LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16021, 21 February 1920, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

It is predicted that eggs will reach 4-s per dozen during the coining winter, A returned soldier who has taken up rabit-tra-pping near Levin finds it x profitable undertaking, and during tho past weeks has been making i;]o pet week. " 1 Quito a number of areas in wheat jr North Otago are estimated to yield -43 to 50 bushels per acre, and in noma eases as high as liO bushels per acre, Tho average yield for (lie district, i„ estimaU od at 3,5 bushels per acre. The Wellington Town flail is erected on reclaimed land, and as breaks have been discovered iu the plaster work, has been commenced with the view to strengthening the tower. At th e samtt time the lower will be relieved of it« covering of soot and moss. Two, prominent specialists in tropica* diseases, sent out frof Loudon by tha London .Society of 'Tropical Diseases, have arrived in Apia, reports the Samoa limes. The two doctors, Dr O'Connor and Dr Lidsdale, who are accompanied by two assistants, vail make their head, quarters at Funafuti for the next two years. From Funafuti they will visit other parts of the South Seas. As a. stimulus to trade San IVanciso® ' V, H. wltnoss this year the greatest! foreign _ trade convention, ever held in the United States. It, is expected that! more than three thousand American merchants from all parts of the world will bo in attendance, in addition to which invitations have been extended to several hundred foreign representatives. 'Tlie importance of the Pacific Coast as tho American frontier of foreign trade will bo emphasised. The scarcity of miners at the varion» New Zealand eolieries has been one of the principal causes of the reduced output in coal, and the position seems to become more aggravated each month.. A small contribution to the mining population of the Dominion has arrived at Wellington by the Moeraki from .Sydney. The vessel brought 20 collier* from Wales with sixteen wives and PA children, who are on their way to WcsU port. In connection with the scheme draw# up by the \\ cllington District Repatriation Office for training 100 returned .soldiers in all branches of carpentry, joinery and concrete boxing, a start! has now been made. Ton men by**/ commenced work. Die period of training being three years. The agreement! provides that the employer shall instruct the soldier iu ail branches of the trade 1 , and a scale of wagon has been drawn up which should lx? quite satisfactory. At the end of the three years (bo ,soldier will bo a first-class journeyman. Penalties are provided for any breach of the agreement either by the 'employer or tlie soldier.

The Ashburton police recently raided a dwelling in ilie borough in 'quest of! liquor, -with the result {hut forty-eight bottles of whisky were seized, One of! the raiding constables stated that the store was concealed by one of the cleverest pieces of architecture lie bad ever seen in his experience. On. thu removal of a tea caddy from the mantelpiece it was found that the polished wood behind had been worn by continual handling. 'Phis board was found to move, and subsequent experiments revealed a system of sliding or hinged doors behind which was a snug little apartment accommodating four dozen bottles of whisky, the straw packing strapped off, but still wrapped in tissue paper. A prosecution will fob’ow. The Health Department lias forwarded to Hospital Hoards a scale, of salaries for nursing stall's of hospitals and training schools with the idea of enabling Hoards to review the mantel* of salaries- in all its various deta'ls, and to assist them lo a.rriv’ ai a satisfactory solution of the problem which lias caused a considerable amount of discussion in hospital circles in NcW Zealand during the past few years. The suggested scale for nursing staffs of hospital training schools with a daily average of 1100 to 509 occupied bod a includes the following: Matron £250 to £350, sub-matron £l5O to £2OO, night) charge sister, home sister, thcat.rc .-aster ,£125 to .£175, sister of special department £l2O to £l5O, ward sister £IOO to £l2O, registered staff nurses 1 £75 t/i £9O, probationer from £25 in the first year to £45 in the third. For smaller, hospitals there are different scales, hut the salaries suggested' for probationers are the same in every case. There lias been very little threshing done yet, and wc yfe all wondering what will happen when a demand sets in for stock threshing as it is sure, to do any day now (writes “Agricola.'’ in tho Fanners’ Union Advocate). The scarcity of coal is tho trouble. _ Tho precious material is being practically rationed out to the machine owners. No farmer can got it without an order from tho mill-owner, and those who deal with the coal are watching tho lists that conic in bo that they can stop an undue advantage being given to any one owner. We hear from tiroo to time that coal is on the way. Some time ago we were told ill at some South African coal was going to be diverted for threshing purposes, but lately there has been nothing more said about it. Now there is a rumour that a. shipment from Newcastle is to he given us, and it is to be hoped that the rumour will materialise. Westport _is used 'fairly extensively for threshing purposes, hut there arc some enginedrivers who do not like it and would rather have the Australian coal. But they will be glad to have any coal that will answer for steaming purposes this season, but if coal comes from South Africa or any other place, wc shall have to take care that it is not given to sparking unduly. In view of the uncertain quality of the coal, that is to bo used for threshing purposes, it would seem a wise precaution to insure tha crops aoginst fire.

A wool valuation will he held in WanJ ganui on the 34th and 35th of this M month. There are approximately 40 applicants in Wanganui for dwellings to he erected tinder the Housing Act. Intending appligpts will be able to obtain all intoi" tion an application to Mr Gohns at the local office of the Labour Department. How Americans kill each ether in accidents. In the nineteen months the Americans were figting in France 50,000 men were killed. In the same period 136,000 men, women, and children were killed by ‘accidents’ in America. —Publishers’ Circular. Wellington hotels must have had a busy time last Sunday, when two large passenger steamers berthed within an hour or two of each other, and precipitated more than 300 visitors on the town. The R.M.S. Moana had arrived from San Francisco early on Saturday evening, but did not berth until noon e-u Sunday; her passenger list approximated 112 persons, excluding steerage. The Manuka arrived from Sydney later in the evening, but did not berth until the following morning. There were more than 200 travellers by this boat, many , of whom, however, would probably go r immediately to their own homes. There is an acute shortage of sugar in. Southland district at present, and there is every probability that stocks will bo entirely exhausted within a few days. Invercargill wholesale firms complain that the district is not receiving fair treatment in the apportionment of the 300 tons weekly output of the Sugar Company under the Board of Trade’s Supervision. Strong representations have been made to the Premier by Hon. J. A. Hanan, M.P. Porcelain enamelled baths are not exactly a cheap item in house-building nowadays, and at least one Auckland firm of importers finds that an unfortunate occurrence is not likely to lower prices. Writing to a Wanganui client a day or two ago, the firm stated that out of a recent shipment of 169 baths, no fewer than 60 were broken. Consequently the firm’s calculations have been put out altogether, and at present they are unable to quote for baths at aIL The new regulations dealing with hides are being issued at Wellington. They are on the lines of the Australian scheme, providing practically a free market as far as prices are concerned, but ensuring adequate supplies to local tanners. They provide that tanners are to have the right to take any lot of F hides at auction at the price at which it is knocked down. Hides not sold by auction muse be offered to tanners before being so id or exported. The Government retains control of export in order to enforce these conditions. A handsome trophy occupies a prominent place in the watch house at the police station, being the prize gained by the police team in the tug-of-war at the recent Caledonian sports. On Thursday evening Mr McKenzie Forbes visited the station and presented the trophy, complimenting the winners on Aheir fine performance. Senior-Sergeant Bonrke, as captain of the winning team, -made a suitable reply. The victors were Constables E. Finch, E. J. Wilson, W. J- H, Grainger, M. O’Brien, G. Johnston, and F. J. O’Donohue. Recently a conductor in the employ of the Christchurch Tramway Board was detected selling to passengers tickets that had already been sold on & previous journey. He was dismissed from the board’s service and the case was put into the hands of the police to prosecute. The man suddenly left Christchurch, but was apprehended in lilt, North Island and summarily dealt with there. He was convicted and ordered to come up for sentence if called nn within twelve months, and was ordered to pay the cost of the proceedings, amounting to £4 Gs. y Visitors to Wanganui should take a f Tun out to the pin-;’unions of scarlet gums in flower along No. 3 Line, just .over a mile from, the town bridge. There are a’-out fifty in flower in and alongside .Mr Hope Gibbons' property. Further on on nearly every hillside section facing the road the owners have two or three each in bloom, and then comes tho gem of ail, a plantation of over 150 flowering gums. These were planted by Mr G. MoCaal in con form itv with a view of adding beauty to Wanganui. A visitor yesterday -aid it was the finest tiring he had stem in New Zealand.

From Mr Alexander Mosley, of Gibraltar, the curator of the Christchurch Botanical Gardens has received i a packet of acorns, for planting, in re- j tarn for some seeds of New Zealand ' native plants. The acorns are those of the cork Oak and Bex oak, and are twice the size of acorns common in New Zealand. “Ilex acorns,” writes Mr Mosley, “afford splendid food for pigs, and it is the etistom here to drive l.arje herds of pigs into the forests, where thev fatten in a very short time, as Ilex acorns contain a large amount of saccharine. In fact, the acorns are largelv eaten in the same way as nuts or walnuts by country people, and are quite palatable.” In connection with the Imperial Press Conference, to bo held in Canada in August next, the Canadian Press r-' under the chairmanship nr Lord Atho!k Man. have sent the Council of the Empire Press Criion a request to arrange for the selection of delegates to represent all parts of the British Empire. After the conference has finished its business it is proposed by the Canadian Committee to take all the delegates on an extended tour _ through Canada under the auspices of the Canadian Government. The Canadian Government has expressed a desire that the Press of the Dominions shall be well represented. The delegates, who are to be chosen from the proprietors and editors of the papers, will be the guests of the Canadian. Press from the time of sailing, and the visit (including the conferences and tour) is expected to occupy seven weeks. The number of New Zealand delegates has been fixed at seven. Mr W. Edgar Horne, a member of the British Parliament, who is at present visiting Auckland, has considerable hopes for the future of emigration from Great Britain to New Zealand. In the course of a talk with a Star reporter, Mr Horne said that the war had left a great number of men with a longing for an open-air life, while others, having- obtained commissions for the duration of the war found it impossible to settle down again in their old jobs. They Lad “found themselves,” and could not "take up their former unskilled and comparatively ill-paid work. To such men-the land did not offer a very attractive field in England, for a number of reasons, and emigration was the remedy. At present the main difficulty was shipping, hnt the equivalent of two 10,000 ton ships was being launched every dav, and there was little doubt that the" position wonM be very much better before long. He had already had one talk with Mr Massey on the subject, and though there were difficulties at this eud, “he felt sure that the Dominion would do its share to encourage people of the right class to come here instead of going to foreign lands, like America, where their nationality might be i^st

The number of private motor cars on the Masterton Showgrounds on Wednesday was 740. This was twenty more than last year. The rise in the price of fish caused by the high cost of coal, and the genal dearness of everything is now in operation in many parts of New Zealand, and the result is that the housekeeper has to pay a halfpenny a pound more. At Monday’s meeting of the Hswera Hospital Board the Medical Superintendent, referring to the influenza scare, expressed the opinion that the closing of the schools was “absolute bosh.” and the same applied to picture theatres. Owing to the heavy depletion in statf of the Head Office Department of New Zealand Railways during the war period, the annual outing of staff had perforce to be abandoned, but it is the intention this year to enable the available staff to fraternise as hitherto. To supply the world’s undimiuishmg demand for diamonds a strong company has been formed for the purpose of dredging the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. A ‘‘chimney’ has for years been known to exist off the south-west coast of Africa, although never definitely located. Supplies of coal, sufficient to meet requirements, are coming forward for the Waihi Grand Junction mine, and work underground is being again carried on with a full staff. The battery is, however, still idle, and crushing will not be resumed until coal supplies are more normal. A Taranaki settler informs the Manawatu Times that a private syndicate with a capital of i.'30,000 is extensively assisting small settlers to go into milking near Hawcra. Their operations are extending rapidly, and the locality is benefiting by the facilities they are offering. Sir Walter Buchanan, M.L.C., stated in the course of a speech in Masterton the other day, that the interests of the farmers were not always identical with those of the meat freezing companies. He mentioned that some of the shareholders in these companies also held shares in the shipping combinations. Delegates from the Feilding Borough Council and local bodies yesterday discussed a scheme of scholarships for soldiers’ children, and recommended that Feilding Borough Council and Kiwitea and Oroua County Councils be asked to provide .£350 each per annum to provide two scholarships each for the purpose of sending soldiers’ children to secondary schools.

"With the idea of forming an orphanage for boys, the Catholic Church authorities in Dunedin have purchased Captain Stewart’s property at Grant’s Braes. The property, which was at one time owned by the late Mr Scobie Mackenzie, consists of a two-storey residence of 14 rooms and 15 acres of ground. The Defence Department invite appli cations from hospitals, public institutions and other bona fide users for the purchase of about 15,000 second-hand blankets from various troopships and at present stored at Welington. All applications, addressed to Department Headquarters, Wellington, should be in not later than Wednesday, 25th inst. The Christchurch Male Choir has established a scholarship, valued at 21 guineas per year, tenable for three years. This is being done as a mark of appreciation of the splendid public support accorded to the choir since its inauguration two years ago; and also for "the purpose of assisting young singers of promise. The winner of the scholarship this year is Miss Frances B. Hamer ton, of St. Alban’s. An illustration of how seriously the adverse exchange rate affects the remitters of money to North America has come tinder the notice of the Auckland Returned Soldiers’ A ssoeiation. The Druids' Lodge desires to remit to the mother of a deceased soldier, who lives in Canada, a death benefit of £l2O, but it will cost about £4O to send the money. The dead soldier’s' mother is in necessitous circumstances, but the lodge authorities are unwilling that she should lose the .£4O, yet cannot see a way of avoiding it. While boot, manufacturers seem to think the public will have to pay more for their boots if the Government lifts the present embargo on the export of hides to other countries, some of the members of the Auckland executive of the Farmers’ Union seem to think there is something wrong if the New Zealand manufacturers cannot compete with Australia, when the latter would have to add freight to the cost of the leather. One speaker said the New Zealanders were using antiquated machinery.

People are still holidaying, and all the resorts are “full up to the roof,” says the Auckland Star. Eotorua has had an exceptionally good season, and Waitomo has been as popular as ever. Travelled visitors have very high praise for the Waitomo caves as compared with similar wonders in other parts of the world. Added to this is their accessibility, so it is not surprising Waitomo is one of the most favoured resorts in this part of the island. Tourists from Europe and America have been comparatively few this year, but the large increase in the number of local people and Australians travelling has keep the various sight-seeing centres full.

“All my experiences in the Old Country and in America,” says Dr Truby King to a Christchurch pressman, “has simply gone to confirm and accentuate the New Zealand position with regard to the welfare of women and children and its relationship to national fitness and prosperity. I am more than ever impressed with the paramount need of recognising that mother and child should be inseparable—that they should be regarded as an indivisible unit—during the first year or so of the child's life. The worst thing that could happen to any nation is the abandonment of heme life in order that married women may earn their living in indnstrial and other pursuits at the time when the first requirements of the child are not only that it should be fed with breast milk, but that it should he nursed at the mother’s own hrea-st. It is not only the duty, but it is the privilege of the mother, as essential for herself as for the child, that this natural relationship should be retained. Any other course is the broad road to economic inefficiency and the injury and decadence of the race, not only from the bodily point of view, but from the mental and moral standpoint.”