LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16600, 25 July 1917, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

A married man, Mr. Ernest Goodenough, 25 years of age, who resides in Crammer Road, was admitted to the hospital shortly before five o'clock last evening. Mr. Goodenough, who is emploved by the New Zealand Dairy Association, was driving a butter van down New North Road when the horse bolted. The driver fell from the van, the wheel passing over the side of his head. The extent of his injuries had not been ascertained last night.

Eighteen cases were dealt with by the Claims Board yesterday, eleven being applications for further assistance. One of the latter was refused on the ground of unsatisfactory conduct. With this exception, assistance was granted in each case. Among the new cases was a returned soldier, who has given five sons to the Empire, one of whom has been killed and throe wounded. The members of the board present were Mr. V. J. Lamer, chairman, Messrs. E. Phelan, H. D. Heather, and C. J. Tunks.

I The entire ahsence of adequate preparaI tion to meet post-war conditions was comj mented upon in Christchurch recently by J the Canterbury representative on the j National Efficiency Board, Mr. J. A. Frostick. The subject was referred to yesterday by the board's Auckland reprej sentative. Mr. J. H. Gunson.. He eaid j the board's work largely related to postj war conditions. It must be obvious, how. i ever, that until the board had cleared the j ground and dealt with what appeared I to it to be important matters requiring - reorganisation and radical alteration it j would be foolish to attack post-war questurns. It was absolutely essential, if the j board's work was to be' sound and effective from a national point of view, that I the foundation of its work should be well , and truly laid. 'As the Governor-General I had said in his address at the opening of Parliament, the board was " a new departure," nnd as such it occupied a unique position. Whether its experiences in the past five months were to be of any benefit to the community, both as regards I matters it had already dealt with and its I utility in the future, was a matter for the , Government to determine. The board had very much appreciated the many expression* of confidence it had received from all sections of the community.

Two members of the Expeditionary Force, charged with offences under the Military Service Act, appeared before the officer commanding No. 1 group yesterday. They were remanded to be dealt with by the camp commandant at. Trentham, and were sent South by the Mam Trunk express last night. T. C. Clarke had pleaded guilty to desertion from camp and to four charges of enlistment under as many aliases. The other man, F. 0. C. Chappell pleaded not guilty to a charge 3f desertion from a troop train while on the way to camp.

The tax of 45 per cent, of excess profits is strongly objected to by the members of the Auckland Land Agents and Land Auctioneers Association. At, tho annual meeting yesterday it was stated that the tax had "killed" a great deal of business. Speculators would not operate if they knew that half of their profits had to be paid to the Government. Endeavours, it was stated, were being made to have the tax expunged from the Finance Act. Ihe Dominion association which was to meet in Wellington shortly was making representations in this direction.

" When the men who aro in the field to-day turn their swords into ploughshares and their cannon into ornaments for the public parks there will begin a war such as was never before known in the history of mankind—a struggle for industrial supremacy." said the" Rev. Father Edge at St." Patrick's Cathedral last night. "If we are to entertain anv nope of succeeding in that struggle we must take the greatest care in the education of our boys. Another thing that is perfectly evident regarding the future is that power, thank God, is going to pass into the hands of the masses. But it will be sad for a country that is going to be ruled by the people if the latter grow up ignorant. Their ignorance will be an evil, the magnitude of which cannot possioly be imagined, and such a nation must fall back- If we are to avert that tragedy we must do it to-day by putting the teacher in the school. He* is more wanted there than at the war. The difference his presence will make among the millions of troops on the western front is not much, but the difference his absence from here will make is such that wo shall not get over it for some generations."

The Auckland University College Council at a special meeting yesterday accepted tho tender of Messrs Craig Bros.'for £754 «v. al , te f a V°J?" to the old 80 - VR ' Grammar School building, which is to be occupied ay the college.

A somewhat unusual feature marked yesterday's sitting of the First Military Service Board, this being the large number of cases adjourned, either by reason of the fact that appellants were engaged in essential industries, or in order that further inquiries might be made. Out of over 20 cases heard, only three men ware instructed to proceed to camp on a definite date.

Commenting yesterday upon the inadequacy of the pensions granted to soldiers' mothers, in regard to which a deputation of ladies had waited upon Mr. J. H. Gunson on Monday, Mr. V. J. Earner, chairman of the Claims Board, mentioned as a typical case that of a widow whose only son had been killed in action. In applying to the ' board for assistance, she stated that she had only one single daughter working, ail the other members of the family being married. Her son left an allotment of 3s a day] which was stopped when he was killed! The board granted 25s a week until the pension of 10s a week was received, when the board's allowance was reduced to 10s a week. Several other instances of a similar kind were mentioned by Mr. Earner, who said that the desire to improve mothers' pensions had his entire sympathy. He thought that where it could be clearly shown that mothers were dependent on the allotment made by their soldier sons, the pensions should bo more in keeping with the amount of the allotment, which averaged about 3s a day.

A dispute between the Waipa Collieries, Ltd., and the Te Akatea Miners Union was dealt with at a meeting of a conciliation council held yesterday. Mr. T. flarle Giles, commissioner, presided and Messrs. T. Thomson and J. Moiling acted as assessors for the company and tho union respectively. Mr. C. Gros'venor appeared for the company. The case concerned tho application for an award to supersede an agreement already in existence which does not expire until January, 1918. It was stated, on behalf of the company that an agreement had been arrived at "in conference that the present working conditions should continue, plus a war bonus of 10 per cent, to day workers and 7£ per cent, to contractors, in addition to a previous all-round war bonus of 10 per cent, which had been granted by the company in April last. The company" contended that the _ present working conditions should continue until six months after the end of the war but the union submitted that they should continue only until the expiration of the agreement 'in January nextAfter a lengthy discussion it was "agreed, on the suggestion of the commissioner, that the application should be adjourned' sine die in order that the parties may reconsider the position.

The Devonport Borough Council last evening decided, in response to a request by the Prime Minister, to convene a public meeting on Saturday, August 4 the. third anniversary of" Britain's declaration of war against Germanyand to submit thereto a resolution recording inflexible determination to continue the struggle to a victorious end. On the same day a roll of honour of members of the Devonport Orphans Club, who have enlisted, will be unveiled in the clubroom.

The way in which New Zealand is fulfilling her obligations to the Empire is vividly illustrated in to-day's issue of the Atjck.land Weekly News by a doubledepicting the departure of recent reinforcements from the Dominion. Hundreds of our soldiers are seen on board ship prior to leaving for the front, affording evidence of what New Zealand is doing and is prepared to do to bring the war to a victorious conclusion. Scenes connected with the activities of the New Zealand mounted men in Egypt are also published, together with recent views taken on the Salonika and western fronts. Among the latter, a view showing French " tanks" lined up for inspection will immediately attract attention. This week the Roll of Honour again contains many portraits of New Zealanders who have made the supreme sacrifice while fighting for King and country. Topical cartoons form a feature of the issue, and several fine local subjects are admirably illustrated.

Tarry's Hall, which has been a public meeting place for the residents of Northcote for about 40 years, will be demolished in the near future, in order to allow of the erection of residences. The members of the Northcote Athenaeum, which has occupied the hall for many years, met last night to mark the occasion. Mrs. Tarry, proprietress of the hall, was presented with an electro-plate cake basket as a token of appreciation of the assistance *he has given the Athenaeum. It was stated that starting 14 years ago with a membership of 100, the Athenaeum had, before suspending operations during the war period, nearly 300 members on the roll.

In making a plea for efficient teaching, | during a speech delivered at St. Patrick's j Cathedral last night, the Rev. Father Edge, of Huntly, told a story which he I quoted as evidence of a kind of teaching > that was an outrage on the feelings of ' Catholic children who, in many cases, had to attend primary schools. He stated that a lady teacher beginning her work at a: school in his district approached a class j during an hour that was to be devoted to { English history. Asked at which portion ! of _ English history thev had arrived the I children told her the "Reformation, in the i time of King Henry VIII. The teacher i thereupon asked what they knew of that | period, whereupon all the children held , up their hands. She selected one to j answer, and the child said : " The Pope is a very, very, wicked man. He snakes hands with people when he has a ring on his hand, which pricks and poisons j them, and they die." A second child said : " The Pope is very wicked. He gives people wine to drink, and it poisons them." Even if the Pope did do these things—which he did not—that was not English history, said Father Edge, and ' it showed the inefficiency of the teaching, i It was an outrage from which Catholic ! children should be immune. He was hapny . to say there were not many teachers of the ! kind who had tantrht the children referred I to the things he had quoted. [

I The statement that in the Canterbury district the demands of certain farmers could I not be acceded to by the Efficiency Board. j the work of which, it was alleged, was I being hampered, was referred yesterday ito the Auckland representative on the board. Mr. J. H. Gunson. He stated that in Auckland sufficient labour of a class could he obtained, but there was difficulty in arranging for the management by capable men of the farms of reservists called tip. It was, he said, a fallacy to suppose that cheap farm labour could be obtained. If a farm was to be efficiently worked good wages, as well as adequate accommodation for farm hands, must be provided. Given these conditions there would be no scarcity of farm labour. The farmers in every centre of the Auckland Province had given valuable help and support to the board.

A complaint was made in Parliament ' yesterday by Mr. W. T. Jennings, con- . cerning the quality of the tea supplied to the soldiers at Trentham and Feathereton, it being described as undrinkable. The Hon. A. Myers, Minister for Munitions, stated that in the purchase of tea I and other supplies for the soldiers quality : was always the first consideration, and '■ there were experts who inspected every j sample. This was the first complaint he I had heard concerning the quality of the tea, which he had always understood was very acceptable to the men in camp. It was quite possible, of course, that the tea had been spoiled in the making. He promised to make inquiries.

The removal of a number of anomalies in the Land Agents Act was strongly advocated by Mr. H. E. Vaile at the annual meeting of the Auckland Land Agents Association yesterday. He said that the representations made to the Government in the past to secure amendments in the Act should bo supported by the members of the Dominion Association, who were to meet in Wellington shortly! The Act permitted private persons to sue for commission, whether authority to sell was given in writing or not. Land agents, however, were not entitled to sue unless authority to sell was expressly given in writing. This was only one of the matters which needed to be set right.

" The natives in Togoland and the Cameroons were delighted when the British drove the Germans out," said Mr. Broome Smith, F.R.G.S., who is visiting Wellington. " The Germans had behaved to them with the greatest cruelty and oppression. To signify their joy, at their deliverance from the Hun, the natives in Akpafo, in Northern Togoland. eold all their cotton, and their precious kola nut to give the British a present—a great sacrifice for natives to make. Everywhere I have been in Africa the natives have expressed the wish to be ruled over by Englishmen, and the natives in those parts which are already occupied are intensely loyal to the flag. For instance, the inhabitants of the Gold Coast subscribed over £3000 to be sent to England to help build aeroplanes." Mr. Smith has spent a quarter of a century in Africa, working under the Church Missionary Society, and there is scarcely a part of Central Africa that he has not visited.

The gift of an acre of Australian soil J to Franca marked the celebrations in Syd- i ney of the French National Fete. "It ! contains the monument to the French ! navigator. La Perouse, and the grave of one of his company. La Perouse visited ! Botany Bay in 1788; tho wreckage of his two ships was found forty years later on an island north of the New Hebrides. Wreaths were placed on the monument and on the grave of L'Abbe Receveur, priest and scientist, who died during the navigator's visits, the first Frenchman to be buried in Australia. The remains of lather Receveur have lain for all these years in alien soil, the monument to the great navigator has stood on foreign land, but now, when measures have been taken to beautify the place, a small piece of the land—about an acre in areawill be presented to the French nation, and the remains of the dead will rest on soil belonging to France.

An interesting souvenir of historical interest has been brought to the Dominion by the Prime Minister and Sir Joseph Ward. It is a sheet of Royal notepaper on which are inscribed the signatures of the King and Queen and other members of the Royal Household, and the signatures of British and oversea delegates to the Imperial War Conference. These signatures were written at the farewell luncheon given by the King and Queen at Windsor on May 3 at the conclusion of the business of tho Imperial Conference. It is the intention of Mr. Massey, if Sir Joseph Ward consents, to present the souvenir to the Parliamentary Library.

Under new regulations religious objectors to military service, called up in the ballot, are to be given a second chance to prove that they come under the definition given in the Act. If ther succeed in doing this they will have an "opportunity of signing an undertaking to do agricultural work or engage in any other "essential industry not under military control. 'I here is a largo number of conscientious objectors in camp now. and their appeals will be reheard in Wellington next Wednesday,