LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15950, 22 June 1915, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS

• v - ' s-„ ,On a. recent trip from Auckland,to Vancouver the Union Company's mail liner Niagara broke all previous trans-Pacific records' in point of ' speed. From ■ Auckland- to Suva she.averaged . 17.2 'knots, .from Suva to . Honolulu 17.3 knots, and from the last-named port to Vancouver 17.7 knots, under ordinary.weather conditions. ■. The Niagara.is now en route from' Vancouver and way ports to Auckland and Sydney, with- European and American mails, 120' passengers, and over 2500 tons of Canadian merchandise for. New Zealand and Australia. She is duo at Suva on Thursday, and at Auckland on Sunday next. She is timed to sail at 2 p.m. on Monday for Sydney, and will carry New Zealand passengers to Sydney at the ordinary intercolonial rates. .••' .: „ Argument in the matter of costs in Connection with the Bay of Islands election petition, which was heard at Kaikohe on April 30 and May 1 and 3, before Mr. Justice Chapman and Mr. Justice Hosking, will be taken before Mr. Justice Hosking at 10 a.m. to-morrow. At the hearing, Sir John Findlay, K. 0., Mr. P. Levi, and Mr. W. P. Endean. appeared for the petitioners, and Mr. J. R. Reed, K.C., and Mr. R. McVeagh for the respondent, Mr. Vernon H. Reed. The possibility of obtaining Auckland's water supply from the Waikato River was mentioned by Mr. E. H. Potter at the Mount Eden Borough Council meeting last night. The council was discussing a report made by tho Mayor, Mr. Oliver Nicholson, concerning the conference-be-tween the Mayor of Auckland, Mr. J. H. Gunson, and representatives of suburban bodies on the water supply question, and a possible development of the Waitakere scheme. Mr. Potter argued that as the rainfall of Auckland was double that of England, water should cost less to householders than it did at present. When, the city grew, as it rapidly would do, supplies would have to be got from the Waikato . River. Mr. E. Yates doubted whether water could bo obtained by gravitation from tho Waikato unless tho source of supply were established at Taupo. Mr. I Potter said that Taupo was one of the •best watered districts in New Zealand. By a gravitation scheme, supplies could also be secured for k big towns en route. Plans of alternative schemes should be invited from engineers. The Mayor said that the safest course would be to wait till tho city had decided where it meant to get a water supply from. This' course was agreed to.

The sum of £15 was obtained by means of the entertainment recently given by the Girls' Realm Guild, in aid of the Wounded Soldiers' Relief Fund. Of this amount, £12 has been forwarded to Lieutenant-Colonel vT. R. Inglis, of the New Zealand hospital ship, to bo expended in the provision of comforts for wounded Auckland soldiers. The balance has been used to provido materials to be made up by members of the guild into articles for sale at the bazaar of allied nations, which the guild proposes to hold in September, in aid of the fund. The late Lord Northland,,, son of Lord Ranfurly, who was killed t in action near La Basseo on February 1, made his will in November, 1913. Probato has now •been granted to his widow, the amount of the unsettled estate being £2990. In the will Lord Northland stated that without in any way attempting to fetter the discretion of the guardians of his infant children, he expressed tho wish that his sons should follow some profession as a career, and that his son, who should be heir-apparent to the Earldom- of Ranfurly, should be educated at Eton, and then, unless he should prefer, some other career, enter-the Coldstream Guards and. remain there until he attains captain's rank. He desired to place on record his feeling that a remarriago by his wife would honour rather than cast a slur upon his memory, and that if she should"marry again she would leave one-half of her disposable property to their children.

Advices received by the -English <ma, • yesterday state that tho total number of employees of the Port of London Authority Who have been called up or have volunteered for active service is 2009, including 238 men specially ( recruited for the Army Service Corps. Up to April 29 the number who had lost their lives whilst serving with His • Majesty's forces was 53. Of these 24 were in the navy and 29 in the army. The Port Authority has decided upon "the. appointment of 500 additional permanent labourers at the docks, in view of current and future requirements of trade and the satisfactory results which the greater reclamation of employment has produced. ' . An inquest was held by Mr. F. V. Frazer, S.M., at the mortuary yesterday into the circumstances of the death of Margaret Reed, a married , woman, who died suddenly at her residence in Hepburn Street on the previous day. -The evidence showed that deceased had suffered . from I asthma for 20 years. When having her breakfast on' Sunday morning her breathing, beeamc difficult, and her, daughter burned an asthma powder to give her "relief, but death occurred almost immediately. A post-mortem examination was made by Dr: J. M. Hope and, in his opinion, death was due to pleuropneumonia., A verdict, was returned in accordince with the medical evidence. <

The awa.rd of the Arbitration Court in the Auckland Fellmongers, Tanners, Soapworkers, and General Tannery Employees' dispute was filed with the clerk of awards yesterday. The award embodied, without alteration, the recommendations of tho Conciliation Council, which the parties agreed to accept. The wages, provided for vary from Is 2d to Is 4Jd per hour, according to the class of work. The award comes into operation on July 12, and will expire in three years.

A report issued by the Port of London Authority states that about the end of April only six ships were reported to. be waiting at.Gravosend for berths in the docks. This is the smallest number since tho troubles duo to the accumulation of tonnage in the port began. The figure indicated that the congestion of traffic .was being steadily abated, but the pressure on the space available for the storage of goods still existed, especially as regards wool, meat, tallow and grain, of which largo supplies continued to arrive, although stocks on hand were heavier than usual. Special steps, had been taken, in conjunction with the Incorporated Society of Meat Importers "and Cold Store Owners, to reduce the pressure upon the cold 'storage accommodation of the port, and shipowners had been asked as far as possible to limit the number of vessels discharging frozen meat at one time.

" I promised your son that as soon as I j had a chance I would drop you a line and • let you know that- .your son is safe—at least he was when I last saw him," writes Private R. F. Chapman, a Wanganui boy, \ from the military hospital at Heliopolis, to Mr. C. A. Barton, clerk of the Auckland Magistrate's Court. The son referred to is Corporal G. A. A. Barton, who left the Dominion with tho Wellington'lnfantry Battalion. His name appeared in the list of wounded on May 15, and he was later reported -to be progressing favourably. "We went up to the firing-line at ten. o'clock on Tuesday 'morning," the writer continues, " aiter being in reserve all day on Monday. It was hot work, but our boys held their own, and 'gave the Turks all they wanted. I had the. Dad. luck to get a bullet in the knee, before I had fired a shot, and it was. when I was trying to get to'tho dressing station that ' Gerrie ' came along. He had been- shot through the fleshy part of his right hand. Ho' helped me down the hill, and asked me if I would drop you a line;, as he was not able to use his right'band well enough' to write with it. He was able to get back to the firing-line after he was attended to. There is not much I can tell you, because you will have seen all the news in the papers, but if I hear anything of your, son twill let you know as soon as possible." ( >

A fine of 20s was imposed on the Mayor, ■councillors, and burgesses of Christahurch by Mr. H. W. Bishop, S.M., the corpora-, tion having been convicted' of a breach of the Local - Bodies' General Labourers' Award. The breach occurred in employing non-unionists when there were- avail--able unionists equally capablo and willing to perform the work. In imposing the tine, the magistrate said he thought the object of the, prosecution would .bo at taincd in. conveying to the heads of the departments the real position. He was certain the council would not deliberately commit a breach of any law or award, being without personal interest, and, therefore, in fixing a light penalty, he did not wish it to be regarded as a precedent for ordinary prosecutions against'' private firms. He would hold the heads of the departments strictly responsible in any future cases. ■ i.

An instance of tho many strange tray* in winch the effect of the war is being felt is a, shortage in Wellington, of packing cases. This has been brought about by 'the fact that imports have decreased.. The Mayor had to give orders for packing cases to be made to send away articles lor the fortes which had been supplied by patriotic donors. In theipast tho drapers have supplied these cases, but the importing firms cannot* get all their grods sent from England now. and the supply of spare cases has run out. The voyage of the cargo steamer Indrabarahi which arrived at Auckland early' yesterday morning from London and Australian ports, was characterised tionally. bad weather throughout. The Indrabarah cleared the Home, port on; April 11, deeply laden with 14,000 tons of general merchandise, consigned to Melbourne, Sydney,, Auckland, Napier, and Wellington. Almost from the commencement of the voyage tho vessel had to contend with heavy gales. She made a, call at Durban on May 7 for bunker coal, and while steaming across the Southern Ocean heavy westerly and south-westerly gales prevailed for the greater part of tho journey. The Indrabarah .usually accomplishes the voyage from London to Melbourne in about 40 days, bul on this occasion the trip '. occupied 47 days-. Bad weather again delayed the ship in discharging operations at Sydney, while on the passage from the latter port to Auckland, high seas and a heavy* swell wore met. The Indrabarah has 4200 tons of cargo to discharge at Auckland, bub owing to the heavy rain which fell yesterday very little progress was made with the landing of this much-needed merchandise. The statement of James Patrick Whelan, general printer, of Auckland, a bankrupt, shows that his total debts amount to £405 16s. Certain creditors are secured to the extent of £1339, and the estimated value of securities is £1425. The assets in. tho estate are shown as £216, made up of • surplus from securities in the hands of! secured creditors, £86 book debts, £100. estimated to produce, £80 and stock-in-trade, £50. The deficiency is £189 16s. [The first meeting of WRelan's creditors •■was . held last ■ week, and an adjourned meeting will be held to-day.