NEWS OF THE DAY

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVII, Issue 10816, 4 February 1921, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

The Defence, group classification for Territorial officers' and n.c.o.’s commences at Trentham to-day, and continues for a fortnight. The Pahiatua, Wellington, Highland, Horoeka, and Wanganui Returned Soldiers’ Riflie tilubs have been disbanded. Towards the end of this year Invercargill _ will have been constituted a borough for half a century and a movement is on foot to celebrate the event by means of an exhibition or other suitable manner. The streets in Bluff were recently alive with men, youths aud boys with all kinds of firearms pea rifles, blunderbusses, breech-loaders, muzzle-load-ers, revolvers, automatics and all the multitudinous descriptions of shooting irons. So says the local “Press.” Tile Commission appointed to consider the wages of railway servants and the effect thereon of recent movements in the cost of living, has been meeting this week. It is expected to report to the Government " in a few days, but the finding will not be announced immediately. The Invercargill borough inspector recently reported having seized and condemned, in accordance with the provisions of the Pure Food Act, 1908, 152 hams, they not being fit for human consumption, and had -them destroyed. The hams were a consignment sent by an Auckland, firm to a local concern. The money value of the consignment would be about £2OO. Mr W. P. Gauvain (late chief engineer Waihi Co.) is paying a visit to Waihi. Whilst in England Mr Gauvain tested two large pumping sets manufactured to his designs • for the Waihi Go. _ Each of these sets is capable of raising 1000 gallons of water per minute to a height of 1350 feet in one lift, and each will be driven by a 620h.p. electrio motor. The pumps are of the turbine type, and are the biggest in Australasia. No developments have occurred in connection with the case of alaetrim or mildl smallpox on the steamer Waiwera, as telegraphed from, Auckland earlier in the week. The one patient who has been isolated at Motuihi is reported by the health authorities to be progressing favourably, while no other cases have developed. The vessel remains in quarantine pending the results accruing from the vaccination of all on board being ascertained. Many overseas tourists are being compelled to prolong their stay in New Zealand aB a result of the shipping trouble in Australia. Between 60 and 70 persons, who have had their passages booked,‘are already awaiting the arrival of the next steamer at Auckland. Some are remaining in Auckland until they can sail; others have extended their tours to fill in the time. It is hoped to dispatch a. large proportion of these tourists by the Marama, which is expected from. Vancouver late to-night or to-morrow morning. During his remarks at the opening ceremony of Queen’s Park school, Wanganui, the Minister for Education stated that out of the 20,000 children attending the primary schools of the Dominion, fully 190,000 required dental treatment and were not getting it. The parents must know what that, meant to the health of the children. It was necessary that thSy should have good health in order to have sound minds and strong frames to fit them to tackle the problems of life, and that was one or the reasons why lie was going to have this dental treatment. Among the Victoria Cross heroes whose names appear on a new memorial at Woolwich are those of three officers who won the distinction in the Maori War of 1863-64. These are Lieutenant A. F. Pickard, and AssistantSurgeon W. G. N. Manley, also Assist-ant-Surgeon W. Temple. The memorial, which is placed above the altar of St. George’s Garrison Church, is to the men of all ranks “of the Royal Regiment o*f Artillery upon whom it pleased the Sovereign to bestow the Victoria'Cross in recognition of their gallantry on. the field of battle.” The unveiling ceremony was performed by General Lord Horne. The Agricultural Department is investigating the possibilities of a new method of blasting by the use of cartridges soaked in liquid oxygen. The process is patented by an English company, which supplies the necessary plant for the collection of the gas. It is claimed that neither the cartridges nor the oxygen is dangerous alone, that an explosion cannot be brought about by a "blow, and that should a charge missfixe and be overlooked the explosive will have become harmless in naif an hour’s time. When saturated with the oxygen, Jhe cartridges are said to be more than equal to their weight in dynamite in explosive power, ana they can be fired either by a fuse or a detonator. i

Tlie city solicitor (Mr J. O’Shea) has returned to Wellington from his holiday in the South Island. The butchers of Masterton have reduced the price of pork to lOd per lb. The Gisborne Sheepfarmors’ Frozen Meat and Mercantile Company’s new freezing works at Sicks Bay will be opened on March Ist. Regulations for deer-shooting in the Various acclrmatiaation * districts throughout the Dominion were gazetted yesterday. The Riversdale Rifle Club, with ' headquarters at Riversdale, has changed its name to Gore Defence Rifle Club, with headquarters at Gore. , The Lyttelton Harbour Board ha 6 been informed by the Deputy-Superin-tendent of State Advances that difficulty can he anticipated in granting its application for a loan of £150,0Q0, owing, to the present shortage of money. A deputation from the film proprietors is to wait upon the Minister for Internal Affairs (the Hon. G. J. Anderson) this afternoon, to discuss with him certain matters relating to the censorship of films. “I am pleased, more or less, with the sporting-like spirit of Brooklyn residents in charitable objects,” said Colonel Mitchell, M.P., at the Memorial Fund meeting held at Brooklyn last evening. The Postal authorities have received 1 advice from Suva that the e.s. Marama sailed at 8 p.m. on the Ist inst. for Auckland. She carries 489 bags of mails for New Zealand and 836 bags for Australia. An Order-ill -Co 11 no i 1 was gazetted yesterday prohibiting the exportation of wheat, wheaitmeal, flour, bran and pollard, iand allowing the exportation of oats, and other cereals, crushed oats, rolled oarts, and similar preparations. A meeting of creditors in the estate of the late John William Mackay, formerly of Wellington, land agent, was to have been held yesterday at the office of the Official Assignee, but as only one creditor put in an appearance the fixture lapsed. It is understood that the company which controls the flying machines that have been visiting Southland have located a suitable landing place on Stewart Island, and it is hoped that the same convenience can be arranged for Bluff. The services of the following rifle clubs have been accepted by the Defence authorities : Renwick Rifle Club, Upper Kai-iwi Rifle Club, Marlborough Coast Defence Rifle Club, Woodville Rifle Club, Tuhirangi Rifle dub, and" Waikouaiti Rifle Club. More labour is offering in Christchurch for harvest operations than has been the case for a number of years, although, according to labour agents, the proportion of second-class men is high. The current rate for stooking, forking, and general harvest work is 2s per hour. A Defence General. Order has been issued stating that any member of a Territorial Force, placed on the noneffective list - owing to drill centres being closed, or his services not being required in the Territorial Force for an indefinite period, may, with the consent of the club, and if he so desires, become attached to a Defence rifle club, " - - - Regulations gazetted yesterday under the Dairy Industry Act, prescribe that the fee for grading 'butter shall! be Id per box of the standard size, and the fee for grading cheese 1 l-3d per orate. In the case of butter or cheese forwarded for export from a registered factory, creamery, or private dairy the fee is to be payable iby the manufacturer on demand; and in the case of other butter or cheese the fee is to be ‘payable 'by the owner on demand. When a thunderstorm was at its height in Timaru Mr H. Pope’s house in South street was struck by lightning (reports the ‘tHerald”). The chimney was split, and when this occurred there was a great explosion in the kitchen, and a hole two inches in diameter was torn in the iron roof. In the bathroom . there was an enamelled soaipdish attached to the wall, and the enamel was burnt off the back of the dish, and the woodwork against which it was hanging was scorched. When the Melrose borough merged into the city of Wellington, the Mayoral chain then possessed by Melrose was melted down, and a link symbolic of Melrose, with a suitable inscription on the back, was made therefrom and added to the Mayoral chain of the city. It was suggested to a “Times” representative yesterday that if the other boroughs—Karpri, Onslow, and Miramar—which have amalgamated with the city, were to follow this precedent, they would thus keep the memory of their boroughs evregreen, and be represented in the insignia of office of the future Mayors of the city. Whether wild pigs roamed the sd. called streets of, Dunedin 60 years ago is not clear, but the evidence exhumed, as it were, from the depths of Bond street, would go to prove, that they did (says the “Otago Daily Times”). A boar’s lower jaw, with two perfectly sound tusks 2Jin long, and a double row of teeth from which not one tooth was missing, was discovered by the men engaged in excavating work in Bond street recently. They consider that the jaw, which, as stated, is in a remarkable state of preservation, has lain deep down in the earth for the past 60 years. Consent has been given by Hie Gov-emor-in-Counoil to the raising of -Hie following local loans: —Hamilton Borough Council, £IIO,OOO, for drainage works; Waimairi County Council (for renewal of a loan), £10,850; Hastings Borough Council (for purchasing cricket ground), £5,800; Palmerston North Hospital and Charitable Aid Board (for completing hospital buildings), £5000; Feilding Borough Council (for improving water supply), £3000; . Ohaupo Town Board (for acquiring a recreation ground), £1000; Lowei Mangapiko Drainage Board (for constructing drains), £800; Featherston County Council (for metalling the Hikawera road), £500; Dannevirke County Council (for deviating Third Line road), £400; Dannevirke County Council (for building bridge over Makeretu Stream), £350; Stratford County Council (for completing construction of Pukengahu road), £IOO.