LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16550, 28 May 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

e j Stormy weather was experienced in v Auckland during the week-end, and tho ; a temperature was generally low. A shower _ of hail fell early on Saturday morning. r There were many heavy showora of rain r& during Saturday and yesterday. There is , every probability that tho rainfall during ' the present month will exceed tho record for May. The official meteorological obr" server, Mr. F. A. F. Burnett, reports that ie tho rainfall recorded ,up to 9 a.m. on Sat--16 urday was 6.35 in, which exceeds by 1.34 in '" the total fall in May of last year. The r- highest rainfall in May during the past 3 f 63 years was 7.98 in in 1900, and the lowest 0 0.95 in in 1881, while the average for the month is 4.39 in. During the'4B hours ending at midnight the Hkrai.d gauge regis>t tered 1.02 in. b b h *' An outbreak of fire occurred at ten 7 o'clock last night in a six-roomed house •8 occupied by Mr. Sidney Loft, in Minto 'e Road, Remuera, and owned by tho Auckt- land Riinu Timber Company. The fire ie was caused by a defective hearth in tho y_ diningroom, and was promptly extinguished by the Remuera Fire "Brigade. 3 ' The damage was insignificant. 51 To the protection afforded by the body n of another passenger Mrs. McCullough, ">- of Onehunga, who was injured in SaturJt day's tramway accident at Onehunga, t ascribes the escape of herself and her baby r- from serious injury. A man occupying a i. seat in front of her was thrown against ,y her ,\nd on top of the baby. She was > sitting in a seat just behind the contra! j_ partition in the car, and after the smash the man's body protected her and the baby from the flying splinters of glass, y She was severely bruised about the back 0 and shoulders, but the baby escaped unine jured. Her young son, who was sitting in the front of the car, sustained a severe injury to ono of his ankles, the splintering floorboards apparently gripping him by the leg and tearing the boot from his foot, I". Although suffering slightly from shock, Mrs. McCullough was not seriously injured. Tho heavy demand that has been placed C on tho Pacific Cable Service during the 0 war was mentioned on Saturday by Mr. ( _ D. Cuthbert, superintendent for tho board , in Auckland. Ho said tho board's cables were working continuously day and nigrtt, o Sundays included, the traffic having iny creased threefold since the war commenced, The staffs at the various stations had been depleted by 14 per cent, by enlist- !- meat. Auckland was now tho principal .. training station for operators, and the local superintendent had to supply opera- '- tors for Suva, Fanning Island, and q Canada. " Cable operating is very different from land-lino working," said * Mr. Cuthbert, " and as the caoles are a. always working at their highest speed •. only experienced men can fill tho most , important positions. An average of about 50 words per minute night and day, Sun- '" day included, are signalled to or from J the Auckland office, which transmits ail q the cable work, via the Pacific route, bo- ,_ tween Australia and Great Britain." ~ Tho scene of the tramway accident at a Onehunga on Saturday evening was visited 6 yesterday by many hundreds of interested spectators, who watched the salvage operations. During the morning tho crowd of onlookers consisted mainly of residents _ of the suburb and motorists, but when the ' trains resumed their running at mid-day, 6 each ono bound for Onehunga was bei sieged. As a consequence, the conductors on the route all had a very busy day, and more than average takings. In spite ' of its wrecked condition, the runaway car * was lifted back on to the track by 4.45 3 p.m., and hauled to the tramway repair -J shops. ' e The theft of £6 from a soldier's clothes f at the municipal tepid baths was admitQ ted by a boy, 15£ years old, who was 3 before Mr. F. V. Frazer, S.M., in the 9 Juvenile Court on Saturday. Chief-Detec-tivo McMahon said the boy lived in the

country and came into town to Bchoo each day. On the day in question hi played truant and went to the topic baths. While a soldier was in the watei the boy entered his cubicle and stolo £6 He took away £1 and hid £5, and ther enjoyed himself, spending money on ice creams and pictures. Before his return t< his home he was interviewed by Sergeani Lander, but denied all knowledge of th< theft. Next day when he returned to tin city he was seen, bv Plain-clothes Con stable Gourley and then admitted taking the money. Eight shillings of tin £1 had been recovered and also th( £5. Mr. F. S. Shell, probatior officer, reported that the father wai prepared to keep the hoy on his fara until he was 16 years old when he wa! anxious to place him with a reputable firm of engineers. The boy was formal]} committed to an industrial school, ant allowed to remain with his father unti 16 years of age. About 200 soldiers who have been or extended leave in the city returned tc Wellington by a special train last evening. A large number of friends gathered on the platform to farewell • the soldiers and cheers were given as the train moved off. No special trains will be provided bj the Railway Department in connection with the races at Ellerslio on Juno 2, 4, and 6, either from the country districts or between the city and the racecourse. The usual concession of excursion fares will not be made in connection with this meeting. Amongst the few eye-witnesses of the tramway accident at Onehunga on Saturday evening were two men who were in rather more than comfortable proximity tc the scene/of the final smash. The runaway car, on leaving the track at tiro Queen Street curve, ran in between a lamp-post and a waiting-shed. The distance between the two latter was only just sufficient to allow a clear passage for the tram. Immediately prior to the accident, one of the men had been leaning against the lamppost, and the other was in the shed. The former, seeing the car jump the track at the corner had tho presence of mind to spring to one side in time to avoid being hurt. The other man made an equally prompt movement from the shed. Both then rendered assistance to th injured passengers. A curious fact recorded is that very few of the people in tlio car realised that it was a runaway. A pedestrian who was coming up Queen Street at the time, however. recognised tho fact before lie saw the car, his ears detecting an unusual commotion in the clatter of tho running gear. So convinced was he that the descending car was out of control that he hastened his speed and was in time to obtain visual confirmation of his fear. A welcome was given to those members and ex-members of St. Peter's Presbyterian Church who have returned from active service, by tho members of tho Bible classes on Saturday evening. A varied programme of musical and other items was followed by a supper. Tho following figures regarding the church's record were read during the evening :— Ninety-nine young men had gone to the front, six had given their lives, one was missing, nine had returned homo invalided, one had returned to the front, two had won tho Military Medal, and one the Distinguished Conduct Medal. A tribute to the work 'of New Zealand lady residents jn England is paid by Sergeant Robert Loth, of Devonport, who is in an English hospital, suffering from pleurisy. Writing to an Auckland friend, Sergeant Loth says that in visiting the hospitals, New Zealand ladies aro doing more than their share. They go' around tho wards and make a list of articles the men rer/uire, and very soon afterwards the articles arrive at the hospital. Sergeant Leth also mentions that in soldier circles the Auckland Weekly News is the most-discussed paper in England to-day. Four youths admitted to Mr. F. V. Frazer, S.M., in the Juvenile Court on Saturday that they had played "pitch and toss" in a.lane at Newton on a Sunday afternoon. After giving them a lecture as ,to the :evils: that* of tony followed such . mild form of : gambling . thev magistrate discharged the youths.'*v l ;v.v,. ■■:< °,

An. Auckland soldier ; now ■ completing his training at Sling Camp 8 some interesting notes upon his experiences there. Tim fare provided for himself and his comrades meets with special commendation. On their arrival at the camp, which took place late at night, he and his comrades were provided with a meal of pip-ing-hot stew, supplemented by tea and bread, which was more than welcome. As to the commissariat in general, he observes that it is invariably well cooked, and is characterised by agreeable variety, onions, carrots, and pumpkin being freely used to add to tho relish of the stews. Another point that has struck him is the avoidance of waste. Instead of surplus food being cast susido, as in some camps, it is Sut aside and turned to some use. In the tits posters are displayed enjoining the necessity of avoiding waste, and indicating the use to which matter may be put. Further, all cast-off garments are collected and a use found for them. Two small girls appeared before Mr. F. V. Frazer, S.M., in the Juvenile Court on Saturday, and admitted stealing a pound-note. Sub-Inspector Rroberg said one of the girls went to a teacher's room at the New Lynn school and stole the note, and then, after telling the other girl, the pair of them spent the money on sweets and pictures. Of the amount stolen 7s Id had been recovered. Both were severely admonished, and the ringleader was formally committed to an industrial school on the understanding that she remains in the country for 12 months, and the other was admitted to probation for 12 months. The balance of tho stolen money was ordered to be refunded by the parents. A cheque for . £122 has been received by the secretary of the Auckland Returned Soldiers Association, Mr. E. F. Andrews. It represents the proceeds of a concert given in Tauranga in aid of the funds of the association. A claim against tho Railway Department for £1000 damages has been instituted by the widow of Private McLaren. D Company, twenty-sixth reinforcements, who, on a recent Saturday night, fell between two carriages of a train approaching Lower Hutt, and was killed. Recently the evidence was taken on commission of eight soldiers, who will be leaving the country before the case comes on. A flagrant instance of an attempted evasion of the Order-in-Council prohibiting the importation of German-made goods from any destination was mentioned by tho Minister for Customs, the Hon. A. M. Myers. A Sydney post card company recently attempted to get rid of their stocks of German cards by distributing through bundles ot British-made cards certain others of German origin. Some of these latter had the words, " Printed in Germany" stamped out with a large black arrow and were re-named "Arrow Brand." Other cards similarly distributed, had the ends cut off, but, unhappily for the exporters, in a. few cases the guillotino machine had only sliced off half of the lettering, and it was still apparent that Germany was the country of origin. Apart from the obliterated words, the general appearance of the cards was indicative of German make. Tho goods were, of course, detained. Reference to the reclamation work now being carried on by the Auckland Harbour Board, near Goldie's mill, King's Wharf, was mado on Saturday by Mr. 11. I). Heather, chairman of the board. He said that as the suction dredges were laid up, they could not be used cm the work of reclamation. The position with regard to that work was that the board had agreed with the City Council to take spoil from tho excavation works in Jermyn Street and Beach Road, until such time as the Efficiency Board stopped those operations, in the event of it being deemed desirable so to do. The facing wall of the reclamation would be completed, and as long as spoil was available rom the cuttings it would be deposited on the area that is being reclaimed. The Harbour Board had laid down a definite

> I policy to complete the stone wall and I deposit the spoil, but nothing in tho way , I of reclamation by means of suction.dredges 1 would be done until after tho war. Mr. ■ I Heather incidentally mentioned that about half the men previously employed on the i suction dredges were now on active ser- . vice. In regard to a notice received , from the Public Works Department in ; relation to resuming certain lands on the , foreshore belonging to the board, Mr. , Heather stated that a special meeting of . the board will be held this week to • consider the matter. i The annual report of tho Wellington * Acclimatisation Society states : — Reports 1 from various parts of the district go to t prove once more that eels, shags, and seai gulta destroy largo numbers of fish, and i again all sportsmen are urged to exteri minate these pests whenever and where--1 ever possible.' Rangers of the Otago [ Acclimatisation Society report cases where tlioy have found as many as 11 trout in tho stomach of one shag. Last year £64 ' 17s lOd were oaid for the destruction of ' shags at 3s per head, which accounts for 450 of these birds. \ Collections were made yesterday in all ' the Anglican churches in aid of the Mclanesian Mission Fund. Owing to the ' inclemency of the weather, in most cases there were small concregations. Consequently tho fund did not benefit to the extent anticipated. When application was made to the ■ Third Wellington Military Service Board for ' the exemption of two marine engineers, Mr M. J. Mack, a member of tho board, re--1 marked that there were 250 marino engineers ashore in Wellington. "There are plenty of men about," observed tho , appellant, " but it is very difficult to get them to go to sea." A shortage of chemists, owing to the , war, was discussed at tho final sitting of the Pharmacy Conference at Wellington. It was expected that the position would become still more acute, as students who were not yet qualified as chemists wero being called up in the ballot. It was decided to support the appeals of these men. The Bishop of Waiapu, Dr. Sedgcwicb, visited Tokaanu last weak on his annual tour of that end of hia diocese. In a sermon he made reference to the two Maori missionaries who came from Taranaki about 1846, and who were killed at I Tokaanu by the natives, being buried near i a place named Te Waiariki. He expressed regret that the graves had not been marked and their sacrifice commemorated. Later the bishop was taken to the spot by an old native resident and it' fow members of the church, and it was decided to have a fence erected around it immediately. Prayers were offered at the grave. The opinion was strongly expressed at the returned soldiers' conference in Dunedin that the various patriotic funds were becoming nothing more nor less than charitable institutions, and that tho Government should take control of all these funds and have them administered by one central body. The Government fields inspector at Ashburton has received a consignment of 776 kea heads from the Mesopotamia sheep station, Canterbury. The owner of the station allows the employees 2s 6d per head, and in return rcce'iYos a refund of Is per head from tho Government and a similar amount from the Ashnurton County Council. • The address " Zeaclub " has been registered as a telegraphic code address for the Now Zealand Soldiers Club, Russell Square, London, W.C. A gentleman connected with tho oil trado told a Napier pressman that a great deal of the danger in carrying benzine on coastal boats was that the rough handling the cases were subjected to damaged the tins, with the result that there was a high percentage of leaky tins. -On the direct oil steamers arriving from America, where much greater care was taken in handling and stowing cargo there was a very much less proportion of damaged tins'. Until more care was taken in handling the stuff at Now Zealand ports there wero hound to bo leaks In the cargo, which of course greatly increased the danger. Given no leaks: there was practically no 'danger iii carry lngbefliiuo ou, any ah%