LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16434, 10 January 1917, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The work of erect 5 the new Children's Hospital baa been impeded lately on account of the difficultv in obtaining the particular kind of brick specified. Preliminary work on tho basement has - been completed, and the builders are now j bnsv on the ground level. The foundationstone of the new building will be laid by His Excellency the Governor early m March.

Realising that the shortage of male beto is likely to be accentuated darincr the coming months, the Postal Department has prepared to meet tlte situation by largely increasing Its staff of women assistants. Since Christmas a dozen newgirls have been taken on for training in various branches of work, so that when need arises they will be able to fill vacancies. There are now close upon 40 s~rU employed at the Post Office— tines as many as at the commencement of the war.

A girl just over 15 years of age appeared before Mr. E. G. Cuvten, S.M , in the Juvenile Offenders Court yesterday, as a child not under proper control Senior-Sergeant RtrUedge stated that the girl was found at 2 a.m. sleeping in a shelter-shed in Symonds Street. Her l father and stepmother lived at Devonport She had been in domestic service, but had run away. On a previous occasion she had also slept in a shelter shed. He understood that the stepmother's treatment of the girl was responsible for her running away. The girl was remanded until Saturday, with a view to making inquiries from the father.

The recruiting speech delivered at Motneka last week by the Hon. Jas Allen appears to have borne direct fruit, and to have assisted the Kelson group area in providing its quota for the twentysixth reinforcement draft under the voluntary system. The Evening Mafl states that on Scturday last, the day fixed for the closing of the voluntary enlistments for the draft, a number of Motueka men arrived in Nelson to enlist, or, as one of them put it, "to do as Jimmy Allen said.''

The City Council's by-laws, as revised and consolidated, will come before the council for adoption shortly. The bylaws have been simplified in certain respects, and a few new clauses have been added, but upon the whole the work of the committee was one of classification and consolidation.

Auckland's Anniversary Day, January 29. which this year will fall on a Monday, will be honoured in the usual way. As en previous occasions, the Mayor will iivite the citizens to observe the day as a public holiday. Anniversary Day, of course, is not a statutory holiday under the Shops and Offices Act, but it is one of the holidays prescribed under the Grocers' Award. Under the Shops and Offices Art shopkeepers desiring to keep their shop open all day on Saturday, January 27, for the purpose of Anniversary Day requirements, will be entitled to observe any other day in the week ending on thai day for the purpo«* of the statutory weekly, half-holiday.

The advent of the British armoured "tanks" has appealed to the imagination of the whole world, and a picture in today's issue of the Accklaxd Wekelt Xbws, showing the monsters clearing » German trench during the Sommc offensive is sure to attract considerable attention. An admirable companion picture to the foregoing is that reproduced from a photograph portraying one of the "tanks heaving its bulk across the battlefield while a party of German prisoners, under guard, help "to carry a wounded British soldier on a stretcher- Several other views deal realistically with various phases of the war in France and include a very pathetic scene showing the members of a French family outside their ruined home in Northern France. Among local eve.it 5 the great fire at Hamilton last Friday afternoon is covered by a very good reproduction depicting the destructive element actively in progress. A page of happy snapshots admirably conveys the way in which New Zealand children are enjoying their summer holidays at the seaside, while other illustrations are also appropriate to the holiday season. Among other striking features of the issue there is a fine fullpage picture which portrays vividly the j beauties of New Zealand bush. The numi ber generally is bound to merit the strong \ attention of readers on account of its j variety and the high standard maintained.

The annua! conference of the 1 enng Women's Christian Association was opened in Christchwch on January 4, and will be concluded this week. Delegates from all parts of New Zealand are present, including six representatives from Auckland. Many matters of interest in connection with tie work of the association are being reviewed at the conference, which is under the leadership of Miss Helen Barnes national secretary for New Zealand And Australia. This is the last occasion on which Miss Barnes will officiate in New Zealand, as she is returning to the United States in March.

Four skeletons of the extinct moa have lately been found by Mr. E. E. Vaile, at Brwdlands, Waiotapa—three in one group, and the fourth in the Fame neighbourhood, about 100 yards distant. The find of moa bones in the pumice country of the North Island is by no means new, but none are known to have been met with hitherto within 40 miles of the locality of the present discovery. The skeletons were covered with pumice to a depth of several feet, and evidently belong to a 6mall specimen of the moa, which would, when erect, stand 4ft or sft in height.

The final arrangements in connection with the provision of the large number of motor-cars required for the coming Northern Parliamentary tour were made at a mee.ing of the general committee of the Auckland Automobile Association last evening. It was stated that six more cars were yet required, but that it was hoped to secure them in the course of a day or two.

The enlistment of large numbers of I letter-carriers has made the matter of delivery of correspondence one of considerable difficulty for the Postal Department, owing to the number of new men employed. In discussing the matter yesterday the chief postmaster, Mr. J. G. Williamson, pointed out that city and suburban residents, whose houses are 90 or 100 feet from the roadline, could help the Department very materially by placing boxes on their gates or fences. In some cases the walks of letter-carriers are very heavy, and not only would the labours of the carriers be considerably lightened, but the residents themselves would receive a quicker service if so much, time was not I occupied in walking from the street to those houses which are some considerable ! distance oil the road.

Following upon bis recent tour of the Dominion, Mr. A- Winslow, American Consul, has prepared and forwarded to the Department of State at Washington 13 reports. These deal with such matters as the fruit, wool, coal, and timber industries, and special reports have also been sent in connection with the Ruaknra State Farm, and the State timber plantations at Rotoraa, with which Mr. Winslow was particularly impressed. "

Motorists who hare lately driven over the Kangiriri Hills on the Great South Road state that this portion of the highway to the Waikato is in a very bad condition. The unsatisfactory state of the road has been brought under the notice of the Auckland Automobile Association, and its committee is now in communica-

tion with the Whangamarino Road Board with regard to the question of an improvement to some of the worst portions of the road.

Several Southern districts would be glad of a portion of th«i heavy rainfall that has lately fallen to Auckland's lot. A New Plymouth resident, in a letter received yesterday, speaks of the dearth of rain in the usually moist Taranaki district. A similar letter was received last week from Foxton. In Nelson, which had the abnormal rainfall of over 9in in November, only three points were registered in December.

One of the events of Mr. Massey's present trip to the United Kingdom was his visit to his native town, Limavady, County Londonderry, after an absence of over 45 years. On the outskirts of the town (says an English paper), stands the little house where he lived with his grandmother until her death, when he joined his parents in New Zealand, but the thatched cottage in which he was bom has given place to a new building. One of Mr. Massey's schoolmates protested that he could still recognise the " Billy Massey" of the old village school, and another told how the schoolmaster. Mr. Bandon, once put his hands on " Billy's" shoulder and said, "You are the smartest boy in the school" "We are not going to cater for the luxury of the public," declared Mr. Widdowson, S.M., at the sitting of the Military Service Board at Milton. "But the public insist on it," answered Mr. W. R. Brugh, who was conducting an appeal. "The sooner they turn over a new leaf the better,' was the chairman's reply. The appellant in the case, among other duties, runs a launch on the Taieri River, and Mr. Brugh was explaining that the next three months would be his busiest time. Mr. Widdowson said this was on account of the holiday passenger traffic, and it was this traffic which the chairman declined in any way to assist It was stated at the Military Service Baord at Wellington that the exemption of policemen would be sought on the ground that it would be contrary to the public interest to send them to the front. The military representative asked: "Is it the intention to apply for the exemption of men who joined the force, say, onlv last year?" The Commissioner of Police replied that latterly the Department had engaged practically no police at afl. The last lot engaged was only six, and special care had been taken to ascertain that they were not liable for military service. As. a matter of fact, they were not recruiting, so they had to make an effort to