NEWS OF THE DAY

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVII, Issue 10822, 11 February 1921, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Messrs AY. Campbell anid J. Duncan, shipowners and shipbuilders, of Port .Glasgow,- are at present on a visit to the Dominion. They will leave Wellington for the South Island on Saturday, and, after visiting the chief points of interest, will return, to Auckland to leave for Vancouver by the Niagara in April. A Commission, consisting of Mr W. R. MofCean, S.M. (Auckland), Mr AA r . H. Mandeno (Te Awamutu), and Mr W. S. Short (Under-Secretary for Public- Works), has been appointed to inquire into matters affecting counties in the AVaikato and King Country districts, with a view to readjustment of boundaries. - The charges for Press telegrams are to be increased on February 16th to a uniform rate of Is 6d per hundred words. Parliamentary reports will -be charged at Is 4d per hundred words. The tariff before the war was 6d per hundred, subsequently increased- to Is, so that the Press rate has been trebled, while the rate for ordinary traffic has been doubled. A rewardi of £IOO is offered by the Colonial Sugar Refining' Company for evidence leading to the conviction of anyone responsible for stealing or illegally receiving sugar from the company’s works -hr lighters at Chelsea between March and June last. The reward will be paid -only when the evidence so supplied relates to not less than one ton of sugar. Similar action was taken by the company some time ago in consequence of the loss of large quantities of sugar. Father Charles Jerger, the Gerihan priest, whose contest -with the military authorities in Australia, culminating in his deportation created much excitement at the time, has taken up temporary residence in Holland. Writing from that country to a Sydney friend he stated that he was treated much bet-' ter in England than in Australia. He was granted a passport from England to Holland, but later proposed to visit his brother in America. When Mr Hughes is deposed, he added, he expects that he will he permitted to return to Australia. . * The housing shortage in Christchurch is as acute as 'ever, judging by evidence given in tenement cases at the Magistrate’s Court. One defendant said he had answered 4J advertisements offering houses and rooms since Christmas, without any success. Another defendant whose notice to quit was about nine months old,, said he maintained possession of the house because he could not get another, hut it was not fit to live in. Fifty or sixty gallons of water entered the passage whenever it rained. The magistrate, Mr S. B. McCarthy, said that those who had bought properties were entitled to possession, and the defendants were given to March let to find new dwelling places. General Sir Robert Badem-Powell lias accepted an invitation from the Viceroy of India to visit that country and reorganise the hoy-scout movement on a proper footing. He will accordingly sail with liis wife for India on January 7th, and spend six weeks in the country, though he will make no plans in advance.' His itinerary will largely be planned by the Delhi authorities. The boy-scout movement in India is spreading rapidly. During his visit to India the Duke of Connaught, who is the president of the movement, will pay special attention to the boy-scout movement and pave the way for the great review? of its members which the Prince of AVales intends to hold when he goes to the country. “Retardation,” sex-instruction, and first-primary education were the principal subjects discussed by the. School Inspectors’ Conference yesterday. By invitation, ten representative teachers appointed by the N.Z.E.I. were present, and took part in the discussions. At the close <jf the afternoon session an exhibition of cinematograph films was given by Messrs Wood and Mence, of tlie Kinematograph Exchange, Wellington. Mr Mence claimed that an effective, well-lighted picture 10 feet square could be shown by using cither the electric current from the main or a hand-generated-. ' Although the conference room could not be properly darkened a very clear picture was exhibited <of one of the reinforcements crossing the Ri mu takas. At 5 p.m. the conference adjourned till 10 o’clock this morning. When the question of immigration was before the executive of the Auckland Returned Soldiers’ Association the late secretary, Mr E. F. Andrews, said he knew of throe cases of widows, each j with four children, arriving in New j Zealand as immigrants. The only means j of livelihood they had was akpension of i £2 16s 2d a week from the Imperial • Government. It woe impossible for j these women to go out to work if their ! children were not to be neglected. They had relations in New Zealand, but these were not in a position to help them to any .extent. “Why did they come?” asked a member. “Mainly on account of the rosy picture of New Zealand life painted m the circulars in connection with the overseas settlement scheme,” replied Mr Andrews. After a discussion of official replies to previous oomplaints in regard to the manner in which immigrants had been received, the meeting express/v' ae approval of the arrangements ncs? made.

During Wednesday night the shop of! James Baillie, chemist, of Hamilton, I was entered through a window in the i back ot the premises. Only chloroform j and poison were stolen. i The Waimarino Acclimatisation So- ; ciety are asking that the next shooting | season should he an open one for phea- j sant, quail, pigeons, grey duck, teal, and swans. ‘'This is the sort of lease that causes a tenant to shoot his landlord in Ireland,” said Mr F. K. Hunt, S.M., in dealing with a tenement case at fhe Magistrate’s Court yesterday. In the Police Court at New Plymouth, William Patrick Neary, described as a labourer, belonging to Auckland, was fined £2O, 'in default two months’ imprisonment, for playing “two-up” in the mail train on December 22nd. A fire occurred on Wednesday at Deamington, near Cambridge, an old eight-roomed house, owned and occupied by Mr Arthur Peterson, being totally destroyed, together with the consents. Nine children, the eldest being only 12 years old, were saved with difficulty in their night attire. In an action taken by John Eesan Miles (Mr O. T. Neave) against Samuel Prestidge (Mr A. M. Cousins), claiming possession of premises in Belvedere road, Ivilbirnie, which come before Mr F. K. Hunt, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court’yesterday, His Worship adjourned the matter for a week in order that the parties should try and reach a mutual agreement. “'■lt is absolutely against the law,” ■paid Mr F. K. Hunt, S.M., referring to the demands made by peddle for bonuses in respect of the letting of houses. The case under review concerned a house that had been found for a defendant, hut for possession of which a bonus of £2O had been asked. “If I had the agent before mo. in this court,” continued His Worship, “I would know what to do with him.” There was an Unusually large attendance at tHe opening of the Wellington; Girls’ College this week. In the senior school over 400 former pupils returned, while more than 300 new ones were enrolled. Including the junior school, the full roll is plose on 800, a large increase on any previous year. The accommodation of the college is now taxed to its utmost capacity.’ When a. small plot of gorse was being burned out at the Prison Reserve, situated at the top of Ghuznee street, yesterday afternoon, a passing pedestrian gave an alarm of fire, thinking that • the conflagration was of a more serious nature. However, on receiving the call, at 3.40 p.m., the brigade was soon on the scene, when they discovered that no material damage had been done, or was likely to be done. A valuable presentation has been made to the Wellington Returned Soldiers’ Association (by a donor who prefers to remain anonymous) of a series of twenty-five beautifully-bound volumes of “The Times History of the War.” The volumes are to bo included in the <Sub library for the use of members A vote of thanks -has been expressed by the exeoutive to the donor. On the motion of Mr F. H. Cooper, seconded by Mr J. Sclater, the following remit for the Poultry Associations’ Conference at Auckland was unanimously approved by the Wellington Distriet Poultry Farmers’ Association at its annual meeting yesterday:—“That the association be requested to appoint delegates to wait on the Tariff Revision Commission with a . view to securing the repeal of duties payable on necessary machinery and requisites used by the poultry industry.” Referring to the unrest in Samoa, Mr Massey stated in Christchurch that the natives had not quite got over the epidemic, and' there were a few persons there who were not peacemakers. The leading men, or chiefs, for want of a better word, had proclaimed a “sa,” which was a. boycott of business places, nof; quite so strong as the Maori “tapu.” The natives said that these places were charging them too much for their goods. However, it would, not last, and the natives were settling down a little as compared with three months ago. Dr R. T., Paton, Director-General of Public Health, stated in Sydney on January 28th that the present indications were that the metropolitan area was threatened with a., serious outbreak of infantile paralysis. The second week in December four cases were reported, and the numbers for the three following weeks were three, four, and four, respectively. The second week in January the numbers increased to eight, the third week to ten, and there promised to he a further increase for the current week, as on one day seven eases were reported. In accordance with the request -of the Government the membership of the Wellington District Repatriation Board has been reduced from fifteen to five. The members of the new board are:— Messrs T. S. Weston, M. J. Reardon, D. MoDaren, T. Forsyth, and G. W. Olinkard. At the final meeting of the old board, complimentary references were made to the excellent work which had been done by the district repatriation ofiicer (Mr C. Batten), and to the sound and conscientious work which had been performed by the chairman (Mr T. S. Weston), who had given up a great deal of time in the of the board. . A further case of a wonderful cure said to have been effected by Ratana, • the .Maori “miracle man,” is recorded m the case of a! Waikato- native. The patient, when a young man, suffered a strain, as a result of which his eyes closed, anil his sight went entirely. He remained in this condition for 25 years. As the result of one treatment by Ratana, it is stated his eyes opened, and he recovered sufficient, sight to enable him to walk about without guidance. A film remained before the eyes, but Ratana promised a cure without surgical aid. The patient, has now returned to Ratana for further treatment. As a mark of appreciation of the work of the Wellington Returned Soldiers’ plubhouse Society/ wiiich rendered valuable service during and alter the war, the local branch at the R.S.A. will entertain the members of that institution, which some months ago handed over its activities to the association, at a social evening to be held on Thursday next, February 17th. The function will consist of speeches and musical items, and light refreshments will also be dispensed in the course of the evening. Each member of the Cluhhouse Society will be presented with the honorary badge of' the association, a supply of which has just been prepared. The badge i 6 a silver watch-chain pendant, about the size of a shilling piece, and surmounted by a crown, and is inscribed with the words, “Honorary member, Wellington R.S’.A.” The name of the recipient will be engraved on the reverse side. The presentations will he made by the president of the R.S.A., Mr William [Perry.

J The price of the reel of cotton has j been reduced from 74d to 6d. I Tile outlying districts committee of the City Council will pay a visit of inspection to Miramar on Tuesday next, February 15th. I Twelve New Zealand staff cadets, who attend Duntroon College, left Wellington last night by the Manuka for Sydney. The college is to re-open on Monday next. Some 4270 acres of . land in the Auckland land district and 132 acres in the Marlborough district were gazetted for discharged soldier-settlement yesterday. By Order-in-Council gazetted yesterday the maximum price of corn-sacks ; has been increased from Is 7d tq Is i 10d in the case of 48-incu sacks, arid I from Is 6d to- Is 9d in .the case of 1 other sacks. | Letters of thanks are to bo orwarded 1 by the City Council to the undor-men-tmnod donors of gifts to the AVelling- ! ton zoological collection :—4 weka rails, . (Tourist Department); 1 red deer 6tag \ (Mr Jackson) ; mountain trout and liz- j axds (Mr Martin Noel Hill). j Speaking at the 'lndustrial Confer- ; ence in Auckland, Mr W. G. McDonald, j chairman of the Board of Trade, said i the Department of Industries and Com- ! merce is to provide skilled investiga-j tors and the means for industrial re- ; search provided that the inanufactur- i ers contributed the funds. j The City Council decided last evening ! that, subject to the consent of the ; Minister for Internal Affairs being ob- - taired, the war trophies donated to the ! city by the War Trophies Committee, ; be placed in positions recommended by '■ the director of parks and reserves at the Observatory reserve, Kelbum. That building is proceeding apace in j some parts of Auckland, despite fhe j abnormal circumstances, is typically j illustrated in the borough of Taka- j puna, where the value of the building | permits issued during the past six j months constitute a record for any j similar period during the past six years. j “If one takes off one’s coat in a j hairdressing saloon in Sydney and j hangs it up while getting attended to',” said a New Zealander, who has just returned from a visit to the other side, ; “you can be sure, when you come to i put it on, that- the pockets will be j filled' with Bolshevik and I.WAV. lit- i erature. It is placed in .your hand at j every turn.” ! Two members of a shearing gang, were fined £5 each and costs at Wa-; nganui far having hidden a fellowshearer’s tools, to prevent his taking; part in shearing. It appears that the j man whose tools were taken had re- j fused to join the Shearers’ Union. Af- 1 ter his machine had been dismantled i and the tube was missing, he found on j tihe comb of his machine a small piece i of paper, bearing the words, “Union! men wanted.” j Councillor C. H. Chapman. asked the j Mayor at last night’s meeting of the j City Council il he was able to state the approximate numbers of electors whose names would appear on the roll for the coming municipal elections. Mr Luke said it was impossible to make a definite statement, hut if all ratepayers fulfilled their duty in enrolling there should be about 40,000. Councillor Chapman:_ “Including both residents and ratepayers?” The Mayor: “Yes.” . The Finance and Property Committee of the City Council and: the City Engineer are conferring with the Railway Department to determine the council’s interests in the land at Thorndon quay resumed by the Railway Department for railway purposes. The Mayor ! (Mr.J. P. Luke) said at last night’s meeting of the City Council that the committee and the council desired to \ see the erection of the new railway | station put in hand as soon as possible. ! According to the monthly report of j ’ the Director of Labour Exchanges in Sydney (Mr Govers), there were 15,000 j unemployed in the metropolitan area at [ December 31st. On November 30th it s was estimated that there were about | j 9000 persons idle. M3r Govers mention- ; ed that the increase Was due principally [ to the dislocation of shipping caused by . the dispute between the stewards and shipowners. Another cause of unemployment was the slackness of trade in : the various industries. In the engi- [ nee ring trade unemployment existed . amongst fitters, electricians, coachmakL ers, and ironworkers’ assistants. Un- . employment decreased slightly amongst [ clerks and salesmen, owing to the m- . creased trade during the Christmas sea- , s.on. [ A couple of ties at the Marlborough , Caledonian Society’s sports on Wednes- , day were danced off at the concert on . Wednesday evening, with the following ( result: Dr Bennett’s medal far best juvenile dancer (girls) -from 8 to 14 years, was won by Jean MacLaclilan (of Wellington) , with one point over her oppo- , nent, Phyllis McMillan (of Wellington). The handsome cup presented by the staff of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, Ltd., for highest points in events 27, 28j 29, and 30, Highland dancing, for girls over , 18 ye art, was won by Miss May Thorn (of Mataura) from Miss Jean McKenzie (of Wellington), also by the narrow margin, of one point. Miss Thekna ( McKenzie (of Wellington) won the “points’. ’ medal for girls under 18 years. ‘ ‘Where is that clock ?’ ’ asked Councillor R. A. Wright, M.P., at last night’s meeting of the City Council, when the subject of the scaffolding on the Town Hall tower had been broacb- ' ed. ‘(ln the .same place as your forj tune,” replied the Mayor (Mr J. P. Luke). “As soon as you can develop 1 a fortune we shall have the clock.” “But where is the money that was do--1 noted for it?” the councillor asked. 1 The Mayor stated that the sum of £SOO wiiich had been donated by the ' Orphans’ Club for the erection of a clock in the Town Hall tower was held ’ by the council. Councillor T. Forsyth-: “The money is feeling lonely, isn’t • it?” The Mayor: “Well, it’s earning interest.” Mr Luke pointed out that there was no advantage in utilising the money just at present: it could be expended more profitably in normal times. The muoh-looked-for event in cricket circles - eventuates to-day, when Australia will meet the unbeaten Wellington eleven, which holds the Plunket Shield. If the interest, taken by the public in the practices of both teams 1 is any criterion, there should be a record attendance of spectators. Special arrangements are being made to 1 cope with the crowd which is expected to attend. Those in a good position | to judge consider that the Australians will be thoroughly tested by the local 1 side, and the contest should prove one ■ of the keenest yet played. Both sides have been practising steadily, and the 1 pla vers are in good form, and, in addition to batting and bowling, some 1 excellent fielding should be witnessed. Members of the Australian learn in--1 spected the wicket yesterday, and 1 Were loud in their praise of its pros- • pective playing qualities. The outfield is also in splendid condition. i Some interesting details will he found on the sports page of to-day’s “Times.”