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Otago Daily Times, Issue 17081, 13 August 1917, Page 9

The City Fire Brigade received a call to Ross avenue, Roslyn, yesterday afternoon, where a fire had broken out in an unoccupied house owned by Mr Jainra Begg. Tho fire was caused by a creeping plant which was growing up the side of the house being set alight by some children. Tho insurances on the building, which was badly damaged, were not available last evaning.

A number of cars, on tho southern lines especially, were stoppod for about 20 minutes shortly before 5 p.m. yesterday owing to ono of tho switches controlling tho feeder cables burning out. Temporary repairs wero speedily effected, and tho servioe was continued as itsual.

Regarding' tho agitation that has arisen in certain quarters of the community, and among a number of Parliamentarians for the 1 granting of furlough to tho remaining members of the M.-n n Body, an interesting observation was made by' Mr M. J. White (a returned soldier) at tho annual re-union of the Otago High School •Uld Boys on Saiurday evening. Ho stated, '"tor alia, that tho representations of-some of these people were not quit© in accord wth tho intentions of tho men themselves. •Ho was in a position to say that the men did not desire furlough. Some of them Dad gone through Egypt, Gallipoli, and i'ranco, and at this lato hour were determined to see it through. They did not rccprtro leave, and they were not going to shift until tho war -was over. This statement was received with applause, and with mingled expressions of surprise.

Mr W p. R. M'Curdie and Mr Cullers (assistant drainago engineer) havo been instructed to bring forward a report on what steps should bo taken to obviate the danger to child life through tho gratings over mud tanks in South Dunedin especially, becoming displaced or being mischievously removed by boys or girls who do not realise the menace which results consequent on their action.

At the annual meeting of the Canterbury Employers' Association, the Chairman announced, amidst applause, that the 100 th aeroplane contributed by tho branches or the Overseas Club throughout the Empire had boon presented by tho Canterbury branch, £1500 having been raised in Christj J n the Provincial district. He added; To-day that machine is flying over , Canterbury men' at the front, and underneath it is painted the word 'Canter+b,u7 proof to the lads at the front that they are not forgotten." Tho days of large families have not altoge or gone, as far as Canterbury is concerned, at least. Mr A. C. Nottingham of HakweU, visited the Lyttelton Times office on Ihorsday to announce, with pride and pleasure, that he had just registered tho birth of his twentieth child. The little stranger is a boy, and Mr and Mrs Nottingham have had 10 boys and 10 girls. One of .their sons lost his lifo in a bicyclo accident in, Lincoln road a few years ago two are at the front, and one is a rc> turned soldier. Mrs Nottingham, in spito of tho cares imposed by her largo family, enjoys tho best of health.

The New Zealand Inscribed Stock Bill, which was introduced in the House of Kopresented by the Minister of Finance, is officially described as an Act to make provision for the inscription in New Zealand of stock secured upon the public revenues of New Zealand, and it has to be read m connection' with the New Zealand Ix>ans Act, 1908. It provides for the raising of money on the security of, and charged upon, the public revenues of Now Zealand, fauch moneys may, in the discretion of the Minister of Finance, be raised by the issue of inscribed stock. Power is also proposed to be given to the Minister of Kb ance to raise money on loans which have been previously authorised by the issue of inscribed stock. Another, and most important, provision reads as follows:—"The Minister of Finance may on application by the holder of any debentures or other securities that may heretofore have been or that may hereafter be issued in respect of any moneys changed upon the public-re-venues of New Zealand cancel such debentures or other securities and issue in exchange therefor inscribed stock of an equal value under this Act, and may on tho application of any registered holder of anv inscribed stock under this act issue debentures or other securities of equal value in exchange for such inscribed stock." The conversion of debentures or other securities into stock under this section, and the issue of debentures or other securities in exchange, for inscribed stock small be made only at such tune or times in the year as the Minister may prescribe in that behalf. 1 revision is made for tho constitution of a register of inscribed stock, and the Bill goes on to say : ''Any person who desires to lend to too Minister •of .Finance any money on the security of stock issued under this Act may apply accordingly to the registrar, and on payment of the prico of such stock as determined by the Minister, shall be entitled to have his name inscribed as the holder of such stock, provided that except in the case of stock issued in exchange for debentures or other securities no stock shall a n ° minal value of less than ±-100, but may be issued of a nominal value of that amount or of any higher amount being a multiple of £10." Trusts will not be registered. The interest pav able on inscribed stock will be computed the Minister may

;of 5 and C - s - Neville, of the District Supplies Committee, state (says the limaru correspondent of tho Christf ress ' have been asked y -Ir James Boaden, the Government oppraiser of sheepskins, to draw the attention of fanners and pastoralists to tho serious waste and loss thafis going on all through South Canterbury and Otago, owing to want of care m many cases in the saving and marketing of sheepskins. Mr Bodden says that on a moderate estimate, he considtere in the districts where he is now valuing and ptmihaamg sheepskins for the Imperial Sunplies Department, the farmers are losintr at every week, and nearly tWhoL of this sum might be saved if all the farmers and sheepown-ers would tako more care with their sheepskins. Mr Boaden is emphatic in stating that tho number of skins ho is obliged to class as faulty torn, damaged, rat eaten, or carelessly butchered, is much too great If all fanners would exercise common care in taking the skins • sheep, them, and! properly picking them before sending them to the stores, there would be very many fewer skins to be classed as "damaged and faulty, with an increased return to thn farmers.

The experiences of Captain Neville, late of tho Union Company/ while in command of a New Zealand, troopship were publicly related by that .gentleman in Palmeiston North on Tuesday. Immediately on the outbreak of war Captain Neville was appointed to the command of a troopship which conveyed the 2nd Reinforcements to From that time up to tho present he has made seven voyages with New Zealand troops five to Egypt and two to England—tie total number carried by his shin being about 10,000. Captain Neville described tho experiences with his living many seas where dangers abounded—in tho danger zone surrounding ureat Britain, and in other places where the enemy wts suspected to be lurking. He disabused the minds of any who were under ~ I P l P ress ' on that our troopships had riot sufficient protection at sea. Tho British Government was giving, by means of tho -Navy, all poasibla protection by convoys and he mentioned that on his last voyage out to New Zealand British warships were within hail from the timo of leaving England- until almost within sight of Australia. Captain Nevillo Bpoke of liis evangelistic work among the troops, and the many good results that had been attained in this way.

In a pamphlet on the way to restore German prosperity after the war, Walter Ra& onau ohief of the Allgemeine Elektrizifeatsgeseilschaft, and lately head of the Prussian Department of War Material, publishes some remarkable admissions and predictions." As, summarised by mail advices, lie estimates that the war will have reduced tho German nation's wealth 20 per cent. Yet very heavy taxation must be imposed on everyone altoough Germany will probably have lost all her foreign trade, except with her present alliea This taxation will involve new annual revenues of £350,000,000—whereas the total revenue before tho war (exclusivo of loans) was £184,800,000. To restore her wealth after the war. aU capital must be reserved for home uses. No raw material of foreign production must be used Everyone not actually needed in professional or intellectual work must be made to en-ajre m productive laW. Small undertakings will have to be amalgamated into large ones production and distribution concentrated, and tile tax on luxuries and inheritances must bear an extremely heavv burden.

A return laid on tho tablo of tho House of Representatives on Tuesday by tho Minister of Finance (Sir J. G. Ward) showed that tho total number of cases in which the excess profits tax had not yet been paid tin was 66, and that the total sum involved was £33,473 19s 3d. Sir Joseph Ward stated that in one caso tho sum in question ran up to £1900. Unfortunately, he added, in a number of eases people they would have expected to pay tho excess -profits tax had not paid at all.

T™ hundred of the elder pupils of the Uiristchurch Boys' High School have already offered their services to the Efficiency J-soard to assist with harvesting and other agricultural work in tho summer holidays. theso 141 have already been allotted to various farmers. In conversation with a Press reporter, Mr J. A. Frostiek (chairman or tho National Efficiency Board) stated . a , Ou oh many women had ofEered themselves as workers to tho board, it was not proposed to make uso of their services ?® yCt -, boys next, and omen last, is the board's maxim. Mr Irostick said that ho had no doubt that women would respond magnificently to their country s call should it come, and ho had every confidienco that they would rise to tho occasion just as splendidly as had the women of England.

A pathetic instance of tho heroism with which some of the poor face their tragedies was related by the Rev. Allen Job at a meeting of the Coal and Blanket Fund Committeo in Christchurch on Wednesday At one place he visited, he said, ho saw thfl tenant—an old man—standing at the door and after a few words with him waa asked inside to see tho old man's "boy." "My boy" tamed out to bo a man 62 years old. H<3 had been blind and deaf and dumb since birth. Tho father had cared for him every love and attention all through the 52 years, and he told Mr Job that hia only widi was to live longer than his eon. "I could die happily if I knew that ho was laid safely away to rest," were bis words.

To bo working alone on tho top storey of a concrete building while it is rocking as if on tho verge of oollapse, and to havo the sensation accentuated by the rattling of ink bottles and tho calls of frightened human beings, is not one to bo envied" wntes a correspondent to a Masterton paper. ouch, however, was my experience. The approaching earthquake was announced by a rumbling noise, and the twitching of the building told of its arrival. My first impulse was to sit tight and bravely see it out. The tremor, however, increased with such violence that things about the room began to move. ' Good God lam doomed !' I exclaimed as, on rising from my seat, I was pitched about as if on the deck of a boat m a rough sea. My first thoughts were for my wife and familv. My next well—what were yours? A man always tries to be brave m the midst of trouble, but he prefers to meet it in the open. I rushed tor the staircase, expecting every moment during the hurried descent to meet the sound of falling mortar and brickwork. I reached the street, where others had gone before me, but it seemed to no advantage, as the swaying was almost as violent as it was Upstairs (though, of course, the feeling of lonesomeness had disappeared), and tho rattling and gruesome noises continued. In a few more seconds it was all over, and then followed the hum of excited voices m the street. It was a great strain, and when my nerves had subsided to almost normal, a few minutes later, I ventured back to my room upstairs. The stay, however, was only temporary. Uncanny, creaking sounds recalled- the happenings, of a few minutes previous,' and I left for the bosom of my frightened family. An experience of this kind twice in a lifetime will more than suffice my normal cravings for sensational happenings."

A very interesting account of Bishop Uearys narrow escape from death on tho Somme front was received in Patea recently from Private Norman Tinney. In a letter to a relative he says: "I was reading the copy of the Patea Press you sent me this afternoon, and I saw about Bishop Cleary's narrow escape in the trenches. This ia what actually happened: The bishop came into the trenches one afternoon to see how we boys were getting along. He visited our dug-out, and I.shook hands with htm, and was talking to him, everything at the time being quite quiet. In less than five minutes, however, Fritz opened out with a heavy strafe, and suddenly bang'came a 5m high-explosive shell, and landed quite .close to us. Bishop deary was knocked down by some large pieces of earth, and an artillery officer was killed outright. It waa a very narrow escape, -indeed, for us aIL Later in the afternoon I had a similar narrow escape. Things here, as you can imagine, are .very lively just now—ia fact, too lively to be pleasant." .

- The annual report presented to Parli*. ment on the pnblio domains of New Zea- ] and states that " steps are being taken to revoko the appointment of a number of domain boards. This course has been considered advisable owing- to the lack of interest taken by these boards in their trust and their failure to comply with the law. The domains concerned will be controlled by tho Commissioner of Crown Lands until such times as local boards who will tako an active interest in the care of these places of public recreation can be appointed. Inquiries are being made with regard-to those domain boards that hwo not yet furnished a report for the last year. w

There are at present 29 staff cadets from New Zealand at the Royal Miliary College of Australia;. The full quota of 10 joined this year. One cadet of the 1915 class was withdrawn, as ho was not up to the standard required. The three 1913. cadets axe now with the Expeditionary Force. The 1914 cadets who were withdrawn in April, 1916, are now all under orders to prooeed with tho,. Expeditionary Forces. The New Zealand cadets are more th.in holding their own at Duntroon . College ' (states Major-general Robin in his report). The commandant of the college speaks most highly of them, and expresses his appreciation of the mnTmor in which they have worked. One cadet is first in his class, and another second.

Mr F. G. Rotton, of Motueka, has received an interesting letter from his brother, Brigadier-general J. G. Rotton, CJVLG.' G.O.C. Royal Artillery, 6th British Army Corps, in whidh he mentions that the New Zealanders rank "with the finest figuring forces engaged on tho western front. Brigadier-general Rotton has been on active service since November, 1914, having left India with tho Ist Indian Expeditionary Force. The Motueka' Star says he witnessed tho battle of Messines, in which tho troops of this dominion played such a ulorious part.

In May the Christchurch National ciency Board wrote to the Government advocating the introduction of daylight saving, not merely for the term of tho war, but for all time. Speaking on the subject to a PrcES reporter on Thursday, Mr J. A. Frostick, chairman of the board, stated "thai the board had requested tho WellingtonPhilosophical Society to draw up a report, and this also had been sent to the Minister. As chairman of tho board ho was entirely in favour of daylight saving, both from tho standpoint of national efficiency and economy. "In England tho clock was put back one hour at the beginning of last summer, Air Frostick said, " and it was estimated that it resulted in th© saving of as least 270,000 tons of coal and 11,500 tons of oil for light alone. But this was only the beginning of tho benefits of the system. Tho saving of 150 hours of dayb'ght had a markedly beneficial effect on tho health and morals of the British people. Mr J. E. Hulton, the labour manager .of Yickera (Ltd.), the great engineers and shipbuilders, recently stated that he considered tho Summer Time or Daylight Saving Act to bo one of tho greatest boons ever conferred on tho industrial classes of tho greater towns and cities." Referring to the fact that Australia, after a trial of daylight saving, had gone back to the old method, Mr Frostick said that in New Zealand it was not proposed to make a difference in time of more than half an hour. Australia's experiment hacr been more drastic. What the Efficiency Board had advised was that there should be exactly 12 hours' difference between Greenwich and New Zealand time, instead of eleven and a-half as at present. When tho people of the dominion realised the need for strict economy they would awaken to tho knowledge of an economy that lay ready at their hand—tho introduction of daylight saving. The mysterious disappearance of a valuable diamond from the premises of Messrs ProuiFs (Ltd.), at No. 107 Pitt street, Sydi'F' ? e P° rtcd tho police on .Julv 20. Mr W. J. Proud, principal of tho nrm, statea that tho diamond, which was valued at £750, weighed 14£ carats, and was widely known as tho '"Star of Sydney."It was one of tho largest, if not the largest, in Australia, skilfully out in modern stylo and was of exceptional brilliance. It was sot m platinum as a nooklaco, with loop attachment and chain. Tho gem was in the possession of tho firm on the Saturday, and was not missed till Monday morning, when tho safes were opened. A search, was made, but all efforts to trace tho missing stone proved fruitless.

Acting on an appeal, directed to the women of all countries, by the National Council of French Women and by other organisations of women in France, the Mayoress of Hobart called a meeting of women recently to protest against tho £11troatment of French -women by tho Germans. At this meeting, tho following resolution, proposed by Lady Nicholls, was carried.—" That tho women of Tasmania express their abhorrenoe and indignation at tho brutal conduct of the Germans m seizing women belonging to oar allies and subjecting them to tho -vilest outrages. They locord their deepest sympathy with thoso who have Buffered, and assure them that their Bufferings will win them the love and tender pity of all good women in every |part of the earth." In his animal report, the Commissioner of Crown Lands in TarsvnaJn states that during the past six months tho Crown acquired by purchase from the Native owners of tho West Coast Settlement Reserves over 14,600 acres in the Opunako, Waimato, and Kaupokonui Survey Districts, known as tho West Coast Settlement Reserves, most of which is already held by tenants under tho provisions of the West Coast Settlement Reserves Acta As "Tho Native Land Amendment Act, 1913," confers on tho tenants a right of .acquisition of reversion from the Crown eithor in feesimple or under renewable loasq, it is anticipated that the majority of them will in the near future avail themselves of securing a titlo under either tenure direct from tho Crown. Tho proposals for dealing with new lands in Taranabi during the coming year include the offering, chiefly for discharged Goldiers, of an area approximately 20,000 acres, partly in tho Waxo Survey District, and m other localities in the northern end of tho district. In tho south part of the district about 600 acres, recently acquired from tho Native ownors, will also bo offered for selection in suitable areas. The lard Mayor of Sydney has received the following- letter from Captain Glossop, C-8., late of BLM.A.S. Sydney: "On behalf of the Minister of tho Navy and the Commonwealth Naval Board, I have great pleasure in offering to you as head citizen of the City of Sydney and the citizens' repro sentativo, a relio of tho Sydney-Emden engagement, to wit, one of the 4J.in guns of G-M.B. Emden, which has been salved from tho wreck on Cocos Island. If it should bo your pleasure to accept such trophy I should be glail if you will arrange a suitable place for its erection, and when decided upon I will deliver over the gun and mountings to your representative, and shall be most pleased to render any assistance in setting up the same." How mustard was first introduced to tho palate of the Maori was described by Mr Coleman Phillips at a meeting of tho Early Settlers* Araociatioa at Wellington. In 1826 Mr Heory Williams had settled on tho shores of the Bay of Islands, and one day when the famous chief Hone Hcko was walking past his house Mr Williams invited him to come inside and have some "kai." Hone accepted tho invitation, and willingly partook of some beef, which was the principal item on the menu. There was mustard on the table, but Mr Williams did not invite the chief, or any of the chiefs .party to try it, which led Hone to remark that Mr Williams was a curious man. Mr Williams accordingly told Hone that ho was quite welcome to the mustard and the big chief very quickly scooped out a spoonful, oad ate it. Tears rolled down -Hone s cheek, but he suffered in silence. A fellow chief also helped himself to a spoonful of mustard, and: immediately after swallowing it began to dance around as though' in great pain. Ho earned tho wrath of Hone Efekx> for such undignified behaviour in tho presence of & pat-oKa We have received fis from "Gleta and lan" for Dr Bazoaxdo's Homes' Iftmd. £50 will purchase motor cycle and sidecar. Good value*—Partkulara from W. Stuart Wilson and Co., 290592 Princes street, Dunedin.—A**7t. At MoUisons sale you can get smart goodfitting blouses, all sizes, for half-a-crown each; posted free anywhere for 2s 9d.— Advt. a*' Notebook given free with every Is packet of "No Rubbing" Laundry Help, is greatly appreciated by housewives. Ifs so handy.—J. Peterson and Go, Gcorgo- street and Walker street— A.dvt. Which Well, if yoa mean whisky, Watson's No. 10—easily.—Advt. For Influenza take Woods' Great Peppermint Cure. Never fails. Is 6d 2s fid— Advt. A. E. J. Ebricefey, dentist, Bank of Australasia, earner of Bond and Battnr, (next lelegraph Office). JBS9 — Aa> i. ... Launch owners, motorists and others * roat fe °« Columbia Hot' shot Battles We have a fine assortment of Dry Batteries, Accumulators, Lamna for ignition and lighting purposes.—lurnbull and Jones (Limited), eleotncai engineers, Dunedin,— Advt. Eye Stram.-Consult Mr Peter G. Dick, D.8.0.A., I\LO. (London), consulting and ccubsts optician.—Peter Dick, etc-, 490 Moray place, Dunedin.—Advt.