Local and General

Gisborne Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 4757, 3 January 1918, Page 4

Local and General

It is expected that work on the Lytton Road tramline extension will be completed in about a week’s time.

A middle-aged man who celebrated the New Year at the expense of his sobriety was convicted and fined os by Mr. R. S. Florance, S.M., at the Magistrate’s Court yesterday morning.

General finishing up work is now in progress on the dredger John Townley, the work being done including the erection of the deck-house. It is expected the work will be completed before the end of three weeks, and shortlv afterwards the dredger _ may be expected to be in commission again.

At Motu yesterday Constable Williamson arrested a man cn a charge of alleged breaking and entering a dwelling and the theft of a silver watch and chain, match-box, gold medal and part of a ham. He will be brought down by train this morning and will appear before a Magistrate later when it is understood a remand will be asked for.

Constable Atkinson, of the local police force, has received advice of his promotion and transfer to the charge of the station at Tuparoa, where he will succeed Constable Cooper. who has been promoted to Auckland with the rank of sergeant. Constable Atkinson was for some time stationed at Raratonga, and is looked upon as a very capable officer.

Marriage at the Registrar’s Office is becoming increasingly popular in Gisborne. Whether this is due to the desire to avoid the pomp and ceremony which otherwise accompanies the tying of the nuptial knot or whether from economic reasons, it is difficult to say, hut nevertheless during the year just ended 44 couples out of the 105 were were joined together in matrimony preferred the ceremony to be performed bv the local registrar.

The animal meeting of the New Zealand Educational Institute is being'held at 'Wellington. In the absence of the president (Mr. Derby, of Hokitika), Mr Endy, one of the vicepresidents. presided. The gathering, which is a very representative one, was welcomed by the Mayor. An interesting report of the executive regarding the position of education was read. It deplored the fact that the idea that a national system of education should become the guiding spirit of national life had been given a check through the establishment by some denominations of church schools.

After, three and a-half years of war, German Christmas cards are still being sold in the Dominion (says the Wellington Times). Colored greeting cards, plainly marked “printed in Germany” were displayed openly in a shop in a provincial town not Very far from Wellington last week. One purchaser, who did not detect the enem v origin until lie had left the shop, was so disgusted that he tore the whole packet of them into shreds rather than send German-made greetings to his friends. Cards marked “Printed in Bavaria” or Prussia, or otherwise showing enemy origin, are exposed for sale in shops in Lambton Quay.

One of tlie actions which endeared the late Earl Grey to Americans was libs return to them after more than a century of the portrait of Benjamin Franklin. This had been taken from Philadelphia during the War of the Revolution, and was brought to Howick by Sir Charles Grey, afterwards first Earl. When an American visited Howick and saw the picture hanging in one of the reception rooms. Lord Grey asked him casually whether he thought the Philadelphians would like to have it back, but he gave no indication that he intended to return it. That was his way;, he did not talk much of his intentions, but lie had an intuitive faculty for doing the right thing in a gracious manner.

The warmest weather is still to come unless January and February prove vastly different to the corresponding months in past years. Semiwinter and spring clothing must be laid aside, and light, cool dresses and underwear must be worn if that ennui Gisborne’s summer weather induces is to be banished and the fullest- enjoyment derived from life. Ladies who want to be comfortably, and at the same time attractively, dressed could not do better than invest in one of the very charming costumes Miss- Neill is showing at Everybody’s at the present time. These costumes have the style of tlio tailor-made, and the prices are most reasonable. Another, line Miss Neill is showing, and which should command a quick sale, are some dainty Japanese kimonas in pretty materials. In this case again the price is within the limits of all.*

Mr G. Hi B. Austin a member of the Victorian Institute of Architects, has invented an automatic balancing airship which he regards as the “future Dreadnought of the air,” and as a vehicle of comfort and safely for passengers, as well as a transport carrier Models of it and photographs of a machine modelled on his plans, and spreading its wings through the air were exhibited in Svdnev. Mr Austin says that, with ail engine of 1000 li.p. and 10,000 square feet of wing it will be possible cm bis automatic balancing principle, to evolve an airship that will travel up to 200 miles per hour, and will lift 15 tons, or carry 100 passengers in corridor cars, heated and 1 lighted by electricity. The Defence Department is submitting the plans to the British authorities. Mr Austin claims that a- machine on his principle could outrange the guns carried by the largest super-Zeppelin.

No fetter illustration can be given that the best optical goods are still procurable than the window display of Haig Graham, Gisborne’s Eye imperialist. This is well worth inspection. Four additional shipments to^ follow'

Interviewed, Sir James Allen said that von Luckner would be placed on Ripa Island, Lyttelton harbor, if not there already.

Owing to the intervenion of the holidays it is not considered likely that the Motor Association will be able to conduct any further experiments with light dimmers until well on in this month.

. The Auckland branch of the Returned Soldiers’ Association is just about to launch an appeal for funds to erect a permanent club for the Association in Auckland. The campaign starts on February I, and a special soldiers’ week will be held from April 17 to April 24.

Perhaps some indication of the'satisfactory year experienced here during 1917 can be gained from bankruptcy figures covering a period or two years. During 1916 there were 17 bankruptcies recorded in Gisborne, but last year the number which came before the Official Assignee was omy nine, or just over liulf tbe ninijfoer 01 the former year.

Relating incidents of days they were held as captives on the scow Moa by the German escapees, a member of the vessel’s crew stated that the Germans haj said that they had been preparing for escape for 18 days, and that they had got the German cook on Motuihi Island to assist in preparing provisions such as tinned fowl Count von Luckner is also stated to have had a salt bag half-full of sovereigns with him when recaptured.

It is stated that there will he a substantial rise in the near future in the price of crockery and glassware. Up till the present some firms have been able to take advantage of prewar contracts, but these are stated to be now on the verge of expiring, and the new conditions will mean greatly increased prices, particularly in the cheaper classes of table ware. Some of the' most common articles will probably be four or five times more expensive than they have been in the past.

Amongst the many art? ties that have become scarce on account of the war is the mouth organ, so dear to many who sail over the silent waters on a moonlight night. ‘ Made m Germany” is, of course, the explanation of the present shortage, but the effect has been to raise prices of the few left in stock to a very high figure To be asked 15s iCi a mouth organ formerly sold at from 3s to 4s is rather a shock to the ; would.-be purchaser. The Japanese are, however, cutting into this line, so perhaps after the war German-made mouth organs will have to be sold in Austria, Turkey and Sweden.

The seaplane from the Auckland Flying School, which has been giving passenger flights at Napier since Boxing Day, was damaged in the harbor on New Y’ear’s Day. During a high wind in the morning the reversing gear of the pilot launch carried away while attempting to tow the seaplane to a more sheltered anchorage. The seaplane was blown alongside the wharf, and the wings and fuselage were damaged. Later the seaplane was hauled on to the beach. The damage is estimated at over £SOO. Subscriptions have been taken up in Napier to cover the cost of repairs, and already amount to over £250.

A letter of interest to Freemasons has been received by Mr TV. H. Smith of Palmerston North, from W or. Bro. Meldrum, of the Hunterville Lodge. His letter is dated “Palestine. October 18, 1917.’’ He says:—“ln anticipation of being in .Jerusalem before long, the Freemasons in the New Zealand Brigade have arrangements made to hold a meeting on the site of Ring Solomon s Temple—if possible, though a mosque is said to cover it at any rate, as near the site of the Temple as we can get. That in years to come will he of interest Masonically, but of course it does not obscure the fact to us that we have first to do some hard fighting.”

The following paragraph appearing in the Daily Mirror shows that pri spoilers of war escape in other places besides Neiv Zealand:—“Lieutenant Otto Thelen made his fourth escape from internment camps recently, but was re-c-aptured. With twenty-one other Hun officers, including Captain von Muller (late commander of the Emden) —a pioneer of modern piracy —he_ disappeared through a tunnel at Keywortr, near the famous Donnington Hall. Of the twenty-three German officers who escaped, twelve of the escaped prisoners have been caught and eleven officer prisoners are still at large, ancj hare been lost for seven weeks.”

M hen Hon. W. D. S. MacDonald was at Motuhora last month on the occasion of the opening of the Mata-wai-Motuhora section of railwav line, a deputation of Matawai residents brought under his notice the proposed intention of the Railway Department to leave the station at Matawai without an officer in charge. They asked that some official should be left in charge of the station. The Minister placed the deputation’s wishes before the Minister for Railways, and received a memorandum setting forth the Department’s view of the j>os; r tion. In this it was stated that present business at Matawai did not warrant the retention of a stationmaster, but the Department would leave a caretaker in charge of the station.

Currency is given bv the Auckland Star to a statement by Mr. Clement V ragge that never in the course of long years of observation has he seen the sun so abnormally active as it is at present. On Thursday he observccl fifteen storms raging in tlie solar photosphere. This unusual state of affairs, he states, is surely indicative of meteorological and seismic disturbances in various parts of the world. He warns the public to watch the cablegrams with regard to reported storms and other unusual occurrences- He states that he has reason to believe that the coming hurricane season will be more pronounced over the islands and along Queensland, likewise all the north-west of Australia. He states, further, that he has reason to believe that the tropical disturbances will pass further south than is usual, and that before April North Auckland may be more or less affected thereby.

Much has been written about Hun brutality (says tlie Auckland Star), but there liuve been instances during the war of kindness bv Germans to British wounded soldiers. The following is an extract from a letter written to his mother bv Private Campbell, of Great. North Road, Auckland, and who has now put in. three years at the front and has been, twice wounded: “We have had rather an exciting time lately. Mv battalion went over the top* but I got, off unwounded, although I had several narrow escapes. I had. rather a strange experience next day. Some of our wounded were crying out- for help during the night,' and when morning dawned I went out with a R.A.M.C. bearer to pick up some of them. While wc were wandering about with the stretcher a German called out to us to come over, as one of our men was badly wounded. We went across without hesitation and. found one of our men whom they had picked up during the night. They had given him some hot soup and whisky, and-offered to let him he taken back to the British lines if anyone would come for him. The German officer and men never said a word till we started back with the wounded soldier. Then the officer said, ‘Silence, regarding this strong point.’ I saluted him, and I think he was well worth it.” ___ " '

Letters to hand by mail from England furnish peculiar instances connected;, with th'e regulations regarding distribution of sugar. A lady, writing to a relative in Auckland, states that it was annoying to wait half-an-hour in a queue to get only half a pound of sugar. A report has reached Queenstown ffma Martin’s Bay (saystheWakatipu Mail) to the effect that a quantity of wreckage is being washed ashore at Big Bay and Martin’s Bay. No less than 15 hatches off a vessel have been seen on the beaches, also spars, deck planking, etc., all considerably broken up. A steamer at Port Chalmers is a good example of marine “camousays a Dunedin paper. Hull, britipKaud funnel are' decorated with stripes' and splashes of many different colours, and' those who witnessed her arrival says that shg was still well served by this devibe , while still a comparatively short distance~away. The flush of grass in some districts in Southland lias caused a kidney) trouble jn lambs that has been responsible for many deaths. The best remedy for this trouble is to remove the ewes and lambs to a paddock where the food is much barer, and 'keep them on it for a week or ten. days at least.

Some farmers candidly confess that they do not think city men can do effective work on the-farm, but there is a prominent Canterbury farmer who does not share those views. He believes that the ordinary healthy and intelligent city man, after two or three days, can do. really good work ' farms. He has arranged to employ two city men- at harvesting, one a member of the Christchurch' City Council. The New Zealand Trade Review says there will probably be heavy accumulations of all classes of produce on hand for some time, which will require some financing. Importation is on a reduced scale owing to shortage* of shipping, and consequently, all things considered, the local supply of money should remain sufficient for all requirements. The familar clatter of the binder could: be heard on several farms in the Ashburton County on Sunday. It appears (says the Ashburton Guardian') that- Sunday reaping was practically a necessity on some farms, where grass-seed crops, in particular, had ripened rapidly owing to the mixed weather, and were in great danger of slinking out. -

Farmer soldiers coming south on leave must have been distressed to see the havoc that the wet weather has wrought among the heavier wheat crops (observes the Timaru Herald). A notable instance is the first crops Eassed by the train after crossing the pibi- Of what appears to have been a*|s tt !'Pp of great promise, about threefourths is lying flat. Another effect of an excess of rain is seen in hay lying on the ground and blackened, while the aftermath is growing high, no chance being given to the hay to become dry enough for stacking.

4he scow Moa, which was brought back from the Kermadecs to Auckland with the German escapees,_ bears evidence of her rough experiences, ohe has been considerably damaged, and it is estimated it will cost £2OO probably to restore her to her former seaworthiness. She is still leaking, but not so greatly as whilst she was being towe r ] into Auckland. When tlie Moa lef t Tauranga her cargo consisted of about 89,000 feet of sawn rimu of various classes. The total value of the cargo was between £SOO and £6OO. It is estimated that nearly two-thirds of the cargo was jettisoned on the day that the vessel was captured by the Germans.

_ “Itylbpks very clear to ns that until w§, succeed in developing our hy-dro-electric power resources,- ” states the Hon. IV. D. S. MacDonald, Millie for Mines, ‘‘that ive must do all to explore and develop our '^eoap'supplies. Hvdro-eleectric power is r. big thing,_ and will take a long time to come into general operation, so that we must look to coal for some time yet. Early in the new year 1 will submit to Cabinet a report I am obtaining from Mr. Morgan, Director of the Geological Survey, upon the Mokau coalfield, in Northern Taranaki. The owners of the area have offered to the Government the mineral rights over about 60,000 or 70,000 acres, containing a large quantity of coal, much of which can be easily transported down the Mokau river. This waterway can be improved at small expense by straightening one portion. It might also be possible to use much of the land for the settlement of soldiers, but this is a matter apart from the mining question which the Government will consider at an early date.”

An insufficiency of freight space is experienced by traders all over the world. It is, of course, the direct consequence of a shortage of shipping. Nowhere is it more marked than in Japan. To date, war transports are not required by the Japanese, but the war has afforded manufacturers and traders a rare opportunity of obtaining high prices in new consuming centres, with the result that freight spaces have assumed colossal proposiTfttts as. a gambling medium. A Yokohama correspondent recently asserted that the most current word in present-day Japanese slang is “narikin,” meaning “nouveau riche,” applied to the numerous mushroom millionaires which have been produced by the trade boom caused bv the war. The most numerous variety is the “funa-narikin,” or shipping millionaires. Kobe is now the centre of

the shipping trade, not only of Japan, but of the Orient. There is a Kobe Shipping Guild, which proposed to establish a shipping exchange, where traders may assemble to transact freight and charter business, and the buying and selling of vessels. The Ocean Transport Company, of Kobe, is only a new creation, but bids fair to make its influence felt in the Pacific transport business.

A peculiar position was disclosed before the First Canterbury Military Service Board (Mr. J. S. Evans, S.M., presiding) at Kaikoura last week. About two months ago a man engaged whaling, but also known as a shearer, was charged with wilfully making a false statement under the National Registration Act, 1915, to the Government Statistician,by falsely representing himself to be a marman with three dependents, it Was found that he was unmarried anh had no dependents. The infoimation was amended by consent, and accused was convicted and fined LIU. Investigation of the matter by the Chairman of the Board revealed a rather tangled skein. Section oo of the Act. provides that any person who fails to register is guilty or an offence. Section 35 provides that anyone convicted under the previous section Tan he called up by the comwajSfcgnt f or service in the ExpecliForce. The reservist was calleu up under section 34 and appealed. At the hearing of the appeal the chairman called for the production of the criminal record-book, this ■disclosed the fact that the appellant was convicted as before : mentioned and not of the offence of failing to register, as required under section 33. The chairman held that the ap-

pellant was not liable on the conviction .to be called up, and the appeal was, therefore, allowed. The military representative present is reporting , the case to headquarters. j . The world’s' greatest detective is strain of modern life, which unexposes all eyesight defects, j Haig Graham, Gisborne’s Eye Specyialist, Just as unfailingly remedies all these defects *.

Andrew. .Richard Bartlett, an employee of tthe Onehunga Sawmill Company, has died from injuries sustained through a piece of timber which he was cutting on the circular saw striking him on the abdomen. i A country correspondent of the Christchurch Press writes that since, the introduction. of six o’clock closing the keg trade with country hotels has increased, and this has revealed a shortage of the handy small sizes, so . that many licensees are finding a difficulty in supplying orders. A fdw years ago the "fleece-oh” in a shearing shed was glad to receive £1 5s per week 'and found. This year in the Wairarapa this class of labor has commanded Is 6d per hour, which works out at £4 10s per week, 'with several meals a day given in. According to the newspaper The Car ; New Zealand experiments showthat the resjn of kauri pine yields 20 to 80 gallons of crude oil per ton. The unfortunate part of this business, adds a writer in fhe Commercial Vehicle (New York) is that you cannot. have the kauri pine and the oil too. While it is quite true that there is a scarcity of nitrogenous manures as reported earlier this week, the market is kept well supplied with phot,? phate fertilisers manufactured from

the product of Makatea Island, close to Tahiti. Full arrangements have been made to supply New Zealand with six shipments next year. At the present time a shipment of phosphate rock is being unloaded in Auckland. At a sitting of -the Arbitration Court in Christchurch, during the hearing of the hotel employees’ case, the Hon. J. Barr sounded the knell of the male waiter (says the Press). He showed how, with one exception', the male waiter was becoming extinct in the first-class hotels in Christchurch, and he propliesised that when the two or three existing waiters ceased work, the waitress would reign supreme. “Probably a great improvement, too,” remarked Mr Justice Stringer, smiling. “I do not deny that, your Honor,” said Mr Barr, “1 believe that the waitress is perfectly efficient and gives every satisfaction.”

A splendid. record of military sacvice in the case of a Central Otago family was disclosed at the sitting of the Otago Military Service Board at Alexandra. William Reid, a farmer of Queensberry, in appealing for an extension of time to dispose of his property, stated that out ofriiine brothers, "six had already seen service, while another had been passed as fit. He himself would be the eighth to don khaki. This statement drew forth expressions of frank admiration from the board, which treated the appellant sympathetically, and, on the suggestion of Captain Free, an adjournment was granted till March to enable the reservist to make satisfactory arrangements regarding tlie disposal of his property. The chairman stated that if the farm had not been sold by then the board would give further consideration to the case.

In an interesting letter to a member of tlie Lyttelton Times staff, Mr. E. T. Sutherland, one of the first pupils of the Canterbury Flying School,-describes the trip to Europe. “Since leaving New Zealand,” he wrote, “tlie voyage has been perfect in every respect, though several of us birds were slow in getting our sea legs. E. A. F. Wilding, Nelson Hawker, and myself have weathered everything so far. There is in realitv nothing to do, and all day to do it in. so we do a bit of boxing, deck quoits, hockey, leap-frog, cock-fight-ing, to keep us in trim, and we use our revolvers occasionally with considerable effect. This seems to be Wilding’s masterpiece, and my own, but whether we will be able to give the Huhs a warm reception remains to be seen. We pass away the quiet hours % swatting up wireless, the compass, navigation by stars, etc. We saw whales, .flying-fish, and porpoises, and noted several good stunting seagulls, so we called them Hawker, Hucks, Guvnemer, and I am going to try some of their stunts if possible while at Home.”

A steam collier belonging to_ Huddart ,Parker. Ltd., which arrived at Melbourne on a recent Saturday, bad an exciting experience on lier trip from Newcastle. When near Gabo Island about 5 p.m. on Thursday the third officer, who was on the bridge, noticed a suspicious looking object floating above the water almost in a direct line with the bow of the ship. Passing it less than half a ships length. ciTTciv on "the sijctrkonrd side ne could see tliat it was a mine with' four prongs and a piece of wood attached. Several of the crew were looking over the ship’s side. . Had the vessel been passing tliat spot a few hours later, when darkness would have obscured the danger, the possibilities were that the sbip° and many of those on board would have been sent to the bottom. In conversation with several of the crew it was learnt that when the vessel was passing the vicinity on the previous trip to Newcastle a schooner, which has since reached Melbourne, was then almost on the same spot at which the mine was observed on the collier’s- return trip to Melbourne. It is understood, says the Age, that- the naval authorities are investigating the matter. ________