LOCAL AND GENERAL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LII, Issue 250, 17 October 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A man of about 80 years of age will b© charged at the Magistrate's Court next week with having attempted to have carnal knowledge of a girl under 12.

Parcels for New Zealand soldiers serving in Imperial units, that is to say, not iai the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces, or for New Zealand sailors in the Imperial Navy, may be posted to the care of the High Commissioner, who will- see that they are sent forward to destination attending to any Customs requirements. The difference already announced stands: Parcels for New Zealand soldiers in the J>Jew Zealand' Eix-peditionai-y Forces do not require Customs declarations, the others do.

LA. telegraph lineman named Edward Skinner, residing at 20 Chatham, street, wa s bolwn off ihis bicycle when riding near ttfie Basin Reserve, Wellington, the other day, says the Dominion. He fell-heavily to the ground, and severely injured his right shoulder, necessitating his removal! to the Hospital.

Two seamen, a talkative parrot, and a stupid joke were the subject of a little story related in the Wellington Magistrate's Court before Mi' F V Frazer, S.M., says the New Zealand Times. Two hearty sea came ashore, and proceeded' to imbibe rather freely. Their wanderings .took them past a bird shop owned by Cyril Waiter James Day, where a pairot creeled them with the cry," "Hullo, ('o< Ky:" The familiar greeting proved overpowering to the twain —the seamen's affinity for parrots is well known—und they were tempted to take of the bird. When charg -3 with the theft of the parrot and i'«ce, va'm'J at £lO, the tvjo accused—Jo! :i Fii r and Martin Lad-bury—said Ihat they took the property to the place where they were staying in Ghniu:*. «"t_»cet, arid probably would have ret'u-i,ea it a* soon as they had sobered up. Ho«e\er. their vessel sailed the same ntulit and they quite overlooked the/.incident It was all a stupid joke. The did not appreciate the humorous side of the incident, and he imposed a fine of £2 in each case, with the .-.itn'n.Uive of seven days in jail. In audition, both men were prohibited.

Writing to his mother, Sergt. L. WLouisson, son of Mr T. Louisson says: "Dunne the pa s t few mouths I hav* had a good deal to do with the Yanks. They are a fine and willing lot and think a .great deal of our •hoys. They have, such a quaint way of saying things. A while ago one of them showed, me a letter that he was writing home to 'his brother in Chicago. One of the many amusing passages I read went something like this: 'You tell me in your letter there are a great many . aeroplanes' being built in our town and that sometimes you see as many as three or four a ; day flying over the city. You think. that great, do. you? Well just let me tell you that •he aeroplanes are so thick in the sky here that the birds have to come down. and walk.' "

Mr Henry,- Berg, formerly a wellknown resident on the waterfront du Wellington, died at Picton on Saturday at the .age of 83. Born in Norway, he there acquired, an expert knowledge of boatbuilding. Then followed "a ' seafaring ;liiv>< for a wihle, and eventually ho went; to Australia. After being- on the West Coast goldfields for some years,,' he settled, in Wellington, For a time he was licetasee of the Clyde-quay Hotel. He buil%: the yacht Red Jacket, winner of some historic' sailing contests here, and also outriggers for the Star Boating Club. . In; the;;:ke^ch ;My, about*3o'tons', designed arid sailed by him, he. had; some >hair-breadth escapes from disaster during trips to the Marlborough Sounds. On one occasion he was swept overboard by a breaker, and ba>ck again on -the: top of a cross-sea. The late Mr Berg settled on a farm in Queen Charlotte ■ Sound! some few years ago. He lias left a widow, and. a family of three sons and six daughters.

A contemptble attempt at ; theft was discovered- by the verger at St. Paul's Pro-Cathedral, Wellington, when) lie opened the building ; on Sunday morning, says the Dominion. On entering the vestry it was found that ■ the ■-con'tente were -scattered about in a state of chaos, /the intruder having obtained ingress by means'of a window which' had; been smashed. Evidently the burglar had intended to rob the safe, which is located in the vestry, but this proved to be impossible of accomplishment owing to the 'absence of the .keys, j which, fortunately, are not kept at the church. Disappointed', at not being jable to make an impression upon the safe, the miscreant 'apparently deter-, mined to display /his chagrin by interfering with the books, and other articles kept in the vestry, for these were scattered about the room in a most disorderly manner. Attention, was also paid to' the poor-boxes at the entrance to the church. These were smashed, ./but whether or not any money was abstracted from them is hot known, for they were empty on 'Saturday. Unless any were placed in the boxes on Sunday the quest here! -wasi also, fruitless. The inatter is being investigated by the police. This is not the first occasion ion which St. Paul's PrbTibatbedral has bee,n burglariously entered," three other attempts having been made withing the .past few months. liike the latest episode the previous efforts' w^re/ not very successful to the perpetrator.

W hat is the matter. w|th. drink anyway? Is it the name of th§ Jjicensee, the location of the Barj the bpurs of sale or the amount; of Revenue received? No! The trouble is that Alcohol is a poison. It paralyses. nerve, warps moral judgment, dims sight, dulls hearing, blunts affections and destroys self control. Whether brewed in a private or public vat, Alcohol is a physical; menace . The drinker ,is ; affected exactly the same: way whether the Bar tender is paid by the local publican o r by the" Minister of Public Houses. /His self-control is weakened just as readily by ' Alcohol whether drunk at the corner -public house or in a place adorned by the King's Coat of Arms. Prohibition. nfclt 'State Control, is the remedy for the ills of Drink !

Ladies witli their new Summer Frocks will, of course, need a. pair of 'smart Court Shoos to match and fit their feet, and give warm weather appearance and comfort. See Deo and Sons' New Goods.*

A Qonelv soldier (Private F. J. Dlake, Third Reinforcements),' writes from his cOt iii Ward No. 5, Twelfth General Hospital, Bramshot Camp, England, that he would bo grateful and wruld .be very <pleased to answer any "sisterly or motherly" letters that a lady with time to write him something "cheerful and sensible" anight care to send him. '

Rightly so, if you're ill you seek a medical adviser, not a quack The same thing answers in Box Suits. Go wheres' the best, and 50 years' Suit experience at your service free.—Dee and Sons.

. Although a fair number of isolated cases, of influenza among ships' companies has been reported, it does not appear, as the result of inquiries made by a Post representative, that any serious inconvenience or delay has been caused vessels by th© epidemic at Wellington. Some three weeks ago a Sara Francisco boat was delayed two days jon the run from Papeete to Wellington owing to several members of the- stokejhold crew being "down" with influ[ehza, but this vessel and .the Niagara, | a recent arrival at Auckland, are the jonly vessels other than coasters that I have -been affected ,to any great degree. I Cases have also been reported on the j various coastal steamers, but it would appear that the Waimea has suffered imosfc. Last week this vessel put into I Nelson unexpectedly owing to four members of the crew being • stricken with influenza. The vessel was on her .way from Wanganui to Gryemouth, and the disease had so reduced the strength of the crew that she went to Nelson to take on fresh hands.

A case of a peculiar nature came under the notice of Mr F. V. Frazer, iS.M., at the Wellington Magistrate's Court , says the Dominion, when a man of diminutive stature named Gordon Barrett was charged with being a rogue _ and a vagabond, he having been found by night on premises in Fairley Terrace. It appeared that for,, a long time past Barrett, who is 34 years of age, has been "haunting"—to use a term applied by the Magistrate—a particular house in Fairley Terrace, Kelburn. Ho frequented the locality late at night, and became subh a nuisance that the police were informed. The object of his nocturnal parades was a young woman who resided in the house,, but who was in no way inclined to return or give encouragement to his strange infatuation. In the witness box. the young woman stated that the accused had first spoke to her five years' ,ago, but she regarded hm practically as a stranger and resented his unwelcome attentions. Constable Graham said' that shortly after 9 o'clock on .Saturday Mgh.t he "discovered- the man secreted at the back of the houtse amongst some timber and bushes. He was minus his [boots and hat, and whew by the constable remarked. ''lt seems you are a policeman, so the game is up." I His, Worship said he did riot think the man's mind was normal. He convicted accused, but ordered that lie should be detained for a week for medical observation and report.

One of the first returned soldiers to aproach the Wanganui-Waitotara Patriotic Association for a loan to assist him to take up a farming property was Trooper Hewi Gray, who purchased a dairy farm in the Hawke a Bay district a little over two years ago. At Wednesday's meeting of the' association a tetter was read stating that Mr Gray had repaid the loan, a. matter which, was. the subject of .favourable comment. On the motion of Mr Allan Robinson, it'was -resolved that the- interest due.be rescinded as a mark of •the association's recognition of the excellent way he had got on with : his farm, the hard work he had done, and his absolute honesty.

This, every American will attest, is a day of advertising, and the American is .certainly-' a successful business man. ■ A body of Wellington teachers, tired, of "discussions" and complaints ihad.e through, the U6ual" channels, recently decided to bring: their longest standing "grievance, the inadequacy, of salaries, before the notice of the Prime Minister before the rush of other business following his .-arrival at Auckland' could crowd consideration of their requests from his mind. The proposal iya, to wireless message to the Niagaraa; day ,;;or.'. so before,; port',* asking that an' 'interview should be: granted a deputation of teachers at the earliest convenient date. A hitch, occurred, however, and while enquiries and arrangements were still 'being made, the Niagara sailed up Waimate Hai'bour and berthed at the Queenstreet wharf.

Arrangements have been made by the Nelson Education Board, in' conjunction; with the ' Education Department, for a refresher camp of physical instruction for "teachers to be held at 'Cable Bay for a fortnight in December; next. It is expected that some 200 teachers will be in attendance. Thecampers will be accommodated in tent? and the station buildings, and Mr F. R. Just and-Mies M. Blackburne, phyinstructors, will be in! charge of the training. \AV meeting of teachersi is Convened, for Saturday morning at jthe Technical School, . when Miss Blackburne will,";furnish, particulars as to camp requirements and. other matters.

An. officer who has; returned from Egypt expressed; Tiimsolf as greatly impressed; by the fertility of the land over whieli the New Zealand' mounted troops are now fighting. £ As soon as they left tlie r , desert, ho said, they got into V rich .chocolate-coloured soil, the fertility , of which w r ae manifested by the magnificent crops of maize which it produced; The 1 British military authorities were eo impressed with it that they decided; to put down 60,000 acres of the conquered country near 'Gaza in A competent staff was appointed for the projeot, ploughs in large numbers were', secured and the work was well in hand when r the officer referred: to left New Zealand.

A meeting of farmers will he held under the auspices ,of the Waiinea branch of the; Farmers' 'Union at; the Rechabites'. Hall,' 'Brighitwater,' on Saturday evening, for the purpose of discussing matters of interest to. the farming community with Mr TV H, Field, M. P. '■:■.-

A v .telegram has been received- at Weliiufttoh, says the Post, stating that the yacht Morangi ,which was recently' jmrchased by Mr Berkeley. Clarke, of Wellington, and which left Auckland- .'ast Thursday week for this port, ha s y.ub into Kaikoura, having been driven 'off her course by a northerly gale. Tlio Morangi is .being sailed down by: her owner, assisted by Mr John M'Lean, of the Chathams, and Mr. J. Forbes, of Wellington, and an Auckland yachtsman. Mr Clarke was. the former owner of the Rawhiti, now belonging to Sydney. The. Morangi will leave Kaikoura for Wellington as soon as-a favourable wind springs up.

In a comment on tho Imperial WarConference, the Prime Minister said that' ono of the most important results was tho affirmation of the principle tjhat each Dominion was entitled to appoint .a resident Minister to represent them in England. This was optional, of course, and the Minister appointed could attend from time to time at Imperial Conferences at Home. These Ministers would" bo appointed by each and every Dominion, although t'lere was no urgent necessity for appointing such a representative right away. The Minister so appointed was entitled to a say in' all matters Imperial. When the reports of the Imperial Conference wero published, certain legislation would be necessary in the different Dominions as woll as in the Brilish Pax'liamcnt.

There is every, prospect that in the near future: the Coal Trade Committea will jsee its way to cancel the regulation under which equal quantities of slack or coke had to accompany a supply of coal, says the Wellington Post. Since tihajt {regulation <£une jintq force the 1 output of the mines has become normal; owing to the arrival or warmer wea-txun the demand for household supplies has been considerably reduced, and it i» probable that, unless lihfdreseen events occur, the restriction will be removed at the end of the month. It is suggested' that householders would be well advised to lay in good stocks during th<? summer months, and thus avert possible trouble and even hardship during the winter.

A rather dramatic incident occurred at the Patea. railway station on the arrival of the mail train (says the Patca Press). Lieutenant-Colonel C. H. Weston, of New Plymouth, had just received a hearty welcome from some local friends, when.Corporal P. H. Tinney, of Taranaki representative football fame, warmly greeted the colonel. The latter stared hard for a moment, and then, shaking Corporal Tinney by the hand, exclaimed, J< lVhy, surely you cannot be the corporal who helped mo out, of action on October 4 last year? Corporal' Tinney solemnly assured him that he was, and the pair spent tne remaining moments before the tram left in chatting over the anxious time spent near Oravenstafel exactly twelve .months ago. Corporal Tinney, it may be men : tioned, was on that occasion making his way to a dressing, station, after being wounded in the Gravenstafel battle, when he overtook Colonel ,Westoii, who. was himself severely wounded' and' assisted him on his way to the dressing station, which both reached safely, a. : though they had to journey -through the German barrage on. the- way.

A 'Press Association telegram from Auckland state,-.-Mr Harold Beaucliamp, chairman of the; Bank of New Zealand, who is visiting Auckland, remarked- that as a result of the, good prices received for ...our produce .from the Imperial Government money \yaa very plentiful, and was cheaper to-day in New Zealand than in any other part o c the world. He instanced - the fact that -whereas New Zealand had beou raising war loans at 44 per cent Jree of income tax, Canada was now . noa.ting a loan at Si '"-per cent., also free of taxation. The Imperial Government bad been selling short-dated > Treasury bills in New .York at a 1 pi-ice which gave investors 6 per cent, ..bnit similar ■bills sold in [London yielded a. return ot only 3£ per cent. The low price paid in England probalWyi wa s accounted for by a desire to induce visitors to <ake up longer currency war bonds, but Ihe cause of .the ihigher price paid in America had not been explained. Mr Beauchamp said that money in New Zealand was now obtainable on mortgage at 5i to .6 per cent. . This- however, was subject to taxation, which, m case of <persons of large income, meant a reduction of the net return to the extent of 7s. 6d in the £l.

"Why I think 'that the war news, so fins on the face of it, which has just come,to hand by ca.ble,fis not.only, good, | bnt probably a great, deal better'than it looks," said Sir at Wellington, "is because for tho last six; months the whole concentrated effoit of the men inthe front line and of the reserves in {support of them, to my knowledge, has /been directed towards -the achievement of what these cables advise us is actually being done. lam inot at all- surprised to find that Germany is prepared to agree to the ..terms of peace indicated by President Wilson, because tho fresh forces '.that have been added to those on our side, Doth fl-orii Britain and the Oyei-seatf,Dominions, a/id especially from the United States of America, have unquestionably made it apparent to Germany that the ' determinationi of the Allies to end the war iii our favour is fixed ujnalteralble, and: that (the fight will be continued until .Germany either capitulates cir receives the final knock-out blows, which. »*£.'■ now being, administered by the masterly strategy of Field-iMarshal Focii."