LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Herald, Volume L, Issue 14742, 22 October 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Bank cf Australasia Ins declared an in'-* rim dividend -of 7 per cent, on preference an] ordinary shares. Will the person who sent the “Herald” ■i Postal Note from Ngutuwera on the stb in at, kindly cmnmnnicate with ns. ' v 'ving name and what the amount is for. . ,

j A Melbourne cable states that the note issue has been increased to A 43.000.000. 1 Members of A Company, National Rcj serve, are notified of the parade to be j held to-morrow evening at 7.30 o’clock at 1 the Drill Hall. As some important j business will bo, brought before the Company, a full ’muster is requested. I It was decided at Wednesday night’s ( meeting of the Board of Education to j mane a strong protest to the Minister ; and Council of Education against tue I severance of any portion of the Wanga- , n, ‘i Education District in the re-adjust-ment of boundaries.

Of rabbits and hares 613, carcases, valued at <£17,516, were exported from the Dominion in August ot the present, year, as compared with 356,967 carcases, valued at £8065, exported in August of last year. In the first eight months of this year, 1,290,610 carcases, valued at £35,425, were exported, as against 874,103, valued at £2(1,091 in the first eighteenths of 1914.

"War is deadfnl, but yet is does good,” says Captain A. J. Cross in a letter received in Wellington a few days ago. “It certainly brings out what La best in r. man. ' The' selfish become unselfish,' and I could write you books on the noble deeds I have seen done. These men are just the men whom you see every day in the streets of Wellington—farmers, labourers, clerks, shop assistants, schoolmasters (quite a number) —all sorts, rich and poor. Yet dally I see them sharing a last cigarette (and cigarettes here arc worth their weight in gold), or putting aside the best of their rations for a sick chum. I have seen a wounded man wait patiently on one side till, another’s wound had been dressed, and heard a last cheery message to Ills chums from a lad who know he was being taken away to die.”

For the last six months Dunedin butchers have found it exceedingly difficult to procure enough meat of the required quality to supply their shops, aiil the trouble is now more acute than ever. There is not enough stock coming to th i yards, and prices for live animals wet ' never before at such a high level. Ouo butcher said: “When I was in the Old Country, -we had to pay high prices for our stock, up to £24 and £25 for cattle, sheep being correspondingly high, but w« got la per lb for legs of mutton and Is 6d for rump steak. The people here are not accustomed to such prices. Rum" steak, for instance, is at 9d, yet recently we had to pay up to £24 odd for bullocks, and you could not open your' mouth at the yards at anything less than £2 for sheep, and some of them small a’; that.” 1

According to a Wellington correspondent an unexpected contingency has arisen which will probably affect the shearing industry in New Zealand to some extent this season. Several months ago Mr Laracy (secretary of the Shearers’ Union) ordered .from England over £IOO worth of blade shears. These have, arrived in such a rusty condition that they are practically not fit for use. The trouble has arisen through moisture penetrating the water-proof packing in which the shears were wrapped. Some of the blades were sent out by Mr Laracy, who has received several complaints and has decided not to distribute any more. The difficulty arises that it is impossible to communicate with all hand shearers in New Zealand and many, of them will be annoyed -that their bladesL have not arrived. The shears which arrived two years ago, properly packed are still in excellent condition and free from the slightest : suspicion of rUst.

Prank Morton, writing from ■■ Sydney under the heading “The English Way," says: “I dined to-night in a restaurant, dinbd |ii, greathomfort -on very goed food. At the table next to mine, a German entertained his friend, who was nondescript or difficult to place. Farther down, r. sombre Turk sat solitary, but ate well. Across the room one. or two other Germans spoke in low • gutturals, and one German spoke in French very gibly pom cncourager lea antrea. Everyone was apparently quite comfortable, and nobody, was in mournful mood. Deft waitressc ' neat Australian girls, tripped- here and there ministering to Die mixed diners. And I found myself wondering whether in any restaurant in Germany or Australia to-night you could find a coupl> of Englishmen, a Soot, and a fellow from Wales dining so comfortably, unmolested. I suppose not. Even in war time we an too especially strict. It is the English way. Our sons are fighting and dying for the Empire’s cause, and here at home our daughters are serving enemy subjects in our restaurants. The English way seems sometimes rather queer.

Mrs C. Price, of Marybank, Wanganui, who had five brothers fighting for the cause of Empire—three in France, one at the Dardanelles, and one in the Navy—has, just received word of the death of her brother Bert, who was killed on the 19th July in France. Bert, with two other brothers, was in the toughest fighting in Franco, was in the great retreat from Mons, and was amongst those gassed. In the letter mention is made of their terrible experieencos, and of the fact that they had seen some dreadful things during their first seven months’ fighting. Mrs Price’s brother John, who was home for a spell, was frbstbittten at Mons in the foot, is a little lame,, and looks like a wreck. The writer thinks there will bo conscription at Honjo, as the soldiers in France are calling out ifor it. Mention is also made in the lettter of the high prices ruling for food in the Old Country. Meat is almost too expensive to purchase, bread (formerly 3sd) is now selling at 9d the quartern loaf, butte (lOd before the war) Is 4d to Isa sd, and sugar (lsd to' 2d per lb) 3id to 4d. Tlie following letter from a Palmerston North lad, 15 years 10 months old, is published' as a lesson in patriotism for the benefit of slackers: —"Schoolho'usb, Christ’s College. Christchurch, October 4th, 1915. Dearest Dad, —I was very glad to get your letter (this morning. Tb* chief reason I am (writing this letter i > to ask you if you. will give me permic siqu to go to the war. I have been think ihg it over, da<f. ever .>ince last term. I lie in bed at night and think of it. When two chans went away from here last term to go. I was nearly going to write then, but did uot. Now. when I hear that —is . going.' I want to go with him. Give me inv chance, dad; ’s mothc“ has given him his. I am stronger than he is. T can shoot better than ho can, so do let, us go together, dal. I can do noth inn better than die for my eountrv if it must he, and I w not afraid t* l do that. I have thought it all ever, and 1 see there are great odds -Against me. but I want to go. I know mum will Ha right against it. but talk he” round, ded. Remind ber of the sacrifice Mrs ben I made. If you trill writ o as soon its w l ean, nnd let me knew what, yon «n,v. dud. , I will be pleased, beeadsc P will be W-- | ing forward to' your letter . Again T nek i tor tnv chance, d-d and please don’t d' 3 - I appoint me; All I ask, is your permisI sion, and T can fix Die rest.”

The {proficiency examination* in the Wanganui Education District will be held about November 15th.

The Queensland Government is negotiating for the purchase of the Blackheath and Abermaih Collieries for the purpose of a State coalmine. We are asked to announce that flowers and cakes may be left at Mr Keeping's shop on Saturday morning for the St. John Ambulance Bed Cross Society. Two men escaped from the Waimarino Prison Camp on Sunday , last. One is named Charles Joseph Talke alias Watson alias Shirley, is 24 years of age; the other, Bob Ryan, alias Davison, is 22 years of age. The men were arrested near Ohakune on Wednesday, and were sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment at Auckland yesterday. A report has been scut to the Wanganui Education Board by Dr. Elizabeth GunA upon the result of her examination of the school children in this Education District. At one large school she examined 54 children, and found that 24 suffered from ma’mitoition. JO from enlarged glands, 34 from defective teeth, and 11 from defective vision! The doctor has only unqmlifi“d praise for the new school at Wanganui East. Private W. Marshall, an engineer in the Union Company’s service, who was wounded at Gallipoli, writing to a friend in Wellington, from the convalescent camp, Epsom, England, says: “Would it be news to you if I told you that down in Dover there are’ over fptty German submarines which we have captured? 1 had it from a friend who was down and saw them himself last week. The Navy now has all kinds of Ways of petting hold of them, and I believe' that thay can get most of them as soon as they come out, although these captures arc never mentioned in the papers.” a Loudon correspondent states that Corporal Phil Bennett, D.C.M., late of the “Herald” staff, whd is at present in London has a bullet in the groin in too dangerous a position to allow an operation to be made. He has been advised to do a little walking every day in the hope that the bullet will move,, and then an eminent specialist has promised to undertake the necessary operation in Guy’s Hospital without delay. At present Corppral Bennett is assisting the Ladies’ Committee of the War Contingent Association in packing up parcels for the wounded. His recent honour came as a pleasant surprise. More than fifty thousand Chinese were drowned, and many thousands were left homeless and without food as a result of the flood which swept the suburbs of Canton in the latter part of July. “The flood was , the worst that ever struck Chine,” says Mrs Graves, a missionary. “To add to the terror caused by the flood, a fire started, which burned more than KKV) houses. It is the first time in the history of China that both the North and West Rivers overflowed together. The waters rushed over their banks in torrents, and swept everything before them. The bamboo and more substantial houses in the suburbs of Canton were knocked down like houses of cards. The sampans and iunks were carried on the crest of f he torrent ftm miles, and smashed to kindling wood,” According to Mrs Graves, the fire was started bv the Chinese cookini* on the roofs of the houses. As the water flooded the lowm- floors of the houses, the people would move to the roo's for safety, and there cook their meals with charcoal fires. Fires started simultaneously in several places, and the fire deuartments could not reach them on account of the water.

The following' appointments are proposed by the Wanganui Board of Educa>ionbytton Street, Mr G. J. Caiman, assistant; Fitzherbcrt East, Miss Grant; Taihape, Mias Watts; Carnarvon, Miss Sunaway; Campbell Street, Mr Browi.ng and Miss West to be temporarily pv moted, Miss Bourke to be appointed bfth assistant. Miss E. L. Piggott tenth assistant; Botokaro, Mrs Sandford; College Street, Miss Bowler, from Training College, seventh assistant; Waiata, Sir S. 0. Parlano; Eakatahi, Mr A. Lourie; Waitohi, Miss Frayne; Awahon South, Muss G Price; Eaukatea. Miss Penuefather; Tiri'ea, assistant. Miss Abraham; Pohaagina, Miss B. Wildboro; Te Roti, Miss G. M. Hammond: Sanson, Miss E. Hi Dons; Waitotara, Miss P. Clemance (the last four teachers arc from the Training College); Apiti, Miss Piercy, first assistant, and Miss Duncan, second assistant; Eimboltou, Miss Prentice, first assistant, Miss Fowler, second, assistant; Makino Road, Miss I. Hodgijoir, assistant; Fixton, Mrs J. Taylor,''■•assistant; Hawera, Miss XL Strouk, assistant; Taorca and Taoroa Bead, Mr and Mrs Percy to exchange; Feilding IT.H.S., five names selected for first assitant. Tlic returns of the various banks trading in New Zealand for the quarter ended September 30th are now available, and a review of these figures discloses some interesting features, remarks the New Zealand Times. We have now completed a full year since the start of the. war, and it is exceedingly gratifying to sea opr finances in such an exceptionally buoyant and satisfying condition as these figures indicate. A year ago the banks held a surplus of deposits over advances of just over half a million—now they have over ten times that amount. This is ample evidence of the splendid income received from onr exports, coupled with reduced expenditure on importations. The current' quarter will witness the usual demands on the banks for financing the gathering and moving of the season’s produce, and the Government two-million loan is about to bo, raised locally, but with an excess of deposits over advances of JES 806,034, the banks are in an excellent position to meet all these calls without inconvenience or anv disturbing of the amount of funds necessary for all ordinary business requirements. The outlook for the export season just starting is, very satisfactory, and given the good prices which appear assured for our primary products, the local, money market should continue in a healthy, buoyant condition.