LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17755, 14 April 1921, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Two accident cases were admitted to the Auckland Hospital yesterday. An employee of the Westfield Freezing Works, Mr. Thomas Woolley, aged 27, residing at Moa Street, Otahuhu, 'was suffering from severe burns on the body as a result of an accident with boiling tar. His condition is serious. A painter, Mr. Edward Hay, aged 39, residing at Takutai Street, Parnell, sustained injuries to his hip and shoulder as a" result of falling from a two-storey house. He will be examined by the X-rays this morning. Miss Brown, who was injured in the motor accident at Rernuera on Monday, was discharged from tht> institution yesterday.

The medical treatment of disabled veterans of the South African war, including the provision of artificial limbs, has been approved. Information to this effect was received by the Auckland Returned Soldiers' Association yesterday from the director-general of medical services, General D. J. McGavin. The claims of these disabled veterans have been urged for some time by-'the association, the position being that the Government had refused to acknowledge any obligations toward these men in respect to medical teatment, and the provision of artificial limbs. The association felt that the claims of the South African veterans were quite as important as those of the men who suffered in the Great War. Last week a deputation from the association renewed the claims to General McGavin.

The Builders and Contractors' Union of Employers is endeavouring to induce the Government to remove the existing tariff of 2s per 100 ft. on imported timber, and to alter the present differential rate on the railways for carrying timber. The Farmers' Union yesterday received a request for support in the direction stated, and this was forthcoming. The president, Mr. A. A. Ross, stated that the secretary had informed him that the Government proposed increasing the tariff on imported timber to 6s per 100 ft.

A hairdresser and tobacconist, Mr. V. .L. George, was found dead in his shop at 291, Queen Street, yesterday morning. As Mr. George did not return to his home at Northcoto on Tuesday night, his wife came to the city to investigate, and found the shop locked up. A friend gained admittance by a skylight and found Mr. George dead on a seat. A doctor stated that death had probably occurred at about 9 o>lock on the previous evening. Deceased had suffered from heart trouble for some time. Ha leaves a wife and child.

A wreath of natural flowers in the form of the headstone erected on the graves of New Zealand soldiers will be sent to the Waikumete Cemetery on Anzac Day by the Soldiers' Mothers' League. Subscriptions toward the emblem have been received from mothers all over the province, and for those too far away the league has contributed money in order that all may feel they have a part in the ceremony. To the wreath will be attached a card bearing the words, "In loving memory of New Zealand's dead heroes, from their sorrowing mothers."

The Auckland Prices Investigation Tribunal held a sitting at Whakatane yesterday and will proceed to Rotorua to-day. The tribunal is expected to return to Auckland at the end of this week. Complaints have been lodged against two Auckland tobacconists, who are alleged to have sold tobacco above the ruling prices, and there are also several complaints of overcharging in respect of repairs and additions to houses.

A shipment of Oregon timber was offered for sale at auction on Tuesday, but bids were few, and the comparatively small quantity sold brought a price below the recent auction rate, which was about 50s per 100 ft. Official quotations have not been supplied, but it is understood the price was about 40s. One authority upon timber states that Oregon timber bought on the Pacific coast at recent prices would return a very satisfactory profit if sold at 40s. The low price at which Oregon has been landed in Australia during recent months has practically stopped the exportation of New Zealand white pine to the Commonwealth. At present prices white pine cannot compete with Oregon i n Australia.

The Birkenhead Borough Council last evening decided that Anzac Day, Monday, April 25, be observed by a commemorative service in the Foresters' Hall in the morning, and that later in the day the graves of returned soldiers and former residents of the borough be attended to.

A campaign to raise funds fo/ a building to replace the present lodge in Wellesley Street is to be launched by the Girls' Friendly Society. The sum aimed at is £10,000. This decision was reached at a meeting held this week, when strong committees were formed to make the necessary arrangements.

At present the Empire is passing through a period of great difficulty, remarked the Governor-General, Lord Jellicoe, in reply to a welcome at Greymouth. If only a shred, a thousandth part, of the comradeship of the soldiers and sailors was brought to bear on the problems of the day then he was sure they would disappear. It seemed to him that, in due course of time, the troubles facing the people of New Zealand now would disappear. He earnestly hoped to see the people of the Dominion stand shoulder to shoulder and face their difficulties as they did during the war.

An Order-in-Council, gazetted on March 24, prohibits the sale by auction of New Zealand timber unless the approval of the Board of Trade} is obtained. This prohibition is strongly opposed by the auctioneers, who claim that it infringes their rights and prevents timber prices reaching a real market level. A number of men who have been in the habit of buying timber at auction passed a resolution of protest recently, contending that to prohibit the free buying of timber at auction was unjust. A meeting of auctioneers discussed the new regulations. A resolution was passed to the effect that the auctioneers were unanimous in opposing any restrictions which wouTd interfere with the auctioning of timber or any'other commodity.

The special exemption of the Lake Takapuna Board of Control from the provisions of the Health Act providing that a local authority may be prohibited from supplying water from a polluted source was considered by the Birkenhead Borough Council last evening. The Northcote Borough Council wrote suggesting that, as in its opinion the authority of the Health Department should be paramount, the special exemption should be removed. It was resolved to request the Marino Boroughs Association to deal with the matter at its ensuing meeting, the decision to be reported to the next meeting of the council.

The mortality among persons between the ages of 15 and 25 years was the subject of some remarks by the Hon. Dr. Collins, M.L.C., at the annual meeting of the Wellington Plunket Society. Dr. Collins said the deaths in that age-group were largely from tuberculosis. That was a question that deserved special attention and study. He thought it would be wise for every person under the age of 21 to be examined at least once a year. He believed that would result in lessening mortality among the young. In fact, so strongly did he believe in yearly examination of individuals that he advised every person to take stock of his or her health at least once a year.

A Chi-istehurch lady states that at a picture theatre the other night ehe was wearing a coat with a new fur collar which cost £10. During the performance she heard a sound behind as of something being cut, but thought very little about it at the time. A couple of days later, however, when about to wear the coat again, she discovered that some person had cut the fur collar with scissors, and damaged it extensively