Local and General.

Gisborne Times, Volume XLVIII, Issue 4474, 15 February 1917, Page 4

Local and General.

The opening roll number at tne High Sciiool was 256—147 bovs and 109 girls.

Tenders are being called by the Public Works Defendant for the erection of a police station at Wairoa.

* There is a-shortage or men at the Tokomaru Bay Freezing Works, and the local branch of the Department of Labor is sending what few men are available here to work at Tokomaru.

The sum of £lO 15s 6d has been received from the Tokomaru Beach Carnival Committee bv the Mayor. Mr. W. G. Shemtt, for the British Red Cross funds.

Charges of riding bicycles on the footpath on Ormond Road. Mangapapa. were read against three boys at the Juvenile Court yesterday morning. They were admonished by Mr W A. Barton. S.M.. and were convicted and discharged.

Very heavy rain fell in Gisborne on Tuesday night and earlv yesterday morning. Mr. C. P. Davies states that the rainfall was -54 in. up to 9 o’clock on Tuesday morning, and ror the next twenty-four hours ending.at 9 o’clock yesterday morning the rainfall was 1.31 inches.

The Thursday, cricket competition will be resumed on the \ ictoria Domain this afternoon, when the unfinished match between United and Kia Kahn will be concluded. The fixtures for Saturday next are: Kia Kaha v. United on the Victoria Domain, and United v. High School on the High School grounds.

Big preparations are being made for the hui which is to be held at-Wai-o-Matatini to-day. when the opening of a carved- room in the Hon. A. T. Ngata’s house will be celebrated. Accommodation lias been provided for between 200 and 300 visitors, and the catering has been carried cutin the usual generous way of the Maori.

As Inspector Hendry remarked in the Magistrate’s Court at Reef ten yesterday, “a publican's life is not a happy one,” that is judging from the statement of a licensee in the course of his evidence yesterday. “What with looking for drunkenness on my premises,” said the publican, ‘'watching for anti-shouting, endeavoring to remember the faces of prohibited people, quelling small disturbances, and keeping the eye on women of ill-fame, i am kept more than busy.

Mr A. L. D. Fraser, chairman of the Hastings Patriotic Society, advises that owing to Gisborne and FastCoast mails being delayed, attributable to waterside workers trouble, and there being a. large number of tickets iii the Hawke’s Bay Alt Union sold in those localities, which it would be impossible to have recorded by the original closing date (Friday ~ 16th inst). the Minister for Internal Affairs lias granted an extension of the art union until Match 16.

At the Magistrate’s Court yesterday morning, George Smith, on a charge of drunkenness was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment. On a charge of entering licensed premises during tlio currency of a prohibition order against him. Smith was fined £3 and 2s costs,, in default 14 imprisonment. There was a further charge against defendant (on summons) of entering the Patutalii Hotel on January 27. during the currency of his prohibition order. On tins charge defendant was fined £l. and costs 7s, the default being fixed at four days’.

British pianos deserve your support apart from the patriotic aspect. In their scientific construction is embodied a quality not equalled by the foreign instruments. Farr and Hall have a splendid range of the hist cf British pia,;ios, and anyone contemplating purchasing should visit Farr and Hall’s showroom and hear these beautiful instruments, and learn on what easy terms they can be placed in th*_home. —Farr and Hall, Pianoforte Specialists, Gladstone Road, Gisborne. ’Phone 557-*

The revenue on the Gisborne section of the New Zealand Railways for the period ending January 6 was £2238 4s 6dv Passengers contributed £914 4s 3d of that amount, goods £1069 8s sd, and parcels £llß Is 2d. The amount of revenue for the corresponding period last year was £2941 Is 2d. Decreases this year occurred in the revenue derived from goods and also from passengers. The expenditure for tile, period ended January 6 was £1325 Os Bd. The revenue for the twelve months ended January 6 was £20,524 15s 4d,,and the expenditure.-£13,039 8s 2d. •

Mr. E. P. Mountfort acknowledges bhe following contributions to the y.M.C.A. Trench Comforts Fund: — Previously acknowledged £1037 12s lid, “M.W.” £2, Miss Tucker £i ; total, £IO4O 12s lid. Mention was made at the Magistrate’s Court yesterday of a case of alleged assault at the Matawhero saleyards last month. When the case was called, Mr. Burnard, who appeared for one of the parties, intimated that an apology had been tendered and accepted. Accordingly the case was struck out. i The Poverty Bay Garage agents for iStudebaker cars were successful in landing by the -Tangaroa Jast night one of the latest 5 and 7-seater six cylinder Studebaker cars. Intending purchasers will be well advised to inspect this handsome model and to arrange a demonstration run.* A Hastings man a few days ago inquired the cost of adding anothr-,-storey to a brick building he owns in | Heretounga Street (says the Tribune), j The original building was erected be- ■ fore the war grid cost £IOOO. To erect another storey will cost him £ISOO. t so great has been the advance in the I price of material and labor. Xaturi ally lie has given up the idea of the addition, j j Our Wellington correspondent' ! states that Sir John Denniston is reI tiring from the Supreme Court bench shortly, but it is possible that his re- ! tirement will not be announced for a little while. It is no longer anv \ ret that the vacancy will be filled by the appointment of Mr.' Herdrnaii, | but it is not likely that his colleagues ! will wish to lose Mr. Herdinan from j the Cabinet just now. This may de- [ lay the appointment for a little while. His Worship the Mayor (Mr. W. 0. , 1 Sherratt) has received a letter from | the Red Cross Society. London, ack- ’ j nowledging the receipt of £2618. por- • tion of the £4OOO collected in the . j district for “Our Day.” The letter > ! expressed warm and sincere thanus | to the Mayor and the people associa- ‘ I ted with him Tor the' generous inter- ? ’ cost they had taken in the work and - the practical help they had rendered r the society in its task of assisting sick and wounded soldiers and .%ail--1 ors. -1 In an interview the Hon. G. V. r ' Russell seated that a normal number 'of soldiers were returning to New " ; Zealand suffering from consumption, e j but, unfortunately, there were many u ’ instances where the consumption had 1 ! developed after the men had return- . ed. The Government was now dealing in the convalescent homes and - hospitals with nearly as many discharged soldiers as undischarged. The | number applying for treatment in m- ! stitutions as discharged soldiers was ! steadily increasing. Until the pres--5 sure of consumptive cases became greater the Government was not like- , lv to increase the institutions.. There j' will probably be two institutions in ; the South Island, one in Canterbury „ : and'the other in Central Otago.

Mr. W. A. Barton. S.M., gave his reserved judgment at the Magistrate’s Court yesterday morning in the case in which Ahenata MitcheL (Mr. Willock) sued -John H. Mitchell for maintenance. Evidence in the case was published in yesterdays Times. His Worship said that he was satisfied that dexendant had tried to get her to come back and that fie had made more than one bona fide effort to get her to go back. . Thatbeing so. defendant was not guilty desertion, and complainant was _ not entitled to recover maintenance from him. The evidence showed conclusivelv that complainant had considerable‘interest in lands which were quite ample for her maintenance. Hie complaint was dismissed, but His Worship said that he did not think it was a case in which he should allow defendant costs.

According to a Gisborne residentwho has recently returned mun a visit along the Coast, the roads the recent heavy floods were m bad condition, and in some places wer a washed awav altogether. He con idered that it would cost thousands of pounds to restore them am "thing like good order. Pettier? in "vhe Port Awanui district were experiencing c-onsideraole dimeuny ,ra carting their* wool out and bringing, the stores in. this work being P 1 ticallv impossible owing to the condition of the roads. On one station *■>oo bales of wool were held up mthis reason. For some time pasmails had been packed, as this the onlv means of conveyance. rnoverland road to Port Awanut was a bad condition. At- one place where the road crossed two streams close together, one, which before the no-(i was a shallow brook, had now had in bed gouged out very much and lUc-r was "a drop of about six feet irom the road to the creek. olh ’, motor cars were noticed on the loan stuck up. while three or four horsedrawn vehicles, one with a- broken axle and others in various damaged conditions were seen jit ditime . places.

i In the course of an interview at i Timaru, Mr James Craigie. M.P.. i strongly condemned the carnival method of raising war funds, and urged , that the Government should place a direct tax on capital in order ui provide adequately for such needs athose cf returned soldiers, and to compel those who were not giving, voluntarily to bear their full shaie of the burden' “The private wealth of the Dominion,’’ he sa ; d “is estimated according to the Year Book, at £-85. 000,000. Suppose the State put a tax of five per c-eut on this weak, a making the amount payable in three, or even, five years. This would be fair for everybody and fair to the country, because every man. would oe contributing according to his ability. If we can regard £250.000,000 as the amount of private wealth that would be taxable, 5 per cent, would produce tbe very satisfactory sum of twelve and a-lialf millions. With this at call the Government could contribute to such funds as the Red Cross and the Patriotic I’M rids, especially the latter, which are required to help returned men and soldiers' dependants. I can see no fairer way of meeting our obligations than by a direct tax . cn capital. With the nation at war.*/ every citizen should contribute according to his wealth. But I would not tax the man who has already gw- _ on his hundreds or his thousands to the o-reat cause. After computing the tax, I would allow everyone who has < T iven voluntarily to deduct the amount he lias given from the s um lie is called upon to pay.”