LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 36, 6 November 1907, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

•. The mails which left Wellington oil September 27 per Manuka", and connected at Sydney with the Brindisi mails per-Victoria, arrived in London on the night" of November I—ono day early. i-

The Customs revenue collected at tho port yesterday amounted to £2643 Ids. Bd.

It is not expected that the new tramway scetion to Seatoun will be opened until early in December. .' .. »

There are private motors in Wellington coupled up with the tramways power-house of a total capacity 0f,730 horse-power;' With the completion' of tho installation of tho new private power cables, tho business of this section of the electrical department is expected to make a great leap ahead.

The hearing of compensation cases will lie commenced before tho Arbitration Court at 10.30 on Thursday../; As Thursday and Friday,.,will„probably available for taking these cases, the Court desires all parties 'interested bb 'riady to proceed to-morrow.

'Th 6 following Unions have decided to!'support the candidature of Mr. R. Slater is the workers 1 ' representative on tho Arbitration Court: — Wellington Bakers, Wellington Timber Yard and ■ Sawmillers, Wellington Tailoresses and Pressers, North Auckland Timber Workers, Thames Miners' Union,, Waihi Miners' Union, Timaru Bakers' Union.

A large party of members of the Auckland A. and P. Association are to visit tho .Waerenga State Farm ,to-day, and afterwards inspect the lluakura experimental station, on the morning of the' Agricultural :vhd Pastoral Show .in the . Wailrnto.' A' special examination will be made of the top dressing experiments which,: especially ' atWaerenga, have attracted considerable in~ terest- among the farming community.

Tho extent of the city's private electric lighting system is computed oii.'tho basis ,of tho 8-Candle-power lamp. When tho New Zealand Elcctrical Syndicate's works wqro taken over three months ago t'hero were 104,000 8-candle-power lamps (or their equivalent)' to be served. ' A' chart which notc3 the increase or decrease in . this "respect shows that on October 21 .the number had increased to 108,300—a jump of 38,400 candle-power in eleven weeks.

An auction sale was held yesterday by the Now Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company of certain goods from tho cargo of. the Turakina, tho steamer which recently arrived in Wellington on fire. Tho goods advertised for sale consisted of 231 boxes of' 'butter, 11 boxes • chocolates; 4 cases Bovril, and 18,000 feet' of whito pine timber. Tho butter realised from 6d. to BJd. per lb. in several case lots. The whito pine timber failed to find a purchaser, tho rosorve being 9s. per ,100 feet.

Residents of Maranui complain bitterly of "tho boisterously bacchanalian proclivities of certain young men who make it a practico to spend, their week-ends at tho sea-side. One resident states that he was awakened at 11.30 o'clock last Saturday night by a mob of Saturday-to-Monday hoodlums, who were yelling ohoruscs and firing guns as they passed along. At midnight, there was further shouting, evidently a second contingent of roysterors. At 4 a.m. they again made the night hideous with, drunken noise. 'Our informant, who states that ho had a practically sleepless niglit, and eventually'got up at 4 a.m., disgusted at his. chanco' of further slumber, says that this sort of thing goes on every Saturday night at Maranui.' °

A superabundance of black hair 011 tlio bead of a nativo led to u zealous court official being misled at tlio Magistrate's Court yesterday morning. Tho nativo in question was called to tho dock, and made his appearnnco from amongst tho Court loungers. As soon as tho uncultivated crop of hair appeared in the main body of the Court tho acting clerk cried in freezing official tones, "Tell him to take o!f his hat." All eyes immediately turned 011 tho culprit which presumably dared to disregard tho rules of the Court. A bewildered look canio into tho fane of the native, but ""as rapidly superseded by a largo and oxpansivo grin when it dawned on him that his riotous length of hair had been mistaken for a hat. Tho Court smiled audibly, and even Mr. Riddel!, S.M., had to unbend under tho humour of the situation.

Mrs. Ethel E. Do Cpstn, LL.B. (neo "li 13 Ethel B- Benjamin of Duncdin), after practh. lug for somo years in that city, has commenced practico as a barrister and solicitor in No. G Nathan's Buildings, corner Grey and tVathcrston Streets, Wellington. Mrs. Do Costa has tho distinction of being the only lady practising at tho Bar in tho Dominion. Intending clients can depend on prompt and caroCtj! ittention at Mrs. Do Costa's hands-

Tho Post Office adyises that the Miilicno, duo early this morning ifroin Sydney, has a large Australian mail on board: )

Only two eases .of scariet fever have been reported at .Carterton during tho last flvo days, and the outbreak'is now diminishing considerably. '

The Hospital authorities reported last night that- Thomas. Isaac, who was injured at Brooklyn whilst out rabbit-shooting,' and . subsequently had to have one of his logs amputated, showed a'slight improvement, but was still in a critical condition'.

At a meeting of the Wellington Operative Butchers' Union, it was decided to adhere to Saturday, November 9, as tho King's Birthday holiday,; as the Employers' Union have, so far, taken no steps to secure an alteration from Saturday to Monday. Tho secretary was instructed, to advertise, warning members , against working on Saturday. Tho secretary was instructed to write to tho Gear Company regretting that, as,, the Master Butchers' Unioli had not seen fit to consult tho Unioh as to changing the holi-i day, the Union .cannot- fall irf with the com-\ pany's suggestion to, hold the holiday on Monday.

:" Guy Fawke's Day " was celebrated in aooordanoe with. time-honoured' custoig in Wei- • lington and suburbs. Shortly after daybreak, bands of children appeared in the streets in chargd: of effigies of tho principal figure in that stirring cpisodo—the Gunp6wder' Plot— which dates back a little over three hundred years. So keen were of tho lioys that" thoy commenced; their house-to-house, canvass long ore the "sun had risen. - : As usual, tho pennies so acquired went to pur-' chase crackers and other kinds of fireworks, which were.lot off in the evening, when tho Tinakori Hills and Mount Victoria'-were studded with bonfires. '•!

Though thf large rooms ini tho now wing of the. Government Buildings have been finished for some time, the'refittiiig of -the old rooms next to them; which have subdivided in each case' and thoroughly reno-: vated, is hardly yet completed, except- for : the bottom floor, where the Valuation , Department is enjoying, possession. The' Treasury' rooms, on tho fit-st- floor are iibw receiving their' distempering and final touches, '.the Audit Department's rooms, higher,still, • are' at about the same stage, and-the. old. quarters of the. Education Department,V on: tho top ;floor, are the' most backward »of;: the four.' • '■ ' ; y .■ ; . ■ •

The Rev. Dr. Gibb, as Chairman of the Arrangements Committeo of the Presbyterian General Assembly, humourously announced to members last evening that some of them might be pleased, and others shocked, to learn that tho Committee had provided a smoking-room in which thoso membfers who liked might pursue their consultations. It was a very comfortable room for brethren afflicted with the smoking weakness. Some members of the committee had had doubt whether such a matter should engage their attention, but the' Established Church of Scotland and the limited Free Church both provided smoking-rooms at their assemblies, so that it must be'right.

Mr. A. Hamilton, Curator of the National Museum, has received a number of specimens of the largo green moth (hepialus virescens), of which-hei:wished''to -obtain-good examples with tho object of perfecting his collection of moths at tho Museum. 1 Unfortunately, most of the insects forwarded were in poor condition. This moth is not- particularly rare, but iit is difficult to get examples, in / good condition. Threo specimens were,, sent'--Mr. Hamilton last week from Otaki, and some rather good ones have reached him from Waikanao. While grateful for the interest that has been shown in the matter, Mr. Hamilton will be glad to receive other specimens, some of which may bo in better condition. Two large moths (attacus Hercules), which tho Curator has. received from. Mr. Bell, of Cairns, North Queensland, have l now been set, and will bo'on view for a short time next week. : Though,tho two specimens ,ar'e not the largest that have been seen of their kind, they have a wing-spread of 9J . inches,' and the length of the male from tho Head to the end of 'tho lower wings is about 6} inches.

Mr. Jennings, M.H.E., who has just returned from a trip to the King Country, states that there is now a considerable town-! ship at Manuuui, four miles this side ,of Taumarunui. A'Wellington firm lia'fc a largo sawmill there, and there are ten* in 'the'(vicinity. A serious drawback to'business in the township is tho want'of a'bank. This-is felt all the more, as wages itr the bush are usually paid by cheque; aud the nearest availablo bank is at Te Awamutu, nearly eighty miles away. ■ Mr. Jennings found that great progress had been mado with the Main Trunk railway works, since lie was there thrco months, ago with ,tho parliamentary party. : The contractors for the Makatotd viaduct have been getting on rapidly with the work.» Another, viaduct which, is being constructed by tho Public Works Department, • two miles to the south of Makatoto, is nearly completed, though it was only begun at Easter. The' coach k road botween Raurimu and Rangitaua (thirty miles) was in fairly good order. Mr.- .Jennings was impressed bj' the. busy aspectjof tho, country, ..caused by tho activity of the sawmilling and flax industries and the'railway construction'works. ' \ ' -

~ A builders' labourer, according to tlio .uninitiated, is .I'casual handy-man, who' just wanders around and tackles any odd job that falls in his way. But that is quite a mistake. He has award all to'himself, which strictly defines what ho may and! may; not do. A caso in tho. Arbitration Court, yesterday revolved around the point as to whether a man who drove a winch could properly ba called an ordinary hiboiircf,\and the matter was argued out with a wealth of learned detail. Ono witness scoffcd at the idoa that any special skill was required to do that work. "Of course, a'man must- have a c6riiiiti amount of intelligence to bo a labourer; you don't expect him to lie absolutely stupid," lie declared" but it don't need a technical school teacher to lift a'handle.'! Another witness tool; up the cudgels on the other side, and contended iliat driving A winch was a work of no little 1 skill; he would, call sncli a man an engineer or an electrician, liot an ordinary labourer. . And'"the Court smiled somewhat, as tho; ; " engineer" in q\iostion was getting'3ss.' a'week.

A fine selection of photop-aphio. cards,' Dominion Day and R.M.S. Turakina 011 Firo how 011 view at ZAK'S PHOTO DEPOT;' 21 Willis Street. On salo at popular, prices. CGjll Well dressed means becomingly dressed, merely tho wearing of smart'clothes, but Rap mcnts designed to emphasise the good pointi of tho figure. Ilence, the' premier and mos Essential item a fashionably attired womai needs is a perfectly cut corset, arttslicallj moulded to the "human-form" C. A'darns ami Co., 35 Cuba Street, have a" most up-to-data corset department, and a lady export is always in attendance for the purpose, of "fitting*." Besides having all tho most fashionable' makes of corsets to select from, C. Adams and Co. are agents for the Messenger, Corset Manufacturers. Your measure is taken by 'an expert, fitted and raado to. your order within a week. Inspection invited. ■■'» C&U

■ The draft programme and synopsis of busi- . poss, with reports' and statistics, in connection with tho Presbyterian General Assembly. make up -a compact pocket volumo of two hundred pages, closely printed. Tho Conferenco will last till''Monday next. Mr. W. T. Jonnings, M.11.R. for Egmont, rohirncd -last evening from a visit to his constituents in,, tho Tauniarunui district ' On Saturday ho opened a new public school at Manumu, jn Wellington provinco, four '.'miles south of : Taumarunui. Nearly 1000 settlers, and others were present. Afterwards ... . . a presentation was.made to Mr. Jennings by '•!• the .settlers. ;Mr. Jennings then; on . behalf of the-Royal Humane Society of Australasia, and at the request 'of tho Hon. Dr. Findlay, presented a bronze certificate to a twelve-year-old Maori girl,-Koru Bolan, for saving . a white schoolfellow, Eva Kilpin, from drown- .-, ing in tho Wanganui River. , A feature of j .tlio day's proceedings was tho unveiling of • ' the ■ Dominion flag at the now school 1 by Koru Bolan and Eva Kilpin, and the saluting of.'tho flag by tho children. Tho Rev. ~ Egerton/,Ward delivered; a stirring patriotic ' address. \ , - Julius Ca:sar was seeing the sights of tho North Island with a friend. Ho could not i olaim' 1 any blood-relationship with the' Roman ' warrior.He was just a casual Cockney tourist; doomed by tho distorted humour of his '' baptismal; sponsors to stagger through lifo ■ under,,, the millstone of an immortal name. Tho pair had wandorod into the tangled wilderness of- tho native wilds, and they hap.("■/.poncd suddenly on a recumbont Maori. Wearing, .just a dirty .'blanket and a look, of ineffablo content, the, Maori squatted .and smoked v ■ ' in the: sun, dreaming the delicious dreams of the . lotus-eater. - Though'.blissful, he was a slatternly bundlo'of brown humanity, but the < ' transformationwas wonderful when the.friend s jocosely introduced the.Cockney as Mr., JuliuS' .v- ..■ Cresar. Rising to his full height, the Maori' : iwnng' his-blanket* over'-his'body with all the ' magnificent grace of a Roman of old adjust- • ing. his toga, bowed superbly, and gave V j -greeting in immaculate' English,: "Ah,. how .' do y6u r dd Mr. Ccesar! and ljow is our dear friond Brutus?" ; That, man had beon a shining ,-ligit at collego in Auckland, and Mr. v •- -Frasor', M.H.R:; told tho : story in his lecture ■~i on Monday.' The point he wished to illustrate ■ was,that, unless looked after, there was an . Z' 1 iri-esistible" tendency for the'educated Maori "to.drift back to the listless,'unambitious life , <•. of the pah: • " : I told this story'to some • ' Europeans afterwards," added tho lecturer, "and one oxclaimcd, quite seriously, 'There ■ you. aro, that's what comes of teaching these savages tho 13iblo ——— ' J