LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17006, 13 November 1918, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

To-day is the fifty-fifth anniversary of, tho first issue of the New Zealand] Herald. Prior to its advent, Auckland i had seen the rise and fall of several newspapers. Only two of them attained to any j prominence—tho Southern Cross and the! New Zealander, and both were influential i newspapers when the Herald appeared. The Southern Gross was started in 1843, as a weekly newspaper. It suspended publication two years later, but was resuscitated, and, under the title of the Daily Southern Cross, continued a strong factor in the journalism of Auckland till tho end of 1876, whm it was amalgamated with the Nkw Zealani- Herald. The New Zealander was established in 1845, and was the leading newspaper in the colony until its pliilo-Maori policy at the outbreak of! the Taranaki War alienated a large section | of tho colonists. Mr. W. C. Wilson, one j of the partners in the publication of the paper, strongly dissented from its policy on the native queuion. This led to a dissolution of th? partnership earlv in 1863, and before the year closed Mr. Wilson was publishing the New Zhaiand Her aid from his own press daily The New Zealander gradually declined, and! ceased publication on the destruction of its premises by fire in 1866. Advertisors are requested, during the period of the prevailing epidemic, to send in advertisement <r>py for the Herald as early as possible, preferably before noon each day. To minimise telephone calls, tho copy should bo delivered in writing to the ollice. A report that tho hours of the telephone j exchange have boen further curtailed from ; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., is incorrect. The period: of curtailment is still noon to 3 p.m., during which emergency numbers only are! answered. The list of Emergency numbers; has been considerably increased; owing to tho increase in the number of depots the health organisations have established. Tho curtailment or t>.e railway services previously announced will be continued today and to-morrow, with tho following additions.---To-day: 7.15 i> m. train To Aroha and Thames, and 10,25 a.m. train Thames-Te Aroh... To-moiTovr: 6.30 a.m. train Putaruru-Frankton, and 1.50 p.m. train Frankton-Putarun". Of the numerous flags which were flown over Auckland yesterday to celebrate the German surrender, the Hag over the Harbour Hoard building is of unusual interest. It is tho samo flag that floated over the British camp at the Delhi Dnrbar, and was lent by Mrs. Davy, wifo of the Rev. Falgrave Davy. Tho dramatic abdication of tho German Emperor, and the kaleidoscopic change on the western frori, which led to the acceptance of the Allies' armistice terms by Germany, an well illustrated in to-d&y's issue of tho Weekly News by portraits of tho Kaiser, the Crown Princo and Marshal Foch, together with a fine double-page of views, showing important towns on tho Rhine, tho probable new frontier between France end Germany. Other views relating to the great events include a half-page picture of Berlin, and views of the Kaiser's favourite palace at Potsdam, and the sinking of tho Kmden by H.M.A.S. Sydney, ono of the dramatic naval ha openings in tho early days of the war. Tha fatal railway accident on the Main Tiunk line is

graphically illustrated by a series of striking photographs, taken shortly after the disaster. A general view of the locality in which the accident occurrod shows the extent of the landslide) into which the train dashed ; other pictures vividly reveal the fearful effect of the impact on tho mail van and carriages immediately behind tho enrine in which the fatalities ocouvred. The number also contains a varied collection of other highly f interesting illustrations. During the continuance of the war there has been a considerable falling-off in tho number of immigrants arriving in the Dominion during tho past 12 months, states the annual report of the Immigration Department. Tho assisted Immigration practically has been confined to wives and members of th New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Since tho close of the 12 months ending March 31 last, there has been a considerable increase in the coat of fares from England to New Zealand, and the following figures show the comparison between the pre-war and presentday cost of third-class passages to New Zealand, the presant-day fares being given in parentheses : --Third-class six burth, £19 (£37): third-class four berth, £21 (£39): third-class two berth £23 (£11).

"I am not a believer in tho principle of the referendum," said the Prime Minister on Saturday when replying to a deputation from the Moderate Party upon the liquor question. "I cannot think of any other question on which I would be prepared to ask the public for an expression of opinion. But wg bave a precedent as far aB the liquor qmvkiWl is concerned in the licensing poll. Cabinet has not yet dealt finally with this question, but it will do so within the next; few days. The subject has been considered by Cabinet, and wo have advanced a stage. We shall bo able, I hopo, to make the intentions of Cabinet known certainly before the end of next week. The matter is to be "settled one way or the other so far as Cabinet and Parliament are concerned."

As a sequel to complaints about the food served to soldiers during a recent voj-ago to New Zealand, Mr. 0. J. Talbot (Temuka) has asked tho Government whether it will take immediate steps to impress upon tho Imperial authorities the urgent necessity of seeing that tho ahips bringing men hack to New Zealand • are adequately provisioned with good food, and that competent cooks aro employed.

A spirited protest was mado in the House of Representatives last week by Mr J. P. Luke (Wellington Norih) against the tendency of certain Labour members to claim a monopoly of the feeling of compassion and justice in human affairs. "I believe," ho said," that every member in this Houso has compassion for his fellow man and a desiro to do justico." Mr. H. E. Holland (Grey) stated that tho workers did not want compassion but justice.

A story of censorship methods is related by a Chrißtclvurch business man. Ho represents a large Sydney firm, and one day he received a code message. Ho could not mako out the tenth wi?4, and he asked the telegraph office lir » '"repeat." The message came in exactlj the same shape. Another "repeat" '.iad no better result. Ho explained to a nig"? official of tho Censorship Department that there must bo a mistake, becausj the message) could not havo been handed in as received. The word in question was not English or in code, ana, theroforo, tho Sydney censor should not have passed it. He thereupon decided that he had better cable his firm asking them to give him tho right word, but the censor refused to pass his message because it contained a 'word not in the codes!

The Executive Committee of the New Zealand Acclimatisation Societies' Association, after consultation with the Health Department, has decided to postpone the conference of delegates from all affiliated societies fixed for to-morrow, the Health Department being averse to the taking into Wellington of a number of persons from places where perhaps the influenza epidemic is in full swing. As the length of the Parliamentary session is uncertain, in view of the present circumstances, tho postponement probably means the abandonment of a conference during the present year.

Afforestation was the subject of a paper delivered at a meeting of the Canterbury Philosophical Institute by Mr. W. H. Skinner, president of the and commissioner of Crown lands. In the course of his address Mr. Skinner said that Now Zealand was very near to a timber famine, and wha; hid been dons to date to avert it was almost negligible. In the future the main forests would have to consist of imported trees that were known to thrive in Now Zealand, as the native trees were too slow of growth. The State must tackle the business with determination and scientific thoroughness,