LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16671, 16 October 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS

To-dat is the 'third anniversary of the * departure from the Dominion of the Main » Body of the New Zealand Expeditionary 8 Force. Two troopships—the Waimana e and Star of India—which carried the r Auckland contingent, left Auckland l on the evening 0 September 24, 1914, but, under instructions from the Inv " perial authorities, they were recalled from i sea by wireless message, and returned tc ■, port next morning. They left again or the afternoon of October 11, proceeding to Wellington, where they joined the 1 vessels filled in Southern ports. From 3 Wellingtdn, on the morning of Octobei | ,16, the whole New Zealand fleet of 1C , troopships sailed, escorted by four Britisi : and Japanese warships. ( The.money market is tight, and this condition will, it is stated by financial authority,. continue for some time tc come. Offing to heavy demands in con> nection with the recent war loan, and the . financing of produce which is detained in the Dominion because of shipping difficul ties, the banks are conserving theii finances for these purposes, and also foi legitimate business requirements. Ad' vances are not being made by the banks for the purchase of land, the erection oi buildings, for investment or for speculation. _ Some of the principal lending in stitutions outside the banks are mm charging 6£ per cent, for loans on firsl mortgages, an advance of £ per cent, or the recent rate. It is very evident that th< present tightness of money will continue owing to the demands the Governmenl must make in connection with further wai loans. This being so, there is every neces sity for the, exercise of caution anc economy. Two little children, Patrick Edmunds aged 2J years, and Trevor Dmce, aged 2 both from St. Mary's Orphan Home Otahuhu, were admitted to the hospita yesterday evening suffering from burm about the mouth and face, caused by causti< soda. As far as _ could bo ascertainet neither child was in a dangerous condition

A resolution expressing sincere regret at the death of Lieutenant I£. A, E. Milnes, reported killed in action, was passed yesterday by tho Auckland University College Council. Prior to leaving Sot tho front, Lieutenant Milnes was principal of the Auckland Teachers' Training College and lecturer on education at the university. The chairman, Mr. T. W. Leys, said that Lieutenant Milnes hdd been a tower of strength to education in Auckland, and he felt that it would be very difficult to replace him. The registrar was instructed to forward a copy of tho resolution to the sisters of the late soldier. « An application for a billiardroom license Jed to considerable discussion at the Mount Eden Borough Council last night. It was stated that a. billiardroom in the district pome time ago brought many complaints from parents of youths who frequented the room- The application was refused. ,-.-'■.' 1(i .■■ :'-■■■ v

?a.'schedule• of assets'.;, and liabilities has been filed at the official assignee's office by Thomas Morrison, painter, of Opotiki, who has. been judged bankrupt. The liabilities , consist of ...unsecured • creditors, £272' 15s Id, arid , assets* comprising book debts, £3, ; and : furniture, JGIW, leaving a aefieiencv.-'pf■ £169 Id. In, a statement • referring to the* causes of his 'tank* ruptcy, the debtor declared that he had earned on business in Opotiki for eight I years. In 1914 he was.contractor for all painting work, at tho post office building at Opotiki;, and owing to unforseen circumstances/he lost £100 on. this contract. After war was declared ho was practically out of work lor about 18 months, during which period he did not earn enough to keep his home going. In consequence he got further into debt, but he always felt assured that trade would improve, and that he would be able to clear himself. In January, 1916, his son, on whom he had always relied, enlisted, and was subsequently killed in action. Several creditors had recently sued him, and, as his position was hopeless, he had. been compelled to ale. The first meeting of creditors will be held at Opotiki on Wednesday, October 24. A partial settlement has been reached by the Conciliation Council dealing with the application for' the citation of private hotels in connection with the dispute filed by the employers against the Hotel and Restaurant Union of Workers. The question of wages will be referred to tho Arbitration Court for decision. There is a serious shortage of onions in Auckland at present, due to the usual overseas supplies not having come to hand. Produce merchants state that the local crop does not usually begin to come on the market until December, and, in consequence of the bad season, crops will bo later this year than usual. It is also feared that the quantity grown will •be considerably less than the average crop, and unless relief is afforded by substantial importations the . shortage is.expected to continue for, some time. One of tie chief sources of supply is Sydney, and now thajt the strike trouble is over it is hoped further supplies will do available shortly. Onions have been selling as high as 5d a pound wholesale,, and there is no immediate prospect of a drop in prices, as the market is bare and importations are not likely to provide for moro than immediate necessities. A short list of cases was dealt with by Mr. P. V. Frazer, S.M., in the Police Court yesterday. A first offender for drunkenness was ordered to pay 35s medical expenses. Charges against Madame Hvland and Madame Bennetts of undertaking to tell fortunes were adjourned until .Thursday. Special cars for ladies only are to be provided by the Railway Department on the long distance mail trains, it having been decided to utilise some of the old dining-cars for this purpose. In the case of the North Wand Mam Trunk line the cars will carry a female attendant. They will also be provided with special fittings, including a gasring, which mothers will find useful in providing hot drinks for I young children. One end of each car is to ; be devoted to first-clans passengers, and the other to second-class; and no extra charge is to be made for travelling in these cars. Some of the old dining-cars j are to be, converted into two-berth sleepers for the -, North Island Main Trunk expresses, and the converted cars will avoid $ fault of the ordinary "two-berth cars, which provided too little space. | The statement /telegraphed from Christchurch on Friday to the effect, that Captain' It. S. Jennings lost, his life through a treacherous prisoner is, according to an Auckland officer who was present during) the advance, not in accordance with fact. I It appears from this officer's story that Captain Jennings was shot by a sniper j from a shell-hole while he was consolidating a portion of. a captured switch trench. This sniper is believed to have been overlooked during the : advance, but he was ultimately discovered in the afternoon, after having shot another New Zealand officer, and was promptly bayoneted by two London soldiers, who had witnessed the latter incident. ■' - •■■' • ' ',' s As an,outcome of the recent floods in I the Edendale. district, the district health I officer wrote to the Mount Eden Borough | Council enclosing a copy of a complaint from a ratepayer that the water, concentrated on her property constituted a' menace to health. The letter was dealt with by the council at its meeting last night, when it was decided to reply to the Department stating that the trouble arose from the exceptional rainfall, and that the council was willing, to co-operate with the Mount Albert Borough in a scheme to deal with the nuisance. It was also decided that the Government be asked to appoint a commission to allocate the proportion of liability of the various contributing bodies.

In the Magistrate's Court yesterday Mr. E. 0. Cutten, 8.M., gave judgment in the case in which Maaefield and Co. (Mr. Buttle) claimed from the Dominion Hardware Company (Mr." Denniston) £42 !0s fid for goods supplied and work done. The. defence was that the price was too high, and the work was ■ defective. In giving judgment for the plaintiff for the amount claimed with costs, the magistrate pointed out with reference to the alleged defective work that defendants had given plaintiff other work subsequently, without making any complaint of the previous work. ' A _ New ( Zealand soldier, writing to his relatives from Palestine, says:— This is an awful place for dust, which is ever so much worse than the Band of the desert. A man walking, raises a cloud I of it, so you can imagine what happens during the movement of 2000 or 3000 horses. The whole country becomes obliterated from view, and those who are unfortunate enough to be amongst or near the horßeß fairly choke. The flies are far worse than further down, and one often wonders whether the flies will eat the jam off one's bread. Fortunately at night they do not worry one, or I think we should all go crazy. There are here, as in Sinai, a wonderful collection of insects, I and other life. In addition to those of I Sinai, we have scorpions, tarantulas, centipedes, crickets, gnats, and wasps. Fortunately it is not so hot here as further south, and even on the hottest days wej i have a cooling breeze from the sea, I Takaka Valley, Nelson, is renowned in [ New 'Zealand for its marbles, and the field is said to be so vast as to permit of ample | export after fully meeting all local requireI ments. The specimens on view at ParI liament Buildings, Wellington, represent a 1 portion only of the full range. Yet these samples, in the opinion of some experts, . are not surpassed, and in some cases not I equalled, for comparison, strength com-1 I pactness of texture, polishing qualities I variation of colour, and beauty in vein and figure. ' ' '

The record price of 40 guineas was obtained at the Dimedin Horticultural Society's narcissi show for the Incomparable champion seedling bulb. The flower is to bo frozen and sent Home to compete at the Royal Horticultural Society's Snow in April. According to a Dunedin exchange this is the highest price ever paid for a seedling narcissus in New Zealand. _ A farmer, in appealing for tho exemption of a ploughman before the Third Wellington Military Service Board, said that he had advertised for a man to fill j the reservist's place, offering £3 per week, a free cottage, and firewood, but ho got only one reply from' a man with sis children, and he was unsuitable. Captain Baldwin, the military representative. ! then recounted his own personal experience. He had, he said, recently advertised offering £3 per week and free cottage for a man who had to be able to plough and shear. In reply to this advertisement he got no fewer than 38 replies, some of which he handed to the less fortunate seekers for help. It was stated at last week's . meeting of the Auckland Rugby League that a letter was • received ' from the Rugby Union notifying that the Newton Football Club's shed would not again be available for training. An official of the Rugby Union explained yesterday that it had no. jurisdiction over the Newton shed, and „. the letter received by the league, it was stated, had been forwarded ■ to the Rugby League by the Newton Uub without the knowledge of the union.