TOWN EDITION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 14711, 17 September 1918, Page 6

TOWN EDITION.

Two hundred and sixty-four returned soldiers have been enrolled an the V.M.C.A. membership at Dunedin.

Tho borough Council met yesterday afternoon to go into the vexed matter of taxi-drivers' fares, and a settlement was arrived at agreeable to both parties.

Mrs Lowry, of Hawke's Bay, lias made another gift of £300 to install electric light m her hut at tlie base m Franco.

It was decided at a meeting of the Napier Borough Council to have a proper "Clean-\ip Week": m Napier, and that the Borough-- Engineer outline a scheme.

Tlie Canterbury Aviation Company has recently added to the buildings at • the Flying School, Sockbnrn, and has now accommodation for 26 • pupils. The staff of instructors has - also been increased-, and additions made to tho aeroplane fleet and working plant.

Tha No. 4 issue of the Gisborne Cooperative Building Society has been so fully subscribed that the directors have decided jthat if sufficient applications are made, they will start another issue. The number of shares m an issue is 1000 and this number has been exceeded by close on 200.

At the Opera House to-night, Captain Arthur Allen will give an elocutionary recital m aid of the Church campaign. Mrs. Drake, vocalist, together with the Savago Club orchestra, will assist. No admission will be charged, but a collection will be taken on. behalf of the fund.

There are at presant some 21 conscientious objectors at the State Farm- at Levin, and a;bout 25 more will be sent to the farm in^tlie near future, when the neoessary accommodation has been provided for them. These men have ail signed tlie •undertaking to do non-com-batant service. Since conscientious objectors were first sent to the farm two of their number, who are Quakers, have joined the Medical Corps. These men found] that while at tlfe farm, which is entirely dissociated from military control, their objections had been respected. They accordingly offered their serviqa with the ambulance, and have v.nee been posted to duty on hospital ships. ,,/

Speaking at a public meeting m Masterton, Sir Robert Stout said that ho had no time for the pacifist — those who said "Let us forgive and forget." If "'the Allies failed to enforce the punishment on the brutal Huns that the atrocities committed justified, then "they -were doing a wrong thing for civilisation. It was not right that they should extend sympathy to wrongdoers. Those who talked peace, while the robbers and murderers were at large, did not want peace. There should be no peace until tha Germans were brought to their knees, otherwise our children would have to .jfight the battle over again.

A meeting of those interested m the arrangements for the "Our Day" collection was callad for 2 p.m. to-day at the Council Chambers, but m order to enable the business men to attend it was adjourned till Monday next at 7.30 p.m. The function commences on October 19, and extends through the carnival season, consisting of the show (two days) and races. Mr. Varney, New Zealand secretary to the V.M.C.A., is coming to Gisborne to assist m the arrangements and organising. It is -understood that two classes of stock at the show will be sold on behalf of the "Our Day" fund.

I In the recent chess match, Gisborne 'v. Hamilton, three games were left to adjudication. The decision of the adjudicators, Messrs. Barnes and Mason, of Wellington, just received, awards two wins to Gisborne, with a draw for the third. The match therefore results m a tie, each side winnimr three games. The score is as follows : Board 1. Gifford (H.) v. Schlichting (G.), Gisborne ; board 2, Dow (G.) v. Bullock (H.), drawn: board 3. Stevens (H.) v. Blaokburn (G.), Hamilton ; board 4, Bull (G.) v. Mears (H.), Gisborrte; board 5, Worslev (IT.) v. Faram (G.), Hamilton ; board 6. Finn (G.) v. — (H.). Gisborne : board 7. Davov (H.) v. Neilsen (G.). Hamilton : board 8, Sutherland (G.) v. Stevenson (H.), drawn.

A New Zealand factory manager who returned last week from a visit to Australia, stated to a reporter that Australia lis leaving New Zealand far behind as an industrial nation. The reason was that industries m the Commonwealth are receiving encouragement arid protection from the Government, and on the other hand the New Zealand Government is giving anything but encouragement to Dominion industries — m cases even placing obstacles m the way of development. What would be the result? After the war New Zealand would be the dumping ground for Australian manufacturers. If the present attitude of the Government towards industries did not change, the Dominion must remain purely a. pastoral country, New Zealand people would not credit the giant strides being made m Australia m every department of production. It was an eye-opener.

A somewhat awkward position has arisen m the hairdreflsing trade m Gisborne, resultant on the recent agitation for decreased hours of wc-rk. A stout resistance has been put up by a minority. Recently a hairdresser and tobacconist was before the Court on the information of the factories inspector (Mr. Westbrooke), but got off. The result is that the remaining oppositionists who complied with the requisition because they wera compelled to do so have now threatened to do likewise and to keep open till 8 o'clock at night and 12.30 Ti.m. on Thursdays, unless a thrqp months' trial is first of all given of tho old hours. A further difficulty from another quarter has now sprung up, ,i tlie hairdressers' assistants having held a meeting and refused to revert to the old hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. A conference of employers and employees was held this morning, but no, agreement was reached.

Members of the Masterton Returned Soldiers' Club, at a meeting held last week, discussed the matter of returned soldiers and ' the liquor - question. Lieut. - Colonel J. A. Cowles said that no one could accuse* him of being a wowser, but the liquor traffic and its relation to returned soldiers was so prominently beforo the public that it was due 'to* members of the association to express an opinion on the subject. Personally, he did not think that it was for civilians to say that soldiers should ; be dejprived of their 'pots.' If soldiers .were deprived of liquor, then civilians should be similarly treated. He thought that, tho trouble could be considerably mitigated if the returned soldiers madeup tlieir minds to try and prevent those who had returned suffering from shellshock, and with their nerves shattered, from getting more liquor than was good for them. Lieutenant Mounsell ' said lie did not agree with soldiers being cut ' out of their liquor unless the same applied to civilians. It was eventually decided that the association tako up a non-committal attitude -on the question. ) Writing to a friend m Christchurch, an Edinburgh business man says: "If only one could feel as sur« of the politicians as of the fighting men, one's mind would be at ease. But there are men hero so stupid or so hopelessly self-' seeking that they actually hope and work for the statu quo of pre-war days, n s if that hectic, age, had riot- gone for ever. When peace does come there will be great upheavals, politically, socially, and commercially, and m nothing more markedly than m the latter direction. Of course, living expenses here are •very great, food being about two and a-half pre-war prices, and therefore it is making both ends meet that is one's endeavor just now, abandoning any idea of dofng more than that — when" _2s is a pound's equivalent. But all through the laboring classes there is great 'prosperity and great spending. To-day Edinburgh is crammed with Glasgow folk, marching up and down Princes street, all with caps on (the men that is), hands m pockets, bright yellow shoes, and cigarettes, as becomes the proletariat from Clyde eide during Glasgow Fair week. The trains have been 1 running m three sections, and most of the munitioners travel first-class, and to th« de'il wi' expense."