THE COLONIST. THURSDAY MAY 17 1917. NEWS OF THE DAY.

Colonist, Volume LVIII, Issue 14406, 17 May 1917, Page 9

THE COLONIST. THURSDAY MAY 17 1917. NEWS OF THE DAY.

The public debt of the Nanier Harbour Board is £543,000. The sinking funds in hand total £151,109 16s lOd, &11 of which-'is invested and interestbearing.

Another advance was made recently in the price of rabbits, which, are now selling at 8d per pair on the fence. Rabbits are reported to be swarming in the back country and trappers are reaping a "good harvest." One trapA display of tho Aurora Austrahs I per informed an Alexandra "Herald" was observed at Auckland on Friday representative that his cheque for the night. 1 month was in the vicinity of £50.

It was mentioned at the last meeting of the Horowheuua. County Council that some flaxmill hands, were making from 20s to 30s a day, while no man received i;nder 12s a day, and some were almost quite inexperienced. A lad of 15 years secured 11s a day in one mill.

A ■ Christchurch paper mentions that arrangements have been made for the sale of the late, Mr. A. L. Joseph's property at Riccarton to Bishop Brodie. The property contains sixteen acres of land"and.a large house. It is understood that it will be used for a Catholic girls' school.

Before going out of office 3ijj\ J. V. Brown, late Mayor of Napier, signed the debentures for the £40,000 loan for tramway extension, as he had been signatory of the preliminary papers 'n raising the loan. The present position is that the town has to pay interest on moneys which cannot be expended because rails are unprocurable.

The following notice of motion tabled by Cr. Gibbons will be dealt with at the fortnightly meeting of the City Council to-morrow evening:—"That all salaried officers having charge of employees of the Council receive three months' notice, subject to re-engage-ment, within eight weeks."

Services will be held at the Cathedral to-day (Ascension Day), as advertised.

Newspapers have been placed in the list of partially essential industries.

The enlarged Hospital for Infectious Diseases at Bottle Lake, Ghristdiurch, has been officially opened.

Money continues in good supply (says the-Auckland "Herald"), and the attraction of high-class investing stock is again shown by the further slight hardening that has taken place on the Exchange. - However, the financial position cannot'really be in a condition of ease until the huge accumulations of produce which are now lying ready for shipment at nearly every port are exported, especially as considerable advances have been made on most of these lines.

"Spiritualism Tested by Scripture" is the title of an address to be given by Mr W. C. Nation at tho Oddfellows' Hall on Sunday night.

"The Wonderland of New Zealand," a series of Kineniacolor pictures, are being exhibited'in Australia by William J. Shepherd, by arrangement with the New Zealand Government.

A controversy at Dunedin over the six o'clock closing, agitation has point given to -'t by the opposition of Mr C. E. Statham, M.P., to this proposal for the curtailment of the sale of liquor.

An old man named John M'Donald was found dead in bed in his hut at Ferndale, Mataura district, the other day. He-, was 81 years of age. He is beheved to have come to New Zealand before 1860. He returned to Scotland shortly after, and again left for New Zealand with a friend, bringing with him the first threshing mill plant into the Tokomairiro district. He was also well known in the South Canterbury district.

A correspondent says there are indi^ cations that the Turks regard the Palestine tteatre as of more importance than Mesopotamia. Heavy Turkish reinforcements arrived at Gaza at the end of April, and a period of trench warfare is expected.

"The V.M.C.A. lias no creed," said Mr. Smeeton in an address at Feildirlg. Developing this phase of ther«ubject, he said that tfce V.M.C.A. hutments were used as freely by Jews as.by Methodists or by Anglicans. When the speaker was behind the lines in France at the end of last year, the V.M.C.A. lnvtment was used by Bishop Cleary, of Auckland, for the purpose of holding Mass.

The Comptroller of Customs, by direction of the Minister of Munitions, has communicated with the newspaper proprietors of the Dominion, requiring them to inform him what quantity of news printing paper they have in stock at the present time, the quantity shipment pf which has been advised, and the length of time these stocks, will last for printing the ordinary issues of their papers. As newspapers have not been classed by the Efficiency Board among the essentials required by the people of the Dominion (says the "Otago Daily Times"), it appears as if the authorities contemplate a restriction of the imports of printing paper. Newspaper proprietors have had a good deal of anxiety for the past year of two in connection with their paper supplies, and apparently tbeir anxieties are going to be intensified.

An extraordinary case, regarding the. Military Service Acthas just been made public (says the "Lyttelton Times"), and it is difßcult to explain how such a blunder could have been perpetrated. Twenty-one years ago, Edward Bohan, dealer, Leeston, paid thes debt of nature, and all the usual formalities in such cases were attended to. Somehow the authorities determined that he was eligible for the First Division, as his papers were not received at headquarters, formidable legal papers were served on his mother, to show cause-why a member of the household had not complied with the law. It was then explained to the authorities that the man wliom they Bought, had been dead for a couple of decades, and for the time being it appeared as if nothing more would be done in the case, since the authorities were obviously seeking unattainable. However, that was not the case. On May 8, Edward John Bohan was gazetted as a- member of the Expeditionary Force. The matter has been brought under the notice of Dr. Thacker, M.P., who has promised to make representations to the authorities.

A largely-attended meeting of dairymen was held at Chri&tchurch to oonsider suggestions from the Industries Board with regard to minimising the labour at present involved in the distribution of milk in Christchurch, and thus,; releasing additional men for military,/service. Speakers expressed the dairymen's willingness to assist the Government in every possible way. The executive of the Dairymen's Association will consider the board's preposalsy and will report to a, subsequent general meeting of tho association.

The question of the maintenance of the arterial roads of the Dominion has for long caused concern to members of, local bodies and others..; One proposal that has been made for their upkeep is that a tax should be placed on motor tyres. Sitting as a commission in Dunedin, Mr. W. S, Short (Undersecretary of the Public Works Department) said a calculation had been made which showed that a big f tax of the kind would return £50,000 a year, while the sum annually required to keep the main roads suitable for motor traffic was between £500,000 and £600,000.

An estimate of the amount directly contributed to patriotic funds in Australia was recently made by the Melbourne "Argus."'-It calculated the total at- £6,619,252,. in addition to which is the immense quantity of gifts in kind, for which no value figures can well be assigned. The unexpended balance ..of all. funds in the Commonwealth set apart for the aid of returned and discharged soldiers and their dependents now exceeds £1,500,000.

A few years ago (says the "Kumara limes") the Government, in order to placate its- Socialist followers, threw out the bait of a State-owned coalmine, which was supposed to supply coal to the people, and to be an example to the privately owned mines, and to prove that State employment would be better for everybody. There is no doubt that Runanga has proved itself an example—a shocking example r-of. Socialism •in practice.. It is rer cognised as a hotbed, for ■• industrial strife/ If there is trouble: brewing, the State mines are not far -from the bottom of it. The Socialist experiment' has been tried and : oroved an utter failure, and .-..the public does not want to goon spenQing its money forging weapons to uso against the State. ,- ■•■■_- -". ■

■Mr. C. Knew«tujbb, of Port Chalmers, has had an experience r ;iv^-connection with cabling money t$ hisi ;son, Fred,' at the front that will interest the relatives of soldiers on active service (says the Ihmedin correspondent of the Christchurch "Press"). A few months ago Mr. Kriewstiibb received a cablegram purporting to come from his son, and / containing a message to cable Home to him the sum of £10. The money was fonvarded, and it is only within the past few days that anything further has been heard in regard to it. It seems that after returning to the trenches at the conclusion of leave spent in England, Fred Knewstubb was surprised tp learn that £10 had arrived for him from New Zealand. He proved_ his identify satisfactorily and received the money. He had not senVto :New Zealand for it, either directly ,6r indirectly, as h© did not' need it particularly, but he, nevertheless appreciated, it, although riot tmdefst'anding why his father in Port Chalmers, should regard it as necessary to cable the money to him. Perhaps.tHe most peculiar feature of the whole matter is that the money i*eachecl the son instead of the unknown person who cabled for it in the' first place v

A _veteran of.v74^y.ears, .who has seen service in many lands^^:and . who' worked on survey parties "in the King Country; for the past quarter of a century, presented himself at the Taumafunui recruiting gnice the<. other s,day and said ho .wanfced. ta "'', enlist. In answer to a question regarding tiis age, ho committed the pious fraud of understating'->t considerably. He was not sure, he said, whether it was 46 or 47 -jreai-s. He passed tho medical examination, his sight and all his other faculties being quite good. , Just as he was about to leave the office in triumph the sergeant of police happened to enter and gave the man's real ago. To all appearances the would-be recruit is perfectly sound, but-there seems to Be: no doubt about his!"age, for a trustworthy Tauniarunui -resident states he knew "him 40 years ago, when he looked very much the same as he does to-day.

"The War and Social Questions"' was the title, of a lecture:delivered at Qneliunga., by the Rev. A. B. Ghappell, M.A.,:-.Registrar of the Auckland' University College. The lecture was delivered under' the auspices' cf the Workers' Education Association. "One of the first social gains arising. out of the war," said the.lecturer,, "is the stirring of social anxiety. Problems that existed before the war are already taking new shapes;. questions \such as pensioss, unemployment, poverty, housing, and labour are'not quite the same as they were before the war, and their new features and renewed urgency are stabbing us awake. The age-long suspicion of State interference allowed individualistic views of -life to -"maintain, dominance, even where a reasonable measure of socialistic development is most intelligently : Urged. -Now, as a result of the war the British Government has become.a bill broker, a trader and> a manufacturer; and what has happened under the.stressl of: war has proved the possibility of enlarging the scope of collective enterprise during times of peace."

A- settler in , the Mangaweka district is reported to have dug two tons and a-half of potatoes from two acres of ground.

The dependents of the men in gaol for sedition appear to be well looked after. A Christchurch reporter was told that a fund, 'brought into existence for the purpose, was supporting the dependents of 25 men, including a number on remand.. The wives receive £2 per week, and children 5s per week each, so that the amount now being paid out exceeds £50 per week.

A suggestion has "been made by Mr' E. JSV". Harrison, editor of the "Australian Motorist" and ""Motor World," that a great incter-state roadway should bo constructed as a lasting monument to the Australian soldiers ,who ha/ye given their lives for the Empire. It is intended that the highway should give employment to soldiers on their return from the war, while later the road "will afford facilities for settling the land.

A record price for Australia was recently paid in Melbourne for merino wool. Under the Imperial requisition scheme, the appraisers fixed 3Ofd per lb as the value for the top lot of a clip grown near Beaufort, Victoria. Values up to 30i-d were also paid in Geelong recently. ■

Arthur Price, aged 39^ a native o£ Wellington, New Zealand, a returned soldier in camp at Addison road military camp (New South Wales), was found dead in his bed recently. -When in New Guinea, Price contracted malarial fever, nad'lately he was taken ill. He went to sleep, and when one of his mates went to call him the next morning Price was dead.

On the night of February 9.10 the London County Council took a census of; homeless persons in the cities of London and Westminster and 12 boroughs, the counting starting at midnight. The night was moonlight and frosty. The persons sheltering under arches or on staircases totalled four— all females—the lowest number Recorded since the census was started in February, 1913. The number of homeless persons seen in the streets also showed a considerable reduction, 19 men and five females, as compared with 21 men and 16 females a year ago, and 296 men and 76 women in the early part of 1914, before the war. Reductions were also noted in the free shelters and labour homes, common lodging houses, casual wards, and Rowton Houses.

A«seyere criticism was passed on the member for Lyttelton, Mr. James McCombs, by Mr. E. Henderson, a member of a deputation representing Lyttelton and shipping interests, which waited on the Hon. G. W. Russell, Minister of Internal Affairs, the other day. The deputation had been introduced by Mr. W. T. Lester, Mayor of Lyttelton,- and later, when Mr. Henderson was addressing the Minister, he said that he hoped Mr. Ruesell would overlook the fact of their coming before him without, their member, whom they had ignored. "He is not irr sympathy with us, and ignores us," added Mr. Henderson, "so I hope you will look on it in the'right way." " The Minister made no comment. r -

The Anchor Company announce that the steamer Kaitoa will he laid up on Saturday next for overhaul and annual inspection, extending over 5 or 6 days, consequently they mil have no steamer leaving here for Wellington on the I.9th, 22nd, or 24th inst*