LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16026, 18 September 1915, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The Canadian-Australasian mail steamer Ma kura, which left Vancouver on September 1. sailed from Suva. a( 2 a.m. yesterday tor Auckland. She is due here on Monday morning, and is bringing 156 passengers and 800 tons of cargo. Her departure for 'Sydney has been fixed for 5 p.m. on Monday. An English and American mail, comprising 398 bags, is being brought, by the Makura.

The new schedule of railway fares and freights will be brought into operation tomorrow. The principal feature of the increases that have been made is an addition of Id to every shilling or fraction of Is in the fares and other charges payable by passengers, and of 10 per cent, to all rates in connection with the carriage of goods, though there are exceptions to both rules, which were fully explained in the Herald on Wednesday. Passengers travelling by to-morrow's trains will be required to pay the higher fares, and (ilends who gather at the station in the evening to bid farewell to those leaving by the Main Trunk express train will have to pay 3d. instead of 2d, as in the past., : for admission to the platform. The aggregate effect of the advances is estimated bv the Minister for Finance, Sir Joseph \\ard. as an addition of £360.000 to the j annual revenue of the Railways DepartI ment.

The thirty second annual conference of the New Zealand Baptist Union will be opened in Auckland on Wednesday, October 6. and will continue for nine days. Most of the .business sessions and public meetings will be held in the Baptist Tabernacle. Upwards of 120 ministerial and lav delegates are expected to assemble from all parts of the Dominion, and on "Conference Sunday." October 10, the pulpits of city and suburban churches will be occupied by visiting ministers. The conference last sat in Auckland in 1907, and previous to that in 1902. On account of the war the regular session was abandoned last year, only the executive having met in Wellington to attend to urgent business.

The omission of tea from the schedule of articles selected by the Minister for Finance, Sir Joseph Ward, for taxation to meet the burden of war expenditure, caused general surprise among merchants, as it had been anticipate for months previously that the amount of a duty would shortly be added to the advancing cost of the commodity. During the debate on the Financial Statement several members of Parli.'jnent urged that tea should be made the object of taxation. Apparently the possibility that such a duty may be imposed is regarded seriously in Auckland, for several firms are reported to have made large purchases recently from local stocks, one transaction having amounted to 200 chests. There is no apparent external influence to explain this business, as supplies are coming forward freely, a large shipment having been delivered only this week by the Victoria. At present tea grown in British countries, and imported in packages of not less than 51b, is free of duty, foreign tea being subject to a preferential surtax of 2d per lb.

In common with many other philanthropic societies which are not directly concerned in ministering to the needs of soldiers. Dr. Barnardo's homes have experienced a serious reduction in the revenue from private subscriptions- This diversion of funds to other purposes has been felt by the Auckland branch of the Young Helpers' League, an organisation of beys ' and girls which has undertaken to furnish £35 every year for the maintenance of one boy in the Barnardo homes. As a means of assisting the league, an entertainment will be given this afternoon in St. Mark's Hall. It will be a repetition of a programme recently given in aid of one- of the patriotic funds, by a company of children organised by Mrs. C. E. Maguire.

The difficulty in providing A stokehold crew for the steamer Kaituna has not yet been settled, and the date of the vessel's departure for Greyraouth is still uncertain. Discussing the matter yesterday, an official of the Union Steam Ship Companv pointed out that when the stokehold crew of Australians was paid off previously, the company was willing to sign' on a new crew under Australian articles, which provide for six firemen, but a New Zealand crew refused to sign on under these conditions. On Thursday, when the company was prepared to sign the men on under the New Zealand articles, they refused to accept the New Zealand manning scale.

Among the members of the Auckland Hebrew community who are serving with the various sections of His Majesty's forces are the following —Drs. H. M. Goldstein and Lionel Lewis, Messrs. R. Benjamin, M. Caro. L. M. Nathan, Harold Nathan, A. Wachner, A. Neumegen, G. Lurv, S. Braham, H. Wittner, H. Abrahams, P. Ornstein, Leo Myers, Y. Samuel. J. Samuel, Eric Hayman. O. Simon, N. Leviue, H. Cantor, and H. Green. Oscar Simon died of wounds on May 15, S. Braham and G. Lury were wounded on August 8, and A. Wachner returned wounded last -week by the Tahiti. It is proposed to prepare a roll of honour and to provide for any military members of the congregation who may bo incapacitated.

"When do you intend to fulfil your promise to hold an inquiry into the case of unwounded soldiers who returned by the Tahiti?" asked Mr. J. T. W. Hornsby of the Minister for Defence in the House of Representative yesterday. *• I made no such promise," said the Hon. J. Allen, in reply. " I said that I would get a report as to the numbers who returned sick, wounded, etc.. and that if inquiry were necessary I would institute one."

Diligent efforts are being made by the Mangere Ladies' Patriotic League to ensure an adequate response by the district to the various appeals for funds. Since the league was formed, in June, a sum of £240 has been raised. Eighty-five leather waistcoats have been furnished by the collection of £29 15», towards which a Manchester tea, on September 4, realised £12 Bs. At the request of the league, arrangements have been made to enable it to equip 16 beds in the Auckland Hospital for soldiers returned from tho front, and £160 is being donated by the league to cover the cost. In response to the renewed appeal for funds, a bazaar will be held on November 5 and 6.

The prize offered by the British and Foreign Sailors' Society for the best essay on the subject, " Who, in your judgment, is the greatest British sailor next to Nel son"'" has been won four times"during the last nine years by pupils of the Onehunga schools. The successful essayists this year were two scholars attending the Roman Catholic school in that suburb, namelv. Miss May Martin, who received the society's plaque made from the copper sheathing of Lord Nelson's flagship, the Victory, and Master Gordon Maxwell, who received the society's medal. The prizes were presented to the. winners bv Mr. G. J. Garland, chairman or the Board of Education, at a public meeting, at which the Mayor of the borough, Mr. J. Rowo, preaided.

Interesting reading matter is contained in the supplement issued with to-day's New Zealand Herald. "The Dead Hand in History" is the title of "Tohunga's" contribution. Unusual aspects of the "war are referred to by Frank Morton in an article entitled, "The Slump in Poetry." Other articles are: —"France's Part in the War," by Lieut-C'ol. A. A. Grace, N.Z.F.A.. "Some Recruiting," by Mrs. Leo Myers. "Beginnings of Germany." by Archdeacon MacMuiray. and "The Land They Love." by Elsie K. Morton. The illustrations include some excellent snapshots taken in connection with the return of the Tahiti with wounded soldiers, and some clever war cartoons. An innovation this week which should be widely read is a territorial column by '"Sentinel."

The payment of separation allowances to *oldiers' wives was the subject of a, telegram received from the Defence Department yesterday by the chairman of the Soldiers' Relief Committee. Mr. V. J. Lamer. The message stated that separation allowances continue to the date of wounded soldiers' discharge. this means, said Mr. Lamer, that although a wounded man is back in his own home his wife will continue to receive the payment of Is a day made by the Government as a separation allowance.

A weekly service of intercession, to be held every Wednesday during the war, has been organised by the Evangelistic Council of the Diocese of Auckland, of which the bishop. Dr. A. W. Avenll, is chairman. The services will be held in St. Matthew's Church between 12.20 p.m. and 12.50 p.m.. and will commence next Wednesday. It is the desire of the council that this service should be the central act of intercession, and it is open to any who care to to attend. A short address will be given at each service. Dr. Averill will conduct the opening service.

An appeal against a decision of Mr. E. C. Cutten, S.M., came before Mr. Justice Hosking yesterday at the Supreme Court. The parties were Ernest Gilbert- Skeates, of Auckland, jeweller, defendant, now appellant (Mr. H. P. Richmond and Harry Parkinson, of Auckland, liquidator of the New Zealand Mercury Safety Air Gas Company, Ltd.. in voluntary liquidation, plaintiff, now respondent (Mr. A. Ml Mowlem). In the Lower Court plaintiff claimed £74 15s lOd for goods fold ind delivered and work done. The magistrate gave judgment for plaintiff for £60 15s, and against that decision Skeates appealed on the ground that the magistrate was wrong in fact. His Honor reserved his decision.

The suggested formation of a university battalion, originally proposed by Mr. H. A. E. Milnes, principal of the Auckland Training College 0 was briefly discussed by the Victoria College Council, Wellington, at its last meeting. The chairman said that each college would have to provide about 250 men, and so many had already gone from Victoria College that, it was impossible to do anything of the kind. Dr. Knight added that the experiences of the campaign showed that a battalion would practically disappear after four or five engagements, and it would be quite impossible for the colleges to keep it in existence.

Representations were recently made by the Auckland Chamber of Commerce to the Post and Telegraph Department regarding the withdrawal of the privilege of lea vine a cash deposit with the Department .to cover telegraphic, charges- \ A reply has been received from the Department stating that the privilege was withdrawn because the cash deposits had become so numerous as to seriously hamper the legitimate work of the Department. The system was introduced for the benefit of outlying settlers—that was to say, people to whom a post office was not- easily accessible, and it had grown by degrees to its late unwieldy dimensions. The

privilege, which had never been a right, would not have been withdrawn had the Department not realised that it involved labour and account-keeping which was really the work of the sdepositiors. No exception to the rule of cash deposits as it now stood could be promised:

A greaser on the steamer Hawke's Bay named Michael Sands fractured one of hi* ribs last night through tripping over an iron girder. He was taken to the hospital in the waterside workers' ambulance. Sands is 60 years of age.

The proposed nationalisation of the provincial patriotic funds has been opposed by Otago, "as •well as by Auckland. ' Air. George Fen wick, of Dunedin, scouts any suggestion that Ota go is too provincial in its application of funds raised for the wounded soldiers and the dependants of the fallen. Addressing the conference of representatives of patriotic funds, he said:—" Otago has no parochial spirit, but we do ■want to be quite certain that there will be an adequate sum for ' the benefit of the men who have gone to the front from Otago. Otago desires to help in the national movement, but it did not like anything suggestive of the tone of compulsion."

A suggestion that some effort should be made by our Tourist Department to attract American tourists to this country, was made to the Minister in charge of the Department yesterday, by Mr. Z. M. Isitt. Mr. Isitt said that as it might be presumed that the war had stopped the stream of American tourists to Europe, the time should be opportune to take steps to attract American travellers to these shores. The Hon. Dr. McXab said that a good deal had been done to advertise New Zealand, largely by the distribution of literature at our court at the Panama Exhibition. The Department hoped that there would be an influx of American tourists this year. He would give the. matter consideration, with the object of discovering whether any more might be done at reasonable outlay to attract American visitors during the coming summer.

In a letter received from the front by the Minister for Defence a prominent officer ■writes: —" The last reinforcements, the fifth, were a splendid lot. General Spense was highly delighted with their discipline and the course of musketry they had gone through, and they left for the front- in one "week from landing/"

A lecture on Ceylon, or to use its more picturesque name, " The Island of Jewels " was given last night at the concert chamber of the Town Hall by Mr. C. M Carter, headmaster of t*ne Napier Street school. Mr. G. J. Garland, chairman of the Auckland Education Board, presided, and the audience, which was a ~ most appreciative one, consisted mainly of school children. To illustrate the lecture, which was in aid of the funds of the Patriotic and War Relief Association, .Mr. Carter used some 500 lantern slides, many of them extremely beautiful. He was accorded a hearty vote of thanks.

The necessity of paving to returned wounded and invalided married soldiers their pay weekly instead of monthlv was urged yesterday bv Mr. V. J. Lamer chairman of the Soldiers' Relief Committee. upon the Minister for Defence, the Hon. James Allen, to whom he telegraphed on the matter. Mr. Lamer added that he felt sure this concession would be very much appreciated. In reply the Minuter telegraphed stating that he would consider the suggestion.