LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 43, 14 November 1907, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

So far no site has been set apart on tho Miramar flat for educational purposes. Tho Borough of Seatoun has one school at present, situated on tho hill above Worser Bay, and fairly approachable from all those parts of tho borough having any claim to population. Miramar is going to bo a thickly-pop-ulated placo in a few years' time, and settlers and intonding settlers on tho flat are asking—where is the school sito? Enquiry has olicited the information that it, like Mrs. Sarey Gamp's friend Mrs. Harris, "don't exist." With great tact and forethought, however, the Education' Board has informed tho Mayor of Miramar (Mr. A. E. Crawford), that it is prepared to consider favourably any offer of a school sito for Miramar South in view of futuro contingencies. It is intended to add another room to tho Worser Bay school shortly, owing to tho demands that are being mado on tho presont accommodation. Mr. H. D. Crawford lias, nlrondy given tho Board half an aero of land botweon Miramar and South Kilbirnio for tho purposes of a school, and in order to provide room onough for ground extension the Board has decided to purchase an adjoining acre. . Tho Committee of the Wollington Garrison Officers Club has decided that tho annual reunion of tho club will bo hold on Friday, November 2i). Mrs. Ethol It. Do Costn, LL.B. (neo "liia Ethel 11. Benjamin of Dunedin), after practis. Ing for somo years in that city, has commenced practice as a barrister and solioitor in No. 6 Nathan's Buildings, corner Gro.r and Featherston Streets, Wellington. Mrs. Do Oosta has the distinction of beinc the only lady praotisinß at tho Bar'in tho Dominion. Intundinß clients can depend on prompt and carofet ittoution at Mrs. Do Costa'u hands.

Tho Hcretaunga Mounted Rifles will go into camp at Mirarnar on Saturday for their annual course of instruction.

A public meeting of tho ratepayers of Miramar Borough is to bo held at tho Kiosk, Worser Bay, on Wednesday next, November 20, to consider tho prtposal to raise a special loan of £71,000 for water supply, drainage, and street improvements. Dr. Napier M'Lean, who was to have acted as referee at the Marlborough Boxing Association's contests on November 16 and 18, will bo unablo to make tho visit to Blenheim on account of the pressure of business. Tho Hoalth Department informed tho Onslow Uorough Council last night that it would rnquiro a detailed plan of tho proposed drainage scheme at Kaiwarra before it CQuld grant authority to tho council to raise a loan under the Health Act without a poll. Tho Council instructed tho clerk to supply all necessary information. During the hearing of tho Timber Yards and Sawmill Workers' dispute yesterday, His Honour Mr. Justice Sim, pointed out that, in framing a number of recent awards in connection with manufacturing industries, tho Court had adopted the principle of fixing tho wages on an hourly basis. It did not, howovor,' follow that the Court would do so in regard to the dispute under consideration. "I want te goot motor-car," said a Maori to a local dealer in automobiles. Ho was shown a spick-and-span four-cylinder car, up-to-date in every respect. " 'Ow much to price?" asked the Maori. "£800" was the reply. " 'Aw, him too cheep— I wan' to goot motor-car, te pig motor-car—te pretty good one, eh? I wan' to car to beat Toneli (Mr. G. P. Donnelly). Toneli pay £ '■ for te pig car, I pay for te more pig car, to peat Toneli, my wordl" Tho dealer confessed, that ho had no car in stock to beat Mr. G. P. Donnelly's six-cylinder 40-horse-power car, so the deal is off for the present. But the Maori moans to beat "Toneli" on tho road yot. - A statement of accounts of the tour of tho South African footballers through England shows that the receipts amounted to £15,571 7s. 9d., of which £12,081 was received as sharo of gate recoipts, and there was a surplus, after meeting all expenses, of £6100. The balance "is to bo used solely for the advancement of Rugby football in South Africa." It has been allocated as follows:—Western Province, £1250; Transvaal, £1250; Griqualand West, £600; Border Province, £400; Eastern Province,' £400; Rhodesia, £3(10; Natal, £300; Orange River Colony, £300; North-Eautern Province, £300; South African Rugby Board, £1000. . . . . ( ' . ' ■ Tho Official Assignee in Bankruptcy (Mr. Jas. Aslicroft) had, in the case of Mark Griff en, baker, of Wellington, one of the knottiest problems that had ever fallen to his lot to unravel. The bankrupt had bought a bakery business for £80. Tho difficulty, in tho caso arose out of the existence of a bill-of-sale and the amount of security claimed to be held under it. The Assignee and the creditors finally gave it up, and the meeting, which had been quite unable to arrive at a correct estimate of the situation, subsequently adjourned, and left tho tangle to tho Official.Assignee to straighten out. A further meeting will probably be convened later on. In the course of an interview Mr. Barnett, of Christohurch, one of the recent bowlers to tour the United Kingdom, said with regard to greens that New Zealand was simply put'of it—there was no turf in New Zealand equal to the fino quality of turf of the British bowling greens. It was almost needless to say that men fond of the game took the keenest possible delight in playing on' the dry and fine running greens that were played on in Scotland. In suoh greens the New Zealanders had experience of the greens that, they hope to possess in this country some day, though Mr. Barnett thinks that this anticipation is not likely to be realised, as grass in New Zealand grows coarser than in Great Britain.

At the conclusion of the ten-days continuous course: of instruction for officers at Christchurch, it is'proposed that Captains Lascelles and Nelson visit convenient subcentres for the purpose ( of arranging a course of instruction on linos similar to that given in f he continuous course at Christchurch; Throe or four sub-centres will be selected, and the instructional officers will work round them for a period of six weeks. Tho following dates for annual camps of instruction appear in district orders by the Defence .Department:—No. 6 Company Now Zealand Engireers, Shelloy Bay, November 22—December 9 j Pahiatua Mounted Rifles, February 6—13, 1908; Wellington Navals, Fort Ballance, February 6—21, 1908; D Battery, February 15—March 1, 1908.

Tho Department of External Affairs, after consultation with the Heralds' College, has (says the Sydnoy "Morning Herald") prepared an official coat-of-arms for the Commonwealth. It contains no motto, but the device consists of a six-pointed shield, supported on the right by a kangaroo and on the loft by an emu. Within the shield is,a smaller white shield, bearing a red cross with tho five stars of the Southern Cross and six miniature shields representing States. Surmounting all is a, six-pointed white Star. Tho design has been submitted to tho Heralds' College, London, for final approval, when the King will bo asked to authorise its use. It will be inscribed on the Queen's Momorial in London, towards which the' Commonwealth Parliament in 1905 voted £25,000.

Mr. 0. W. Palmer, secretary of tho Navy League, writes in reference to a recent cable message—"lt is only fair to tho League to point out the fact that it does not hold with tho 'pin-pricking , tactics adopted of late years by some of tho London dailies. Tho recent split in the London executive was brought about by this very thing. H, F. Wyatt and Horton-Smith, tho two ' fire-eaters' of tho executive, desired that the League should organiso a crusade of agitation against tho present administration for alleged naval shortcomings, but, as pointed out in a , circular letter to your editor of soveral weeks back (as yet unpublished), tho large majority of the executivo hold that tho main work of tho League vfus educative, and that the agitation suggostod would be impolitio and highly undesirable at tho present timo. As an actual fact, the Leaguo takes credit for the appointment of Sir John Fishor as First Sea Lord; and, despite tho somewhat heavy retrenchments effected under his regimo, the League is content to bo guided by the joint export advice of its vice-chairman, Admiral Freemantlo, and Admiral Bridge, and, is satisfied with their opinion that tho effectiveness of the service has not been seriously impaired. Unfortunately, the malcontents Wyatt and Horton-Smith, backed up by several influential writers, have meantime been pegging away in tho Press, and in tho'caso of that portion of tho public not conversant with the facts a certain amount of discredit has been cast on tho work of the Leaguo."

The State Schools in Wellington city and districts will close on Friday, December 20, for the usual six weeks' midsummer vacation.

The prevalence of furious motoring on that portion of the Hutt Road within the Onslow Borough was reforred to at the meeting of tho local Council last night, and it was resolved, on the motion of Councillor I'limmor, that tho attention of tho police authorities be again directed. 1 to the matter. A young man named John, Taylor, 21 years of ago, residing at No. 8 Gordon Street, Nowtown, was admitted to the hospital yesterday suffering from a, severely burned' loft hand and leg. It is stated that tho man, wjiose clothes "wero saturated with a mixture of benzine and water, wciit and stood in front of a fire. The clothes immediately caught nre, and before the flames could bo smothered the man had been severely burned. Mr. Martin Chapman, K.C., appeared as counsel in the Compensation Court yesterday attired in his silk gown. This was the first appearance in tho Supremo' Court at Wellington of King's Counsel robed in the correct costume. This robo is identical with that worn by the Judges, tho material being silk, and of an altogether different design to the ordinary barrister's gown. A barrister's gown has at tho back a kind of bag shaped something liko a -leg of mutton. It is said that' this bag is the survival of an actual bag worn by barristers in the olden times, when a barrister was not allowed to take fees, but, when his work was done, ho turned his back on his client, who was then supposed to take that opportunity of slipping the feo into the bag. This method of collecting fees does not recommend itself to present day practitioners, and the bag has naturally fallen into disuse. Tho K.C.'s gown has a kind of sailor collar at tho back, end the arms are inserted in triangular slite in the sleeves. The wig is the ordinary barister'e wig, with three rows of stiff curls on either side, while the wig, which is worn by a Judge, is without these little embellishments.

Tho City Engineer (Mr/ W. H. Morton) informed a Dominion representative yesterday afternoon that it was his intention to get on with tho regrading and improvement of Woodward Street right away. This stroot is ' historical, as it is the old bed of the Kumutoto Stream, which used to flow, out of the gully that lies.between tho Wellington Terrace and the hills of Kelburno at the point now occupied by the Wellington Club. Alongside the stream was a pa, inhabited by ■the ancestors of the remnants of the tribe now resident at Waikawa (False Picton) in the Marlborough Sounds. The premises occupied, by Mr. J. Lindsay and others stands upon property which is a Native reserve, and the rents for which still find their way' to Dan Love and' C0.,.0f Waikawa. There is a steep pinch from about half-way' up Woodward Street to tho Wellington Terrace, which is to be, removed by giving the street a twist to the North from a point opposite tho right-of-way (about mid-way along the southern 1 side); and so making an easy grade to the Terrace, as was done many years ago in TJpper Boulcott Street. Apart'from the big works already in hand, the City Engineer has mapped out a scheme to improve Plimmer's Steps; wood-block {he eastern half of Jervois Quay (in conjunction with the Harbour Board); reticulate Kelburne for water; instalj a drainage | system in the old. Melfb's'e I 'district; 'arid' erect' , a concrete wall found the'Te Aro Bathsi With such a programme in , hand it has been found necessary to, postpone the improvement of the Oriental: Bay watej , ; front until next year.