NEWS OF THE DAY.

Colonist, Volume LVII, Issue 14152, 14 April 1916, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY.

The mails which left New Zealand on March 2nd arrived at London, on April 10th.

The building of the Pipitea wharf at Wellington has been started.

Some 293 estates of deceased persons \vgvq finally, certified for death duty by the Commissioner ois Stamps during the month of March. The Nelson estates were: Rowden Sopor, £5994; Samuel Fowler. £3224; Tom E. Lewis, £909; Alwyn W. Pattie, £5-10.

The Port Albert Fiuitgrowers' Association, North Auckland, unanimously resolved/ "That this wssomtion forward an emphatic protest to the federation against the exclusion from the National Applo Show schedule of the Dougherty variety and practically all the" late varieties of commercial apples grown in the"Auckland province."

Tho big plot in tho Central provinces of India was engineere.d by native, agitators from California. It was dangerous for a time, biit timely notice was given to the authorities, and the plotters, to the number of some hundreds, were arrested and large stores of arms, and bombs secured. Several of the ringleaders were hanged, and over a hundred deported for life.

Recently' Sir Francis Bell offered his large home at Lowryßßar.y r . Wellington, as a convalescent home for returned sick and wounded soldiers. .Some 47 beds have been provided,and the home is completely staffed by voluntary help. Mrs Rolleston, daughter of Sir Francis Lell, is in charge. A request has been in ado for vegetables, fruit, eggs, and honey from Nelson, and arrangements are being made to send consignments after Easter. "Mrs Trott, Hardy street, nearly opposite the Institute, will receive and pack contributions.

A Press Association message from Wellington states that the New Zealand products entered for Export last veek were' valued at £242,363i-mclUd--ing flax £84,843, wool £72.126, and meat £31,838. s ' ;

"Straight Left," in a letter we are not afole to publish, asks, Why do the Defence Department not give the returned men the badges they are entitled to?" He also urges that returned soldiers should be given preference when canvassers for recruits are being on<*a«Gd. So far as we know the-We-, fentvT authorities ar<> anxious to. have th« badges worn; and several returned soldiers have been employed as canvaSors in this, district, Our .correspondent should communicate with^the patriotic organisations waioh nave these matters in hand

Mrs Besant .was engaged to lecture in*various centres in India, which aggravated the Home Rule agitation, md was a very indiscreet aetaon-.(says the Rev. J. Takle), Mrs. Besant, m opposition, to the missionaries ana otters who knew their India thinks that the people are fit for self government, whereas the general opinion, of old Anglo-Indians is that India must continue under the benevolent despotism of the-British rule for many years to come. Certainly 80 per cent, of the rank and file, of the population are absolutely satisfied with British rule, and dread tho possibility of falling into tho hands of the Nationalists.

The following letter has been addressed to New Zealand shipowners:— "The Executive Council of the Federated Seamen's Union has had under consideration the case of those seamen of the New Zealand merchant service who have enlisted with the forces since the outbreak of war; and/seeing that these men have left their positions on the ships to defend their country (including its commercial enterprises), it. was concluded that the shipowners' should, in return, render some practical reccjsnition of the fact on their return To""'the '-Dominion. The . council accordingly resolved to recommend that^ these men be given the first opportunity_ of rejoining your vessels by eliminating in their favour those foreigners who have engaged in the New Zealand mercantile marine since the declaration of war, and we shall be pleased to receive from you an early intimation that this will be done upon the individual concerned producing evidence from the military authorities that he was engaged on active service, and is a member of the above union: and that your shins' officers will be instructed accordingly." .j

"Referring to the industrial schools of the country, those with ? lar^e area of land associated therewith and where farming is carried on, tho Minister of Education said that, with a view to placing matters on a good footing in connection with agricultural work, he had obtained the services of Mr Brown, of the Agricultural to furnish him with a report on what is done in this connection at these institutions, and his views as to their <)<*■ velopment, so as to make tliem a selfsupporting as possible. Mr: Hannri ■s'aic! lift considered he could rrrluce t"e expenditure in connection with these institutions and pet better rpsults. "In a few days' tiir-e." Mr.' Har>nn said, "I hopp to fret a recommendation from the Public Service Comr.-issionera with regard to the anpomtmont of n first-class accountant for the Education Department, for which .applications bare already been invited. I am' trying to improve the business and financial side^ of my Department and secure eco•nnniies. As the result, of nty invest.i----f-.ntions, I am satisfied I filinll c av e a lnrge sum of money in connection with the industrial institutions.*' 'This friditful Prhvp of Tfc-11^ — ' ' Ifath risen with purpose fell. Strong n«ftil of ernft nrrl power ; He woaretb v* tin's Jiour On earth if not bis follow." This is Kaiser Bill's true and acfturatc portrait painted by .Martin Luther! A great man wns 7»Jartin! lie, ton, was a German. Furthermore, h*> vas :i first-class German reformer of the high-explosive order, -.rlio seldom f-i-.uck at trifles and never did an.vthing by halves. But lower down 'in his livmn hn states: "His doom i^ writ." £o readers of this journal need not worry about Kaiser Bill—but on no account should they miss the genuine bargains now offered by "Novelties," 4.2 Hardy street.

■ In connection-with, tihe, reorganisation of tho'government of'tlui Cook Islands, decided.-upon during the last Session of Parliament, a large number of appointments,, are, notified; in the VGaKotto." The^principal appointment- is that o! Mr. Q. ,"C B: > Jordan1 as Secretary of the Cook Islands', the chief administra- ! tive post under the Ministor.

From a person -interested in the inspection of dairies^ a Chris tchurch "Press" reporter-gleaned the opinion that something radical was needed in order to deal -with the milk problem. There was no'doubt,- said this person, that the chief trouble in the milk^question was the storing <of milk. " Too often there was-no provisipn made for storing beyond the cans in which it was despatched.

■■ A shunter named James Walls, whilst engaged *in shunting operations at the Chnstch-urch Railway Station, fell across the rails, it is thought through catching- his foot in between a switch and a rail, and had both legs cut off, the one 'nbovo the knee, the other; below it. He was removed to the Hospital; and. died there. He was a married man 33 years of age, residing in Barbadoes street.

When the war had- been in progress ■for eight months—i«€., at the end of .March, 1915—-the bank returns showed the exces-3 of deposits (fixed and free) over advances- to be £3,088,677. Now that tho war. has been raging for twenty months and seems likely to be .protracted "(says the Wellington' "Evening Post"), there is excess of deposits over advances-of £7,540,000 at the end of the last March quarter. The question is. What is to.be dono with the money ?

Miss NoraK d'Argel, formerly of Wellington—where all her friends still best remember her as Miss Norah Long—has every reason to feel pleased with the result of her vocal recital at the iEolian.Hall (writes the "Post's" London correspondent). The attendance was large and the enthusiasm genuine, while all the press critics have made complimentary reference to her voice, her use of it, and the selection of her programme. Miss d'Argel is tan "old girl" of Nelson College.

Lord Kitchener made an interesting statement on the subject of Zeppelin attacks in a. speech in the House of Lords on February 17th. He pointed out that in war it was not always possible to ensure safety everywhere, and that *some risks, must be accepted in order to be strong at important points. "It-is -beyond our power,," he continued, "to guarantee these, shores from a repetition of these air; incursions, but' we shall make them more costly each, time." ■ :

At the Polke Court, Christdhurch, Herbert Peter Hanson was charged that between January Ist and March 16th last he did receive the sum of £64 17s 9d from several persons on terms requiring- him to ~pay the: Batne to one Walter Wilson Hensen, treasurer of the Star of Opawa Lodge, No. 30, Independent Order of Oddfellows, and did fraudulently omit to do so. Acting-Detective Torrance said he arrested the accused, who admitted taking the money. The accused subsequently said he had borrowed money from money-lenders at a high rate of interest and took the money to pay it off. The accused pleaded guilty, and was committed to. the Supreme Court for sentence, bail being allowed.

Tho purchase at Sydney of the steamer Cowan for a municipal fish supply venture in New Zealand was made on behalf of the Auckland City Council in pursuance of its scheme for placing a trawler in the Hauraki Gulf.

Referring to his military writings, Mr. Ashmead Bartlett, the war correspondent; rehvarkeel: ' "Itr Jis somewhat retiihrkable that until the present war the .only country, that gave me any particular "recognition was Germany. Of course the Germans are exceedingly keen in following all criticisms on military matters. The Germans first took notice of my military articles and then the French. Hitherto in England I have been known mostly as a descriptive writer apart from military technicalities."

The animal report of the Canterbury Egg Circle stated that.a most suceessfuLand encouraging year had been experienced. The. demand for eggs had been most remarkable", and at the present time,. though they wore 2s a dozen, the circle Avas unable to supply eggs sufficient for the demand. The membership Avas 155, and .was groAving rapidly. *• Last year the egg supply totalled 76,139 dozen, Avith an average of Is 3d per dozen for first grades, Avhile for. the first quarter of the current year 35 V 142 dozen had been sold, or nearly half of "the supply of the last 12 months. The marketing of eggs could be improved, and centralisation of supplies was desired. During the coming year it was- hoped to take up more education work. The science of egg productipn .was in its infancy, and thore was much for members to learn.

Ir. the lions? of Commons, Ottawa, Sir Robert Borden, the Prime Minister, moved a resolution, which was adopted, that the Imperial Parliament be petitioned to amend the Canadian Constitution so as to extend the term of Parliament by one Tear—namely, to October 7th, 1817. He" said the general election would have been held'ln 1914 but for the outbreak of war. As to the probable duration of the war, after investigation and consideration, he ventured to , say that in "his judgment-Aye were not more than half-way through. Moreover, after the Avar, it would b© necessary to transport probably 200,000 Canadians from Europe am] settle them at home, all of which would take time. He believed that public opinion generally approved of the postponement of the general election until peace had been restored.

. On February 10th Mr. TCJilux Root delivered a speech at the Carnegie Hall,^ New York, which stirred America. It wns in the main a ('enunciation of President Wilson's foreign policy, and has been treated by the United States Press as indicating the issue on which the Republican Party pronoses to .fight the Presidential election labor m the year. Mr. Roof said, in p;;v'i,: "We have not been following the with of peace. We have been Mindly stumbling alone; the . road that, continued, will 'lead to' inevitable' v.nr\ Our diplomacy has dealt with symptoms and ignored causes. The great decisive-question upon which our peace depends is the question.- whether the rule of action applied to .Belgium is to be tolerated. If it is tolerated by the civilised world, .this nation will have to fight for its life. There will, -be no i escape. That is the critical point of defeiice for .the peace of America."

The " gastro-entcritis trouble which was recently experienced at FeatlieiBton Camp, has now practically vanished.

Hie Canterbury^ Jockey Club- has made arangements to carry out the usual Easter programme in spite of Easter Tuesday being Anzac Day.

A man "in Gisborne has given '£000" for a V.M.C.A. comfort hut "somewhere in France," and Mr. John T. Royds,' National Treasurer, sent a cheque-to the "Minister of Defence at Wellington, who has agreed to forward the amount.

The Minister of Justice informed tho Canterbury Trades and Labour Council that no legal power existed to appoint women justices of the peace, but that when the legislation of ■ the coming year was being considered, tho question of appointing women justices would be taken into cosideration.