LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume IV, Issue 989, 13 April 1917, Page 10

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The cost of the borough waterworks at Dargaville, which were officially opened last week, was £:54,000. A sum of £.'55,000 was raised for the carrying out of the undertaking. Mr Basil Watson, the Victorian aviator, who had gained fame for many longs llights in Australia, and was regarded in England as an intrepid airman, was killed in tragic circumstances at the Point Cook aviation grounds ou the afternoon of March 2H. lie had flown from Albert Park to the Aviation School, and when at an altitude of 2000 ft above the A.I.F. camp, which adjoins the camp of the Flying Corps, his machine suddenly collapsed while looping the loop, and fell into the bay, about 40 yards from the shore end of the military enclosure. Death is believed to have been instantaneous. Those whose were witnessing Mr Watson 's terrible plight esimate that the biplane dropped the 2000 ft in a little more than two seconds. The machine crashed nose first into 3ft of water, only a few yards from where a number of men were bathing. An agreement, come to between the Marine Radio Telegraphists' Institute of Australasia and the Almagamated Wireless Association and others, provides for the payment of wages to wireless operators, who are required to hold first-class certificates of efficiency, if they are members of the union, at rates per month as follow: —First year, £!> a month; second vear, £10; third year, £11; fourth year," £1:5; fifth year,'£l4; sixth year, £ls; seventh year, £l6 a month. Subscriptions to be paid at £1 per mouth over the rate they would receive for service on the above scale. Every operator, excepting when on leave, to have meals and proper living accommodation provided on respondents' vessels, or to be allowed, when temporarily ashore, 5/- a day for a home port, or 7/6 per day at any other port. When permanently on shore an extra allowance is to be given of £4.'! per annum. Thirty-eight days' leave of absence on full pay to be allowed annually. Ordinary duty to be eight hours in every 24; The matter of the position of home missionaries under the Military Service Act'was the subject of a discussion by the Auckland Presbytery at its meeting this week. The following motion was carried:—"The Presbytery of Auckland acknowledges receipt of the letter of the Hon. Sir Jas. Allen of March 21, and regrets to learn that the authorities of the Defenco Department refuse to acknowledge home missionaries of the Presbyterian Church as ministers of the Church for the purposes of the Military Service Act. In this we hold that our Church is being discriminated against unfairly. The home missionary of the Presbyterian Church ministers in the Word and Sacrament in the district in which he is placed, is usually set aside to that work by ordination of the Presbytery, and is almost always the only minister that the Church has in the scattered district in which he works, and to withdraw him would mean depriving the people to whom he ministers of the ministrations of their Church. The Presbytery holds that it is unfair treatment to our Church to refuse to recognise this important section of her ministry. This becomes all the worse when students of another Church are recognised by the Defence Department, while we make no claim for our studeuts, who have mostly gone to the front. In making this protest we wish .to emphasise the fact that our Church wishes in every way to help the military authorities at this time, but we claim equality of treatment with other religious bodies, and respectfully ask for a reconsideration of the matter."