LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 15971, 13 November 1919, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A London cable states that MajorGeneral Seeley, of the Air Ministry, has resigned.

Hie mechanical staffs of the Paris daily newspapers have struck for higher wages. It is anticipated there will bo no newspapers to-day.

The Australian photographer is making photos of Australian graves at Malta in connection -with the establishment of a special cemetery, met with considerable obstacles in his work, owing to the Maltese being annoyed with Australian immigration restrictions against them. The photographer met with every assistance in a similar task at Gibraltar. There are 203 Australians buried at Malta, and about 100 at Gibraltar.

Tire following instructions from General Headquarters with regard to Die employment of Y.M.C.A. secretaries and orderlies are to conic into force as from December 'lst; Y.M.C.A. secretaries employed in camps and hospitals will receive free rations and quarters, but will not. receive travelling warrants or expenses from the Defence Department; Y.M.C.A. orderlies employed in camps and hospitals will leccive free rations and quarters, but will not receive pay from the Defence Department, nor will they wear military uniform. All military personnel at present, employed as Y.M.C.A. orderlies will be demobilised on November 30th, unless they are required for other military duties.

Our London correspondent says the Christchurch Press, states that the three stamps which Xew Zealand is issuing to commemorate the victory of the Allies have been executed by De La Bue and Co., and a supply will almost immediately be available. The half-penny is a recumbent figure of a lion, with the sun’s rays in the background. The penny, which is red, has a representation of Britannia and a lion. The l£d, somewhat similar to the present lid, has the tatooed head of a Maori on the right-hand side and some Kew Zealand genre on the left-hand side. All the stamps bear the word “Victory,” and the dates 1914 and 1915. They are very handsome designs, and, of course, very well executed.

“JSo, I am sorry to say the position has not improved very much,” said a prominent Wellington hardware merchant to a Times’ reporter. “Some time back I mentioned that 1914 orders were only now coming to ha-nd from England, and I can merely repeat what 1 said then. The position is actually unchanged, but I am optimistic enough to believe that an improvement may l-.e anticipated before long. There appears to be a more hopeful strain in the business commioiications I am receiving from England, and in the direction of hardware manufacture the oversea Dominions will soon benefit. The American market is in a slightly better condition, and but prices are very high, and there is no doubt Die American manufacturers of all hardware and allied articles are reaping a rich harvest.”

The Daily Chronicle states that a Eussiau prince, eluding the Bolsheviks, imported two pictures by Eerabrandt to .England, and. is offering to sell them privately, but wants iIbOO.OOO. An election took |)lace at New Plymouth yesterday to till the position of Mayor, rendered vacant by the retirement of Mr C. H. Burgess, and resulted : —James Clarke (a leading councillor] tH6, George Blanchard (labour representative) 668.

Official reports show a decrease of 131.866 acres under, wheat in South Australia compared with last year. Large, areas failed entirely. Other large areas are being fed off or cut for hay. 11. is anticipated that tho wheat yield will bo light.

Advice has been received by Mr W, A. von Eeieenberg, of the Department of Internal Affairs, that -his youngest brother, Ernest, is reported missing. It is believed ho wa b drowned off a transport en route to Now Zealand. The deceased soldier, who left with lire 40lh Iteinforcoments, was in his 23rd year..

A London cable states that tho Hort G. C. Wade (Agent-General for New South Wales), has brought the dispute with the Commonwealth to a climax by. taking possession of the second floor of Australia Jlousc. He moved the Agency*; effects in to-day. The next step now rest* with the Commonwealth.

The doniestic help problem ha* reached a limit in an Auckland boardinghouse. Whereas several maids were at one time kept at the establishment, only one now remains, and all efforts to engage otiiejvi have proved fruitless. The male boarders, however, have risen to the occasion, and now take it in turns to wait at the tables. It is said that there* amateur butlers are by no means inefficient in their work, A Washington cable states that President Wilson on Armistice Day issued the following message: —“ The Allies, for more than four years, upheld the barriers of civilisation against the aggression of armed forces. Wo were also a decisive factor in the victory, and from the victory arose an economic concert of political freedom. The world to-day is filled with pride for ns because opportunity has been given to America to show their sympathy with peace and justice m the council of the nations.

In the course of a speech at the opening of the Agricultural Congress at Pochefstroom, General Smuts referred to tho Australian mandate over one of the Pacific Islands containing probably th<‘ richest phosphate deposits in the world. He said that when Australia asked for a mandate at the Peace Conference he put in a claim on behalf of the Union. “I said I did not see why Australia should get all the phonphatas, and that if South Africa did not get it,” smilingly added the Premier, amid applause, “there would be tremble ’’

The populace of Chatham Islands has not had a very happy time lately owing to (be violence of a succession of gales. At times the wind has been blowing 'tit hurricane force, and certain minor damage was done to property. Trees were uprooted, and according to information obtained from the crew of the Kahn, the fishing industry has been at a standstill for about a month. When tho Kahn arrived after her adventurous voyage last month the residents on the island were practically out of flour and other necessary items, but ample stores were landed from the vessd.

The potato blight has) appeared among crops in various suburban districts this season (states an A uckland paper), but, it is stated to be not as severe as in. farmer years. Plantations at Onehunga have suffered most, and some at Avondale and Hpsom have also been touched. The extensive potato fields at Pukekohe, however, have been jwactically fees so far, and are reporjM to be looking very well. Any plaits there that had the blight have been dug. Last season there was almost a complete absence of the disetse, for tho first time for fourteen years, and the recrudescence has led to extensive spraying being done. Writing from San Francisco, Mr M. J. Reardon, of Wellington, says; San. Francisco wag ••booming” after the war. He had only been there a few days when his letter waa dispatched, but he had already seen many interesting sights, and hoped to secure, muck interesting information as to the labour and economic conditions of the city and oilier centres. The churches were handsome structures and the interiors beautiful. As a contrast tho Chine-m quarters were interesting and an eyeopener. Picture shows were doing enormous business. So fax as quality of programmes was concerned they were in no way sujoerior—were, as a matter of fact, inferior—to the average cinema, presentations in New Zealand which comparatively speaking were of a high order.

Notwithstanding the very high cost of fowl feed, there appears to lie at the present time a large number of people desirous of taking up the poul-try-keeping industry (states a Soul hern pa|>er) Orders for incuhartor-hatehed chickens are coming to Dunedin from ail parts of North and South Otago, and the owners of incubators lind it quite impossible to meet the demand. One owner received an order from Morven for 800 chickens, but could not execute it. An order of 3000 chickens from Kaitangaita, and another for ]ooo from Tomahawk, could not be tilled. One Dunedin owner of an incubator was asked the reason for the abnormal demand, but he replied that he could not give one. His opinion, however, was that. a. number of returned soldiers were taking up the industry. The chickens are sold alt is. Is 3d and Is 6d each.

A most. encouraging start has boon made in Dunedin with poulitry-kceping as a. branch of the vocational training of returned soldiers. By arrangement between the City Council and Captain Ziesler, who is the vocational training officer, plots have been set aside for this purpose in the Botanic Gardenson the upper part of Die slope, facing northwards, near the superintendent's residence, and, the Overseas Club having dona,ted .£IOO for expenses, the nucleus of quite an important farm has been established at a cost which is ridiculously small compared with the estimates of exports who made their calculations on a purely commercial basis. The explanation is that the start has been made on a modest scale, and that the convalescent patients who are to ultimately profit by the training are taking to the work in a keen spirit, doing everything as well aa they can, and ’manifesting a personal interest in the fowls and the ducks. At present two men from the Woodside Hospital . are doing the tending and they are do* I ing it well Shelters and fencing and * nests' have been built by the men out of material that was in disuse, so the cost was kept down. The fowls are being iVed from by incubators. It is quite a model farm, and the men there arc admittedly enjoving the healthful and profitable experience. Beekeeping is also taken np.

A Christchurch telegram states that Sir C. E. Matthews has been appointed Controller-General of Prisons, and Mr M. Hawkins has been promoted to cheif inspector. A telegram from Auckland states that Et. Matthew’s Church Choir has decided to resume their places in the church Bert Sunday and protest to the hoard of nomination agairtgt the disregard of the petition in respect ir> the appointment of a vicar.

“How do you account for onf solfliers defeating the Germans?” was a question asked Mr MdQvride last evening, as the outcome of the candidate’s statement that British soldiers, in comparison with the Germans, were •physically inferior and were degenerating owing to the, unsatisfactory social ♦conditions in the Old Land.

Only the prompt stopping of a motor ttar which was proceeding up the Avetone this morning, saved a small boy from injuries. As the boy was crossing the road, thinking more of his dinner than of the twelve o’clock traffic, he was howled over by the car, but sa quick application of the brakes saved -what might have been a serious accident. The boy, however, was none the worse for his experience. - From what can be gathered (says the Hhmedin Star), the favourite beverage tea is likely to reach unheard of prices before very long. A local firm of packers' have already advanced their price 4d per lh., and if the fears expressed by other merchants are well founded this will have to be followed (by a still further general rise. The old Jrre-war prices of Is 6d and 3s will nearer be reached again; the standard will probably be nearer 3s 6d and 4s.

Eleven United States war vessels are ffiicd np at New York navy yard without Screws sufficiently large to man them, it *wa e said to-day, as a result of a shortage *p f enlisted men and the possibility of Sany resignations among the officers, xe annual fall and winter manoeuvres jyf the Atlantic fleet may have to he Abandoned. The destroyers have been ■ftbe hardest hit by the discharge of men enlisted for the period of the war. . At the Patea Magistrate’s Court the Clearing of the case Mcqueen against Hunger, a claim for damages through plaintiff being shot by defendant near Patea, was concluded. The defendant Was shooting hares with a rifle on the outskirts of the town when, towards dusk, the plaintiff went into the-pad-dock to find him. He was struck with a dum-dum bullet, fired by the defendant at a hare, and received nasty Wounds. Dr Harvey testified as to the extent of the injuries. After counsel had addressed the court the Magistrate summed up against the defendant, and gave judgment for the plaintiff Meqneen for £l4 special damages and £2O general damages, together w;itb costs.

The energy -with which the Americans are entering info the trade wax teas referred to by Mr A. Moriteson, of Dunedin, in an interview in Auckland recently. “Every steamer passing tiirough Honolulu on her way to Australia, New Zealand and the Orient,” he said, •‘carries Americans whose mission is to secure trade or establish branches of American firms. A steel company proposes to start a branch in New Zealand, and a New York bank, I am informed, has the intention of establishing in all Pacific countries offshoot banks, which will discount all American drafts on the various business houses for their purchases at 3 per cent, without recourse.” Mr Moritzson considers that New Zealand should appoint as travelling representative a thoroughly qualified business man, whose dnty it Would be to promote New Zealand trade in the neighbouring lands.

Correspondence is passing between Now Zer.iar.d and Australia on the subject of timber prices, it being alleged that a jp-markablc discrepancy exists between .He prices ruling in the Dominion and the. Commonwealth. It is said that the • - 0.b.” (ordinary building) timber, which costs 26s per 100 ft. in New Zealand, can be purchased in Sydney as low as 16s per 100 ft., and price-lists are being exchanged to enable the real position to be ascertained. Rimu is in big demand in New Zealand and large quantities of that timber have, it is said, been shipped to Australia. Heart of kauri, which is growing scarcer and scarcer, is also stated to lie selling cheaper in Australia than in New Zealand. A “Times” representative was on Saturday informed that heart of kauri bad been sold as high as 80s per 100 ft. in New Zealand, while the price in Australia was from 40s to 50s.

There has been and is a tremendous demand, in New Zealand for clothing material. A leading merchant tailor at Dunedin has been putting together a few figures on the subject. He estimates that on the average the returned soldiers have each wanted two suits and an overcoat, requiring 9V yards per man: that the ram from camp have used nearly as much; that a large mauler of men who were expecting to be called up did not buy clothes for years, and since the armistice have had to tun if. the tailors; and with these and fiber demands upon our stocks he •reckons that the excess demand for material has run into something like million and a half yards. We have Submitted this calculation to other experts. and they agree that it is fair. So. even if the supply was up’ to the normal. there must have been a sliortjige of stuff. As a fact, however, the (supply is not up to tire normal. By car thr greater part of the material yised has in the past come from the Old Country. On a low estimate the imported sniff was t wot birds of the total some any much more. The supply is virtually stopped, and ladies’ readymade costumes cannot be imported in quantity because of the price. In one way and another an enormous demand Jhas been made on our New Zealand mills, and they are straining to keep their customers going as well as they ran. We have heard in the street that both the Mosgicl and the Eoslyn mills pro handicapped by haring many looms idle. This rumour exaggerates the facts. Still, there is something in it There has been a reduction of hours of work all round, and labour of the iind required is always in short supply. As a result, the Mosgiel Company’s jnfHs are not always working to their fntl capacity,. though the output is about equal to the average for the past few years. At the Eoslyn mills there are no longer looms idle. The trouble there is that extra machinery which has been ordered has not come to hand, for the reason that the contracting firm in the Old Country hare lost their works by a fire.