NEWS OF THE DAY.

Colonist, Volume LXII, Issue 15238, 27 November 1919, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY.

A performance of "The Messiah" will be given by the Nelson Harmonic Society in the School of Music to-night.

As a result of the splendid work carried out by the Union Company's tug Terawhiti the collier Karori was refloated at Dunedin.

The catering at this year's Nelson Show was in the hands of Mr. C. A. White, of tho Grand Cafe, who satisfactorily supplied the wants of his very numerous customers at luncheon and afternoon tea.

The Telegraph Department advises that the following vessels were within wireless range of Wellington yesterday : Mararoa, Maori, Pateena, Leitrim and Mokoia. In range of Chatham Islands. Karamea and Port Elliott.

The monthly meeting of the Stoke Fruitgrowers' Association will be held to-morrow night, when a paper will be read by Mr. Win, C. Hyde, Government Orchard Instructor, on "'Foliage and the function of the leaf."

The well-known secretary of the JNew Zealand Alliance, the Rev. J. Dawson, will give an open-air address at the intersection of Hardy and Trafalgar streets to-morrow evening. Mr. Dawson has lately returned from America. He was in tlie United States on July Ist, when wartime Prohibition came into force. He will be able to teil his experiences in Canada and the States, and his story should bo interesting to the Nelson public.

The Eastern Extension Cable Company notifies with regret that owing to accumulation of traffic caused by cable interruptions, they cannot satisfactorily cope with the increasing traffic. They urge senders, in their own itercsts, to reduce tho number and limit the length of their telegrams. Tno company also particularly ask that Christmas and New Year telegrams should not be sent. These limitations do not refer to traffic between New Zealand and Australia.

Not only is it difficult to get work done at short notice in the building line just now (one builder informing us that it would not be possible to get certain work done this side of the New Year, as there is so much work in hand), but lack of material is causing a good deal ot delay and inconvenience. Mr. J. G. Carpenter informs us that to the latter fact is due the delay in the completion of the building of his garage. He has spared neither effort nor expense to get the work pushed on with, but the requisite material is not available.

That a successful race meeting means a considerable addition to the Treasury is a fact receiving many pointed illustrations in these days, says the Auckland ''Herald." The sum paid into the Government account in the shape of taxation by the Auckland Racing Club in connection with the Spring Meeting at Ellerslie amounted to £6116 2s 2d.

As a result of a blow on the forehead with a toy pistol ,winch had been thrown by one boy at another, a little girl, Maisie Andrews, aged 8, was taken to the Christchurch Hospital from the West Christchurch School on a recent afternoon. An operation was performed and the girl's condition is satisfactory.

That he did use an unsportsmanlike device, in tho shape of a spear, to take trout, was a charge brought against Kenneth H. Clunies-Ross in tho Magistrate's Court at Blenheim last week. He pleaded guilty. Ser§eant O'Hara said that last Sunday the efendant, with two companions, was seen by two constables going along the bank of the river at Spring Creek. One of the party carried the spear (which was produced in Court) and later the defendant took it and threw it into the river. The defendant admitted to the constables that he ui> successfully attempted to spear a trout. He had a license to fish. The defendant explained that he used a fishing rod, but ho was accustomed to uso the spear as a gaff. On this occasion the fish would not ibite, and, happening to see a trout, he tried to get it with the spear. Mr. P. L. H'ollings, S.M., pointed out to the defendant that he had rendered himself liable to a penalty of £20. He imposed a fine of £5, with 7s costs.

Says the Christchurch "Press" editorially:—We notice that Mr. 11. E. Holland in his address at Timaru stated that none of the Christchurch papers had mentioned the fact that he had delivered addresses in Christchurch on the previous. Saturday and ' Sunday. We nave previously chai> acterised a statement to the same effect made by a. Christchurch correspondent of the paper to which Mr. Holland has been appointed editor, as a conscious and deliberate falsehood, and have given facts to prove that this is so. We still await Mr. Holland's retraction of his assertion. Meanwhile it is obvious that if the leader of the Labour Party cannot be accurate regarding a question of demonstrable fact, the public have every excuse for suspecting the correctness of his statements on other matters which are less easily disproved.

Why shiver? Wear an all-wool, twopiece Canadian Bathing Costume. See tho New Zealand Clothing Factory variety.*

For young fellows of 18 and 19 it is quite revolutionary to find them receiving £3 and £3 10s a week," said Mr W. A. W. Grenfell, employers' advocate at the Arbitration Court at Wellington.

There are about 500 to 600 men in New Zealand who have done air work, and who could be constituted a reserve. "Captain Isitt is taking charge of the equipment that is down here," said Sir James Allen in Christchurch. "We have got four aeroplanes, and we are considering also how many of the 100 machines offered by the Imperial Government it will be wise to accept. 1 have no doubt that some of them will be accepted, probably 25 oiThem, but consideration has to be'given as to where wo will store them. JYiean while there is a scheme being presented to me for keeping hold of the men who have had firing experience."

A rise of 2d per 1.1) on packed teas in New Zealand was inside last week. Tea stocks in Ngav Zealand are rejwrted to be extremely low, the demand entirely outstripping the supply.

A Napier firm of importers has re« • oived a letter from its London agent* in which the following occurs:—"Although the above steamer (the s.s. Fort Sydney, bound to .Napier) shut out about 2000 tons of cargo, she left with more than that amount of room in her. This is the result of the shorter hours the men work."

A furniture valuer was asked in the Supreme Court at Wellington recently how much he reckoned furniture had risen in value between 1915 and 1918. Some furniture, he said, such as floor covering, had gone up 100 per cent. Other furniture rose 50 per cent. Allowing for depreciation second-hand furniture in use during the period roso by from 10 per cent, to 15 per cent, in value.

An exciting fight between a pair of thrasher sharks and a large whale accompanied by two calves, was witnessed by a launch'party at Alderman Islands recently. \Vhcm. the sharks had attacked the whale the launch party followed with a view to capturing the largest. One of the calves was killed by the sharks <and the party dragged it ashore. Owing to darkness setting in the chase was abandoned, though the larger whale seemed almost exhausted by its fight with the thrashers.

The slaughtering of young cattle for export, which was permitted by the Government last autumn owing to'the shortage of feed as a result of dry weather, has again 'been prohibited (says the New Zealand "Herald' 7). The Auckland Farmers' Freezing Company has received intimation from the Director of the Live Stock Division that no further permits will be granted to slaughter young stock, that is, cattle between the ages of nine months and two years, for purchase by the Imperial Government, and that the prohibition of the sla-ugh-ter of such stock for export is again in force.

A wonderful tally for a day's shearing was established recently at a station near Dannevirke. W. Vella, of Mataraau, the champion shearer, and three mates, after nine hours' machine shearing, actually put through 1212 sheep. The performance is regarded as a world's record.

Among the troops who returned to Australia by the Port Sydney was a Belgian boy familiarly known as Albert, who, dressed in ins A.I.F. uniform, looked a pocket; edition of the typical Digger. Albert is only 12 years old, and for three years he lived behind the German lines. His father was killed while serving irt the Belgian army, and his mother, it is believed, died from starvation. His release came when the^Diggers drove the Huns back just prior to the Armistice, and one of the Australians, Private Leahy, adopted him.

"Nationalisation (of British coal mines) would not halve the expenses m wages, as has been asserted" said Mr Lloyd George last month. "The experiment of State control of railways has increased expenses enormously, ify is doubtful whether the output would increase under nationalisation. lam not aware of any case whero men have worked better for the State than for a pri vate employer. The output of national workshops generally compares very unfavourably with private yards."

A correspondent writes to the Sydney "Morning Herald" as follows-.—Will city people stop and try to realise how the brave souls in the backblocks are existing at the present time. This is one story: "Traveller arrived at a settler's home west of Forbes one day last week, with the thermometer 106 in the shade, found the father away with the only dray and horse to draw water from a neighbour's well seven or eight miles away; the mother and three little children, without water, in the house. The traveller handed over his water bag to the children, and the mother refused to necept a drink with the usual bush un selfishness, fearing that there would not be sufficient left for the traveller on his journey. The father returned home 'that evening with a kerosene tin of water for the household (all he could get)."

For the past fifteen years Mr E. O. McGuiro. eyesight specialist, has been in practice in Nelson and surrounding districts, and may be consulted at 108 Trafalgar street, nest Dalgety'e.*

Tfie Thermometer .---At 3 o'clock this o-jfrrm. iv the- temperature outside this office registered 46 degrees.