LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16007, 27 August 1915, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The Riverina left Sydney at 5 p.m. yesterday for Auckland. She is bringing 205 bags of European. Egyptian, and Australian mail matter tor New Zealand, fit which 58 bags will bo distributed in the : Auckland district. The Riverina h:is on I board 100 first, second, and third-e'.ass pas- | senger?, and 2100 tons of general cargo, i 1450 tons of -which will he discharged here. and the balance at Southern ports. The steamer is expected to arrive on Sunday ! afternoon. She will not return to Sydney this trip, but will sail on Tuesday afternoon for East Coast ports and Dunedin. The Riverina will return to Auckland from the South on Sunday, September 12. and j will sail the following evening for Sydney. | The member? <_.' the second Maori contingent, en< amped at Narrow Neck, are making rapid progress in their training Tin? week, the men have been engaged : in rifle-shooting practice at Penrose, and i the work done has been particularly ' gocd. Although the natives have only I Ivon ,-amn rV,r n,,,/. tI,P,- VlsVrt

attained a high degree of efficiency. , especially in mauhmg. Yesterday after-. nooi a detachmen: of about 160, who | had been at Penrose all clay, created a j ■*.ery favourable impression when march- ! ing from the railway station to the ferry i boat. The bearing of the men was ex- \ oellent, orders were obeyed with pre- | cirion. and the marching discipline was j extremely goodA generous contribution lias bee.il liiarie j by Mr. P. R. Sargood. of Dunedin, to the J Ota go Patriotic and General Welfare Ass;ciation in the shape of the income for 25 j years from 5000 five per cent, preferential . shares in the company of Sargood, Son' and Ewen, Limited. In a letter to the | president of the association, Mr. Sarg"od j explains that he is desirous of adding his j quota to the soldiers' fund. He has chosen ! this means of contribution in the hope i that there, may be others who. while : recognising their duty and privilege to; provide for those who have risked their! all for the Empire, yet feel that to make ; a rash contribution now to the extent of : their desires might be financially incon- I venient or impossible, whereas a commit . mem against future income would be met by extra exertion and by the sacrifice of personal luxuries. The shares are to be I placed in the. care of trustees, and the dividends administered according to cerI tain conditions.

The Union Company's steamer Ta'une j arrived at Auckland yesterday morning from her periodical trip to the Cook and Society Islands, with mails, passengers. and a large shipment of fresh Island fruit. ' The Talune has made her last trip to the Eastern Pacific for the present. She will , leave for Newcastle to-day to load coal for Auckland, and will return in time to I take up her new running in the Fiji- I Tonga-Samoa trade, in place of the I Navua. The Flora, which arrived a'. ; Auckland last night from Westport, will < replace the Talune in the Eastern Pacific : ; trade. '

! A lad named Herbert Ashby. aged 16 i years, a son of Mr. H. .1. Ashby. baker, ( of Dominion Road, was admitted to the ' hospital yesterday afternoon with bis lef: , let broken. Ashby was riding a horse j in Hayr Road, Mount Roskill, when the, animal fell, rolling on its rider, and break- ; ing his leg above the knee. i The campaign for socks for soldiers on | active service has been carried to a sue-' cessful conclusion by the distribution of i the gifts. The scheme was originat'.l ! by Her Excellency the Countess of LiverI pool, and the contribution from the Auckj land district, which was organised by I the Mayoress, Mis. Gnnson. comprised I 6000 parcels each containing two pairs : of socks, bootlaces, bachelor buttons, and | safety pins. Adv ce has now been re- ' ceived by Mrs. Gunson from Her Excellency that the gifts have arrived safely at their destination, and are being properly distributed.

A meeting of those interested in the "more men movement." held in Wellington on Wednesday, carried a resolution suggesting that representations he made to the Prime Minster concerning the necessity for including women in the national register. The opinion was expressed that this was necessary to enable the Government to be in a position to know what women are available to take the. places iof men going to the front. The Mayor of Auckland, Mr. J. H. Gunson. was asked by telegram yesterday to support the resolution, but he informed a Herald representative that lie did not propose to take any action. He was giad. he said, to know that the recruiting was going on briskly, and he hoped that it would continue, but so far he saw no need to take_ the steps suggested by the Wellington body.

There are now 13 sick and wounded soldiers under treatment at the Auckland Hospital, one more having been discharged cured. The acting medical superintendent, Dr. A- McG. Grant, states that the whole of the patients still in the institution are making good progress. Dr. Grant has inspected the Government building in the late Exhibition grounds, and is confirmed in his opinion that the building would be suitable for an auxiliary military hospital, providing that sonic renovation work is done.

The total shipments of frozen meat I from New Zealand on behalf of the Imperial Government from March up to I Julv 31 were 151,367 quarters beef,! i 1,296,995 carcases mutton, and 1,747,596 carcases lamb. The total payments to,; freezing companies and producers up to that time amounted to £3,022,544, states Sir Joseph Ward, in his Budget. During the period October 1, 1914, to March 51, 1915. 40 insulated steamers left the Dominion, carrying tho equivalent of 2,669,281 freight carcases, as against 2,404,189 freight carcases during the corresponding period of the previous season. A resident of Onohunga, Mr. J. .7. Bovd, has contributed £100 towards the purchase of machine-guns for the New Zealand troops. Yesterday Mr. Bovd received a telegram tram the Minister for Defence, through tho Mayor of Wellington, stating that Mr. Boyd's suggestion to send to Japan for 20 machine-guns would be act«-<i upon. Mr. Boyd has offered to raise £500 to pay for guns if they can he procured from Japan. Ho has further offered to donate another machine- as Onehunga's gift.

The double coincidence of twin brothers having been wounded in a similar manner is shown by the latest casualty list. They are Lance-Corporal P. D. Marriner and Private C. C. Marriner, sons of the late Mr. W. A. Marriner, of Mount Weslev, Northern Wairoa. They left with the fifth reinforcements for the Auckland Infantry Battalion, and both have received an injury in one foot. The age of the brothers is 23 years, and they were engaged in farming at Poroti, Whangaiei, until they enlisted.

Advices received by the steamer Tahme, which arrived at Auckland yesterday morning from the Cook and Society Islands,, state that the sale by auction of the large German cargo steamer Walkure. which was to have taken place at the end of July, has for some reason been postponed for about a month. The Walkure, which was lying at anchor in Papeete Harbour, was sunk by gunfire when the German raiding cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau bombarded the inland port late in December of last year. The. officers of the Talune report that the \Valkure*a bridge, funnel, and masts are above water, while she is resting on an ! oven keel in about nine fathoms of water. I It is anticipated that very little difficulty i will be experienced in raising the sunken j steamer.

1: The new Grammar School building, c which is being erected in Mountain Road, r Mount Eden, at a cost <•( £33,000, is j r rapidly assuming a completed appearance, s The exterior is finished except for the painting of the rough-cast, which is to * lw of a. cream colour. The general appear- ' ance of the structure is imposing and | h.'.ndsom.'. Inside the carpentering wrk ■ i* practically finished: ail the staircases, 1 except one. have been completed. The: plasterers and painters are well ahead! with their work, and the general effect in those parts of the building which are finished, is striking and effective. In the corridors the glazed bricks .■:" the j walls are left untouched, and the v., •-i-v.uk | :- stained a dark c-k-ur. Where heaVvJ k-ams span the gaib-i r-'.n ! tie hall, i they contrast well with the ■■•'.r.e finish of the arched ceiling. There a ,-> rows of I massive brick pilla>« on both ends and' bides of the main hail, which is 108 ft long, \ ■■ 40ft broad, and 50ft hijrh. Between these pillars, four-leaved folding doors will be j pv. img. allowing the hail to be closed in; or to be made part of the corridors. thus giving an enlarged hall. On the ' various floors, there, are about 30 com mo- j dio'is classrooms all finished in pilaster with I stained rimu dadoes. The same com- i pitted state is to be noted in the rooms ]

which aie to be used as library and i lecturer.vims, while the workshop, bicycle-' room, storeroom and two shelter shed*, all] "f which ;ire in the basement, are finished. ' Features ..f the building are the fiat roofs, j from which excellent views can be had.' and the four towers, each of which will I hold a 2000-gallon water tank f,>r use in; rase of fire. A swimming hath is also to i be built in the school grounds. A-thongh ; the building ill be completed Ion; before Christmas, it will not be used for school purposes until the beginning of next year. N«">t;fii -at ion was recewed by the City r't/iinril ; a .it eveninz that the Harbour Board claimed £5825 for land taken ; n Beach Road and Jeimrn Street. The board's letter further stated that it had appointed Mr. H. C. Tewshy as assessor to appear on the board's behalf before a Compensation Court. The City Council decided to appoint Mr. George Elliot to act a? ite .assessor.

The foundation-stone of the Poverty Meat Company's new freezing worKS at Kaiteratahi was laid yesterday afternoon. The works will be capable* of handling 3000 carcases of mutton per oay. and 150 head of cattle. Another freezing works is proposed for Hicks Bay, to serve a large area of country en-ending to Opotiki. It is proposed to form, f.rst, a Habour Board at Hicks Bay.

A further search of the foreshore and harbour in the vicinity of Judge's Bay and off Point Resolution was made by the water police in conjunction with the Parnell police yesterday morning for the body which was reported to have been seen floating in the water on Wednesday afternoon. The search was continued for some time, but. no trace of a body could be found. It was thought that the body "was probably that of the man Glading Whisker, who was drowned by falling overboard from the powder cutter Rosalie on Saturday afternoon- /

The City Council has agreed to accept a collection of old lace and artistic needlework, offered by several Auckland women, for exhibition in the Art Gallery. In the course of a, report placed before the council last evening, the chief librarian stated that the specimens had been valued by a qualified judge at considerably in excess of £1000. The council's acceptance of the collection was conditional upon the city being indemnified against any responsibility for loss or damage.

The proposed establishment of a winter garden as a memorial of the Auckland Exhibitiou of 1914 was considered at last evening's meeting of the City Council. The joint Works and Exhibition Committee, it was explained, recommended that £3000 of the profit from the Exhibition be retained for the provision and erection of a winter garden, and that the balance of the fund available, be expended in completing the work in hand. In the event of the committee establishing the winter garden the council was asked if it would take over and maintain the garden. In reply to Miss E. Melville the city engineer stated last night that the annual upkeep would amount to about £250 or £500. The council decided to accept the responsibility of the annual upkeep.

A return showing what employees of the Auckland City Council who have gone to the front was placed before the council by the town clerk last evening. The list was as follows :— City engineer's department, one official, 16 of the staff; electricity department, one official, three of the staff; waterworks department, one official, four of the staff ; city treasurer's department, one official ; abattoir. one official, making a total of five officials and 23 of the staff. It was explained that of the 16 members of the engineer's staff shown as having gone to the front, four had returned from Samoa and" two were again in the council's service, while in addition to the official shown as having gone from the electricity department, tv. ■• other officials had resigned and sone to the trout.. Besides the official shown as having left the city treasurer's- department, one official, who was on duty at the forts, had volunteered for the. front, and two others were arranging to go. One official in the public library, it wa* further explained, had volunteered, bin would not be accepted until 1916, «■-• :i._to his being under age. District orders issued by the miliiaxv officer commanding the district state that His Excellency the Governor has been pleesed to accept the services of thvndernientioied rifle clubs:—Mokai Defence Rifle Club, with headquarters at Mokai, Taupo district; Te Puke Defence Rifle Club, headquarters at To Puke : Auckland Grammar School Old Boys' Defence Rifle Club, head quart era at Auckland ; Auckland Yachtsmen's Naval Defence Rifle Club, headquarters at Auckland; New Zealand tanners' Union Mounted Defence Riflo L'iub, headquarters at Maungaturoto.