LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16372, 28 October 1916, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Tire mail steamer Makura left Sydney at four o'clock on Thursday afternoon for Auckland, and is due to arrive on Monday morning. In addition to 185 passengers, the vessel has on board 83 bags of Australian mails for Auckland. Upon arrival the Makura will berth at the Queen's Wharf. The British Trade Commissioner, Mr. R. W. Dalton. has received a cablegram from tho Board of Trade in London to the ' following effect" Exportation of the ■ following is prohibited from the United ; Kingdom, from October 23: Basic slag, phosphates, cables containing copper, copper wires, and silk threads." Tho Minister for Public Works, tho Hon. ; W. Fraser, has repeated to tho chairman, ) of the Auckland Railways League his assurance that fully three weeks ago ho gave instructions that two shifts were to be put on at each end of the two railway 1 tunnels at Maungaturoto, and that this » will be maintained as long as money is ■ available and men are procurable. Myers Park lias presented a particularly lively appearance during the last ■ few days, about 50 workmen being en- > gaged in levelling and preparing the approach from Queen .Street, and in laying , out the paths and lawns in readiness for the official opening next month. The children's playground is now almost completed, and has been crowded with small I 1 boys and girls every afternoon this week. ' There are swings of all descriptions, see- ; saws, chutes, and a maypole, the latter proving a great attraction. So eager have the children been to make the most of their new playground that it has only been with difficulty that they have been induced to go home when darkness falls. The wading-pool was cleaned out yesterday afternoon, and will no doubt be the l centre of attraction during the coming . summer. There have been many visitors | to tho park already, while the grownup people of the neighbourhood, as well as the children, are appreciating its beauty, and ! finding it a delightful place for an after- • noon or evening stroll. The legal practice when an accused per- ' son pleads guilty in the Lower Court to ' any indictable offence is for the chargel sheet to bo endorsed on the back with i words to that effect. If the information ( is endorsed or enfaced in any other way, or on any other part of the information I but the back, the requirements of the | ' statutes are not met. An instance occurred | at the Supreme Court yesterday before His Honor Mr. Justice Hosking. A young man named Norman Scrimgeour was due to appear for sentence on a charge ', of hoTse-stealing at Whakatanc. His I • Honor said he did not know if sentence '< could be passed on the accused, as tho . papers connected with his case did not appear to be in order. The plea, had been j enfaced ou the front of the information , instead of being endorsed on the back, j It had been held that without the proper j endorsement the requirements of the law were not complied with. Addressing the accused, he said:— can only discharge ; you, but I may as well explain that if j you are allowed to go on this technicality ' I you are liable to be re-arrested, taken j Kick to Whakatane, and stand your trial' again." The Crown Prosecutor, the Hon. • J. A. Tale, K.C., suggested that Serimgeour be held until the matter was rectified. His Honor said that this could be done with the accused's consent. Serimgeour was allowed to go, however, and was arrested immediately afterwards. An Auckland motorist, who was present at the Hawke's Bay A. and P. Associa- ' tion's show last week, stated on nis return that in company with a motor-car • importer he reckoned up the value of tho , private cars on the grounds on People's Day at £250,000. The Eden Troop of Boy Scouts have , arranged for a service in memory of their . late scoutmaster, Sergeant Ernest Pountney, who was killed at the battle of the Somme. The servico will be held in St. Mary's Cathedral, Parnell, to-morrow, I Sergeant Pountney was for many years a, member of the cathedral chou\ *• i

The usual variety of interesting matter ■» appears in the supplement issued with to day's Herald. The special articles of interest are as follows:—"Man and the Map," by Tohunga; "The Winter Campaign," Lieutenant-Colonel Grace; "New Zealandrrs Abroad," Frank Morton: "A Tribute to the Nurses," C. G. Niccol; ''The Garden of Life," Wm. Satchcll; and "The Dark Hours and the Light) Beyond," Elsie K. Morton. The illustrations include pictures of the Anzacs returning from the trenches in France, and of a great British howitzer. There also , are some excellent war cartoons. , During the past few weeks great im- '<■ provementa have been effected to the I Mount Albert Baptist Church. The build- l ing has been removed on to basement ] rooms, which have been constructed on lower ground behind. This arrangement will give increased accommodation for Sun-day-school work. A meting of friends of the, late Lieutenant Frank Wilson, recently killed in action, was held at the Leys Institute on Thursday evening for the purpose of considering suggestions for creating a permanent memorial to him. The meeting resolved itself into a committee to take steps to raise the necessary funds, and decided to endeavour to found a scholarship on the lines of tho Rawlings Trust. It was decided that the scholarship should be restricted to the schools of the Ponsonby district, with which the late soldier was previously connected, namely, Bayfield, Richmond Road, Ponsonby, Newton East, and Newton West. Candidates for the proposed scholarship must be the sons of poor parents and under 12 years of age. Mr. B. W. Hayson, Bayfield school, and Mr. W. McMath, Jcrvois Road, were appointed to act as joint secretaries for the purpose of receiving subscriptions. Another meeting will bo bold at a future date for the purpose of appointing trustees and settling the general conditions of the scholarship. The committco consists of Messrs. E. C. Strctton, H. Hill, H Langton, R. Blincoe, and E. Smith The fourth National triennial convention of tho Young Women's Christian Associations of Australia and Now Zealand has been recently held in Sydney, the headquarters of the National Board. Delegates were present from every city, the New Zealand delegation representing evcrv association in the Dominion. Much important business was transacted, including a decision to appoint a Bible specialist for work in the homo field, and a second Australasian secretary for India. The whole convention was under the direction of Miss Helen F. Barnes, national genera.! secretary. The Ponsonby unit of tho National Reservo continues to be a live body, and much useful work is being performed at the weekly parades. The unit is becoming increasingly popular as a preliminary training ground for moil who have en- 1 listed. During the past few weeks several such men have been attending the parades, and this has induced the committco to | embark on a scheme of still wider usefulness. A school of military instruction, therefore, under the auspices of tho unit, is now being formed. At tho school care fill individual instruction is to bo given by thoroughly qualified instructors, supervised by Sergeant-Maor J. C. Simpkiss, late of His Majesty's Imperial Forces. A nominal fee is to be charged, and the syllabus will cover all work necessary for qualifying for non-commissioned officers' rank at Trentham. It is expected that the classes will start within two or three weeks, and intending members are askod to apply for admission at the Ponsonby football training 6hed, Blake Street, Ponsonby, on Thursday evenings, when the weekly parades of the unit are held. The committee anticipates that tho new schemo will be well supported, and that still" further interest will be manifested in the unit's useful activities. A meeting of tho Claims Board of the Patriotic Association was held yesterday, there being present: Messrs. V J. Lamer, chairman, H. D. Heather, E. Fhelan, and J. F. Ewcn. Sixteen cases were dealt with, and in 14 instances grants were made, the other two applications being declined. In the case of an applicant whoso son had lost his life at tho war, an amount equal to the' Government pension was granted. A meeting of the Relief i Committee, which was attended by Messrs. Lanier, A. S. Bankart, Wesley Spragg, and S. Milroy was also held yesj terday. A total of 152 cases were dealt I with, this showing a decrease of about I forty, as compared with the previous fortnight. There has been an appreciable ' diminution in the calls upon tho Relief Committee since the separation allowance for children was raised from 3s 6d to 5s 3d a week. The committee continues to do a very useful work in granting timely assistance to tho wives and children of men during the latter's first fortnight in camp, pending the receipt of the first pay, I or during their absence at the front when occasional assistance also is needed. A very interesting description of a visit to the Grand Fleet and to the battlefields of France was given last night at St. Aidan's Hall, Remuera, by Mr. C. J. Parr, C.M.G., M.P., in the course of an address on Britain at War." Tho Parliamentary party spent a week in France, and in this time obtained first-hand impressions of the great strupqle, and got a .glimpse of the lifo of the men in the ! trenches. Mr. Parr described most vividly i tho appearance of the country close to the ; zone of war, and spoke of his pleasure in meeting many Aucklanders on service. The visit to the Grand Fleet was also described, a most interesting feature ' being the meeting with Admiral Sir John | Jellicoe, with whom several of the party I had the honour of lunching. Mr. Parr ; spoke also of his visit to the battle-cruiser New Zealand, which has the reputation of : being the trimmest and best-kept ship in , the fleet. On the conclusion of his lecture, i Mr, Parr was accorded a hearty vote of ; thanks'. I A system of money-order telegrams beI tween New uealand and Great Britain, : through the medium of the Post and Tele- ' graph Department, is now in operation. ! The need of a simple system by which i comparatively small sums might be re- ; mitted quickly, has no doubt been felt by many people, especially since so many soldiers have been located in England The charges are 3d for each £1 or fraction in addition to the transmission charges on the telegram. These, of course, vary with I the address, but tho average may be taken as the cost of telegraphing 16 words. The telegram may either be sent at ordinary or deferred rates. At the latter rate 16 words would cost £1 Is 4d, in addition to the 3d for each £1 remitted. The low charge for soldiers' telecranni do not apply to money-order telegrams, i The remitter of a money -order telegram ! may have a private message in plain language (English) added to the official telegram of advice on payment for the additional words. Money order telegrams may be sent from any money-order office in New Zealand, and those issued in Britain will bo paid at the money-order , office in Now Zealand nearest to the i address of the payeo..