LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16299, 4 August 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Precautions have been taken to prevent further subsidences in the roadway in Durham Street East. Workmen were engaged yesterday in removing the debris from the subsidence that occurred on Wednesday owing to the severe rainstorm. Very heavy timber is being used to shore up the sides of the excavated site.

During the hearing of a case in which the Inspector of Awards was proceeding against an employer in the Magistrate's Court yesterday for an alleged breach of an award, the presiding magistrate, Mr. C. C. Kettle, stated that the Arbitration Court was the proper place to take questions regarding the interpretation of clauses in awards. The Magistrate's Court ought to be confined to dealing with obvious breaches of awards only. He adjourned the case under consideration to allow it to be taken to the Arbitration Court, as it involved a question of interpretation. Counsel for the defence agreed that it was "a Chinese puzzle."

In reply to a cablegram sent to the president of the Navy League in London by the Auckland branch last Saturday, inquiring as to the administration of the Naval Relief Fund, a cablegram was received yesterday from Lord Charles Beresford by Captain Thomas, president of the local branch, stating that the fund was being administered by a special committee working in conjunction with the War Pensions' Committee, and that the money sent was being used to supplement State help.

The need for a detention house for juvenile offenders whose indiscretions do not warrant their committal for a long period to an industrial school, but who require greater observation by Government officials than could be given them in their own homes, was mentioned by Mr. F. S. Shell, probation officer, before Mr. E. C. Cutten, S.M., in the Juvenile Offenders Court yesterday. Mr. Shell expressed the opinion that a house of the kind he described should be estabI lished in Auckland. He said many boys received their first idea of wrong-doing from the escapades of characters represented on picture theatre screens, and in \ their efforts to emulate these characters they infringed the law. Sub-Inspector McUveney said the suggestion of a detention house was a good one, and he felt its establishment would be productive of much good.

There are now five Maoris awaiting trial, charged with complicity in the affray at Maungapohatu, a phase of- the Rua trial on which the jury disagreed. Asked by a representative of the Herald yesterday what steps would now be taken with regard to these men, the Hon. J. A. Tole, K.C., Crown Prosecutor, said :— '* I shall communicate with the Government as to any proceedings that may be desired to be taken. I cannot, of course, say at this juncture what that action will be, but it will be announced in due course."

Considerable dissatisfaction is being expressed by householders in the R-emuera district at being unable to obtain admission fgr their children to the Remuera school. There are two schools in Remuera, the Remuera school, situated in a central position, and the Meadowbank school, which is near the eastern boundary of the district. Recently, out of consideration for the health of children attending the Remuera school, the Education Board fixed the maximum number of pupils at i 25, and issued instructions to the headmaster to see that the maximum was not exceeded ; also, that children residing east of Green Lane were not to be admitted. The board contends that children residing east of Green Lane should be sent to the , Meadowbank school, a commodious brick building opened last year. The building is capable of accommodating approximately 1 500 pupils whereas at present the roll | number i, Jess than half that number. i Ihe board's action is strongly criticised ;by many householders. They' state that I the erection of the Meadowbank school . on its present site was opposed bv three separate school committees. It is under- . stood that a deputation from householders ! is to wait on the School Committee at | its next meeting, will, a view to further . action in the matter. i Numerous inquiries have Wen made re- ■ garding the movements of the Naval Com mission who are going round the world and the date of their arrival in New Zealand. Captain A. Whitney received on Monday a cablegram from' the Admiralty, and he announces for the information of the large number of officers, seamen, engineers and yachtsmen who are volunteering their services for naval work, that the Naval Committee will leave Van couver for New Zealand in three weeks' I time.

The loss of £3 6s 3d, the property of William Crombey, was the subject of a charge of theft preferred against a boy 11 years of age before Mr. E. C. Cutten, S. M., in the Juvenile Offenders Court yesterday. The boy said he took only a part of the money. Sub-Inspector McIlveney said the boy had admitted stealing the whole of the money when he was first, interviewed. The lad was untruthful, and had given some trouble to the owner of the money and the police. Mr. F. S. Shell, probation officer, informed the Court that the boy had a good home, and recommended that he be placed on probation. The magistrate nominally committed the offender to the Weraroa training farm, and placed him on probation.

The Auckland City Prohibition League forwards the following summary of offences due to drink dealt with at the city Police Court during July : —Drunkenness, first offenders, 88; others, 46; total, 134; breach of prohibition orders. 26 ; damage to property, 3 ; obscene language, 12; vagrancy, 6 ; incorrigible rogue, 1 ; theft, o; threatening behaviour, 5 ; breach of peace, 2 ; committing a nuisance. 1 ; soliciting, 2 ; resisting police, 2 ; indecency, 2; assaults, 5 ; drunk in charge of vehicle, 1 ; false pretence, 1 : unlawfully on premises, 1; refusing to quit licensed premises, 1 j desertion from ship, 1 : begging, 1, Total," 216, of whom 7 were women. Twelve new prohibition orders were issued. Fourteen "persons were sent, to Roto Roa.

As a result of " trying-out" the whale recently stranded on the Otaki Beach 11 36-gallon barrels of oil have been saved, while portions of the frame of the monster have been sold at a good price.

Indications of one of the mildest winters ever experienced in the Wakatipu district are apparent in many ways. Skating, which is usually at its height at this time, is impossible. Instead of there being inches of ice on the lagoons, there is nothing but clear water. The snowfall has been exceedingly light. Sheepowners depend upon the snow to keep their flocks down on the low country, but practically no such barrier is afforded this year. Another sure indication of the mildness of the winter is the early blossoming of the kowhai trees in the park. Spring growth is everywhere wonderfully forward.

Pheasants are plentiful throughout the Northern Wairoa district, and many sportsmen, without dogs, have obtained good bags. The recent rains, however, have driven the birds into the bush, this militating against 'the success of sportsmen.

In attempting to describe the noise of artillery fire, a Southland soldier, writing to his friends, characterises the sound of 50,000 men, armed with 50,000 sledgehammers, thumping on 50,000 iron tanks, as a whisper in comparison to an average bombardment.

. The Navy League Fund inaugurated by the Wellington branch for dependants of naval men lost during the war was closed on Tuesday, a meeting being held at the Town Hall to complete formalities in winding-up the fund. The Wellington Navy League contributions total about £12,500, of which £10,000 has been cabled to London. The total collected for this fund by the various branches in New Zealand is over £50,000. and other subscriptions forwarded to London through the Prime Minister for the same object will probably amount to £10,000 or £15,000.

Mr. Hurst Seager, at a lecture given in Christchurch on "Town Planning," broke a lance against the tramway, telegraph, and other poles that are such an eyesore in Christchurch. He advocated that boxes of earth be placed at the base of each, and that roses be planted in these to grow up the poles. At the close of the meeting a member of the audience informed Mr. Seager.that the plan would not answer, as the dust would kill the roses, and they would not become the things of beauty that Mr. Seager thought they .would Mr. Seager had also advocated throwing down the fences of the gardens, as was done in America, and here again the speaker joined issue with him. It was impossible, he said, to grow plants, hedges, or anything along a dusty thoroughfare such as the Papanui Road without a hedge or a solid fence. Even hedges -were smothered with dust and did badly, and in his own case he had been compelled to disfigure the place with a corrugated iron fence in order to shelter plants and allow them to grow.

Most people are fully aware of the fact that there are a good many returned soldiers in hospital at Dunedin. and, even though much is done to make them quite comfortable, time does not always pass rapidlv for them. The formation, therefore, of a tm-makers' association, with the object of instructing the soldiers in a congenial, and not too laborious, work will be hailed as an" excellent idea. The association has lost no time in setting to work. Already classes in basket work have been commenced, and the soldiers are reported to have received the idea with enthusiasm, and have already done good work. The doctors are pleased with the new scheme, as it provides something which interests the men greatly and has the effect of diverting their thoughts from their complaints. Later on the association will endeavour to introduce the work of making toys in which it is possible to create an industry. The outdoor patients will also receive instruction as soon as possible.

A new sphere of work has opened for women in Wellington, which is causing considerable interest, one reason probablv being because it is an opportunity of proving how women can till positions where a good deal of. technical ability is required. The large number of men that have gone to the front from the Wellington gasworks suggested to the management the idea of trying women, so it was decided to engage a small number, as an experiment, in the incandescent-burner maintenance department. It is understood that so far the plan has answered admirably, the women readily grasping the technical part and 'fulfilling the conditions of the company. The Women's National Reserve arranged lor the engaging of the women selected.

Chaplain-Captain King, speaking at his lecture (his week at Baldutha, said that to nK>*t. people Egypt was synonymous with sand and deserts. This, however, was not the case, as Egypt as a country was worth holding for its own sake. In New Zealand there were rases of .men givmglsuch high prices as £60 and £70 an acre for land, but alongside the railway line between Alexandria and Cairo the land could not be bought under £200 an acre. The reason for this was obvious The land could raise three or four crops a year, the cotton crop alone being worth from £35 to £45 per aye, according to the year under review. At present this land was supporting 11,000,000 people, but with drainage the delta could be made to support three- times as many.,