LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Star, Issue 17838, 8 December 1921, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Samoa will shortly have its own national postage stamps. A very tasteful design for the t{ew stamps has been made in London to the order of the Mew Zealand Government. The stamp depicts a Samoan fale with two coccanut palms in tho background, and a representation of tho British Royal Standard in the foreground of the fale.

The part, taken by women journalists in tho World’s Tress Congress recently held in Honolulu was referred to recently by tiro Hon. Mark Cohen, one of the New - Zealand delegates. Several of thosowomeu owned papers of their own, he, said, and ©very branch of the profession, from the commercial side to the editorial, was represented bv them. Mr Cobeu wa-s particularly impressed by the views they expressed', upholding tho highest ideals of their profession. They wore particularly rigorous in their denunciation of certain methods adopted by the “ reptile ” Tress, which gives great prominency to rumor, scandal, and specialises in details cl an unsavory nature. It was hinted that it certain American papers did not mend their ways in this respect the women would take tho matter strongly in hand, and, if necessary, a boycott of these papers would bo instituted.

The murder of a harmless, solitary old man near Melbourne has led to the arrest of Frank Waycolt, a returned soldier suffering from shell shock. William Dickerson, a man sixty years old, living alone on his block of land near Natimuk, was sitting at bis evening meal when a man, who had apparently concealed himself in the house some time before, shot him in tho side of the head. He was found next day, lying on tho floor of his house. His single-barrel gun and some cartridges were missing. Ho still clutched the knife which he was using at tho table jrhs-.n tho attack was made.

«A thing that has struck me in this country is the way you treat the returned soldier,” said Mr R. V. Muller (an old jkrath African footballer) to a Wellington ‘Times’ reporter. “In South Africa the soldiers have received nothing, or next to nothing; here—well, you know how they are treated. My statement can be confirmed by Mr Loadley, of Christchurch. who was New Zealand’s delegate to tho Empire conference of ex-service men, whom I had the pleasure to meet in Cape Town. Why, it is only this morning that I read in the papers that the Government has decided to agree to a reclassification of the pensions for widows and disabled soldiers.”

“ Tho worst-paid people in the community,” remarked Mr‘j. J. M'Grath, when referring to men of tho Public Service at a social in Wellington. There were heads of departments, men who had to direct Ihe expenditure ’of enormous sums of monov and bo responsible for hundreds of employees, but some of these heads, who could command salaries of £2,000 to £3,000 in private life, received only about £7OO from the State. Tho speaker took his hearers back to tbo days when he was a young clerk in the Civil Service at a salary of £5 a calendar month, out 0 1 which he paid £1 a week for board and lodging. The late Mr Seddon, who was a personal friend, had given him this terse advice: “ Get out of the service, even if you havo to carry bricks.”

The list of “Gap” tragedies at Sydney has been added to. by still another, which took place at that spot near the Hoads a fortnight ago. Mrs Fannie Wardman, alter announcing her intention by telephone to a friend, took poison, and was later found dead. Her friend telephoned the police, but before anything could be done the suicide was reported from the Gap. It was stated that the deceased had been depressed over the death of a relation.

A miraculous escape from grave injury was experienced by a young married woman and her three months old baby at Auckland on Friday afternoon, while the mother was using the slot telephone at the comer of Queen and Wakefield streets. As it was, she received painful injuries, and the telephone box was wrecked. Mrs D. Cavanagh, of Surrey crescent, _ Grey Lynn, entered the booth with her infant (says the ‘Herald’), and was in the act of using the telephone when she looked up ■Wakefield street, and saw a small t\yosaater motor car, which was driver less, rushing down the incline towards her. She clasped her child to her breast, turned her back on the runaway, and endeavored to open the door of the telephone box. Before she could gain the street, however, the car had crashed into the box. In its impact with the wooden structure the motor car cut it clean in half perpendicularly, carrying away the door and that portion of the box nearest the street, depositing it a few yards further down the hill. Mrs Cavanagh find her child, though not actually struck by the runaway car, were swept out of the telephone box In front of it, and when the rescuers ran to the spot where it ended its career one wheel Was resting on the woman’s left foot. It was found that Mrs Cavanagh was suffering from shock and from bruises on the leg and arms, the ankle of the left foot being painfully swollen. The baby sustained slight bruises only.

"What ifi petitioner's hurry?" asked Mr Justice Sim of counsel who in Wellington was pressing for a fixture for a divorce under section 4 of the now Act. “The period of three years’ desertion is only just terminated.” Counsel’s reply showed that he had very great faith in the clause ns a means to divorce, if not as to its likely permanency, “One never knows when Parliament may intervene and amend the clause.”

The Young People’s Corps of the Salvation Army entertained a full house at fho_ Central Barracks last evening, the occasion being the anniversary of tho corps, Tha programme was taken up with solo items and with action songs, both by boys and girls in costume, and the performers received well-merited applause. Tho following gave items:—Miss M. Aston (song), Mias I. Pope and Master G. Simpson (recitations), and Mies Lena Henderson (pianoforte solo). During the evening prizes were awarded for Sunday school work. Eva Judd, the dux, was awarded full marks for tho year, and the highest marks In the examination j Gladys Hughflon and Muriel Judd both gained 936 lie tola] ; and Leslie Robertson, the highest boy, obtained 935 marks. In the primary department, Francis Robertson gainer] full marks.

A statement on ilia wheat crop, emphasising the desirability of growers stacking their wheat before threshing is issued by the Minister of Agriculture. The acreage gown this season (the report states) promises to yield at an average of twentyeight bushels per aero at least 10,000,000 bushek of wheat, and with average weather between now and harvest there should bo at least 2,000,000 bushels of f.&q. wheat over and above all our requirements. Millers will therefore bo exercising very great care in buying, and will not be inclined to purchase any wheat not in milling condition at time of marketing, as with plentiful supplies they will be able to take up lines or mature wheat aa required, and therefore I do not think growers will have the slightest chance of offering at milling price any wheat other 'than that harvested in good condition. Further, if It is decided to export any surplus wheat over and above tho Dominion’s requirements, such arrangements ■will, in all probability, take place early in the season, say, March or April, and it io quite apparent that only the wheat in a suitable condition for standing a long voyage will be of any use to the Governmemt. It therefore behoves every grower to consider these points carefully before he’threahes, as a little extra time to allow the grain maturing properly in the stack may mean all the difference between acceptance or rejection by the Government 5 for if there is a largo supply of undermining wheat offering the difference between the fixed milling price and the price o! fowl wheat on a market over supplied will in all probability be far greater per bushel than any expense that grower* will he put to in extra handling incurred in etackmg the wheat.