LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 867, 20 November 1916, Page 10

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Next week the Electrical Committee of the City Council will hold a series of public meetings in the various wards of the city in support of the proposal to raise a loan of £60,000 for extension of the electrical system. The first meetings will he addressed bv Councillors A. S. Taylor, I). G. Sullivan, and j ,1. R. Hay ward. At the inquest held in Wellington into the death of Private Murdoch' Mclver, whose body was found in a house in Thorndon Quay, it was reported that death was due to suffocation, caused by poisonous fumes being inhaled. The ! house had been fumigated with cyanide, land the deceased had been warned not to go into it. A verdict was returned ! that death was due to misadventure, no | blame being attributable to anyone. | Tire Coroner added that too great precautions could not be taken where ova- j nide was used for fumigating. A Masferton Press Association mes-! sage states that great indignation has boon caused by the fact that men mar-j ried prior to May, 1915, have been placed in the military service ballot for the, first division. A local man, who had J been married for sev.eral years, received ' a notice to report in camp within ten days. The ease referred to is apparent-: ly a hoax, since the notice was received ! before the ballot closed. Before the' notices are served the list must be checked to preclude the possibility of error. The Minister of Defence stated ' to-day that not a .single notice had yet, been issued as a result of the ballot, I which was, only completed on Saturday. ! The Chalmers Memorial Chronic Ward, which is being erected to the east of the main hospital buildings, is making rapid progress towards completion. The exterior is nearly finished, and it is expected that the contractors will be able to hand the building over about March of next year. It will form | a handsome addition to the architecture of the city, while its commanding situation lends to its general attractiveness. Rising in three lofty storeys, buttressed with towers and, and flanked on three sides with spacious balconies, the ward presents an imposing appearance. Some delay was occasioned at the outset in obtaining the necessary materials, while recently some difficulty was experienced in securing the necessary sup- , ply of glass. Now, however, everything is working smoothly, and no further ; delay is anticipated. The card table and the racecourse have unenviable reputations as disturbers of domestic, peace, but to golf has to be apportioned the honour of obtruding upon the serious business connected with the family's washing. On a drying green this morning a lady j in full washing day regalia was: to. be seen practising with a golf club upon an imaginary ball. She took her stance deliberately, swung the club according to the approved professional methods, kept her eyes glued to the spot where the ball was supposed to be, and let drive with a force sufficient to scatter the putters on the next green. Whether the lady was practising driving from the tee, or qualifying for a position in the proposed women police force, is quite beside the point. It was obvious, however, that, despite any good intentions of the early morning, the clothes line was still bare, although the hour of noou was fast approaching. A waterspout of phenomenal violence occurred on Thursday afternoon, says the Eoxburgh correspondent of the "Otago Daily Times." It is extended from Coal Creek to Millers' Flat, and seems to have been most severe on the west side of the Molyneux. In the town the water poured down the face of the hill, and adjacent householders had an anxious time diverting the flood waters from their homes. The main street was soon transformed into a lake, and it was some time before the waters

! One of the most interesting souvenirs of the war so far seen in New Zealand I has been deposited in the Museum by iMr C. L. Hart. It consists of a small I fragment of a German shell, picked up | on the deck of H.M.S. Chester after the | Jutland battle, by Lieutenant Arthur j Curtis, who had a series of exciting ; experiences ami narrow escapes during that memorable engagement. It was | on the Chester that the boy John T. Cornwall, Y.C., met his glorious end. I The enormous heliotrope rhododendron j tree in the Gardens is covered with i thousands of blossoms. Midst this riot of heliotrope there was to be seen this I morning a small, hatless, blue-jumpered boy, standing patiently in the blazing Sun, and holding in his hand a flower, at which he gazed intently. From the hill it looked as though he was the; dreamy sort of youth with the aesthetic sense highly developed—such as one j reads about in the romances of women novelists. This impression was soon dis- I sipated, however, as, when the foreground came into view, three women and a man, with palette, easel, and brush, were to be seen transferring the scene to canvas. The aesthetic child was merely posing. The rose garden now presents a glorious sight, and will be at its best for the fete on December 2. Every day it is visited by hundreds of people, who may be seen standing about in groups admiring, discussing, and noting the particulars and peculiarities of each variety. The bed of magnificent Mrs David McKees comes in for universal admiration, and is probably the most striking feature of a wonderful display. In the native trees and shrubs sections the! visitor cannot help but notice the pro-, fusion of flowers on the cabbage trees | and the unusual abundance of coraris I on the flax bushes. Bedding-out has been completed, and in the well-stocked j borders the annuals are already to be seen peeping into bloom. !