LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS

Marlborough Express, Volume LI, Issue 33, 8 February 1917, Page 4

LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS

The Napier Chamber of Commerce iios received advice from the Hon.-.J. Allen that it is necessary to hold the Territorial camps, and business men must arrange with tho local officers commanding as to a suitable dato.

Military polico are to be established in the four chief centres. An important duty will be in connection with those men who are ignoring their responsibilities after being called up. The military police will bo assisted m their duty by the civil police.

The. T»ir:ton freezing works have ls-oon kept going at high pressure of lato and, j>voyiding steamers for loading are available, a record output for the season is within sight (states tho Pre.ss). 'Plio' cool storage chambers are rapidly filling, however, and unless a relief sbip" airives within the no-xt few weeks, the works will probably have to suspend operations for a time.

A fire occurred at Auckland on Tuesday evening in the.• offices orci!pied by the Amalgamated Film Ex"hange of Australasia. The fire was brought under control within twenty minutes, and practically no damage •was done to tho building, which is >i>f forro-concrote. but a million and a quarter feet of film, valued at £28,000, was destroyed. The origin of the fire is unknown.

AltLoujrh all thr> ships in Wellington vicro at work on Tuesday there was a, marked shortage of labor on tho watcrsido (statos The Dominion). At cue time there wns a string of no less than fourteen expresses and waggons ■waiting to discharge their loads, which wtre&o bo shipped south by the IWa?imnd. Owiup- to the'-limited number of liands available for wharf labor,' tlio unusual spectacle >of drivers of < arts seizing trucks, : \mloading their vehicles themselves, and trucking the goods along'to the ship's side was obherved.

The Hon. G. W. Uusssll (Minister for _ Internal Affairs) made the following statement in Christchureh on Tuesday:—'The attention of tiro Government has boon drawn to the large number of women who are leaving New Zealand at the present time for the Mother Country, and it has been decided that restrictions : i sill be imposed on future departures. It therefore has been decided that in future passports shall not be issued to women except in cases of exceptional necessity. The policy of restricting '-he departure of men will te still further tightened."

A vanload of cases of benzine attached to a iram cauglit fire by some unknown means on the ijimutaka incline a few dars ago. Smoke was seen to be cowing i'rora a van, r-nd the ofHcinls, who know how danferous weie its contents, stopped the train immediately and uncoupled the burning van from the train. The engine then went at the highest speed for the summit, about a "mile distant. The van was drawn up under the water-tank, and the flames t xtinguished. It was found on opening the y.in that several-of the cases containing tho tins of benzine hud beon burned. Tho promptitude with which the officials on the train fn*se.d prevented a serious result.

The possibility of Wellington city being left without n supply of milk was mentioned in all seriousness by dairymen '-ho appeared before the Board of Trade on Tuesday (reports at. exchange). The1 dairymen insisted that with Ihe Government paying 9.U1 per pound for cheese they were •osing money by supplying milk to tie city at approximato'.y 9Jd par gallon on trucks. Tho trouble, from their pomt. of view, was aggravated by the fact +hat the actual consumers r.v'ie being required to pay Is 8d per gallon for mils delivered at their homes, tha A'eudors charging for distribution as much as the farmers did for production. ono witness offered the opinion that if the conditions yore not improved by the raising of tho farmers' price and the provision of ii. proner distributing c rga.nisation in the city, Wellington people would find th'»ms'»>lv >s (te^vndert upon sudrlit'S of tinned milk. There would It no fresh milk for them.

The District Medical Board, which was t.o have met in Blenheim on February 14r.1i, has cancelled its itinerary until a later date.

NominatieHS for all events at tho ) Nelson Jockey Club's meeting, to be l-.eid on March 7th and Bth, will close with the secretary, Mr J. Glen, on Monday evening next. At tho Wairoa Magistrate's Court yesterday W. J. Mossman was fined '< £20 tor having an earless sheepskin | in his possession. George Smith was ; fiiitd £30 for supplying a native with liquor—a second conviction. A correspondent writes to the Editor complaining of the excessive speed at which a certain lady motorcyclist rides through town. "It is a wonder there has not been a serious accident before now," she asserts.

A cockerel put up for auction at a sale for war funds at Huntingdon \v:w j knocked down 73 times, realising £50 1 ir, all. Tho cockerel has been at Red ; Cross sales for more than a year, has i travelled f*ooO miles, and has been ; "wold" 2003 times, and raised £2169. A Blenheim poldier iwnv in Franco ' writes: ''This area is now alive with Marlburians, and the number of familiar faces to bo seen daily speaks well for the patriotism of the'distvict. I often foel that I am walking down Market Street, so many acquaintances nro. there about." Fine weather prevailed throughout Now Zealand at 9 o'clock this morning. The temperature ranged from 70 at Oapo Maria van Diemen to 56 at Bealcy, the Blenheim reading being 65. The sea was rough at Capo Campbell, while Cape Palliser reported a heavy swell. 11l tho report of yesterday's proope'lings of the Marlborough Racine; Ciub it. was stated that the summer meeting was being held in substitution for tho spring and autumn fixtures. This is an error, jus tho autumn races will be held as usual in Mnv.

Post Office Savings Bank deposits during the quarter ended December 81st totalled £8.747,430, and withdrawals £3,085,625, being an excess of deposits of £661,805. In the enrrosponding period of 1915 the figures were:—Deposits £3,458,853, wifcn drawals £3,201,0-10, excess of deposits £257.913.

It is anticipated that the Marlborough Trotting Club's meeting at Riverlands to-morrow will be tho most popular gathering in the history of the club. The class of horses enc.-i.ged is better than anything forthcoming iju previous years, and the sporting public are taking an exceptional amount of interest in tho occasion.

There woro no new developments on the Wellington waterfront yesterday, and work continued as usuil on all ships in port. Tho Disputes Committee met on Tuesday afternoon to consider the quostion of '■'dumping" (handling cargo in nots>. Expert evidence was called on both sHes, and the committee then adjourned, to meet again when further information has been obtained. A Press Association telegram from Dmiodin says:--The Hon. G. W. Russell ptotes that it is not likely that anything will be dono to set up a Commission to define the new electoral boundaries as a result of the Tonent census until after next session. The term of Parliament has boon extended, and it is not desirable tliac the now boundaries should be knowr. with two sessions ahoad.

Imports into Now Zealand during tl-o December quarter of 1916 totalled £6,850,784, compared with £5,058,62S in, the corresponding period of 1915. Imports from the: United Kingdom were valued at £3,745,226, as'against £2,932.248 a year ago. Tho total imports for the year IM6 wf»ro J--26.339.283. compared with £21,728,Ste in 1915. Last year's total included .-€1,293,880 in specie, and in 1935 this item was £1,070,114. Mr Veitoli, M.P., speaking ifc n luncheon to members of the Novtitt crn Parliamentary tour, said that , tho man who says he would just as" well live under German rule as umbv British rule is a fool. "We cannot, allow men to talk like that," he con- ! tinned "This war is not a. 'football i tiiatoh. Our soldiers do not want. ', barrackors: they want fighters. T was told tlmt if I supported military | service I would go out of office. In j reply to that I say that if v soldier is j prepared to risk his life for me I would be a coward if I. woro not propared to ri«k my billet for him." When Mr Witch sat down all present, standing, gave three rousing cl-.oors Mr Field, M.P.. said thnr, Mr Witch had expressed the seu'.i'looiits of three-fourths or move of the Labor people of New Zealand.

Mr W. W. Snodgrass, secretary of tho Nklson Sick and Wounded Soldiers and Dependents' Fund, recently communicated with the Defence authorities asking when the additional allowance; to cover the financial obligations of soldiers would bo available. Mr Snodgrass on Friday received a reply from tho Army Pay Department stating that r-he scheme was not yet in working order, and that as soon as the arrangements were completed tho details would be published and application forms would bo made available.

The ordinary meeting of the Spring Creek Road Board was held on .Monday. There wore present: Messrs H. C. Checsman (chairman), F. Gane, J. H. Sutherland, J. Neal, C. Reeves, and A. J. Mills. It was decided that the dog tax be the siuno as that of last year—sheep dogs 2s Gd, other, dogs os—and the collector of last year bo offered the position ".gain, the purchase of collars .to be left to the secretary to arrange, it wat decided that property owners with fences at corners of road be requested to trim them. The financial statement showed a debit balance at the bank of £182 os Bd. Accounts, amounting to £22 2s wore passed for payment. It was resolved to sue for all unpaid rates.

An accident of a somewhat serious nature occurred at the junction of Warwick iStreet and Grove Road yesterday evening. A motor-car proceeding up "Warwick Street turned into Grove Road, and was confronted by a trap occupied by several ladies. Just what happened is not quite clear, but the vehicles came into violent collision on the side of the road nearest the Marlborough Brewery. The force of the impact tilled the trap, with the result that the occupants were hurled to tin; ground. Drs Noble-Adams and Bennett wove quickly on the scene, and 0:10 of the ladies, a visitor from Kelson, was ordered to be removed to the hospital, where- she was found to be -iufforing from a stellate fracture of the skull. Pier condition is understood to be serious.

Ex-New Zoalauders resident in Australia are. not a little proud of the part the land of their'birth is playing m the- war. One of theso is Mr G. 10. Armit, lato of the 20th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, who was wounded In the battle of the Sonime, and is now on a visit to New Zealand for the piu-pase of having his injure treated. "I. am proud of New Zealand/ he said to a Wellington Post representative, "and know that she is doing her utmost endeavor in. the Avar. The spirit of New Zealand mid ox England is practically the same. Unrortunateiy there is a great lack of this true spirit in Australia. When ithe full facts of New Zealand's effort are disclosed to the world the Mother Country will fe.^l proud of the enormous sacrifices made l>y our country."

Times an* prosperous in the Marlhorpugli district. Wool cheques are large, milk suppliers aro having o good season, and most people are considering in what way they can have a raoi'o comfortable time with their incroased roceipts. One way is improved methods of trr.vel, viz., by owning a motor-car. Most ears now have some kind of self-starter attachment and other refinements, but to the ordinary person it is hard to choose which are the most reliable. The designers of ■= he Chevrolet car have succeeded in giving absolutely tlie best results known. The price is'right. It is the lowest'on the-market for a fully equipped car. The weight is right, henco tyres run longer mileages; the self-sf..irfcer is a properly built-in reliable, one, one of the most expensive makes on the market; the'springing is on a new design, giving splendid riding results; the Zenith carburettor is economical nnd reliable; the engine is of the overhead valve type, so wellknown in connection with Buick cars, giving sweeter running and extra power. The whole* car is of latest dewgn. well finished in every way, and fills tho wants of the farmer motorist absolutely. Ladies can drive, as there, p.re no starter troubles. Users iv this district are delighted with their choice.—Advt.