NEWS OF THE DAY.

Colonist, Volume LXI, Issue 15075, 19 May 1919, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY.

A member of the Canterbury Repatriation Board mentioned that one Christchurch returned soldier was 62 years of age. Mr C H. Hewlett went one better. "I know a man of 65 who went to the front," he said, adding "and got the Military Medal." At Westport, the Inspector of Awards, Mr T. Fairhall, has instituted legal proceedings against the Millerton and Granity Industrial Union of workers, to recover the sum of £200 penalty for th* recent strike at Millerton. The case wiil come before Mr J. L. Stout, S.M., at Westport, on May 20th. : Mr .William Medhurst, who accidentally suffered severe burns, at Glenhope last week and was brought to.the Nelson Hospital, succumbed to Tiis injuries on Saturday night. Sir. Andrew Russell, in'his address at Christchurch, referring to the promised visit of the Prince of Wales, said that before the New Zealand Division left Germany and Prince had come down and spent three days there, seeing everyone. He went round to the different brigades and did exactly as everybody hoped he would do—namely, he saw as many of rhe men and officers as he could, and they thoroughly appreciated his visit. General Russell added that it liad been an enormous advantage to the future King to be aWe to mix with everybody, hoth men and officers of £he Britisn, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand Forces and others from all over the Empire. Questioned regarding the proposed formation of the Dominion Guards Regiment, Sir Andrew Russell stated thaC the proposal came from an officer in the New Zealand Engineers. The idea, he understood, was that the proposal should take effect before the end of th-j war, and that there should be a Guards Division composed of New Zealand troops for actual service. It was quite impracticable while the war was on, but had probably been brought up after the conclusion of hostilities. He did not care to express any opinion upon the proposal, because it was not yet known exactly what the effect of the League of nations was going to be, and how It was going to affect the members of the New Zealand Forces. _ The sport of wild-goose shooting is to be fostered by the Auckland Acclimatisation Society.---The-chairman of the council of the society, Mr G. A. Whitney, announced at a recent meeting of the council that he had presented a Hock of geese to the society with the object of having them placed on tho swamps at Rotorangi, near Cambridge, to breed. ' Geese reared away from the i haunts of man became very wild and provided excellent shooting. He expressed the opinion that there were several districts in the society's district where geese could be bred to advantage in a wild state. Several speakers endorsed the chairman's remarks, and it was decided to endeavour to arrange for geese to be reared in the Kaipar&:district.

. Tlie return of the trawler Simplon to the Auckland City Council will remove one of the. greatest difficulties with which the municipal fisheries venture has aad to contend since its inception. For 18 months past the Simplon and her +£ cV of ll men aye feeen "emPloyed by the Government in mine-sweeping operations, and the loss of the largest municipal trawler has resulted in a considerable reduction of supplies of fish available to the public. The Simplon will go on to line slip for refitting, and will take up her ordinary work in about a fortnight Her average catch, from 20 to 40 tons a week, will make an appreciable difference m the local supply of fish. The Simplon was a frequent visitor to Nelson aurrag the mine-sweeping operations off rarewell bpit.

Rats must still be very plentiful about Auckland, states the "" Star " Areporter's attention was called recently in an auction mart to a case of persimmons which had only just been delivered by steamer after a short trip m the harbour. At each edge*, where tin iats could got their noses in, the fruit was eaten. "This i s the case," said-th* auctioneer, "with fruit if it' comi by coastal steamer or is left in the railway goods shed. We have had case after case; of apples and tomatoes destroyed -.this way.-,lt ,s not the pulp so much Z nrtef^Tl 11 the, a PPles that the rats are artei. - Iliey also appear very fond of seed, m tomatoes and paseioAS?" In ?reS r, °f the- whole eommuniS something like o. united rat destruction out Ne W Zealand on a given date.

Party politics were very much in evidence *it the first meeting of the newlyelected ChristchurchCCit s Council Th» appouitment of committees precipitated a:.discussion m which the six Labour members of the council were partiaX reinforced by Councillor E. Peek 'the SJependent member for SydSam on The draff If °f *"%** by till M f coramittees was submitted leao'nptj nnf +r. -i. wuiu- 'it>iv nis col-

The second term of the Nelson Aca-1 demy of Music opens en Wednesday, the' 21st inst. Now pupils may be enrolled) at the rooms, Hardy street, to-day and to-morrow from 9 to'l2 and from 3 to 5. A resident of Otaki, at present in Raetihi, and who was present during the great fire of some moh£hs ago states chat the country never looked better than at present. The fire had done much harm at the time, but good has now come of it. Feed was plentiful," far mere had had a specially good season, while several beautiful homes and fine shops had "been erected. An instance of the vile work of Germans in mutilating prisoners came under the notice of the Military Medical Board which examined soldier patients at New Plymouth last week. One soldier had had the sinews of his J;rigger finger severed, and the outline of an Iron Cross cut on the back of his neck. — "Taranaki Herald." The suggestion was made recently by the district Repatriation Board 'to several Ministers thai a branch of the Government Printing Works might be . >oablished in Auckland to provide ei»' 'ployment for disabled soldiers* The board has now been advised that the 'Government, after full inquiry, has dejcided that it is unable to grant the re- '■ quest. . Judging by'their remarks at the annual meeting of the Nelson branch of th* • Returned Soldiers' Association on Satur T day evening, members were not in sympathy with the conduct of returned soldiers at the Jlnzac Day parade at Chrisrchurcli. One speaker said that, althoxigh they were now. in "civics,': when ; they paraded in uniform they should ob- ! serve discipline in the same way as they did when they were soldiers, and set an example to the Territorials' and Cadets. The Rangitikei "Advocate" has some bard things to say regarding local bodies in Marton, and included in a leading article is the following: "The fact of the matter is that public bodies in Marton, if they have vitality enough to be able to do good work, expend it all in mutual recrimination, and if they haw not that amount they croak awhile and die. For instance, the Ratepayers' /«- sociation has died of inanition, tlio Chamber of Commerce is nearly ready for burial, and the last hope of the town, the Retailers' Association, is a lamentable example of tEe prevailing vice of dissension, as instanced in the recent quarrelling over the holiday." a he willows along Maitai Bank appear to be subject to raids by persons in search of fuel. To judge by the unworkmanlike way in which they are attacked, the axemen are most likely juniors. What has been and will be I again a favourite part for a stroll, has a decidedly unkempt appearance just now. I ' At the sale of Jersey cattle on account of Mr C. G. C. Dermer held at Feilding hist month, the sum of 97 guineas was realised for the cow which was the dam of the registered Jersey bull which Mr ,L. A. Higgins, of Belgrove, bought I from Mr Dermer some time ago. The -51 head offered by auction were all sold, and turned in the sum of £4054 10s, speaking well for the high quality of the stock. ! Refresher classes in physical drill are being held in various centres throughout the Nelson educational district. The classes for the teachers of the Nelson town schools and a few of the adjacent country schools commence this morning at the Boys' College Gymnasium at 9.30. Classes have already been held in ColmV gwood ' Tak*k»j and the Waimeas. ; The instructors are Miss Blackburne . and Mr Just. A very interesting and instructive evening was spent on Saturday in connection With thfi SPOTP WrA illHjrm.r „,.«-._

i-.c>-i,iuii wibu iiue score caret judging competition held under the management of ;the Nelson Poultry, Pigeon, and Canary | Association, over 20 members and yiAjtors taking part in the judging. The ] subject was Utility White LegI horns. Four birds were staged, and an hour was given for the competitors to award their points. At the conclusion of the judging the president, Mr J. Hockey, score-carded each, bird on its merits. Questions were freely as'red | and answered, and altogether the even- [ ing was a great success. The demonstration committee have decided to stage Old English Game next Saturday night, and this will no doubt prove highly interesting. The meeting was brought to v close with a vote of thanks to the demonstrator and to members who supplied the 'birds. The secretary reports that arrangements for the annual show are progressing satisfactorily, and that members are meeting with good success m their canvass for special prizes for the show.

At the Adventist mission last night, at the Theatre Royal, the second address or a series %vas delivered by Mr Whittle, dealing with the League of Nations ani the reconstruction of the world from a Bible standpoint. The speaker in his preliminary remarks drew attention to some of the pre-war conditions pointing out that the war was largely the logical outcome of the teachings inculcated by the leaders of thought in Germany during the last fifty 3-ears concerning thf theory of evolution, or the "survrml of the fittest," which meant, when translated into actual practice, "the weak have no rights." Outstanding facts connected with the present position were £ealt wifh, and the subject was considered from a Bible standpoint. A number S + Ii pcS T ere ret'erred to, showing that the time had come referred to by the prophet when, swords were to be beaten into ploughshares, and spears l?,n° .P™ 1!1^ hooks» and «*en nitioa Fhould not lift up. sword against nation, neither should they learn war any more. The speaker pointed out that the connected Scriptures "brought to view the point that this prediction foretold nothing but a popular movement in the •'last days," and that it was but the Tn f f People, and not the voice Pi l*ort. The League of Nations itself was hut the voice of the people through their representatives, and it was likened to a well-built house Avithout foundation, built on the sand, being founded only on the fickle basis of human nature. The peace arrived at was but a matter of human compacts, and did not embrace national peace with God which was the only lasting peace. Thus it was shown that whilst the League possessed many elements of strength, yet" the Scriptures revealed that it was not of an enduring character.

At- the present i time the New Zp« and Returned Soldiers' Association S" "non-political," but there is a n£? e 2 some quarters to convert the association into a political organisation. g£ *™ turn was discussed at the annual AS mg of the Nelson branch of tto *£££ tion on Saturday evening; when it was unanimously resolved to instruct the delegates at the Dominion conference ta support the association remaining "non-

The exhibition of skete/ios, under tha auspices of. the Suter Art Society, which is to open at the Art Gallery on Wednesday afternoon, the 21st inst., will Be of more than usual interest. lx>cal workers will.be fully represented, and the attractiveness of the show will be In Jhnt PSf tß of *c DomSn. In oi] and water colours, as well as in other mediums, the exhibits willloS pay a viSt P B °l™k tTiat re-

A limbless soldier mentioned at t?.* annual meeting O f the Returned £]! zSfolS^ 6Ug& h6 had been in NeS Zealand for -five months, he had be<m unable to obtain any stump socks ft"£ the department. On the voyage oi-be in Wellington 'he applied to the .Wirt" Srf nn informed him th«* they had no stocks on hand, but his name would be placed" on the list of tuoss "£2 mg. to be supplied. Subsequent applications elicited the same reply That was fave months ago, and he was su'J v-aitmg As it was impossible to get the socks locally, he suggested tliat the association should make' represe-ikvvons to the department to keep stocks of tbo'se requisites on hand. It was resoVod'to take the matter up with the Deduce Department.

In a discussion at the forestry Society meeting on Saturday as to the value of i£2S Mrg?is w i3tf r for Wlding pmposes, Ml j Mams, as a practical builder, sai^that he was-quite prepared f.l s**5 **- ?° said it was well suited to the bungalow torn of building, whore die overlmiigvng. eaves gave a good deal orprotection from,the weather. ]H e aS> advocated building at least two feet abo/c the ground level, and said that had he the power he would compel all lZ« enT \ h%s° built > for heal&rea. n.6ce£-Paiy, *» make an endeavour to cheapen the cost of building, and the use of pinus insignis might help in that direction. He gave a valuable hint as to painting such timbers as pinus insigml and Oregon pine where gum streaks would show through the paint no matte? how many coats were put on in the ordinary way. He said that if a coat of knotting was first put on the surfaco ?rn n V er there would not ho any trouble from gum streaks.

A peculiar incident occurred at Lyttel ton recently. A young lady who had been "on a visit to the port, where she. was staying with friends for a time, losb a gold locket and chain, sent to her by her soldier brother. Diligent search.' was made for days, but without result. Subsequently the soldier brother, aftereturning home from the front, went to .Lyttelton to visit his sister, and while, walking up Canterbury street picked up in the -water-channel, the missing article of jewellery, which was almost obscured from view by road-dust.

A meeting of representatives from tho principal publishing, printing and 1 ij? cry ' firm* of -Ohristchurch was held for the purpose of discussing ways and means of effectively advertising Canterbury. The meeting was largely attended, and was thoroughly representative m character, practically every lar<^ firm being represented. The leagued organiser Mr P. R. Climie,. explained the object of the meeting, and pointer! out that it was the duty of eyery iovaS resident of Canterbury to assist in ad. vancmgtjie interests of the province. j i/- Benzie was. voted to the chair,, and atter an interesting discussion, during winch many suggestions were made a strong committee was set tip, witlt power to add to its number. The committee will meet again this week at the league s headquarters the various members,undertaking to give the matter serious thought and consideration in the meantime, with a view to possible novelties in the way of publicity bein* devised. •'