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Otago Daily Times, Issue 16545, 19 November 1915, Page 4

The first express train from the north was about 50 minutes late in reaching Dunedin yesterday, and was therefore behind time in taking its departure for the south. Allowing for its making up time on the road it would not probably be more than a quarter of an hour late in reaching Invercargill, or may even have arrived there to table time. The second express from Christohurch was well up to time.

Apparently the date fixed for handing over the Dunedin Gaol to the Police Department as a police gaol is December 1. Tho present gaoler, Mr J. T. Reid, who has filled the position for 18 months, has been transferred to Invercargill, and wi'l take up his new duties as soon as arrangements for handing over tho gaol are completed. Warder C. M'Gill, who has been connected with tho Dunedin prison for tho past two years, is to be transferred to Wellington. The Otago Art Society's annual exhibition continues to draw admiring visitors to tho Art Gallery, and many find pleasure in returning again and again. Several valuable pictures found... purchasers yesterday, tho following sales being effected: "A Centenarian, Kapi Kapi Au Kawa, Chieftainess, aged 102 years," by C. F. Goldie (£l3 13s); "No Koora te Cigaretti," by C. F. Goklio (£l3 13s); and "Mending Nets, Lago Maggiore, Italy," by C. N. Worsley (£2l). To-morrow afternoon visitors will be entertained with afternoon tea, the arrangements for this being in tho hands of Mrs M'Crorie. The orchestral music that was enjoyed during Wednesday afternoon was kindly supplied by the Bristol Piano Company.

On January 1 Mornington and Maori Hill will each be represented on tho City Council by three representatives, and later on the Bay Town Board, after the due formalities of amalgamation procedure have been carried out, will also be represented by three members. The Mornington Council has appointed its three members—Messrs Sincock. Paton, and Thomson, and Maori Hill has appointed Messrs Harbour, Hastie, and M'Millan. These new councillors will retain office until the next general municipal election, to be held in April, 1917. When the City Council has received its full quota, of extra representatives it will consist of 26 councillors and tho Mayor, and as tho statutory maximum number which can sit on the council is 21, exclusive of the mayor, steps will have' to be taken in April, 1917, to reduce the number to the maximum representation. On January 1, * 1916, the city will become an undivided borough— that is, the ward system will disappear. Prior to the next general election, however, tho council may take steps, if it so desires, to resubdivide the city into wards, on a population basis, each ward having not less than 1000 people. \

It will riot be without interest to many of our readers who remember the late Donald Petrie, the newsagent, who some years ago had his stand at the Bank of New Zealand corner, to learn that two of his thrco young children have progressed in the world. In a post card addressed to this office Andy Petrie mentions that ho is in charge of the steam yacht Aquilo, part of the equipment of a sugar refinery at Vanoouver; 8.C., and that his brother •James, who had been „in Alaska for seven years, had just left for England in tho Ist Canadian Pioneer Regiment to take part in tho war.

Tho Rector of the Waitaki Boys' High School (Mr F. Milnor) has reported to tho secretary of the Navy League (Otago branch) the result of tho speech competition for the branch's silver medal. The whole of tho Sixth Form delivered speeches, and the three best speakers were selected for tho final list. The subject chosen was " The work and influence of the Navy during the present war." Tho final adjudication was made by the staff as follows: —O. A. B. Smith 1, R. R. Macintosh 2, J. S. Church 3. A time limit of 20 minutes was specified for each speaker. Tho competition undoubtedly ensures a valuablo educative influence in arousing and intensifying interest in current international happenings.

A Press Association telegram states that an outbreak of scarlet fever in a mild form —mostly among children—is reported in the Wellington Health District. Fifty cases have been reported this month, 37 being in Wellington City and suburbs. The authorities believe that tho worst phase of tho epidemic is past.

In common with other branches of outdoor sports, rowing and sailing clubs have had their membership rolls seriously reduced owing to the large number of members who have crlisted for active service. In no part of the dominion has the response been more cordial and generous in proportion to its size than the district of Port Chalmers, and it is not surprising to find that the Otago Regatta Committee decided last evening to postpone the annual fixture for 12 months. In tho opinion of those present at the meeting, it was considered doubtful whether there would be enough rowing and sailing crews available to man the boats for the various evento.

A well-attended meeting was held in the St. Kilda Council Chambers last night, tho Mayor (Mr W. T. M'Farlanc) presiding, to consider ways and moans of assisting financially Mr Win. Harvey, who Was unfortunate enough through an accident to lose his arm while assisting at the Queen Carnival. As Mr Harvey is well known and liked in tho district, and has been prominent in several sports and always ready to help in all movements, considerable interest is being taken in the cause. A Teally good concert is to bo provided. Mr R. Bennell has consented to arrango a programme, which is sufficient guarantee of a good evening. Various bodies are assisting, including the Otago Cricket Association, Mr Harvey having been captain of tho St. Kilda Cricket Club. Tho Fire Brigade and band are taking part, and indications promise a successful concert. Tho programme will bo advertised shortly.

Tho finding of tho court which inquired into the grounding of the Mapourika recently was as follows: —" Tho court finds that tho damage done to the Mapourika on tho occasion of her stranding at Clay Point on November 6, was material, but not serious within the meaning of section 238 of 'The Shipping and Seamen Act, 1908.' The stranding was due to the state of the weather, which ' prevented the master, second officer, and look-out from obtaining a proper view of the point, and an electrical atmospheric disturbance then in operation, which affected the compass to such an extent as to make it temporarily inaccurate for steering purposes. In the opinion of the court tho stranding of the ship was not caused by or contributed to by the wrongful act of tho master, William John Carey, or the second officer, James Hine Miller."

Among the passengers to arrive at Wellington on Monday from Sydney was Mr P. C. Corliss, Secretary for Stamps. Mr Corliss made the passage from London to Sydney by tho Orient liner Orontes, and in making the trip through the Mediterranean, great was tho surprise of all on board to learn one morning (says the Dominion) that they bad had a providential escape from destruction by a German submarine. It appears that at about 5.30 a.m. the officer in charge had seen a vessel right ahead in trouble, and judged her to be undergoing a bombardment from a vessel that could not bo seen. The officer counted 17 shots,, and then tho vessel blew up, evidently torpedoed. The oourse of the Orontes was at once changed, and as they steamed at full speed in the opposite direction to where the submarine was known to be, the news of tho presence of the hostile vessel was flashed to the Navy by wireless, and instructions were received as to which course to pursue. "On that occasion," said Mr Corliss, "the Orontes did her '19 knots. She bad never been known to do it since her trial, but she did cut through it that day, and after it was all over presentations were made to the stokers, who had worked literally as though their lives depended on it, and a testimonial was presented to the captain for the cool manner in which lie handled his ship. Had it not been that the French steamer was ahead of us, wo would have got it for sure. It would have been awful, for we had over 700 passengers on board, and of these 75 per cent, were women and children. . The vessel that had been sunk by the German submarine turned out to be the Admiral Hamelin, a French steamer of 5000 tons gross register. We heard afterwards that her crew had been picked up that same evening about half-past 5. That is about as near as we got to trouble, and we didn't want it any closer!"

About 2 o'clock on Sunday morning a man called at the Lower Hutt Police Station and told Constable Cameron a strange story (says the Dominion). He stated that he had received notice to quit certain premises, owing to 'his inability to keep up payments. He had gone out from Wellington, and, upon arriving at his home, he was amazed to find someone in possession, and the doors and gate locked. As he was unable to enter, he took two bicycles from the premises, and asked the constable to keep them for the time being. He then announced his intention of proceeding to Wellington. At 4 o'clock a loud rapping awoke the constablo again, and this time he was urged to go immediately to a certain locality, as there was trouble, and a revolver had been fired. Constable Cameron soon after arrived on the spot, and, after obtaining an entry, speedily took possession of the revolver. It appeared that the person insido tho house was the original owner of the house. The man who claimed that he was unable to enter his own home, it is stated, had purchased the property some time ago, but had been ordered to quit, owing to not having completed his contract. The person in possession of the house, it is stated, admitted firing one shot, but stated that he did it only to indicate that the weapon was loaded. He added that the man who was unablo to gain admittance smashed a glass panel at tho side of the front door in order to force an entry. He called out from insido that he had a revolver, and tho reply was that there was nothing in it To prove that it was loaded, fearing the outside man would do more damage, he fired in the air. The revolver, which is of an old-fashioned pattern, contained four pin-fire cartridges (loaded) and one discharged.

The departure by the Moana for San Francisco on Thursday evening of 58 young men of military age has received considerable attention in Auckland, (says the Now Zealand Herald). It seems that at least 20 of the men referred to went from Auckland. Representations were made earlier in the week to the manager of a local shipping company that young men, foreseeing conscription, were making a hurried departure from the dominion. Inquiry showed that there wero many more young male steerage passengers than usual, and telegrams were despatched to Dunedin and Wellington, with a view to taking immediate action. Tho shipping companies were, however, unable to refuse berths. I

Advocacy of the, Australian system cf dealing with tho returned wounded and invalided soldiers was mode by tho Mayor of Napier (Mr J. Yigor Brown, M.P.) in a speech on Friday. Mr Brown explained that, when a soldier returned to Australia, he immediately got in touch with those in command by reporting himself, and proved his identity, and that he had returned from the front. Within 24 hours that man could get all tho money he was entitled: to. Australians got free passes over the whole of tho railways and the trams, and they were treated in a splendid way. The New Zealand soldiers were not treated in that wa.y at all. No patriotic society could do it. It should be done by the Government. They might endeavour to get the Government to act in a more liberal spirit than at present.

It was easy enough to critioise, said Major Muckeßy, in an interview given to the press at Whangarei, and one of thoso who had received a good deal of criticism was General Sir lan Hamilton. However, people should analyse what they read. Sir lan Hamilton was not acting on his own initiativo in these matters. His decision had had to be agreed to by all tho generals and their staffs, and also by the French generals and their staffs, who were working with us and not under us, as some appeared to imagine. It was not rational to conceive that 10 or 15 military officers who had made a life study of these matters would walk into a thing blindfolded. It was not feasible. What action seemed best at the time was adopted, and if that proved to be wrong it was a general error of judgment, and tho blame could not justly be laid on the shoulders of any one general. During tho operations on Gallipoli Peninsula they had admittedly loet a great number of men, but perhaps this was tho only crisis they would ever bo called upon to face. Knowing the conditions under which tho men hod been fighting, Major Mackesy said ho did not cor.Bidor tho loss of life more than nooofmary for what had been (rained.

The cake fair and sale of work in aid of the Mornington Baptist Sunday School Hall Fund was concluded last night. Although the threatening weather militated against the attendance in the afternoon, there was a good attendance in tlio evening. The Mornington School Fife and Drum Band was then present, and rendered selections at intervals, interspersed with musical items by members of the church choir and friends. The pastor (Mr R. Robertson) presented the prizes won in the cake competitions, etc., and then announced the result of the essay competition, which had been judged by Mr Ohas. A. Smith. The following were the successful essayists: —Seniors: Miss Doris Thompson 1, Miss Hazel Lambourne 2. Junior: Miss Effie Thompson 1. In conclusion, Mr Robertson thanked all who had assisted to make the fair a success, and then asked all present to join in singing a verse of the National Anthem. It is expected that the net amount to credit will bo nearly £25. Many and varied are the expressions used by persons who come before the Police Court on charges of drunkenness, and equally numerous are the ploas put forward with the hope of inducing the- magistrate to give the offenders a chance. Possibly the most quaint expression heard in the court for some time was that of a male offender yesterday, when he said to Mr Wkldowson, " I will not come here to see you again, sir, if you will give me a chance. It is over 12 months since I came here to see you, and I promise you faithfully not to visit you again." The Magistrate remarked that tho defendant had promised that before, and he forthwith imposed fines befitting each of the two charges. .». The sens© of a sentence in the Alexandra Notes in our issue of Wednesday, reporting a meeting at Alexandra to consider tho action of the Land Board in granting Mr Whelan a block of land in tho subdivision of tli« Galloway country, was destroyed by the use of the word contradicting," instead of " intimating," in the following sentence : —" Mr Black, in reply, read a letter" from Mr Haughton . . . contradicting that be wrote at Mr Whclan's\ request." The business of undertaker carried on by the late Mr T. Cole, George street, has been taken over by Messrs Frapwell and Holsrate. A lecture illustrated by lantern slides will be delivered this evening in the schoolroom at the back of First Church by Mr Tannock on some phases of town-planning. Christchurch Beach Races, Saturday. - Crushing victory for B.S.A.'s and Triumph.*, winning 20 and 10-mile sidecar event against 10 h.p. twins.—Wilson, Bond street.—-Advt. Mollisons have shipment " Yokohama" mats, new Oriental designs, size 6x3 feet, Is 6d each; 54 x 27 inches, Is each.—Advt. •> i'. Boot, dentist, 63 Princes street.— Gentleness and extreme care.—Advt. Watson's No. 10 is a little dearer than most whiskies, but is worth the money.— Advt. A. £. J. BLakelev. dentist. Bank of Australasia, corner of Bond and Rattray streets (next Telegraph Office). Telephone 1859.— Advt. Who i 3 Peter Dick?— The meet reliable Watchmaker, Jeweller, and Certificated Con suiting Optician, 490 Moray place (off Prince? street), Dunedin. Charges moderate. —Advt