LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16435, 11 January 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The arrangements for the Parliamentary tour of the North of Auckland are now almost completed. Since the list of members of the party was published on Monday last several others to whom invitations were «nt have signified their acceptance. The party will leave next Tuesday morning.

The adjourned inquest into Iho circumstances of the death of Frederick Oliver Emms, a married carter, 43 years of age, who died on January 5 from injuries received by a fall from a cart, was concluded by Mr. E. C. Cutten, S.M., yesterday. Dr. C. E. Magnire, medical superintondent at the hospital, stated that the deceased was admitted to the hospital on December 27, suffering from an injury to the right heel. He did fairly well until January 4, when he showed symptoms of tetanus, from which he died the following day. Isabella Emms, wife of the deceased, said ho told her he had fallen from his cart and the wheel had gone over his foot. He also said he had washed the injury with lysol. Witness called in Dr. Owen, who ordered his removal to the hospital. A verdict was returned to the effect that the cause of death was tetanus following an injury to the foot, caused by an accidental fall from a cart. *

A senior cadet, Walter Chapman, was charged before Mr. F. V. Frazer, S.M., in the Police Court yesterday with obstructing and interrupting a parade. Sergeant-Major Dale said defendant had interrupted the parade by shouting, laughing, and generally misbehaving himself. He was given three months to reform, but failed to do so, hence his appearance before the Court. Defendant was fined £1 10s and 12s costs.

The Red Cross depot in Courts' Buildings was reopened yesterday after the holiday season, and workers were busy through the day in preparing the rooms for the work of the New Year. Subscriptions have been coming in well during the holidays, and country branches have been working steadily. The business of making | up the January shipment will be undertaken immediately. The harnessing of the Wairua Falls, nvt Wbangarei, for the production of electrical' power, is now yielding the full effect for which it was designed. Whangarei town has for two or three months been lighted with electricity developed at the Dominion, Portland Cement Company's power-station at the falls, and last week the company's cement mill at Portland, Whangarei Harbour, for which the main body of power I was required, was put into operation. No ceremonial opening of the works was held, or is contemplated, but when the Parliamentary touring party Is passing through the district next week it will visit the mill, and bo entertained by the company at luncheon. "The total area of reclaimed land in the harbour has now reached 258 acres," j said Mr. H. D. Heather, chairman of the | Auckland Harbour Board, in the course of a review of the work of the board dur-1 ing the past year. "Of-this area, the! board has retained 108 acres for its own purposes, and 150 acres have been taken over by Government Department*, and for reading purposes." That the fires of practical patriotism are still burning brightly in the. Dominion is made evident by the steady succession of donations of varying amounts that are received by the Auckland Patriotic Association in aid of its funds. An instance has been provided by tho members of the Karangahake Bowling Club. This club, on its opening day of the season, made a special effort in aid of the Auckland Wounded Soldiers' Fund, and although it has only 46 members, all of whom arc working men, tho sum of £66 6s was collected. This sura has been forwarded to the Patriotic Association, and at the meeting of the Executive Committee yesterday warm appreciation of the bowlers' effort was expressed.

The tenth annual conference of the New Zealand Association of Nurserymen will bo held at Wellington on January 24 and 25, and is expected to bo opened by the Minister for Agriculture, the Hon. W. U. S. Mac Donald. Foui papers on subjects of interest to nurserymen are to bo submilled, and amongst other matters to be considered will b& a suggestion by the executive for alterations to the constitution to meet the circumstances arising out of the registration of nurseries. Messrs. 1). Hey. F. Bennett, G. J. Mackay, and G. A. Green will represent the Auckland district council at the conference. Although the holiday attendance at the Museum was a little lower this year than last, a large number of visitors attended each day, averaging from 300 to 500 per day for the holiday season. Tho largest number, 651, was recorded on January 2, when the stormy weather kept picnickers and holiday-makers in the city. An unusual charge was heard by Mr. F. V. Frazer. S.M., in the Police Court yesterday, when Sarah Gallop admitted selling ice cream without informing the purchaser that it was deficient in milk fat to the extent of 47.6 per cent. Defendant said tho trouble arose from her ignorance of the fact that there were two qualities of cream, "single" and "double." She ordered the cream from the milkman, and when supplied with " single cream did not know it was different from " double " cream. She was always careful about selling good ice cream, and had been complimented on the quality of it by her customers. The magistrate said she could sell ice cream deficient of the requisite percentage of milk fat as long as she informed the purchaser at the time. As, however, it appeared to be a matter of ignorance he would only convict her and order her to pay 10s 6d cost of analysis and lis Court costs. A conference of members of the Plunket Society will be held in Wellington about the middle of next month, delegates from all Dominion branches having been invited to attend. Several matters of importance will be discussed, including the views recently expressed by the Minister for Public Health, the Hon. G. W. Russell. The work of the Auckland branch is constantly growing, and a new room has been opened at Takapuna since tho holidays, while another is to be opened at Onehunga as soon as possible. A shortage of qualified nurses id hampering the work of the society, however, there being only two to cope with the many requests received from all parts of the city and suburbs. Discussing the holiday traffic, the Hon. Dr. McNab, who has just returnedi to Wellington from a visit to the thermal tourist resorts of the North Island, said that the tourist traffic at these places has been as good as ever before. Indeed, he found Rotorua crowded with visitors. There are practically no visitors from abroad, however, and the Christmas rush this year was accentuated by the fact that all public offices and many other offices were closed for the whole holi- j days—from before Christmas until after i New Year. Even before Christmas, however, the season at the different resorts has been as good as in previous years, except in the South Island. There the Milford Track is in bad order owing to a severe winter, and in any case the walk from Te Anau to Milford is a strenuous excursion.

The offer of the Hon. Geo. Fowlds and Mr. Wesley Spragg to place two cottages on the Waitakere Ranges at the disposal of tho Government -for the use of convalescent soldiers is not beinr; taken advantage of at present. In a letter read at yesterday's meeting of the executive of the Patriotic Association, tho Minister for Public Health stated that the generosity of Messrs. Fowlds and Sprage 'was greatly appreciated by the Government, but that, as all the accommodation necessary for present and prospective needs had been provided, the cottages would not be required at present. The kind offers, however, it was added, would be kept in mind.

According to a statement made by a railway official to the Military Service Board at Wellington, there is a shortage of train fitters in New Zealand at present. Consequently there is great delay in turning out trucks and carriages from the railway repair shops through lack of men.

An appeal by a Christadelphian on religious grounds was heard by the Military Service Board at Timaru. The Christadelphians hold that the bearing of arras, and service on the battlefield "is contrary to Divine Revelation." The board said, in dealing with the case, " we have no sympathy with views so impracticable and to us unscriptural as those advanced, but tha appellant has brought himself within the section, and we have no alternative but to allow his appeal conditional on his undertaking to serve in a non-combatant capacity." Appellant refused to sign the undertaking, and the appeal was disallowed. 'Die report of tho Labour Department's inspector at Napier indicated that all branches of industry were exceptionally brisk during December. The report states that the cash takings and business done in the retail trade during that month exceeded that of any previous seasons. Although 50 per cent, of the eligible officers of the Post and Telegraph Department have enlisted, the Department has not yet applied for the exemption of any of its man except wireless operators, It was a request of the Imperial authorities that skilled wireless men should be excused from general military service. I The Dominion bowling tournament that I was commenced in Wellington on Tuesi day is the largest gathering of bowlers that has taken place at any similar function in New Zealand or AustraliaThe chairman of the South Canterbury Farmers' Union made a statement at the last meeting of the union, in Timaru, to tho effect that the wheat yield in South J Canterbury, oWing to the drought, cer- | tainly cannot exceed 25 bushels per sere, i Crops sown in the spring would not exceed ( 20 bushels per acre, if they yielded that. ! The oat crop was, comparatively speaking, ! a failure. The spring sowing could not now | return more than 20 bushels per acre. The dry weather had also burned up all pasture lands and swept away any ch?nce of an average turnip crop, so that ti 9 present outlook for suitable feed for fattening stock was gloomv in the extreme. A kindly spirit was, shown by (he Greymouth waterside worfers at Christmas, when they remembered the needs of the depeiideffra of their comrades who are now a/, the front. They gave 10s to cacti child whose father is in tho firing-line. Thft sum presented amounted in all to £10, one family receiving £2 10s. An appellant in the Military Appeal Court at Wellington the other'morning, said that he wished to be given time to fix up hi» affairs. Among other things he had lawyers bills to pay. "Oh. you don't need to worry about lawyer's bills ; they won't bother you!" said Captain Walker, who. by the way, is a lawyer himself, and recently practised in Auckland..