LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 160726, 12 August 1920, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Advices from Odessa state that two steamers will sail shortly for Italy loaded with Russian wheat.

A Timaru telegram states that the search party from Mount Nessing searching for the rabbiter Boyd Thomson, missing since the 2nd inst., had a bad time on the range, snow being up to three feet deep. There were also severe frosts. No trace was found of the missing man. The Now Zealand potato delegation (Mr Cockayne, Government Biologist, and Messrs Boston and Lindsay) have arrived in Sydney and have already got busy interviewing the Government head and others interested. When they have concluded their negotiations in Sydney they proceed to Melbourne. A youth at Timaru named Lyne, who was in trouble a few weeks ago, was arrested again for theft of money from the pocket of a coat on a wagon of which he was temporarily left in charge. The theft, arrest, magisterial inquiries and commitment for trial took place within two hours.

At the last meeting of the Christchurch Tramway Board it wa-s reported that the superannuation scheme for tramway employees, launched early in 1919,' was costing .£7403 per annum. Of this amount the State contributes ,£I4BO, the Board .£3589, the balance of £2363 being contributed by the employees. The State coal mines in the Grey district are still idle, and while settlement of the matter of the time table is eventually expected, the probability is that there will be no further work this week. The only point still unsettled is that of adjusting the time table. The men fully expected a settlement yesterday, but the travelling time sag* gested by the Mines Department was, at a miners’ meeting last night, considered unsatisfactory. The miners’ meeting consequently adjourned pending further information from the Minister of Railways, A sensation was created in Dunedin yesterday afternoon when it became known that Mathew Bradley, a wellknown figure in civic circles, had been arrested on a charge of unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl fourteen years of age. Accused, who is 52 years of age, conducted a bootmaking business in -the city and came into special prominence adoring the war owing to the active part he took in connection with recruiting. He is a Justice of the Peace and a member of the Dunedin- City Council and the present chairman of the Gas Company. He was brought before the police Court and remanded on bail to the 20th, The shifting of buildings without interruption of any of ' the services, such as telephones, lighting and power, and withut inconvenience from the point of view of occupation, is a matter of common practice iu America, and the Engineering News Record recently recorded the shifting of a 3000ton building which measured 95ft by 60ft, through a distance of 450 ft. The new site was first cleared, and the new foundations laid. The walls of the building were underpinned with steel needles on timber shoes, supported on twelve sliding ways, and interior concrete columns carrying one-third of the total weight of the building were similarly supported. The wall and columns were then cut away from the foundations and raised by 500 jacks. Three 90 h.p. hoisting winches supplied the pull for removing, and the pull was evenly distributed over the longer side of the moving platform constructed underneath the building. The ways along which the removal was effected were laid only 60ft in advance of the building, sufficient for a day’s haul of SQffc. The shift was thus accomplished in nine stages.

The sugar workers at Auckland ana ■endeavouring to enlist the sympathy of Parliament in their endeavour to secure higher wages and better working conditions. A circular letter covering various phases of the dispute, which threatens to culminate in a strike ail midnight on Saturday next, has been drawn up, and will be circularised among members of the House. It is reported that in addition ta a pending ease of selling alleged lightweight butter other prosectuions of at similar nature will be mad© against local grocers at au early date. Ones grocer who has received a summons informed a “Herald" reporter that ha failed to see why the Health authorities who were instigating the prosecutions should not go to tho fountain head and take proceedings, the same as recently done in Christchurch against tho factory where the butter was manufactured. A billion bushel corn crop, for th<j third time in the history of the United States, is estimated by the Department of Agriculture. August is the critical month for the great corn belt in the middle States, but thorp has been an improvement in all States except Illinois. Spring wheat was adversely affected in July by rust and production was reduced by twenty-nine million ta a total of 262 million. Tho preliminary estimate of tho winter wheat has been increased by fifteen millions, making a total winter and spring crop of 793 million bushels. Referring to the increasing number of motor accidents, the Auckland Star says, editorially; “A man who endangers life in this way (he was driving a car white drunk) deserves to go to gaol and to have hie license either cancelled, or suspended for five years, at the end of which time he might get it back on production of proof of improved habits. Nothing buff such drastic measures wiH check the selfish aud dangerous recklessness'and carelessness of a small minority of motorists. This urgent matter should be dealt with by Parliament a.s soon a3 possible this session.’’ The Christchurch Presbytery carried a resolution strongly protesting against the suggested increase in the numh«C of racing permits. A copy of the resolution will he forwarded to the Minister of Interna! Affairs and the Primd Minister. The matter arose out of a circular letter from the Rev. S. R. Orr, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Wellington, which stated, inter alia, that neither Mr Massey nor Mr Anderson are keen on increasing tho number of permits, but will be unable to resist the advances unless representations are made from the other side. The increased number of permits issued is a breach of the concordat agreed upon some years ago. If representations are made immediately it will enable Ministers to take the stand they desire. Two days after the departure of tho Niagara from Honolulu, on her last voyage to Vancouver, the death of a steward occurred under circumstances which caused a general feeling of regret throughout the ship. This young man, William Bond, had charge of the library, and was highly esteemed for his courtesy by all passengers who made use of the ship’s stock of books. He suddenly manifested symptoms of dementia, but not of a violent nature, and was isolated under the care of two attendants/'•Taking advantage of the brief absence of his cue*. todians, he locked the door of his cabin and jumped out of the port window, A lifebuoy was at once thrown to him, and the steamer circled around the scene, but the poor fellow must have disappeared almost immediately. It is a well recognised fact that there are in the West Coast district, particularly iitethc Wanganui and South Taranaki districts, insufficient supplies of metal suitable ter road work, and in order to obtain stone for this purpose supplies have bent drawn from as fat south as Belmont, Lower Hutt. This metal, naturally, is very expensive, for heavy haulage charges have to he added to the price at the pit, but even then local bodies find ;t advisable to purchase large quantities, it being railed as far north a.s liawent. Now another difficulty has to be faced, for it is understood that the new railway Heights will increase the cost of Belmont metal to- tho far-off local authorities, and make its use practically prohibitive. so they will have to Sleek a supply elsewhere. Mt. Eginont, Paekalariki, Rangitikei, and one or two ether localities have boon suggested as alternative sources of supply. The following is a quotation from an editorial which appeared in the Maorihind Worker recently: “If Ireland succeeds in achieving her independence it means the break-up of the Empire. ’Hat will he a blessing to the world, and an inspiration to the cause of Labour. There cau be no misconceptions (says the Taranaki Doily News) as to the meaning those words convey —that extreme Labour would confer a blessing on the world by dismembering the British Empire, and presumably substituting the anarchy of Soviet Government with all its attendant savagery, chaos, and immorality. Admitting that the extremists in New Zealand arc numerically insignificant, and that their ravings are a sign of. mental and moral obliquity, wo cannot forget that loyalty is the foundation stone on which the Empire has been built, so that to openly proclaim that it would be a blessing to break up the Empire, in defence of which many thousands of lives have been sacrificed, is an offence that is ropellant even to the most callous and self-centred of tho sane por-' tion of the race. Advices from Sheffield show that throughout tho iron and steel trades are heard reports of a sharp decline of in? quiries and forward business. The British Trade Review states that these reports are giving rise in some quarters to tho idea that the great trade boom has passed its zenith, and that quieter times must be expected in the near future, “Such reports cannot be disputed,” continues the Review, “as the high prices of material and the state of European exchanges arc restricting buying to essential commodities. Nevertheless, makers of iron and steel arc still working under extreme pressure, and cannot cope with the business offered. It is now- very difficult to place new business for ship plates aud steel sheets. Makers of wire are unable to’ meet requirements in small sizes, and orders for old rolled strip and bright steel arc being refused daily. At the same time people cannot see activity so fax forward as was the case a few months ago. Trices of all classes of material are again up. Pig iron has been advanced 155,.. billets 30s, wire rods £2, and finished material about £3. The prices of rolling are In per cent, higher. High-speed steel is by 6d per lb. The large linns arc fully employed, chiefly owing to the heavy American demand. A good deal of steel from Government stocks is still being distributed, which, of course, affects makers’ sales adversely. Makers of crucible steel are paying 10s more on the coke which they use; tho fuel now costs 81s per ton, as compared with 26s before the war.”

The Otago Baity Times states that feU sanitary inspectors at present employed hy local authorities are to be taken wer bv the Government.

According to last week's report of the South Canterbury grass market, afurther weakness is manifest in the oat market. Unless for good bright finality there is practically no demand for chaff which is nominally quoted at -E6 to J£G os on trucks at country stations. The North Island is reported to be supplied with more potatoes than it can consume and the position of the Southern market is as bad as it can possibly be with prospects for the future not at all bright. Occasional orders are coming to hand on a basis of .£2 per ton on trucks. The seed demand from the North Island has been most disappointing this season. A black bullock, one of a prime consignment from the North Island, sold at the Addington market on Wednesday, was slaughtered on Thursday, and turned the scale at 16601b (states a Christchurch exchange). Much interest is centred how the L2U4 bullock will kill out, it being generally considered that in his present condition he will turn over 19001b. He is at present on view in the right-of-way next Messrs Dixon Bros.’ shop, and has attracted much attention. It is the present intention to slaughter him nest week. It is interesting to note in an English stock journal that a Shorthorn bull, said to be the largest ever seen in the Cumberland district, weighed when slaughtered, 18291b,

According to a private cable message from Vancouver, the Rev S. F. Collier, accompanied by his wife and son, left for the Dominion by the Niagara. Mr Collier was the founder and superintendent of the great Manchester and Salford Wesleyan Mission, and in that connection laboured with conspicuous success for over So years. The mission has congregations every Sunday approximating twenty thousand persons, and numerous philanthropic and educational agencies The Rev Donald Collier, 8.A., who is travelling with his parents, was a chaplain to the Bicish forces on Gallipoli, and was present at the evacuation. He is well known as a preacher and lecturer on his war experiences. The party will visit the various centres during a brief stay, and will be accorded receptions by the local Methodist Churches.

There is one interesting little fact about New Zealand’s new GovernorGen ejal which, the paragraphists seem to hare overlooked (says the Lyttelton Times). Lord Jellicoc was amongst those great naval and military loaders in the late war who were asked to accept at the hands of a grateful country a substantial monetary reward, iu addition to a peerage. The most favoured commanders were Admiral Beatty and Field-Marshal Haig, ,£IOO.OOO apiece, and Admiral Jellicoe and FieldMarshals French and Allenby .£50,000 £ piece. Lord Jelucoe accepted the honour of a peerage, bat declined the monetary grant. The action was characteristic, and it gives point to his subsequent election to become GovernorGeneral of New Zealand rather than of the Australian Commonwealth on the score that the latter post required greater wealth than he possessed.

A hinmess man whose affairs take him frequently through the Waikato and other dairying districts iu the North -Island is exercised in his mind regarding the probable scarcity of cattle in a few years’ time. ‘Too many calves are being sacrificed,” ho remarked to a representative of the Auckland Star. “At some farms where they used to rear sixty to eighty calves each year, I now find only four or five are saved. This is the outcome of the good prices that are being paid for the milk. It pays the dairy farmer better to sell his milk than to rear the calves. That is. of course, looked at from the point of view of immediate profit, but what of the future t Jf the calves are not being reared, where is the supply of cows to come from in a year or two years’ time;' One thing is evident, namely, that the price of cattle is not likely to come down unless more calves are reared. It seems to me that instead of £ls to £2O each, the price of good dairy cows is more likelv to be nearer L’3o to CIO cadi.