NEWS OF THE DAY

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 10028, 20 July 1918, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

It is officially announced that, purely as a matter of precaution, it has been deemed advisable that ships navigating Cook Strait should do so as far as possible during daylight hours. The shipping companies have been invited to conform to this arrangement. It is regretted if . any inconvenience is involved to intending passengers.

Official advice has bean received that tho hospital ship which recently lelt iNew Zealand Has arrived at a port of call, “ail well.”

It is notified in connection with the Pacific cable service that there has been a demy to messages for Canada and tho United States.

Tho Secretary of the General Post Office has been advised that the legal hour will bo put bacii one hour in tne French zone in Morocco from the loth iust, .

Sir James Allen (Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Defence) ano Major-General Sir A. W. Rohm (Commandant of tho New Zealand Forces) are to inspect the 41st Kcmtorcenient at Trentham to-day.

The Minister for Defence (Sir James Allen) announced yesterday that tne 37th Uoiuforcement have reached their deif.ination, /'all well' 1 ; the itotbs have - reported “all well” ; and the JUths have sarely reached a port of call.

At 8.28 o’clock last evening, tho fire brigade received a call to No. 7, Lewisville terrace (off Tinakori road). The building, which was severely damaged, mostly m tho upper portion, was occupied by Patrick O’Callaghan, and own ed by Mr Prendeville, of Karori. Tho contents of the building are not insured.

The Hon. T. M. Wilford, Minister for Justice and Marine, at Wanganui yesterday received a number of deputations, and also visited Castlecliffi in company with Mr A. G. Bignell, chairman of the Harbour Board. The visit to the harbour-mouth was- in connection with the proposed regulations affecting motor-launchesthe outcome of the Monarch . disaster.

The resistance of Jugo-Slavs to the proposals of the Government for their employment on public works did not begin with the present strike at Okahukura. In several parts of the Auckland district, notably tho Kaipara, Slavs are known to have disappeared in tho custody of the police, as the result of steps taken by tho Alien Service Commission on account of disaffection displayed, and there are estimated to bo between 25 and 30 such men now interned.

Captain Pirimi Tnhiwi, of Otaki, in tho course of a letter to Otnki relatives, says: “Several of our boys are thinking of getting married to English girls, so don’t be surprised if you hear of some of our Maori boys getting ‘spliced’ over hero. An order was issued some time ago forbidding all Maori soldiers to marry English girls, unless special* permission is obtained from tho 0.C., and a certificate as to the good character of the girl is obtained from the vicar or some* other responsible person of tho district to which she belongs. Whether this step will have tho effect of preventing such marriages, 1 cannot gay.”

Tlie Rot. D. Schloss is giving a lantern lecture on “Palestine —it s Present and Future,” on. Sunday evening, at the Charley’s Aunt Club-rooms, Courtenay place, at 7.45 o’clock.

For leaving a dray in the street uncosts 17s 6d. Percy Patterson was ‘lined 10s, with costs 17s 6d, by -dr S. E. McCarthy, S.M., at the Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Charles Cross was fined £2, costs 17s Cd, for leaving a motor-car standing without lights.’ For driving at an excessive speed, Ings was called upon to pay £2, and costs 17s 6d. Percy Patterson was fined £l, with costs 17s 6d, for failing to have a tail light attached to his motorcar. Ernest Thawley, who had lert a motor-car standing in the street all night through an oversight,; was mulcted to the extent of £1 7s 6d.

The net surplus profits of the Public Trust Office jor the financial year end-, ed March 31st, 1318, after retaining £20,000 were £48,602, and it has therefore been directed by an Order-in-Council “that out of the said net surplus profits a sum equal to one-tenth of the total amount of interest received during that year from the common fund by each estate or account (other than investment agenciies) thrift was not finally closed and distributed before the end of that year shall be credited as a bonus to such estate or account, provided that the total amount of ail the said bonuses shall not exceed thirty thousand pounds.”

Acting upon a decision given by Mr S. B. McCarthy, S.M., in a case where a young man was charged with failing to attend Territorial parades, Harold L. Esau discontinued to,drill. He was brought, before Mr s. Iv. McCarthy’, S.M., by the military authorities yesterday. Mr H. P. O’Leary, who appeared , for the defendant, said that Esau had been called up in the eighth ballot, and classed as C2: After attending Territorial drill'for some time ho 'Baw a decision "of'the'c’duit, where it was decided that a person who liad been called up by ballot and classed C2, was no longer a ’member of the Territorial Force, but was liable to be called upon for homo ttcrvice with the Expeditionary Force, and had not been to a parade since. The information was dismissed.

Failure to pay a penny tram faro, when demanded by the conductor, proved an expensive matter to ’, an elderly man named Alfred Logan when ho came before Mr S. E. McCarthy, S.M., yesterday. Evidence was given that the defendant boarded a tram at the Bank of New Zealand earner on the night' 'of ‘Juno 22nd, and travelled as far as Tihakori road without paying his fare. When an inspector asked for defendant’s ticket ho produced a card which had not been punched. The conductor had made application for fares on several occasions while the defendant was on the car. Logan, who . said he boarded the car at the Government . Buildings, and had nothing t6'say in his defence, was convicted and. fined £2, with costs £1 17s lOd. In default of payment he is to go to prison for twenty-one days.

Quite a number of new words will be added to the dictionary as the direct ' outcome of the war. Among those is “Bipp”—a combination of bismuth, iodoform," and paraffin paste —the name given to one of the most important ■ surgical discoveries " of Mr Rutherford Morrison,’the famous operative surgeon, which exercises a strange charm upon the treatment of dangerous wounds- By the new process the destroyed tissues and infected areas are excised, the parts thoroughly drenched with pure" spirit, ' and after tho application of a thin layer of “Bipp” to the wound surface it can in many cases he sewn up immediately, with every prospect- of primary union and no further distress to'-tliet patient. One of the most marvellous cases is recorded at a London military hospital. A piece of shell penetrated a soldier’s chest and diaphragm,-passing into the abdominal cavity. These ■■'terrible injuries healed without subsequent ill consequences, the track of the missile being excised and the wound sutured alter , a thorough application of “Bipp.”

The Hon. W. H. Herrics (ActingMinister ior Labour) lias received a written' requisition, signed by 1a majority of the occupiers of hairdressers and tobacconists’ shops in 'Wellington, desiring that, all such shops in tho city shall be closed in the evening oi working-days as follows; Subject to the closing at not later than 1 p.m. on the day ooservcd as the, statutory closingday —on Mondays Tuesdays, and Thursdays at 7 p.m., on Vvedncsdays at 3 p.m-, on Jfnoays at 0 p.m., and on Saturdays at 10 p.rh., with -the lollowing exceptions—(l) The two w orking-days(other than , tho day observed as the statutory oloshig-day) immediately preceding Christmas Day, and the two, w'Orking-days (other than the day observed, as the statutory closing-day) immediately preceding Mew Year’s Day, when the closing hoar shall be 11 p.m,; (2) the work-ing-days (other than the days observed as the statutory closuig-oay) in me period from the 17th day or December to the 31st day of December (both days, inclusive;, when 1 )ihe closing-hour shall, subject to paragraph (1) Hereof, be a p.m. The Minister has accordingly directed that on and atter tho snmd day of July, 191 S, all the simps in each ot the trades or (1) Jiairdrosser ana (a) tobacconist in the City of Wellington snail be closed accordingly.

Scotland has once more beaten England in giving. uoiuo time ago, ‘ u wul be remembered, Ulasgow beat every record m patriotic'liberality by subscribing lomteen minions aunng m “tunii wtOd.’ 1 Thou England ban a “Business men’s ween, in windi every town and village in the country subscribed must lavisiny, ' under tue guise oi buying munitions, ff om battlocruisers to maemuo-guns. Scotland followed suit with "iVar Weapons’ Week. The sum aimed at was ten millions, and over eighteen ’ millions was subscribed, aW amount ; more titan sultieicnt to' break hmgluhd's record of £4 per head. Many places subscribed double, or more than double tiie amounts they had promised to raise. Edinburgn’s contribution was €2,393,000, Glasgow’s more than £3,ujUjOuU. Aberdeen gave 3.418,054, Dundee £381,204, Inverness £:s00,0o0, tciliuarnocli i1220,0U0, Leith i352,ti0.1, Falkirk £223,071. ‘ Some of the iittlo towns and villages gave magnificently. •The Scotsman ’ mentions particularly Stroma, a bleak little island in the Pentland Firth, with a total population, including children of all ages, oi 285. Stroma set out to provide the oost of a machine-gun, but before it had finished it had subscribed no less than £1489, . .or .£5.4s 6d per.head, which may well be described as another nail in tho coffin of the dying belief in Scottish stinginess;

Special regulations for deer-shoot-ing in the 'Wellington Acclimatisation District were gazetted yesterday. ,

Five hundred acres of Crown lands in the Southland Land District,, were gazetted yesterday for soldier-settle-ment . .' ' ,'s

It is notified in yesterday’s “Gazette” that the Minister for Finance has proscribed the fee of, os,-to he paid on the transfer of stock under the New Zealand Inscribed Stock Act, 1917.

The Minister for Finance has directed the Secretary to the Treasury to acknowledge receipt of the sum of £6 15s, forwarded to’ the Superintendent, Telegraph Office, Christelmrch, by some person unknown, described as “Conscience-money: Telephone.’’

In yesterday’s “Gazette’.’ it is notified, for general information, that in accordance with information now received the following goods should be sent direct to importers in the United States and not to any trade association or to a British Consul-General;— Wool, jute, flax, cotton, mica, rubber and rubber .substitutes, plumbago, tin, .leather, tanning, materials,' all hides and skins, lacs of all kinds.

There is provision in the carpenters’ award requiring employers to notify the Labour Department when new apprentices are taken on. It lias come to the knowledge of the department that tin's has not been generally complied with;'in fact, it is believed; that quite a number of employers have failed to give the required notice. Inquiries are now' being made, and' it is not unlikely that further action will ho taken against the defaulters.

The public of Wellington is to receive further enlightenment on the milk problem on Tuesday afternoon next, when the long-awaited report of the special committee which has been endeavouring to find a solution, will be presented at a special meeting of the City Council. The committee has made exhaustive investigations,' and ifc is anticipated that the report- will contain proposals of a somewhat radical nature; Whether' - the report will solve the complicated problem of milt is merely a matter for conjecture.

Excellent progress is being made by the Workers’- Education Association, the work of which is now appealing to a larger section in the Labour community. A branch of the association ha# been formed at LoViu, and-the Manawatu flaxmillcrs -have donated'£s'-‘to-wards the organisation' of classes 1 in the district. It has been decided to commence classes at Blenheim. At the last meeting of the association a contribution of £1 Is was received from the Wellington Industrial Association). The rules and constitution of the Dominion Council were discussed, and adopted. r ■

A meeting of the Early Settlors’ and Historical Association has been arranged for on Wednesday evening -next at Godber’s . rooms, Courtenay place. On this occasion Mr Amelins Smith will be giving mn address on. his experiences —political and otherwise. This should be an exceptionally interesting evening, Mr'Smith having been closely connected, in different capacities, with tho administration of the Dominion for about, -fiftyJyfeatSvo&lldihis 1 ' Lind* of reminiscences ;is vast??-The' associh'' tiom also announce the holding of s social at a later date, particulars of which will be given later.

A: question asked at a Second Division League’s public meeting at Palmerston North on Wednesday night was what happened to a soldier who was reported killed, but . who subsequently came hack and found his wife had married again.—i There .-was considerable laughter,' and Mr . Robertson said it would depend on circumstances, while the chairman said the questioner must have been reading “Enoph Arden.” . ‘‘You may laugh,” said the questioner, ‘‘but X know of ,a case. “And so do I.” said another member of the audience. The question was allowed to pass without being satisfactorily answered. >

In writing to thank Miss A. .Cnlli nano, secretary-..0f the Wanganui _ St. Vincent do Faul Society, for comforts sent to the troops in Palestine, rtie Rov. Father A. T. McDonald says:— “Your society’s generous guts, of comforts wore . well-timed for our cold, wild, and wet trek through the Jordan mountains, between Bethlehem and tho north end -of the Dead Sea. Dn February 21st, after. pushing the Turks right back across the Jordan,, we got our first glimpse of that famous-valley, and the great Dead Sea lying'at its foot, with a mantle of misty haze on its surface. Although X had only slept one night in five, I climbed the Quarantine Mount where our Saviour wa» tempted, and visited the cave where he fasted 40 days, now sheltered, by . a convent chapel. A magnificent view also rewarded my. effort.. I have been privileged to offer, the -Holy, Sacrifice in Jerusalem on the site of oar Saviour’s death and burial, and m Bethlehem, even in the grotto,. with the place of the manger only a yard behind me, which was well worth two weary years of mounted work in the sands of Sinai and the dirt and dust of South Syria. Even from Olivet I can- • not see the end of this weary old war yet, and must carry on steadily and smilingly with the boys as long as God gives me health and life.”

A judgment of interest to landlords and tenants was given by Mr E. C. Cutten, S.M., at Auckland, the case being one in which the . landlord eued for - possession. The. magistrate said that tho War Regulations Act, 1916, gave protection to a tenant who paid his rent regularljf, and only on' specific grounds could a landlord obtain possession in such a case. One of these grounds was that the tenant's. occupation was. a nuisance or an annoy-ance-to neighbours. In the case under notice the plaintiff lived next dobr, and claimed possession because of an. noyance to her caused by defendant’s household. ' His vVorship said'that the demeanour of defendant and his wife in the witness-box did not give the impression that they were the kind of people to act in the way. complained of. On the other hand the plaintiff was a highly-strung woman, who admitted that she had not been well for some time, and who had not got her time occupied in the somewhat trying —though to the normal woman con. genial—occupation of caring for - • family.'- Taking the defendant’s’ denial into consideration, and weighing the probabilities' of the case, tholnagistrate said he could come to no other conclusion than that the plaintiff had not proved grounds of coin pin int 'which would entitle her to turn the defendant out of tho house. Judgm*«t would bo for defendant'with cost*,

A sale of unclaimed dogs will be hold to-day Saturday), at 2/15 p.m., at tho Wellington City Council yards, Clyde quay.

Mr Robert Williamson, tonring manager for J. C. Williamson, Ltd-, arrived in Wellington last evening, to make tho preliminary arrangements for :ho firm’s big attraction, ‘’Tho Bing Boys Are Here.”

Surgoon-Gcneral R. H. S. Henderson, .Director-General of Medical Services, reported yesterday that tho two cerebro-spinal meningitis cases in hospital at Fcatherston were doing well. Another case was under observation, but the patient had been discharged from hospital, as cerebrospinal meningitis was not present.

Two companies of the 44th Reinforcement will bo made up of. fit men from the Cl Camp. Thi» large number will transfer when tho remainder of the draft reaches Fcatherston from Trentham. In addition to these infan trvroen, a number of mounted, artillery, and Medical Corps recruits have been picked from the Cl s who are now fit.

The Miners’ Federation has organised a public meeting, to beheld in the King’s Theatre to-morrow night, for the purpose of putting the miners case in the present dispute with t- « Coal-owners’ Association _ before t.ie public of Wellington. This meeting is the first of a senes to be held by the federation throughout the country- -Ur -p, Vuuu", secretary of the Seamen s Union, will preside at to-morrow night’s meeting, and tho principal speaker will be Mr R. Semple, miners agent. In view or the serious position of coal supplies m Wellington at present, the matter fo be discussed is ot tho most urgent importance to tho inhabitants or the city, and consequently a crowded house is anticipated.

A military lecture was givon_ by Lieu-tenant-Colonel M. Holmes, N.Z.M.C., at the “Wellington Officers’ Institute last night, the subject being “The Evacuation of the Wounded after Three Modern Battles.” Colonel Campbell occupied the chair. Lieu-tenant-Colonel Holmes, it may bo mentioned, served at Gallipoli and in France. The lecturer described in technical detail the methods adopted at Gallipoli. After tho attack on Chunuk Bair, an advanced post, there was great congestion of wounded. Over three thousana were gathered in a par-tially-sheltered gully- -Before the end of. four days there were 10,COO or 11,000 wounded men ,on the About 2000 yards out from the coast were five hospital ships. But a grave wont in the arrangements was the lack of an adequate supply of small boats to take tho wounded from the beach! to the ships. This lack caused the deaths of many New Zealand soldiers. The wounded camo -under Turkish fire immediately, because the saps and lines were much congested, and wounded could not be kept clear of the combatant forces. Tho guns and the ambulances were mixed up, and the Red Cross flags had to come down, because they were believed to serve as a running mark for the Turks. The enemy gunners played the game well enough when conditions permitted. There was a tent hospital at Suvla Bay, situated about three hundred yards from a heavy British battery, but no Turkish (shell* oyer‘struck.-.the,hospital. In an interesting"; Lieutenant-Colonel Holmes described the evacuation of the wounded at the battle of Romani, when the colonial troops broke a Turkish attack in the direction of the Suez Canal; also what happened after the battle of Measines. The arrangements in the latter case worked so well that the wounded were j in London the day they were hit.

The present cold snap has greatly accentuated the coal problem. For some weeks past householders have been faced with tho position of either conserving their supplies or running tho risk of a coal, famine. This has resulted in an unprecedented rush at the various coal depots, and some pertinent inquiries as to the reason for theunusual state of affairs. It will be remembered that during the strike in the State Coal Mines in March last, the State depot in Wellington was unable to meet the demands of its customers, and, coming as it did in the early part- of the winter, this proved a severe handicap. When supplies came to hand in April the State office was besieged by “coal-hungry” householders. and so nramerons were the demands that it was found necessary to limit the supplies. Inquiries made by a “Times” reporter yesterday elicited the information that the position has lately become more acute. According to the State Coal Department the present shortage is due to the stormy weather prevailing on the West Coast. Two fully-laden colliers are at present inside the Greymouth bai, and the immediate prospects of the weather improving sufficiently to allow them to leave are remote. The result is that the State yards must remain empty indefinitely. It seems probable that the present limit of two hundredweight for city customers and four hundredweight for suburban dwellers must remain in force for the remainder of the winter.