LOCAL AND GENERAL

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12405, 24 August 1918, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Mr James Hislop Under-Secretary or Internal Affairs, is confined to his house with a severe attack of influenza. Tiie children attending St Jatoes’a ouiichiy school, -Lower Riccnrton, an<i Scouts, will hold a concert in tho Town Hall on Tuesday next. Mr J. Donovan, manager of tho 'Wellington Rugby team, speaking at the Linwood Football Club’s social gathering last evening, ventured to suggest, to tho Canterbury Union the advisability of playing an even lower grade than the present fifth grade competition. This, lie said, would attract tho boys of about fifteen, and would offer a good field for those older players .who wished to take up training. Wellington had found that a lot of boys were losing football and strayed into other games, but the institution of the sixth grade team had been a very good tiling for Wellington, and anyone who took up the training of a low-grade team was.in for a very happytime, as ho knew: from six years’ experience.

An attractive programme has been prepared for the ninth Sunday concert organised by Mrs Burns-Loughnan in aid of tho Lady Liverpool Christmas Parcels Fund, which will take place at the Theatre Royal to-morrow evening. The Orchestral Society (forty performers) will play “ Gabrielle" (Posse) and tho march from "Lo Prophet© Madame Gower-Burns will sing “Hear Ye, Israel" (“Elijah”), Mr Frank Charles will sing. “The Lord is My Light ” (Allitsen), and Mrs Vere Livingstone will play a Romance by Schumann and a Toccata by Leschetizsky. In deference to the wishes of the church-going community, the concert will not commence until 8.30 p.m., and will conclude before the departure of the last tram-cars.

Tho Hon Arthur Myers, Minister in Charge of Munitions and Supplies, Mentioned to newspaper representatives in Wellington that it had been recently reported to him that the Petrol Regulations, in regard to price, were not being observed in some cases by retailers. Consequently the matter had been taken up by the Department with the secretary of tho Motor Garage Proprietors’ Association of New Zealand, who was now co-operating by 'assisting in making the regulations more fully known to all the parties concerned. The prices which had been fixed by the Board of Trade were the maximum prices which should he paid to retailers, the Minister continued. Anyone who paid in excess of the gazetted prices was therefore committing a breach of the regulations. Hie annual social in connection with the Hornby Rugby League Football Club w.a,s held in the Druids’ Hall, Hornby, on Friday evening. About fifty couples took part in the dancum, to music supplied by Messrs 0. Wells (piano) and Brown (violin). Mr 0 M’Grath played an extra. The hall was prettily decorated with many flags e ' rer S reens - During an interval 'Miss B. Cooper contributed a musical item. Mr L. Pearce made an efficient M.C., whilst Mr J. F. Konworthy undertook tho secretarial duties. The members worked hard for the success of tlie evening, and as a result a most enjoyable time was spent by all. Dancing was kept up until the early hour.-. Representatives were present from the Addington Club, and a party from Christchurch arrived by ’bus, returnmg shortly before 2 a.ni.

Writing on August 14, the Sydney correspondent of the “Lyttelton Times says :-—Tlie Trades Union Congress called in connection with the scheme for forming One Big Union continues to sib in camera. This is very unfortunate. It is a matter of much regret among at least a substantial majority of delegates. Publicity would give the general public some clearer idea of the scheme than”it possesses at present, and, what is more important from the Labour point of view, would be of assistance in the way o; propaganda. From what one can lea rt of the proceedings, it seems to bs recognised that propaganda work among the craft unionists will have to be very thorough before reasonable hope can be entertained of them merging their organisations into a single organisation. Lven the most optimistic among the advocates of the scheme confess that immediate acceptance hj not to b e thought of. They insist, however, that acceptance is inevitable —and with some reservations one is inclined to agree with them. The main reservation in the- writer’s case is that disruption of the existing Laboui movement must proceed much further before the way is open to the One Big Union to take the field. This union is purely syndicalist in conception, and though syndicalism has a strong hold on a section of Australian workers, there is a considerable section in strong opposition. The position at present seems to be that the unions connected with the highly skilled trades are hostile to a general amalgamation, and that unions formed of unskilled workers and those who are on the borderland' of this class are favourable to the suggested changes. Dr Fellow’s Pile Cones have cured ■hundreds of Christchurch citizens after every other known remedy had failed. Price 3s Gd box, from chemists, or direct, Loashy’s Pharmacy. 1757