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Otago Witness, Issue 3397, 23 April 1919, Page 3

The mails which left New Zealand on February 25, arrived in London on the 12th instant. . •

It is announced (says a Press Association message from Wellington) that first and second class passenger, rates . between NeW Zealand and London are to be reduced approximately 20 per cent. The reduction* will come into force immediately. There is evidently a big rush of engineering work all over the world, as, so far as can 'be gathered, but one tender hae been received by the Harbour Board for the new boiler for the tug Dunedin. A Press Association telegram from Wanganui states that a hui, held at PutiH to welcome the Maori Pioneer Battalion, extended over nine <kiys, and proved a big. success. During the function the following food was consumed: —Fourteen bullocks, 33 sheep, 40 pigs, 1200 loaves, two'tton* of mussels, 2000 eels, eight tons of potatoes, 6 bags of cockles, and 30 sacks of cabbages, The South Island soldiers received £33s in cash from tho local committee, and the Wanganui and West Coast soldienT received! £IOO in cash.

At the meeting of the Otago University Council on the 15th a letter was received from the Director of Education intimating that a grant of £2OOO had been made" towards the cost of- completing the home science building. The vice-chancellor (Mil John Boberts, C.M.G.), in moving that the letter be received, eaid that the Minister of Education (the Hon. J. A. Hanan) had dona nobly by tho University, a remarfc which was approved by other members of the council.

In the Magistrate's Court at Kaitangata on the 14th, before Mr E. D. Mosley, S.M., Fred Carson, deputy manager for the Kaitangata coal mines, was charged with two offences under " The Coal Mines Act, 1908," by the Inspector of Mines. The charges arose out of an accident on January 31, which resulted in the death of James Archibald Weir, who was. crushed between a box and the low roof of a drive in No. 2 dip, and were that the defendant did fail to report the accident forth-' with, and did alter the condition of the dip before the Inspector of Mines had had a chance of viewing it. Mr W. C. MaoGregor, K.C., prosecuted, and Mr John MacGregor appeared for the defendant, who pleaded not guilty to both charges. After hearing evidence, the magistrate sai4 it was clear that the management was quite wrong in clearing the roof of coal before notifying the inspector. Defendant wa» convicted and fined £lO, with, costs (£3 3s), "

on each charge. Something like a deadlock has occurred in connection with the election of & com* mittee for the Polmerston District Higl* SchooL Some time ago, upon the vacancy" for the position of fourth assistant being;

advertised, 15 applications were received teacher had already been appointed to fcy the Education Board, of which two were another school. The board then suggested forwarded to the committee. The torn- that the committee should recommend the mittee chose one, and advised the board appointment of the other teacher whose »f its selection, only to leam that this) nam© had been forwarded. In refusing to

do so, the committee desired that the names cf.sbme of the other 15 applicants should be submitted to it for its consideration. This request was ignored, and the board, taking the matter out of the hands of the committee, appointed the teacher it had suggested. At the householders' meeting on ijie 14th' inst. all those present refused nomination, and the following resolution was passed:—"That this meeting declines to elect a committee until such time as the board explains its action in appointing Miss to another school, her name having been submitted to the Palmerston Committee for selection to fill the position of fourth assistant then vacant." A Press Association message from Wellington 6tates that owing to the number of protests by members of the A.S.R.S. against the terms of settlement submitted to the society's Executive Council by the Minister of Railways recently, the executive held a special meeting on Monday, when it was unanimously resolved to convene a conference of delegates from all branches to meet at Wellington on May 5 to confer with the executive with reference to amendments in the classification. The annual report of the Technical School Managers mentions that 67, returned soldiers have applied for tuition, the majority of these being taken into the Technical High School, where they could receive longer and more continuous instruction than hi the evening classes. A number of these men wished to get directly on to the practical work, and fortunately the director was able to arrange for such men to spend seven or eight hours a - day for several months .in motor garages, woollen mills, and workshops. Although the college did not receive any direct benefit from the adoption of this method of training, yet in the opinion of the director the excellent results attained fully justified the course he adopted. The men soon settled down to work, adapted themselves to their surroundings, and were gradually returned to civil life and absorbed in the general.community. It is therefore a cause of regret to the board to notice that through the action of a few members of a union of workers, these avenues of training are in ' many .cases no longer open to returned men.

prietor. The petition set forth that the i Public Trustee, as administrator in the j estate of Thomas Nicholas Lloyd, late of Dunedin, iron-turner, deceased, obtained a judgment against the respondent in the | Supreme Court for £555 6s 6d, and that there was no security for this debt. M r j Hay appeared for the petitioning creditor. j The respondent, who appeared in person, adi mitted the debt, and said that he had no effects. He was accordnigly adjudicated a bankrupt, with costs (£5 ss) and disbursements. Our Ifondon correspondent states that in a lecture on anthrax at the Chadwick Trust at Bradford Dr T. M. Legge, Milroy lecturer on Industrial Anthrax, stated that the wool from Australia and New Zealand was fortunately so free from risk of conveying Infection that disinfection was not contemplated. On the 12th Mr Thorp (Orchard Instructor) gave an apple packing demonstration at the orchard of Mr W. T. Wright (Outram). About 50 ladies and gentlemen were present. Mr Pinder (president of the Taieri Fruitgrowers' Association) stated that, from a fruit growing point of view, Taieri was second to none in the dominion. One of the greatest wants was experiments for the different pests to be contended with, as what would be a preventive in one district would have no effect in another. Mr Tborp gave an outline of the different lines ' of packs, the two-two, three-four, and fourfive packs being eagerly watched by all present. After the demonstration tea was handed round; Mr Thorp took those present over the experimental plots, and. showed i the effects Of the different sprays.

A Press Association message from Christchurch states that is made that a shortage of slaughtermen is seriously afTeoting the meat industry in Canterbury.

The Otago portion of the soldiers who reached Wellington by the troopship Willochra arrived in Dunedin by the express train from the north on the 16th. There were 35 men in the draft, 20 of whom were for Dunedin, and the remainder for south oi the city. Of the 20 for Dunedin, 13 were originally members of the Band of the 4th (Otago) Regiment, and were members of the Ist Battalion Otago Regiment N.Z.E.F. Band. Among the number was Staff-sergeant Sid George, son of Lieutenant George, conductor of the band of the Fourth (Otago) Regiment, who went out with the Main Body and was bandmaster of the Ist Battalion Otago Regiment N.Z.E.F. Band. As a matter of fact most of the 13 who returned were Main Body men. In addition to these bandsmen a member of the Maori Hill Band was among the returning soldiers. Both bands turned out in strong force to welcome their comrades home, and played suitable airs prior to and subsequent to the arrival of the train.- When the train drew alongside the platform the soldiers were received with cheers by the large crowd which had assembled After the greetings of relatives and friends the local men were' conveyed to their homes in cars provided by the Otago Motor Club, and the- southern men were billeted at the Leviathan Hotel. Representatives of the Women's Patriotic Association were present and distributed cigarettes, etc, to the men.

' The Arbitration Court has filed an amendment of th© Canister Workers' award, fixing the minimum wage at Is 3id an hour, and giving a war bonus of per hour. In the Storemfcn's dispute the recommendation of the Conciliation Council has been made into an award. In the Dunedin Engineers' award, which includes brassfinishers, coppersmiths, range workers, cycle and motor mechanics, tinplate and sheet metal workers a bonus of 2£d per hour has been granted. In the Invercargill Mercantile Storemen's dispute the recommendations of the Conciliation Council, and the remaining provisions agreed upon at a conference of the parties held prior to the hearing of the dispute before the court, were made into an award. In the Invercargill branch of the Otago Hotel, Restaurant, and Boardinghouse Employees' dispute the recommendations of the Conciliation Council were made into an award. In the Southland Painters dispute an award has been made, based on the recommendations of the Conciliation Council. The only matters left unsettled were the clauses relating to wages, country work, and suburban work. At the hearing before the court the representatives of the parties announced that they were able to arrive at an agrement on the points in dispute, and this agreement has been incorporated in the *ward. The Hon. J. T. Paul (president of the New Zealand Clothing Trade Union) has received au invitation from the National Women's Trade Union League of America for the representation of New Zealand trade union women at the National Convention in Philadelphia, which will open, in June. The letter of invitation expreses a keen desire that delegates from New Zealand should attend. The chief object of the convention is to consider the needs of women during the reconstruction period, and it is expected that several other countries will be represented. Mr Paul has replied" to the invitation, which will be finally considered at the New Zealand Conference of the Clothing Trade Workers, to be opened in Wellington on the 28th inst. The Presbyterian Synod of Otago and Southland on the 16th sanctioned the appointment of a chaplain to work among the returned soldiers in Otago. The appointment is for one year, and the stipend was fixed at not less than £3OO, exclusive of house allowances and travelling expenses. The motion was brought forward by the Rev. A. Gray, who now in his capacity as a chaplain holds the rank of lieutenant-colonel.

A Gore resident had a miraculous escape from either death or serious injury on the journey home by express on the 14th inst. (states the" Ensign). About a couple of miles on the south side of Milton, with the train going at top speed, the passenger referred to was jolted off the train through one of the doors which had been left open. After travelling about a mile the train was pulled up, and the first passenger to reach the Bpot where the man had fallen off found him unharmed, sitting on the side of the line apparently waiting for tho next train.

Mr Justice Sim presided at . a bankruptcy sitting in the Supreme Court on the 16th, when a petition was heard for the adjudication as a bankrupt of Ellis Thomas Peacock, of Dunedin, taxi-cab pro-

It was reported at last week's meeting of the commitee of the Returned Soldiers' Association that at least 80 returned soldiers are unemployed in Dunedin The association's representative on the Employment Committee of the Repatriation Board (Mr W. Clarke) suggested that employers in a position to relieve the situation should be asked to communicate with the Repatriation Department. . Mr Samuel Turner, who has been an Alpine climber for the past 23 years, and who, it will be remembered, recently climbed Mount Cook without a guide or companion, has returned from a preliminary visit to Mount Tutoko, in tho Milford Sound district. Mr Turner intended to start on his expedition to the Tutoko Mountains early in the year, but ho was forced to wait for Mount Cook to get into climbing condition, and consequently he was somewhat late in reaching fiordland. The Tutoko Mountains are situated about 10 miles from Milford Sound, and two attempts had previously been made to reach the summit. Mr Turner succeeded in reaching within a short dis-

tanoo of the summit, and hopes to return next year and complete the task. Ho will endeavour to secure the services of two surveyors, with a view to preparing a more detailed map of the district. Mr Turner explored the head of the Tutoko Valley, which he found to be a series of precipices with hanging glaciers about 200 yards wido. He oonsiderea New Zealand one of the most wonderful soenJo countries in the world, and with increased shipping and quicker transit it could soon bo made a very profitable tourist country, which would bring great wealth to the dominion. Last winter the cases of scarlet fever and diphtheria were very numerous, but with the incidence of the influenza epidemic the numbers dropped to a low level. At present the diseases are becoming very prevalent throughout the city and suburbs. Mrs Alice Wheeldon, who was given 10 years' penal servitude in March, 1917, for conspiracy to poison Mr Lloyd George, but who was released in the following December owing to ill-health, died at Derby (England) from influenza at the end of February. A large fish, evidently a sunfish, created some little excitement around the Dunedin wharves yesterday morning, and afforded a great deal of amusement for a number of small boys, who attempted to prod the unoffending denizen of the deep with spears originally intended for the capture of leatherjackets.

At a meeting of the District Repatriation Board on" Wednesday 11 business loans, amounting to £2084, were dealt with, loans amounting to £BIO being approved, £IOO declined, and £1174 held over. Assistance to purchase tools to the extent of £22 10a was granted to three tradesmen, and two soldiers unable to follow their pre-war occupations were placed in new trades and granted subsidies. Eleven applications to purchase furniture were approved, and two applications were held over. Assistance was granted to fiv6 students, two applications were held over, and two were declined. There were five inches of snow in the lower part of the Macraes Riding of the Waihemo County on Thursday morning. The best-attended meeting in the district for a considerable time was held in the County Council Chambers, Palmerston, on the 12th, when a number of farmers met to consider what steps should be taken to deal with the rabbit pest, which is getting worse and worse in the district. Mr T. H. Pilbrow, who presided, read a letter from the Agricultural Department regretting that no representative could be present and expressing sympathy with the movement. The Blue Mountain Riding was well represented, and a resolution was carried that the district, with the consent of the ratepayers., should be formed into a rabbit board area. The other ridings in the county are expected to fall into line with Blue Mountain. The Press states that a well-known Christ•church journalist, who has been on service with the N.Z.E.F. for the past two or three years, writing to a local pressman from London under date of March 7, says: "I don't know whether it has yet leaked out to New Zealand, but Lord Northcliffe is dreaming of world conquest. His latest project, according to Fleet street gossip, is an ' Empire Daily Mail', on the lines of his paper here and the Paris edition. His scheme aims at the establishment and publication daily of a Daily Mail (with extensive cable services, features, etc.) in Toronto or Montreal, Capetown, Sydney, and Wellington, and he in reported to be prepared to-spend £3,000,000,ahd more, if necessary."

A conference of delegates from Dairy Fac- 3 tory Companies operating in the Eastern District of Southland was held in Wyndham a few days ago. Mr Hugh M'Call, of Seaward Downs, presided. The object of the meeting was to nominate candidates for two vacant seats on the directorate of the Siouth Island Dairy* Association. For ths extraordinary vacancy created by the death of Mr T. W. Foster, Mr Richard Arnott (chairman of the Wyndham Dairy Factory Co.) was nominated; and for the representation of the Eastern District on the Board, Mr George Crosbie (chairman of the Glenham Dairy Factory Co.) was nominated. .^

Ail interesting discovery was made at the Maori workshop at Bowentown last week by Messrs R. W. Bell and S. M. Hovell, of Waihi (says the New Zealand Herald). % Westerly gales had moved the sand and exposed a portion ofythis ancient workshop. A further investigation was then made, with the result that an almost complete set of stone and bone implements "associated with Maori work was. found embedded in the sand. Ultimately about 200 stone adzes, gouges, anvils, and hammers, together with a number of pieces of moa and whalebone implements and greenstone articles, were unearthed. • The curator of the Auckland Museum, Mr T. F. Cheeseman, who had already visited the recently discovered workshop, says that the articles will prove a valuable adjunct to the museum which it has been proposed to erect in the AucklandDomain.

The matter of the compulsory training of the young women of the dominion in the. principles of hygiene and home nursing was discussed by the Auckland Hospital Board, when a motion was carried endorsing the principle of compulsory training. The following telegram has been sent by Mr R. Semple, M.P., to the Minister of Justice: —"It has been brought under my notice that Robert Gould, who is undergoing two years' imprisonment in Waiweria prison for refusing military service, made application to the Minister of Defence for permission to see his wife, who is in bad health. This was refused. Gould then refused to work as a protest. He was at once transferred to the Mount Eden prison, where he is undergoing solitary confinement. J. A. Brailsford, for sympathising with Gould, is also undergoing similar punishment. Both men refuse to take food, and declare they will perish in their cell* before they will, give way. I appeal to yon on humane grounds to allow Gould the right to see his sick wife, and instruct the prison authorities to discontinue euohbrutal punishment, whichnot only degrade*

the poor creatures who are its victims, but. also degrades those who are called upon to administer such punishment. Human kindness has done more to shape the character of men than all the acts of oruelty." j In respect to the bricklayers' dispute regarding wages, the Arbitration Court has filed its award, which fixes the wages the nme as in the north—namely, Is 9d an j hour, with 2£d war bonus. The award \ will come into force on May 5. In the flourmillers' dispute (including the Oamaru employees) the court has filed a complete ! award. The hours of work are the same j «s at present. The wages have been fixed in comformity with rates recently arranged in Auckland, and are as follows:-"- j Bollerman or shift miller, Is 8d an hour; : oatmeal and barley miller, Is 8d; purifier, j Xs 7d; smutterman, Is 7d; kilnman, Is j 6d; head storeman, Is 7£d; assistant storeman, Is 6d; packerman, Is . 6id ; casuals ' and ,-other workers, Is 6d. Overtime has been increased to time and a-half for the final three hours, and after that double I time. The award will take affect from j May 5. , i At the householders' meeting at Kurow ' last week it was reported that arrange- j H»ents had been made to start technical ©lasses at Kurow. At first these classes will | bo managed from the Oamaru centre, but as time goes on better arrangements will no doubt be made. A bazaar to provide funds for the reduction of the debt on the Methodist parsonage, Waikouaiti, realised £7O. A great variety of goods was disposed of at the stalls provided by members of the church, assisted by friends from Hampden, who furnished a stall A very enjoyable concert was held in connection with the bazaar. A committee connected with the social work of the Church of England has secured a lease of the late Mrs Cutten's property at Anderson's Bay for the purposes of establishing a home for the children of parents who are in hospitals, or who, owing to atokness, are unable to look after them In their own homes. The necessity for a home for this class of child has been very apparent for many years to those engaged in social work in the city. Tho home, though controlled by the Church of England, will he absolutely undenominational as regards the inmates, admitted, tho only qualification being that of neoessity. For some time past a home has been in operation at Vauxhall, where over 20 children Jiave been quartered, but this place was found to be too difficult of acoess in addi- . tion to failing to reach the.accommodation requirements desired. In the course of a speech at a soldiers', welcome home at Otaki, Major Buck referred to the intrepidity of the Maoris' ancestors. He stated (reports an exchange) that there was a carefully-preserved record among the Maoris of the wonderful adventures of a venturesome voyager. He sailed to the dark seas in a canoe, away 'down to the Antarctic, where there were wonderful monsters of the deep. That was about the year 650 A.D. Another man set out aamo 200 years after to verify the story of this voyage, and left records of the Antarctic which had been verified r.y fhe d seoveries of later centuries. Thesp stories, Major Buck said, proved and venturesome spirit of the Maori ancestor*. An interesting story of the straight dealing of the old-time Maoris was related by Mr J. H. Keesing, at a Native gathering to welcome the returned Maori soldiers at I*utiki. A number of Waikato Maoris who traded with a Jewish merchant in Auckland arrived in that city one Saturday in Order to pay him. They found the office closed, and that the merchant was away at the synagogue. There the Maoris proceeded, and, waiting until after the service, met the merchant. The latter explained that ho could not do any business nor accept money on his Sabbath. The Maoris were then in a quandary, as that night they had to return to their homes. The next morning, when the merchant J rent down to his office, ho found a broken anlight, and inside, on the floor, a bag of money containing the amount of the debt, and an extra 10 shillings to pay for the damaged window. To be the only woman on a small sailing ship for over six weeks, living amongst fcien' who could not speak one word ■ of JlngUsh, is not altogether an .enviable experience, but such was the lot of Jose Baptisti, a violinist who is appearing in Auckland on the Fuller circuit. Miss Baptisti was in Capetown and had been endeavouring to get to Australia and New Zealand for some considerable time, but Owing to the scarcity of passenger vessels from that port, she eventually shipped her-

self upon a small Norwegian sailing ship, and for 42 days she dwelt amongst people who knew no English, and who, were alien in every possible way. • .] The cost ol tho war to Germany doubtless came as a great surprise to the German publio when the German Mirvhtor of Finance made the announcement to tho National Assembly on February 15. The estimate made by him (says tho Melbourne Argus) amounts to 161,090,000,000 marks, which, on the basis of pre-war exchange at about Is, aggregates over £7,660,000,000. This total exceeded by approximately £700,000,000 tho credits which had been voted. The Minister explained that in October last the German Government was on the brink of financial exhaustion, and that when its request for a credit of £750,000,000 was refused, it raised the amount by bank note issues. He felt it necessary to ask tho Assembly to vote a credit of £1,265,000,000, the greatest loan the German people had ever been asked to raise. In summing up the situation, the Minisetr declared that the wa,- expenditure had been met by loans only, the interest on which had been covered by taxation, and the Government would need £950,000,000 during the current year to cover interest payments alone. Inquiry having been made of the Marine Department as to the prospect of a market for New Zealand eels in the United Kingdom, the High Commissioner was asked to make inquiry and report. A reply has now been received by tho department in < which the High Commissioner states that eels are sold in London and in many of the leading provincial towns, the best markets outside London being Manchester and Liverpool. The trade find it di mclu, t to give any indication as to the quantities the various markets could absorb. Their only experience with New Zealand eels has been with the frozen variety, and apparently it has not been very encouraging. If eels arrive on the market in anything- but the best condition failure is certain. A Ohristchurch gunner, who returned to New Zealand by the Hororata, holds the distinction of having fired the last shell into the German lines from the New Zealand Field Artillery, before the armistice came into force. Ho' was in the Ist Battery at the time, and he states that on Sunday, November 10, they had been following up the Germans all day and went into action in some boggy ground, alongside a hedge. They were all "dog tired," and soon after fixing up a rough "bivvy", they went to | sleep, with the exception of a few men on duty. Shortly after midnight, however, an order was sent down for " six rounds gun fire," in order to quieten an enemy machine gun which had been making things lively. The detachment got to work and soon fired off the rounds, not knowing that that was to be their last time in action. Later in the day the orderly officer informed the gunner that they were the last battery to be in action, and that as the Australian artillery were out of action the gunner was the last ■ man to fire a shell against the Germans. j A veteran of the Maori war, who was , wounded at Rangiriri and invalided home to | England, is stated to be still on the books of the West Yorkshire Regiment, and drawing his pension. His name is John Carroll, i and he is stated to have seen a lot of service ' during the Maori war before he was wounded !at Rangiriri The old man is now in his 108. th year. He enlisted in the 14th Foot, now the West Yorkshire Regiment, in 1854, and went through the Crimean war before ;ooming out to New Zealand. It is not quite i certain whether he was born in 1810 or 1811.