NEWS IN BRIEF.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 896, 23 December 1916, Page 10

NEWS IN BRIEF.

:' I Special war services of intercession, : ] thanksgiving, and commemoration will I be heM on Sunday, December 31, with I the approval of his Majesty the King. [ : Troops of the Christehurch garrison are ;' to parade in Cranmer Square at 10 a.m. t j on that day. ! i From a speech by the late. Mr GJad- - 1! stone: —"Let us go forward with the ' good work wo have in hand, and not put ' i our trust in titles, peers, squires, or ! j acres. I will go further, and say not in 11 man as such, but in Almighty God, who • j is the God of Justice, and who has ori! darned the principles of right, equity, ! and freedom to be the guide and inas- : ter of our lives." The town clerk (Mr H. R. Smith) has j received the following reply from the I Acting-Prime Minister to the council's resolution re the price of wheat:— ;"Your telegram received, and the resoj lution of your council noted. Please | inform the council that the Government. j will do their best to protect the people j : from any exploitation. The whole ques-j tion is at present under consideration ] ! by the Hon Mr Mac Donald." j Christmas trade livened up at the be- i i ginning of the week, and the streets! j have been crowded in the afternoons by womenfolk. Last night the thorough-' I fares were thronged with parents and I children, the sidewalks being so conI gested that progress was difficult unI less the roadway was resorted to. The | toy and fancy goods departments were | all open, and a roaring business was j done. Indeed, this class of shop was ' crowded to such an extent that the diffi-! : culty of gaining admittance was equal- \ j led only by that of getting out again. The Suva (Fiji) correspondent of the! "New Zealand Herald" report that j about 20 of tho male Indian indentured ! ; labourers on an estate in the island of j j Taviuni recently took "French leave"; j and marched in a body to the wireless j | station, six or seven miles distant. They I requested the operator in charge to com-! municate with the "Protector of In-1 |dians" at Labasa, stating that unless; j he came at once to the island to redress, their grievances they would kill their sirdar (overseer). The operator osten-| sibly agreed, but communicated instead with the District Commissioner at Wai-' yevo, with the result that a police officer came and arrested the men. Five of the ringleaders were sentenced to terms of' imprisonment for intimidation. The! Inspector of Immigrants has meantime; arrived at the island, and is investigating the men's grievances. The Post, Telegraph, and Money; Order Offices presented to-day scenes ! of the usual Christmas animation, > streams of people (lowing in- anil out all Jay long. The amount of mail matter handled is well up to that of last year, I the number of parcels showing a d'ecid-J ed increase. There has, however, been] a big drop in business almanacks and; advertising calendars, Not more than a thousand of these have been handled,! whereas in other years they have arriv-l ed at the office in cart-loads. Though the staffs of all departments have been working at high pressure, the work has : been carried out with expediency and : thoroughness. Not a train has" been missed. To cope with the extra work several temporary hands were employed, - and these have given every satisfaction. To-night the Post Office will be open fori j the delivery of mail matter over the I counter from 7.H0 to 8.:;0. This in-! ; dudes letters, etc., usually delivered by j j letter-carriers. There will be one let- j tor-carrier delivery on Tuesday, while on Tuesday morning all departeuients, except the Money Order and Savings Bank Offices, will be open from 9 to 10. SECOND-HAND MOTOE CYCLES. We have in Stock at present several • good Motors, taken in part payment for Harley Davidsons, which we are pre pared to sell at reasonable prices fori quick saie. Call and inspect, or write for full particulars.—JONES BROS., i Ltd., 122 Manchester Street. Sole ! Agents for King Dick and Harley j Davidson Motor Cycles. Hot Point Day will be held on Decern-j ber 23, 1910'. Boudoir Sets and Three \ pound Hot Point Irons ordered before,! or sold on that day, will be reduce! from 25/- to 17/6, and 22/6 to 15/-. What could be better or nicer for a | Christmas Gift than either of the above \ useful articles! Seo our windows.— Turnbull and Jones, Ltd., Cashel ! Street West. .8. If you love gardening, you need Thk | Sun Gardening Book. Trice 1/-, posted i 1/3.

The Magistrate's Court will be closed j on Christmas Day, while during the rest I of the week police cases will be taken at 9.30 a.m., instead of 10.30 a.m., each I day. The Marshland Patriotic Committee, j on Thursday night, tendered a compli- ; mentary social to one of its most ener- ; getic and patriotic members, who has ■ been an invalid for some time. The j programme was rendered by Mr F. C. \ Raphael's popular concert party, and was greatly appreciated by the large audience. During the evening Mr Raphael auctioned a basket of flowers which had been artisticclly arranged and given by Miss Ethel Bueher. This ; realised £4 11/6. At the conclusion of ! the concert,' votes of thanks were paid 1 to Mr Raphael and his party, and to ! Messrs E. Watkins, R. Rainger, and B. ' B. Wood for supplying motor cars to convey the party out. The proceeds amounted to £23.