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LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

It was announced by His Excellency the Governor at the soldiers' dinner last night that the New Zealand hospital ship Marama had just arrived for the third time at Southampton with 580 wounded and invalided Imperial soldiers from Salonika. His Excellency added that our hospital ships were considered to be tho most efficient in tiro Mediterranean.

The steamer Dongnrra, which arrived from New York yesterday afternoon, had on board two stowaways. Shortly after leaving New York the two young men disclosed themselves, and stated that they were vaudeville artists. They were locked in a cabin and given two hours' exercise daily. At Durban the authorities would not allow them to land, so they were brought on to Auckland and handed over I to tho police.

The new drainage works decided upon by the Mount Albert Borough Council a short time ago, and to cover the cost of which a loan of £5700 was raised, are now woll on the road towards completion. The scheme was divided into three sections, The portion at Morningside has been finished, whilo the Mountain View Road section is fully two-thirds completed. Tenders for carrying out the work on the Gladstone Road section will be called for almost immediately. How regimental associations run in families is illustrated by "a fact which Captain Wallingford mentioned at the soldiers' dinner last evening—that members of his family for three generations had been connected with the Rifle Brigade. Moreover, he had a son 18 years of age, and therefore too young to enlist in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, but the lad was starting for England very shortly to add another generation of Wallingfords to his progenitors' old regiment. An accident occurred in Hobson Street last evening, as the result of which a married man, Mr. Angus Young, received serious injuries to the head. --ir. Young had just alighted from a tramcar, when he was knocked down by a motor-car. Ho was conveyed to tho hospital, where ho was admitted in an unconscious state. His condition is reported to be serious. Mr. Young, who is 35 years of age, resides at 21, Vincent Street. Tho construction of the Quay Street! landings—a substantial platform of reinforced concrete, extending outward from the footpath of the street to a width of nearly 90ft, and for the full length from the Queen's Wharf to tho King's Wharf, with berthage space along ils frontage, save where it is interrupted by tho roots of wharves and jetties— now been completed by the Auckland Harbour Board. The concreting gang is now employed in full force upon the Central Wharf, which extends out from the landing. Pile-driving is well advanced, and a start has been made with tho inner portion of the superstructure.

Tho Minister for Education, the Hon. J. A. Hanan, stated yesterday that he had already discussed with the chairman of the Auckland Education Board, Mr. G. J. Garland, the question of the addition to the school site at Takapuna, and an understanding had been come to in regard to certain other school sites for which the Auckland board was pressing. Mr. Garland had asked him to make a personal inspection of the schools at Hamilton and Rotorua, and he hoped to do so shortly.

In the space of 31 minutes, three separate meetings of (lie Harbour Board were held yesterday. The members present were Mr. H. D. Heather, chairman, Messrs. W. E. Hutchison, F. Quin, H. R. Mackenzie, E. J. Carr, and W. Wallace. First came the postponed meeting of the board in committee, at which the only matter of interest was consideration of the return recently presented to the board showing the names of its unmarried employees of military age. Mr. Wallace, who had moved for the return, intimated that he did not proposo to take any further action in regard to it. In giving a stimulus to recruiting on the part of the single men, it had served its purpose. The return was, therefore, merely received. Tho regular meeting of the board proper followed, and dealt chiefly with routine business. Applications for two cadctsliips in the board's service was referred to the board in committee, with power to act. At the suggestion of Mr. Carr, it was decided that the engineer should bo asked to report upon the condition of the Ponsonby Wharf, which was stated to bo dangerous. The third meeting was iv special one for the adoption of a new bv-law.

The necessity for economy on the part of the Education Department during the period of the war was again emphasised by the Minister for Education, the Hon. J. A. Hanan, yesterday. He said that much pf tho amounts that had hitherto been available for expenditure by different Departments must be reasonably curtailed. The position at present was that applications for grants totalling £174,000 had been sent in to the Department, and lie, as Minister, could no more afford to commit the country to that liability than he could provide the money immediately. Much of the proposed work, no matter how desirable it might be, would simply have to wait. Mr. Hanan said the matter of the extension of school sites and the acquisition of new ones had given him much concern, and in order to deal with it on a more comprehensive basis he had asked the education boards for estimates of their probable requirements for the next few years- Tho return would be furnished from the Auckland district as soon as possible.

The Prim* Minister, the Right Hon. W. F. Massey, has been invited to perform the opening ceremony in connection with the now Westfield Freezing Works. It is anticipated that the works will be completed and ready to start for killing operations about the end of May. The machinery has been installed, and tests carried out, and it is now in first-class running order. 'Hie late arrival of steel work from England has kept back the work in the slaughtering sections, but no fears are entertained thai the work will not be completed by the time stated. Three hundred men are engaged on the works at present, and more would be employed it they could be secured.

The following resolution was passed at a recent meeting of the Otago Labour Council:—" This council is of opinion that the principle of preference of employment to discharged soldiers cannot be put into practical operation by individual employers or public bodies without causing friction and dissatisfaction amongst all classes, including the discharged soldiers, mid therefore considers that steps should be immediately taken to evolve a scheme whereby tho responsibility of providing for the future employment of discharged soldiers should be thrown upon the shoulders of the whole of the people of the Dominion." The council also appointed i committee to prepare a scheme and submit it to a future meeting of the council for consideration.,

'Die pictorial section of the Auckland Weekly News issued to-day contains several interesting features. In commemoration of Anzac Day several fine photographs dealing with the part New Zealanders played on Gallipoli will be valued on account of their great historic interest. Two excellent photographs of the celebration of Anzac Day by the city and suburban school children also appear. A fine series of snapshots of New Zealanders taking part in the campaign against the Senussi at Mersa Matron last January forms an interesting part ci the publication. A splendid photograph of Trebizondi which has been captured by the Russians from the Turks, appears, together with a striking panoramic view of Erzeroum, the ancient Armenian capital, which has also fallen into the hands of the soldiers of the Tsar. There is an excellent panoramic view of tho island of Motuihi, now used as an internment camp for Germans. Several other war and local topics are ad- | mirablv illustrated.

The cost of maintenance of the motorambulance kept by the Waterside Workers' Union on the Queen's Wharf is estimated by the union's secretary at £260 per annum. Towards this outlay the shipping companies contribute, and yesterday a letter from the union was received by the Harbour Board asking that it, also, should bear a sharo of the charge, in view of the service rendered to its employees in case of accident. The chairman, Mr. H. D. Heather, pointed out that when the ambulance service was established the board voted £20 towards its upkeep, and that the board also provided housing for the vehicle and lighting and water. In view of the splendid service done by the ambulance, ho moved that another donation of £20 be made, and this motion was agreed to, on the understanding that there was no undertaking tc make it an annual contribution. As the Anzac Day procession was about to leave the foot of Queen Street yesterday afternoon Plain-clothes Constable Gourley noticed a man behaving in a suspicious manner. Following him the constable saw tho man draw an obviously intoxicated man from the crowd and take him to Fort Street. Hiding behind a motor-car the constable saw the drunken man look at his watch and the other man take it and walk away. The constable followed him to a pawnbroker's shop, and while he was in the act of pawning the watch arrested him. New powers ha'vo been taken by the Harbour Board to enable it to protect the rights of those launch and yacht owners who are granted permits to use moorings off the harbour shores for their vessels. It has been found that unauthorised persons sometimes take possersion of the moorings for the use of their own vessels, to the ousting of tho lessees. Accordingly, an addition to the by-laws has been prepared, giving the harbourmaster authority to remove to another part of the harbour any vessel which is moored or anchored otherwise than in pursuance of a permit issued to its owner, and also, if he thinks fit, to place a custodian in charge of the vessel and charge the cost to the owner. This by-law was adopted at a special meeting of the board held yesterday, and is to come into operation on May 8.

The disturbance which was created at the city police station on Monday by about 40 native soldiers from the Narrow Neck camp had its sequel in the Police Court yesterday morning. One of the two natives who had been arrested earlier on Monday, Frank Meredith, a Samoan, was charged with being disorderly while drunk. He was fined ss, and was ordered to be handed over to the military authorities. The other man, Oscar Meredith, brother of the former defendant, was charged with using obscene language m Customs Street. A Jamaican named George Bowen, and two Maoris, Tommy Raid and Jack Hokaria, who were arrested at the time of the disturbance at' the police station, were charged with obstructing the watch-house keeper, Senior-Sergeant Rutledge, in the execution of his duty. James Ruatara was charged with assaulting Sub-Inspector W. B. McIlveney while in the execution of his duty. The cases, including that of Oscar Meredith, were adjourned until Thursday.

It is a standing grievance of the harbour boards of New Zealand that vessels employed as troopships frequently bring ordinary merchandise on their return voyage:; to the Dominion, but nevertheless escape the payment of harbour dues in, respect of what are really commercial trips. Recently such a steamer came into Auckland carrying 1526 tons of phosphates, and a few invalided soldiers, and, though wharfage was charged upon the goods, the vessel itself escaped port charges because of her charter by the Government for military purposes. The board wrote to the Defence Department claiming the payment of full dues, but the Minister for Defence has replied that as the Solicitor-General has ruled that Government transports are not liable for harbour dues while carrying cargo, he regrets that,. he cannot see his way to recognise the claim. Comment was made at yesterday's meeting of the board upon the unfairness of the system which allows shipping companies to avoid the full cost of ordinary importation, but it was felt that nothing could be done beyond registering a formal protest.

Comment on certain of the methods adopted by the educational authorities in Germany was made yesterday by the Hon. J. A. Hanan, .Minister for Education. He said the German schoolboy commenced his studies at seven o'clock in the mornI ing, and remained at school without a break for four hours. Before he left the school moreover, he was well laden with work to prepare for the afternoon's lessons. At the close of the afternoon session the boy was given more work to prepare for the next morning. The German schoolboy received no holidays, not even a half-holiday in the week. Bank holidays and a stoppage of work for religious festivals were practically unknown. Thus he got little or no lime for amusement, recreation, or hobby. He ieceived one day's holiday at Christmas, and another at Easter, while the summer break was of about two weeks' duration. The German schoolboy, however, appeared to have cheerfully accepted these conditions-* they had grown up with him. Mr. Hanan added that while he beliewd in instilling into school children a* love for school-work he would be sorry to see in the Dominion a system similar to the German.

The two Australian vessels which will come to New Zealand to load frozen meat during May will be the Borda and the Africa respectively. They will ship beef and mutton only at New Zealand ports, giving preference to beef.

An unusual accident occurred near the entrance to Peloius Sound a few days ago. About 150 pigs were being towed in a punt by a launch for delivery to a farmer at Haveloek, when the punt became partially immersed through the animals congregating on one side. The result was that about half were precipitated into the water. About thirty of the pigs were drowned, but the arduous work of collecting the remainder from bot'i shores and • reshipping them was successfully accomplished

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Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19160426.2.33

Bibliographic details

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16213, 26 April 1916, Page 6

Word Count
2,335

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS. New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16213, 26 April 1916, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS. New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16213, 26 April 1916, Page 6