LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 15025, 21 June 1912, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS

The mail steamer Aorangi arrived at Wellington yesterday morning from San Francisco, with . European and American mails. The Auckland portion of the mail is on board tho Main Trunk train, •which left Wellington yesterday. ' Temporary quarters to accommodate about 'ninety patients from the Avondale Mental Hospital, are-; being. prepared , upon the quarantine ■ island Motuihi, and it is hoped that; they will be available in about a' month to relieve the over-pressure upon Bpace at present existing -. at Avondaie. Further relief will be obtained by sending a detachment of about fifty to the new .mental hospital at Tokanui, and this is to be done within the next fortnight. By this means it is hoped to work comfortably at Avondale until the much-needed enlarge- . ment of the buildings there materialises. The question. of erecting a laboratory in Auckland for the benefit of the farming . community was discussed at yesterday's meeting; of the executive of the Auckland Farmers' Union. The secretary (Mr. A. Schmitt) reported that the matter bed. been before. the executive for some time,'bat there was only' gome £16 in hand, and at least £12 more was required. Ho said that a number of appliances had been purchased, but a suitable rodtn and additional paraphernalia would have to bo procured; Mr. Schmitt, suggested that branches of the union should .be asked .to arrange entertainments for the purpose of raising funds. The matter was referred to the Advisory Committee, The new reservoir on Mount.Eden, the construction of which was commenced gome 12 months ago, is now completed, the finishing touches having been put to the work yesterday. The capacity of the new reservoir is 1,500,000 gallons, and the old one, which has a capacity of only half a million, will be made supplementary to it. A number of tests are to be carried out, and if they prove satisfactory, the water will be put in in about a week's time. A young man named Thomas Twidle, pleaded guilty at the' Magistrate's Court, Hamilton, on Tuesday, to the theft of 19s from the house of John McKibbon, at Hamilton East, in November, and also to having absconded from bail, He was committed to the Supreme Court for sentence. An application was made for the refund of -a surety which had been estreated, but the Justices decided that this •vvhjs without their jurisdiction and adjourned the application to the Magistrate's Court. ' When the Prime Minister (Hon. T. Mackenzie) was at Albany on Wednesday afternoon the Mayor of Birkenhead (Mr. W. Wallace) took the opportunity of bringing under Mr. Mackenzie's notice the great need of a recreation ground for the Birkenhead and Northcote districts. Mr. Wallace, who was accompanied by Mr. J. B. Tonar (on behalf of the Northcote Borough Council), pointed out that a tidal area had been secured from the Harbour Board for a recreation ground between Birkenhead and Northcote near the local gasworks. Both Councils joint!,'' desired to reclaim this area, but were hampered for lack of the necessary funds, and Mr. • Wallace asked for a grant towards the reclamation of this reserve, which work, he stated, could be most advantageously accomplished by dredging near at hand, md at. the name time providing a boat harbour for motor and pleasure boats, etc. ''he Prime Minister promised to look into the matter and see if anything could be done to, further the project. A charge of common assault will be made against a man about 26 years of age at the Police Court this morning. He apparently wandered into the premises of a draper in Symonds-street, and finding a dressmaker alone accosted her. Alarmed at the man's strange behaviour, the woman screamed, and the man then grasped her. Her cries attracted attention and the man was arrested, 1

"The ; share system of > milking is almost ! : entirely based upon child stated a witness in the' course of his evidence be- ] fore the Cost of Living Commission yester- ■ day; "and," he added,v"l have never .1 I found it bear heavily upon the children. i ! He had milked from five to eight cows I night and morning when a child of about ( eight years of age, but had never received . any hurt from it. He had a family work;, I ing with him at the present time on the j share system, and these particular chil- | dren were among the brightest attending ~ the district school. " Of course, he concluded,: ''a great deal depends upon the : parents." The annual day of intercession for the Girls' . Friendly Society was celebrated in all Anglican communities, throughout the world yesterday. In Auckland special combined' services were held, : all the branches throughout , the city and suburbs participating. There was a celebration of Holy Communion at St. Paul's at seven a.m, and breakfast' was provided at the lodge. There was a further celebration of Communion at St. Mary's, Piiraell, at 10.30 a.m., for. associates, and a service at St. Matthew's at seven p.m. -The latter service was read by the vicar (itav. W. E. Gillain). and the sermon was preached by .the Bishop of Auckland (Dir. Crossley j to a crowded congregation; As the result of "a slight collision on the night of April 20, between a tramcar and a milk cart, the driver of the cart was charged at the Police Court yesterday, be- 1 fore Messrs. G. W. S. Patterson and E. C. Palmer, with being drunk while in charge of a horse and vehicle and also with" driving without sufficient lights. Evidence was heard, and without calling on the defence the Bench intimated that the charge of drunkenness had; not been supported, and there was also a doubt concerning the light. Both charges were accordingly dismissed. The suggested reduction in th 6 Pacific cable rates for messages lodged at the week-ends, when the line is ordinarily free, meets .with the - approval of the Federal Ministry (writes our Sydney correspondent); : But it has not yet secured the sanction of the , other interested parties. It emanated from the Board, and has still to be considered by Canada and the Atlantic Cable Combine. Mr. ' Frazer {the Federal Postmaster-General) states . that -the Australian Department will certainly reduce its land rates in proportion to any general reduction in the cable rates, but he, like other Ministers, did not ..believe that cabling could really be ■ cheapened until the .Ail-Red route was completed; The member for City Central, : Mr. A. E. Glorer, 'was one of'. the members of Parliament waited on by a deputation of temperance people yesterday, ; in respect to amendments which, it was urged, "were required in the licensing law. In an eloquent reply, Mr.' Glover informed the j deputation that he was not there to get j votes' nor to acquiesce in anything in which he did not believe, : but was there to play the good and noble part. Later on, when the wheel turns round, he might have; to alter his opinions 1 in some respects. Referring to | the question of barmaids, he paid a' tribute to the good qualities of many of these 1 women. ; . "Every man and woman has a right to live/' he said, '■ and would you like me to take down /the chequered , aisles of time / the knowledge; that I have deprived these good women of their livelihood ?" He emphasised the fact that he was in the hands > of 4 the people, and would support the will of the people. Mr. - Glover said bin only object.' in life was to : work for the good of the. people and this ■ beautiful city of Auck'land. " Referring to n t w o ;specific cases . -wSere he was' able to reader assistance, ' the member said, " If I' can bo the.means . of saving two human lives, God will bless me." Concluding ; a vigorous, speech, Mr. Glover drew a pathetic picture of the fact that somfi : of ■■ his ; befit friends in. this ' beautiful - city had suffered through overindulgence in liquor, and he ; strongly ! advocated appointment an iaspec-, tor to see that the quality of liquor served in hotels was good. ■ ' ' . The Japanese have largely monopolised the beche-de-mer industry around the Australian coast, and as a result it in likely to • slip away from the Europeans, ; who have controlled it in the past* This statement was made by Mr. F. . Rowan, a well-known North Queensland beche-de-mer trader, who is now visiting Sydney. Mr. Rowan declared that political influence has ruined the industry,' and that there is still this graver danger that if the Commonwealth Government:, attempts to control the industry the Japanese will establish trading bases outside the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth arid exploit the perennial riches of Barrier Reef. Mr. Rowan added that the Great Barrier Reef is the largest continuous field in the world for the cultivation of beche-de-mer. For the best part of the year the climate over, the area of the reef is the finest in the world,, and to say that the life of the beche-de-roer fisherman is necessarily rough and severe and notorious for its privations is obviously misleading. It is quite possible for the trade to.be conducted on linos of comfort, if not of actual pleasantness; " But if Australians are not inclined to take part in such industries," Mr. Rowan added, " and make them profitable and decent for those concerned in them, they should not grumble when others come along and seize their heritage. There is a bitter wail going to the skiesfrom the coddling parent and the coddled child (writes the Melbourne Herald). Their grievance is the hardship t>f the drill, particularly on holidays and Saturday afternoons. This maudlin cry for sympathy is rather an odd sort of manifestation of Australian grit and character. Wo take a pride in the hardy pioneers I our forbears—who. crossed the seas in the } old windjammers, to land in a wild conn* [ try without the comforts or decencies of living as we reckon such to-day. It is the : third generation that has become slack,, i complaining of its hard work and the need for recuperating week-ends in the country. Really this molly-coddling is. the best proof that the discipline of drill has not come a moment too soon, and that 1 it is badly needed to buck up the youths of 1 the country, apart from any defence question at all. In many other countries the unfortunate people, toiling without holidays, and for long hours, give their nights . and days to drill and rifle practice, Bun- ~ days included. To devote a few Satur- \ days a year to drill is, therefore, not ask- , j ing very much of the young Australian, - In New Zealand the Defence Acts of 1909 i and 1910 provide for compulsory training from the age of 12 to that of 25, with five j ' years more in tha reserve.' During this J * time the soldier has to put in 30 evening ) * [drills, 12 half-holidays, and seven days* ' ' I contiguous training in camp. This is not * an exacting preparation for defence. Yet I 1 the New Zealand general staff seems to • ' regard it as a means of preparation for ' < a " thoroughly efficient citizen army in ; < the near future." /If the cadets value j 1 their Saturday afternoons so much, it j would bo easy, especially during the sum- ' ; mer months, for them to start drill at 5 i a.m. or 5.30. The novelty of early rising might be disagreeable at first, but 'that is vl the time of the day when-' drill would be I , pleasant exercise • ; ' L

. vV' - : ~ v«i An entrance was effected into the bakery, in connection with the Royal Cafe at Jjß? Hamilton some. time on Wednesday night or yesterday, morning. The shilling-in- - the-slot; meters were broken open, and about £10 stolen. - : thS 1 The Minister for Railways has, in reply. ,11 to.a request from the Tirau district, stated : |||| that ; ho .cannot authorise the stopping of the Rotorua express at Tirau. The Postmaster-General has informed ■ Sir. J. A. Young. M.P., that the new telephone at the Hamilton Exchange can- ">• not be proceeded with until the building is enlarged.' Regarding tho request that Hamilton bo mado a, chief oflice, tho 'j y Minister isaid this cannot be granted, as it is not desirable to divide the Auckland ;j>: district, but when the Hamilton office is i ' enlarged the question of arranging for saving bank deposits being made payable ! on demand will bo considered. L : Commenting on tho Now Zealand loan, ■ the Brisbane Daily Mail cays:--" The Dominion is paying only one par cent, for underwriting, which, however, for a two .years' loan is a pretty big sum. What tho other expenses will be has not baeu mentioned, but there is apparently reason to. expect that a net 97£ will be obtained, ■ so that she will pay roughly 3J- per cent, interest for her money. That is mora • than New South Wales paid lately,, but tha v-- jf) parent State is stronger in the money mar- 1 ket than the Dominion, or, indeed, thaaUjv; any other Australian State. Queensland,'!>•'. i with her big railway scheme in full swing,|g 'M will need more than four millions to keep\ j her going for the next two years. SheSfeU i will get some help from the increase in ! f' Savings Bank deposits, probably, but that is problematical if the Commonwealth, 1 ' • ■ forthwith opens Savings Bank branches'i in all. the post offices. For, with such competition, the State Savings Banks . : would do well to hold their own, there be-, ; ing a kind of goodwill in savings hank business attaching to the post offices. B<h ;! i sides,, the Labour party will do its besb to divert all money possible into Common- i wealth coffers. Wo are spending over 3£ •-i- ---| millions a, year of loan money, so that it our State Treasurer could place a, shorts | term loan for five or nix millions, stability, . [would thereby; be lent to the financial : position. Of course there is : risk in ; short commitments, especially as we have .t' 14 millions to meet in stock maturing on '(• or before July 16, 1915. Tho entire busii ness will need 1 careful financing." • , . I As the result ,of jumping off a moving train at the Remuera railway station last evening a railway porter received several'• naßty cuts, and was badly shaken. Ke» misjudged the speed at which the train ■ was travelling, and fell to the ground. -It •; £>: is expected that he "will be able to resume'; 'duty to-day. • , .: The bad state of the : Lake TakapunP/ , ~ and Bayswater Roads was referred to '' ab ;"rg the Wiaitemata Chamber of Commerce i-;; meeting ' ; last evening. The members,;'! V stated that since the inauguration of the tram service the traffic had decreased, .ioihd|M the roads had been allowed to get into repair. -v; ' '■ In giving evidence before the SoutS £ Australian Education Commission, Dr, , Ramsay Smith said that America and Ger-< many were both ! ahead '• of . Australia iu; ; ,f| making ; ; . technical education } • compulsory, . But, : he said,. the American .business was not the type ?to imitate. : Dr.. Clou- - | ston, an expert on mental' diseases, j fold:; the -Americans'a long time ago..that-, [ their, faces showed too ; much. One could f ; always interpret an American's face," and, j: tell what was going on in his mind. <4Aw.Mp? other ' : thing : Dr. : Clouston-;' had told ■ tho ■ American'.' business man : was,'- that ■ i : With-^fe : ; .'SQ, ius hustle and bustle he did' n6t" through as much work as the slower-• . going Englishman—that ; with all •' his light* (( ll ning lunches' and : lcng hours . the Ameri4||§jf can did not do so, much as an Australian |f| or.; an Englishman. Incidentally the do<j<|||| to® ! stated that the amount ; : earned pe»; head in Australia was far greater thaa.ih; America. ' • Australia,, : ; he ? remarked,; stood at the head of the - world's nations amount of the earning capacity pet head:, ■ i'" One of the 'veterans.'present.: at thd din«,w,'|i ; ncr tendered ;in Brisbane :on Empire was Sergeant-Major J. D. Drinan, wha : at. present cax;Biogera!plantation.' How 1m» won the' Victoria Cross (says a 53rJfii>oi*e paper) is an interesting story. . As a he was fired .by the tales his father told p j of : his • work '• in . India, j and hearing that; ; | a number of lads were going to that .|1 try • he ;. took an ! assumed ' name •. in order ■ that his father would not stop hiAaM||# ■ managed to, get ;to (he land of i his dreams. ' Soon after, arriving there— was kw|lg|r| 14. years, of, age at the time—he wajk^J drafted > to ; the "-.Hone":' Artillery as trum•peter. ; While. outside ,the' ; besieged city of Delhi during ' the ;Indian-." Mutiny he .!^B| instructed by General ; Wilson to • carry - message . to Captain ! Brihd's' battery,-and - as ha was passing & water gate he nowM'-:<- l; |j a fuse bm.aing •in >. the' drive ' under tha gate. • Close, by an English! force was stationed, and realising .the danger the "little trumpeter, dashed forward and tore the fuse from the mine. For this •: acl:.'vw|!S bravery General; Wilson mentioned him in his despatches r to ' the !' Governor General •[ of India, ■ and recommended him for ; the m coveted Victoria Cross, which lie received when he was only 15 years of age. ■:.- tig Although he candidly confessed that was one of those unfortunate people io\fe| whom the faculty of music had not been • developed to any alarming ; - extent, Mr. Pm Wade, ex-Premier of New. South Wales, interested a large audience gathered in the" f'M Sydney Town Hall last week primarily hear the London College of Music c-tanWf? cert, in the subject of Australian', music,. There was, he Said, no gainsaying that Ml Australians were a music-lMing ' people«Kjijg« One noted the love of mus'ic!; in the outlying parts of the State, where one would|jß often find a piano and members of a : •to, play it. Music was found in ' shearers' camps. He remembered a frienuHj who in entering upon a campaign equippedM® himaeif with a violin and, a set. bffboxfijSH gloves, his hope being that, one' or thesi other amusement would be popular with various , classes ;of H, audienc.' Unfof-'?,;| tunately, the candidate was and he had not- yet succeeded in ! ascertain* ing whether his failure was due to his 'boxing, or his . bad fiddling. ■ ~ . Another gang of fifteen or "twenty men will: shortly be ; engaged on the work of •. constructing the Gisborne-East Coast .rail- J! way lino from the Wailil end. There will r probably be plenty of applicants for.-;tlw||S work- available. " " ' i-mH ! The Trades i Union Congress in Sydiwy last week passed a resolution that, in of the increased cost of the ; necessaries o" life, sine*) the' parsing of the' QW. Pensions Act, and in view of the the maximum then fixed in the''Biifeff>^^^ because ot the increased cost' of coin© quite inadequate 1 ; to enable! ISpi pensioners to live ; in a desirable | comfort, \ the ; .Federal Government qested to ; at once increase the payable to old ago pensioner?. i Dr. Walter' Carter - Wilson, of New South Wales, was found -deajTimMjßM surgery lust week, with, a phial '-cwwIWMHBw a reddish coloured fluid on the tfthlfl.fflfiUMj by..- Ha had .'been, in ill, health : Ipr'!iMMw|K| 12 mouths, and was suiferiiig from tism. Lately, he had' been:.dep^®®KllffiS