LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17140, 21 April 1919, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

An Australian mail left Sydney by tho Moeraki on Thursday, and is due at Wellington to-day. The Auckland portion, consisting of about 86 begs, should arrive here on Wednesday, if released from quarantine in time.

An outbreak of fire was discovered in a bedroom of the Family and Naval Hotel, Pitt Street, at 6.30 p.m. yesterday, some clothing having become ignited through a curtain having been blown over the flame of a candle. The fire brigade arrived before any damage had been done. On Friday evening a wash-house adjoining the dwelling of Mr. C. MacKinney, Rockfield Road, EUerslie, was destroyed by fire. The local fire brigade prevented the fire from spreading. The shed was insured for £25 in the Sun Office, but tho loss is estimated at £100.

Tho two express trains which left Auckland for Wellington last evening were very poorly patronised. In the first express there were over 126 vacant seats, and nearly as many in the second express when the train departed.

The inquiry regarding the death of Mrs. Emily Cuckeey, on April 9, was completed before Mr. J. E. Wilson, coroner, on Thursday afternoon, when a verdict was returned in accordance with the medical testimony that death was due to fatty degeneration of the liver caused by phosphorus, apparently self administered.

Among the passengers who arrived from the Islands by the Talune yesterday was the wife of one of the German prisoners interned in New Zealand. She is accompanied by her three children, and has come to Auckland to join her husband, vho is shortly to be sent to Germany. She

aaa in her charge the child of _ another interned prisoner who is also being sent to Germany. The Rerauera Fire Brigade received a falßO alarm at 8.15 p.m., on Saturday, from Victoria Avenue, wnere the fire alarm had been broken by Borne mischievous person.

The Auckland Racing Club's Autumn] Meoting was opened at Ellerslie on Saturday. Several showers fell during the morn- 1 ing, and at one time it Seemed as though the gathering would be seriously affected, but the weather cleared. There was a large attendance, estimated at 15,000, The leading event of the programme — the Easter Handicap—resulted in a surprise victory for Mrs. E. A. Lindsay's gelding, Uncle Ned. The Great Northern Oaks went to Mr. A. J. Toxward's Star Lady, while the Great Northern Champagne Stakes fell to Mr. A. McDonald s colt Affectation. During the afternoon the sura •of £67,697 was passed through the totalisator, this sum being £9059 in excess of the amount handled on the corresponding day last year. The Secretary to the General Post Office has been advised that legal time , has been advanced one hour in Spain from April 6 to October 6. Matters concerning loans and other assistance to returned soldiers were discussed by Mr. Frank H. Burbush, Auckland District Repatriation Officer, with tho local repatriation committees at Thames, Paeroa, and Te Aroha last week. Mr. Burbush explained the regulations and the svst-era upon which local committees would work. He said the 'duty of the committees was to receive applications, ascertain necessary particulars, and investigate all business transactions, and if satisfied, to place the recommendations before the Auckland executive. The Department would charge 6 per cent, interest on loans, and it looked to the local committees to Bee that reasonable security would be forthcoming for loans other than those dealing with very small sums. In the course of his tour, Mr. Burbush met the president of the Morrinsville Chamber of Commerce and conferred with' him _in regard to the settine up of a Repatriation Committee in the district. Incidents are reported from ChristI church, in connection with the licensing poll, in which voters pencilled comments of their own on the ballot papers. Some went the length, of writing their names or initials under these remarks, and, as a consequence, the votes had to be invalidated. If a voter however, contented himself with simply expressing his opinions without giving any indication of bis identity, or interfering with the two issue lines' beyond striking one out, his vote was allowed as valid. Several voters as usual, obeyed instructions too literally, andi struck out Instructions how to vote." The question of daylight cadet parades interfering with school attendance was recently brought before the Minister for Education at Eketahuna. The Minister stated that this was tho occasion on which he had heard a complaint regardI ing daylight training, and it should be encouraged as long as it did not conflict with school work. At the same time ha would have to'consider to what extent the work of the Defence Department affected the work of the schools, and he would have to discuss the matter with his colleague, the Minister for Defence. He was sorry that any headmaster should feel that hits work was unduly interfered with. The master was in charge of the school, and if he had no right to exercise discipline it was a very unsatisfactory state of affairs. He would deal with the matter when the official correspondence reached him. Through jumping off a motor-bus whilst' in motion in Wellington, a young man, j named Arnold Ackroyd, sustained a frac- ' ture of the left arm. It is stated that Ackroyd and 14 others had been out picnicing, and wore returning to Petone, via Constable Street, late on Friday i afternoon, when tho motor-bus in which | they were travelling behaved in such a manner that with the exception of the driver the whole of the party jumped off the bus. The majority were shaken, and Ackroyd and two others received cuts and bruises which required medical attention, i An intimation has been received by the ■ Dunedin City Council from the Pub'ic Works Department, Wellington, that it is proposed that the new tramway regu- i lations which were prepared prior to the war, but suspended for the timo being, should be made to take effect as from January 1 next. In order to comply with the regulations, a very large addition will need to be made to the carrying of the tramway system, and in order that no time should bo lost, instructions have been given to invite tenders at onco for the new cars necessary to enable the service to be maintained. In the meantime j tho Tramways Committee has given in- 1 structions for the town clerk to endeavour' to arrange a conference of all tramway ' authorities in the Dominion for the p"r-1 pose of discussing the new regulations and ! comi' to some decis'cn in respect thereto. The Public Works Department is also being communicated with on the subject, and asked to extend the time in which the alterations are to he mude to existing rolling stock.

A smart piece of fair and above-board safe-opening was accomplished by a Wellington lock and key specialist, says the Dominion. Recently a local institution delivered to his workshop a consignment of eleven iron safes, no fewer than ton being locked and the keys missing. After three men had been at work on them for just under six hours, the whole ten were unlocked and the doors opened, not one of tho safes having suffered the slightest material damage. Kino of the ten safes owned were of standard English thiefresisting types.

lilt! Presbyterian Synod of Otagn ami Southland lias sanctioned the unpointniuit 01 ,1 chaplain in \\i.rk among the returned soldiers- in Otag.>. The appointment is i"i one year, and the stipend was fixed at not less than £300, exclusive of house allowances and travelling expeucefi.