LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS

Marlborough Express, Volume LI, Issue 157, 5 July 1917, Page 4

LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS

The rainfall a^ Hartley.' Hills, Hill/ersden, during June; wasj 2.T5 inches. In. June 1916. tlie quantity recorded was 1.89 inches. , : '

The New Zealand Tnnes^ evidently "tips" the Member, for Wairau for the vacant seat in the.National Cabiriot. It referred to him yesterday as "the Hon. R. McCallum."

At a meeting of delegates of the South Canterbury Siipond Division League last night Mr J 'Cuthbert Enst was appointed representative at the Dominion conference <in Wellington.

Dr Thacker has given*s notice tof ask 'the Prime Minister "Whether he will consider the advisability of bringing home on furlough the members <o¥ the Main Body now1) on foreign service."

As the- result of a police enrapa'ign at Blenheim-informvitions numbering about thirty are to be sorved on \ Tariov.s porsons for alleged breaches i>f tho Anti-Shouting . RegutoMons. The porsons served .comprise licensees, bartenders, and members of the publjC.,: ; '■ ; .'.--.• v'-- ■■. V ... ■ , ;.,-. .-■ ■' .'■ , ...

The greater portion of the twentyeighth Reinforcements, were transr ferred to Trentham Camp on Tuesday, where a portion of the Twentysevenths is in camp. The Thirty-first Reinforcements ; which wi^re mobilised : at Trentham last ' week have been transferred., tq Taube^e.nikau..

An interesting question has been asked by.Mr McCallum of the Minister for Defence, as to whether some provision- cannot be made .whereby German arid Austrian residents in New Zealand should be called upon to make a it), projaortion to their means for' eath year during the period of the war.

L>J 9 ur Parl-'amontary-- correspondent telegraphs:—"Replying to HtLr McOallum:.- question -regarding the Wel-'ingtan-Picton service, the Minister tor Hallways stated that the faies by pteamer -are regulated by the Union bteam Ship Coy. Passengers between Blenheim and Picton pay the ordinary rail charges" only:"

\ man named Ernest Swanson, alms Swenson, a ; strange*!- to Pieton, was arrested on. Mionday evening by Constable Soott on a charge of steailng £2 10s in money, the property of Mrs K C. Jackson,.from the Federal Motel He appeai-ed: before the Court .on Tuesday,,; wlign the police asked for ; t nd were, granted a week's remand. 'j ,i,-. • i^,'

ihe whaling season is now in full swing. { .nd the Tory Channel party had a busy and profitable time last woe if, at the end of which the total number caught since the commencement of operations stood at ten. On Monday, three niore "hump-backs" were captured, and the total was increased to thirteen, which was one Jiiofe rhan the total for the corresponding period of last year. Yesterday the three boats each made a capture, so that the aggregate now Htands at; sixteen. The whales are stated to be nuislii larger and in better condition than those captured last season

The Labor Congress, sitting at Wellington, decided to-day that in order to secure a better result locally and nationally for the labor and money spent by trades unions, steps ~be taken to link up all kindred trades in one union.

The Dunedin Star forecasts a £20,000,000 war loan, the greater portion of which will be raised locally, probably any sum between £12,Q00,000 and £15,000,000. The banking returns are accepted as ample justification for calling for heavy local loans.

To relieve the pressure of work experienced at the post offices at the beginning of each month it has been arranged to pay out the old age pensions, also military and war pensions on the twenty-third instead of the first day of the month. Tlie new arrangement will come into operation on July 23, when the August instalments will be paid out.

The polling in the municipal byelection being held to-day is doubtless affected to some extent by the rainy weather. At one o'clock only 90 votes had been cast; The number of names on the voting roll is 1930. The -candidates for t) vacancy caused* by the resignation of Mr R. V. Bythell, are Messrs W. E. Gascoigne, J. W. Humphreys, and L. A. 1 White.

Six o'clock closing will not affect: the discriminating people whose favorite beverage is Desert Gold Tea —the cup that cheers. Unequalled for-- quality, flavor, and economy. Order the 2s grade.—Advt. :

Several Christchurch residents who have sons at the front, and have been advised by them of the despatch, through the post, of war mementoes and other articles, state tliat the' goods^ have-' "never reached itkeffik,. It is :alleged (says.the Press) tftia'^'-the .reason is 'that pilfering is <rife at the other end. It is. stated .tjhat registration of such articles is essential in order to ensure their safe delirerj;. } ' -\. . .'.. . •

: The Catholic social held in St: Pair rick's Hall last night was Well"'. pat-' ionised .and eventuated under most eifijoyable cenditiqns,. /Special music was reridered by Perry's orchestra, a?id extras played by Mrs Kofbed,. Miss O'Sullivan, and Mr •'■ William'^ wero j appreciated. Messrs- H.l Y. Browne and M. Scollard were capable M.C/'s. The supper provicLed by tlie ladjes y'.as worthy of the large gathering' ' Tlie, euchre tournament,. the .prizes in which were presented by Mr H. V\ Browne, was keenly contested. Mirsjß. Duffy secured the ladies' prize, which was a handsome morocco handbag, and Master H. Liristrom won the gentleman's Umbrella.

,: Lieut. F. Leslie Murray, of Hillersden, who is with the mounted forces in Palestine, writes that he has been engaged in some very interesting patrol work. Recently, while regimental sports were being held, a bomb was dropped from a Turkish aeroplane. Five horses were the only 'vi ctims. The weather has been very hot in the day-time, the thermometer in the shade registering 110 degrees on three occasions; but the evenings are, .fortunately,' cool. Lieut. Murray states, that; the troops greatly appreciate parcels containing chocolate, cheese, 4 sweets,f qakes, biscuits, small tins of cocoa, and anything to make a -drink with cold water. There is \ no need to send clothing.

In reply to a question by Mr McCallum, the' -Minister for Internal -affairs' stated on -Tuesday that though the title of the.'Bill he had introduced was the-' Revocation of Naturalisation; Bill, it was not intended in tjhe, slightest degree • to cancel all naturalisation papers, and most certainly not the naturalisation papers issued to citizens of any of our gallant Allies. The revocation of naturalisation in any particular case, would be at the discretion of the Governor-in-Oouncil, and the provisions of the Bill were drawn very carefully. Revocation would only be proposed under circumstances that rendered it absolutely in the interests of the country and the Empire.

The Coroner's verdict in the inquiry held on Tuesday into the death of .a female infant at Blenheim was that the child succumbed to marasmus, and if the mother had realised the state of the child and called in medical aid the life might have been saved. The evidence was published in yesterday's issue. It should be widely known that persons responsible for the care of babies may obtain advice from the Maternity Home recently established in Blenheim by the Wairau Hospital Board. One of the objects of the institution is to provide guidance for mothers and others in charge of infant lives, meeting the cases of those particularly who are in poor circumstances. This is a privilege that applies to the prenatal period and to the rearing of infants as well as the time of pp<, finement, and no hesitation should be relt in taking advantage of it. "For this relief much thanks." .

A London correspondent, writing under date May 15, says:—Mr Alfred Nuttall (Picton) is still in France with one of the Canadian Field Ambulances. For the past twenty-six months he has been on service in ■France and Belgium.

.During a recent bottle gathering campaign l>yj scho.il children in Invercargill m aid ot the Red Cross Fund, no less than 78,301 bottles of all kinds were collected. The sales totalled £285, and when the bottles in hand were disposed of it was expected that the total . receipts would exceed £300. This is a good record for a np-1-cense district.

A London cablegram states that Sir Herbert Tree's death was unexpected. It resulted from heart failure, while recovering from an operation to the knee after an accident. Some little time ago. Sir Herbert was prevailed upon to place a record on the screen, and cinematograph patrons will in due course be enabled to see the famous actor in the role of Fagin in f•'Oliver Twist."

A general chorus of approval from members jireetud Mr H. J. 11. Okey's question to the Government in the; House on Tuesday, as fco whether their attention had been drawn to the fact that a considerable number of enemy subjects are purchasing farms and houses in New Zealand while we are; at war, and whether they will take into consideration the necessity or otherwise of holding up all transfers until the cessation of the war. , .;.'.'.= :

The New Zealand Times says that inj' connection.: with the forthcoming Wellington races nest week it was' .stated at the Lower H«tt Borough CounciL. meeting oh Monday that thpre would be miany' hundreds of people going .to Trehtham by; motor lorries,. The engineer and town clerk were instructed to oblige drivers passing through the .borough to take out a license, which will cost them' £5 each; »If other- local bodies follow suit, it will cost ' or £25 ..in license to driye from "Wellington" to Trentham. )

As an indication^ oL the appreciar tion of returned soldiers of : clufrrobtias," the caretaker of the Hanmer Spritfgs Club^ ip, :,.^ th,e; eciurse; of a letter to Vhe editor of the .Lyttelton Times,' states that he has served" tea to persons in : ,nine , months, tha't is to soldiers and a f,evv of their friends. ! Theire.is no. charge made; Mr Duncan •; Rutherford supplies everything. ' Ml the. table games are used considei'dhly, and so . also are the writing materials. ''The; club, is. a great boon ; 'to the boys," says.the writer : in' con;c^^ is a great pity* there are ; not more such clubs for'ihera'.-v-'■'.■•;V;;.';'••,■•■■■•■;•. .

Referring to the suggestion that special Gallipoli '■ medals should be struck for, the New Zealand troops engaged in that campaign^ Sir Joseph Ward stated in the House of Representatives on Tuesday night that the military authorities at Home told him that it could not be done, as some fifteen million medal's would be wanted in all, and if -they; were tq give'a special Gallipoli medal to the New Zealand troops they would have tq^ do the 'same -for the other troops e'ngagedvin' that and other big fights.,, The matter was very fully discussed, and the upshot;' of it all was that he thought it might he done if .Australia and New Zealand co-operated ..to; issue to their :own troops ,a special Gallipoli medal in addition to the ordinary war medal;

In these times of labor shortage, which all classes of trade and the farming community are feeling acutely, any scheme whereby one pair of hands can accomplish the work of two or more is an important factor in the efficiency question of the nation. Heneos it behoves grocers, bakers, and others having delivery duties to perform to adopt the quickest and most 'tncient way. This is by motor delivery vans. Farmers and others having heavier cartage will also be looking round fer more efficient handune methods, and here Parker's' CenK Garage would like to announce that they will soon be in a position to quote quite the most economical and quickest transport vehicles, viz., the Smith-Form-a-Truck, which wiil cost £140, and will do the work of two, teams, wjll travel at from 12 to I? miles per hour, carry one ton and trail two more on a trailer, climb any hill in the district and go about 15 miles on one gallon of benzine. The first vehicle is due to arrive in a few weoks and will be- demonstrated to those Interested.—Advt.