LOCAL & GENERAL.

Western Star, 23 April 1920, Page 2

LOCAL & GENERAL.

Cotton growing is proving a success in South Africa.

From May Ist Samoa, will be under civil administration.

The price of gold.in London is now quoted at over five pounds an ounce. The Scottish Home Rule Bill was talked out in the House of Commons. The Mo ana has arrived at ’Wellington bringing Elnglish and American mails.

The Wairarapa Egg Circle obtain 4/4 per dozen for their eggs in Welliugton.

For a period of ten weeks ended March 31st a million sheep were trucked in Canterbury.

The total quantity of gold produced in Southland last month was four hundred and forty-four ounces.

After many weeks of dry weather, welcome rain fell throughout Otago during the earlier part of the week. A shortage off pennies is reported in the Dominion. In England tradespeople give' paper coupons as change.

The Rev. Tulloch Yuille, M.A., 8.D., has been recommended for a call to the vacancy in Knox Church, Dunedin.. All auction sales of rabbitskins were off in Dunedin this week. The Prince of Wales, on board the H.M.S. Renown, will arrive at Auckland to-morrow. The annual meeting of the Riverton Golf Club will be held in More’s Hall to-night at 7.30 o’clock. An Order-in-Council published in the Gazette fixes the maximum price of flour at £l6 10s per ton instead of £lB.

. .Still another survey off the proposed new bridge over the estuary is being made. At least, that is something towards the work.

Mr Parker has been permanently appointed Clerk of the Court at Riverton. Constable Woods, of Gore, will succeed Constable Carroll.

Mr K. Trail, of Hekeia, met with a painful accident on Thursday, when a flitch of timber flew from a circular saw and struck him in the face,, inflicting severe cuts amt abrasions. Four national war memorials are to be erected by the New Zealand Government —two in France and two in Belgium, Reports from America state that the markets for hemp, copra, tallow and wool are all good, the only exception being rabbitskins. It Is stated that 435 permanent hands {exclusive of casual workers).! have left the railway service during, the last three months.

Travelling warrants arc to be granted to all ex-service men and nurses to visit the nearest centre during the visit of the Prince of Wales.

The alleged wholesale destruction, of frozen meat, beef and rabbits by freezing companies south of Dunedin lias been emphatically denied.

The British Ministry of Shipping is to 1 be ' abolished 1 at the end of the month. Shipping: companies are-pre-paring to re-establish their regular services. "

A large Australian mail by the Manuka, and an English mail by the Niagara have reached the Dominion, and the Dunedin portion arrived on Thursday. The Otago Daily Times is informed by a writer from) Australia that the victory stamps are not accepted in that country, and that all letters are being surcharged!. Owing to the heavy administrative expenditure, when Parliament meets in June additional taxation may be proposed. Reduction of taxation appears to be impossible.

As the outcome of the suicide of a patient in the Dunedin Hospital, the coroner recommended that in. future patients be not allowed to retain their razors or other sharp instruments.

Blenheim and Christchurch telegrams report an outbreak off influenza. In view of the visit of the Prince of Wales extra precautions are being taken to prevent the spread of the disease.

His Majesty the King has taken to wearing trousers creased down the sides instead of the fronts, but the ucw fashion is not likely to find many imitators in England, says a correspondent. A prolonged drought being experienced in New South Wales, and the winter prospects are bad. illG Bank rate in England is now 7 percent. This is to curtail credit and stop speculation. Three Chinese shops were wrecked in Tiniaru, the damage done being estimated at £2OO. The manager of the shops had two brothers killed m the war, and he himself volunteered, but was turned down. While a young man was passing a racehorse on a motor cycle near Palmerston North, the horse became restive and lashed out, striking the motorist on the forehead, and killing him almost immediately.

Waves of influenza are no new thing at this time of the year. As far back as twenty-three years ago our files report a .prevalence of what was then known as la grippe in the Wellington, North Canterbury and other districts.

Some persons are in the' habit of taking, during the absence of the librarian, the Nineteenth Century and the Strand- Magazine from the table at the Athenaeum, the former not yet having been returned. This is a selfish act, and is not fair to the other subscribers. The Committee will be obliged to curtail the privileges now jcnjoyed by subscribers if the practice does not cease.

• A good deal of sickness exists throughout the district, principally in the form of diphtheria and septic throats. The disease has been mest pronounced amoug,st cats, which are carriers of the disease, and! many have died fromi the epidemic. Dr. Gordon has expressed the opinion that cats should not be allowed inside the house and those suffering from colds should be destroyed.

The Prices Investigation Tribunals have received a large number of complaints about excessive chargee. They have reported to the Board of Trade, aud the next step is prosecution. The names of informants are not disclosed to profiteers.

The Minister of Education visited Dunedin and. Gore, and after receiving deputations regarding secondary school matters, returned to Wellington. His presence is required in Invercargill to deal with many matters affecting Southland. Unless the German troops are withdrawn from the Ruhr district, the blockade will be re-established. Evidence has been found that the Germans have been steadily building up in the neutral zone extensive camouflaged local forces to be utilised in another coup de’etat. William Hohenzollern, alias the Kaiser, will drain five million pounds from. Germany, a nation already shoulder deep in debt. As King of Prussia, he has been receiving £83,000 a month during th,e past seventeen months. This payment appropriately ceased on All Fools Day of the present year.

A Christchurch man, when passing through Wellington last week, said, that the boardinghouses at Rotorua had now put their tariffs up to £2 per day. Seats on the grandstand being erected on the racecourse for the Maori demonstration in connection with the Prince’s visit were to cost £2 2s a day.—Exchange. There has been a rapid fall in the price of rabbitskins, and this will lilt some New Zealand buyers pretty hard. Quite a number of men left regular situations to go rabbiting, hoping to make big' winter cheques; but, unless the market picks up, they will regret their change. A big batch of Otago Central . landowners were heavily fined for not destroying rabbits.

It is interesting to note (say® the Dunedin Star) that for the first week after the new scale of /miners’ wages and hewing rates came into operation an inexperienced collier in Otago earned £9 8s for six day’s work. Mr Peter Reid, Lake County; Mr John Fi-aser, Southland County, and Mr James Fleming, Southland County, being the only candidates nominated to represent these district on the Bluff Harbour Board have been duly elected < unopposed. A Wellington Press Association telegram states that Sir Joseph Ward, who returned, 1 from Sydney on Tuesday in the best of health, will be the guest of the Government at the functions connected with the Prince of Wales. Sir Joseph will visit England after the conclusion of the Royal tour.

There was shown to the public for the first time at the Albion Theatre, Invercargill, on Wednesday night an exceptionally interesting film which, while giving the people the opportunity of seeing themselves, showed what couldi be done by local enterprise (says the Southland Times). The film dealt with scenes in connection with the Invercargill regatta, and it was the product df the Foveaux Film Company. It was taken by Mr W. T. Massey, of Bluff, and it reflects great credit upon him. The film is clear and steady, and those who saw it were quite ready to' admit that it compared favourably with any topical pictures produced in any part of the world. It is hoped that Mr Massey will carry his enterprise to greater lengths.

The President of Franco receives an annual salary of £48,000, but half of that sum is absorbed by, expenses of travel and entertaining.

William Frederick Patterson, a returned. soldier, 24 years of age, died in the Invercargill hospital as the result of an accident. Deceased was working in the wool department at the Makarewa Freezing "Works, and fell down a four-storey lift, internal hemorrhage resulting, and death occurred about four hours afterwards.

The Prime Minister has replied) to tlio Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants that the scale of wage, recommended by Mr Justice Stringer are to stand fromi June Ist for six months, Thereafter the remuneration will be reviewed by a. new commission with regard to the cost of living. The Secretary of the A.S.R.S. said ho did not know how the men would take it, but the storm might burst at any time. The Society are- filing a dispute and claiming an all-round) rise of 2/6 per day. The unveiling of the soldiers’ memorial in connection with the local Presbyterian church will take place on Sunday evening, when a special service in commemoration of Anzac Day will be held. Rev. C. A. Gray, will preach an appropriate sermon.

As a result of the recent Coal Conference in Wellington, called by the Coal Miners’ Unions, the Federation of Labour and the Government, another all round rise in wages has been forced upon all coal companies. The Nightcaps Coal Company notifies that the prices of coal supplied on and after Monday, 26th April, which applies to all orders on hand not yet sent, .will be increased as follows: Coal, 2/6 per ton on railway truck at Nightcaps; nuts, lOcl. Coal, 3/per ton on cart at Nightcaps; nuts, 1 /- (booked 1/- per ton extra). The manager of the Nightcaps- company states that they have not scut any coal out of Southland for three years owing to the shortage of mine workers, yet their prices are still lower than other coals in the Nightcaps-Wairio-Wairaki districts. The Base Records branch of the Defence Department is now preparing rolls for the issue of British war and victory medals when they arrive, so that there will be as little delay as possible in. getting them out. The majority of the 191-1-15 stars have already been forwarded. The medals will be issued to the next-of-kin of deceased soldiers, who are urged to keep the Base Records office advised of changes of address. Memorial plaques and ‘scrolls will also bo presented to the legal next-of-kin of all soldiers who 1 lost their lives during the war. The memorial will be accompanied by a letter from the King. The first shipment of memorials (says a Press Association message frotm AVellington) is expected to arrive from England in two or .threfa months’ time.

The liberation of Schleswig was celebrated at Palmerston North on Wednesday last by a large gathering of Danes from all parts of the North Island.

Mr Massey said the other day (says a Press Association message from Wellington) that he had been informed by the Board of Trade that same seven prosecutions were pending against traders charged with a breach of the law and regulations for the prevention of profiteering. We are informed (says the Wiuton Record) that one farmer at Mossburu had a very profitable turnover in fescue,. while others did very well. Off 200 acres he took 6401bs per acre. This was sold for 9d a lb, - working out at £24 per acre. Well, 200 acres represents £4BOO worth of fescue. Allowing £4OO for working expenses, leaves a net profit of £4400. There is money in fescue growing. As high as 1/01 was paid for this seed in the district, but the acreage was not so large. S'eason in and season out fescue runs at about 5d per lb, and this price pays well. Why the seed jumped up to the prices obtained the farmers do not know, but what they do know is that fescue growing is highly remiunerative. A message from Los Angeles on the Bth hist, states: The climax in Charlie Chaplin’s domestic troubles came to-night, when Louis Mayer, ■manager for Mrs Chaplin, encountered him in the Hotel Alexandria. They engaged in a fist fight, and Charlie was knocked down.

Lawyer (handing cheque for £lO to workman who has been - awarded £3O compensation): “Well, what are you looking like that for? Aren’t- you satisfied"? ” Workman (gloomily): “ I was just a-wondering who: it was fell off that scaffolding—you or me.” The Otago Daily Times has been informed that the result of the strike ballot taken by the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants will not be made known for some time. Thfe Executive Council of the A.S'.R.S. decided at its last meeting that the ballot was to be counted during l the sittings of the next executive meeting. The visit of the Prince of Wales is expected! to delay the meeting as the council is naturally anxious to meet at a date when the Minister of Railways (Mr Massey) will not have his time so fully occupied as to prevent him from receiving the members of the: council. Mr Massey expects to be able to reply during this week to the requests of the recent railwaymen’s deputations, with the exception of that representing the first division.

Good News. A real bargain sale of Children’s Combinations in Merino, value for 6/6, Sale price 1/11. Children’s Wool Combinations, all sizes, long or short sleeves, 6/11 to 12/6. Children’s Wool and Cotton Vests, all sizes, 1/9 to 5/11. Wool knickers, Navy and Grey, 5/6 to 8/11. Woven Knickers, 2/6 to 4/11. Knickers in Flannelette, Drill, Cambric, 2/11 to 4/6.. Children’s Petticoats in Flannelette, Calico, etc., 2/11 to 19/6. Nightdresses in Flannelette 2/11 to 19/6. Nightdresses in Flannelette and! Calico, good quality, sizes 18 to 42 inches, 5/11 to 15/6. Sleeping Suits in White and Striped Flannelette, 5/9 to 9/6. Pliable ‘Bodices, 4/6 to 5/11. Polka Bands, 2/3 to 3/11. • Liberty Bodices, 3/11 to 4/6. Boy’s Tunics, in Tweed, Flannel, Velveteen, Drill, etc., 4/11 to 19/6; Trousers to match. Also a, splendid showing of Children’s Dresses Coats, Millinery, etc., all at our famous low prices. See Children’s Department at H. & J. SMITH, Ltd., Progressive Stores, Invercargill, and Main sfreet. Gore.—(Advt.) > -