LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15196, 17 April 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

It is notified in another column that Mr John Pepper has been appointed ranger and dog tax collector for the Gonvillc and Castlecliff town districts. The Acting-Premier has received advice that tho first portion of the 23rd Reinforcements reached a certain port on dr e date, all well.

A Svdney cable states that at the portponed Show jumping competitions, A Judd's Thumbs Up cleared 6ft 6in, a world's record for ponies under 14.2. In reply to an inquiry by the Patea Hospital and Charitable Aid Board for a cook, the Labour Department staged that none were offering for either town or couutrv.

A Napier telegram announces' the death of George Rymer, a pioneer, aged 73. He took pari in the Gabriel Gully rush, and for many years conducted an extensive coaching service throughout Hawke’s Bay. A man named James Knight, with a previous conviction against kirn for drunkenness, was charged with a- similar offence this morning before Mr J. G. L. Hewitt, S.M. He was convicted and fined 10s, in default 48 hours’ imprisonment.

The new railway timetable for May is announced. The night express from Wellington, and the midday express from Auckland, will be discontinued. The up trains will leave Wellington at 1 p.m., and the down train will leave Auckland at 8.45. p.m. The up and down New Plymouth, Wairarapa, and Napier mails will be maintained.

A man bad died in the F"tea Hospital. He had been a stranger in ft? district, and bis borne was in the south of the South Island The Patea Hospital and Charitable Aid Board had to guarantee expenses in connection with the funeral and other payments. This brought forth the remark from Cr. W. G. Belton that be was of the opinion that, in addition to other data on a patient’s chart, there should Ire particulars of the lodge of which, if any, he is a member, etc. On his motion, it was decided to have the additional information supplied. A request that services may be held in the Hospital at least one night a. week—Wednesday, at 7 p.m., preferred —was received from the ministers resident in Patea by the local Hospital and Charitable Aid Board yesterday. Members were not very enthusiastic concerning the proposal, and it was decided to write to Wanganui, Hawera, ;ukl other Hospitals to see what the practice was there. It was mentioned that the patients would no doubt enjoy a ”iait from singing parties, and it was resolved to refer the matte| to the medical superintendent.

As an outcome of the recent strike at Hie Wanganui Meat Freezing Works, a claim for damages was mentioned in tho Magistrate's Court before Mr J. G. Hewitt, S.M., this morning. The parties were Bertram James Prosser (plaintiff) and Joseph Coulstou (defendant). The .statement of claim stated that on December 28, 1916, while the plaintiff and defendant and other persons were working butchers in 1 lie employ of the Wanganui Meat Freezing Co., Ltd., at Castlecliff, the defendant in conspiracy with certain other persons wrongfully induced the same Wanganui Meat Co. to dismiss plaintiff from its service. Therefore plaintiff claimed the sum of .£75 damages. On the application of counsel the case was adjourned till April 24. In connection with the demand that is being made by the Second Division League for improved conditions for married soldiers.i,t has been pointed ont that many of the difficulties that confront the Second Division men would be removed if the Government followed the example of the Canadian authorities and paid separation allowance at the rate of Ml per week to the wife. New Zealand at present allows the wife only 7s a week. If the wife had separation allowance on the Canadian scale, plus the present allowance of 5s 3d per week for each child, the husband could ensure her against, actual want during his absence by making a supplementary allotment from his pay. Assuming that ho wa leaving two children, and that he allotted 3s 6d a day from his pay. retaining Is 6d a daj T for himself, the wife’s weekly income would amount to .£2 14s Gd.

Mushrooms haw made their appearance, and big baskets have already been secured.

The Patriotic Association yesterday endorsed the action of the grants committee in voting £122 to vdnous returned soldiers and wives and families of soldiers who applied for assistance. Andrew Watson Saunders pleaded 'guilty in the Magistrate’s Court this morning to a charge of having stolen a safety razor and case valued at £1 ss, the property of Eobert Valiant Lacy. The case was adjourned till April 24.

V 'come rain commenced to fall ail eve the Wanganui, Waitotara, and Patea districts on Sunday, and contini»ed till an early hour this morning. It has soaked the ground well, and the countryside has benefited considerably.

The attendances at the various schools under the jurisdiction of the Wanganui Schools’ Committee for the past month (with the averages in parentheses) wire:—Central Infante, 255 (222); Queen’s Park, 330 (315); St. John ’s Side School, 37 (35); Victoria Avenue, 505; St. John’s Infante, 268 (231). Anzac Day arrangements were diecussed at a meeting of the Schools’ Committee last evening. It was decoded that the chairman (Mr W. Brace) should confer with head teachers in regard to suitable addresses for the children, and that the latter should be given a holiday on April 25. Recently a barrest festival was held at the Central Infante’ School, 'and the children were most generous in bringing gifts for the Hospital and Orphanage. Among the contributions were 75 pots of jam, 15 pumpkins, other vegetables, fruit, packets of jelly, sweets, flowers, and books, while the staff made a contribution of grapes.

‘Tt’s a silly thing to alter the date of Anzac Day, and now that the Government has decided to hold the function. on April 23 instead of April 25, I don’t think we need bother with the matter,” said the chairman of the Patea County Council at yesterday’s meeting. It was pointed out by one or two members that Wanganui and Hawera were celebrating the landing of our troops on Gallipoli on the original day—Wednesday, April 25.

“Not guilty” was the plea entered by Henry Francis Hume, when he was charged in the Magistrate’s Court this morning with being a member of the First Division of the Expeditionary Force, he did fail to register in such division, contrary to the Military Service Act, 1916, Section 33. In his evidence accused said he had registered and had sent his registration form, filled np, to the Defence Department, Wellington; also his change cf address when he had arrived in Wanganui. His Worship eatere da. conviction, and said that the question of penalty would be adjourned till May 16, 1917, in order to give accused time to enlist. As the Patea County Council lias experienced some difficulty in having its contracts concluded, Cr. Greager suggested that it was about time that the penalty for not carrying out the various works within the time limit was enforced. Up to the present, he said, the Council had had two experiences of contracts not having been completed, and it was time that the Council took a decided stand on the matter. The chairman (Mr G. Y. Pearce) was of the opinion that it was almost impossible to enforce an agreement cf this nature at the present time. Material was very difficult to obtain, and labour was lacking. At this stage the matter was dropped. Questions have frequently been brought under the notice of the Council of the New Zealand Society of Civil Engineers as to the appointment of engineer officers to County and Borough Councils, and without wishing to intrade on the business of the Patea County Council, the Society offered to assist in the appointment of any such official, a-s it had necessarily a much fuller and more complete “knowledge of engineers in the Dominion. The chairman of the Council (Mr G. Y. Pearce) remarked that about 75 per cent, of the engineers were not members of the Society. He and other councillors were of the opinion that the Society was endeavouring to make it a close corporation. finally decided to thank the Society for ns offer, and no action was taken.

A communication was received yesterday from the Ohinemuri County Council asking the Patea County Council to support a resolution to the effect that the Government be asked to provide more ccol storage at the principal ports of New Zealand. It was remarked by councillors that under ordinary conditions there was plenty of storage in the Dominion in normal times, but it. was agreed that these were abnormal times. It was decided, however, that it would not be practicable to ask the Government to erect more coed storage just for the war period. If this idea were carried out, it was contended, there would be no use for the accommodation after the war. The letter was merely received. At this week’s meeting of the Christchurch Patriotic 'Fund Executive, the Mayor (Mr Holland) made a statement with regard to Mr 11. 0. Duncan's offer to give Glenmark Homestead foi five years as a place for the recuperation of returned soldiers. He had. he said, glanced at a letter received from Mr Moore, one of the Glenmark trustees, in which many restrictions wore imposed. For instance, a soldier could not out his name on the trees. He was of opinion that the offer should not he accepted under the circumstances. Ho had approached the Returned Soldiers’ Association on the matter, and ho had been led to believe that returned soldiers would not take advantage of Glenmark. There was at present plenty of room at Hanmcr for convalescent soldiers. After further discussion, it was decided that there was no immediate need for a hostel of the kind.

Football behind the lines is one of the most nopular pastimes of the New Zealand soldier in Prance. “Matches.” says an Aucklander in writing to his friends, “are easily arranged. Very keen, good football it is, too. If von saw the fields they play in yon would understand something of French mud. Playing is not half so bad as having to get cleaned up afterwards. On New Year’s Day we marched several miles in the afternoon to see a match between Nov\ r Zetland and a Welsh, team from the Fifth Army Corps. Our follows fairly made hay of (he Welshmen, who were outclassed from the start, and were beaten by It) points. Foully, one felt a pride in being a New Zealander on seeing the physique and play of our men. They play football of the strong and aggressive type, with plenty of dash in it. It is also these characteristics that make them good fighting men.”

Some idea of the slackness of the building trade is afforded by an illustration given an Auckland Star reporter by Mr Moston, officer in charge of the Labour Department, He mentioned that he was recently waited upon by a builder who, before the war, regularly employed forty hands. The man’s object in interviewing Mr Mostyn was to ascertain what he could do with four apprentices, for whom he could not find building employers. “The position is,” said Mr Moston, “that owing to the conditions, high prices of materials, and dullness of tiic trade, many employers have closed down.” Adverse comment its commonly made in New Zealand regarding the worn and filthy condition of many of the banknotes kept in circulation. Over 200,000 separate bank-notes are burnt every week by the Commonwealth Treasury officials. This statement was made by Mr Collins, secretary to the Treasury, when referring to a leading article in the Melbourne Age pointing out the numbers of dirty bank-notes that were in circulation. The notes having been cancelled are burnt in a special furnace in the Department, fitted with a wire grid. This prevents pieces of charred notes fluttering through the chimney and being subsequently produced for payment—as happened some years ago when the postal officials in Melbourne were burning certain sheets of stamps.