincial district, applications for a certain position were under consideration. In the course of the discussion with regard to the merits or demerits of various applicants, an official remarked that many single men who sought engagements would, marry if their applications tveie successful. This drew from another gentleman of wide experience a similar statement. On a kindred body recently they had received, over a dozen applications from single men, and each bachelor wafi going to change his state within a month if he got the job he applied for. The settled sense enjoyed by State and municipal employees evidently has an effect .wy. the.marmge roatkeL,

Mr Paulin’s forecastS.E. to S.W, winds, ana. heavy thunder showers.

The undoubted value of dancing as an exercise, and particularly of Highland dancing, was brought home very forcibly to a, number of visitors to Queenstown at Christmas time («ays the ‘Southland limes’). A large party, including a number of the “sterner” sex, set out at midnight to ascend Ben Lomond, in order to see_ rhe sunrise from there, and among their number was a young Invercargill lady of slender proportions, who has, however, gained many honors as a Highland dancer. The male members of the expedition were then not a little surprised and secretly chagrined to find, before proceeding very far, that their theories on the physical superiority of their own .sex were being somewhat rudely upset, for the fair disciple of Terpsichore very quickly assumed the lead, and setting a very hot pace reached the summit almost an hour ahead of the rearguard of the party, making the -ascent in the decidedly creditable time of two and a-half bows, and causing the most athletic of the party considerable trouble to be even in at the finish.

Dr Ludwig Hirschstein, a Hamburg physician. after many experiments lasting several years, now assures us that the question of “nerves” is a pretty simple one, and that nervous complaints and breakdowns are almost, if not quite, wholly due to a chemical change in the constitution of tlu> body, bj- which the system becomes too highly charged with acids. Tho evil comes from the nourishment that people to-day think proper and even necessary. Children are given food that contains largo quantities of food that is rich in albuminoids, and quite rightly, as it is necessary to them for their growth ; but, unfortunately, adults to-day frequently preserve tire same proportion in their diet, and the consequence is that as the surplus is not" assimilated to form new flesh it has to lie discarded, otherwise it will remain as a poison in the body. Dr Hirschstein adds that the cure, by means of the neutralisation or elimination of the acids by means of what are chemically known as “bases,'’ such us sails of sodium, calcium natrium, and magnesium, is a long business, and lasts several months, and may even Like four years, for that is tho space of time that the process of poisoning may take to develop into its most acute state.

The Berlin suburban railways are being electrified on the single-phase principle at a cost, of about £6.000,000. During the hours of heavy traffic the trains will consist of 13 coaches, while at other times there will be six coaches to each train. Altogether 32 trains will run in each direction on a circular route, and it is probable that the main lines and tho goods traffic will be worked electrically later on.

The police statistics of Tort Chalmers for the past year would seem to show that crime lias not hem great in the seafaring town. A comparison with tho figures of 1911 show that tho cases of common dnmkenn-ess totalled 50 in 1912, as against 28 in ihc previous year. Cases of common assault- number two In each year, while ibero were, no charges of assault, burglary, or breach of the peace last year. There were seven cases- of theft last- year, as against six in 1911, and five cases of prohibited persons procuring liquor in each year, and the same figures apply to cases of obscene language. There were no instances of obstructing the police last year, but there- wore three in 1911. There was one case of permitting drunkenness on licensed premises ami of a. servant supplying liquor to a drunken person dining the past year. Mr if. Y .Widdoweon, S.M.. sat at the Magistrate's Court this forenoon and afternoon to consider a number of applications lor license under the Land Agents Act, 1912. which came into operation on the Ist iiift. Tho following applications were granted ;—James Martin Samson, Alcx-

ruder Harris, Sidney Albert Sheen. Ernest Pud and Burton, Donald Mackenzie Spedding, Eustace Linden Macassey, Edward John Bryant, John M'.Donnld, Robert Carhamplnn Morgan, Fred Carter (on behalf of Carter and Co.), Andrew Todd (on behalf of the Farmers’ Co-operative Association), Crosby Morris (on behalf of Stronaeh, Morris, and Co.), John Geeriu (on behalf of John Geerin and. Co.), John Alfred ITaggdtt (on behalf of Sievwnglit, and Co.), Frank Kettle (on behalt of Kettle and M'Deimid). Owen O'Neill (or. behalf of the National Mortgage and Agency Company), Alex. Mafhieson, James Hamlin Walker. Steven Oliver Bat hereby (on behalf of Battershy and Co.), George M’Mnllan. Hugh William MtColl, Charles A. H. Hutton (on behalf of Oldham and Hutton), and Edward Trythali (on behalf of Trytliail and Co.). A peculiar will was that of Mr Thomas Crompton Waterhouse, a dress goods merchant and thread magnate, of Salford and Bakerwcll (Eng.), and president of the American Thread Company, who left estate valued at £152,577, but took precautions against his money being inherited by any of his children likely to squander it. After giving his real estate, at Keighley to the eldest son of his eldest son on the former attaining his majority, and giving £5,000 to each of his four children, he directed that the residue of the property should accumulate till 1927, and then be divided equally between his daughter and three sons. He made the following stipulation, however, respecting the inheritance by the sons ;—“ I hereby declare that no fine of my said sons shall receive any share "of the said accumulated capital and the interest or income arising therefrom until he has proved to tho satisfaction of the Public Trustee that ho has made discreet use of the other portions of my trust estate devised or bequeathed to him under my will, and of the moneys left to him by bis grandfather, Thomas Waterhouse, as I do not wish that any port-ion of my own savings or those of 'my late father shall benefit any son" of mine who has shown by his conduct that he is unable to ap'prcciate the use of capital monevs or estate. And T declare that the decision of the Public Trustee in this respect shall be deemed to bo final and conclusive.” Among other bequests was one of £3OO to a Manchester hospital, “provided that hospital is free, of Governmental and municipal control at my death.” The big Labor Conference meeting this week in Sydney will consider a proposal to widen the scope of the Australian Workers’ Union to include not only anv persons who are engaged in pastoral'work, but these who arc employed in sugargrowing. the meat trade, road-mending, and all kinds of general labor. Tho Institute of Marino Engineers were still in conference io-dav. •

Wc hare received from Messrs -Tames Macfic and Co., coal merchants, a useful calendar. Give your friend a bottle of Wilkinson and Sou’s special Lavender Water; a Christmas supply ready in bottles, 2s to 20a each.— [Advt.] There can be no better portraits done than those exhibited by Mr Morris, of Garden ■Studio, 554 George sired, on left-hand side of the Zenith vestibule, in Princes street. Appointments made in Zenith Portrait Studio, or telephone 2,279.—[Advt.] Speight’s ale and stout are acknowledged by the Dominion public to be the best on the market.—[Advt] Never in ibis City has there been a. better show of beautiful and carefully-finished work than in the show cases of the Acme Photo Company, George street.—[Advt.] Ladies recommend Martin's Apio! and Steel Pills. Sold by all chemists and stores. See you get the genuine.—[Advt.]