LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16310, 17 August 1916, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

S. labofbeb named John McGuinness, an >ld man, was found in bed at noon yesterday, at his home in Hobson Street, suffering from a severe cat on the left arm, which had apparently been caused by a razor. He had been living for some time with a man named James Drew, prior to ■which he lived at the Costley Home where he had been in indifferent health. Drew left the house at 8 a.m. yesterday and when he returned at noon he was informed by Mrs. Bruce, who had been in the habit of cleaning the house for the two men, that she had found McGuinness in bed with a severe gash on his left arm. The bedclothes were over his head and a blood-stained razor was on the floor. Dr. Moir was summoned and he ordered the man's removal to the hospital. Upon inquiry at the hospital last night it was stated that the man's condition was serious, but that he was expected to recover. During the recent heavy rains a slip of considerable size occurred at the back of the Auckland Harbour Board's land at Freeman's Bay occupied by the ParkerLamb Timber Company. The question of the liability for the damage that has been sustained or may be caused has beer considered by the board at a special committee meeting, with the result that, it has been decided that the board shall disclaim any responsibility in the matter. The subject has been left in the hands of the chairman of the board and the board's solicitors. The parade of the Maori reinforcements, now in camp at Narrow Neck, which was to have been held to-day, has been postponed until to-morrow, when the arrangements made for to-day will hold goodThe young man, Roger James Coyle. who had been living a vagrant existence and leading a blind man about, and who last week was given the choice of going to gaol or enlisting by Mr. F. V. Frazer. S.M., appeared in the Police Court yesterday and stated that he would enlist, However, Chief-Detective McMahon stated that the Defence Department did not con sider him a suitable person as a soldier, and he suggested that a term of reformative treatment might provide the necessary discipline which Coyle appeared tc require. Mr. Frazer agreed with the suggestion and sentenced Coyle to two years reformative treatment and added that he would endorse the warrant to the effect that Coyle should be kept apart from the older prisoners. The criminal sessions of the Supreme Court were occupied all day yesterday in hearing a charge preferred against William Thomas Hunt, a settler of Ruawai, Northern Wairoa, of committing a serious offence upon a young girl. His Honir Mr. Justice Hosking presided. The Hon. J. A. Tole, K.C., prosecuted. The accused, who pleaded not guilty, was defended by Mr. J. P.- Reed, K.C., with him Mr. W. A. Black. The evidence had not concluded when" the Court rose at o p.m., and the case will be resumed th : .s morning. The approaching visit to Auckland o the Federal-Shi re steamers Devon and Leitrim will be of special interest to thost connected with shipping. These twe vessels were only constructed within th< last 18 months, and both have cruiser shaped sterns. The Devon made her firs' visit to Auckland about six months ago and she is now making her second voyag< to the Dominion from Home and Anstra lian ports. The Leitrim is a very moden steamer, and is making her first visit t< New Zealand waters. This steamer is ex pected to arrive at Whangarei early thi morning from Sydney, and is due a Auckland Tuesday next. Th< Devon left Sydney on Tuesday afternooi for Auckland, and should arrive here 01 Sunday night or early on Monday morn ing. Early yesterday morning a constable noticed a man moving about in a suspici ous manner in the vicinitv of the uppei part of Symonds Street. He was watchec and seen to go into the grounds of £ boardinghouse, and when the constable went after him he escaped through the back of the premises, dropping a parcel containing ladies' underclothing, in hi; flight. He was secured finally, and yester dav appeared before Mr. F. V. Frazer S.M., on charges of being illegal'y or premises, and of theft. Sub-Inspectoi Mcllveney stated that the man, whose name is Jack Smith, had in his possessioi a number of pawn tickets, about whicl the police required to make further in quiries. Consequently he asked for a re mand for a week. The request was granted. The question of teaching returned soldiers basket-making was raised at the meeting of the executive of the Auckland Patriotic Association yesterday. Mr. H. D. Heather said that Lieutenant-Colonel T. Hope Lewis had suggested that ii steps were being taken to teach basketmaking in Auckland soldiers from Hanmer would render assistance. The Mayor. Mr. J- H. Gunson, remarked that there was a Tuition Committee, but that not much had been done. Mr. A. G. Lunn referred to Captain C. A. Whitney's gift of £50, which he had sent to the Hebale for the purpose of providing suitable material and instruction in basket-making or other light work. The matter was then referred to the Tuition Committee, The enrolment for military service o men in the Newmarket district is greath facilitated by the provision made by tht Newmarket Borough Council for thi carrying out of the preliminary steps a' its office. Men may fill in their paper: there before undergoing the medical ex animations, and the convenience affordec is greatly appreciated. Amongst the lat-es' enrolments at this office is that of a sol dier who has returned from Gallipoli, anc is now desirous of resuming service as j member of the Samoan force. Good progress is being made with tht construction of the permanent way it connection with the Queen Street tram way extension. The inward track has beei completed for the whole length from Wei lesley Street to Karangahape Road, whils the foundation and the bottom ballastinj of the outward track has been carriee out from Karangahape Road as far dowi as Turner Street. The special work a the Karangahape Road junction has als< been laid, and is now being brought ui to the correct level. All the rails am sleepers required for the uncompletec work are on the spot. The work will b< completed before Christmas. An examination for promotion of terri torial officers was commenced at the So ciety of Arts building, Kitchener Street yesterday, and will be concluded to-day An obligatory course of instruction foi non-commissioned officers desirous of ob taining first appointments to commission! will be held at the Auckland Drill Hal from August 21 to 26 inclusive. Ihe officer in charge of the course will be Colonel G. A. Ward, G. 5.0., Aucklanc district, and the adjutant, Captain W S. Turlev. 15th Reriment.

The report of the Claims Board of the Auckland Patriotic and War Relief Assoiation, presented to the meeting of the xecutive yesterday, showed that 81 cases ad been dealt with during the past fortdght, the majority of them presenting ,o new features. The report of the Reief Committee showed that 173 cases. 0 of them new ones, had been considered, nd £>£*& 2s had been disbursed, of which J26 ISs 9d had been refunded to the association bv means of allotment warants. The Mayor, Mr J. H. Gunson. emarked that soldiers generally approved 1 the administration of the Claims Board. There was less hesitancy on the part of he men in coming for relief. They realsed that it was not a ca>e of chanty, j ind that they would always receive a | ympathetic hearing. j An arrival at Auckland last night was j the small barque Daniel, which has been j a frequent visitor to the port. The vessel J came from Clarence Town, New South Wale?, and like the barquentine Wa- j nganui, which arrived from Sydney on I Tuesday evening, made the passage to Auckland in the creditable time of 12; days. The Daniel was jiu-chased some j months ago by Messrs. Rosenfeldt and To.. Proprietary. Limited, of Sydney. She bronzbt a cargo consisting of 145.000 ft of hardwood consigned to A. L. Pike and Co. The ■~>«! •-:.: icad timber at Auckland for Sydney. At a meeting of ratepayers a; Birkdale he method of levying the sanitation rat* iver the whole borough was discussed. Mr. E. C. Walton presided. The mem >ers of the Birkenhead Borough Council vere present by invitation, and explained .hat since the system of rating on unimaroved values had been introduced in Birkenhead the policy had been to levy ill the rates that legally could be collected mder the new method, and the majority jf the council, in striking the rates for •he current year, felt that a change in .hat policy was not justified. Extra expenditure on the main Birkdale Road had been made as an equivalent for the amount collected for the sanitation rate in Birkdale. where the service was not ?mploved. and the samp course would be adopted this year. The meeting parsed a resolution recommending that the sanitation charge be struck or. a more equitable basis in future. Appreciation was expressed in regard to the work done on :he main road from the Birkenhead hart to the reservoir, and on the main road leading to the Birkdale Wharf. It was decided to invite the council to drive Dver the roads of the district during the wet weather, so as to ascertain the requirements, with a view to work being done in the summer. The question of paying insurance pre miunis on soldiers' policies is a matter to come before the Advisory Board of the Federation of the New Zealand Patriotic and War Relief Societies, according to a report presented to the executive of the Auckland Association yesterday. The report stated that at a recent conference of the societies' delegates, the principle of paying premiums was affirmed, and a proposal was referred to the board that the advisability of paying insurance premiums up to £50 per annum on soldiers' policies should be urged upon the Government in regard to war policies carrying a special load, and in respect of policies taken out before the war. where a man insured for the benefit of his wife, children or other dependants. The danger to the rest of the community which arises when people neglect to have their chimneys swept regularly, with the result that chimney fires occur, was pointed out yesterday by Mr. F. V. Frazer, S.M.. in the Police Court, when two householders were fined for allowing their chimneys to catch fire. In tin case against Helen police evidence was to the effect that hej chimney had not been swept for two oi three years. In imposing a fine of £1 anc costs 6s, Mr. Frazer pointed out that be sides being a serious danger to the publit in general, a certain amount of expens* was also incurred in calling the fire brigadi out. and in cases where people could affor< it he intended to impose more thai nominal fines. Harry Mephan, for ; similar offence, was fined 10s and cost: 7s. An Austrian who had no passport wa detained on landing from the Moana ii Wellington under orders from the military authorities- The man was for some tin* a resident of Wellington, where he ha a wife, and not long ago he went t< San Francisco, but failing to do well ii business, and owing to ill-health, he de cided to return to New Zealand. Wha future action will be taken has not ye been decided. The cause of charity in Auckland wi be assisted as the result of footba matches played under the auspices of th Auckland Rugby League on Saturda last. After expenses had been paid th sum of £53 lis 9d was realised, and thi amount will be allotted to the followin institutions in equal proportions .- Orphans' Home, Papatoetoe, Auckland Kindergarten, St. John Ambulance Br gade, Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society and the Little Sisters of the Poor. Th sum of £1 ss, the proceeds of a danc organised by the Riverhead Football Clut will be paid into the Red Cross Fund. The sale of work organised by theMisse Robertson, of Remuera, and held o: Saturday, in aid of the Belgian Children' Fund, was most successful from a financu point of view, the sum of £60 10s havin been forwarded to the treasurer yesterday as a result of the afternoon. This was th principal donation received, and. with th addition of £9 6s in smaller sums, bring th* total amount contributed to £502 12s 2d. The conference of representatives < cheese factories throughout the Dominic with the Prime Minister in connectic with the requisition of the cheese out pi of New Zealand by the Imperial Goven ment will take place in Wellington t< morrow. Mr. H. E. Pacey, managir director of the New Zealand" Dairy Assciation, one of the delegates to the coi ference, left for Wellington by the Ma; Trunk express last night. The steamer Dalmore, which is report* by a Sydney exchange as having bee recently purchased by the Union'steai Ship Company, has been renamed W a totara. The Dalmore was built a Greenoch in 1907 by Scott's Shipbuildin and Engineering Company, Limited, an was owned by the Alliance Shippin Company, Limited. The vessel is of 471 tons gross register, and has been a visitc to many Commonwealth and New Zee land ports. Lightering work on a most extensii scale is to be carried out at Wellingtc in a day or two in connection with tl arrival at that port of the steams Cacique. The vessel has on hoard aboi 800 tons of explosives for Sydney, ai as the regulations of the Wellington Ha hour Board prevent a merchant ship fro going alongside the wharves with expl sives, the Cacique will discharge h genera! cargo for New Zealand. whi< amounts to about 3000 tons. into lighte in the stream.