Local and General

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume X, Issue 46, 6 February 1920, Page 4

Local and General

A suspected, case of diphtheria has been admitted to the Napier Hospital from Port Ahuriri. The Wairoa pilot reported this morning: Light east wind, smooth sea, good bar. The estate of the late Mr. Alex. Burt, of Dunedin, has been sworn for probate at a valuation of uniei £BO,OOO. A bequest of £3OO has been made to the Dunedin Technical School, to be devoted to scholarships in practical trades.—“Otago Times. ’ A meeting... of the. Hawkols . Bay Education Board will be held on Thursday next. In the morning oi that day the Board will meet in committee to consider, matters in connection with Technical education. Mr. P. Black, Palmerston North Borough Curator, has been invited by the Minister of External Affairs to accompany the Parliamentary party to Samoa, to report to the Government on tropical gardening in the Islands. \A meeting of the Clive Grange ’(Haumoana; Beach Committee was called for last night, but,'as only the chairman (Mr. J. T. Blake) was present the meeting lapsed for want of a quorum. This is all the moie extraordinary in that the chairman has always been considered a host in himseu. To-morrow evening at the Hastings Municipal Theatre, an all-star programme Will be. screened. The principal .picture will be “The Prussian Cur,” a 7000 feet Fox special, filled with thrills from start to finish. “The Dub,” starring Wallace Reid, will also be screened. The matinee to-morrow will be , for adults only. Sir John Forbes-Robertson as “The Stranger” in the “Passing of the Third Floor Back” will be seen at Everybody’s Theatre, Hastings, to-morrow evening. The play took four years to write, and the resme was worthy of the • labour. Ma« Marsh will have the stellar role in “The Racing Strain,” a story of old Kentucky. Exclusive supports make up the programme. Messrs E. Collins and D. L. Smart of the Napier Division of the St. John Ambulance, who have been assisting in connection with the outbreak of typhoid at Te Araroa, returned home yesterday iby the Arahura. Mr. Smart said that all the patients are convalescent, with, tno exception of one, who was admitted to the hospital on Monday. There is no likelihood of the disease spreading. The Arahura berthed at the Breakwater, Napier, at 3.30 o’clock yesterday afternoon, but the passengers were not allowed to xauu for over half an hour later, the cause being a medical inspection of the passengers. This was carried out by Dr. Leahy. However, the ship proved to be a clean one, there being no signs of. influenza on board. The passenger list was a lengthy one. In order to make some arrangements for collecting funds for the Napier bands, a public meeting was held in the Borough Chambers last night, the Mayor presiding. Mr. S. H. Tuck addressed the meeting and said that for the past five or six years both bands had sunk . every difference and had done their utmost for the benefit of the town. They had sacrificed a great, deal of their time and had entered into the spirit of their work heartily, and hot for any benefit which they might gain through it. It was high time the citizens did something in return to help the bands, whose funds were not at all encouraging. The Mayor and others present' also spoke id favour of the proposal and suggested a street collection. A temporary committee was formed with Mr. Tuck as convener and a further meeting is to be called at an early date. A circular letter to freezing companies is being sent out by the Prime Minister under date January 23. The letter is as follows: —“Imperial Government Requisition of Wool: The Department has reason to believe that certain are holding back their wool under the impression that it will be free from the Government requisition after the 39th June, 1920, and available for private disposition. It ns advisable, therefore, to state definitely, for the information of all concerned, that this is not so, and that wool clipped, and wool proS duced at freezing works on or before that date, cannot be exported from New Zealand, and that its sale otherwise than to the Government will be an offence. The same position applies to. skins from stock slaughtered (other than those at freezing works) prior to June 30tu, lt is requested that brokers and freezing companies take.immediate steps to make the. position inthis respect clear to their clients’. — Yours faithfully, W. F. Massey, Minister in Charge.”

* A! painting of Nurse Cayell has been unveiled at the Dunedin Public ' Library. 1 The fifth wool valuation oi the season in Gisborne was commenced lon Tuesday last by the valuer*, Messrs. Milnes (2), Tartakover, I Clark, Cahill, and Woods. The total catalogue amounted to 5778 uaiea. At the invitation of the Bishop of Christchurch, four sisters of the Order of St. Anne arrived recently jin the Dominion to establish the order in New Zealand. The head* quarters of the order is at Arlington Heights, Massachussetts, where the main activities are among orphans. Recent climbers of Ben Lomond have (says the Dunedin “Star”) seen sheep grazing near the summitfine strong sheep, that move about the rocky slopes as nimbly as goats. A number of slips have taken place on the peak, but to all but the incautious the track is quite safe. The rainfall in Auckland during to past month totalled 4.55 inches, the highest for a number of years. The maximum fall on any one day last month was 1.43 inches, on January 24th. The highest rainfall recorded at Auckland in January was 7.45 inches in 1875, and the lowest ,13 inches in 1897. The Parliamentary trip to Samoa, Sir James Allen stated to a southern reporter, is not at all likely to be interfered with by the attitude of the Merchant Service Guild. He stated that he saw no reason for supposing that there would be any hitch connected with the trip. As for the proposal that the party should visit the American island he stated that an invitation had not yet been received, but probably it was on the way. The “Nelson Colonist” of the 21st ult had the following:—“We have to apologise to. our readers for the delay in the publication of this journal yesterday morning, bttt the circumstances were unavoidable ? the whole of our printing and publishing staff, with two exceptions, being down with the ‘flu.’ Although the epidemic is not in serious forna it is causing inconvenience in a number of establishments, owing to the depletion of the staffs,. So far pneumonic symptoms have not appeared.” Before its final adjournment the National Council of Women in Canada passed a resolution on the subject of women’s dress. It was resolved that: “In the interests of health, morals, and thrift the con vention shall appeal to the women of the Dominion to oppose the constant changes in fashions and the exaggerated styles in dress; and, further, that they shall make every effort to adopt a dress of quiet and artistic character for use m their business life.” In writing to Mr. J. A>. Young, M.P., for Waikato, a few days ago, with reference to the. suggestion that the parents and wives of soldiers who have fallen in the war should be afforded an opportunity during the coming summer of visiting the battlefields on the easteni and western fronts, the Prime Minister said: “This proposal has been very carefully considered by the Government on more than one occasion, but it has not been found possible to give effect to it, one of the difficulties being in regard to shipping, and another the heavy cost which, woiild be incurred. While appreciating the desire of parents to visit the resting places of their sops, the Government regrets, on accpunt of difficulties in the way, that effect cannot be given to their wishes at the present t’me.” At the Wellington Police Court a few days ago, Mr. .W. G. Riddell, S.M., ■ dismissed an infonnation charging Henry Pym with being in possession of a .303 carbine, called up in 1903, the property of the New Zealand Government, without satisfactorily accounting for it, on the groqnd that the charge was laid outside the time limit prescribed by the Police Offences Act. Mr. Riddell pointed out that, as the summons was worded, no offence had been committed under the Defence Act. According to the statute, . a person could be charged for “being in possession” or “failing to satisfactorily account” for “possession” ; but the defendant had been charged, with being in possession of a rifle without satisfactorily accounting for it. Counsel’s contention that the information was Laid too late was sound, and on that ground the charge would be dismissed. Whatever may be the ultimate decision as to Dr. Gilruth’s capacnj as Administrator of Australia * Northern Territory, there can be no doubt as to his reliability when speaking of cattle diseases. We may therefore take it for granted that he was quite assured of his facts when, in the course of an interview in Sydney on his return from a visit to the United States, he said:— “Compared with the experiences in many parts of America, such as Texas, with stock disease, Australian pastoralists do not know they are alive. There are immense areas where stock has to. .b'e dipped every year, as a protection against ticKs, where every hoof has to be annually inoculated against anthrax, i and where every calf has to be treated with a prophylactic against blackleg. The labour thus called for is stupendous.” In such matters, as in many others, New Zealand has even more to be thankful for than has Australia. A farmer of 30 years’ practical experience in Hawse’s .Bay, and who had two sons on active service, informed a “Tribune” reporter yesterday that it was impossible for some of the returned soldiers to make farming pay at the high price they were paying for land, and he thought It a downright cruelty to urge on them to take up land under such conditions. H e instanced a case where a returned soldier had purchased a farm for £l2O per acre, and only partly improved at that, w’hich was equivalent to a rental of £6 per acre, excluding rates and taxes. He maintained that no matr ter what class of farming the soldier undertook he could not. make both ends meet, as the price he would receive for his products would not sufficiently compensate him for his outlay. Tlie result would be that after five or six years’ hard work he would be forced to give up his farm. It was this kind of thing that wks encouraging the practical farmer, who was such a good asset to the State, •to give up farming and go in for an occupation that was much easier, such as a land agency or some other speculative concern. He suggests that returned soldiers’ should only be allowed to go on the land by way of the ballot system, and that several of the large estates in Hawke’s Bay should be acquired by the Government for the purpose. By this means, he contends, the returned soldier would not only be on a more advantageous footing, but he would get more land by paying a rental than he can now do by purchasing land from a private indi vidua!