LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11506, 30 September 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The late Mr Joseph Knight, an old settler, made a donation to the cost of altering: a. part of the buildings at Canterbury Museum in order to supply a. placo for keeping the Early Colonists' Collection, and a, meeting of the Early Colonist.v Committee will he held at Canterbury College on Friday at. 3 p.m. to consider ■'he be-M means of allocating the money. Throughout the week special services ha,re been held at St Michael's Church in connection with the observance of the feast of St Michael and All Angels. Yesterday dedicatory services were held. In the morning Holy Communion was celebrated, the Church of England Men's Society attending, and in the evening there, was a. festival evensong at which Canon C'oates preached. The _Riecarton Borough Council and the W&imairi County Council h.ivo made arrangements with the Christchurch Tramway Board for the watering of streets in their districts traversed by the tramways, in terms of the board's offer to do the. work for 2s 9d per mile run, less the board's share of the roadway. The Hcathcote County Council js making arrangements for the watering <>f Onawa Fond within the county, and. the Xow .Brighton Borough Council for the, watering of Sea view Road and the Esplanade. A meeting of the committee of management of the Sumner Presbyt.er.an Church was held tast night lo make final, arra.nge.mente for tile caremony in connection w.th the laying of the foundation stone at the church on Saturday next.. Mr A. K. Rule presided. It was decided to place the records and newspapers of the day, together with a parchment record of the names of the present church committee, in a sealed metal casket, to bo placed under the stone for the ceremony.

The decision of the Tramway BoafS to allow passengers on the New Brighton care-"" to alight on the smith aid* of Sea view Road, instead of the north ••'d.' m > '.r.n-'Tly. Uss proved of greats convenience to the public and is tfao better ior the employees of the bond. Tho Department of Internal Affairs announceFi that tho Inspector of Weight* and Measures is now attached to the. Department of Public Health, in the old Provincial Council buildings, and will be in attendance at his office cn Intfrdays and. Ibursdays from 2p.S># to Sj p.m. The R&dcliffs Library Committee hai agraed to the request of the Tramway B;w.rd to allow it to place tso&vs lof wailing passengers under the verandah r,f tho building, :;<J the work of piaothe in position, and. of instal« Hutf electric light is now bempr pro* cecded with. In connection with Athletes' Bay on Saturday the draw .for the infcernat»» ional tug-oi-war took place last night and resulted as follows :~lrdand (jfci Burrough. J. Sloan and F. A. Horaibrook) v. Scotland (F. Grogski, W, Buckingham, J Bedelph); England (J. try, C. Pnce, \V. Reese) v. New Zealand (A, Thorpe, A. Lay bourn, B. Murphy). There will be a special pull between Australian and Chinese teams. The following boxers were selected to travel to Belfast and Kaiapoi in the afternoon:—J. Thompson, C. Hayes, E. Cooper and E. Morris; and the following will give performances at Rjt>carton and Sockburn in the afternoon: J. Watson, A. Munt, T. Brady and L. Cade.

A sum of £365 has been raised by shilling subscriptions for '"he purpose of making presentations to Generals Botha ana Smuts, states the "New Zealand Herald." It has been decided by the Botha presentation committee that the fund shall be closed, it being pointed out that a few amounts donated to the fund have yet to come to hand. A sub-committee, consisting of the Hon George Fowlds and Mr T. W. Leys, has been appointed to submit recommendations as to the purchase of suitable mementoes to be forwarded to the two South African generals. Tho illuminated addresses, ( which will also be presented to General Botha and General Smuts, will be completed in a few days' time. Sergeant P. G. Busing, in * letter to his father, Mr A. Busing, 00, Wildr berry Street, Woolston, states that the men he is with at Gallipoli are in fairly good health considering th® heat of the climate. At the time of writing, July 17, he had a dug-out at the top of a hill, near a battery, and enjoyed the use'of a track that ran past hist front and only door. The dug-out had the luxury of a rain-proof roof. Another good point was that Sergeant Busing and his mate could stand upright inside and wailfk straight in off the road, instead of having to climb' up a cliff to get in. As the situation was about 400 ft above sea level there was a good view of the sea and the surrounding country. As actingquartermaster to the battery, he h«d to go to the beach every day to draw rations, which were taken up the hilli on mules. He describes Sathing aft a great boon- Everybody, apparently, took advantage of opportunities in thati direction, as men could be seen in the water from early morning until late at night. At times the water wa.<4 almost tepid. The octagonal tiles on the floor of the Anglican Cathedral are behaving very strangely. From time to time some fifteen or twenty of them rise up together from their cement bed with a fairly loud noise, come apart, and lie there in an unsightly heap, leaving the cement exposed in all its ugliness and nakedness. This takes place in different parts of the floor, by day and by night, in all sorts of weather, It has been going on for years,. Down in the cellars underneath the Cathedral, there aro tons of tiles that have risen in this way and have been removed. The trouble has incurred an expenditure up to the present time of £4OO- It is causing the Dean and Chapter ft good deal of anxiety. The most assiduous inquiries and applications to all known experts have failed to discover either the cause or the remedy. At first it was thought that movements of the earth affected the cement bed, which compressed the tiles and caused them to me; but the strangest part of the affair is that the cement has not moved the smallest fraction of an inch. Dean Carrington stated that all his inquiries into the cause had been completely baffled, but he thought that the remedy might be found in placing tho tiles of the floor on a soft" bed, which would have some elasticity, and consequently would respond to any slight movements the tiles might make. Writing from "The Front" on July 24, L eutenant A. Oakey, in a letter to his sister, Miss Oukey, Rugby Street, states that there was much sickness amongst the troops. "LiKb everybody else," he writes, ** I have dysentery—even the doctors have it—• but that is nothing, except that it makes me very weak." Acknowledging some cigars sent to him bp Christchurch friends, he says:—"Tney were grand—just like a taste of civilisation again. Everybody here dreams of the time when he will be able to enjoy many luxuries which seemed to bo only everyday necessaries before. _lt brings it Homo to one when on a job ! like this. The thing that saves us 1 most is the niglitly issue of rum. Everybody gets it, and I am certain it has been the means of keeping a number of men out of hospital. Writing of the fighting he says:—" I'm afraid it's going to be a longer business than some people imagine; but don't worry about it; if we weren t t here we would bs> fighting somewhere else, probably France, so it seems the same thins:. About three nights ago we were putting out entanglements when we had the misfortune to lose a sapper—Gibson, of Auckland killed, and a. corporal severely wounded. However, we have been lucky as regards casualties, so cannot complain."' Ever since the Lvttelton Borough Council leased the property in Oxford Street as a site for a bowlmg greeu there has been some feeling amongst a section, of the townspeople, _ and on. . Tuesday evening two questions cropped up at the council _ meeting that created an animated The first question was raised" hv Councillor W r . Toy, who protested' against.the ordinary meeting of the council being postponed a day later in order, he alleged, that the Bowling Club could hold a- meeting. He i\as, however, assured by the Mayor, Mr W. Radcliffe. that such was not the ease, as he (the Mayor) had postponed the mcetinc on account of the fact that it was not' desirable to interfere with the office staff holiday. As the outcome of the question, a motion, by Councillor B. Bhind, that the council should refrain from holding meetings when the chamber was closed, was carried. At a later stage of the meeting. Councillor W. Tor again referred to bowling matters. ' He said he observed from the accounts that the club owed the council something like £"240 for wages paid out in connection with the laying out of the green, and he thought it was not right that the council should pay lor an overdraft at. the bank whilst the club was not called upon to pay interest ou monev which he contended should have been refunded. _ The club had only paid one amount since operations were commenced. Councillor THempsialk and C ouncil'nr W. T. Foster also supported the speaker. The Mayor stated that as far ns he could learn the accounts had not been rendered to the club, but he had been assured that money would t; e forthcoming as soon as this was done. Under the circumstances he could not see how interest could ho charged when the club had not been asked to pay. After further discussion the matter was referred to the Finance Committee. Ladies recommend Mart-ins' Apiol and Steel Piils. Sold by all Chemists and Stores. See that you get the | genuiafl. 2 i

1 —7 The annual sports of the Boys' High ] School "will be held in Hagley Park on , Ootober 8A Press Association message from Sydney states that the hanks have altered the rates of exchange on I/ondon, which are now framed on a 4 J per cent baais. Tho total number of passengers carried on the Wellington tramways during last financial year was 25,517,515, bfejng 95?Jia9 more than in the previous year. Of the 25,517,515 no fewer than 4,734,605 were carried at concession rates. Tho average fare per passenger was 1.44 d. Tho drill hall in the Auckland Domain is now being fitted up as a, hospital, tho cost of the work being estimated at £61)0. Provision is being made for sixty or seventy beds, with, accommodation also for fourteen nurses; but, should tho need arise, 400 wounded soldiers could be conveniently housed in tho building. A sitting of the Supreme Court will be held in Christchu.-eb on Tuesday to hear a compensation ease in which the trustees of the Muvcbison Kstate claim £3OOO from tho Government on account of land taken for the power sobc-mo at Lake Coleridge. Mr A. Boyle is assessor for the claimants and Mr H. H. Ostler, of Auckland, for the Government. There is nothing suggestive of pugilistic tendencies about tho member for Lyttelton, Mr J. M 1 Combs, whose lines are more those of the student, yet there was tremendous menace, says the " New Zealand Times," on Tuesday, in his voioe when, in reply to an interjection shouted at him, he glared round the House', with the demand: "Who shouted 'Order' just then?" Members laughed heartily, and no one " owned up." It has been decided to open the boating s&aaotL in Christchurch on Saturday, October 33. The proceeds will be given, to the Patriotic Fund. Afternoon tea will be supplied at the different boat houses. Previously this was given free, but this year there will be a charge of sixpence. Committees of ladies are arranging for collectors, who will go amongst the crowds. Theru will be a procession and races and other attractionsA letter, written by Captain Henry "Wepiiia Wainohu, of the Maori Contingent, well known in this and the surrounding districts as a. clergyman and footballer, says the '' Poverty Bay Herald," describes the Maoris under fire. He tags they go into action laughing and einging, comparing this great game to a game of football, where everyone must strive to win suooe-ss by obeying the captain's orders and bring ddwn his man. A Press Association message from Dunodin states that a meeting of the Patriotic Fund Executive was held this morning, when the delegates to the recent Wellington conference presented their report. After a discussion it was resolved that whilo the executive saw no reason in the meantime for altering its previous decision regarding the formation,of a National Association, it would be glad' to hear Mr C. P. Skerrett on til© question if it was convenient for him to visit- Dunediu. The employment of unnaturalized Austrians on oil works in Taranaki was mentioned in the House of Representatives by Mr C. H. Poole (Auckland West). Mr Poole said that the Government subsidy was being earned by Austrians while efficient British workmen were idle, 'fho Minister of Min«* (Hon W. D. S. Mac Donald) said he was not) sure if any subsidy wafl being paid. Tho question of oil subsidies waa under consideration, and ho would inquire regarding Austrian labour at the same time. The Mayor has sent the following letter to three girls, Doris Stephens, Eileen Oliver and Edith Gilpin, who recently seat him £1 Is for the Patriotio Fund:—"My dear girls,—l wish again to express to you the great pleasure it gave rao to receive your donation of £1 Is. tho result of the concert you so kindlv got up for the purpose of helping the wounded soldiers. I am sure the money will be used to render welcome assistance to someone in need. lam verv pleased to hear that one of you has a brother already at the front. One of my eons is also there, and perhaps they may meet: Again thanking you. I am, my clear girls, jours faithfully, H. Holland, Mayor."