NEWS OF THE DAY.

Colonist, Volume LVII, Issue 14165, 16 August 1916, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY.

On Serbian Day at Auckland over £700 was raised for the relief of the suffering people of that nation. Tho Auckland City Council is . considering the question of tree-planting on the catchment area of its water supply, and whether commercial timbers or ornamental trees should bo planted. The monthly meeting of the Nelson Education Board will be held to-day, whon the election of chairman will take place. Altogether, Mr P. A. McHardy, chairman of the. Anzac art union, gave away £30 in half-sovereigns in Wellington on Saturday to persons who could procujco art union tickets when acco-sfced by him, all of which came out of his; own pocket. A Press Association telegram from Wellington states that the Executive Council of the Amalgamated Railwaymea's Society decided to invest £1000 of the Society's funds in the War Loan. Japan; availing herself of the present favourable opportunity for trade extension, is despatching officials and experts to -many-,countries on touts of invest!gatioj).. A discussion took place at the Tahuna School Committee meeting on Monday night regarding the bad state of the •school grounds and the immediate approach outside. It was eventually de-| cided to appeal to the Education Board for assistance.; also to the Stoke 'Beted Board for a better approach to the school, • ■ ;, ,'' ■': 1

The engineer of the Waitemata County Council recently brought under the notice of the council the fact th&t the fine clump of kauri, trees on O'Neill's Flat was about to he cut down. After discussion it was decided that the council could do nothing to save the clump, as ib was on private property. -

The Bank of New Zealand 10s bank notes wore issued for the first time in Wellington en Saturday, and owing no doubt to tho novelty mere than anything else, they were m.brisk demand The Nelson hi anch of the bank received a supply of these notes' yesterday. Other banks operating in x,hc Dominion are considering the issue of a 10s note.

Referring to thovinfluctrice of wet ■weather, on the painting.trade and the hours 'Worked, Mr R.. F. Way, speaking for the Auckland Painters' Union in the Arbitration Court, said that though Auckland was known'as "Sunny Auckland,",' as many. rainy days were experienced there" during 1915 as in Invercargill.

Steps taken in Australia which materially assisted in making the Commonwealth war loan a success, and a suggestion that some similar course should be adopted in New Zealand, —that is by means of meetings of employees,'j and, in places, by a. house-to-house j canvass by local committees,'were communicated to the Minister of Finance. Sir Joseph Ward .replied as follows:— "My view is that' any effort made in the direction named, or in any other way that will help to impress upon the people the importance of helping the war loan" will "be much appreciated by me, and I cordially support anv] movement of the kind." " j .! AtJ\ s laM= 'neotJnK --tlie' attention of the Nelson Institute Committee was | cirawn to the pro-valence of the practice ol mutilating newspapers in the Public! lieadmg Room. Tt uas decided to| place the matter in the hands, of tVJ police and it is hoped that offenders will t?.ike timely warning. Tho offonco is a particularly mean one as the cutting causes the newspapers to bo totally unfit for further use in the Reading Room.

Mr J. H. Murdoch, chairman of the Westland County Council, is submitting a proposal to the staff to arrange to take tip any amount-acquired in war loan certificates—the staff to repay the amount at the rate of 5 per cent, per month on the dapital sum, for sixteen months, the certificates to be held by the Council until .the principal advanced is paid off. when the certificates become the property of the contributing owner. It is suggested that this will be a helpful 'way of placing a large amount of the loan in-the Dominion, if. it is generally taken ut> by locial bodies to assist employees. ■

A cable message has been received through the Secretary of State, from the Central Red Cross Organisation in London, saying that wliile they have a plentiful supply oi bandages" an unlimited supply is required 'by the Russian Goverr itent.

The Pahiatna by-election is proceeding quietly (says the -'Dominion's" correspondent). The general opinion is that Mr G. H. Smith, who is well known throughout tho electorate, will tot> the poll oil Thursday nest.

A concert of a novel description will be given, in the Druids' Hall. Collingwood street, to-night. In 'the first part of the programme Mr Tait's Choir augmented by some members of the Motucka Choral Society, will give a centenary performance of Sterndale Bennett's "May Queen," the soloists being Mrs Hesseltine, Misu Burrouo-h Mr A. E. Jackson, and Mr W. J. Salkeld. In celebration of the tercenten-l ary of Shakespeare, the second part! will be Shakespearian throughout. The1 Rev. J. A. Rogers will give a short reading on "Shakespeare on War" -Excerpts from "Macbeth," "The Merry ■Wives of Windsor," and "Tho Merchant of Venice" will be given by a party of ladies. . ■ . *

A Chnsfcchurch business man has received a letter from Kirkcaldy, Sootland, dealing with affairs there* at this! Lime. The .writer says:—"As several' hundreds of our men i?a\e ioined tho' Army and Navy, the shortage' of labour was becoming a serious iwatter. Then however, the women stepped into the .breach, and some into the breechesforgive the pun—and saved the situation. We have now some 400 women working and working well —God-bless them! It is ■ impossible to praise "too highly the fine spirit displayed by th-i women all over the country, "it is estimated that in consequence of the war, over 5,000,000 mere women are now oifc work, doing their bit. and when victory comes, as come it will, they i have won a right. to share in the glory."

A report of the General Committee submitted to the Dunedin City Council contained the following clause"-—"Your committee received a communication from the Minister of Marine, regarding the matter of fish supply, and a reply has been forwarded furnishing the information askpd for in the Minister's letter. The Minister nas now written urging that the council tike into consideration the question of the distribution of fish within the c;ty. The 'committee is, however, of opinion that until such time as wider legislative power is conferred on the council, it would be unwise to take any important steps in the direction indicated." The report was adopted.

Of Siegurd Lest rap, tlit Danish bari-| tone, who will he heard at the Harmonic' Society's concert on Thursday evening, the Wellington "Evening Pjost" wrote as follows: "Mr Siegurd Lestrup, who comes with a great reputation, furnished a treat that all could enjoy in his selections from the works of the groat masters. There could be no two opinions that.he was in magnificent voice i and showed himself to he thoroughly at home in Wagner and intimately " acquainted with the dramatic quaiitv of his voice."

In the "United Empire" are- given, somo particulars of the squadron of sixteen aeroplanes, presentee- by all nationalities in "Malaya, at a cost of £26,661. Tije .squadron consists of fcur fighters land twelve scouts. A glance' at the list of subscribers, says the "Westminster Gazette," shows the cosmopolitan nature of the population of Malaya, besides bearing testimony to the "patriotism of the. various races. Although the squadron .is now completed, Malaya does not propose to test or. her oars, and further machines are now being subscribed for. One, for which Australians and New Zealanders are now being asked to subscribe, is to bo called "A'nzao," and the women of .Malaya are preparing to ;provide a "women's aeroplane."

Considerable difficulty has been experienced by strawberry-growers in Auckland province during the last few months i:i cultivating the young plants which are to form, in part,' the nucleus of next season's supply. Tins (sa.ys tho "Herald") is attributed to the heavy rains and cold weather. The percentage of plants tha*: failed to mature and had to be replaced is much larger than usual, giving rise to considerable anxiety on the part, of growers. The area laid down in strawberry beds is •about-the same as in previous years, although the number of young plants is less, the difference being made up by growers retaining a greater proportion of old beds. Tlie plants generally are backward, and it is difficult.to predict tho probable yield, next season* as much depends upon the weather that rules to the beginning of October, when the first of the new fruit is expected to be on the market.

The Auckland Chamber of Commerce has received a circular from the Kaitaia Chamber of Commerce "vvith reference to the proposed tour of North Auckland by members of the Legislature. The circular stated that 15 years ago people in the Southern districts of New Zealand were obsessed by the idea that the Waikato basin was a barren waste, whereas to-day it was one of the most prosperous districts in the Dominion. Unfortunately, the circular continued, the North of" Auckland now was similarly suffering from the effects of an unjustified reputation. It was hoped, however, that that false impression would be removed as a result of the "Parliamentary tour, and a preliminary conference in connection with the, visit was to be held in Whangarei on ;: August 25th. The Auckland Chamber d.ecided to extend to, the Kaitaia Chamber its good wishes, and to consider any scheme which the conference might produce.

Over 60 members of the Rival Football Club-^-tiaiking the membership list of the last .'two years —are doing their duty to their King and country. Fortyeight have gone to the front, some are in camp, and eight are to leave Nelson tin's month to join the Twentieth Reinforcements. The latest recruits arc Messrs Nieman, Vosper, O;DonneJl, King, E. B.owe, McConchie, Silcock, and We.strupp..' A social Wins held in their honour at tho OddfelloAvs' Hall last night, -when Mr C. Leaper, president of the dub, w;jk in tho chair, and tliere was a. good attendance of members and friends. A number of loyal

and patriotic toasts ■ wove given and enthusiastically received. Mr W. Webb proposed "Our Allies" and Mr A. E. I\itching (secretary) "Our Members on Active Service." The guests of the 'evening were, wani'ily fculogi?ed for their action in enlisting. During the evening it was announced that Mr T. Brennan (vice-president) was giving a gold medal for the most consistent buck player for the seiason.

cor *<> notice an approaching trlajnS?,,^ knocked down and fatally r?S?" was a farmer, residing at New Lynn, and wins 35 years of age.

Pni re|£ rfc of t]ie Kotoraa Motor SS^Tfi ConT ny L LM- ;tted to stitpto^?,^ tile- ai:nual meeting, stated that the past year's operations w^Ta m«e. satisfactory, than was anticipated. After: making due allowances :for depreciation, etc., -there remained to the credit of the profit and loss account a sum of £1537 8s Bd, but ot winch the directors recommended tho payment of a dividend of 10 per cent 2™T?£ n S; to .£1014.105, and leaving i.o-22 18s od to be earned forward" to the credit of trie account for the ensuingyear. •*

Provincial Deputy Grand Master f- 1.'?,-. Holm stated at a meeting of the Ivilbirnie (Wellington) Oddfellows that there-was an army of 150,000 Oddfellows fighting m the present war. That wasequiaj to one in 10 of the total membership throughout tlie world Ib happened that the proportion of Oddielk>ws m the New Zealand quota is also one in 10. Bro Godber, in enlarging on these figures, stated that the amounts contributed to keep these .brothers good tin the books of their ; loage amounted to £180,000 per annum, this amount having to be ,made iip by-those who stayed at home.

The following- is the statement issued by Mr Mas&ey and Sir Joseph Ward in connection with the 'Pabta.tua byelection:—"When the Natiowxl Government was formed, au honourable undertaking was arrived at to the effect that if. during its term of offieo a member belonging to either party died, or for any reason retired from 'Parliament, the leader of the party to which such member belonged'should have the light to nominate a candidate for the byelectioi- thus rendered necessary, and srch nomination Mould be supported by the leader of the other side of politics. I Under this arrangement Mr G. H. Smith, of Pahiatua, has come forward for th^ present by-election as a supporter of the National Government and, m compliance with the understanding referred to, we strongly recommend him for the support "of tho electors of Pahiatua."