LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11730, 21 June 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A Sumner resident has brought to the "Star" Office a sprig of wattle m tell bloom. It is said that the bloom is particularly early this year.! "The Maoris have the finest teeth of any race in the world," said Major Picker ill, at the Technical College last evening, " through their teeth being smooth on tlio surface* Tb© modern tooth of the white man is developing ridges on the surface, and these ridges allow +he acid causing decayed teeth to have greater hold. )T _ Regaining the prevalence of scarlet tever in Christchurch, Major Pickerill, in his lecture at the Technical Collego last evening on the care of the teeth, said that 6carlet fever was a throat and ruouth disease, and it had been proved in America that if children £ teeth were attended to scarlet fevei among children decreased to » verj great extent. "Two thousand men are dentally treated each month at camp, to enabla them to be fitted to go to the front and fight. That shows there is something wrong with the dental treatment of the young men of the. Dominion." This statement was made by Majof Pickerill at the Technical College last evening, when lecturing on the care of the teeth. " Take the freight on kerosene," said Mr Leigh Hunt at the Central Chamber of Commerce at Wellington on Monday. "Kerosene cannot bo termed a luxury. It is a,n absolute necessity in the country; but ihs freight is now Ss 6d per case from the Pacific Coast.' Before the war we wer< selling a case retail a.t Bs." This, Ml Hunt continued, was a point that should be emphasised—the part that the enormous freights had in the present high prices of commodities. Many people thought- that there were b ; g mercantile profits, whereas the position was probably that merchants' profits were less than formerly. For over a year the Marshland Ladies' Guild has been working very hard making garments and sending comforts to the men in the firing line. During last week Mr W. J. Walter received a letter from Sergeant A. P. Lange, of the Main Expeditionary Voice, an extract from which runs as follows: —"I wish through you, on behalf cf my comrades and myself, to give our .thanks to the residents of 'Marshland for the gifts of jam sent to us, which we have been enjoying these last few days. I have often heard of the work that is being done by the Marshland ladies, and I am proud "of them. We missed a lot of the Christmas gifts, but have been doing well lately and had lots of Liverpod par-, eels. . . . Once more_ thanking the residents of Marshland for their kind thought fcr their boys at the front, Hoping we shall j>lay the game here as well as you aro doing it there, with best wishes to all." : At the meeting of the Drainage Board last night a letter was received from tho Town Clerk enclosing the report of the conference regarding the improvement of the Avon. The Mayor; (Mr H. Koiirvud) said that the confer-' enec- had suggested three weirs, the lowest being at tho Antigua Street . bridge. Personally lie would_ like .to &ee something done to the river between t-hero and licrevord Street. Ho moved that'the board should adopt the' scheme as approved by the conference, any variation to be placed before the board for approval, before being carried out. Mr H. J. Otley stated that a stream of water ran from High Street, uv.d«r the G.P.0., tie Royal lischango' Buildings and Clarendon Hotel .'and: t'fi'-r.oo to tho river. He said that if—a weir were erected in the river lower than the Kcsoiial it would adversely • siieec cellar* m ih«> city. The motion was seconded by .Mr W. H. Down and ' carried. < Concerning Washing Day.—Baa dry- 1 ing weather demands good wringing.' We have just landed a full supply of the genuine." Novelty " and '-Eureka"' Wringers, including the new ball-bear-ing lines. Quality and long life guaranteed. Hastie, Bull and Pickering, opposite Baliantyne's. jr

An effort is being made to resuscitate the Overseas Club in Christchurch, and the Mayor has decided to call a meeting with that objoet. A Press Association telegram from Auckland states that the \ ietorra arrived at 1.15 p.m. yesterday after a stormy passage. Minor damage was done to deck fittings. A Press Association telegram from "Wellinji-ton states that the National Sweet rea Society's trophies to the value of ninety guineas, have been allotted to Wairarapa this year, and will b.> competed for in November. v A.t the conference of Master Painters, which commenced in Christchurch tins morning, Mr "W. A. Poison pr> p;)sed a motion of condolence to the nation in the death of Lord Kitchener. T > motion was carried in silence, members standing. The Board 1 of Trado has gone to New Plymouth to collect such information there as may be necessary for the completion of'its report to the Government an the" prices ruling for wheat, flour and bread. An interim report has already beeu received by the Prime Miniter. The Mayor is making arrangements 'or the whole of the City Council to neet the Tramway Board and discuss with it the scheme ( to erect a new :ramway shelter in Cathedral Square on the lilies suggested in the Beautifying Association s competitions. The conference between the two bodies probably will be held on Monday evening. In opening the plaintiff's case at tlu* \rbitration Court to-day in a claim or compensation by an Ashburton Borough Council employee, Mr Alpcrs =aid that the plaintiff had been injured by a gas explosion due to the bad gas supplied by the Ashburton Gas Com]>my. His learned friend (Mr H. D. Acland), who appeared for the council, ivould concur as to tho bad gas, being as he was a director of the local trie lighting company. (Laughter.) Among the many diseases referred to t 1 "!?; morning at the Arbitration Court during the hearing of a claim for damages was " compensationitis." Dr Jennings agreed that the cry of "compsnsationitis" was a cheap sneer. It was, ho said, a recognised 4 fact that the decision of the Court being known a man was freed from worrying over the result of his application, and consequently his health improved. Mr *"Alpers said that somo insurance eompnn:es thought workmen broke their limbs simply To spite the companies. Goitre was the subject of much discussion at the Arbitration Court this morning, when medical witnesses gave evidence concerning this malady. T)v Gibson said that, it was agreed that shock would cause or increase goitre trouble. Thero had been many cases \ jf men back from the front suffering from Graves' disease, which Caused sin excessive secretion in tho thyroid glands. These men could have had no goitre, or none observable, when passed by the doctor for active service, but the fshock from shell concussion and other causes, had developed' goitrt>. The amalgamation has just been ;ompleted of two of the _ Dominion's largest and best-known business houses, aamely, Messrs Wright, Stephenson and Do., wiiose headquarters are at Dunsdin, and Messrs "W. and G/ Turnbull and Co., with headquarters at "Wellington, says the " Dominion." Both firms have branches in various other parts of New Zealand. In future the two businesses will be conducted und'er the name of Messrs Wright, Stephenson and Co., with a sharo capital of half a million. Mr James Macintosh joins the board of directors of Messrs Wright,. Stephenson and Co., hut the Wellington business will be carried on practically under the same management as heretofore. A protest against the exploitation of Tikinui lands by unnaturalized Austrian gumdiggers was made by two members of the Hobson County Council at its last meetings, states the '' New Zealand Herald." They stated that the section had been surveyed nine months ago, but still remained under a kauri gum reservation. All the payable gtim had been removed, and the aliens still enjoyed possession of the territory, and were only enpaged in seiving the heaps of gum dust left by former British workmen. Mr M'Carroll said t the bulk of the land was valuable drained swamp country, and carried a good deal of marketable council unanimously decided to request the Government to lift the reservation and allow the land to be settled by homeseekers. The " Fiji Times'' cannot undeiftand what the New Zealand Government is doing in permitting German commercial advertisements to appear in 11 Tho Samoa Times." Britishers throughout the world (says the Times ") are united in their determination to do their utmost to prevent German trade from regaining its former position, yet in the issue of May 27 of the "Samoa Times" appeara a big advertisement of the North German Insurance Company (Norddeutsche Versicherungs Geseldschaft), whose headquarters arc announced to be in Hamburg. Perhaps New Zealand is not aware that Hamburg is "somewhere in Germany." At any rate, the company should be put out of business, because in tho event of a loss tinder one of its policies, the local ;agent would simply say, ''The money is in Hamburg; go and get it." A woman, well dressed and considerably below middle age, made her way down to the King's Wharf shortly after nine o'clock on -Monday evening, says the "Dominion, ' and enti'eavoured to board tho Tahiti with the intention of seeing one of the.crew. The woman was, however, forbidden by the wliarf officials to board the steamer, and she thereupon moved along and stood under the light at the head of the wharf. In a few moments those in the vicinity heard the report of ii. revolver shot, and quickly discovered that the woman had' attempted to shoot herself. The bullet had missed its mark, however, and she was fumbling Avith the firearm, and was about to e>hoot again when some Harbour Board officials wrested _ the revolver from her. Constable Fleming, on arrival on the fcene, found that the desperate person had already been escorted from the wharf by a foreman named Johnston, who stated that he had put her on board a tramcar and' advised her to go home. As far as could be gathered, the woman resides in Taranaki Street. The police, aro making further inquiries. At Suva, Fiji, on June 9, says the i' jrj-ji Times," 140 of tho Chinese in Suva proceeded to Nukulau in order to joyously celebrate the death of Yuan-Shi-Kai, the recently-deposed Emperor China. The reason for this " mirth in funeral " is that Yuan-Shi-Kai tried "* to cheat tho Chinese public in regard to promoting the Chinese Republic. lie Eouuht to invest himself with the regal roberf, but the country rebelled', so he climbed down, and handed his powers over to the Chinese Cabinet, and then, as.often happens to people who are obstreperous in the Celestial Empire, lie verv conven'ently died. The opposition to Yuan-Shi-Kni's propcra] to rai .e himself to Imperial honours ivas engineered by the Chinese National League. The ? resident of the league was Dr Suu-at-Sen, and it had its headquarters in Japau.. There are branches throughout the world, and the Suva branch comprisas over 18!) members, who recently collected a sum ef £10:) ti advance tiie cause. The death of Yuan-Shi-lvtsi means that their cause has triumphed, and .that n Chinese Republic i.< now assured. Tb" Chinese, therefore, arranged to hold a big fe:i\i of Xukulnu, and were to drink'to the "Republic in cups of samshu. together with plentv of speech-making. j,| was the rteamcr _ Hnsperua That., sailed the r.-itury sea; JDol the skipiwr bold had an awful cold, A.nd'vH3 sad a* *ad oould be. But his dat'jhter fair, with tlis golden hair. Said. Fa .her. no words could bo truer; Jic cure on earth has half tho vrorth Qi \Yoc-is' Cleat I'epucrmint Cure." 2