Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Friday 26 March 1926, page 5


ITEMS OF INTEREST.

The offices of the German Consulate-General have been transferred to the seventh floor of Temple Court Building,

453 Little Collins street.

Two more commodities, hairdressing and ice, have been brought within the pro-visions of the Queensland Profiteering Pre-vention Act. The charges for hairdressing and for ice will be fixed by the Board of Trade and Arbitration.

Owing to the higher prices for live stock, the butchers at Broken Hill (N.S.W.) have decided to increase the charges for beef and mutton by 1d. a lb.

The Consul for Norway at the Bluff (N.Z.) states that the new whaling com-pany announced from Hobart is the Polar Whaling Company, which will work in opposition to the Clark, Ross fleet, which will continue to use Stewart Island as a base.

Union's Rigid Discipline.

At a meeting of the Baking Trade Em-ployees' union at Broken Hill (N.S.W.), a complaint was made that one member had gone to work on Sunday for the purpose of washing his cart. It was resolved that for any similar offence in future a fine of £5 would be imposed. New Safety Zone.

It is proposed by the City Council to establish a safety zone for south-bound

tram passengers under the railway viaduct on the east side of Market street. The proposal will be considered on Monday. Outbreak of Dengue Fever.

For many months dengue fever has ravaged the Tweed district, and at Lis-more between 12 and 14 of the Govern-ment departments' staffs have been at-tacked by the malady. Business house staffs have been seriously depleted and some shops have been closed.

Burst Water Main.

A large excavation was made in the road-way at the corner of Hoddle and Roseneath streets, Clifton Hill, at 9 o'clock on Thurs-day morning, when a water main burst. The water rose to a height of 100ft., and before the water had been turned off thou-sands of gallons had run away.

Gallery Students' Holiday Work.

The results of the competition among the students of the National Art Gallery in painting holiday subjects during the last vacation were announced by the Public Library trustees yesterday. The prize for landscape painting was awarded to Miss Constance Parkin, and the award for deco-rative work was won by Míss Ogilvy. The work was judged by Mr. George Bell. Museum Coin Room Opened.

It was announced at a meeting of the Public Library Trustees yesterday that in future, on the first Saturday in each month, the coin-room at the Museum would be open to the public. Mr. A. Chitty, who has given many lectures and guide talks on the subject of coins, will be in attendance to offer information. The room will remain open from 2 o'clock until 4 o'clock. Netting Near St. Kilda Pier.

It is notified in the "Government Gazette" that from April 3 the proclama-tion made in 1887 prohibiting netting near the St. Kilda pier will be repealed. An-other pioclamation will be made prohibit-the use for fishing of any trammel, trawl, or other net or engine, whether fixed or unfixed, within a quarter of a mile of any part of the St. Kilda pier. Building in Collins Street.

Mcssrs. J. and N. Tait are considering the erection of a nine-story building in Col-lins street, adjoining the Auditorium, on the western side, at No. 175 Collins street. It is proposed to construct it of structural steel and reinforced concrete. The facade will be of polished granite. It is intended for shops on the ground floor, with an ar-cade, and the other stories for showrooms

and offices.

Morwell Electric Supply.

It was officially announced yesterday that the State Electricity Commission will take control of the existing electric supply under-taking at Morwell on April 1. Under the agreement with the Morwell Shire Council the two-part tariff where charged will be similar to that in force in Traralgon, while for those consumers not under the two-part tariff the new scale of charges will not exceed those now levied by the council, that is 9d, a unit for lighting and 5d. a unit for power.

Traffic Control in City.

It was announced yesterday that the New South Wales Chief Secretary (Mr. Lazzarini) would shortly consider the ques-tion of traffic regulations in order to en-sure greater safety to the public. Mr. Lazzarini said yesterday that he would probably recommend to the Railways Com-missioners that steps should be taken to

have the entrances to tramcars blocked, on what was generally known as the "wrong" side of the tram. This would greatly minimise the risk of accident to passengers alighting from trams. Brandy for British Army.

It was announced by the Minister for Markets and Migration (Senator Sir Victor Wilson) yesterday that the War Office, London, is calling for tenders for the supply of Australian brandy to the British army. The conditions provide that tenders must be for pure grape brandy, not mixed with grain, roots, and other spirits, at least five years old before bottling, and not less than 20 degrees underproof. The War Office requires 2,004 bottles, each con-taining 26 2-3 ounces in cases, and tenders close on June 8 at the War Office, White-hall, London.

Blinded Soldier's Success.

Among the names of the successful can-didates for final honours in law at the Melbourne University, which were pub-lished yesterday, was that of Mr. Dudley A. Tregent, a young blinded returned soldier. Mr. Tregent enlisted when aged 17 years, and went to France with the original 107th Battery F.A. During the heavy fighting along the Hindenburg line shortly before the Armistice, Mr. Tre-gent's sight was destroyed by shrapnel. On his return to Melbourne he began his studies at the University, and in three years took his degree of bachelor of arts, and took his bachelor of laws degree last year. In examinations early this month he gained his master of laws degree with honours, securing equal second place on the

class lists.

New Railways Parcels System Defended.

The cash on delivery system recently in-troduced in the Victorian Railways for the carriage of parcels by passenger trains has led to protests from country store-kcepers, who contend that the new prac-tice will be detrimental to their interests. In a statement issued yesterday, the Rail-ways Commissioners stated that the new system was not confined to parcels sent by Melbourne merchants, but that its benefits could be enjoyed by country traders, as it applied to or from any Victorian stations in charge of a stationmaster. There was no reason, therefore, why country store-keepers in Victoria should not make the system a medium for extending their busi-nesses. However, the freight on the con-signments was computed at full parcels rates, whereas, country traders usually ob-taincd their supplies by goods train at much lower rates. The commissioners fur-ther explained that the system was intro-duced in Victoria to facilitate business relations, and in response to public re-quests. A charge of 2 1/2 per cent, com-mission was imposed to cover the cost of the additional clerical work involved.