LOCAL AND GENERAL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LIII, Issue 104, 3 May 1919, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The milk vendors of Napier have found it necessary to increase the price of milk 4d per gallon on account of the shortage of milk and the scarcity of feed. This winter has every appearance of being an exceptionally bad one for producing milk.

Writing in the Timaru Post, Mr C H. Mason says: “Present solar and planetary conditions favour abnormally heavy rains during the coming winter, especially during July and August. The - rain-fed rivers of South Otago and Southland may cause heavy loss by flooding, and new records in rainfall are probable possibilities in many districts throughout the Dominion. The sheep-owners of South Canterbury may experience much inconvenience from snowstorms, but after their last winter's experience, this warning will be almost superfluous, and when we get back to normal winter weather, probably in 1920, their losses from over-precautions may be greater than from customary risks taken in 1918 and previous years.’’

A peculiar position has arisen owing to the death of Mr J. T. Brice, a member of,’the Lyttelton Borough Council, who had been nominated for a seat on the council, stated the Christchurch Sun on Tuesday, Ten candidates were nominated for nine seats. Had the death occurred three days prior to the election, no election, of course, would have taken place, but under the Act a nomination must be withdrawn three days before the election. Consequently, the elecioh-. goes-an, and should the late Councillor Brice be elected, it will be necessary to hold a by-election, a® if an extraordinary vacancy occurred through his death, and fresh nominations would have to be taken for the vacant seat.

“W© should all remember that w© have got to train in the future,” Badd Colonel C. H. Weston, D.5.0., white proposing the of “The Navy and Army,” at the Anzac tea in New Plymouth on Friday (.states the Taranaki Herald). Our improvised army had been a good army, but it was not the beat army, and there was no doubt when it was compared with the eonscripted, armice, of Fiance and Ger many, the comparison at times was a little obvious. If we had to face wars m tho future —and it was a little optimistic to say there would never be more wans —we must be trained up to the knocker. The speaker said it was his firm belief that this country and all parts of the British Empire should have conscription, but though ■ h® eaid thi a , he did not think we should ever be a militarist nation. ‘ T am sure the only way to be ready is to have a conscript army and' put Tfoys into camp for 12 or 18 months consecutively. This not only makes, soldiers of them, but men, and has this advantage,, that it provides a boarding school for the poor man’s eon. Those who could afford to tend their son® to a boarding school knew what advantages it gave, and av such a camp the conditions, would be .similar.

On the voyage out from the United Kingdom the troopship Jtaranga, which arrived yesterday, called at Newport News, U.S.A., where she stayed for five day & boding 7000 tons of coal for the New Zealand Government- Advantage was taken of the opportunity to send the troops ashore. They were accoinmodated in a remarkably fine cani|>, and were extended a- hearty welcome by the townspeople, who treated them right royally throughout their stay. Many of the men, taking advantage ot the reduced fares offered, travelled considerable distance® on the trains, ana most of them patiomaeo the theatres, which were thrown open to them tree of charge. Needless to say the men ;;peo khfghly of the people of Newport News. While ashore the troop* bought ; piano at a cost of £7O f<*-u« mvtiie voyage. This was billed; {Ol aib&et U . ticket. naturally wa s delighted, somewhat to his amazement that 1it would cost him £l2 duty. Thej<*e was appreciated by the During the passage through , x . “ ■..anal the American } abundance of fruit on boai i far thuse of the soldiers.

Attentidn is drawn to the P^ h, j£ na jj notice of the evangelistic conducted in Nelson by Mr • p ~ “V.'vr torwiu^S: advertisement conceinu g will appear later.

Mr Wyllie, the manager of the local v M r) a nencv Universal Car Company, Ford Agency y . arriving on inform* ns that t^ | , , 10U9 Fordson Monday the i } dto Remonstrate tractor, which they . d Motueka in wiU an. nounced later.

The term concert vjU bl! , 6tb •g----mS; in aid ot U» Hnnket Soccty Kund.

irjSi mV-. jr, wi, ;s,, m A. Hodgkinson, of lak.ika ( ) (> 2in).

Mis,. Rosin a Buckmann, the New Zca■and singer, has bean engaged to smff ’.onfunction with Dame Melba at the celebrations to be hejd at Covent Garden.

Several horse, in the Mj-rtertMi die■ict have been discovered dm mg the «.,t. f«hv days with pea-'nfle -bullets ■i their bodies.

Our soldier boys are streaming back 0 us. God blew them! Jaii they aw finding great value in Dee and Sons Box Suits, as well as our Bespoke Suits, and comfort in our Winter Underwear.

Ono of the mtny tashs performed by 'base Records, Wellington, is the checK■ng of all accounts in connection, witli he four weeks’ free railway travelling uid free meals at the railway refreshment rcomsi which comprise: cno of the returned, soldiers’ privileges. The payments under this heading to che r.,-:.u----\T.y Department, during a rjoci.r month :mounted to £41,060.

In no instance since the beginning m 1916 has the Base Records Casualty Staff left the office .until all work on my casualty list .received up till 8 p.m. Ms been completed, and the telegrams notifying next-of-kin, lodged in the .Post Office This is one of the features of the war work performed by Bam Records, the first Director of which, Major Norton Francis, is about to retire. He ex)lain P i in a report on the office that the casualty section has had to deal with as many as 2000 names in a single day, ■ind when the cables wore received in the late afternoon or evening, the work had to continue until long after midnight. In abnormal times volunteers were drawn from the whole of Base Records staff for overtime assistance, and thus the next-of-kin of our soldier# were relieved of anxiety at the earliest po»sible moment. No casualty report was sent out until the cabled information had been carefully checked with the information on the Base Records histox.y sheets regarding the soldier’s initials, unit, and number.

Mr. T. 6. Edwards in this issue thanks those who voted for him at the recent electkwii.

High cost of materials used in i-he painting and decorating trade lias prevented many property-owners from laving much necessary work carried out during the war period, with the result that renovations have fallen overdue, remarks the Auckland Herald. Most of those who have been swayed by financial considerations have been looking for a fall in prices of paints and oils following on the cessation of hostilities, but present indications do _ not point to the likelihood of any considerable drop in. the very near future. The Herald reports a fall in the prices of white lead and linseed oil. Wall papers are not expected to fall for another tweve months. The makes now on the market are mainly American and Canadian

A correspondent of the Christchurcn Press writes “Can any oi your readers explain why in recent years the ta&te of the domestic potato has changed to a bitter flavour, suggestive of the presenp© of solanine? Thjs, I believe, is generally under the'skin, and the peeling of the tubers may have something to do with the matter to which I call attention. An old copy of the Lancet medical journal says It is undoubtedly the case that there is a time when the potato may .contain an important quantity of poison, and this appears to be when the tubers, begin to germinate ana shrivel;, in that case' the solanine has been, found chiefly' in the peel and in the eyes. In a Lancet of 1846, which is rather too far away far • reference, a peculiar eruption was traced to the use of diseased potatoes, ‘ causing rigors, hot skin, quick pulse, and abdominal pain. In the n-exty patched appeared and quickly vanished, and m the third' stage there were swollen muscles of the neck, etc., pains in the bones, etc. . Tip l ® it k that although, poisoned potatoes are rare, it is advisable to keep a' look-out for those kinds which grow dsn certain close heavy soils and may. be tvf!esed with a bad taste.

An address, on “Majority and Proportional Representation” was given by Mr S.. H. Jenkinson at a meeting of the Wellington Philosophical Society, says the Post. Mr R. W. Holmes presided. In the course of an. interesting address Mr Jenkinsou showed a plan of the voting in the last few elctions, and how the various seats would have been disposed under proportional representation.. In almost all cases, he said, there womu not be a workable majority, and this had been found to be the case in countries where proportional representation was in force. It tended to make the parties almost even, and that gave the balance of power to the few men who could be bought over, by either party —thus , putting the real power, into the hands of the least desirable element ,in parliament. It had been thought that proportional; representation would protect ■small .parties, but Mr Jenkinsou said it wouhTtead to wipe them out, because whereas under the present system an independent candidate sometimes- got in, under proportional voting the party system would get to work -so that the independent would, have no chance. In large '.electorate® the personal element was entirely, eliminated, and the party vote would in consequence be the only ons recorded. Mr. Jenkinsou thought it brought ■ out the worst evils of party government, He said it had not worked well when, in force ini the municipal election® in Christchurch. He conWH the system in municipal elections in Wellington equally bad as re turning only one party if that party was strong enough to carry the voters.

“When, you were in court at Auckland the magistrate said you were nob a fit person to look after your child, said a defendant to his wife during the hearing of a maintenance case in the Magistrate’s Court, Wellington. “He said nothing of the sort,” Replied the witness. “Well, he said yon should not haye dirty hands in court.” 'J’he witne» ft denied that her hand were unclean. It was evident that the Auckland magistrate was referring to the old law m equity wherein 1 it is stated that a person should not gd into a court unless his hands are clean, and wag not referring to the witness's personal appearance.

Notice, is called to an advertisement of the Plunket Society. The Committee has secured new offices in Hardy-street, above Grant Brothers’, and they exend a hearty invitation-to linyone .interested i n he work to be present .at the opening on Tue'day, at 3 p.m. Mrs, Tniby King will be present, and will be pleased to meet kali the mothers and friends.

It is advertised ini another column that the - Nelson Farmers’ Co-operative Grocery Department has removed from the Druids’ Hall to the main building®, 51 and 63 Hardy-street.

The service at Trinity Presbyterian Church to-morrow evening will be shortened ,in order that the choir may render the sacred cantata, “Rock of Age?.” ; The canata itself will be somewhat abridged so that the whole service may not occupy more than the usual time. •

Your boys and girls will be giving up their sandals to wear a pair of strong boots. The winter weather makes you think of their health. Dee and »Sons’ ■ng flock of quality Boots you can’t afford to miss seeing.*

The Battle of Nations is over. It was •1 fight between two standard’s—the ••ight and wrong ; and -right ,; won r - -of ■foiu'se Ju6t as T>ee’’ and-BtwSi’ ■ right duality Boot* and Shoes are winning all ■long the line.* - ‘ I ‘ , jt “Nothing ; sncceeds ; like- Success’ —so •'.ay the delighted users of “No Rubhirtg 1 '!. Mufidrv Help and the pure ' ‘Golden Rule” ‘ Soap.—M. P. Webster aild Co.*

Referring to the statement that iron- j bei’3 of returned soldiers in Christchurch are row reduced to begging for - the price of a bed, the Minister of , Internal Affairs (Hon. Cb W. Russell) j expressed deep regret that such a posi- j lion should hU arisen. However, the ! Canterburv Patriotic Fund had £W.* 000 in hand, and he felt sure that, ;f it were approached, provision could be made by which every man could 'obtain what was necessary for his board and lodging in cases of need. There might be some unworthy there were in every class —but, personally, he would rather see 20 unworthy cases assisted that that one deserving man ■should have to sleep in Hagley Park because he could not afford a bed.

“It i, a matter for regret,” said the Hon. O. W. Russell, referring to a motion carried on Monday night, on the Minister’s refusal to sanction the transfer of £3OOO from the Rady Liverpool Fund to the Soldiers’ Club “that the effort,, of the promoters to raise tht necessary funds for a Returned Soldiers’ Club have not been more successful, as shown by he want*of response by the public to the movement. Thv is possibly an indication that the people generallyhold the opinion that it is not desirable that special insitntion* for returned soldiers should be established. This opinio t may be held on two grounds. Firstly, the public recognise the desirability of the returned soldiers returning to civilian life in all its aspects as rapidly as possible. and that it is not desirable that the soldier* as a class should regard themselves as a senarate portion of the community. Secondly, there is the difficulty of the maintenance of these institutions as they are established. This is a ve”y real one. The Soldiers’ Club in Wellington is constantly making appeals foi the necessary finance to maintain the institution, and there can 1 be little doubt that ■similar difficulties will arise in the course of a very few years in other parts of the Dominion, where special institutions are established for soldiers.”

The world-famous Irish athlete, Mr W. J. M. Newbum, died in London recently of influenza. Standing 6ft. 6in., and carrying little lumber, he placed to his credit many remarkable performances. He . tied for the Irish high jump championship in 1896, won the long jump championship in 1896-7-8-9, and the 100 yds. in 1897-8-9, finished first for Ireland against Scotland in the long jump in 1897-8, his performance of 24 ft o£in. in the latter year being a then world’s record, and won the 100 yds. against Scotland in 1899, and the A. A. A. long jump championship in 1898-9. But his outstanding feat was his jumping of 24ft. 6|in. at Mullingar in 1898, a record which stood for three years, when it was beaten by sin. by p. J, O’Connor. Always a keen lover of, cross-country running, Mr Newbum was for a time Resident of the Irish Crosscountry Association, and in later years made a reputation as a weightputter and established an Irish record.

“We canifot prevent people from committing suicide, but we can discourage those that have a shot at it, arid do not succeed/’ said Mr F. V. Frazer, y M., when Archibald West was charged at the Wellington Magistrate’s | Court with having driven over the ' IDavis street railway crossing at a greater speed than a walking pace, and with having failed to stop before crossing. The crossing-keeper staled .that West ignored his signal, and drove over the crossing immediately in front of. a train. A fine of £l' with 33s costs was imposed.

As illustrating the good spirit prevailing amongst howlers generally, the following incident is related. It was essential that the final games of the Rakaia Singles Competition be finished on Good Friday. In order to enable one player to be present another, at a committee meeting, offered to assist him in the morning to cut down and split up some trees for firewood. The offer was thankfully accepted, and the service duly rendered. The player turned up in time in the afternoon, and won the, competition.

“Planting trees and shrubs is a work that nearly all residents should undertake. During the next two months is the best time to plant_ trees and climb ing roses to cover unsightly clay patches (advises the executive committee of the Hataitai Municipal Electors’ Association 1 ini its annual report). The Wellington Council -has promised -to make provision) for planting a small the junction of Hataitai and Konini roads. A horticultural section of your association is being arranged, and it will be for ihe incoming committee to bring about its formation. This section will arrange fopjlower and vegetable shows of" the produce of_ Ilrtiimi ” ■

A Greymouth press association wire states that there are many ca!?es of diphtheria, scarlet fevef and influenza at Blackball.

A meeting of the General 'Committee of the. Stoke Horticultural Society is called lor Monday evening next.

The date of Miss Ennrough’s concert at Richmond has been' fixed for Mav 21st. The proceeds will be in aid of the Methodist Sunday School funds.

The Anchor Company announce that the s.s. Nikau will lay up on the 7th inst. for overhaul, including annual Government inspection, occupyincg probably about ten days, consequently after Monday next the Nikau will not again sai for Wellington until about the middle of the month.