LOCAL AND GENERAL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume L, Issue 175, 8 October 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Helping Hand Shop is making its effort for the R«d Cross special appeal on Thursday and Friday next, and two busv days .are confidently looked forward "to. 'Plentiful supplies of produce are expected from the country, and the other stalls will H be well stocked. Mrs Cross is judging the apron competition, and Miss E. Gilkinson the cakes, pastry, etc. Particulars regarding times of entry will be found in the advertisement. Spring 'Grove helpers are asko.d to leave their gifts with Mrs G. Hodgson. . Contributions from Happy Valley, Wakapuaka, and Atawhai will be collected on Wednesday, afternoon. Donations from Kawai, Van Dieman, Examiner, and Mount streets and,. Wellington terrace will be called for on Thursday morning. The butchers who have been drawing mutton from the local, freezing works (says the Christ-church Press) have been notified that they will be charged by the Government 3s extra per carcase, to cover the cost of freezing and. storage. This Ls, equal to f d per lb on an average carcase. The butchers consider this a distinct breach of the agreement made with the Board of Trade, and a telegram has beeu sent to the board asking if the increased, cost can be passed on to the consumer'. There is no further supply of frozen beef to be obtained from the freezing works, as there is no /shipping space available. Mr R. Jones, secretary of the -Master Butchers' Association, has received a reply to the effect that the board will meet representatives of the butchers next Monday morning.

Visitors to Auckland and local business inch returning from trips to the South (says the Auckland Star) all join in the opinion that the round, of life is very* qui*t in the South Island. Not only is-business slack, but the whole movement in most of the .Southern cities seems"T;o bo very much below normal. In Wellington business is said to be a little more brisk, but everybody seems to decide that at the present moment Auckland is the liveliest city in the Dominion,

A family that has suffered 'cruelly by the war (says the Taranaki News) is that of the Hamblyns, of Tariki. Five boys volunteered, and went to the front. Four have been and the other wounded. Amongst the first who were balloted! was the sixth and remaining son, who was helping the father on the farm. An appeal was lodged, but dismissed, and the boy is now on his way to the front. Mr O'key, M.P., who is looking after the interests of the northern part of Captain Hine's district, interested himself in the case, and as a result of his representations the Defence Minister at once agreed to cable to the authorities at Home, and to relieve the boy from further military service. He will • return by the frrst available ship. This act will be appreciated by the public of Taranaki as much as by the parents of a family with such a noble, patriotic record. The annual general meeting of Griffin and Sons, Ltd., will be held at the company's office this evening. Attention is drawn to Mrs Anstice's new advertisement on sixth page of this issue re Summer Millinery. .Reliable Black Kid. 'Gloves at 5s 6d pair and good quality black and white Lisle Gloves 3s 6d pair. See Trathen's advt. on Page 3. Nelson ladies delighted with "NO RUBBING" Laundry Help—it lightens their work and whitens iheir clothes. Is packets every time.—Local grocers. Coals.—Order at Neal and Haddow'js, tha Cash Wood and Coal Depot., The Wood ana Coal portion of our business is being conducted on cash lines only. Absolutely with , order or ,on .. delivery. No second order- Jan. be accepted if conditions no£ adhered t6. North Cape. Pußonsa. »nd Smithy Gotlc^

Speaking at All Saints' Church last evening lit connection -with the day of .National Intercession, from Genesis 4, 10, "Thy brother's blood cripth unto nlo from the ground," the Bishop of Nelson eaid : '"The evil element in reprisals is vindictiveness. If we take vengeance for vengeance sake, we sink to tho level of the Germans. The question of reprisals is not one of retaliation only, but of just punishment for the violation of the laws' of nature and of the laws' of humanitv. There must be a vindication of pubhc and international justice and such vindication .must result with the prevention of such barbarities. Hence Abel's blood cried hot for vengeance but for iustice. And that is our plea to-day to the God of all the earth. We pray that righteousness may be done.''

The telegraphic chess match, between the Blenheim and Nelson Chess Clubs will be played to-night, beginning at 7.30. . The local bourds will be at the Nelson Bowling Club's pavilion. The Nelson players are: Dodds,. Angus, B. Trathen. Clark, W. B. Griffin, Allpqrt, Dr Jeffries, A. E. Cresswell, HoueeaUx, Kemp ; emergency, Stephenson ; umpire, Merrick; telegraphist, C. Whelan.

Two appeals in the ground of religious belief were heard at Palmerston North the other Bay by the First Wellington Military Service Board. Regi"halcl Robert Hockley, farmer, Ashhurst, stated he had belonged to the Brethren for eleven years and was willing to do non-combatant work. He had served in the Territorials four years, and had made no objection to bearing arms. He had one brother at the front doing ambulance work, and he himself had tried to enlist in February, in tne ambulance. He asked for a month in which to arrange his affairs. To Mr Mf'Laren : Practically all the other men of his. church had gone into camp and were doing noil-combatant work. The appeal was dismissed, appellant to go into camp on 14th November. Charles S. Wycherley, farmer, Utuwai, appealed on the grounds of religious objections. Appellant stated he was single and worked a 200-acre farm, which he owned. -He also helped his neighbours with their shearing and ploughing. To in his beliefs, and did not object to doing his duty as a non-combatant. .Alfred Wycherley, father of appellant said he was one of the Brethren, and he was "sure his son was genuine in his Beliefs. If his son had bben put down as a freethinker, it was a mistake. Mr Copper: Who wrote freethinker down? Witness said his son had written "no religious body" because * the Brethren were not recognised as sucli, and his son had therefore been mistaken for a freethinker. Witness said he understood that some o" the religious objectors had been forced into the infantry, and he asked for a recommendation to the military authorities that his son be _ put into non-combatant work alone. Decision was reserved.

A special meeting of the Richmond Red Cross will be held in the Anglican Sunday School on Tuesday, October 9th at 2 o'clock.

Cases of hardship resulting from the operation of the , existing regulations governing the granting of pensions to returned soldiers were mentioned by Mr V. J. Larner, chairman of the Claims Board of the Auckland Patriotic Association, at a sitting of the board qn Tuesday, reports the Herald. "Cases are continually coming under the notice of the board," said (Mr Larner, "in which men who have been unable to obtain any assistance from the - Government when they return, owing to some prewar. .disabilitW have been compelleqj to come to the Claims Board for help. It is not to.be denied that certain prewar disabilities have existed, but at the same time it is not; fair to the T-.eh to overlook the fact, have been to the front, and. many have . seen a , lot of active service. They have then been invalided home to find that their sei;vices have gone practically for nought, eo far as their being entitled-to a pension is concerned. - In one case which came before the board -to-day, the hardship was recognised, and assistance was granted to the man in the meantim I do not say that a pension, should be given in every case, but there* are certainly some jvhich should have received consideration. "It is to be hoped that when the revision of the Pensions Bill coines before the House, some discretionary powers will bo given to the commissioners to deal with this matter."

■Speaking to a Poverty Bay Herald representative, Lieut. Te Awarau, Maori recruiting officer, stated this week that in view of the splendid response from the East Coast and the consequent great shortage of Native labour, there was iip active recruiting on the coast at present. Lieut. Te Awarau, who has been on short leave attending farming interests on the coast, said that under, tfie 1916 Act conscription , was extended' to the Maoris ,but there ,was still" a chance that.it would not have to. be-putintb operation, ftecruiting operations had recently been centred on. the West Coast and in the Taupo district, and the only Natives who were holding bade were the They were, however ,on the verge of falling into line, which would save the extension of conscription to the Maori race. Sir James Carroll had put the position very clearly before them at the recent meeting at Morrinsville, when he put it 'to .them that if they provided 200 or 300 recruit* it would save conscription and at the same time it would be the end of the Maori reinforcements. Any Maoris enlisting after that would go into the pakeha force. A fleeting of the Plunket Society will bo held every Tuesdaythis month.