NEWS OF THE DAY.

Colonist, Volume LXI, Issue 15203, 16 October 1919, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY.

The proposal of the Auckland City Cpuncil to raise a loan of £90,000 for street improvements and drainage in the Grey Lynn area was sanctioned at a recent poll of ratepayers. The Cathedral and All Saints' branches of the Sowers' Band will hold their annual sale of work on Saturday, November Bth. Mr G. M. Simpson, monumental mason,- of Collingwood street, has just completed a mural "honours board," in Italian marble, which is to be placed in the Spring Grove School. The memorial is inscribed "Roll of Honour. —Erected by the residents of Spring Grove m honour of the men from this school and district who served in the Great War, 1914-1918." Then follow the names of sixteen men who were irilled in action, and fifty-five who went on active service. The names of those who laid down their lives for their country are picked out in f red, while the ot'iers are in black. The workmanship is excellent, and the memorial is plain but striking in effect. Iho unveiling nf the memorial will take place on Sunday afternoon. It has been rumoured that S. Winn and Co., Ltd., could not retain the agency for Overland Cars as well as the Scripps-Booth; but this is incorrect. The above firm now hold the sole agency for both cars for a large territory, 'including Nelson Province/*' Two whales have been found lately in South Wcstland (says the "Grey Paver Argus")- Last week one whale jvas found on the beach at Waitaha by i\ir J. Alauera, and it was boiled clown for its oil. and over nine large barrels oi oil were secured and also a quantity of whalebone. The whale, was quite fresh when washed up, but its-nose was badly smashed in as the result of some recent injury. A couple of days later, some throo" miles to the southward along the Waitaha beach, near tho Wanganui Bluff, another and larger whale waf found on the beach partly covered wit? gand.- This whalo is estimated to be about 70ft in length, but nothing is being done to secure the oil. owing to its having become decomposed, it apparently having been dead for about ,two oi thr,ce weeks.

The. Telegraph Department advises that the Manuka, Mararoa^ Kumara, Moana, Port Alma, Waiwera, Westra* .ia, Port Melbourne, and Tahiti were within wireless range of Wellington yesterday. • The Government steamer Hinemoa is taking stores for all the Cook Strait lighthouses, including Capo Campbell. The vessel will also visit French Pass. She will take a new assistant lightjoeper, Mr. Moffatt (a returned, soldier), 'to Cape Campbell, to take the place of assistant-keeper Goddard, who transfers to French Pass, vice assist-ant-keeper Dabinett, resigned. Men's Wide-end Ties in a big, range of colours and qualities—ls 9d, 2s 6d, is. 6d,.'4s 6d, 4s lid each.—Trathen and Co.* The bottom has fallen out of the tungsten ore market (says the "Marlborough Express"), and until the magnet improves there will not be a bright prospect for the scheelite mines in different parts of the country. The Prime Minister was asked in the House of Representatives by Dr TEacker whether it was a fact that Mr David Jones (organiser for the .Reform Party in Canterbury) was proceeding Home shortly as an expert in primary products,' and, if so, whether he would 'be paid by the Government. Mr" Massey replied that he believed that Mr Jones, as well as a very well-known farmer of the North Island, had been mentioned as likely to go Home shortly to investigate the markets for New Zealand meat. They would not, however, go as Government officers, and would not be paid by the Government. Rugs! E-ugs! Now in stock', a good range of New Zealand-made All Woollen Rugs; grand value, 30s, 33s 6d, 39s 6d, 455, 67s 6d to 90s each.— Trathen and Co.* "The newspapers of New Zealand are the best and most honest in the world, 1' said Sir Walter Buchanan, when speaking to a gathering of farmers at Carterton on Saturday. He attributed the expansion of trusts and combines in other parts of the world to the fact that they exerted a sinister influence over the newspapers, 'whose duty it Avas to expose them.

Sir James Allen, Minister for Finance, when asked on (Saturday whether he could furnish any further information with regard to the £10,000,000 Victory Loan, said:—"Those who have not subscribed and who ought to have subscribed will bo called -upon to do so. They have lost their opportunity of obtaining 4£ per cent., and will get 3 per cent, only." Men's Hats! Straw Boaters 9s 6d; Panamas from 12s 6d up; Soft Felts 10s 6d, 12s 6d, 13s 6d, 16s 6d, 22s 6d and 32s 6d.—Trathen's New Mercery Department. In the course of a "speed-fiend" case at Wanganui, Mr. Wyvern Wilson, S.M V remarked that ho was of the opinion that before any porson should be allowed to drive a motor car he should be the holder of a certificate of competence, and when any breach of the taw was committed the Magistrate should have power, if he thought so fit, to suspend the offender's driving license. Inspector Hendry said .he understood this was the case at Home, and the license was issued by the Scotland Yard authorities. Men! We have just opened a splendid line of Men's Neglige Shirts, light ground with black and coloured stripes, good sound quality. Will wear and wash well. Price 9s 6d each.—Trathen and Co.* If your grandfather had paid 29s 6d in the old days, ho couldn't have bought anything to beat our Whole Back Shooters, capless and guaranteed, at 23s 6d.—Healy and Son.* ,**%.*£{ sJiIL-l-iULL-l di jIM y.kta*lS-^js^ They say it's harder to say© money than to earn it. This does not seem possible when you look over our prices tor the coming season.—Healy and Son.* A philosopher says: The only thing that beats a good wife is a bad husband. You can't beat our prices. Send for our price list early next month.—Healy and Son.* The late Mr Andrew; Carnegie, the American multi-millionaire, was stated in a cable to have bequeathed the sum of £2000 to Mr Lloyd George and £1000 to one or two others. As a matter of fact, these were annuities, not single bequests. Mr Lloyd George therefore receives £2000 for life, and the annuity is continued to his wife, if she survives him ', Viscount Morley receives a similar sum, Messrs Thomas Burt, M.P., John Wilson, M.P., and John Burns £1000 each. To the names of Morley, Bnrt, and Wilson are added in each case the words "life-long friend." George W. Cable, the novelist, is another annuitant; to the amount' of £1000, and ex-President Taft ia down for £2000 a year for life. Seven years .•igo Mr Carnegie announced his intention of giving £5000 a year €o all exPresidents of the United States and their widows, if remaining unmarried, if the nation through Congress failed to do so, that they might be able to spend •the latter part of tlwV liVnq devoting their unique knowledge gained of public affairs to the public good, "free of pecuniary affairs." Colonel Ro.osevelt, to whose'widow Mr Carnegie bequeathed £1000 a year, disapproved of the idea.

The Vavau corespondent of tho Auckmd "Star" states that the trial of Herlann Gutenbeil, a halr-caßte German, ho was charged with the assault of a British official at Neiafu, Vavau, took lace last montli. The Consul from lukulofa, Mr Islay MoOwen, arrived in a' utter, and a court was established, and he German was charged, that he assault-1 d his Britannic Majesty's representa-j ive by tearing his clothes, and. using, /ords calculated to bring disrespect; ipon the British nation. The assault ook place towards the latter part of uly, when the official entered one of the tores, where he was assaulted by the ierman.' Evidence was given by a numier of natives who witnessed the oecurence. Accused pleaded that he was Lrunk at the time. He was fined £5 nd bound over to keep the peace in two iureties of £50. 4 Sir Walter Buchanan possesses very itrong views concerning thei various ombines that are operating to the deriment of both producer and consumer, le exhorted a large gathering of farmtrs at Carter tx)n on Saturday to exact hedge's from candidates for political lonours that the Trusts will receive^ no quarter. A firm stand had to be taken )y the British and New Zealand Governments if tho Trust menace was to be combated. The Governments should charter ships and save the people from the clutclies of the shipping Combines. Captin Gilding, master for the past tour years of the schooner Rachel Cohen, which trades with Macquarie Island in connection-with the oil industry, in the "ourse of an interview at Hobart recently, contradicted certain statements in regard to the penguins on the island. He said that the statements that penguins were driven to the end of a race, knocked on the head, and fell into a boiling vat, where they were literally boiled alive, were ridiculous. "Such a task," he added, "would be both impossible and unnecessary.'' The <birds came ashore to a rookery close to the works. Each one was knocked on the head with a waddy on which an iron ferrule was fitted. They were then taken to the digesters, which were really big enclosed boilers holding from 800 to 1000 birds, provided they were properly packed by a man inside. The steam was then turned on at a 251b pressure, and tho dead birds were steamed for 12 hours. There were no boiling cauldrons, no races, no planks, and no live birds. Where the inhumanity or the cruelty came in he failed to see. Jf ihe killing of penguins was cruel, so was the killing of sheep and cattle for eating purposes. "Many tailors find it difficult to secure the range of patterns and suitings enjoyed in pre-war days, and in most instances have simply to entrust themselves to the tender mercies of the warehousemen," said a merchant tailor to a "New Zealand Times" representative. "The warehousemen control the situation—they are the indentors and purchasers. The manufacturing companies, generally speaking, prefer it so. The range of patterns is distinctly limited and in many cases we simply have tc take what we can get. There are inatances where some specially attractive pattern or special quality cloth is so cured for 'box' pattern clothes, but here again individual enterprise come? in, and there is no use in blaming the system. There has been a slight improvement, *but nothing to boast about and despite the high prices charged the profits are not by any means what.some people imagine. With the price oi material and wages rising, the price oi the article to the public must rise too.' An audacious act, which would indicate that the person concerned was by no means a novice in the gentle art of deception, occurred on the steamei Talune while she lay. at the Queen's Wharf at Auckland recently. The whole adventure occupied -but twenty minutes, during which the "cracksman" made a £40 haul, and casually wallod off the gangway in the uniform of one of the ship's officers. The plunderer got has opportunity (says the Auckland "Star") when Mr. S. E. Buchanan, the third engineer of the ship, was called away from his cabin to attend to a winch. Twenty minutes later he returned to don has shore clothes, but immediately noticed that something had rudely disturbed the sedateness of his cabin. Closer .inspection revealed that two civilian suits uniform and cap, and a leather i><-jj had disappeared, wailo there ,vere obvious signs that the intruder had been forced to a hurried exit, s^A had dropped other contents pji route, ii the uniform coat were a number oi belongings of the unlucky engineer, which brought the value or the couj in proximity to £40. The search and inquiries that followed revealed tha: the snip's watchman had seen an individual in the missing uniform and the other missing articles brazenly wilk oil the ship without h.is suspicions being aroused. A New Zealand firm of paper mer chants writes:-—"The paper position is * most unsatisfactory one, and alter col lating the facts that have lately come ti hand it is a certainty, in our opinion that the market is going to be consider ably worse in the near future. It ap pears as if a world shortage of paper if likely to -eventuate; and at foesj; a serious shortage of many lines is acer tainty." Colonel Mitchell, speaking at Feilding last week, said that once during th( war there were 12,000 men of the Brit ish Army rioting at Etaples camp. The New Zealanders were there under hii command. They were called into theii camp, and remained there for four days not a man breaking camp to join the riot The rioters had justification, and he hac fought to relieve them of oppression and succeed edin getting what the mer were entitled to. It is evident that the cost of Britisl manufactured goods is going to drive f considerable amount of New Zealanc trade to the United States (says th< Wairarapa "Age"). The manager o: the Masterton gasworks reported to th< Borough Councu that o^ying to the exist ence of a powerful meter manufacturer; ring in Great Britain and the rise ii the cost of materials, wages i etc., th« price of British gas meters Had in creased by nearly 150 per cent. In vie\i of this fact, and the fact that a few months back British meters were a-lmosi unprocurable, a trial order was placec with an American firm. The meters were being landed at about half the cosl of * the British article of a similar capacity.