LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16583, 5 July 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

[l No further cases of diphtheria were rey ported to the Auckland Public Health 9 Department yesterday, and Dr. Hughes, q district health officer, expressed the opinion that the epidemic of the disease * in Auckland is now declining. S „ The Chinese residents of Auckland, in l response to an appeal by Mr. C. F. Bickford, lion, organiser of the Red Cross, have raised the sum of £116 Bs, which it has been decided will be divided equally " between the Red Cross Monthly Appeal 9 Fund and the Auckland Hospital. The 3 collectors, Messrs. W. Ah Cheo, Wah Lee. Sai Louie, and Wong Gong, in handing a the cheque to Mr. Bickford, stated how proud they were to help the sick and wounded soldiers, and said they regarded ? it as ft privilego to help this great cause. 1 The reception and banquet which is to 3 be tendered to the Prime Minister as a 3 welcome home from the electors of Frank--1 lin will take place at Pukekohe on Mon- . day afternoon and evening nest. A special train, which will stop where required, will leave Auckland for Pukekohe at 12.40 3 j p.m. Tho train will leave Pukekohe on t the return at 4.65 p.m., and will reach 5 Auckland at 6.30 p.m. Passengers by this D train will be able to attend the reception, I The 51st Company—Devonport—Senior _ Cadets will parade for inspection by j Colonel G. W. S. Patterson, officer com- , manding the Auckland military district, * at Devonport to-morrow night. The cadets will form up in Marino Square at 7.20, and the march past will take place * in the Triangle at 7.35. Colonel Patteri son will be attended by his staff and the , Mayor and members of the Devonport ' Borough Council. At tho conclusion of ' the inspection the unit will march to the s local theatre, where Colonel Patterson ; will present the Lady Godley cup—a . trophy competed for annually by cadetsto Cadet A. Halvey, who put up the highest aggregate score in the muskotrv competition for the last 12 months. The arrest was effected last evening in Ponsonby, by Detectives Cullen and Sweeney, of a married woman, named Jessie Armstrong, aged 51, on a charge of unlawfully using an instrument on a young girl, m July, 1916, with intent to procure a miscarriage. The accused will be brought before the Police Court to-day, when a remand will be applied for. The Conciliation Council set up in connection with the dispute in the plumbing and gasfitting trade sat in committee yesterday, and will resume in committee this morning. To-morrow the tailors' dispute will be considered by a counciL A sale of work in aid of the funds of the Flying Angel Missions to Seamen was opened yesterday afternoon in the Sailors Club Rooms, Row's Buildings. Captain Clayton, in performing the opening ceremony, emphasised the fact that the men who are assisted by this mission are not less brave and daring than those of the Royal Navy as has been proved recently in the plucky fight of tho Otaki. The- j mission has been supervised by Mr. Arthur Cowie for the last 10 years." During the proceedings afternoon "tea was dis- • pensed by Mrs. A. P. Cowie, Mrs. Roskilly, Mrs. MeTier, and Miss Wiltshire. The following are the stallholders : -Jumble, Misses Menzies, Stokoe, and Thompson; dolls and toys, Misses I. , Grange and R. Lyon ; sweets, Mrs. Woodhouse and Miss McCrea. Miss Myrtle Allen has charge of the competitions. , The sale of work will be continued this afternoon and evening. . A total eclipse of the moon will occur this morning, but it will be invisible in j New Zealand. In Australia, however, the , moon will be completely obscured for over i an hour and a-half. The most favourable 1 observations will be secured from any part - of the Indian Ocean. The next total : lunar eclipse, visible in New Zealand, will be on December 28.

A young man, named "William C. Clarkj son, pleaded not guilty at the Waihi Magistrate's Court to the charge of having failed to comply -with the Military Service Act by not enrolling within 14 days after the issue of the proclamation calling upon reservists to enrol. Clarkson alleged that about two years ago ho had signed some papers relating to registration, and had posted them at the Onehunga post office. He had not received from the Government statistician a card acknowledging receipt of the papers referred to, and did not know that if he did not receive such card the onus was with him to see that ho was enrolled. The pslice alleged that Clarkson had left Auckland, where ho had been in the employ of the Tramway Company, to evade military service, and had been located after much trouble and expense at Whangamata, an out-of-the-way district in the Upper Thames. The magistrate, Mr. E. Page, imposed a fine of £5, with costs. Judgment for defendants with costs was given by Mr. E. C. Cutten, 8.M., in the Magistrate's Court yesterday in a civil action brought by J. J. Hilla (Mr. Prcndcrgast), Palmerston North, against H. S. Smith and the executrix in the estate of the late Mr. . Halcombo (Mr. Black), who formerly carried on the business or a land agent. The claim was fur the recovery of the sum of £50, deposit paid on the sale of a property. The question in dispute was whether the agents were entitled to retain tho deposit in settle' ment of their commission. The magistrate held ths.fc on the evidence there was a special agreement between the parties which entitled the agents to commission and to retain the amount in settlement. The Minister for Education, the Hon. J, A. Hanan, has notified Mr. J. A. Young (Waikato) that he has agreed to temporary schools being opened in the Maihiihi and Rangiatea Public Halls, which have been built by the settlers. The old native school at Mangaoronga is to be closed, and it is proposed to transfer it at some time in the future to a central site, suitable to the district generally. These districts are in the King Country.

! The funeral took place yesterday afternoon at Purewa cemetery of the late Constable William Sefton, who for some years past had been stationed at Kaitaia. The deceased came to Auckland some time ago and entered a private hospital, where he underwent an operation, and his death occurred last Monday. He was 59 years of age, and had been in the police force for 38 years, prior to which he was a member of the old Armed Constabulary. Tho funeral was attended by Inspector Sheahan, Sub-Inspector Broberg, and a large number of members of the local force. The deceased leaves a widow and two grown-up sons, one a returned soldier. There are two sections open for returned soldiers in the Reynolds Settlement, near Cambridge, which have not yet been taken up owing mainly to tho soldier-settlers on adjoining lots. The men maintain that to take up either of the sections would mean ruin to tho settler, <>wing to the poverty of the land. Consequently they •warn all would-be applicants from applying for cither- The fear that someone might apply without knowledge, howover, has led them to recommend that both sections be withdrawn by the Government. A remit covering »this recommendation was carried at last] night's conference of delegate? from returned soldier settlers at the Soldiers j Club. Tho Post and Telegraph (.Department notifies that tho parcel post to prisoners of war in Turkey hag now been resumed.

The Whakatane Harbour Board's launch, which, was conveying several quarrymen from Whale Island yesterday during a choppy sea, bumped a snag at the bar, and the impact precipitated two of the men into the sea. They scrambled on to a rock, and, with great difficulty, clung to it. Attempts to rescue them by boat failed, and finally a Maori, 60 years of age, swam through the breakers with a. rope, and the men were dragged to safety. Suffering greatly from bruises and exhaustion, they wore taken to the military medical officers, who were examining recruits. Strangely enough, the men were being brought over for medical examination in connection with recruiting. 'Die launch was undamaged. Following the arrest of a man named William Williams, alias David Munn, a carrier, living at Morningside, on a charge of stealing a horse-cover, a large quantity of goods, alleged to have been stolen, was discovered by Plain-clothes Constable McHugh. Included in the articles were chairs, oilcloth, stable lamp, picks, spades, lady's handbag, clothing, and a bottle-jack, all of which have been claimed by various persons. Williams will be charged on Tuesday with stealing the above articles. A quantity of other material, also alleged to have been stolen, was discovered, and is awaiting identification at the police station in High Street. Reference to the work of the New Zealand Tunnelling Corps is made by Lieutenant T. E. Y. Seddon, writing to Mr. J. Colvin, M.P., from the headquarters of the Fourth New Zealand Brigade, on April 11. Lieutenant Seddon quotes remarks made by General Richardson, who had come from France, Mid who had seen a report from "a very exalted general," stating that the tunnelling workdone by the New Zealanderj was magnificent. Lieutenant Seddon continued: "Old Fritz's fireworks and heavy bomI bardment had not the slightest effect upon the men who wore safe underground in the shelter provided by our New Zealanders. These largo dug-outs wero lit up by electric light, and the great, white, chalky walls looked like the interior of a great town hall. From these places of assembly tunnels were dug in the direction of the German trenches. The bombardment supposed to smash our battalions fell harmlessly in the rar. The general was enthusiastic about, the effectiveness of our men's work. As many of the men came from your district of Westport and Buller, I thought their comrades who are carrying on mining operations in New Zealand would be pleased to know what a great part in this world-struggle for freedom the West Coast miners in France are playing." Tho Minister for Defence is to be asked by Mr. G. Witty (Biccarton) whether he will urge upon the Imperial Government the necessity of allowing New Zealand soldiers who have been in the firing line or in the trenches for over two years and ahalf, to return to their homes for a change and to fill their places with men who have enlisted or have been balloted for, who have been kept in " soft" billets in New Zealand, Britain and other places, and have never been in the firing-line. A man named John McCracken was charged at Hamilton yesterday with the theft of a mare valued at £11 on September 28, 1914, from Arthur Basham. Evidence showed that the accused sold tho horse to Harold Crowthcr, livery stable-keeper, of Cambridge, for £4 ss. '. -Accused pleaded guilty, and was committed to the Supreme Court at Auckland . for sentence. , In answer to a question by Mr. A. S. i Malcolm (Clutha) asking for an increase in ; the allowances to school committees, the ' Hon. J. Hanan stated yesterday that the j conditions at present obtaining were ex- ' ceptional, and to meet them, but as a , purely temporary measure only, he was ! prepared to consider the question of in- | eluding in the Estimates a small addi- ; tional grant, to be made payable during \ the currency of the war, to" relieve the , position. In regard to the question of dental j treatment for school children the Minister states that with onlv six medical inspec- ; tors on the staff, only a small proportion ■ of the children of the Dominion can be , examined each year, md sufficient pro- j vision cannot he made for frequent re- j examination. He hop*s that when the , war is over the dental plant in the variour camps will be given to the Education ' Department for the equipment of State ■ school dental clinics. When the Estimates 1 for the current year are being framed con- , federation will be given to the question , of provision for a travelling dental clinic ( to visit the outlying districts, and thus { provide immediate dental treatment for I the children in the back blocks. ] The question of tho curtailment of '

suburban train services was discussed at a meeting at Wellington yesterday attended by 16 members of Parliament. Mr. T. K. Sidey (Dunedin) South) presided. Strong dissatisfaction was expressed at. the existing arrangements, and on the motion of Mr. C. J Parr (Eden), it was resolved that a deputation should wait upon the Prime Minister. Sir Joseph Ward, and the Hon. W. H. Herries, for the purpose of voicing the common grievance of the four cities regarding the inadequate facilities, and asking for one train at least at night for each of the cities. Petitions were presented to Parliament yesterday, asking for improved night Service between Lyttelton and ChristchurcL. In answer to a request from the Te Kuiti Chamber of Commerce on the matter of the parcels post service between Wellington and towns on the Main Trunk line, Mr. H. D. Vickery, secretary of the Wellington chamber, reported that he had made inquiries from the post office authorities regarding the practice of the Department in forwarding parcels since tho restriction of tho railway services. Some two years ago the matter of parcels post for Main Trunk towns was before the chamber. The position then was that this mail was sent by the express train leaving Wellington at 1.10 p.m., and only when space was available, and not as a general practice, was parcels matter forwarded by the second express leaving at 9.10 p.m. Parcels on which an express fee had been paid were, however, forwarded by the latter train. The position now is that owing to the restricted accommodation which can bo given by the railways to the postal authorities for the carriage of parrels matter on the Main Trunk trains, the bulk of the parcels mail is forwarded by other trains. Express parcels, however, are sent by Main Trunk trains. Parcels for towns in the southern half of the Island are sent by tho New Plymouth and Napier mail trains, or bv other trains as far as Palmerston, and taken on to their destination by first available train. Some of the Auckland parcels mail is sent by train to New Plymouth, thence by steamer to Auck-

* IJUIUUW, uin:m.u uj ObCitlUlT 10 .'iuckland. For towns north of Tanmarunui, except Auckland, the practice of the Department is to endeavour to forward parcels mail by the mid-day mail train. 1 A letter from the chairman of the National Efficiency Board to the Wellington Technical School Board stated that the suggestion had been made that the school holidays should bo shortened in the spring and autumn, and correspondingly lengthened at midsummer, in order to enable senior pupils to undertake work in the country at shearing and harvesting seasons. The letter stated that it had been ascertained tha', the emplovment of senior girls was not approved by mistresses, and a suggestion relating to their employment in tho country had. therefore, been dropped. Inquiries had shown that there was no need to alter the dates of the University and other examinations, or to interfere with the holiday arrangements, as in tho case of older pupils they already had extended the midsummer holidays, while those in primary schools were hardly of age to bo any use in the country. I n the case of country schools, boys there were always well engaged in useful work. Replies to circulars issued by the Efficiency Board bavin? shown that the scheme of "utilising schoolboy labour was feasible, it only remained to make the necessary arrangements, It was decided to supnly tho information to the Efficiency Board as to the number of boys under the board's control who are suitable for country work.