LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Star, Issue 18032, 28 July 1922, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

" The position of a bailiff is essentially for tho good of the community. Someone, .has to do the unpleasant work of serving summonses, and when that officer is interfered with in his duty—l say interfered with merely—the court has got to protect him, because he is an officer of the law. Ijut when he is brutally ' assaulted the. offender must be punished as a warning to others.” Addressing these words to George Francis Soott, of Manchester street, an. the Magistrate’s Court, Christ-, church, yesterday : morning, Mr Wyvern Wilson, S.M., sentenced him to one month’s imprisonment for assaulting, without any provocation, two court bailiffs who attempted to serve him with a" summons.

A letter from tho Director-General of Health (Dr Valintinc), read at yesterday's meeting if the, Wellington Hospital Board, referred to the determination to close the Trcntham Hospital at any early date, probably October 14. It was considered that the Wellington Hospital should develop orthopedic and other work that has been carried' out at Trentham. It was asked that a conference bo held with the Hos pital Board to discuss the details and development of the different special departments and settle the nature and amount of accommodation required at the Wellington Hospital to receive and treat patients from Trentham. The Chairman said that twenty or thirty service men and the same number of children were being treated, in addition to thirty out-patients. There would be no difficulty in accommodating these; but it would bo necessary to provide psychic-therapeutic treatment and to develop this branch. A conference will be held next'week.

Some statistics of public services have come to hand. Thus, the postal revenue for the quarter ended June 30 is £373,658, compared with £360,159 for tho corresponding quarter of last year. The telegraph revenue is £354.616, compared with £342,260. The total revenue is £728.285, compared with £702,419. Tho Savings Bank returns for tho quarter are :—Deposits, £6,742,625 (compared witn £8,230,843 for the corresponding quarter last year); withdrawals, £7,170,649 (£7,945,158); monev orders issued, £1,015,159 (compared with £1,218,429 for the corresponding quarter last year); money orders paid, £959,077 (£1,126,918). There were 852 Savings Banks'accounts opened during the quarter, compared with 821 last year. Tho railway working account for the ■ four-weekly period ended June 24 showed the' following —North Island revenue £264,800, expenditure £249,084; South Island revenue £202,501, expenditure £205,252. Tho total for both islands showed the percentage of expenditure to revenue at 89.00.

Five of New Zealand’s Winded 1 soldiers are masseurs (stated Mr Clutha Mackenzie, M.P., in a lecture-at Napier). Eight or nine are poultry tanning and l two are doing shorthand and typing. One in Southland, besides working eight hours a day in an office, has two acres of land on which ho grows vegetables and keeps poultry. On Sundays he gives addresses in church.

The other night at Katamoa (relates the ‘Westport News ’) a well-known resident was riding on a bicycle without a light in the evening, with a substantial pot of paste, intending to post up some bills. A boy with a basket of eggs was similarly mounted. A head-on collision occured, the sequel being that both cyclists wore freely bespattered wtih broken eggs and paste. A conference between the,New Zealand bishops of the Church of England and representatives of other religious bodieswill be held in Wellington on August 9 to discuss the Bible-in-schools question. The bishops were requested by last General Synod to arrive at some scheme for introducing the Bible in the primary schools of the dominion.

The ‘Press’s’ Groyraouth correspondent telegraphed on Tuesday night:—A Christchurch visitor, Mr Dan Reese, who returned hold© to-day, can tell an interesting week-end experience if he likes. He visited Nelson Creek with a well-known resident on Sunday afternoon, exploring in the bush, and'they were some distance in when darkness came. Goalless and without food or oven-a smoke, they sought desperately but vainly for an exit, and finally had to resign themselves to ’a night in the bush. Fortunately they had a few matches, add they struck., up a fire which, lessened the icy keenness of the atmosphere a little. Morning came, and they found a way out, and there was a happy reunion with their friends, who were at a loss to understand what had happened.

Not long ago a big passenger ship was coming to New Zealand with a, full complement of passengers (states the Auckland ‘ Star ’). The voyage was a most enjoyable one, and there was much fun and dancing on board, (jlne highly-cultured man, however, preferred his books and his pi.po i and could not be induced to join in the gaiety. The voyage was drawing to a close, and it was decided to hold one big fancy dress ball as a final effort. Everyone on the ship was supposed to be taking part except the staid M.A., whowas given up as impossible.., All unknown to the others except the barber of tho ship, he decided to be present as an Oriental. He had hardly ever been in a ballroom in his life, and could not dance, but as an Eastern character ho could throw his legs about and make himself funny. He gob shaved in a suitable way to play the character as well as possible, and throughout the whole evening he was much sought after, being mistaken for one of the good-iookin-g young engineers of the ship, who was on duty. Girls gripped his hand, sometimes gave him a squeeze, and one was bold enough to sib on his knee. Ho enjoyed it all, and played hia part well. Scan© daring 'ones, thinking he was still in bis favorite place in the smoko room, decided! to serenade him, but, of. course, when they went for that purpose he could not be found, and it was thought lie had gone to hfs cabin to get away from the noise, while in reality he was right in the thick of it. The joke did not leak out till the ship got to Auckland, and then, the fun was fast and furious.

At a meeting of the National War Funds Council 217 claims were inquired into and assistance provided where necessary. Grants totalling £540 were made to 109 Imperial and Australian soldiers: 25 bursaries were renewed for a. year, representing £1,147; loans and relief to the extent of nearly £I,OOO were granted to soldiers; and securities to' the value of £5.500 were, purchased from patriotic societies not provided with ready cash, which was given in exchange for these. The committee was congratulated on the splendid condition of the council’s investments. It was reported that thirty societies had turned in thsiir balances, leaving 105 in operation. Applications for assistance from societies whose funds were not sufficiently liquid were considered, and £20,000 allocated for the purpose. Direction was given to call in the various funds not now required for the original purpose, the amount Involved ..being £17,500. A scheme for the centralisation and uniform disbursement of Maori funds was approved. The question of tho uso of war funds to meet distress among unemployed soldiers was discussed, and a decision arrived at, but it was not rgnde public. The financial statement to June 30 was discussed, and will be circulated.